Page 38 of Unbearable Attraction (Hollow Oak Mates #4)
LUKA
D awn came too soon and not soon enough.
Luka stood in his workshop, hands moving with practiced precision as he shaped the final ward anchors they'd need for today's working.
The oak responded to his touch like an old friend, its grain patterns shifting to accommodate the protective symbols his grandfather had taught him decades ago.
"How many more?" Leenah asked from her spot at his workbench, where she'd been inscribing necromantic focusing stones with silver ink.
"Six. Maybe seven if we want backup anchors for the residential district.
" He paused to examine the piece he'd just finished, noting how the wood seemed to hum with contained energy.
"Your grandmother's journals were right about combining earth magic with spirit work.
These are holding more power than anything I've made before. "
"That's because we're making them together." She looked up from her delicate work, silver streaking her fingertips. "I can feel your magic flowing through the wood even before I add the necromantic elements."
Their bond hummed between them, steady and warm despite the approaching confrontation. Through it, he could sense her determination mixed with carefully controlled fear. Not fear of Edmund or his magic, but fear of failing the people who'd trusted them with Hollow Oak's protection.
A soft knock interrupted their preparations. Twyla appeared in the doorway carrying a tray loaded with coffee and what looked like enough breakfast pastries to feed half the town.
"Fuel for the fight," she announced, setting the tray on his tool chest. "Can't have our defenders passing out from low blood sugar."
"Any word from the others?" Leenah asked, accepting a steaming mug gratefully.
"Maeve's got the tavern district locked down tight.
Those protective charms on the Silver Fang are glowing like Christmas lights.
" Twyla's expression grew serious. "Miriam's coordinating with the inn guests who want to help.
Turns out we've got a visiting earth witch and a hedge wizard willing to lend their power to the working. "
"And Edmund?" Luka asked.
"Still holed up in the grove, but his barriers are spreading. Edgar tried to check on the Mercantile this morning and couldn't get within fifty yards of the building." Twyla's fae blood showed in the way shadows bent around her when she was agitated. "Whatever he's planning, it's big."
As if summoned by her words, a wave of wrongness swept through the town.
The ward anchors Luka had been crafting suddenly blazed with reactive energy, their protective magic responding to a direct assault on Hollow Oak's barriers.
Through the workshop windows, he could see the morning sky darkening with unnatural clouds.
"He's starting early," Leenah said, her necromantic abilities crackling in response to the supernatural disturbance.
The three of them rushed outside to find Main Street in chaos. The carefully maintained magical balance that kept Hollow Oak peaceful was unraveling before their eyes. Street lamps flickered with unstable energy, shop windows rattled in their frames, and the very air tasted of ozone and fear.
But it was the response of the townspeople that made Luka's bear rumble with fierce pride.
Instead of panicking, they were fighting back.
Twyla's café blazed with golden light as she channeled fae magic into the protective wards woven into its foundation.
Down the street, Edgar and Rufus Tansley stood in front of their shop, hands raised as they poured witch magic into barrier spells that sparkled like starlight.
Even Mrs. Henderson was contributing, her small hedge magic adding to the growing network of defensive power that spider-webbed across the commercial district.
"It's working," Leenah breathed, wonder coloring her voice. "They're all connected, all feeding power into the ward network."
"Can you link with them?" Luka asked, already knowing the answer from the way her abilities were responding to the collective magical working.
"Already happening," she replied, her eyes beginning to glow with necromantic energy. "I can feel every protective intention, every spell that's been woven into this place over the years. It's beautiful."
Another wave of Edmund's corruption crashed against their defenses, stronger this time. Several windows cracked under the pressure, and one of the younger witches helping with the tavern district staggered as the magical backlash hit her.
"He's testing our coordination," Luka said, his earth magic reaching out to stabilize the ward anchors before they could overload. "Trying to find weak points in the network."
"Then we don't give him any." Leenah moved toward the center of Main Street, her hands already beginning the complex gestures that would let her channel the community's combined power. "Time to show him what Hollow Oak is really capable of."
The ritual that followed was unlike anything Luka had ever witnessed.
Leenah became a conduit for the entire town's magical will, her necromantic abilities weaving together dozens of different power sources into a unified defense.
But instead of draining her as such workings usually did, the community bonds seemed to strengthen her, their trust and support flowing through the ward network like nourishing rain.
And through their bond, Luka found himself connected to all of it.
His bear consciousness merged with the collective working, adding earth magic and primal strength to the growing web of protection.
He could feel every resident who was contributing power, sense their determination to defend the home they'd built together.
Twyla's fae magic, bright and protective.
Maeve's lioness fury, fierce and loyal. Even the visiting supernatural guests, strangers willing to fight for a place that had welcomed them.
Edmund's next assault came with the force of a supernatural hurricane. Dark magic crashed against their barriers like a tidal wave, seeking to shatter the delicate coordination that held their defense together.
But instead of breaking, the ward network bent and flowed, distributing the impact across hundreds of connection points. What would have overwhelmed any individual practitioner became manageable when shared among an entire community.
"You feel that?" Leenah called out, her voice carrying clearly despite the magical chaos swirling around them. "He's strong, but he's alone. We're stronger because we're together."
Luka felt her absolute certainty that they would win this fight. Not because their magic was more powerful than Edmund's, but because it was connected to something he couldn't understand or replicate.
The love and trust that bound a true community together.
Edmund's fourth assault came with desperate fury, his power striking their defenses like a battering ram.
But by then, the ward network had grown beyond anything Hollow Oak had ever achieved before.
Every shop, every home, every protective charm that had been placed with genuine care for the town's wellbeing had become part of their defense.
"He's weakening," Luka reported, his earth magic sensing the instability in Edmund's attacks. "Whatever he's drawing power from, it can't sustain this level of assault much longer."
"Good," Leenah replied, her necromantic abilities beginning to shift from purely defensive to something more active. "Because now it's our turn."