trying to keep tight control of it. This was by far the most dangerous operation I’d ever tried. One wrong move, and I’d yank my ancestor right out of her grave and have a dancing skeleton call forth an army of root monsters.
Not good.
Power thrummed through me, and when it finally began to work, I could feel it. The stone felt like part of me, and as it rose through the earth, it seemed like a piece of my soul was returning to my body.
When it pierced the grass and touched my palm, a sense of peace surged through me. A wide smile stretched my face, and I clutched the stone, rising.
“It worked.” I turned to Lachlan and held out the rock to show him.
“Well done.”
“Now, let’s get out of here.”
He nodded, and we left the burial mound. I said a quick goodbye in my mind as we crossed through the barrier created by the guardians. As we walked away, I looked back to see them disappear into the ground.
“That wasn’t so hard,” I said.
Before Lachlan could answer, the air popped with magic. Figures appeared all around us, at least a dozen of them. More followed, one after the other.
My heart leapt into my throat, my skin chilling.
The Maker. This had to be his doing.
“We’ve got to go.” Lachlan reached for his pocket, no doubt to retrieve a transport charm, but a bolt of magic hit him straight in the stomach, driving him backward.
I felt the percussive blast—a sonic boom, sent by the mage who stood directly in front of us. My power surged through me, and I called upon my newest magic, dragging a tree from the ground to throw it at the mage.
It slammed into him, but not before his power burst through me, throwing me back against another trunk. The air was knocked from my lungs, and the Moon Stone tumbled from my hand.
Panic flared as I scrambled upright, every inch of me in pain. My insides felt like they’d been scrambled, and I could barely see.
My vision was good enough to spot a figure swoop in to steal the Moon Stone, however. He was a small man, but fast. He darted in and grabbed it, then raced away, disappearing behind the cover of his friends.
Rage filled me, and I called upon my power. But there were too many of them. They converged upon me, and in the distance, I saw the Maker. He watched with avarice, his plan no doubt going just as he wanted.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Lachlan as he was hit by another sonic boom. It slammed him into a tree, and ice filled my veins.
How many of those could he survive? Two would be deadly for a less powerful supernatural.
Four attackers converged on me, each dressed in plain, dark clothes. Their faces were concealed by hoods, but I could feel the determination in their gazes.
Terror made my power surge within me, and I used my new gift to pick up the tree that I’d thrown at the mage. It shot through the air, slamming into three of the figures before continuing to fly through the forest. I lost control of it and watched as it sailed into the distance, right into another tree.
More of the attackers converged on me, taking the place of their fallen comrades. I backed up, drawing my potion bag from the ether.
I heard the blast of another sonic boom and prayed that Lachlan wasn’t hit. He could shift into wolf form, but then he wouldn’t be able to use the transport charm.
Quickly, I hurled bomb after bomb at them, not stopping to check what the bottles contained. They exploded in colorful blasts, knocking some attackers unconscious, while others dodged the projectiles.
There were just too damned many of them, and the Moon Stone was long gone, along with the Maker. They’d got what they’d come for.
They’d probably grab me as well, if they had a chance. I couldn’t let them.
“Eve!” Lachlan shouted.
I looked toward him. He raced to me, his hand clutched in a fist.
He has the transport charm.
Escape was our only option.
One of the figures grabbed my arm, and I kicked him off me, then sprinted toward Lachlan.
He hurled the transport charm to the ground in front of us, and we both dove into the silver cloud. The ether sucked me in and spun me around, then spat me out on the lawn in front of his tower.
I tumbled to the grass, gasping. Winded,