We were in bed earlier than usual. We absolutely enjoyed the extra time together. Both of us needed to resume our normal schedule in the morning. We made the most of our last night of “rest” for a while. Blaze needed to get back to her office, and I was close to finishing the body of the book. I wanted it done and over with.
New Relationship Energy can keep you going…even in us old guys.
When I woke at about a quarter till seven, pale early June sunlight was just beginning to press around the edges of the curtains. The birds outside were already arguing about territory and who got the first worm.
I lay there for a moment and thought briefly about contacting MathMamm to see if they wanted to fight more spawns. I wanted to push to level 15. That was the next big jump point.
There were spells I wanted that unlocked at 15. TELEPORT SELF being the big one. It only allowed me to teleport up to five meters away…but that increased by five meters per level up to Level 20.
There had to be more spells available than I’d seen in the store. I hoped for something useful. Or useful modifications to what I already had.
My left wrist and her right were looped through the ends of the terrycloth belt at the end of the bed. We couldn’t roll away from each other…but we could roll closer. That had been her idea when we were both too tired to keep going. I moved my hand gently over hers without waking her.
The alarm would go off too soon.
A minute later was way too soon.
It buzzed too loudly on the nightstand. I reached over and silenced it quickly, hoping it wouldn’t wake Blaze. It didn’t. I had it turned off fast enough.
But a minute later, a message from Ryan had me fully awake.
[Ryan:] [William of Brinsford] [New spawn. Three birds that shoot lightning. Flying over the shieldwalls.]
[William of Brinsford:] [Ryan] [Shit. Just woke up. On the way.]
Sliding the belt off my wrist, I jostled Blaze awake. I was already sitting up when her eyes opened enough to focus.
“New spawns. Flying birds that shoot lightning. Ryan needs help.”
I stood. Sandals, robes, and staff appeared on my body and in my hand in a smooth pull from INVENTORY. The faint blue shimmer of MANA settled against my skin as they appeared. I headed for the door. Behind me I heard her moving, sheets rustling.
Once I hit the hallway, I started running.
“Coming!” she called, her voice still husky with sleep.
The slap of her sandals on the wood floor closed the distance just as I reached the front door. The only thing that slowed me was the lock and grabbing my hat. A gentleman never leaves home without it.
The early June morning air hit warm and damp as we ran outside. Fresh late spring flowers and grass and someone’s morning coffee drifted across the street.
Blaze was right behind me as we ran out the door. We looked across the street to see what was happening
Across from us, a faintly glowing LIGHTNING SHIELD shimmered, suspended above Ryan’s party. The multi-colored glows from our MANA effects cast a strange contrast against the early morning sunlight.
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The birds were the size of buzzards…maybe larger. Feathers crackled with electrical arcs as they circled above the shield, looking for an opening.
Using my staff as a focus, I fired a MANA BLAST high enough over Ryan’s shield that I hoped it wouldn’t damage it. The blast streaked upward in a tight line of blue light, leaving faint sparks that winked out midair. It struck one of the birds as it banked toward us.
Blaze followed with a FIRE BLAST, the redish-orange flare briefly overpowering the morning light.
REVEAL STATS identified them as Level 10 Lightning Raptors. LIGHTNING BALLS, BLASTS, AND BOLTS were listed as offensive abilities. Sparks danced along their feathers…it was a +10 LIGHTNING ARMOR.
Seldon Wong, their WOOD MAGE, had walls raised on all four sides of their party. BandS was firing ICE BOLTS whenever she had a clear shot. I didn’t see SandB.
I hit one that was angling toward us with a full-powered MANA BOLT. The impact knocked it backward, and it spiraled down, slamming into the pavement hard enough that it skidded toward me before stopping.
Blaze FIRE BOLTed it before it could recover. The body jerked once and went still.
“One down!” I shouted. “Two to go!”
Combined fire from the party dropped a second one, its body falling in a shower of dissipating sparks.
Then one of those moments happened. The kind that starts with “oh shit” and ends three exclamation points.
A car drove down 19th like nothing was happening. The driver barely glanced at the fight as it moved to the center of the road around the parked cars with people watching the fight.
Before any of us could react, a raptor’s LIGHTNING BOLT speared downward.
The hood flew up. Flames burst from the engine compartment.
I encased the driver in MANA ARMOR, hoping it would hold long enough. The faint blue shimmer wrapped around her just as heavy smoke began pouring from beneath the hood.
Blaze and I both hit the last bird with BOLTs. A WOOD SPIKE from Seldon punched up into its belly, throwing it off its flight path. When it hit the ground, every mage fired at once. Carlos ran in and chopped its head off in a clean swing.
Shields began dropping around the party. Meg sprinted toward the car. Blaze and I did the same.
Heat rolled off the engine in waves. The smell of leaking gasoline and burning plastic filled the air.
Carlos smashed a window with the butt of his sword, reached in, and wrenched open the driver’s door. We pulled the woman free while Meg HEALed her…several times.
“911 called,” Blaze said, breath tight. She must have grabbed her phone off the nightstand. “Want me to try to control the fire?”
“Let me try,” BandS said, wrapping the engine in ICE. Frost spread rapidly, crackling and hissing as steam erupted. She encased the entire front of the car, inside and out, in thick ice.
My REVEAL STATS gave me nothing on the woman. Not a player. Thankfully, HEALing ignored nonplayer status.
Traffic was now blocked in both directions by the frozen car. A few drivers waited. Others began turning around. The ones who waited were watching us carefully.
Carlos remembered to loot the birds. The Lightning Raptors gave decent drops. Blaze and I were handed a Silver Moon each for our help.
We thanked them. More coins were always welcome.
Sirens grew louder. A firetruck and several police cars pulled up. Dark blue uniforms stepped out cautiously. There was an ambulance siren in the distance.
We gave them quick goodbyes, accepted their thanks, and headed back inside.
Once the door closed behind us, I let out a breath.
“That’s a wakeup call I haven’t had in a while.”
Blaze laughed and lifted her right arm. The terrycloth belt was still wrapped around her forearm.
We both started laughing harder.
Then it was showers, a quick breakfast, and back to work. Always more work.
I still didn’t have enough experience for Level 15. But I was closer.
Blaze finished getting ready and was ready to go out the door at a quarter to eight. Even with traffic, she’d be at her office in ten minutes.
“If you take your people out spawn fighting, watch for those birds,” I reminded her. “We may need roofs on the funnels for when they show up again.”
“Guild Chat’s full of it. So is the net,” she said, setting her phone down and leaning over to kiss my cheek.
I turned and caught her full on instead. She blushed and jerked back.
I laughed. She did too.
“I shouldn’t complain,” Blaze said. “I gave you the opening and you took it.”
“Yeah. I did. We were both ready for something like this. Let’s make sure we keep it going.”
“Yes, bossy man,” she said, darting out of reach and through the door, still laughing.
After tidying the kitchen, I carried a fresh mug of coffee into the office. The house had settled back into quiet… just the hum of the refrigerator and distant lawn mowers outside.
Back in my black gaming chair, I pulled up the manuscript and started working.
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