A Magical Alliance (Magic City Chronicles Book 2) Read online

  A Magical Alliance

  Magic City Chronicles™ Book Two

  TR Cameron

  Michael Anderle

  Martha Carr

  This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2021 LMBPN Publishing

  Cover by Fantasy Book Design

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  A Michael Anderle Production

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, February, 2021

  ebook ISBN: 978-1-64971-437-4

  Print ISBN: 978-1-64971-438-1

  The Oriceran Universe (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are Copyright (c) 2017-21 by Martha Carr and LMBPN Publishing.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Author Notes - TR Cameron

  Author Notes - Martha Carr

  Other series in the Oriceran Universe:

  Books By Michael Anderle

  Connect with The Authors

  The A Magical Alliance Team

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  Dave Hicks

  Peter Manis

  Daniel Weigert

  John Ashmore

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Wendy L Bonell

  Paul Westma

  Angel LaVey

  Larry Omans

  Kelly O’Donnell

  If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!

  Editor

  Skyhunter Editing Team

  Dedications

  For those who seek wonder around every corner and in each turning page. And, as always, for Dylan.

  — TR Cameron

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  To Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  To Live The Life We Are

  Called.

  — Michael

  Chapter One

  Ruby stumbled backward with a bellow of pain from the blow that slammed into her ribs. “Damn, ow, damn, bloody gods damned.” She bit down on the inappropriate name she was about to call her mentor, but Keshalla’s grin suggested that even unspoken, she’d nonetheless communicated it.

  The other woman wielded paired swords for the test. The Mist Elves’ combat arts required students to demonstrate mastery of each weapon before being permitted to begin their study of the next. Her teacher had deemed her ready to display her skills with a single sword. She had no doubts at the start of the process, but as it wore on, her confidence was starting to flag. It’s okay, Ruby. It’ll only be another year of training if you fail. Her stomach clenched at the prospect of facing her mentor’s disappointment for that long.

  The ritual involved rounds of combat against each style of weapon, meaning she’d faced children who had mastered the earliest ones, generally projectiles, at the start. Now, after almost an hour of defending herself from ranged weapons and defeating opponents using melee ones, she was up against one of the most skilled warriors her people had to offer. And she was losing. In front of an audience made up of the entire village, who ringed the central grassy area between their small houses that was her frequent training ground on Oriceran.

  The stakes got progressively higher as one advanced. She’d taken body hits from sling stones, had several cuts on her face and hands from arrows and thrown blades, and had been battered by force-shielded knives, bladed sticks, and swords. At first, the goal was not to get hit too much. Now it was all about staying up long enough to defeat her opponent, which was unlikely against Keshalla, or until her mentor deemed her worthy, which Ruby thought was still within her reach. Okay. Focus. Do this.

  Ruby set her feet and ran the back of her bare hand over her forehead to get stray wisps of white-blonde hair out of her eyes. The small trickle of magic she applied to cover the edge of her single sword was no more draining than the power she used on Earth to maintain the illusion of her humanity. Other magic was prohibited, although she had been given sufficient cause during the bouts to wonder if that was true for her opponents as well. She’d never been on the opposite side of the test and was confident that many of her foes were powerful enough to hide their use of magic if they chose to.

  She charged her teacher, who hadn’t pursued her retreat. Keshalla stood an inch or two taller than Ruby, giving her a slight advantage in reach. Her pale skin would show cuts as easily as Ruby’s—if anyone ever managed to strike her—but their appearances diverged from there. The other woman’s shining black hair, a rarity among the Mist Elves, whipped around as she spun out of the way. Ruby’s sword almost caught the black and crimson leather armor, another rare choice divergent from the traditional nature colors their people preferred.

  Ruby instinctively flicked her sword up to block the counterattack, intercepting a blade on its way to her head as she spun to disengage. She felt the tip of the second sword as it scraped across her thigh, but her move neutralized the power behind it. The other woman’s grin showed her pleasure in the fight, and hopefully in her student. However, it failed to completely conceal the strategist’s smile—the expression of the opponent who was clearly trying to wear her down, to use the effort she’d put into the previous bouts against her.

  Ruby brought her sword up to high guard position in a two-handed grip, pommel above her head, blade angled downward. “What do you say we call this done and go have a drink?”

  Keshalla spun her swords in a flashy display, then set her stance with one held before her in defense, the other at eye level pointing forward. “I would never dishonor you in that way. You’ve come so far, minari. Your victory is at hand.” Her tone was equal parts encouraging and mocking.

  “Sure, shenai. I can tell you’re almost ready to give up.” At the other woman’s laugh, she charged. She moved to her right and cut back across her body, an awkward move that avoided her foe’s attempt to block it. A moment of hope turned into frustration as her teacher snapped up a kick that hit the flat of the blade and knocked it out of line.

  Two can play at that game. Ruby dropped into a crouch and tried for a foot sweep, knowing Keshalla would probably be able to evade it. How she’ll do it, that’s the question. When the other woman leapt into the a
ir, it was the choice of her teacher, not the warrior, since it created a vulnerability. Ruby exploded upward and smashed into her foe, knocking the defensive blade out of the way with hers, and carried her down to the ground. She made sure to fall hard on her opponent, hoping to knock the breath out of her.

  She landed on a force shield. “Not fair,” she growled as she rolled to the side and came up in a defensive crouch.

  Keshalla rose and nodded. “No one promised it would be.”

  The sound of tearing grass caused her to snap her head to the left. It took a moment to process the sight of one of the car-sized boulders flying through the air at her. She dove out of the way as it sped through the spot she’d just occupied, mostly sure it wouldn’t have fatally damaged her if her evasion had been too slow. Her teacher was choosy about the students she taught and killing one outright seemed like a bad signal to send future recruits.

  It was a clear message that Ruby needed to get on with it. She charged again, whirling her blade around in a slash at the other woman’s head. Both swords came up to block, and she delivered a front kick to her teacher’s sternum, knocking her backward. A low cut brought one of the defending blades down, and she stabbed forward at Keshalla’s chest. Her foe spun away, but Ruby was ready for it. She dashed ahead and released the sword with her right hand, slashing at the twirling form with her left. That attack was blocked, but the punch connected. It hit the other woman’s shoulder rather than her intended strike on the chest but still put her off balance for an instant.

  Ruby slipped forward and blasted a knee into the other woman’s stomach. She was forced onto the defensive as the twin swords licked out at her face, her chest, then her legs, moving her weapon in a series of slashes and circles to block. When the flurry ended, she resumed the pressure, stepping in close and stabbing at her opponent’s thigh. When the blades came down in defense, Ruby snapped her head forward in a strike at Keshalla’s nose.

  It never landed. Instead, the pommel of one of her foe’s swords smashed into her face, bloodying her nose and possibly fracturing her cheek, based on the blast of pain that accompanied it. She blindly swiped a circle with her sword, and a clang that almost knocked the weapon from her hand rewarded her as she intercepted a slash at her already aching ribs. Fearing where the other blade was and still unable to see from the tears inspired by the damage to her face, she ran forward with her weapon held at guard before her, hoping to either slam into her opponent or get clear.

  The move apparently caught Keshalla by surprise, maybe because it was more aggressive than Ruby tended to be. Regardless, she dashed the tears from her eyes as she reset her stance and faced her opponent. Respect was visible in her teacher’s expression, and the other woman nodded as she stepped back into a defensive posture.

  Ruby advanced, weaving her sword slowly in a figure-eight before her, keeping her vision soft so the other woman’s entire body received equal attention. Watching the eyes or the hands was a great way to get stabbed; it was usually the core and the legs that revealed an opponent’s intentions. When she reached the outer circle of engagement, that distance where a quick step and an extended thrust could reach flesh, Keshalla’s weight moved slightly onto her front leg. Ruby whirled in a crouching spin to her right as her foe exploded forward, both blades barely missing. She continued the movement with a slash at her foe’s legs that connected with a thigh, staggering the other woman.

  Keshalla twisted and brought the nearer blade around in another slam at Ruby’s damaged side. She accepted the blow and screamed as the pain in her ribs doubled. The fact that she could still breathe indicated that the leather armor, reinforced in that spot, had again kept the fragile bones from breaking. She punched forward with the hilt of her sword, striking her teacher in the left shoulder, dislocating the joint. The blade on that side fell from numbed fingers, and Ruby circled in that direction.

  What might have taken a lesser opponent out of the fight was nothing more than a challenge to her mentor. The single remaining sword whipped in, curving over her block to seek her injured cheek. Ruby leaned back to avoid it, then fell as the other woman flipped the weapon in her grip and made the same cut in reverse. She rolled into a backward somersault and came up running at her foe.

  She swung her sword high, forcing Keshalla to block it, then delivered a roundhouse kick to the wounded arm. Her teacher gasped, unable to ignore that extra pain. Ruby planted her kicking foot and threw herself into a spin parallel to the ground, one foot slamming the other woman in the chest while the other kicked at the back of her legs. The takedown worked, and she whipped the blade of her sword into position at her teacher’s throat.

  Keshalla grinned. “Well done, minari. Only one step remains.”

  For a moment, Ruby relaxed, thinking her teacher meant the announcement that she’d passed the test. A feral growl from the other side of the clearing revealed that it was nothing of the sort. She sighed. “You all suck.”

  Keshalla laughed. “Surely you didn’t think your challenge would be the same as one who had not undergone the venamisha.”

  “You know, I kind of did.”

  “Hopefully after today, you’ll be smarter. You may use every power at your disposal. The fight ends when one surrenders or cannot continue.”

  Ruby rose and turned toward the giant tiger at the other end of the grassy field, half again as large as any Earth had ever produced. “All right, kitty. Bring it on.”

  Chapter Two

  Idryll, the shapeshifting cat-woman who considered herself bound for life to Ruby, charged with another roar. She was gorgeous in this form, her coloring similar to an Earth tiger’s, but in shades that had never exactly been present on that planet. They seemed to morph and blend as she advanced, the muscles' movement under that fur almost frightening in their smoothness. Her mouth oddly twisted as she spoke, and as always it was weird hearing speech out of her fully feline form. “You didn’t think I’d miss out on the fun, did you?”

  Ruby gave a small shrug. “Again, it appears I kind of did. From here on out, I’ll assume that you’ll complicate everything.”

  The tiger chuffed a laugh. “Good plan.” She surged forward, covering the space between them in seconds. Fortunately, Ruby was ready for it. She wrapped a shield of force magic around her left arm from elbow to fingertips and used it to intercept her foe’s slashing claws as she darted to the side to avoid getting run over. She flicked out her sword at Idryll, but her opponent dropped and rolled away, dodging it easily.

  They circled one another. Ruby moved carefully to keep her balance centered while her opponent bounced from spot to spot, feigning attacks. When they drew a response, the tiger got that smile that perfectly communicated mockery. Ruby bit down on a sarcastic comment, knowing it would feed her rival’s poor attitude. The next time she falls asleep in normal cat form, I’m throwing her in a bathtub full of cold water. It was tough to reconcile the killer in front of her with the purring furball that filled her sister Morrigan with delight.

  She pulled back the shield from her hand and sent a bolt of frost at her opponent. Idryll scrambled out of the way, but Ruby kept firing, ensuring that the cat stayed on the run. Just a little more. Finally, the position was perfect, and she lunged with her sword, shoving it into the path of her foe’s paws. The tiger tripped, going over in a somersault. That was the good part.

  There were two bad parts. The first was that Idryll’s momentum ripped the sword out of her hand and sent it flying. The second was that, when her opponent came up from the ground, she was still smiling. She growled, “Aww. You lost your pointy stick.” A wide smile displayed clean white fangs as if to reinforce the resulting imbalance in their fighting tools.

  Ruby focused her magic into a force shield that covered her from toes to fingertips. If she was honest with herself, she preferred hand-to-hand combat; it was more visceral, more rewarding, than operating at a distance. Maybe not against a tiger five or six times my weight. She didn’t doubt that the tiger’s move
to circle away from the fallen weapon was an invitation to a trap, one that she wasn’t about to step into.

  The key would be to stay fast and nimble and avoid any situation where Idryll could bring her weight to bear. Although the force shield would protect her from being crushed, for a while anyway, her mentor would chalk it up as a defeat. I am so not going through this again, so I better not fail.

  She ran straight at her rival, and the tiger jumped to meet her. Ruby slid underneath and snapped a kick upward that caught the cat in the air. It didn’t have much on it but still made her feel that she’d accomplished something useful. Doubtless her partner underestimated Ruby’s unarmed combat skills, so it was a good moment to disabuse her of that notion and maybe take some of her foe’s most extravagant and risky attacks off the table.

  They rose simultaneously, and the tiger prowled toward her, body low to the ground, tail twitching. The growls coming from deep within Idryll’s chest would have been terrifying if it had been a real battle. Knowing it wasn’t didn’t eliminate the fear entirely, and Ruby forced herself to relax. When the attack came, it was a quick leap forward and the swipe of a massive paw at her legs.