The troll is a lanky fellow, with a hunched back and skin that’s covered in green pustules. His wide face holds beady eyes. A small tuft of yellow hair juts from atop his head. Four small tusks stick out from his lower jaw, two on either side of his mouth. He holds a large club in his right hand.
“Kill Elle,” grumbles the troll.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a fresh handful of rubies. “That won’t happen.”
A surge of power surrounds Elle. It’s like the electric sense of lightning before a storm.
She’s pulling in magic and a lot of it.
I set my hand on Elle’s forearm. “Not safe,” I whisper.
A thin cloud of fairy dust collects around Elle’s hand. She stares at the enchanted mist that swirls around her fingers. “I can’t just stand here.”
“I won’t let you expose yourself.” I raise my hand. Rubies gleam inside my fist.
I mean it, too. Elle’s the warden of fae magic. Shadowcoe are residents of the Faerie Lands. If Elle exposes her powers to even one troll, all of Faerie could know the truth about her and soon.
The stones glow more brightly. Crimson light shines through my closed fingers. “Do I have to get nasty here?”
Elle winks. “Tough guy.”
“You know it.”
The troll raises his club. “Kill Elle!” he cries.
Closing my eyes, I reach out to the stones in my fist.
Protect Elle.
A chorus of alto voices reply.
What shall we cast?
My thoughts instantly spin through all the possible spells in this moment. I do have a special black diamond that I’m creating. Although I haven’t heard a voice back from that particular stone yet, I almost wish I were holding it in my fist right now. That could protect Elle like nothing else.
The name of the right spell appears. I focus on it in my mind’s eye.
Night.
Wisps of red smoke spin out from my hand. For a moment, the tendrils whirl about my palm. A burst of white light fills the room.
Then my spell really kicks into action.
Cords of red mist whip out from my palm. Lines of crimson power whirl around the troll. The shadowcoe writhes under the mist, trying to wipe the spell off his skin.
Yet the red mist stays in place.
Next the colored gaze soaks inside the troll. Another burst of light follows.
The spell ends.
The troll wobbles in place, then falls over and snores.