Magical Midlife Battle （Leveling Up, #8）(127)

She stayed there for a long moment as Hollace approached an upper part of the dome. Both of them backed off, though, not attempting to go through. Cyra must’ve thought it would kill her to make the attempt. She’d then be no help to the rest of us.

I tried elemental magic as she rejoined me, the top of my power scale. It acted similar to hers, blackening slightly but not seeping in. Maybe this was a power issue. Lesser power would be consumed by the spell, but higher-powered spells couldn’t be commandeered so easily.

Cyra hit it with fire, and I mixed in my magic, the two merging and striking the dome even as the color rapidly changed. We’d been fried at yellow, and red would be nearly impossible to pass.

Come on, come on, I thought as the blackened area formed a patch, the orange-red backing off to just orange.

That was it! We just needed more power.

I turned wildly, seeing the gargoyles in the sky watching, the shifters beneath them. So many beings counting on me. I wasn’t powerful enough, though. Not anymore. If I’d known where those

mages had been when the spell was yellow, I could’ve done something. I’d never make it through now, though, not if Cyra couldn’t.

But if Sebastian could lend his power and Hollace could figure out how to get his lightning in on the action, then together we might weaken an area enough for me to get through. If I could manage that, I could kill those mages. I’d just have to stay conscious just long enough to do so. That, and hope the spell came down fast enough for my people to provide some cover afterward.

I just had to find Sebastian quickly enough. He could be on the other side of the perimeter.

Roaring to get Cyra and Hollace’s attention, I turned to Nathanial to get going. He grabbed me quickly and flew in the direction I was pointing, hopefully understanding my garbled “find Sebastian.”

The dome stretched above us, burnished orange. Gargoyles waited, getting out of the way as we flew. Shifters watched us pass. I saw two more tarps, the movement beneath clear. Any one of them would do.

Adrenaline coursed through me, hope and fear mingling. We could do this. We could. If we worked together, we could keep this whole town from being destroyed. But only if we had enough time.

Heart hammering, I searched my connections for Trace, needing to find him fast. Sebastian would probably still be with him.

Nathanial slowed, ripping me out of my reverie, before turning around.

“Wh- at rrrrr ouuu do-ngg?” I asked, scrabbling to get free.

“He cccomzz,” Nathanial replied, adjusting his hold so I could stretch and look behind.

His wings and body mostly obscured my view, but in flashes I could pick out Tristan’s large form, coming fast, holding something. Sebastian.

Bless that weird mage. He’d figured out what it would take faster than I had, found the fastest gargoyle in our arsenal, and come to me.

Hope overtook my fear. Adrenaline still coursed through me, and with it, determination. When I dove through, I’d have to stay conscious long enough to claw out middles or rip off heads. I couldn’t pass out from pain like I had in that cave. I had to keep shields up for those guns, too, long enough to get the job done. After that, after the trap spell was ruined, I could give in to the pain, come what may.

We raced back toward our first location. I pointed to the tarp I’d noticed, and Nathanial’s wings tilted immediately. Cyra and Hollace kept pace. Tristan was still coming. He’d catch us by the time we got there, much faster than Nathanial.

The trap spell started to throb with energy. Tarps lifted, flung away, the mages standing up now as the sun peeked over the mountains. They probably thought they were far enough along in their spell to stop anyone from coming through. That, or they knew the darkness was no longer there to hide them.

Before this battle, we’d only come across male mages. Well, here were all the women.

Working in twos, or threes with one male stuck in, the mages held positions around the circle, working magic in harmony. They were a cohesive team, working together rather than selfishly hoarding power the way Sebastian had said most mages did. Momar had found the team that would elicit the most strength. Their ability to cooperate and share magic what was powering this spell.

Crap.

Magical gun blasts came at us as soon as we were within range, these people knowing their weapons to a T. The hyper-focused mages didn’t so much as glance at us. The nearest group had three.

I pushed away from Nathanial and flew toward the next group of two. Less work to do while trying to maintain consciousness.

I looked at Cyra as Tristan moved in to join us. Hollace flew overhead. She squawked, ready. I looked at Sebastian next.

“We need to do this together,” he called. “It’ll minimize the enemy spell’s power. Do it enough and we can make it through without dying. On the other side, one person will need to take out the mages and the others will need to provide cover. We—”

I knew all this. We were wasting time.

I motioned, readying a spell as Cyra shot her fire. I added to it, and Sebastian joined in a moment later. The three bursts of power converged as Hollace moved in closer. His lightning usually went straight down, so he had to find the right angle to get it to hit the spell where the rest of us were.

The color in that one section peeled back to red-orange as the rest of the spell pushed toward blood red. Then to orange. We needed Hollace’s boost. But he couldn’t get in there just right. He kept missing the mark, not able to add his power to ours. Tristan couldn’t help, and I had no idea where to find Nessa, let alone whether her magic would make a difference.