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“If they’re using blood magic – voodoo – it’s possible you’re being blocked.” Kayde picked up his crossbow and headed toward the backyard. “You coming,princess?”
I sighed and followed him out the door, leaving Gypsy and my aunt to discuss these new details in depth. “What do you want, Kayde?”
“You need to practice. A strong witch doesn’t rely on magic alone. There are times when you’re vulnerable and will need to fall back on your training to survive.” He spun on his left heel and faced me. Thick corded muscles bulged from his arms, held out as his sides like we were ready to duel pistols at sunrise. The brown leather of his trench coat brushed the top of his boots as I caught a glimpse of knives strapped to his powerful upper thighs. “Today would be great. You can check me out later, little witch.”
I wasn’t sure which was more annoying – the constant snide remark about being little or the sarcasticprincess. “I’d prefer if it you called me Cassie. Nothing else.”
He smirked and I knew I just gave him reason to annoy me further. “Time to train. Show me what you got,princess.”
Oh yeah, he was going to deliberately call me anything but Cassie now. Feeling aggravated, I called to the elements and rained down lightning and hail directly on top of his head, soaking him instantly as little jolts zapped his leather coat in dozens of spots.
I was caught off guard when he countered easily and hit me square in the chest, knocking my unprepared ass right on the ground. Stunned, I didn’t jump up for about ten seconds.
“Learn to block me or suffer the consequences,” he uttered without a hint of remorse.
I gave him everything I had for the next ten minutes – spells, incantations, conjuring the elements – until I landed on the ground, again and again, flat on my back.
Slapping the ground in frustration, I jumped up once more. “Let’s go.”
He shook his head, somewhat humored. “Why bother? I’m worried you can’t handle yourself very well in a real fight. You’re constantly injured, overwhelmed, and easily defeated.”
Fuck!
Was it necessary to point that out?
Ten more minutes saw the same results.
“Ahhh!” I yelled in frustration, gasping for breath. I’d have a lot of bruises later.
“Magic won’t always work, little witch. You’ve proven this in theEtherwhen you went up against the serpent. Learn something for once and stop repeating the same irritating mistakes.”
He was right. Kayde wasn’t fighting me with spells or magic. He was blocking all of my attacks easily. In fact, he seemed to be expelling nearly zero effort as I dripped sweat from all my exertion.
Nodding, I got to my feet. “One more time.”
Kayde shrugged and then fired his crossbow. I caught the arrow with magic but grabbed it with my hand and snapped it in half before dropping the pieces to the ground and stomping them into the grass.
“Better,” he admitted grudgingly, tossing me a bottle of water as he sat.
“How are you able to thwart me so easily?” I asked after chugging half the contents.
“I specialize in anti-magic.”
“Anti-magic?”
“Pretty much. I can counteract magic or its effects. Oppose it, you understand.”
Not really. “You have to clarify this for me.”
“I have the ability to nullify and destabilize almost all forms of magic, and even destroy a magic user's (or witch’s) capability to utilize magic. For some, I can cripple and/or kill them.”
Holy shit.
“You could take my power away,” I exhaled, shocked. Kayde was a dangerous enemy, but as an ally . . .
“I can see the wheels turning in your head. I don’t go around killing people, Cass. Gwen asked me here as a special favor. I’m probably one of few who stands a chance of stopping this rogue witch.”
“You’re not part of thisCosanthing then, right?” Kayde was brought here to help but he wasn’t appointed by the ancestors like Damian, Ryder, and Gabe. I didn’t know why that never occurred to me before now.
