Magic Resistant (2 page)

That and no one wanted to become the subject
of the next possible reality TV show. Julia could just imagine the
horrible offerings. For a fetish sex show -
Enforcers, Whips and
Magic
. Maybe a police procedural –
CSI: Enforcers
. Or a
dating show –
Werewolf Meets Mage or Vampire Wants a
Millionaire.

Mentally chuckling at her own silliness, she
then chided herself for not paying attention. She wanted the
respect of her peers. Woolgathering wouldn’t help. Capturing
Jackson would.

“Tracer spell active?” Markus asked Julia.
“Don’t want to waste my time if he’s not here anymore.”

“Yeah, I have it going. I feel him. I’m
surprised he hasn’t managed to shield himself. You know, it might
be a trap.” Worried at how effortless it’d been to pinpoint him
once in the building, she double checked the thread of magic
linking her and Jackson. No hint of redirection or weakness. It’d
found him with ease.

Drilled constantly, Enforcers knew how to
throw off a location spell and how to shield against them. Only a
newbie would make such a mistake which Jackson certainly wasn’t.
Being tracked meant capture or death.

“You told me you modified the tracer spell.
Can’t unravel what he doesn’t know. Come on. Let’s go before humans
start filling up this place.” Without waiting for a response,
Markus strode towards the stairs and pushed open the door.

Julia stifled any complaints, refusing to
embarrass herself by whining, and started up the stairs. Easier
cardio exercise than usual, fifteen flights would still burn on the
way up. Thankfully, the Enforcers had a strict policy on daily
workouts both for physical stamina and for weapons training.

She was going to need it today.

This was the first mission Markus allowed
Julia to join that wasn’t swarming with backup. Before, she was
just one extra person, lost in the sea of mature, seasoned
Enforcers. Here, she
was
the backup. It was time to show her
superiors she could handle tough situations, that she wasn’t an
immature child so many thought she was. Many felt her talents were
lacking, that she was average in so many ways. Markus was taking a
great chance bringing her along even if they didn’t capture
Jackson.

Ah, Jackson, the one person who managed to
elude the Enforcers the longest. A fugitive for the past year for
crimes of conspiracy and trafficking dangerous demonkin, not a
single Enforcer had come close to capturing him, not even the
infamous Markus. Julia had read the brief file on Jackson, citing
his unknown birth parents, his talents in summoning and the
accolades from his professors at the Mage Enforcer academy. He had
spent the past five years as a Mage Enforcer, since his graduation
out of the junior ranks, making a name for himself in capturing
rogue demons.

Stairs became a blur as they swiftly jogged
upwards. Within minutes they reached their destination,
15
written in bold numbers on the drab grey door. Julia took a deep
breath to help steady the adrenaline rushing through her body. She
hugged the wall on the left side of the door, waiting for Markus to
give the all-clear. She used hand signals, telling him of Jackson’s
location to the right.

Giving the all-clear, Markus signaled for
Julia to enter. Brown doors lined either side of the hallway in
neat rows, plain beige carpet on the floor and a light cream colour
on the walls. Shoulder pressed tight against the left wall, she
closed her eyes for a moment to get a better fix on his location.
Bringing up four fingers, she motioned to the right. Markus nodded
and whispered words too low for her to understand.

Whipping her head around, she stared at
Markus, wondering what he was casting. His black eyes took on an
eerie glow as he pulled energy into himself, readying a spell. He
released it with a quick finger flick and pointed at Julia.

What an odd time for defensive spells, she
thought, blinking in surprise. They’d casted all the required ones
while outside the building.

Her mind went blank as darkness reached up to
engulf her, yanking her into sleep.

YELLING AND SWIRLING smoke greeted Julia when
she forced her eyes open. The acidic smell tickled her nose and she
fought off the urge to sneeze. Taking inventory of the aftereffects
from the sleep spell, she cursed Markus. What in the nine hells was
he thinking? Was he afraid she’d be a liability? Why bring her
along at all if that’s what he thought?

She lightly smacked her head (and whimpered
when it triggered a starburst of pain) as she realize her modified
tracer spell was the only one correct in tracking Jackson. They’d
been close to him once before thanks to it and no one except Markus
knew about it. He must have wanted to use the spell, but still keep
her safe from Jackson.

Damn his overprotective hide.

He, however, wasn’t aware she had a
resistance to all magic cast upon her. One other person knew this
tidbit and he was excellent at keeping things hidden. Defensive
spells had a shortened life span. Offensive spells hurt a lot less.
And, even better, it was harder to trap her using magic. All of
which meant the magic-induced sleep appeared to have lasted for 30
minutes or so instead of the normal hour.

Her head fuzzy, she tried to stand but
promptly fell back down. She cursed the pounding in her skull and
squeezed her eyes shut. When she peeled her lids apart again, she
saw a figure rushing toward her. She couldn’t make out who it was.
Smoke continued to pour out of an open door, fourth one on the
right, and all the lights were off in the hallway. Glass from the
blown fluoresce bulbs crunched underfoot as he rushed pass.

“Markus? What’s going on? Is the building on
fire?” Her brain kept misfiring and her legs wouldn’t obey. She
felt mired in mud, sludge coating her thoughts and movements.

A startled curse muffled by the fire alarm
and the figure whirled around. He'd almost made it to the stairwell
exit, but quickly backtracked to her. Grabbing hold of her arm, he
helped her up and practically dragged her to the stairwell.

“Hurry up. We have to get out of here. That
idiot is releasing the Devouring Plague. It’ll eat everything
organic on this floor.” Smoke, and possibly yelling, made his voice
hoarse and unrecognizable.

Her mind caught up with his words and fear
shivered up her spine. The Devouring Plague was the deadliest of
spells and destroyed everything in its path while active. Usually
it lasted less than a minute, but she heard tales of it consuming
an entire army of thousands in such a short amount of time. The
more it ate, the faster it spread. Of course, the tales could have
exaggerated the death toll since the victor was the one telling the
tale. She didn’t want to find out firsthand.

MUMBLING TO HIMSELF, Jackson swiftly went
through the complex gestures to create enough energy to open a
doorway into Fay. The fabric between the two worlds stretched thin
and ripped apart, showing a dark forest through the portal. Light
filtered strangely through the leafy branches and a small,
overgrown trail was barely visible through the underbrush.
Scattered throughout Earth were doorways between the two worlds
that could be opened if one knew how.

Jackson had made the point of learning how
and, through practice, was quite efficient at it. As a bolt hole,
they proved invaluable, so long as he avoided the locals.

Impatiently, he prodded the woman over the
threshold. She stumbled and fell to her knees on the grass.
Shrugging off the fleeting sense of shame, he followed after her.
Whirling around, he sealed the portal and sighed deeply, frustrated
at the change of plans. Jackson shook his head to clear it,
muttering about unneeded complications.

With a ten minute hike ahead of them through
Light Fay forest, they needed to leave immediately before the
creatures noticed the breach. Most portals between the two worlds
had an alarm system and guardians would arrive soon. Fighting Fae
creatures was never advisable, even with iron weapons, which he
didn’t have. They hit hard and fast and were nearly impossible to
kill, especially in their own world.

Stepping behind the woman, he put his hands
under her armpits and lifted her up. Her head came to just below
his nose, making her a scant few inches above five feet as he was a
few inches from six feet. The high ponytail tickled his face and he
involuntarily inhaled the scent of her shampoo. Mmm, strawberries.
Growling from his stomach reminded him it was nearing breakfast
time.

Her rigid back to him, she refused to look
his way. A sweeping glance told him she worked out, judging by her
toned biceps and the readiness of her stance. His eyes lingered on
her ass and hips and he wished she’d worn tighter jeans.

Dragging his mind back to the issue at hand,
he tried to figure out who she was. No one else should’ve been on
that floor other than, perhaps, security. She certainly didn't
dressed like security, nor was she in an Enforcer uniform. She did,
however, have an empty shoulder holster and a blasting rod dangling
from her belt.

Was she with Markus? He could’ve sworn his
presence there had been unknown, and yet Markus found him.

He pushed the question to the back of his
mind, to mull over once they were in less hostile lands. Now, it
was time to move.

The sun glinted off the upper foliage,
blinding him after the darkness of the office building. He squinted
against the radiant light, waiting for his eyes to adjust.
Brilliant yellow, green and blue leaves coated the sky, beautiful
and deadly, hiding any number of ravenous creatures.

The air honey sweet, enticing the
unsuspecting to stop and relax. A hint of rot hid amongst the
cloying scent, a warning to those foolish enough to linger.

Pushing her roughly on the shoulders, they
ventured into the thick brush.

Branches grasped at their hair and clothes,
greedy for exposed skin. Using his jacket for protection, he
reached over her head and held branches as she stepped deeper into
the overgrown trail.

It wouldn’t do for the land to get a taste of
their blood.

Chapter Two

SQUASHING THE
HICCUPING sob, Julia refused to let fear take hold. Rarely was she
parted from Markus while on assignment. Even then, she had other
Enforcers with her. This situation was outside her realm of
comfort. Then again, comfort wasn’t the motto for Enforcers and
neither was crying like a baby. Years of training stiffened her
backbone as she assessed her situation.

Now trapped in Fay with an unknown person,
she needed an escape plan, maybe a distraction. She berated herself
for foolishly ignoring him. She knew he was a mage which gave her
some sense of comfort. Spells wouldn’t cause her any lasting harm
and tilted the odds in her favour. He wouldn’t suspect her of magic
resistance.

No one did. Thank goodness for that or she
would’ve lost her head, literally, years ago. Beheading, the
favoured method for dealing with her kind.

Unbidden, an old memory, one she tried hard
to bury clawed its way to the surface.

A fountain of blood, long blond hair flying
in the air and a headless body dropping at her feet.

Refusing to lose herself in the pain, she
forced the image away, needing all her wits to get out of this
alive and back to Markus.

Speaking of, she had no clue where Markus was
or what happened to him. And while she had no idea how to get back
home, she was an Enforcer, damn it. She could handle this. First
point of order was getting out of this lousy forest. It was
beautiful, but oh-so bloodthirsty.

As if it heard her thoughts, a vine caught
around her foot and tugged, forcing Julia to fall. Instinct had her
bracing with her hands and her exposed face received the brunt of
the punishment. Sharp thorns scraped her, marking vertical lines
across her cheeks and forehead. Pure luck saved her eyes from
damage.

Tiny drops of blood dripped down her jaw and
landed on the brown forest floor. Fascinated, she watched as the
dirt and decaying leaves absorbed the vibrant red liquid, greedy
for her life essence. Not a hint of it remained.

A tremor vibrated through the ground,
rustling the dead plant matter where her blood had fallen.

Scrambling backwards on hands and knees, only
to bump into sturdy legs, she managed to avoid touching the
swirling undergrowth. The air became electric, almost painful, from
so much energy. Gagging over the stench of death and rot, she
struggled to settle her near empty stomach. Vomiting would not help
her tough Enforcer image.

The Fae creature stood almost eight feet
tall, covered in putrid leaves, twigs, and grass with mud and dirty
water dripping down its body. A black hole opened and let loose an
unearthly noise. It burrowed deep into her mind, rattled her teeth
and nearly ruptured her eardrums. A moment passed before she
realized several rows of sharp, jagged teeth filled its mouth.

All the better to rend flesh from the bones
of its prey.

“DAMN IT, DAMN it, damn it! The guardians
have tasted your blood. We need to get of here now!” He growled in
frustration and swore some more. Once a guardian tasted an
intruder's blood, it was near impossible to lose them in Fay
lands.

Reaching the exit portal would take them a
few minutes. They could make it. They had to. He grabbed her upper
arm firmly and pulled her to her feet. Giving a wide berth to the
mass of leaves and debris swirling around the large creature, he
warily watched for any sudden movements. None came though. Instead
it continued screaming.

They rushed through the trees and bushes,
heedless of the scratches or spilled blood. Uninterrupted by any
other creatures, their headlong flight ended as they reached the
small opening and he understood why they’d reached the portal area
unmolested.