“Seven feet at the shoulder,” Duncan clarified as he stepped up beside his brother.
Kenna looped her arm through mine and handed me the spyglass. “And I wouldn’t compare that thing to the majestic Clydesdales in the beer commercials, at least not anymore . . .”
I raised the small telescope, and when I found the horse and rider I gasped out loud. The animal’s flesh was the sickly black, brown, and purple of a deep bruise. Large shards of hide hung off its bones in bloody chunks. It stamped and turned to expose a gaping hole in its side, and I could see its ribs and pulpy organs beneath. I shifted the glass up to the rider, and it was Addie’s face that gave me the biggest shock; the skin on the right side had completely disintegrated, bones and tendons exposed from eye socket to jawbone, while the other half still held the beauty of a surgically enhanced trophy wife. Why hadn’t she healed herself after the explosion?
Then, as if she could see me, she stared straight down the lens of my telescope and mouthed the words, “It’s over.”
In a move so quick I could barely see her hands, she formed a ball of purple flame and hurled it in our direction.
“Take cover!” I screeched.
Jamie grabbed my hand and we dropped, sliding down the grassy hill, just as the sky exploded.
CHAPTER 40
Jamie
The violet ball struck with a boom that vibrated the ground beneath us. Vee squeezed my hand as we looked up at the point of impact. Because of Mackenna’s gift, I could see the purple ooze of the witch’s magic melting the white shimmer of our protection buffer. The disintegration was slow, as if Vee and Kenna’s barrier fought against Addie’s spell.
We have to stop it. Veronica let go of my hand and rushed to Mackenna’s side. “I don’t know how. The rings—”
“We can do this, Ken. Just like in the castle gardens when we took out the skellies force field. We have to believe.” Mackenna nodded and they raised their joined fists to the sky and began to call on the Protector’s strength.
Protect our people, we ask. Defeat the witch’s magic and repair the shield that you so graciously granted us, Vee’s voice whispered through my head. The girl’s eyes remained closed and suddenly the strength of their will smashed into my mind, almost dropping me to my knees as I felt their belief, their resounding faith.
The rings sparked, shooting white flame that pushed back the purple darkness. The crystalline dome sealed once more and the lasses lowered their arms. But the moment the white beam from the Rings of Aontacht disconnected, violet sparks began eating another hole in the protection.
Veronica and Mackenna linked hands again, and this time my brother and I joined them. Placing a hand on each of their shoulders, white-hot fire burst from the rings. Raising our consciousness together, the shield began to rebuild itself once again. This time, the lasses didn’t move, but kept their hands linked and raised.
At first, it seemed to work, but then another purple globe hurtled down, this one breaking into smaller orbs before smashing into the dome. Each hole grew larger by the second. The power of the rings was unable to keep up, and soon both sputtered and winked out.
“No!” Vee cried. “Kenna, try again!”
But the rings did not spark again. And the purple continued to eat away at our shield.
Duncan put his hand over the lasses’ joined fingers and gently pushed their arms down. “One of the most important aspects o’ bein’ a soldier is knowin’ when you’re bested. Knowin’ when to retreat.”
The girls’ eyes met and with a solemn nod, they let go.
I pulled Vee tight to my chest. “We need to go and warn the others. You and Mackenna head west and raise the alarm. Duncan and I will go east and north.”
Releasing Veronica took herculean effort, but I’d accepted that we couldn’t stay together through this fight. She’d proven she could take care of herself. I glanced up; the holes had met in the middle and the purple sparks were making their way down the sides of the shield. We had little time. With one last squeeze, I let her go and we all took off at a sprint.
Duncan and I ran in the same direction. Before splitting up, we agreed to meet at the horse paddock.
I reached Lachlan and the Rosetti twins perched in a tree first. Cupping my