Of course, they had Ash. He could level the playing field a lot if properly commanded. Alex didn't seem to be very good at that yet, but it was hard to tell if that was because he was lazy, or he actually didn't know he was leaving commands open to interpretation.
In a short time, we reached the turn off the trail. Before, I couldn't tell there was another path. Now, it had been heavily trampled, the trees damaged, and the underbrush disturbed. Even I could tell something had crashed through there without a care to the noise it, or they, made and the damage they left.
Ed growled as we stared at the damage.
Nikolai and Doc shared a glance before the mage waved Doc back and stepped slowly into the woods.
Doc fell back to stand next to me, and we both watched Sam while also trying to pay attention to everything else.
Ed and Allan watched our backs.
Though we were prepared to be attacked, it still shocked me when Doc grabbed my arms and shoved me behind a tree, sheltering me with his body as he pulled me low to the ground.
I heard a sharp crack, and dirt sprayed from the ground where Doc and I had been standing.
Ed grabbed Sam and dragged her off the path. Allan had already disappeared into the woods. Nikolai came over to us, crouching, but studying the surrounding forest.
"Trap," Nikolai stated, smiling slightly. "And it looks like I get to practice against firearms after all."
The dirt around us erupted in an orange and green light show. Unless they had other mages with similar magical signatures, that would be Alex and Ash.
"You are surrounded," a male voice shouted. I thought it sounded familiar, but it wasn't someone I actually knew. Maybe someone from when I had escaped Alex's home not long ago.
"If you hand Sofia over to us, we'll let you live."
Sam looked startled, but not completely surprised when I looked over at her to see how she was taking all this. We warned her it was a trap, so maybe that was all it was, but I couldn't help but feel she had sold us out for her own safety.
Nikolai squeezed my shoulder before shaking his head. "It is weak attack. Trying to intimidate us." He shrugged. "It is not working."
I managed to smile. "If I was alone, I'd be intimidated."
"But you're not," Doc pointed out.
"No!" Ed yelled out for all of us.
"Have you located their positions yet?" Nikolai whispered, and glanced at Doc, who nodded.
Sam was watching us closely, though she probably couldn't hear what we said if we stayed quiet. I didn't like her expression at all. Ed still crouched by her side, and I wasn't sure where Allan had disappeared to, but I knew he wouldn't be far. I hoped Ed kept an eye on Sam and not just to keep her safe.
Nikolai was used to working with vampires, and his familiarity with their powers would certainly be an asset here.
Doc leaned close and whispered their locations, and the mage nodded.
"You and Sofia stay here and cast this shield. I will scout." Nikolai pushed a bit of magic into me, and I caught the shape of the spell from it.
"Support Sofia," he ordered Doc, before he held his hand over his head and sprinkled blue motes on himself. Moments later, he vanished.
Sam gasped. "That's not supposed to be possible."
Ignoring her, I formed the spell like Nikolai had shown me. Doc fed Nikolai's magic into me, and we expanded the shield until it surrounded us, Ed, and Sam. I hoped Allan knew what he was doing.
"He's taught you quite a bit already," she murmured.
"Not really the time," I muttered through gritted teeth. Maintaining the spell wasn't actually as hard as I was acting, but I didn't want her to be able to judge my capabilities. I also didn't want her to know Doc was feeding Nikolai's magic to me, though she could see his signature in the spell. Hopefully, she couldn't tell where I was getting it from, or if she knew about Doc's bracelet reservoir, maybe she thought it was from that.
My skin tingled where Doc touched me, still shielding me with his body while he fed magic to me. As it melded with my own, my nerves tingled, and power coursed through me, connecting me to my surroundings and my pack. My awareness of Doc increased, his cool desert energy mingling with the raging storm of Nikolai's. With a moment's concentration, I could feel the mage's location, and then Ed and Allan entered my awareness.
Beyond the bond we had formed, I got a sense of Doc's awareness of everyone, and then Ed and Allan's senses. Nikolai's were enhanced through some of the magic he had cast, but remained much closer to my levels.
"Focus," Doc whispered in my ear.
His breath on my skin brought me solidly back to myself, but I was left with the knowledge I had gained from the others. I knew where our attackers were. There were five of them. Alex and Ash, and three men I didn't recognize. All mages. Only one smelled of gunpowder, and he was the one Allan stalked.
Ash and Alex came into view and studied the shield I had cast. Ash's gaze found Doc, though his expression remained neutral.
"Yeah, take that down." Alex gave a negligent wave toward my shield.
Ash pulled his attention away from Doc and raised his hands. Orange light built around them before he cast pure energy at the shield.
I poured more of my energy into it, and while the shield flexed under the assault, it didn't break.
Both Ash and Alex looked surprised.
I bared my teeth at them and focused on maintaining the shield while Ash tried to
