Highland Sorcerer

  Shaw, Toren, and Charity cried out as one.

  Col, no. He couldn’t be gone!

  Vanished inside a rift. Just like that. It was still open. Maybe he could get back…

  Roaring, Shaw threw everything he had at Aldreth. Momentarily stunned, she reeled back, but quickly recovered and pummeled Shaw beneath successive streaks of magic.

  The young man was taking a beating, thrown to the ground, head and shoulders snapping to and fro as though hit by an unseen fist. He doubled over, hands and knees hit the ground just before he was flipped onto his back.

  Aldreth was killing him and no one had the strength to stop her. Charity pulled up to her knees. Wobbled. Every muscle in her body felt like she had just finished a major workout.

  Through the corner of her eye, she saw Toren run forward and was shoved back by the waves of magic coming off of Shaw like a backdraft.

  The rift Col had gone through suddenly groaned, shuddered, before extinguishing out. No, no, oh no, Col, he was gone.

  Toren’s anguished cry rent the air. He shot magic from him, only to have it whiplash back.

  Toren was a powerful and skilled enough sorcerer to fight Aldreth. Charity had felt the strength of his core. She believed in him, but he could not use his magic against Aldreth.

  He could not use his magic because of the damn spelled bands.

  Charity gasped and shoved to her feet again.

  He can't use his magic upon Aldreth, but maybe he could use hers.

  Before, when they'd used their magic together, Charity had drawn from Toren's reservoirs. First, when she had healed him and then the second time when she'd tapped into his magic to have enough to send her back to his time period.

  Here. Now. In this century, she had ten times as much magic of her own to rely on. Why couldn't Toren draw from her reservoir that was untouched by Aldreth's spell?

  Fueled by a new surge of adrenaline, Charity raced to Toren's side. He was on his feet, once more, fighting past the backlash of streaming magic to get to his remaining brother.

  Charity grabbed his arm and without an explanation, focused everything she had to pour into him. She had no idea if this would work.

  His face swung to hers and then dipped to her hand at the rosy light pooling around her fingertips. His eyes widened, brows rose.

  "Take it," she gritted out. "Use it against her."

  His jaw clenched. Message received.

  Toren's hand slipped over hers. Magic roared out of her in a heady rush. She swayed, felt her knees hit the ground, Toren's hand still gripped over hers, kneeling with her, his arm at her waist.

  Everything she was melted into him. Events replayed across her sight like a reel-to-reel projector running backwards.

  The flight through the forest, Col's light energy form stretched across the doorway, finding Toren in the dungeon, being carried over Shaw's shoulder, kneeling in her kitchen above a wounded Toren, slipping into his dream, back in the kitchen—the first time—using her magic to heal him, their magic weaving together, connecting them as one, the bonding between them…

  And wham! It was back.

  That connection, all that feeling, knowing another person inside and out, almost better than she knew herself…

  "Charity." He spoke her name like a fragile spell so weak the smallest breath might make it unravel.

  She looked up into his face and saw it all there in an expression of wonder.

  Her frozen heart stormed back to life.

  Toren smiled and nodded. Hands clasped, together they stood to face Aldreth, and Charity felt Toren stir her magic, shaping it into something new, something beyond the ability to heal, something lethal and focused.

  His arms flung out, bringing Charity's with his and a blinding spear of tourmaline light flew from between their clasped palms and…nothing.

  The magic shot out, she saw the purple streak, but then it was as though it turned into water and dissolved like sugar.

  Aldreth looked over her shoulder at them, smiled, and resumed her assault on Shaw. Dammit.

  Not knowing what else to do, Charity grabbed onto Toren’s wrist to try and undo the spell just as Edeen had tried before. She had no idea what the spell was, but she had to try something.

  Toren shifted up. He was going to tackle Aldreth physically again. He’d never make it. The witch would kill him with one blast. She’d gone mad, was out of her head. But she was killing Shaw too. Charity pulled back on Toren’s wrist, keeping him grounded, at the same time pushing all her senses into the band, searching for the puzzle to undo the spell.

  She felt the powerful spell used to lock it to Toren. It was a combination of blackness and evil, power imbued from demonic essences, riddled with death. It hurt to touch it. No wonder Toren couldn’t escape its magic.

  Who was she kidding? It would take her months to figure this out. Her talent did not lend itself to picking apart a crazy witch’s dark spell. Her gift was healing.

  Healing.

  Time seemed to slow. Charity pulled forth her gift, her magic to heal and let it flow into the band. Without looking, she grabbed onto Toren’s other wrist, sensing exactly where his hand was. Toren was still pulling away from her, but his movements were slow. No, time was slowing, everything distilled down to this one moment, this one happening. Healing magic spread into the bands, into the dark spell, flowing over the blackness like spilled wine. Her magic did not unravel the spell. Her magic healed it. It drew out the darkness the same as she would squeeze pus from an infected wound, drawing it out, out, away, and let it dissipate into the roiling angry air. Like seeks like. And there was so much darkness around them in the atmosphere for it to flee to. And when she was done, her magic withdrew, leaving the spell still a spell, but unrecognizable—a benign useless thing.

  The bands shriveled and fell from Toren’s wrists, husks of leather.

  Time resumed its natural speed.

  And Charity met Toren’s awed gaze.

  He took her hand, lifting their palms once more, and spewed out an enormous blast of blue-violet light that roared into Aldreth's back.

  The witch's hand flew up. The punishment she'd been pounding into Shaw sputtered and zoomed up into the sky.

  The young warrior listed sideways on his knees and slumped to the ground.

  Aldreth fell forward to her hands. She twisted around. A dark eyebrow arched. She glanced at Toren and Charity’s joined hands with disdain and shook her head.

  She stood up slowly and somewhat shakily and smoothed her hair back down. "I weary of these games. Come with me, Toren. Give me your magic and I'll let what's left of your family live." Her gaze slanted to Charity. "I'll also allow ye to keep your pretty plaything as a pet." She shook out her gown. "After all, your clan is gone. 'Twill just be you and I.” She smiled. “And your brother. He has hidden what he is all these years. I’ll enjoying unraveling his secrets.”

  Toren’s arm tensed along Charity’s.

  Aldreth looked down at Shaw. “We can salvage what's left of our magic together. With your clan taken from the world, all magic will fade. Can ye feel it lessening already? Surely ye do not want to live a life without magic? Come with me. Together we'll retain what we can, you and I."

  Geez. Charity scowled. The chick didn't know when to give up. Lady, you’ve been rejected. Get over it. "I don't think so."

  Aldreth's face hardened. Her hands lifted.

  And Toren zapped her off her feet. "You've brought enough ruin to this world."

  His magic spilled through Charity, undiluted and heady. Apparently they were still joined somehow. Together, she and Toren were formidable.

  He zapped Aldreth again. With the bands gone, Toren's magic was no longer restrained, yet he had not gone in for the kill.

  Aldreth's face crumpled, finally catching on to the danger.

  Toren moved forward, bringing Charity with him, entwined hands outstretched.

  Aldreth scrambled to the other side of Shaw and pulled his limp
body up to shield her. Shaw groaned. His head lolling, arms dangling.

  "Aldreth…" Toren warned. “Let him go and I will spare your life.”

  “You’ll spare me?” She tsked. “You would not give me what is rightfully mine, but he will. He will! We are not finished, you and I, Toren Limont.” Aldreth ran a hand through Shaw's dark hair and smiled. "Worry naught. I will take the utmost care with him. As I did for ye." She pressed her lips to Shaw's temple and in a brilliant flash, they were gone.

  Toren ran to the empty spot they'd just occupied and slashed a fist through the air. "Shaw!"

  Epilogue