Page 103 of Magical Midlife Conclave

I stopped in irritation. She was the reason I was thinking about my laundry list in the first place!

Edgar appeared from around a trunk. He pointed off to the left, nodded slowly, and then disappeared again. From the other side of the tree, a thumb jutted out. Nessa’s. They would be dogging my feet even though it wasn’t likely they could help when that she-beast rushed me.

“Don’t worry about it,” I murmured, shaking out my limbs. “I have excellent reflexes. I’m fast. I will react in time.”

“Just don’t react with a really terrible spell,” Ivy House said.

I ignored her. Kinda. That was, after all, the big worry.

My magic blanketed the area in front of me and then off to the sides. I went the direction Edgar said to go.

Sebastian had been invited to magically help me “see,” but he’d said no. Hard no. He didn’t want to watch, even flying above. He knew he’d somehow become the butt of their jokes.

Sadly, he was probably right. He’d faint or something, and they’d all die laughing.

My magical spell hit a shifter. Then another. Then a lump squatting behind a bush. A basajaunak hiding.

It was hunched down, but even still, I could tell it wasn’t big enough to be the Elder.

Austin passed right by it, and from the bonds I could tell he sensed its presence but felt no concern. He knew it wasn’t powerful enough or dangerous enough to be the Elder.

Only the Elder would attack me. She’d made that point clear. Regardless of who else hung around the woods, she was the only one I should engage. Everyone else should be ignored.

We walked on. Shifters flitted this way and that. Gargoyles hovered in the sky. They wouldn’t be able to see any basajaunak, not when they were blending into the scenery. They all watched my progress.

My magic kept going in waves, seeking out that which was invisible. Another basajaun shape, this one standing by a tree. Kingsley veered away to give it some space. I felt his connection. It wasn’t as strong as Austin’s bonds, but plenty strong to know that he wasn’t concerned. That wasn’t the Elder, either.

Another stood around, then two more, the last one walking in my direction. It never changed course. Neither did Drex, passing within three feet of it. Once again, he wasn’t troubled.

Aurora radiated alarm behind me. I glanced back, sending magic to see what she was responding to. A basajaunak quickly veered, having been jogging toward me but stopping once Aurora reacted. Or maybe it stopped when I had turned around. Also not the Elder.

It occurred to me that my shifter guardians were acting like radar. I used magic to suss out the creatures I couldn’t see, outlining them but not able to distinguish the details. The shifters used their natural primal senses to feel presences and gauge the danger. I could “see” farther out, but they could feel in more detail. Together we were basically cheating in this challenge, even without Ivy House.

Did the Elder not know that?

Up the way, Edgar stood next to a tree. He pointed right—at Nessa twenty feet away. She pointed at a diagonal, deeper into the wood. They were reading the energy currents or whatever they did, somehow using that to know where danger lurked. I didn’t much understand it. It was another thing on the list.

I was definitely cheating. These two weren’t even supposed to be hanging around. But…well…I’d still have a powerful adversary at the end of all this, so the result would be the same. It would just take less time.

I started to jog. Might as well get on with it.

The shifter guardians picked up the pace, perfectly synced with my movement, spaced around in a circle. In the deeper trees, where the visibility would be low for the fliers, I sent directions marking our path. If I set sail, I did actually want Tristan to catch me.

Edgar appeared randomly, pointing left again.

More basajaunak appeared now, their postures aggressive. One rushed right at me.

I flinched, wondering if it was go time. Austin lunged, though, putting himself in the way. He wasn’t aggressive about it. He was just a roadblock. Don’t attack. This is not the Elder.

That basajaun stopped just shy of Austin and then relaxed.

Another crashed through the bushes to my right. It became visible ten feet out. Hair puffed out all over its body. Its mouth opened to show its large canines.

“Dude, stop,” I grumbled, jogging by. They were trying to get me to react.

I remembered when they did this to the shifters in Dave’s homelands, testing the shifters’ control. Now they were clearly testing mine.

I heard the thrum of Tristan’s wings and slowed. A corresponding warning came through the connection. Target spotted.