Chapter 14 — Humfrieens

Three shadow pixies flitted into the room on wings sharp as razors to join the one who had struck Lana in the chest and barreled her to the floor.

The four wild fae screeched at near subsonic levels. They were small, each only the size of a house cat, but far more powerful than they looked. They had bulbous grey-skinned bodies and looked like sickly miniaturized humanoids with wings that darted about the room at the speed of diving falcons.

“Fren!” I called out as I gathered my will and slammed the door shut with my arm. Power flooded my body like a surge of adrenaline which I was surely feeling too. My hesitation only lasted for a moment, fortunately, I’d laid the groundwork for defensive spells in the building. I considered running to where I could activate the more aggressive ones. But no, that would leave Lana exposed for far too long. My baseline spells to reinforce the building and hamper these creatures would be in effect, and it would have to be enough. This was my home turf.

I changed course, sprinting toward Lana. She lay stunned and the little creature that had struck her was busy pulling a small dagger free from a black leather sheath at its side. It was a fae blade, made of some blackish metal reminiscent of obsidian. I arrived just as the creature struck, the small three-inch blade seeking Lana’s heart. I didn’t hesitate and punted the fae like I was kicking a soccer ball. The effect was devastating on the little creature atop her chest, likely killing it instantly as its body flipped through the air into the far recesses of my shop.

Its three remaining companions let out screeches of blinded rage. Each diving towards me seeking retribution. I summoned my will, focused my power, and crafted a solid shield ward around us with a word. I didn’t yet have the control to simply shield one direction so a rough, dome surrounded us. To anything nonmagical it would appear invisible but as the creatures struck, it flared in iridescent greens and reds. The fae creatures howled in miniature fury as they were tossed back.

Sweat broke out on my forehead with the effort of the spell. Shields were exceptionally draining, and I wasn’t only opposing their attacks. My shield extended down into the floor and under us wasting something like 90 percent of the energy and as strong as most of my spells were, it wasted a lot. Magical refinement and conservation of power came with years of practice and meticulous spell crafting.

I stood—furious, holding my shield strong as the strain built. One of these little buggers had tossed Lana halfway across the shop with its sheer strength. Without biological magical reinforcement, attempting something like that for such a small creature should have killed the fae outright. It hadn’t, that showed how strong the little bastards were. Their strikes were harder to repel than a bullet would have been, due to their mass and inherent strength, in time they would have overwhelmed my shield. Luckily, I wasn’t alone as the barrage continued against the barrier.

Fren silently rose from the far stairwell. His normally calm demeanor shifted into a silent snarling rage. His body contorted into one of his many battle forms. He stooped like a hulking human, with overly long arms that nearly dragged on the floor, broad shoulders, and strong legs. He nearly made it to us to strike unseen on the pixies but one of them spotted the new threat and gave a screech of alarm. The attack against my spell relented as all three pixies took flight towards the ceiling to regroup.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I turned to check on Lana and saw her shocked face as she watched them buzz away, eyes large. The fae were enough of an oddity but adding in Fren and my own magic would mean Lana might not handle the next few moments well. She had a small, ragged wound across her sternum where the dagger had gained some purchase before I kicked the creature away, but it didn’t look too serious. Still, I should have been faster.

I released my shield as anger boiled up in me and my magical power surged. Strong emotions like fury, love, lust, confidence, resolve and even fear could magnify spells. They pulled more direct energy from the mind and soul; overriding calm logic and thought. They served to enhance my power like a short-lived catalyst, but it could impact spells in unpredictable ways.

Lana moved, scrambling back from me, Fren, and the creatures. I wanted to explain, to let her know everything would be okay—but now wasn’t the time.

There were still threats.

Fren elongated his forest-growth fingers, trying to trap one of the creatures in one corner of the room. He was assisted by a potted plant in that area which grew dozens of times its normal size, blocking escape paths for the fae with questing vine like tendrils. Fren would catch the enemy in moments.

Unfortunately, the other two were still free. One swooped down to Fren’s back, scoring a small cut across his wooden body. Fren gave no sign of pain, he was strong in his own right, so I focused on the other coming at me.

I summoned my will. I had some skill in all the basic elements. Higher powers like dark, light, life, and death were more difficult, but I had enough juice to be a full fledge wizard. Fortunately for me, most of my power was earth-focused and we were in a building made of stone, wood, and brick.

I focused my will on a brick high up in the wall desiring it to be my cudgel. “Mot!” I shouted, and the brick, broke free of its grout and flew rapidly at the flying fae. It crushed into the creature who spun out of control, grabbing onto one of the shelves full of crystals and knocking the whole thing over as it thrashed to the floor. The crash rang out, precious gemstones and wood splintered and skittering across my shop.

My spell also had the unintended effect of shattering every lightbulb in the room. Glass shards rained down as we were plunged into darkness with at least one pixie of shadow still alive if Fren had managed to kill his target. My eyes adjusted to the faint moonlight streaming through the windows, I saw Lana was standing and had grabbed a crystal in one hand as an impromptu weapon. My spell had also been enough to kill the two streetlights ringing the front street of the store, it probably also broke things in the next shop over which shared a wall with mine. Oops. Jeff who owned the shop next door was going to be pissed.

Lana moved to stand a few feet away on my left side as we listened intently.

I heard the flittering buzzing of the pixie’s wings whirling above in the shadows as it darted about us. The one thrashing on the floor from my brick strike had gone silent, either it was dead or had taken flight again but towards Fren. I ducked as the tone of pixie wings shifted in pitch. Instead of losing an eye I received a deep cut across my brow.

Pain and fury lanced through me, as I lost my calm. I had no way of knowing if Lana was also being attacked or if the next strike might cut something vital.

“Mot!” I yelled, green light playing about my fingers and hands as I focused on the hundreds of rocks in my shop. I sent them all skyrocketing toward the ceiling like a massive shotgun blast. Rocks shattered on the roof, which was the wooden floor of my room. The noise was unbearably loud as everything stuck at once.

I wasn’t sure where the pixies had been, but my attack had been thorough enough to end whatever they had been scheming. They were probably little more than pulp somewhere in the shop or plastered on the roof.

A rage-filled pain flooded my head as the cost of expending so much power in a single spell crashed into me. I’d overreached—which could have life-threatening consequences. I fell to the ground, adrenaline, and power fading. I tasted blood and my head swam.

“Cal? Cal!” Lana yelled, coming to my aid on the floor. My head was clouded but I needed to let her know Fren was a friend.

“Humfrieens,” Or something near to that was all my mouth and brain were able to piece together before I blacked out.