Wolf Tracks - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,84
and threw a mage bolt at where he’d been standing when he spoke. Luckily, he was long gone from that spot. A column of smoke went up from the small fire her magic had started, but luckily, the area was too damp from the near-constant rain that was typical of this part of the world for the fire to really get going.
“We were born of the old world and the old ways,” Maura proclaimed. “When power meant something, and only the strong survived. I don’t know how you managed to end my sister, but you will not do the same to me. I don’t have a parasite of a husband leeching off my power the way she did. I stand alone, and I kill those who dare try to block my path or do me wrong.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hands. Jim wondered if it was some kind of magical spellcasting, but nothing happened, right away. “You have done me wrong. Both of you.”
Maura repeated the motion, and Jim started to look around more closely. She was definitely doing something. He felt her power against his natural shielding like someone rubbing his fur the wrong way. Uncomfortable. Annoying. Unwanted.
“We killed her because good always triumphs over evil,” Jim said, moving quickly to a new bit of cover. None too soon, because the boulder he’d been crouching behind split in two when Marua hit it with one of her mage bolts.
Did the woman not tire? Did she really have that much energy at her disposal? If so, they were in trouble. Jim kept track of where Helen was hiding, all the while trying to figure out how to save this situation.
His phone vibrated, and he glanced at it. The cavalry was on its way, but would it get here soon enough?
Helen hid behind a tree and tried to think. No way was she going to go out like this—cowering behind a tree. It went against every principle she’d been raised with, and it didn’t suit her personality at all. No, if she was going to die today, she was going to meet her fate with courage, and fight back, darnit!
Helen might not have learned much of the combative magic her brothers excelled in, but she’d seen them work. She knew how mage bolts were launched and where the power came from. At least, in theory. She’d never been able to conjure offensive magic at all, but her defensive skills were pretty good, even when compared to her more apt siblings. Just because she was more healer than mage didn’t mean she couldn’t use what power she had to protect the man she loved.
And there it was. She was in love with Jim. Against all odds and counter to common sense, she’d fallen in love with the big galoot. Goddess help her.
No way would she stand by and watch him take chance after chance at getting his handsome ass fried to kingdom come and do nothing about it. Helen thought hard about her next move, and then, when she was sure she’d conjured the best protection she could muster, she stepped out from behind the tree.
She called on Mother Nature, the forest, and all living things to help defend her. She called on the Light of the Goddess and the goodness of the Mother of All to aid her in her time of need. She beseeched the Lady in all Her forms to help protect those who served the Light in this situation, and she put all that energy into a shield that stood as a wall between the roadway and the forest, through which she would allow no evil power to pass.
The sorceress saw her and immediately threw a powerful mage bolt her way, but the invisible shield blocked it, shimmering in the air for a moment as it absorbed the power and drove it into the earth, to harm none. Maura screamed in frustration and launched, again, with the same results. Helen watched the health of her shield wall carefully. So far, it was holding up nicely against whatever Maura threw against it, but Helen didn’t know for how long she could keep it up. Something would have to give at some point, but for now, they could at least breathe and strategize.
Jim looked concerned but hadn’t said anything. She was glad he hadn’t told her to run. She would never leave him behind, and if she was going to try to convince him that they should