I look to Elle. “I’ll take the gem casters.”
She nods. “Trolls for me.”
Pulling on my inner energy, I unleash the power of my midnight diamond and issue a single command.
Freeze
Thin lines of black smoke whip up from between my fingertips. Magic. The cords of power whip out across the studio floor to encircle every gem caster in the place. The mist of my spell encircles each witch or wizard before soaking into their skin. A burst of light surrounds them.
When the brightness vanishes, all the gem casters are stone. I grin. There’s nothing like working on a new magical stone and seeing it kick some ass.
Silver fairy dust envelops Elle’s hands. “I’ve been wanting to do this ever since that troll at my parents’ office.”
Elle’s magic spins through the air, reminding me of so many pinwheels. The power encircles each troll in the place. Once the magic vanishes, the trolls all rush off in one direction.
Toward the mice.
I can’t help but chuckle. Elle’s a swarm fae. She mentioned that her best animals are pigeons and mice. Right now, the trolls are scrambling about on all fours while sticking their noses up in the air. Total mouse behavior. After that, the trolls follow a group of real mice who them lead them around in circles. The chihuahua yaps along with the group.
I let out a low whistle. What a spell.
More trolls appear. They must have been hiding for a sneak attack. This time, the animates go to work. The phoenixes burst into flame while the scarecrows and suit of armor take down the trolls in hand to hand combat. The sight makes me want to cheer.
There’s no time to celebrate, however. The many potion masters raise their vials and smash them to the ground. This time, the vials don’t shatter. Instead, each one lets off a stream of sickly green smoke. These are reverse of potion burst spells, where shattering the vial starts the casting. In these potions, called forevers, these mist canisters will go on spouting spells for all eternity. That is, unless the bottles are destroyed. Not an easy thing to do.
Forevers are a smart choice for these potion masters, I’ll give them that. A wall of emerald haze quickly forms around them. It’s an excellent protective barrier.
Yet it won’t stop Wilhelm and his crew.
Axes raised high, the dwarves let out a battle yell and rush straight for the emerald cloud. The smoke seeks them out, surrounding each dwarf. The dwarves fall to their knees, coughing.
I pull in fresh magic from my stone. Elle summons more fairy dust. The process isn’t instant, though. It takes time to gather enough power and then even longer to focus the energy into a specific casting.
Will we get to the dwarves in time?
Turns out, another group is focused on Wilhelm and his crew. Bry, Knox, and their pack rush toward the emerald haze.
The werewolves move in.
The pack pins down the potion masters. Dwarves are tough fighters in any situation, but Wilhelm and his crew see me as their adopted son. They’ll fight to the death and I love them for their loyalty. Still coughing, the dwarves rise and march over to the potion masters.
Then they go after the forevers.
Blow after blow rains down on the metallic canisters. The forevers spark and crackle, but they don’t break.
Even so, the dwarves don’t give up.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One by one the forevers shatter. As each canister breaks, a dwarf falls over, exhausted. If we live through this, I’m throwing Wilhelm’s crew a roast meat celebration that will last three days, minimum.
The green smoke dies down, revealing the only fighters left standing. Now it’s down to Diamond, Legend, Marchesa and Charles… all against me and Elle. Ivy hides behind her mother, which makes her more of a spectator than warrior.
Diamond shivers. “I can’t be part of this.”
I do a double take. My mother actually showing some heart? It’s unexpected but welcome.
“No!” Legend rounds on her. “Le Charme first.”
“You’re wrong,” whispers Diamond. “There are limits.”
Charles speeds to Diamond. “I’ll escort the lady out of trouble.”
“I’m not leaving,” says Diamond.
“Perhaps we just stand aside then,” offers Charles.
Diamond nods. My mother looks down. Even so, there’s no missing the tears dripping from the top of her nose. Charles walks her over to the far wall. Ivy skitters along behind them.
Am I surprised that Charles turned out to be a coward? Not in particular. For centuries, he’s been hiding behind his bargain with the Queen of Hearts.
Marchesa strolls up to Elle. A large blue vial lies clutched in the potion master’s hand. “How I’ve looked forward to this moment.”
“Same here,” says Elle.
My father moves to stand before me as well. “Le Charme first.”
My next words feel torn from my soul. “I know.”
All this time, Elle and I have been pulling in fresh power for our next spell. There’s trouble, though. Elle may be powerful, but she doesn’t know how to wield her magic very well yet. And quickly recharging magic is a senior-level skill. Standing beside Elle, I can’t help but notice how there’s only a paltry amount of fairy dust encircling her fingertips.
I’m not much better off. In my mind, I reach out the midnight diamond.
Ready?
A rusty voice sounds in my head. The tone is distant and tired.
As I can be.
I’ve been through this before. My midnight diamond is about empty. Not that I’m shocked. It just took down fifty of the most powerful gem casters in the world.
This time, it’s Legend who launches the fight. “Destroy!” he cries.
Elle and I release our spells. Marchesa and Legend do the same. Sickly wisps of silver power wind up from Elle’s hands. My stone glows inside my palm. Then it falls dark. I didn’t even get a single tendril of magic out of the thing.
Meanwhile, Marchesa tosses her vial to the ground. The glass container shatters. A healthy column of blue smoke heads for Elle. The mist congeals into blue bands that tie up Elle’s hands, feet and neck. Elle topples over, gasping for breath.
A flare of white light erupts from Legend’s fist. The brightness vanishes. In its place, Legend now holds a gleaming and spear-like diamond.
My father thrusts the weapon into my chest. Pain erupts from my rib cage. I crumple to my knees. All the while, my focus stays on Elle.
She’s choking. I must save her.
As I crawl over to Elle, I’m barely aware of Marchesa and Legend glaring in my direction. Somewhere in the distance, my mother weeps. The weres and animates try to battle closer, but the potion masters throw magical explosions in their path. Bry and Knox’s wolf howls echo through the air.
Yet I can’t focus on any of that. Elle’s skin is turning a pale shade of blue.
I crawl forward. Blood pools on the floor around around me. Still, I drag myself to Elle’s side. The cords around her neck have turned into a thick sapphire-colored ribbon that perfectly matches the trimming on Elle’s gown.
Such a cruel touch from Marchesa.
With ever fiber of my soul, I wish to tear the blue cords from around Elle’s neck. I wiggle my fingers under the ribbon, but she’s only able to take in the barest of gasps. It won’t be enough.
My voice chokes with a sob as I force out a single word. “Sorry.”
“No,” says Elle through blue lips. “Happy.” Nothing but love shines in her bloodshot eyes.
I collapse onto my side and grasp her hand in mine. Elle’s skin is so cold. If this is my end, at least it’s with Elle.
A voice echoes across the studio.
“Stop!”
Suddenly, the cords falls free from Elle’s throat. The diamond spear vanishes from my torso. I pat my chest, finding no wound.
In shock, I scan the studio. Who stopped this, exactly? I quickly spy the speaker.
It’s the Queen of Hearts.