jaw. "Fine. How about you just crawl back into your cave until they evict you from that, too?" He spread his hands. "Good God, man. I dont need to be a wizard to see when someones in a downward spiral. Youre hurting. You need help."
I jabbed a finger into his chest. "No, Billy. I dont need more help. I dont need to be babysitting a bunch of kids who think that because theyve learned one trick theyre ready to be the Lone Ranger with fangs and a tail. I dont need to be worrying about the vamps targeting the people around me when they cant get to me. I dont need to be second-guessing myself, wondering who else is going to get hurt because I dropped the ball." I reached down and snatched up a toad, jerking the cloth bag from Billys hands on the way back up. "I dont need you ."
Naturally, the hit went down right then.
It wasnt subtle, as attempted assassinations go. An engine roared and a black compact pickup truck jumped the curb into the park fifty yards away. It jounced and slewed to one side, tires digging up furrows in the sunbaked grass. A pair of men clung to a roll bar in the back of the truck. They were dressed all in black, complete with black sunglasses over black ski masks, and their guns matchedautomatic weapons in the mini-Uzi tradition.
"Get back!" I shouted. With my right hand, I grabbed at Billy and shoved him behind me. With my left, I shook out the bracelet on my wrist, hung with a row of tiny, medieval-style shields. I lifted my left hand toward the truck and drew in my will, focusing it with the bracelet into a sudden, transparent, shimmering half-globe that spread out between me and the oncoming truck.
The truck ground to a halt. The two gunmen didnt wait for it to settle. With all the fire discipline of an action-movie extra, they pointed their guns more or less at me and emptied their clips in one roaring burst.
Sparks flew from the shield in front of me, and bullets whined and hissed in every direction as they ricocheted. My bracelet grew uncomfortably warm within a second or two, the energy of the shield taxing the focus to its limit. I tried to angle the shield to deflect the shots up into the air as much as possible. God only knew where all those bullets were goingI just hoped that they wouldnt bounce through a nearby car or some other passerby.
The guns clicked empty. With jerky, unprofessional motions, both gunmen began to reload.
"Harry!" Billy shouted.
"Not now!"
"But"
I lowered the shield and lifted my right handthe side that projects energy. The silver ring I wore on my index finger had been enchanted to save back a little kinetic energy whenever my arm moved. I hadnt used the ring in months, and it had a whale of a kick to itone I hardly dared to use on the gunmen. That much force could kill one of them, and that would be basically the same as letting them fill me full of bullets. It would just take a little longer to set in. The White Council did not take kindly to anyone violating the First Law of Magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Id slipped it once on a technicality, but it wouldnt happen again.
I gritted my teeth, focused my shot just to one side of the gunmen, and triggered the ring. Raw force, unseen but tangible, lashed through the air and caught the first gunman with a glancing blow across his upper body. His automatic slammed against his chest, and the impact tore the sunglasses off his head and shredded bits of his clothes even as it flung him back and out of the pickup, to land somewhere on the ground on the other side.
The second gunman got less of the blast. What did hit him struck against his shoulder and head. He held on to his gun but lost the sunglasses, and they took the ski mask with them, revealing him to be a plain-looking boy who couldnt have been old enough to vote. He blinked against the sudden light and then resumed his fumbling reload.
"Kids," I snarled, lifting my shield again. "Theyre sending kids after me. Hells bells."
And then something made the hairs on the back of my neck try to lift me off the ground. As the kid with the gun started shooting again, I glanced back