Magical Midlife Invasion (Leveling Up 3)

I bit my lip, watching as they slowly, ever so slowly, worked their way to us. Did they think the intruders up front had distracted us enough for us not to notice them? Probably. For any normal small group of people, that certainly would’ve been the case.

I gestured behind me, not really needing the hand movement to direct the dolls or my magic, but it gave my brain a set place to focus.

The dolls took off right, drifting into the tree line quietly, knives clutched in their little hands, one of them climbing a tree and tootling across a branch to the next tree. I knew from experience that more would do the same.

“Austin.” I stood and put my hand to his shoulder again. “Send some people left to take out whoever they can and push the intruders into the middle. Our end goal is to get them to barrel toward the grass.”

He nodded and looked to his side, and the wolves and snow leopard led the others in keeping with my orders, which basically left Austin. Fine by me.

“Okay. Time to see if I can break this spell.” I jogged forward, the basajaun walking fast to keep pace, Austin behind us. A little ways in and Niamh skittered across a branch at about face height, nearly forcing a scream out of me. Mr. Tom sailed overhead, hidden by the darkness, directing the rest of the gargoyles to stay in line with me.

My heart rate increased as I wove through the trees, desperately trying to be quiet enough to sneak up on these people.

Something whistled. A paw hit my side, knocking me to the right. A spear shot through where I’d just been, smashing into a tree trunk.

Crap, they knew I was here.

I hit the deck, knees to dirt, catching sight of someone crouched twenty feet away. The person looked up, probably to tell her buddy where to aim the next spear.

My spell hit her center mass, exploding, shooting her and her buddy off their spots. Austin launched forward to the right and the basajaun took off left, both of them roaring, preparing to barrel into the crowd.

“No, no. I need to work at the spell. Damn it!” I hopped up and ran as well, straight ahead, Niamh keeping pace through the trees.

Mr. Tom dove in front of me, scooping someone up. His wings beat at the trees, a very tight fit. A jet of magic zipped right by his head, bright red light splitting the dark sky. Ulric dove, his wings tight to his body, snapping them open at the last second and slashing the mage who’d thrown the spell with the claws on his feet.

Niamh chittered beside me and yanked on my shirt. She hopped to the low branches, right where the dolls would be hunting. I blocked my connection to Mr. Tom, so he wouldn’t keep breathing down my neck, and ran after her. A jet of light followed me, and I quickly erected a 360-degree shield that would soak in the energy of any spells that hit it, saving the power to be unleashed when I needed it. That was, if it worked. I hadn’t tested this technique on anyone.

I plunged between two trees and turned right, nearly tripping on a doll. I grunted and jumped, kicking it a little before staggering to a stop. It lay on the ground, staring up at the dark sky with sightless eyes and a manic grin. I nudged it with a foot while trying to access it with my magic. Unresponsive.

What the hell? The one time I actually needed them to be scary, they’d suddenly become real dolls?

I felt Austin fighting, about as deep in the woods as I was now. Around me, though, there were no enemies covered in a blue glow. Maybe the dolls had already pushed them back.

I continued on, ducking to the right between a couple of trees and following a deer trail deeper in. It wasn’t for another couple of steps that I realized the only sound I could hear was my feet stomping along the path. My connections to Austin and Niamh had been severed, and I hadn’t done it.

I glanced down at my side, suddenly alone. Where had she gone?

Absolute quiet surrounded me, entirely unnatural right now, given two battles were underway in the vicinity. Confusion and fear stole my breath. I glanced back but didn’t see anything. I turned to look. Nothing. I bent, checking the ground. Looked up into the trees. Nothing. If Niamh was chittering, I couldn’t hear it.

“Hello.”

I jolted, glancing up. Where a moment ago I’d been completely alone, suddenly I wasn’t anymore.

A man stood between two trees in front of me wearing a white suit a little too tight in the stomach, with a white shirt underneath. His dark hair was parted on the right and slicked over, and his long mustache curled at the ends.