You can take the overspill. I don’t want you taken over. If these guys are aggressive, I am going to have to drain them. That will be messy.
“If I could get a little more space, please. This will throw off a bit of power.”
The crowd shuffled back a few inches, but Imara didn’t care. She was where she needed to be with her kitten out of touching range.
“Etta, my name is Imara. I am here to help.”
She frantically shook her head, but Imara placed her hand over the hand clutched to Etta’s chest. The dynamic of power shifted rapidly, and the heat from the stone localized.
“Let go of it, Etta. Push the spirits out of you and give me the stone. This is what I am trained for. I will be fine.”
Etta’s eyes resumed a beautiful cornflower blue. “Don’t. Don’t, it hurts!”
“I know.” Imara took Etta’s hand and turned it over. She was using all of her concentration to subdue the spectral energy, but she needed to keep Etta calm.
She smiled and said softly, “When she is free, pull her out of the way. I am going to need to bleed off some power.”
She glanced around her quickly, and the XIA were ready to take action. It appeared that Etta was on their team.
“Okay, I am taking it in three, two, one...” She eased the stone free of the mage, and the world went white.
Chapter Eight
The roar of her hellcat brought her back, and she looked down at those gathered. Fuck. She was hovering.
You are ours now. You will be our limbs, our eyes, our touch.
Fuck you and your little dead brains. You are going to discover something surprising right about now.
She vented the power through the large feline version of Mr. E. He scrubbed the power and dumped the clean energy back into Etta, who was being held by Iofer a few feet away.
What? What are you doing? We will be free!
You will return to the wave. Congratulations.
Once Etta was returned to stable, Imara topped up the XIA with the spectral energy, and then, she let the rest power off through the open doors of the car park and out into the surrounding flora and fauna.
The scrubbed energy was powerful, but Imara didn’t give anyone else a drop of it. She took the last remnant of twelve mages and left only a vague murmur of their energies so she could identify them later.
With a smile, she made a small kissy noise, and Mr. E shrank and hopped back on her shoulder. “Okay, so how am I getting home?”
Iofer held Etta close, and she was sobbing onto his shoulder. “We will take you back, but it is a four-hour drive.”
She nodded. “Right.”
The older man who appeared to be in charge said, “What just happened here?”
Imara blinked. “Which city am I in?”
“Leobrad Municipality. Where are you from?”
She sighed and rubbed her head with the hand not holding the deadly crystal. “Depford College.”
His eyes widened. “How did they find you?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Do you have a vial or some kind of containment for the crystal?”
“No. I don’t want that thing in my guild.”
She fought the urge to sigh. “Right. Well, can someone get me a coffee, two sugars, two creams? This has been a long fucking night.”
The gathered might of the Leobrad guild offices stared at her.
She sighed and used her free hand to scroll through her phone for Adrea’s number.
“Ritual space, Adrea speaking.”
“Hiya, Adrea. This is Imara.”
“Oh, hi! How did your exam go?”
“Pretty good, are you willing to take on another stone? I have one here in my hand, and no one wants to take it on.”
“Sure? When?”
“Three hours if I can get a lift.” She looked around, and none of the mages would meet her gaze. “Just a moment.”
She looked at the guy in charge. “Can someone take me to the transport station, at least?”
A shadow fell across the door to the garage. “We’ll take you home.” The voice was feminine and amused.
Mr. E bristled. Demon magic.
Not truly. Check it again. It is much a demon as you are an actual cat. If they are willing to give me a ride, I will take it.
I...
Hold your objections until we can get home. Then you can give me your assessment.
Yes, Imara.
She could feel him sulking against her neck.
“I will take that ride, please.”
She turned to Iofer. “She will be fine. I will send you a report as to the construction of this particular stone by the weekend. I am going to have to pull the spectres apart, and that takes time.”
“Thank you, Ms. Mirrin. I am sorry that we can’t take you back, but this crew was heading that way anyway, and they answered while you were floating.”
“How long was I floating?”
Iofer blinked. “About an hour.”
“Dammit. Thanks. Have Etta contact me if there are any side effects beyond trauma. Contact a counsellor for that.”
She kept her fist closed over the stone but tried to keep it relaxed. Mr. E was not going to be in the mood to swallow this one for storage.
She walked toward the female shadow and smiled. “Hiya, I am Imara Mirrin, stranded Death Keeper.”
The other woman smiled and extended her hand, “I am Benny, blended mage and our Mage Guild’s contribution to my XIA team.”
Imara felt tremendous power in the woman’s hand, and the eyes that she looked into were stamped with fey energy.
When they approached the vehicle, the guys were out and leaning against it. They all had the excellent physical tone that most of the XIA sported, and their gazes on Benny were possessive.
“Oh, this isn’t going to be an uncomfortable ride at all,” Imara muttered.
Benny chuckled. “I will sit between you and Tremble. Smith is driving, and Argyle will be co-piloting.”
“Thanks. My familiar is named Mr. E, and he is a little touchy right now.”
Benny chuckled, and she nodded for the guys to get in the vehicle. “Demon hunter?”
“Me? No.”
“No, your familiar. He has the look of an inherited familiar, and those tend to be folks who displeased the Mage Guild. His bristling when he identified me is a pretty good sign that he doesn’t like mages with demon blood.”
The other three settled in the vehicle, Benny slid into the centre of the back seat, and Imara got in, closing the door awkwardly before settling in. Not being able to use her hand was difficult, but letting that power go in this small space with the shifter, the fey, and the vampire wearing shades, was not a great idea.
Buckle up.
“I can’t buckle up without my hand.”
Benny smiled. “I will give you a hand with that.”
A moment later, after the stranger had leaned over her and tucked her in, they were on their way.
“How did you know about my familiar?”
“One of my best friends is a hellhound. She is locked into her servitude, and she was born into it. I am guessing that he is a generated one, which makes him an ancient mage, which makes him one of the demon hunters. Everybody else just went from spectre to flecks of energy.”
“You... you have studied.”
The elf, Tremble, leaned over. “Her family is in possession of the largest library of spells and magical lore in the country.”
She blinked. “You are Beneficia Ganger?”