Page 3 of Wanderer

“Come with me, there’s a border marker not far from here.” I shot a glance at the town below us. “Don’t worry, Tatsuya has it under control. They won’t notice our absence.”

Without a word, I followed Hestia further into the woods that surrounded the town. After a few minutes, we approached the boundary and the heavy wards that protected our town from outsiders. We didn’t speak as we climbed up the slope to the heavy magical stones. My breath grew labored, yet Hestia didn’t appear to break a sweat! Finally, we reached a cornerstone of the wards. There were four corners to the barrier around the town, along with two additional stones along each edge, set at an equal distance apart.

“Here,” she said in an undertone. “Come, put your hand on the stone and push your magic into it.”

“Is there an incantation I should say?” The rock was cool under my fingers, which was odd, since it was standing in full sun.

“No. All you have to do is concentrate on your desire to protect the town. I’ll do the rest.”

Hestia laid her hand underneath mine and let her power feed into the massive boulder. My power reacted, flowing into the stone under my palm without any conscious effort. As Hestia had told me to, I brought up my worry for the town, my need to protect the residents at all cost.

We stood there for a long time, our magic seeping steadily into the wards until I felt like I’d pass out from how much I had given.

“Let go,” Hestia ordered.

“I’m sorry—” I said, dropping my hand. My fingers flexed automatically as my well tried to refill itself. After what I’d just pushed into the wards, it was going to take some time. I didn’t know how Hestia could stand it.

“You’ve given plenty.” Hestia held on to the rock for a few more minutes before she let go. She stumbled, her face wan, as if she had leached out most of her life force to power the protections over the town. She allowed me to steady her until she could stand on her own. “We should return to the gala. Someone is sure to have noticed we’re missing.”

The party was in full swing and absorbed us instantly. No one said a word about our absence, they just handed us drinks with an added kick. I hung at the edges, letting the potion do its work in replenishing my magic faster than it would have if left alone. While I appreciated the thought, since I hated being without my magic, it showed just how closely people had been watching me, which left me feeling unnerved. Damn small towns where everyone was always up in your business.

“Did you visit the wards?” Tatsuya asked from just behind me. I turned to greet my best friend with a one-armed hug, the other holding my drink. As expected, he was in his police uniform, always serving the town rather than enjoying a nice day with his friends. I could guarantee he’d offered to work instead of taking a well‑earned day off. He might have been my best friend, but I could admit he was a workaholic.

“Yeah. Are they always that draining?” As a dragon, Tatsuya had plenty of his own magic to push into the wards. It had been a long time since I’d taken a turn bolstering them. We couldn’t ask our mayor to do it herself all the time, so many of us with deep wells of magic offered to help.

“Pretty much,” Tatsuya admitted with a wry smile. “Worse since we took in more land as the town has grown. There are so many vulnerable spots now. We’re more open to attack than—”

It was as if he’d spoken it into being. Heavy magic thrust against our barrier, and a boom ricocheted over the dome covering the valley.

A siren rang out as the residents fell into their practiced roles.

“You coming?” Tatsuya shifted, his long neck angled to face me, waiting for me to take a seat on his back. I fucking hated flying with him, and he knew it. I could almost see his wide, dragon’s grin.

Almost as soon as I got into place at the base of his neck, he shot into the air, heading straight for the disturbance. The magic was holding, though it was impossible to tell how long it would. Below us, people worked quickly, getting out of the streets and into shelters or to their positions, ready to defend us if there was a breach.

Over and over, hits came to the shield, yet it didn’t waver.

“They’re testing it, looking for weaknesses,” Tatsuya said in his deep, sonorous, dragon voice. The first time I’d heard it, I’d nearly soiled myself. To be fair, I’d been eight and sure he was about to eat me.

Tatsuya landed near the northeast corner and waited for the signal. Sparks of magic shot into the air, telling us the northwest was covered, then the southeast, southwest. When it was time, I sent up our sparks. The corners were covered.

“Let me handle this,” Tatsuya ordered.

“No,” I said more firmily than I’d intended.

“You’re too drained. If you step in, I’ll have to drag you to the hospital with magic sickness. I need you to cover my back in case of a breach.”

I wanted to protest, but I knew he was right. This attack had come just after Hestia and I had drained ourselves almost to full depletion. Had they been watching? Waiting until we were vulnerable?

“Do you know who it is?” My eyes lingered on the dome, hoping it would hold after all the power we’d put into it.

Tatsuya laid his hand on the barrier. “Angels.” His face screwed up in disgust.

“The same ones who’re after Rayna?”

We had a number of nephilim in the town, with Rayna being the newest. She had fallen in with a gang of rogue nephilim and caught the attention of a clan of angels. Though nephilim were usually born of angels, these wanted to wipe out the angel‑human hybrids as some sort of race purity thing. Rayna had escaped the rogues and the angels with nothing but the clothes on her back. When she’d arrived in Greyhaven, she was beaten and bruised, but not broken. The ordeal had lit a fire in her, making her super protective of the town and its most vulnerable residents.

“Probably. Scouts have been circling the town for days. It’s only a matter of time before they figure out how to get in.”