The Apprentice's Apprentice

Part 42

Philippe shot his hands upwards, the spell discharging harmlessly into the sky. Cora almost sighed but she knew they were still in danger. She couldn't see the expression on his face, but she could practically feel the crazy energy coming off of Philippe. His head was turned towards her and his voice wavered as he said, "Cor, what are you doing?"

She swallowed rapidly weighing her options. She could play along with his delusions some more, tell him she was keeping them from being hunted even harder for killing someone. But Warren hadn't abandoned her, hadn't done anything except try to save her. How could she do less than him? "What I want. You're sick and need help, Philippe," she said. "Please, just give up. I'm sure there are people who can help you see how crazy this all is."

For a second he was silent and Cora thought he might have gotten through to him. Then she heard him sigh as he shook his head. "Ma chérie, I thought you understood. It's alright. You might not now, but you will in time. Just as soon as we get away from here and you can spend time away from the poison the close-minded people here are pouring into your ears. We have been apart for seven years."

"Don't bother," Warren snapped, the bolts flickering around his fist growing in number. "He's so gone nothing you say is going to matter."

"What do you know?" Philippe called, voice hard. "You're still hiding behind Cor, like the coward you are."

Warren was beside Cora in an instant. "I'm not the one who spells innocent people to do his work for him!" he shouted as he released his spell. The miniature lightning bolts slipped through the whirlwind but died against the bubble shield around Philippe.

Cora concentrated on her own magic, doing her best to spread her shields out from her body while still maintaining their integrity. If she could get them wide enough, could get Warren behind them, they might have a chance at this. Especially if Warren knew as much offensive magic as she suspected Selena had taught him.

Warren was already prepping his next spell, a growing ball of bright green appearing in one hand. But Philippe was working on his next attack as well, his hands held over one another with the space between slowly being filled by what looked like white smoke. Except the smoke was glowing.

Philippe's spell was faster, the smoke hurtling towards Warren. Cora leapt towards him, pushing her shields out as far as she could. The spell hit her shields steaming faintly before covering them in a visible sheet of ice. The weight and cold of it weakened them enough that when Cora moved, they shattered.

As she scrambled to get her shields back up, Warren released his spell. The spinning winds protected him from the worst of it, but the liquid nature of the attack still splashed through to hit Philippe's shields. There was a hissing sound before Philippe dropped the whirlwind and jumped away from where he'd been standing. Where the liquid hit the ground it sizzled and ate into the grass. Philippe's chest heaved and Cora could feel him rebuilding his shields, even faster than she was able to get hers back up. For the first time, she really felt the difference between a full mage and an apprentice.

Warren didn't seem to care, if the way he threw himself towards Philippe was any indication, fireballs in each hand. Cora had barely gotten her normal shields back up and didn't think she was going to be able to extend them in time. "Warren, no!" she screamed.

But he was already standing straight in front of Philippe, throwing the burning spheres at him. They flew straight but splashed against uselessly against Philippe's shields. And what lay behind them was much worse because Warren had underestimated the speed of Philippe's spellcasting.

Cora could do nothing but watch as Philippe shoved both palms forward. She could see nothing there, but felt it as the edges sped past her. The main force of it hit Warren squarely in his chest and sent him flying. He only stopped when he slammed into a tree, falling back to the ground a moment later.

Cora could hear a scream echoing in her ears and it took her a second to realize it was herself. She took a few stumbling steps towards Warren, praying he was okay but knowing hitting a tree with that kind of force wasn't going to end well. Too late, she realized that she should be watching what Philippe was doing.