Chapter 30

30

ROMAN

" S omeone get the talisman!" a guy with an extremely fluffy mustache yelled.

I clenched my fists, unsure of my next move after the acrobatics I'd just pulled off.

Good to know my training never let me down, a mid-air flip with a graceful landing still a firm part of my repertoire.

"Don't move!" a woman barked, gun pointed at my head.

Her grumpy eyes told me she wouldn't be up for standing aside.

Those pesky pixels continued to dance across the sky. Wouldn't be long now before this part of the sky came down on our heads.

Don't wish. Don't wish. Don't wish.

There were seven agents, one of me, and an injured Xavier I desperately wanted to tend to. My baby was hurt, black blood leaking from his wound.

Nobody gets to hurt my baby.

Would he like being called baby?

Bloody hell! Save it for later!

The talisman came back into play, putting Xavier in series danger. Shit. If only I had Synth beams of my own to blast it from that guy's fingers. I attempted summoning Synth. It was there beneath the surface, but not coming out to play anytime soon.

Damn.

"Can we talk?" I tried.

I got laughed at.

Yeah. Hilarious.

Okay. New tactic. If I could get a gun, I might be able to even the playing field a bit.

Thunder shook the sky and the earth. I staggered under the quake, a riot of pixels rippling overhead. A line tore through them, like wallpaper being ripped off the wall by a naughty child. That piece of sky tumbled to the ground, destroying a parked van close by.

"Holy shit!" I yelped, diving next to Xavier, wrapping an arm around him. "Don't worry. I won't let anything hurt you."

How the hell was I supposed to keep that from happening? Blind my opponents with my blingy skin?

Wait. That might not be a bad idea.

Dust fell through the new hole in the sky in heavy clumps, landing on the witches. A couple of them sneezed, others catching the golden flakes, examining them.

"I wouldn't…" I didn't carry on, allowing the magic-killing crap to do its work.

Reality soon landed. Hard.

"I can't…I can't use magic."

"Neither can I!"

Cue plenty of panic. I left them to flap around like headless chickens, fully attending to Xavier.

"I'll get some bandages from the house."

"No need," he said, tearing off his already-torn T-shirt. He wrapped it around his torso, grunting as it pulled it taut.

Inky blackness already began to stain it. "What if?—"

"It's not deep. It's fine."

"Okay." I knew I didn't sound convinced.

"I promise." He took my hand. "Hurts a lot, but it's nothing I can't deal with."

"I love your hand in mine," I blurted. "Sorry. Not the time for this."

He kissed the back of my hand, then got to his feet, giving me a heavy dose of the warm and fuzzies.

"It will soon be over," I said, a slight crack in my voice.

"Agreed. Go. Make the wish."

With the agents paying us no mind, I crossed back over into my time. I drew a heavy breath within the golden light, ready to spring into action on the other side. Do my thing to get the time jar, slip back through the door and open it.

I didn't expect to meet with an inferno of cold blue fire on the other side.