Feral Magic

another adventure. Zak leaned to one side, stretching his back and guilt washed through her. She’d caused that. Here they were, getting ready to hit another target and Zak was still feeling the pain from her throw. If that pain hindered his ability—Zak waved, her cheeks heated, and Vixin stormed off to address another she’d seen with a red stone around his wrist.
Will we ever be more than that?
She’d ignored his words but hadn’t forgotten them. They were friends, but...more? She’d already messed up the friendship thing more than once so how could she hope to—Vixin shook her head. She couldn’t think about that right now. She needed to focus. They had a mission to plan and with any luck it’d go a lot smoother than the last.
~~~
One look and Vixin knew this was a bad idea. They didn’t have a wall to guard them, but wall or no, these people were ready for an attack.
“You should pick a different location,” Vixin said.
Zak eyed her. “I didn’t think you were one to get cold feet.”
“I’m not, but it doesn’t feel right. Look how attentive the guards are. Only one seems to be slacking and I’m willing to bet it’s only due to lack of sleep. They have traps set up in the grass and who knows what else.”
“We’re already here, might as well give it a go.”
He stood, but Vixin grabbed his arm. “I’m serious.”
Zak stared at her and then looked back toward the guards. “We’ll switch plans then. You’re the most apt with magic and have the keenest eye. If you’re that worried, function as the backup instead of the assault. If you see something go wrong, yank us out.”
“I already see something wrong.”
“You think something’s wrong, that’s different. We’ve done this a hundred times. It’ll be fine.”
Vixin tsked but let him go. He informed the others and several glanced at her with worried expressions. She half hoped they’d take her advice, talk some sense into Zak, but they trusted their leader more than her it seemed. Fine, let them get themselves killed over stupid pride.
Vixin eyed the guards again and the hair on her arms stood on end. Magic charged the air, causing her own to hum with it. She clutched the knife in her belt.
This night wasn’t going to end well.
~~~
Vixin cursed. She should have seen it. She had seen it but couldn’t tell where the attack would come from. And now, the whole lot of them were trapped in the center of town, surrounded and unprepared.
People were going to die, but Zak...Zak was her only focus. To hell with the others.
Plants burst from the ground and wrapped around the first sentry. He didn’t even have time to scream and his eagerness to watch her friends tortured cost him his life.
Friends. Were they all her friends now? Should she care about them like Zak did?
Magic crackled through the air, like static before a storm. She could feel the plants wriggling beneath the earth, all poised to deliver a deadly blow. Vixin gritted her teeth and surged her magic through the ground. She wrapped them around the plants ready to strike, strangling her enemies before they became something formidable.
Vixin could prevent earth magic, but what about the other elements? Judging from her earlier conversations, Zak’s people weren’t as apt at disabling another’s ability. She should have spent a week on it, put her focus on the physical aspects of training instead—
Vixin skidded to a halt just before a group of guards and yanked herself up the side of a building and onto the roof. She scanned the area and crept forward with the moonlight as her guide and paused just outside a ring of people.
Zak stood before his friends, a grimace marring his face. He had one hand outstretched as if he could protect those behind him and another on the hilt of his sword.
She couldn’t see the face of the one who spoke next. “You’re not talking your way out of this.” He raised one arm. “Kill them.”
Vixin’s skin prickled and the night exploded. Her magic tightened like a lease on a dog’s collar. The earth’s surface crumbled, but the deadly vines didn’t shoot toward her companions. Fire collided with fire and steam rose as water joined the fray.
Vixin jumped from the rooftop, letting her vines impale those directly below her. She drew her knives, slashing the vital points of any who dared close the distance. There could be no mistakes. There could be no mercy.
Sweat rolled down her face and her breathing was already uneven but Vixin shoved through the exhaustion, pouring more energy into the plant life she was struggling to restrain.
Vixin kept her attention on Zak, hacking through her enemies as she moved toward him. A fire user fell with a thick vine protruding from his chest. Another shooting spikes of ice gurgled and hit the ground, clutching at the greenery crawling from his throat.
“Zak!”
He whirled at the sound of her voice and she waved him toward her. Zak kicked the man he’d been fighting and sprinted from those about to converge upon him.
He wouldn't make it. Not with the man to his right about to swing his sword. Not with the two to the left summoning fire and ice.
Fear exploded though her body and her magic responded, ripping from the ground by the hundreds. Thorns impaled Zak's would-be attackers and lifted them into the air.
Vixin focused and her magic rushed toward her like a tidal wave, crashing into the walls to her right and left.
Her vision blurred and she hit one knee, but Zak was on her in seconds, gripping her arm and lifting her from the ground.
Screams echoed from beyond her walls. Screams from their comrades. She wanted to take him and run but one look