Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4) - Jim Butcher Page 0,90
this didnt work, I wasnt going to last long enough to regret it.
Most magic is pretty time-consuming, what with drawing circles and gathering energies and aligning forces. Quick and dirty magic, evocation, is drawn directly from a wizards will and turned loose without benefit of guide or limit. Its difficult and its dangerous. I suck at evocation. I only knew a couple that I could do reliably, and even they required a focus, such as my shield bracelet or blasting rod, to be properly controlled.
But for doing big dumb things that require a lot of energy and not much finesse, Im usually fine.
I lifted my arms, and the mist was stirred by a sudden rush of moving air. The chlorofiend pounded closer, and I closed my eyes, pouring more energy out, reaching for the wind. " Vento, " I muttered, feeling more power stir. The chlorofiend bellowed again, sending a jolt of fear through me, and the winds rose even more. " Vento! Vento, ventas servitas! "
Power, magic, coursed through my outstretched arms and lashed out at the night. The wind rose in a sudden roar, a screaming cyclone that whirled into being just in front of me and then whirled out toward the heavy metal shelving.
The chlorofiend screamed again, nearly drowned out by the windstorm Id called, only a few yards away.
The enormous, heavy shelves, loaded with tons of materials, let out a groan of protest and then fell, toppled over onto the chlorofiend with a deafening din that ripped at my ears and shook the concrete floor.
The chlorofiend was strong, but it wasnt that strong. It went down like a bush under a bulldozer, shrieking again as the steel shelves crushed it and burned into its substance. A foul greyish smoke rose from the wreckage, and the chlorofiend continued to scream and thrash, the shelves jerking and moving.
Exhaustion swept over me with the effort of the spell, and I glowered down at the fallen shelves. "Down," I panted, "but not out. Dammit." I watched the shelves for a moment and decided that the chlorofiend probably wouldnt shrug it off for a few minutes. I shook my head and headed for the gate into the enclosure. Hopefully, Grum hadnt twisted things up so badly that I couldnt get out.
He had. The metal latch on the gate had been pinched into a mess by his talons. They had scored the metal in sharp notches, like an industrial cutter. Note to self: Dont think steel can stop Grums fingernails. I checked above and decided to risk climbing the fence and getting through the barbed wire.
I had gotten maybe halfway up the chain-link fence when Murphy limped out of the mist on the other side, her gun pointed right at me.
"Whoa, whoa, Murph," I said. I showed her my hands and promptly fell off the fence. "Its me."
She lowered the gun and let out her breath. "Christ, Harry. What are you doing?"
"Texas cage match. I won." From behind me, the chlorofiend let out another shriek and the shelving groaned as it shifted. I gulped and looked back. "Rematch doesnt look promising, though. Where have you been?"
She rolled her eyes. "Shopping."
"Wheres Grum and the ghoul?"
"Dont know. The ghouls blood trail went out, but someone shot at me when I followed it. Havent seen the ogre." She blinked at the gates latch. "Damn. Guess he shut you in here, huh?"
"Pretty much. You get shot?"
"No, why?"
"Youre limping."
Murphy grimaced. "Yeah. One of those bastards must have thrown a bunch of marbles on the floor. I slipped on one. Its my knee."
"Oh," I said. "Uh."
Murphy blinked at me. " You did that?"
"Well, it was a plan at the time."
"Harry, thats not a plan, its a Looney Tune."
"Kill me later. Help me out of here now." I squinted up at the barbed wire. "Maybe if you get a rake, you can push it up for me so that I can slide between it and the fence."
"Were twenty feet from the hardware department, genius," Murphy said. She limped back into the mist, and returned half a minute later carrying a pair of bolt cutters. She cut a slit in the chain link fence and I squeezed through it while the chlorofiend thrashed, still pinned.
"I could kiss you," I said.
Murphy grinned. "You smell like manure, Harry." The smile faded. "What now?"
The trapped monsters thrashing sent several smaller shelves toppling over, and I rubbernecked nervously. "Getting out is still first priority. That thing is down, but itll be coming before long."