Page 82

“These ones seem resistant to elemental magic somehow!”Leon shouted as Evander closed the distance to him, his face pale with exertion.“Even myNullification Magicisn’t able to clear them fully.We need to try something else!”

Evander extended the barrier of fire around the relieved Frenchman and observed the twisting shadows surrounding them.He suspected these apparitions were different from the shadow creatures they’d encountered previously by virtue of how they’d been created.

If standard elemental magic doesn’t work against them, thenthatmight.

He was distracted by the sound of Musgrave cursing where Rufus and Shaw now flanked him, truncheons in hand.

“Leon, remember that thing we tried once, when we were still at the Institute?”Evander’s frowning gaze shifted from the dark mage to his former lover.

Leon blinked.His eyes rounded.“You mean when we almost destroyed the classroom?!”

Evander nodded grimly.

Leon swallowed.“Alright, I’ll give it a try.Just—be gentle, mon cher.”

Evander put a hand on his back.“Remember to breathe.”He focused a controlled flow of magic into the Frenchman’s body.

Leon gasped and straightened.His eyes glowed and the air around him sparked with a dazzling light as Evander augmented the core where his powers dwelled.He clenched his jaw, raised his hands, and gathered hisNullification Magicaround them like a silver shield.

The floor cracked beneath their feet, the marble slabs unable to withstand the sheer forces radiating from both of them.

Leon staggered a little.

Fear twisted Evander’s stomach when blood trickled out of the Frenchman’s left nostril.He began retracting his magic.

“Don’t stop!”Leon scowled at Evander.“I can take it!”

Evander hesitated before nodding jerkily.

He lifted his other hand and sent fire magic pouring into Leon’sNullification Magic.

“Now!”

The concentrated energy wave they released boomed in a blinding flash that rippled outward on a formidable shockwave.

Windows shattered and chandeliers cracked.Chairs and desks exploded, filling the air with debris.Fracture lines snaked across the floor and up the walls.Plaster dust rained down from the ceiling.

The shadow creatures recoiled, their formless bodies contorting in agony before they dissipated to wispy tendrils that quickly faded in the sunlight streaming through the broken windows.

Musgrave stumbled back with a cry of horror as he was momentarily robbed of his magic by Leon’s powers.His murderous gaze found Evander.

“You will pay for this, Archmage!”he hissed.

Evander didn’t waste his breath responding.He advanced towards the professor where the latter stood trapped between Rufus and Shaw, anger tightening his face.

“Where are Whitley and Chevalier?”Evander growled.“And what have you done with the missing thralls?!”

A bark of laughter that did not belong to a sane man escaped Musgrave.

“You think you’ve won, don’t you?!”he sneered.“You and your damn friends and even thatwhoreHarrington?!”

Cecillia paled as the professor shot a glare at her.

Musgrave’s eyes shrank to slits at Evander’s approach.

“I shall have your powers!”His gaze shifted to Leon.“Allyour powers!I will turn the pair of you into drooling rats that can’t even light a candle with your magic!”His mouth stretched in a deranged smile.“And my master shall reward me for my efforts, just like he promised he would!I shall have you lick his boots, Archmage.For you are nothing compared to his greatness!”

Ice filled Evander’s veins.He closed the distance to Musgrave and grabbed him furiously by the collar of his robe.