Bearly Bewitched (Mystic Hollow #4)

Chapter 32

THIRTY-TWO

S ilver moonlight spilled across the Arcane Academy grounds as Kaine checked his pocket watch – barely nine, and already the ward stones pulsed with that sickly purple energy they’d been tracking since Ames’s visit.

Two weeks until the eclipse, and each night brought new mutations in the corruption’s behavior. The magical disturbances had grown more frequent since Daisy’s revelations about her grandmother’s ritual, each pulse carrying traces of that same twisted energy he remembered from the night of the accident.

The corruption felt different tonight. It carried an acrid tang like burnt metal, making his bear instincts bristle beneath his skin. The tainted magic seemed to crawl across his fur, leaving trails of ice in its wake that reminded him too much of Nora’s curse. Even the air felt wrong – thicker, heavier, as if the very atmosphere was being compressed by some unseen force. The ward stones’ usual protective hum had developed an undertone like shattered glass grinding against itself, carrying the same frequency as Ledger’s crystal had emanated that day in Vail’s office.

He’d left Daisy safely ensconced in the library with Sabine and a squadron of advanced students, all of them working on strengthening the building’s protective enchantments. The library’s ancient wards still held true, their steady gold light a stark contrast to the infected stones outside.

His niece had insisted on helping despite her earlier collapse, showing that same stubborn determination she’d inherited from her father. The thought tightened his chest – Marcus would be proud of how brave she’d grown, how she refused to let fear or her grandmother’s curse define her.

A delicious scent announced Vail’s approach before he saw her. His bear stirred at her presence, recognizing her as his perfect complement. She moved toward the courtyard’s eastern corner with careful grace, her steps leaving brief afterimages of warmth in the chill night air. Even exhausted from hours of ward stone examination, she carried herself with quiet strength.

“These patterns have evolved.” She crouched beside the cornerstone where corrupted runes twisted like living things beneath the stone’s surface. Tiny flames danced between her fingertips, casting strange shadows that seemed to move independently of the light. Her magic probed the corruption with scholarly precision despite her obvious fatigue. “The resonance has changed too – listen.”

Kaine knelt beside her, extending his senses past human limits. The ward stone’s corruption responded to their combined presence, its purple energy coiling like a serpent tasting the air. The stone’s song carried undertones of ancient magic that set his teeth on edge.

“You hear it?” Vail asked softly. When he nodded, she continued, “It’s affecting different magical signatures in unique ways. Watch.” She sent a tendril of fire magic toward the stone. The corruption responded instantly, coiling around her power like a hungry serpent. The air filled with an electrical charge that made his fur want to stand on end.

Thunder rumbled overhead as storm clouds gathered, drawn by the magical disturbance. The ward stone’s indigo light cast shadows across Vail’s face as she worked, highlighting the intensity of her concentration. A bead of sweat traced down her temple – this close, he could smell the strain in her magic like burning cedar.

“You’re pushing too hard,” he warned, reaching for her shoulder. The moment they touched, their magic sparked and merged. Gold and crimson light spun together, carrying the scent of mountain pines after rain. The ward stone’s corruption recoiled from their combined power with a sound like shattering ice.

“Fascinating reaction.” Vail’s eyes sparkled with academic interest despite the danger. “The corruption seems almost afraid of hybrid magic, even though that’s what Ledger’s trying to?—“

A burst of unstable energy cut her off as the nearest ward stone erupted with tendrils of oily darkness. The corruption carried a metallic taste like blood, and the temperature plummeted until their breath fogged in the air. Through the maelstrom, Kaine caught a glimpse of Ledger watching from the shadows, his crystal pulsing in time with the ward stones’ chaos.

The attack came without warning. One moment they were examining the corruption’s pattern; the next, a whip of dark energy lashed out with frightening precision. Vail threw up a hasty shield, but the corruption twisted around her defenses like smoke through cracks. It struck her chest with an impact that knocked the air from her lungs.

The sound she made – pain and surprise and fear all tangled together – would haunt Kaine’s nightmares. He caught her as she stumbled, feeling the unnatural cold radiating from where the corruption had touched her. Her magic flickered erratically, its usual steady flame disrupted by threads of purple that tried to burrow into her magical core.