Corruption (Grumpy Old Wizards Book 2) (25 page)

The fourth dagger smashed into Jake’s shield which collapsed and only partially deflected the attack. The knife sliced his shoulder before it dropped to the street. Blood oozed down his arm as his knees crashed into the pavement. Adrenaline flooded through Josephine as she rushed over to her grandson and slipped two of her protection pendants around his neck and activated them. Josephine pointed her wand at the manhole cover and lifted it as she kicked the dagger across the street into the hole. She saw Lorcan rising to his feet and he’d brought up his backup shields. Josephine let the manhole cover drop and unleashed the power in both her wands in time to meet Lorcan’s next assault. The two streams of sickly green energy struck Josephine’s blue ones with only half a dozen feet to spare. She stepped a couple feet to the side and backward as if in retreat. Lorcan stalked closer as he sensed a victory coming.

The manhole cover leapt up then came crashing down as the dagger beneath tried to strike Jake but remained trapped. The other three daggers tore into Josephine’s shield. She stumbled backward and activated her backup protection. Unfortunately, she’d given half of it to Jake. Her wands fizzled out and sickly green energy from Lorcan’s wand raked against her shields, causing them to flare up with flashes of green and silvery white. Josephine dropped her wands and pulled out two more. Her shields threatened to collapse so she unleashed two more streams of blue energy that shoved back Lorcan’s attack. Several seconds later, his own wands ran dry and the blue streams of light raked across Lorcan’s shield. Instead of pulling out more wands, he grabbed several round stones a bit larger than marbles and rolled them toward Josephine. They only traveled half the distance between the two before they came to a stop. Crimson red smoke billowed from the rocks and rushed towards Josephine. She directed the blue lightning at the three stones and destroyed them. The red smoke dissipated before it reached her.

Lorcan’s face transformed in rage as he whipped out a couple more wands. Josephine wondered how many more of those damned things he had left. Blue lightning met red and bright sparks of light exploded where the two met. When Josephine’s wands fizzled out, she pulled out her last two as quickly as possible. She unleashed the power in them just as her shield buckled. She was defenseless against any more attacks. Josephine backed away from Lorcan with care so she stood closer to a silver sedan parked nearby. She leapt behind the car as she halted the flow of power from her wands. The knives hurtled toward her but she’d kept her awareness on their magic and had sensed the precise instant they would activate. They rushed harmlessly past her as green lightning raked across the car that now stood between her and Lorcan. The metal of the sedan dented and the windshield shattered. Josephine remained in a kneeling position even when the attack halted.

“Come out of there right now or I’ll kill Jake,” Lorcan shouted.

Josephine’s eyes widened as cold terror washed over her. She didn’t hesitate in standing to her full height and stepping out from the shelter of the silver car. Lorcan’s thin lips curved with satisfaction as he sensed his impending victory. His wands were still pointed at Jake who was lying near the sidewalk with a dazed look in his eyes. A pool of blood had gathered beneath Jake’s left shoulder. Josephine blinked her eyes to clear away the tears misting her vision then turned to face Lorcan who aimed both his wands at her. He fired two more streaks of crimson lightning that sailed towards her. Just before they struck, a wall of sparkling white energy materialized in front of her and blocked the deadly attack. The sickly red energy flashed and sparked wildly against the new protection which was circling Josephine and stretched off quite a distance behind her like a corridor. She turned to find Mark striding towards her at the end of the energy field. As he approached, the hallway-shaped shielding shrank as it was no longer needed. Josephine walked towards him until the radiant white energy field formed a large sphere around them.

Josephine smiled with giddy relief. “Thank you for stepping in. That was perfect timing.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

“Is this Arabella’s protection amulet at work?” Josephine asked.

“Yes.” Mark’s brown eyes registered sudden concern. “We need to protect Jake.”

Josephine turned and saw Lorcan aim both his wands at her grandson. Mark shoved his hands forward so his palms faced outward towards Jake. The sparkling light energy of the sphere lunged in that direction to form a passageway again. Josephine held her breath as Mark’s protection and Lorcan’s deadly red lightning rushed for Jake. An instant later, the two spells collided and Lorcan’s magic was deflected. Josephine and Mark walked over to Jake so that the shield could shrink down to a sphere again.

“What you can do is amazing,” Josephine leveled an impressed look at her boyfriend.

“Right back at you,” Mark said.

Lorcan’s face reddened as it contorted with rage. He unleashed two more red streaks of energy that raked across Mark’s shield. When the wands fizzled out, Lorcan pulled out two more and continued his attack. He moved closer to the three of them. Josephine summoned energy and held her hands out in front of her to strike out with a telekinetic wave.

“You can’t fire back. My shield stops all magic going in or out,” Mark warned.

“Really?” Josephine frowned at the white energy field in front of her.

Lorcan took up a position about a dozen feet away as he continued firing at them. Josephine moved closer to Mark so her lips brushed his ear. He shivered reflectively and shot her a questioning look.

“Is there any way to fire back at all? Can we use white magic maybe?” Josephine whispered.

“There’s no such thing as offensive white magic,” Mark murmured.

“How did you find me?”

“There was a report of a terrorist attack on the police station. It was on the news,” he replied.

“That means you didn’t use your teleportation enchantment to get here,” Josephine said with a sense of renewed hope. “Do you have it with you now?”

“Yes, I do.” Mark’s brown eyes reflected his surprise. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Can you take both Jake and I? I know white magic is stronger but I couldn’t get all the details with my psychometry,” Josephine admitted.

“I’m not sure. I can’t read things like you do. I’ll only know after I’ve tried,” Mark said.

“What will happen if you can only take one person? Will we all teleport and only travel a portion of the distance to where we want to go or will it just not work?” Josephine asked.

Mark’s brows furrowed with thought. Lorcan continued to fire relentlessly at the white magic protecting the three of them. Josephine was starting to get nervous again. She knew that source energy was exponentially stronger than anything else but she feared that Mark’s protection couldn’t withstand much more.

“Do you have any idea how much time we have here?” Josephine asked.

“From what I know about teleportation, if I try to bring extra passengers when I don’t have the capability, they’ll be left behind. There would be no way of knowing which one of you would get stuck here until after I’m already gone.”

“Damn!” Josephine glared at Lorcan and wished she could just knock him out somehow. She turned to face Mark again. “I want you to take Jake to the hospital.”

“I can’t leave you here!” Mark protested.

“Sure you can. I’ll take care of Josephine,” Lorcan interjected.

Josephine leaned closer to Mark so she could whisper in his ear. “You’ve already activated the protection enchantment. Slip it over my head and it will continue to keep me safe once you’re gone.”

“I can’t abandon you!”

“I need Jake to live,” Josephine said with anguish. “Please, help me save him. Source magic is stronger than anything. I’ll be fine.”

Josephine knelt down beside Jake. His skin was incredibly pale and he’d slipped into unconsciousness during the struggle. She swiped away the tears that dribbled down her face. Mark heaved a frustrated sigh.

“All right! I’ll do it!” he said.

He slipped the protection amulet over her head then grasped Jake’s hand. Mark’s terrified gaze locked with Josephine’s. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

“I love you, Josephine. Stay safe,” he said.

“You, too,” Josephine murmured.

Mark and Jake vanished in the blink of an eye. The white energy sphere shrank now that Josephine was the sole occupant. Lorcan laughed as he whipped out a couple more wands.

“Do you really think you can bring this thing down?” Josephine asked.

“Everything has its limit.” Lorcan’s intent gaze remained fixed on her as more deadly energy gushed from the wands and smashed into the protective shield.

Josephine ran past Lorcan down the street and heard him curse savagely as he pursued her.

“I’m going to kill you!” he shouted.

“Whatever you say, Toadstool,” Josephine called back.

She made sure not to travel in a straight line and to change course unexpectedly. Lorcan was forced to fire at her in short bursts now. Soon, a red mist came into view and it completely obscured the police station. Josephine couldn’t believe the spell was still active. She had hoped the parking lot was clear so she could escape in her car but it was still hidden in the mist. Josephine’s legs started to burn as she passed the station. She wasn’t used to jogging without the aid of a power vortex and it really made a difference. She glanced behind her and saw that Lorcan had fallen behind quite a ways. He glowered at her and launched another attack that was easily deflected by her shield. Josephine dashed into a nearby Mexican restaurant which was devoid of any customers due to the scary spell embracing the police station. Josephine continued running as she dashed madly across the large room to the hallway. An instant later, the front door crashed open as Lorcan burst into the restaurant. Josephine’s protective field was still visible and she supposed that another disadvantage to white magic was that she could hardly move about unnoticed while it remained active. It emitted a soft, electronic hum which she hadn’t noticed earlier but it wasn’t loud enough to be heard from a distance.

Josephine slowed her pace as she emerged in the kitchen area. Large workstations occupied most of the room with counters approximately five feet tall surrounding her in rows. She ducked behind one of them so she wouldn’t be visible from the doorway. She didn’t see an exit back here but saw another hallway at the far side of the room. She moved down the aisle to the next and made her way toward the hall. She wanted to shout with frustration when Lorcan’s breathing reached her ears and his sneakers squeaked on the tiled floor. She was glad she had the foresight to stay out of sight so at least he couldn’t be sure if she’d reached the kitchen or slipped out of the restaurant completely.

“I know you’re here,” Lorcan said as if reading her mind.

Josephine bit her lower lip to keep from issuing a sharp retort. There was absolutely no way he could possibly realize where she was. Lorcan drew closer and occasionally his shoes squeaked on the kitchen floor. Josephine tracked his movements and came to the conclusion he was crossing over toward the hallway. She realized that logically, the only places she could have escaped to was the kitchen or one of the restrooms. Lorcan hadn’t had time to check them so he must have determined she’d try to slip out rather than hide. Josephine swiftly crept over to the space between the two counters and pressed herself tight against the edge. She was hidden from view but her shield would make her stand out like a beacon if he passed her by on either side of the counters. Several seconds later, the squeak of his sneaker indicated he was about a dozen feet away. She couldn’t tell if he was on this aisle or the next but it was definitely to her right so she slipped out from her spot and moved to the left of the long counter.

A long silence ensued and Josephine waited for another squeak of Lorcan’s shoes. After a long moment, she knew something must have happened. She remained still and unmoving as she wondered what on earth he was doing. A frying pan slid off the counter just to her left and crashed into the floor with a reverberating bang that made her flinch. Green lightning bolts danced across her shield and she looked up to see Lorcan kneeling on the counter above her. She rolled to the side and the energy smashed into the floor where she’d been a second ago. Josephine stood up and dashed across the room towards the doorway. She reached out toward a pan resting nearby but her shield knocked it off the counter. She sighed with frustration. It would have been nice if she could at least grab something so she could throw it over her shoulder at Lorcan and maybe slow him down a little. Green bursts of energy struck her shield again.

Josephine ran past the door and down the hall. Her gaze rested on the restroom doors for just an instant as she briefly considered hiding out in one of them. She shrugged that thought aside because she would trap herself with nowhere to move if she did that. Josephine emerged in the dining area and wondered how Lorcan had found her. As she left the restaurant, she realized he must have heard the faint hum of her shield. There was no way to elude him unless she could become absolutely silent. The door crashed open behind her as Lorcan dashed outside. Josephine wondered if she should run into another store and take off the pendant. Without it, she might have a shot at hiding. Josephine suddenly realized it had been a long time since the daggers had struck which meant they were drained of power. At least that was one threat she could scratch off her list. Green sparks flared around her as Lorcan hit her shield again.