It’s #BookQW and unique magic has Cor’s mind in a ‘tangle’!
More from Chapter 7:
Cor mounted the wall. The tall girl was smart enough not to look at him, and he moved silently up behind Marty. “Sorry? What did you say?”
Marty spun, throwing out a close blast, but Cor was ready, blocking it with a gold shield and striking at Marty’s legs as the shield rose.
The girl shrieked and ducked. Bloody good thing, because Marty fell into the wall of plants and Cor dove after him, taking a fist to his jaw and a kick as they tumbled to the charred ground, but finally getting a good hit back with a stunning blast. Marty lay there. Cor grabbed his foot and dragged him off the bed. Marty crumpled to the sidewalk. Cor pulled him up and retrieved his magic at the same time.
Marty slowly shook his head.
Cor didn’t wait for him to be able to think. He poked a glowing finger to Marty’s belly. “You’ve scared a visitor and made a bloody mess of someone’s project. I’m reporting it unless you walk with your hands in the air straight down Wolman Street. Don’t stop until you enter your building.”
Eyes barely focusing, Marty raised his hands, and Cor shoved him in the right direction. Marty stumbled off. Thank the Orb, the street was deserted, though a few curtains were moving at windows on the upper floors. They had to get going before security came, ’cause for sure it was. At least he looked enough like Slick that people might think that bloke had been fighting Marty.
A mobile rang…in the middle of the messed-up berry bushes. The tall girl answered with a muffled cry. They didn’t have time for calls. He leaped back onto the wall and headed toward her incoherent muttering. Something green was beneath the charred tangle. He didn’t remember her wearing a green coat, but it had to be her. Using a burst of golden energy, he shoved the debris aside—
“How the hell did you do that?”
“Who’s there?” called her voice from inside a hickory nut. He’d swear it was real, except it was the size of an armchair.
“Cor van—Cor,” he said. “We need to leave.” It was one thing to spell trees or fling magical light shows at midnight, but an outright magical fight in daytime violated city policy.
“Okay,” she said, then quieter, “I’m gonna be okay, Beri. Someone from the conference is here to get me. I’ll call you tonight. Thanks.” Louder again, she said, “You might want to stand back. I—just in case.”
He took a step back. “Right, then, let’s be going.”
The nut shimmered, then dissolved, leaving the tall girl sitting there, her knees pulled up to her chin, mobile in one hand, fingers poked into a transparent shell that disappeared, too. She looked at her hand, closed the last of the magic into it and whispered, “Wow,” like she’d never seen something like that before.
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If you love big trees and exploring the woods, pick up Guardian of the Pines today!
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On a personal note:
We have had snow–which has been sorely lacking in our area for a few winters. The woods have been lovely, dark and deep!
Stay safe, friends!
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