Careless Magic book 1

Chapter 29

The men surrounded us quickly with the roof's edge to our backs and readied themselves for battle. Four of the men were different from our first battle, I could tell that because their magic felt different. But one man stood apart, but familiar, the same man that escaped the forest before, and the same man that was in my dream last night. He stood directly in front of us clearly leading the attack.

Our bodies mimicked our attackers and we awaited an assault at any moment. Kiran positioned his body in front of mine as if protecting me; but the carnal instinct to fight flooded my veins. I cursed my short, tight, expensive dress underneath my breath.

"It's time for you to go Eden. This fight doesn't concern you," the leader of the men addressed me and I flinched when I heard him say my name. Murderous intent mingled with magic and I was completely focused on the looming battle; but something familiar about the leader forced me to second guess myself.

"I'll stay, if you don't mind," I growled through gritted teeth. I had no doubt that I would win this battle, although I was unsure yet of how I would succeed. Unlike the forest that was full of natural tools and props to use, the rooftop was bare and the fall to the ground below long.

"Get out of here," the leader growled back, surprisingly emotional. I wanted to believe that he was asking me to leave because of the powerfulness of my skills, but something deep inside told me it was for different reasons.

"Let her stay if she wants to fight," a different masked man, to my right taunted. "If she wants to try and protect the spoiled brat, let her," disgust filled his voice, and there was no doubt in my mind that he meant to kill Kiran.

"Eden, go. If they are willing to let you go unharmed, then go," Kiran commanded me. His magic was strong and I could feel the heat from his boiling blood radiate off of his skin. He was not going to give up this fight easily, but neither was I willing to let him. "What do you want with him?" I deflected Kiran's command and addressed the leader once again. Nothing in my body was willing to settle this dispute calmly; talking it out was only a decoy until I figured out what to use to my advantage.

"We want a new King," another cloaked figure to my left shouted. "A King who will give us our magic freely."

"A King who will let all of our people free," Another man roared louder. Their response was turning into their war cry.

"We want to destroy this bloodline and end the bloodshed and prejudice. We want what we were promised," the leader spoke softer, but equally as menacing.

And then the battle began. One of the men to my right let out a battle cry before shifting into a grizzly bear, towering over the still human rest of us. He crossed the distance between Kiran and himself in less than a second. I closed my eyes expecting the fight to be over before it began, but I heard the roar of the bear and opened my eyes to see that Kiran had eluded him.

Kiran was fast, much faster than the overly large bear; but he would not last long. Another man joined his companion, shifting into a chocolate brown wolf. Kiran used his skill and power, making it impossible for either attacker to touch him, but there were three other men closing in.

I focused my magic, making it palpable in my hand. The three men, who were apparently going to remain men, were circling Kiran waiting for the opportunity to strike. The men who chose to ignore me had made their first mistake. I threw the magic at them with force, sending out a type of pulse, knocking them off their feet and surprising them all.

Unfortunately for Kiran, I distracted him just long enough for the wolf to get a hold of his arm and bite down hard. He let out a shout of rage and threw the animal-man off of him and into the wall with such force that he crushed the red brick, sending shrapnel flying around him. He sunk to the ground before shaking his head and rejoining the fight.