Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
Azelon had been keeping watch outside the store since dawn.
He told himself it was to monitor the forest's distortions, to track the growing magical instability around the building. But the truth was simpler and more painful: he couldn't bear to witness the easy intimacy that had developed between Jamie and Corin.
The first warning came as a ripple through the magical current—a disturbance too deliberate to be natural. Azelon stilled, extending his senses outward. Creatures. Many of them. Moving with purpose toward the store.
He sprinted back, throwing open the front door.
Jamie and Corin stood in the kitchen doorway, their conversation halting abruptly at his entrance.
For a fraction of a second, Azelon registered their proximity.
Jamie's hand dropping from where it had rested on Corin's shoulder, the fae's eyes still bright with whatever had passed between them moments before.
The observation stung, but Azelon pushed past it.
"We have a problem," he announced. "Something's coming."
Jamie stepped forward immediately, all traces of softness hardening into focus. "What kind of something?"
"The magical creatures I mentioned," Azelon replied, tracking the approaching signatures. "They're drawn to the store's energy. I can sense them approaching from all directions."
Corin had gone pale. "How many?"
"Too many," Azelon admitted. "The store's transition has created a beacon. They're coming to claim its power."
He watched Jamie process this information, expecting fear or hesitation from the human. Instead, Jamie's jaw set with determination, just as it had the night before when he'd declared they'd protect the store.
"Then we'll have to stop them," he said simply.
Azelon couldn't suppress his surprise. "You don't understand what we're facing."
"No," Jamie agreed. "But I understand my store. And it's not going to fall to whatever's out there." He turned toward Corin. "Not while we're here to protect it."
The conviction in the human's voice stirred something Azelon had long suppressed. Not since his early days among the Tideborn Council had he witnessed such quiet authority.
"We need a plan," Azelon said, moving further into the store. "My water magic can create barriers, but they won't hold forever."
Jamie nodded, eyes scanning the building as if seeing beyond its physical structure. "The store can help. I can feel it wanting to."
"I should stay by the front door," Corin offered, his usual theatrical manner replaced by genuine determination. "My projection could slow them down."
Azelon opened his mouth to object. Corin's powers were unpredictable at best, dangerous at worst—but something in the fae's expression stopped him. This wasn't Corin's usual impulsiveness. He truly wanted to help.
Jamie was already moving, hands skimming along the walls of the store. "Corin, stay within sight of me. If your emotions start to slip, I need to know immediately."
Azelon found himself bristling at the easy authority Jamie displayed. For eight months, he'd been the one to contain Corin's chaotic magic. Now this human, this outsider, presumed to manage what Azelon had struggled with for so long.
No, he could not focus on that now.
There were larger threats to fight.
The first warning came as a tremor through the floorboards. Something massive moved beneath the earth, circling the store's foundation.
At the same time, the windows darkened as shadowy forms pressed against the glass, entities with too many glowing yellow eyes.
"Void feeders," Azelon said. A shiver ran down his spine.
He'd never seen any of these, but he'd heard the tales.
While Azelon was staring, Jamie's hands pressed flat against the nearest wall. "Show me where they're weakest."
The store responded immediately. The ceiling became transparent, revealing the sky above where a swarm of winged creatures circled.
The walls shimmered and displayed what lay beneath—a massive wyrm coiling around the foundation far below.
Other wall surfaces showed shadows pressing from every side at ground level.
Azelon almost wished he couldn't see what was all around them.
Jamie looked to Corin. "You said you could slow them?"
The fae looked uncertain. "Maybe."
"Try." Jamie's confidence seemed to bolster Corin, who nodded and closed his eyes.
The air around them thickened as Corin's projection took form—not the usual chaotic burst of emotion, but something more focused. A visible shimmer spread outward from where he stood, carrying with it a potent mixture of determination and fierce protectiveness.
Azelon felt it brush against his skin, warm and electric.
"It's working," Jamie said, watching as the shadows at the windows recoiled from the barrier. "Keep it steady."
Azelon moved to the center of the room, drawing moisture from the air. Water gathered around his hands, spiraling into razor-sharp blades of ice. "I'll handle anything that breaks through."
The first attack came from below. The tunneling wyrm breached the foundation with a shriek that made the bookshelves shudder.
Books scattered across the floor as a massive serpentine head pushed through the floorboards, jaws gaping.
Jamie didn't hesitate. He stamped his foot, and the store responded—floorboards twisting into spikes that drove into the creature's hide. It screamed, thrashing against the unexpected defense.
Azelon launched a barrage of ice shards, targeting the wyrm's eyes. Three found their mark, earning another shriek of pain as the creature retreated beneath the floor which immediately rebuilt itself.
"Behind you!" Corin shouted.
Azelon spun to see the windows bulging inward, the void feeders pressing against Corin's emotional barrier with increasing force. The fae's face was tight with concentration, sweat beading on his forehead as he fought to maintain the projection.
"I can't hold them much longer," Corin gasped.
Jamie moved to his side, one hand settling on Corin's shoulder. "Focus on me. Use my stability."
The effect was immediate. Corin's barrier strengthened, pulsing with renewed energy. The void feeders shrieked in frustration, their formless bodies rippling as they sought weaker points of entry.
Something twisted in Azelon's chest at the sight of them together—Jamie's steady hand on Corin, the fae leaning into the contact. Months of keeping Corin at arm's length… and this human had bridged the gap in days.
A crash from above cut through Azelon's jealousy.
The winged creatures broke through the roof, a swarm of leathery bodies and needle-like teeth.
And they were descending.
"Dive!" Azelon shouted, throwing himself forward to tackle both Jamie and Corin to the ground.
They landed in a tangle of limbs as talons slashed the air where they'd been standing. Azelon found himself protectively covering both men, his tail whipping out to knock away a creature that dove too close.
"The ceiling," Jamie grunted beneath him. "I need to fix it."
Understanding immediately, Azelon rolled off them. "Cover him," he ordered Corin, then launched a devastating wave of ice shards upward, temporarily scattering the swarm.
Jamie pressed both of his palms to the floor, eyes closed in concentration.
The ceiling rippled, then transformed. The broken sections mended themselves, then reshaped itself into a network of crystalline spikes. Three of the winged creatures impaled themselves, their bodies disintegrating into oily smoke.
"It's working," Corin said, his voice tight but hopeful.
Then the floor heaved beneath them.
The tunneling wyrm had returned.
And the entire store shuddered as it broke through the foundation once again.
"We can't fight on all fronts," Azelon shouted.
"Maybe we can drive them away," Jamie suggested, eyes suddenly bright with inspiration. "Corin, could you project enough fear to overwhelm them, make them think the store is too dangerous to approach?"
"I'd need to drop the barrier," Corin warned.
"Just for a moment. Azelon and I can handle whatever gets through." Jamie looked to Azelon for confirmation.
Azelon nodded, though unease prickled along his spine. Corin's control was tenuous at best, and deliberately unleashing his projection was dangerous.
Azelon knew that better than anyone.
This human was taking the risk too lightly.
But they were running out of options.
"Do it," he said.
Jamie moved to the corner where two walls met, pressing his palms against both surfaces to maximize his connection with the building. "On my mark, drop the barrier and project everything you've got. Make them afraid to approach."
Corin licked his lips nervously. "I've never deliberately projected that much before."
"I'll help you contain it afterward," Azelon promised.
Something flickered in Corin's eyes—uncertain hope, perhaps, or memory. He nodded.
"Now!" Jamie commanded.
Corin dropped the emotional barrier and drew a deep breath. The void feeders immediately pressed forward, shattering windows as they forced their way inside. The winged creatures dove between the ceiling spikes. The wyrm surged upward, breaking through the floor in multiple places.
And then Corin released his projection.
It wasn't the controlled, focused energy of before.
This was raw, primal emotion—fear amplified by desperation, by the need to protect. It exploded outward in a visible wave of crimson and gold, saturating the air with such intensity that even Azelon staggered back.
The effect on the creatures was immediate. The void feeders convulsed, their bodies distorting as they tried to retreat.
The winged swarm scattered, shrieking in confusion.
The wyrm thrashed, its massive head swinging blindly.
But Azelon only looked at Corin.
The fae's eyes had gone wide, pupils dilated until only a thin ring of amber remained visible. The projection continued to build, layers of emotion crashing outward like a storm surge.
"Corin," Azelon called. "Control it!"
The fae didn't seem to hear him. Books flew from shelves, spinning violently around them.
Light fixtures exploded.
The very walls of the store began to warp, bending outward as if trying to escape the emotional maelstrom.
"What's happening?" Jamie shouted over the cacophony.
"He can't contain it," Azelon replied, pushing toward Corin against the force of the projection.
This was exactly what he'd been afraid of happening.
But he could still stop it. He could still ground Corin.
Reaching the fae, he gripped his shoulders. "Focus on me," he commanded, echoing Jamie's earlier words. "Find your center."
Corin's eyes seemed to stare through him. "I can't stop it," he whispered, voice breaking. "It's too much."
Fear—genuine fear—lanced through Azelon.
What if he couldn't pull Corin back from the edge as he'd promised?
What if…?
No, he would not let anything happen to Corin.
No matter the cost.
"Jamie!" Azelon called. "I need your help!"
The human fought his way toward them through the storm of flying objects and emotional energy. His face was set with determination, though blood trickled from a cut on his forehead where something had struck him.
"What do I do?" Jamie asked, reaching them.
"Take his other side," Azelon directed. "He needs both of us."
Jamie didn't hesitate, moving to grip Corin's free arm. "We've got you," he told the fae. "Come back to us."
For a moment, it seemed to be working. The chaotic energy wavered, the storm of objects slowing their frantic orbits. Corin's eyes focused briefly, recognition dawning.
"That's it," Azelon encouraged. "Find your center."
But then the tunneling wyrm, disoriented and panicked by the emotional assault, surged upward directly beneath them.
The floor exploded in a shower of wood and stone, separating the three of them as they were thrown in different directions.
Azelon landed hard, his vision blurring from the impact.
When it cleared, he saw Corin sprawled several feet away, the emotional projection now completely beyond control. The air itself seemed to be tearing around him, reality buckling under the strain.
And Jamie—Jamie was pulling himself up, blood now flowing freely from a gash in his side where debris had struck him. Despite his injury, the human was staggering toward Corin, one hand outstretched.
"No!" Azelon shouted, recognizing the danger. "Stay back!"
Jamie either didn't hear or chose to ignore the warning.
He reached Corin just as the emotional storm reached its crescendo. The fae's power exploded outward in a final, devastating wave—raw, unfettered emotion that swept through the store like a tsunami.
The creatures caught in its path simply... disintegrated. The void feeders collapsed in on themselves, the winged swarm fell burning from the air, and the tunneling wyrm shriveled like parchment in flame.
And Jamie—human, vulnerable Jamie—took the full force of the blast at close range.
He was thrown backward, his body slamming into a bookshelf that shattered under the impact.
He crumpled to the floor, unmoving.
Silence fell, broken only by the sound of settling debris.
Corin lay unconscious, the massive expenditure of magical energy having finally overwhelmed him.
Around them, the store creaked and groaned, slowly beginning to repair itself—broken floorboards knitting back together, shattered glass reforming in window frames.
Azelon dragged himself to his feet and stumbled to Jamie's side.
Blood matted the human's hair, and more seeped from the wound in his side. But he was breathing; short, shallow breaths that hitched with pain even in unconsciousness.
"He needs help," Azelon said aloud, knowing somehow that the store was listening. "A healing space. Clean water. Medicinal supplies."
The building shuddered, then responded. A doorway appeared in the wall beside them, opening onto a room that hadn't existed before. A healing chamber with a large basin of steaming water, shelves lined with herbs and bandages, and a bed positioned in the center.
Carefully, Azelon gathered Jamie in his arms and laid him down in the bed.
He had failed him.
He had failed Jamie and Corin both.