Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem #2)(73)

He stepped forward again, but this time it wasn’t to protect Penny. It was to tell Reagan to get the hell out of the way. That spell, an intricate, artful weave made up of over two dozen components, would fry someone alive.

Reagan thrust her hand into her opened fanny pack, grabbed out what looked like a casing, smashed it against the base of her sword while muttering what sounded like gibberish, and sliced through the spell just in time. The sword splintered the weave, sending it curling to the sides, but didn’t unravel it.

“I hate that trick,” Reagan said, running toward Penny as the spell tracked her from behind. As she came close, she reached downward, aiming for Penny’s chest.

Penny reacted hard and fast, slapping the hand away and punching up into Reagan’s face. The blow didn’t land. Reagan jerked back a fraction and swung her arm, hitting Penny’s forearm with her own. Before the move could be executed, Penny kicked up, hitting Reagan right behind the legs.

“Good move,” Reagan said, twisting to drop her knee onto Penny’s thigh. “But my balls are figurative.”

Streams of magic rolled and boiled above Penny before running through her fingers, faster than thought, and morphing into something Emery, quite frankly, didn’t understand. It wasn’t a weave so much as a sparkling collection of harmonic elements, fire and ice in perfect balance.

An explosion without sound concussed the air. Reagan flew backward, her arms stitched down to her sides with unseen hands. A smile graced her face and she didn’t struggle or even twist. She hit the ground and bounced before jerking free, her sword still in her hand despite the force of the invisible and unexpected blow.

“Sneaky little thief,” Reagan said as Penny scrambled to her feet.

“You said we could share,” Penny hollered.

Reagan got up slowly and wiped her forearm across her mouth. “You made me drool a little.”

Penny started, staring at Reagan with wide eyes. “Oh no.”

She didn’t reach for her magic. She didn’t brace to fight.

She turned tail and ran.

“There’s nowhere to run to,” Reagan said.

“No!” Penny yelled. “Timeout. Do-over. Uncle!”

Reagan took off after her, a mad smile on her face. “Use your magic, you scaredy cat.”

“No killing, remember?” Penny yelled over her shoulder.

“I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to kick you.”

Penny pulled elements out of her belt and from the various items in the room, weaving as she sprinted to the corner then pivoted randomly and headed away at an angle.

“I can change direction faster than that banshee,” Reagan said. And then cackled.

“Turdswallop apple sauce,” Penny said loudly, getting a weave together as Reagan came within striking distance. “No!”

Reagan jumped, launching at Penny with arms wide, sword held out to the side.

Emery braced himself, feeling the power stone pulse with energy, charging up the entire room. Magic came without him consciously pulling it, running in and around his fingers.

Reagan hit Penny from behind. She wrapped her arms around Penny’s body, putting the sword at an extremely dangerous angle. Before Emery could voice a protest or they could hit the ground, Reagan twisted in the air, landing so the sword wasn’t a problem.

“You’re going to poke someone’s gizzard out with that thing,” Penny said, struggling against Reagan’s hold.

“As long as it isn’t mine, I’m good.” Reagan released her hold long enough to pepper punches into Penny’s back.

Penny grunted, and the weave of magic she’d been making, even while being tackled to the ground, drifted into the sky before floating above them.

“What fecking spell is that?” Reagan said. She didn’t look up at it, but she clearly knew it was there.

How in the hell…

“Surprise!” Penny paused for a fraction of a second and received a couple more punches because of it. “Eventually. Surprise eventually.” She twisted and jabbed back with her elbow, connecting with Reagan’s sternum.

“I could kill you right now,” Reagan said, holding tighter.

“Fine. You win. Let me up.”

“No way. That thing you’re making is nasty. Send Emery away.”

“You send Emery away!”

Reagan glanced back at him. He started, realizing he’d drifted forward, ready to intervene without consciously thinking of it. Her shift in focus had Penny twisting again, trying to get an elbow into her ribs. “He’s two seconds from rescuing you,” Reagan said. “You send him away. He won’t listen to me.”

“No. You will take my surprise!”

“This is why men try to keep women dumb. They are much less dangerous to the power structure that way.” Reagan stared up vaguely at the cloud of magic drifting over them.

“What are you even talking about?”

Reagan didn’t answer. She rolled to the side, hopped up with a grace nearly equal to that of a vampire, and sprinted across the warehouse with a speed nearly equal to that of an elder.

“Are you non-human?” Emery asked.

“A little busy right now,” she replied.

She was right. The spell took after her like a shot, seemingly an intelligent entity.