Magic Resistant Read Online Free Page A

him.
    Whispering the word “ Contorsi ”, he
released the energy and watched with satisfaction as vines and
roots exploded out of the ground where Seraphina stood. They wound
their way up her legs, holding her immobile. Her mouth opened in a
soundless scream of anger as she tried to dodge the imp while being
rooted to one spot.
    Shoving the rope back in his pocket,
Jackson’s inattention almost cost him dearly. The rustle of leaves
alerted him as the guardian swung one of its thorny branches.
Turning, it caught him on the shoulder and fiery pain exploded in
his arm. Jacket, shirt and skin ripped.
    Damn it, no more physical shielding, worn out
from the battle at the office building. The shielding absorbed a
finite amount of hits before being consumed, leaving him exposed.
His arm tingled and felt a little numb, but when he wiggled his
fingers, they responded well enough for casting.
    Mentally rifling through his spells, he
decided to follow the woman’s lead and play with fire. The only one
not vulnerable to it was Seraphina currently occupied with Xerix
and the roots. No longer mute, she hit Xerix with a few nasty
spells which he laughed off, his maniacal glee echoing throughout
the clearing.
    While Jackson hadn’t memorized any fireball
spell, he wasn’t without a few spectacular tricks. One of his
favourite spells, Flaming Arc, didn’t need any components and used
minuscule finger gestures.
    Graceful and elegant, he brought up his hands
- while dodging swinging branches - and released a steady stream of
flames from his fingertips. Lasting for less than thirty seconds,
it engulfed the leaf guardian. More screams filled the air, an
orchestra of misery, as the guardian tried to put out the flames.
Staggering around in pain and terror, it bumped into the flaming
troll and one of the other trolls. Chaos and confusion took
over.
    This was their chance to escape.
     
    A SWIFT CHECK confirmed to Julia what she
suspected, her knives and gun, gone. Mentally retracing her steps,
she had no idea when she lost her weapons. In fact, she couldn’t
remember having them when they crossed the threshold. Her shoulder
holster light even then.
    A grim smile curved her lips, grateful she’d
recently imbued her ruby earring. She wasn’t defenseless, relying
on another Enforcer to save her butt. The fireball had been a
perfect way to deal with one of the trolls and caused the other two
to flinch away from her in fear. Rainbow colours trailed the
flaming troll.
    The guardian flailed around, burning bright
from Jackson's fire spell. A few seconds was all it took for Julia
to recognize the other mage. Their way blocked by Seraphina, she’d
finally had the chance to see the man at her back.
    As the most notorious mage fugitive, they
required all the Enforcers to memorize what he looked like and,
technically, arrest him on the spot. At this point, she figured
throwing in with him was safer than trusting the Fae. He wasn’t, as
far as she knew, planning on killing her unlike Seraphina.
    Julia’s shielding flared, brilliant white
lights indicating the strength of the hit. The only troll not
currently running from fire had crept up on her, slamming its tree
trunk club into her head. Momentarily stunned, not from the hit
since the shielding stopped it, but from how close she came to
losing her head. A blow like that unprotected would have snapped
her spine.
    She sent a mental thank you to Markus for the
defensive spells. Being the more powerful of the two, he’d insisted
on using his magic for the both of them.
    Spinning around to assess the new threat, she
immediately regretted it. The troll had swung again, this time
lining up with her face. Flinching as her shielding flared, weaker
than before, she cursed the ugly creature. With the force the troll
was putting into his swings, the shield dropped faster than normal.
One more hit and it would be gone and with it, her head.
    Thinking over her options, she dismissed
casting another fireball