Retribution (19 page)

Everyone on the lawn stayed silent, haunted by the heart-wrenching image of six small children with deadly firelight reflecting off their tear-streaked cheeks and in their frightened eyes. And Layla was shaking as she choked back sobs, still hidden in Quin’s neck.

“You know,” Grant blurted, quizzically staring at Layla’s back, “she wouldn't be hurting so much if she'd let that aura go.”

“She knows,” Quin replied.

Grant shook his head then looked at Serafin. “I guess it's time you share your story. I have a feeling it’s going to be remarkable.”

Serafin cracked a smile as he gave a nod. “Yes, let's get on with it. Layla, sweetheart?”

Layla took a deep breath as she wiped her face. Then she looked at her grandpa. “I'll be better in a minute,” she assured, turning her attention on Dallas and Grant. “Your history with Agro is heartbreaking. Those you lost would no doubt be proud of your endurance to not only live, but to live in a way that allows you to smile on the same day you have to recount your sad stories. May we all find a measure of peace when wounded so deeply.”

Grant smiled, once again tilting his head as he examined her. Then he looked at Serafin. “Are you going to tell us who this sweet young lady really is? Or do we have to keep guessing?”

Serafin threw Quin a glance then turned to their guests. “Dallas, Grant, I’d like you to meet my granddaughter.”

Their gazes snapped to Layla, then back. “Your…”

“Granddaughter,” Serafin repeated.

“But…” Grant’s gaze flashed back and forth. “That would mean she's Aedan’s daughter.”

“That's exactly what it means.”

Their mouths fell open, and Serafin lifted a hand. “You see our predicament.”

They silently nodded, so Serafin went on. “Well that's only half of it. Quin, the young man she's sitting with, is a bonded child. The son of Cordelia and Kemble,” he elaborated, pointing out the golden couple, “and as of Monday night, he's Layla's bonded mate.”

“No way,” Grant mumbled.
 

“It's not possible,” Dallas added.

“I assure you it is,” Serafin disagreed, looking at his granddaughter. “Let your lights go.”
 

Quin and Layla released their auras and bonded lights, sighing as they examined the explosion of color. Then they kissed and looked at their company.

Dallas had a hand to his heart, and Grant stared with bulging eyes while holding his breath. He eventually filled his lungs while shaking his head. Then he turned to Serafin. “You do have yourselves quite the predicament, don't you?”

“More than you know,” Serafin confirmed. “Agro's aware of Layla's existence, he suspects she's here, and he was in this community less than a week ago. We believe he’s camped about an hour away, undoubtedly plotting his next attack, and Quin and Layla have chosen to stay and fight rather than run and hide. When Agro returns, we’ll have a battle on our hands, and we need help fighting it. So what do you say, guys?” He grinned and raised his eyebrows. “Ready for that revenge?”

Chapter 13

Three more guests were due to arrive that day, one witch at noon, and two wizards at one-thirty, so the family chose to stay outside and get to know their company while practicing defensive spells.

Caitrin and Serafin stood in the center of the lawn with Quin and Layla beside them, and everyone else watched from a nearby circle of chairs.

“Okay, Layla,” Serafin started, “the first thing you need to know about defensive magic is how complex it is. The caster must specifically mold the shield to protect against certain types of magic. For instance, I can cast a shield that will protect me from fire, but water magic would fly right through it. To protect myself from fire and water, I must mentally make it so. A magician can cast a shield that protects them from everything, but it's difficult to think of all the offensive spells at once when forming the shield in your mind, because not only is defensive magic detailed magic, it's pressured magic. You're not going to have time to work things out in your head. When you need protection, you need it within seconds, so you need to train yourself to instinctively cast a thorough shield.” He paused and walked several yards away. “Am I making sense?”

“Yes,” Layla answered, “and it sounds difficult.”

“It is. Especially in the beginning, but you'll quickly produce a basic shield that will protect you from the most utilized spells, such as elemental and summoning magic.” He eyeballed the distance between himself and Caitrin. Then he took five more steps back. “There’s another form of defensive magic that has a simpler concept, but it can be trickier to perform. Send something my way, Caitrin.”

Caitrin grinned and threw out a palm, sending a wave of water arching through the air, and Serafin smirked as he swept a hand in front of him. The swell gracefully curled and reversed its course, and Caitrin raised a palm, halting the wave in mid-air before dropping it to the grass.

“That didn't look difficult,” Layla noted, smiling at the sparkly grass.

“It wasn't,” Serafin confirmed, “but the bigger the spell, the harder it is to control, and sometimes you must battle the original caster for possession. Also, you have to catch the spell first, so if something comes at you and you're not expecting it, or you don't know where it's coming from, it can be difficult to grab. Once you do get control of it, you have to send it somewhere, so it keeps your focus for as long as it's active. The shield can be activated then ignored.”

“I see,” Layla mumbled, wondering which method she’d prefer. “Let's practice. I'll try the shield first.”

“It's not that simple,” Quin objected.

Layla looked over and found his concerned aura. “What do you mean?”

“I'm not letting anyone on this lawn throw spells at you.”

“Oh.” She hadn't considered that. “Well how did you learn?”

“Through a long process that took years. We don't have time for that.”

“So how will I practice?”

He grimaced and looked at her grandfathers. “Got any suggestions?”

“Yes,” Caitrin answered, “if you’ll go for it.”

“Let's hear it.”

“You could cast your shield around her. Then she can cast hers outside of yours.”

“That works,” Layla agreed, but Quin wasn't so sure and watched her for several seconds before yielding.

“Fine, but nothing gets thrown at her without my approval.”

Caitrin and Serafin agreed, and Quin swept Layla off her feet, carrying her several yards away from everyone. He gave her a long kiss before lowering her feet to the ground. Then he took a step back and waved a hand.

Layla smiled as a pearlescent bubble surrounded her, and Quin grinned as he reached over her head and dumped a wave of water from his palm. She cringed. Then she laughed as the water hit the shield and splashed down the sides.

“Ha, ha, you can't get me.”
 

Quin laughed and took a step back, casting a second shield around the first, and this time he tested it with a small surge of electricity aimed at her feet. The spark hit the barrier and fizzled, and Layla smirked. “Satisfied?”
 

He shook his head no as he stepped back. Then he set a
third
shield around her, testing it with a tiny puff of fire that dropped from his forefinger. The flame dissipated when it hit the barrier, and Layla laughed as she shook her head.
 

“Am I going to be able to send a shield through all that?”
 

“Yes,” he answered. “I didn't block defensive magic.” He glanced at the others then back. “Are you sure you're okay with this?”

“Don't I look okay?”

“Yes, I guess you do, but it can be overwhelming – having spells thrown at you.”

“I trust your shield
s
,” she assured, putting emphasis on the plurality.

“Okay,” he conceded, “but if gets too stressful, don't be afraid to say stop.”

“I promise, Quin.”

He watched her for a few more seconds then sighed. “I love you, Layla.”

“I love you, too, Quin. Now get over there and try to shoot me.”

He smiled then walked to Caitrin and Serafin, speaking as all three of them faced her. “We don’t need to make them big or throw them hard. Just give them enough power to get there. Mentally tell me what you're going to send before casting it, and if I don't respond, consider it a green light.”

They nodded their agreement, and Quin took a deep breath. “Okay, love, make your shield.”
 

“Well that's not fair,” she protested.

Quin’s lungs deflated. “What's not fair?”
 

“You can't give me all the time in the world to come up with it. I'll be able to guard against more than if my time was limited. It's not realistic.”

“This is your first attempt, Layla. You're just getting a feel for how it works.”

“Fine, but I think it's silly.”

“Just cast your shield, my ambitious angel.”

Layla obeyed, allowing herself ten seconds of planning, and when the idea left her head, a large, silver dome stretched over Quin's opalescent spells, spreading about ten feet in every direction. “Why does it look different than yours?”

“Because that's the way you imagined it, my love.”

“Oh yeah.”

“Are you ready?”

“I guess. I don't have to do anything but stand here.”

Quin smirked and raised a palm. “Here they come.”
 

Water flew from Caitrin's hand, ice flew from Serafin's, and fire flew from Quin's.

Layla braced, tempted to squeeze her eyes shut, but she forced herself to watch as the spells hit the silver barrier. The fire fizzled, the ice shattered, and the water splashed to the ground. She smiled, but had no time to celebrate as three more spells headed her way. Bolts of lightning stretched from Caitrin's palm, a gust of wind carrying a pile of leaves blew in from behind Serafin, and Quin motioned to the earth at the base of the shield, making the short grass grow and curl toward the silver dome. The lightning hit and exploded into sparks, the leaves flowed over the top of the shield, and the grass engulfed it in greenery.

“See?” Layla called. “You made it too easy on me.”

Quin laughed. “It was your first try and it only took you ten seconds to cast a shield that covered all the elements. That's not easy.”

“But how will we figure out what else it protects against? We won't know if it blocks bodily harm, torture spells, or summoning spells, because your shields will stop them if mine doesn't.”

“Mine aren't protecting against summoning spells.”

“Oh. Well try to summon me.” She waited, but nothing changed.

“I guess you didn't feel that?”

“No.”

“Then it's protecting against summoning spells.”

“What about internal attacks and other torture methods?” she pressed. “How will we test them?”

“We won't.”

“Don't you think I need to know how?”

“Yes, but if you specified it to protect against those types of spells, I have no doubt you succeeded. Why would they get through when the others didn't?”

“I've never performed that kind of magic,” she explained, “so I'm concerned I didn't protect against it correctly. We should try just in case.”

“No, Layla. We'll just have to assume that one.”

“Well that's risky.”

“Tell you what – later I'll let you slice me open so you can see how those spells work. Then you'll feel better about protecting yourself against them.”

“Not going to happen, Quin.”

“Then don't expect me to let it happen to you.”

She huffed and swallowed defeat. “Fine.”

“Good. Now drop your shield, and we'll give you more of a challenge.”

“Okay,” she approved, vanishing the grass-covered dome. “What's the challenge?”

“On the count of three, set your shield, and we'll give you five seconds before casting our spells.”

“Ooh, pressure.” She cleared her head and gave a nod. “Okay. Whenever you're ready.”

They held out their hands as Quin counted. “One... two... three.”

The pressure was heavier than she anticipated, and she still hadn't cast a shield by the time their spells charged her, so she quickly threw out her hands, not at all sure what the shield was set to protect against. Serafin's fire sizzled, and Quin's wind floated around the barrier, but Caitrin's water shot right through it, splashing against Quin's outer shell.

“Damn,” she sighed. “I didn't even guard against all the elements. Try earth.”

Quin pointed at the ground, and the grass grew and curved, easily creeping through the silver fog then up his pearly shield.

“Damn,” she repeated.

“It's okay, Layla.”

She didn’t respond, and even though Quin couldn’t see her through the grass, he could tell she was pouting. He grinned as he tried to grab her with magic, and when she let out a small cry of surprise, he knew it had worked. He vanished the greenery hiding her then pulled her through the air and caught her in his arms.