“You knuckle dragging swamp cunt, stop throwing fireballs at me!”

I didn’t plan on doing anything fancy with my hair anytime soon, but I’d like it to still be on my head. Thank you very much.

Another spell hurtled my way in response, only a quick dodge on my part stopping it from cleaving straight through my chest. White hot pain sizzled up my arm, spiking my irritation through the roof.

This is why I detest Exitium mages; always quick to throw fire at me.

Though, I suppose jealousy could play a role as well. Why should they get to throw destruction magic around as if it’s candy? Most of the ones I ran into had more power than sense as well. Because that absolutely made for a good combination, the ability to light people on fire and a complete lack of hesitation in using it.

Which wouldn’t be such a horrible thing if they weren’t flinging their spells at me most of the time.

“Ignis Fulmine!” The shout snapped me to the present with rude abruptness, just in time to dodge the lance of fire heading my way. Really, so far all he’d used was fire. Did he know anything else? Turning the boiling irritation in my veins on him, I sneered.

“Is this all you can do, throw the occasional spit of fire? Pathetic. You can cast one of the most lethal magic types and you choose to focus only on these amateur spells.”

If I’d been born lucky enough to have Exitium magic I would have branched out, learning everything I could get my hands on. My Auxilio magic came in handy on occasion, but it left me at a disadvantage in closed-quarters fights like this.

A blade of acid nicked my chin, pain just starting to seep in before I waved a hand over the injury and growled. “Restituere.” As fast as the wound came, it faded, only the scent of burnt skin remaining. See? Times like this it was useful, just not any other time.

Tensing for the next wave of attacks, I gripped my knives and prepared to jump on the first opening he gave.

My adversary stood half a foot taller than me, long brown hair pulled back with a tie, and magic danced at his finger tips. When he caught sight of my cleansing spell though, he paused, tipping his head like a dog would.

Then, realization dawned and he threw his head back to laugh. If you could call that a laugh, at least. To be honest it sounded more like a cliché super villain. When he didn’t stop after a minute, I rolled my eyes internally. What was it with Exitium mages and being bat-shit insane? Tired of waiting for him to make a move, I snarked.

“What exactly is so funny? Or do you find hurling student level spells at me hilarious?” Considering that’s what most mages–Exitium or otherwise–did when first meeting me, I guess it wasn’t totally out of the question. Of the mages I’d met over my years–when not in a public setting–only three percent reacted well to my presence.

Vladimir being the notable exception, as he usually was. Then again, the half orc necromancer had no room to throw stones, not with the virulent hatred our community had for him. Outcasts gotta stick together, right?

My adversary grinned maniacally, pulling my focus back to him and away from my ‘not a friend, but definitely not a stranger’. I really need to ask him one of these days just what we were, because booty call didn’t quite fit but friends didn’t either…

“I didn’t understand why you weren’t using attack magic, but now I see. You’re her. The Inutilis Mage. It must be my lucky day. When I bring your head to the council, I’ll be rich as a king.”

Now that caught my attention. Had those old farts finally decided to open their coin purses and pay to have me dealt with? Wouldn’t be surprising, though it would make life a bit more difficult for awhile. And more interesting. Shaking that to the side, I examined our surroundings, tuning out his babble.

The building we were in was practically designed to be a pain for me. All thin corridors and no room to dodge. Not to mention, if I wasn’t careful then the backlash of this idiot’s spells would hit the next room over. Usually that wouldn’t be a problem–let the fool burn the place down for all I cared–but I’d heard cries coming from that direction.

The kids I was here to save.

Considering he’d kidnapped them, it wasn’t a stretch to think he wouldn’t care if his reckless use of magic hurt them. Which meant it fell to me as the responsible and sane one to ensure their safety. Joy.

My knives vibrated with magic, the electric energy pulsing just under my skin as I mocked. “And why would they do that? They don’t like me, they’ve made that abundantly clear, but they’re also a bunch of greedy old crones. I can’t see them pulling money out of their pockets to have me dealt with.”

Not now at least. Back when my magic showed itself and nearly outed the entire mage race to prosaic people, then I could see it. If I hadn’t been protected by underage magic laws I probably wouldn’t still be alive, just for that reason. But for them to wait this long? To my knowledge, I hadn’t done anything particularly irritating to them lately. Aside from existing, but that went without saying.

“Oh, the council wouldn’t do that, you’re right. They’re money-grubbing bastards to the last, but are you so naïve as to think no one in our community would pay handsomely for your head? Families of people who died in your stunt as a teen come to mind and there are plenty of those.”

That ‘stunt’ hadn’t been intentional and led to me being chased from my home, hunted by everyone I knew and cared for. One would think I’d paid that penance by now.

But logic didn’t matter to people like this. Nothing I said would penetrate the delusion that he was a golden knight, doing the world a service by offing me. To say I detested his type was an understatement on par with ‘hell is merely a sauna for the damned to relax in’.

When I caught the crazed glint to his eyes though, I knew the fight wouldn’t continue much longer. Arrogant idiots like him were the easiest to kill, even with that pesky Exitium magic of his. I can already see the look on his face when he realizes the ‘Inutilis Mage’ bested him in combat. Satisfaction welled at the image, before I brushed it to the side.

For the sake of being somewhat morally decent, I wouldn’t dwell on that or how nice the thought was. Instead, I turned my focus back to him and smiled as if we were discussing the weather, my tone betraying the levity with condescending disgust dripping from every word.

“It’s always Exitium mages. I never wind up brawling it out with Auxilio or Divinus, no. That’d be too easy. I swear if it weren’t for Vladimir I would happily see all of you dead. Luckily for you and the rest of your magic type, he’s great in bed and an even greater guy out of it.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Not that bigoted fools like this would know how good of a man Vladimir was. He, like many others in the magical community, couldn’t see past the half orc blood running through Vlad’s veins. That same prejudice would be his end.

Easing back, I waited for my moment to strike while prodding. “It still doesn’t redeem the rest of you lot, but at least there’s hope for better out of some of you. Though, aside from him, you all make the same mistake when fighting me…so maybe there isn’t any hope.”

My adversary’s smile dropped into a hard line, the edges twitching up as arrogance and rage wafted off him. “And what mistake is that?”

His smile grated my nerves, but I soothed myself with the knowledge that soon it’d be gone. After all, the dead didn’t make facial expressions, irritating ones or otherwise.

Eyeing his posture, I poked again. Just a little more now. “You all underestimate me.” Like I expected, he threw his head back and laughed, giving me the opening I needed. Blurring into action, I whispered, “Festina.”

Magic sprang to my command, coating me in a thin, invisible cloak as I became near weightless. Not giving him a chance to react, I used my newly increased speed and lunged. His hands rose to cast another spell, only to freeze as I slid in close, burying both blades into his chest. Momentum sent us sprawling, my knees landing hard in his chest as we slammed into the ground. Glaring down at him in triumph, I snarled.

“You uppity, arrogant idiots seem to be under the impression I’ve survived this long by some kind of luck, but let me inform you of the truth, one that you all refuse to consider. I’ve survived through my own skills, the same ones that let me and my so-called ‘useless magic’ bury two blades in your chest before you could cast anything aside from a few measly fire spells.”

Well, Ignis Fulmine wasn’t a minor feat, but if it was the highest one he knew then he was far from being master level. Vladimir could cast a plethora of them, but that was to be expected from a triple master such as him.

Twisting my knives a bit, blood bubbled up between his lips as the expression I’d relished earlier came. Realization, then regret. If he’d taken me seriously as any self-respecting mage would have then he might have won. But that arrogance worked in my favor, so I wouldn’t sneer at it.

Not wanting to hear whatever pleas he might give, I yanked the knives a final time. A sickening squelch sounded as they sank into his chest cavity, the light leaving his eyes as he went limp. Pulling the blades out, I ignored the disgusting slide of blood and other things between my fingers, wiping them off on his shirt.

Why couldn’t my enemies die without me resorting to my blades? I was getting tired of picking all the nooks and crannies on them clean after every fight.

Discarding the familiar complaint, I spared a glance toward the room I’d heard cries coming from. Seraphina hadn’t offered any details on what was going on, only telling me to be here as soon as possible. Considering the spell happy idiot I’d just killed it wouldn’t surprise me if choosing to take the journey slow would have cost one of the children their lives.

Trailing a long look over the blood still dripping from my hands, I considered my options. Should I walk into the room full of children as I was, blood and other things oozing off me, potentially scarring them for life?

One glance down to the body at my feet made the decision for me. Nope.

Hefting the dead weight–ha, dead weight–over my shoulder, I breezed to the window and promptly dumped him out of it. Since I was actively trying not to scar the kids for life–more than they probably already were–getting rid of the body that could pass for a morgue’s failed dissection was a good first step. Another look at the blood coating my hands told me what my next one would be.

Walking to the bathroom, I ran water over my hands until the liquid became clear. Whistling to myself, I dried off on my pants and headed for the other room.

“Anyone here?” I called and immediately four cries answered, confirming my assumption that there was more than one child here. I hadn’t had a chance to investigate before my adversary tried to use me for fiery target practice.

Stepping into the room, my blood ran cold at the picture waiting for me. Four children, all blonde, stared with wide, fearful eyes as they cowered in the corner. A rope tied them to the bed–the only piece of furniture in the room–and the similarity to how one would treat cattle sparked a frothing rage I struggled to suppress.

No scaring the kids more than they already are.

My resting bitch face was legendary even when I wasn’t in a bad mood. Adding in how stabby I felt at the moment…I could probably make an adult piss themselves in fear if I tried. Forcing a deep breath, I prayed I managed an at least somewhat comforting smile as I soothed.

“I’m here to save you, the bad man outside is gone and I’ll be bringing you all home now.”

Of the four of them, the older three children relaxed, but the youngest flinched back, the girl’s eyes shiny with tears as she sniffed. “How do we know you’re not with him?”

Smart of her, being suspicious of a so-called rescuer. Under other circumstances I’d appreciate that in another person, but right now it was working against me. Racking my brain for anything that could put them at ease, I went over the information Seraphina had given–not much, damn her–only for an idea to hit.

Kneeling to be at their level, I spoke. “Your grandparents hired me to find you. You’re Tina, right?”

For all that’s holy in the universe, let me have remembered this one name correctly.

Seraphina only mentioned it once while shoving the tracking potion into my hands, and I was bad with names even with repetition.

“The kid’s name is Tina and the details aren’t important. What is important is that there are children that need saving and you need to hurry or there will be dire consequences. Think you can do that, Buttercup?”

The lack of any real information was frustrating, but I guess I should be used to it by now. Seraphina followed the stereotype for seers being picky with what information they chose to part with. She’d always been that way and I doubted it would change anytime soon.

Thankfully the girl perked up, inching out of the corner as hope lit her eyes. “That’s me. My gramma sent you?”

Well, sort of. Technically her grandmother sent Seraphina, but I was better suited to jobs like this and we both knew it. Better to not confuse the kid though. Nodding, I stood, grimacing at the cracks ringing through my knees.

Ugh, some days I felt every single one of my three hundred years.

Forcing aching muscles to move, I cut the kids loose before waving them out the door. “Let’s get out of here, shall we?”

Four sets of eyes stared at me, then the room burst into a flurry of movement. Tiny bodies latched onto my waist, hands grabbing as they tried to talk over each other, dozens of questions raining down as I froze.

Panic surged, the hands tugging on me too similar to past beatings, before I shoved it down. Raising my hands, I said. “All questions can wait until we’re somewhere safe and please, don’t touch me. Hold hands with each other if you want, but I need to be able to react at a moment’s notice and I can’t do that with you clinging to me.”

And if they kept it up I’d probably drop straight into a flashback, something none of us could afford right now.

Thankfully the kids backed down, releasing their respective grips. My relief was short lived though, because hardly a second later Tina took hold of my pants. A trail of children lined up behind me and I just knew Seraphina would die laughing if she saw this.

Well, as much as she could see anything…

Chuckling at the pun that definitely would have gotten me slapped had Seraphina been here, I let the amusement drain away into resignation. One hand was better than eight, I’d just have to deal with the discomfort.

“Fine, just…try to stay nearby.” With that, we set out. Every step I took was mimicked by the children behind me, the hair on my neck standing to attention at their closeness. Biting back the urge to snarl at them to give me some space, I forced my nerves under control and moved for the exit.

Today had started with an urgent call from Sera and had so far contained: nearly getting blown up by an Exitium mage, getting my knives filthy again, and now I’d acquired four human ducklings that’d imprinted on me.

And it wasn’t over yet. With how things were going it was only a matter of time before Big Foot or the Easter Bunny made an appearance too. As soon as the thought came, I binned it. With my luck they would show up, if for no other reason than to hump my leg. Better to not tempt the Lord above when I was already in a precarious position.

Looking over my shoulder at the children, I braced for the trip ahead, only for one of the boys’ voices to freeze me in place, dread dragging claws down my spine.

“I have to pee…”

Oh, by the seven hells.