“You’re missing the point. We have powers. They don’t. We should rule. They shouldn’t. It comes down to who has the most assets. Right now, those with money are the ones that rule. They control everything. We have magic. Money is nothing compared to our magic. We should be ahead of them in society.”
“We’re not in a caste system, Dravin! We shouldn’t be ahead of anyone. Maybe you could rule if you would put your magic to good use. Do you really want to rule over people who hate you? I’d rather have a few loyal followers than hundreds of those who hate me. I mean really? Have you ever heard about Julius Caesar’s assassination?”
Dravin moves quickly and grabs me around the neck. Apparently sometime during our conversation, I dropped my shield. Pushing me backward, he slams me against the back wall and lifts me slightly off the ground. The tips of my toes are the only thing touching the cement. I try to suck in oxygen, but his hands are cutting off my air supply.
“Let me set something straight, Ryanne. My patience with you is running very thin. At first, I thought you were cute. Short little mage with attitude. It was new, interesting even, but I’m over it. You’re going to cooperate or you will die. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.” Dravin releases my neck and drops me to the ground. I fall on my knees and put my arms out to try and lessen the blow. I hear a pop and pain shoots up my left wrist—the same wrist the Phillip recently broke. Oh, now I’m pissed. I breathe in deeply before pushing off with my right hand and standing up.
“Dravin, you really don’t know who you’re messing with,” I say as I brush dirt off my clothing with my unbroken hand. My knees and elbows are throbbing, but I ignore the pain and face him.
“Since I was able to get you here that means your little spell is no longer protecting you. I’m going to call your farther and bring him in. If you don’t fight, I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt that much.”
“You really think I’m not going to fight?” I say as I call my magic to me. Instead of waiting for my magic to build up, it instantly comes to me. I imagine a ball of energy similar to what I threw at Colin earlier today. When Dravin sees the energy forming between my hands, his eyes widen and he steps backward. I smile at him as he reaches for the doorknob. “I told you, you really don’t know who you’re messing with,” I say as I throw the ball of energy. He ducks but it still hits him in the shoulder. He grunts and falls to the ground.
With his concentration elsewhere, I close my eyes and think about my room with Colton. I call more magic to me. I want to go back, I whisper.
My body starts vibrating. My knees give out and I fall to the ground. Instead of hitting the hard cement flooring, I start free-falling. Darkness moves around me, but I feel a slight breeze. I squeeze my eyes shut and wait for the movement to stop.
I can tell the instant I land back in my own body. I struggle to catch my breath. My throat, arms, and knees are all throbbing. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is in the room, watching me. I slowly sit up and turn toward Logan. Waving him over, I move so that I’m sitting on the edge of the bed. Without saying anything, Logan knows what I’m asking him to do.
The bones in my wrist snap back together, and I don’t even gasp this time which surprises me. The pulsating pain in my knees and throat fade. Logan steps away from me. I stand up and look at everyone in the room. “I need to redo the protective enchantment.”
“That’s it? No explanation?” Emma asks.
“Dravin was able to call me back which means that he can get to any of you too. I need to strengthen the enchantment.”
“Ryanne, what happened?” Colton asks. He stops in front of me, blocking me from everyone else. I place my hand on his cheek. He leans into my touch and wraps his large hand over top of mine.
“Nothing really,” I say. “But I need to strengthen the enchantment now. I think I can put it over all of us and the house at the same time. It should be easier since I won’t really be pushing any magic out. I’ll just be telling it what to do.”
Colton groans, but steps out of the way. His inner turmoil hits me. He’s upset that Dravin got to me and angry that I got hurt. Soon after, his relief hits me. He’s relieved I was able to get away without any serious injuries, and he’s confused as to why I won’t tell him what happened. He knows I won’t reveal anything until I do the enchantment. “Thank you,” I whisper to him.
Without looking at anyone, I close my eyes and feel the magic around me. “Magic come forth, I call you to me, protect our home from danger so evil cannot see,” I start as the magic moves through the room, hitting every available surface, covering everything with magic—hiding the home from danger. I envision the magic coating everyone in here too. I see myself holding each of their hands as I say the spell like I did in the past. The magic flows into them. As I continue with the spell, I hear a couple loud intakes of breath. They can feel my magic covering them…protecting them. “I call you to me during this time of need to protect those within from anger and greed; protect our home from danger so evil cannot see.”