She took the water and grabbed a napkin to blot a wine stain on the hem of her dress. “Stupid drunk richies. They don’t give a damn about anyone. I honestly want to get this footage and get the hell out of here already.”

  The reporter stood, grabbed the camera, and walked to the edge. She tilted it forward and scanned the crowds to record footage of the events below. It didn’t help her mood that her usual cameraman had dropped the assignment in favor of greener pastures. She hated camerawork although she wasn’t half bad at it, but this gig might well be her ticket to the big-time. If she could snag some decent and more intimate footage than the drones and commercial stations, she might slide a foot in the right door.

  She set the camera on the stand as her assistant made sure she was in focus. Behind her, silent holographic fireworks burst to create a ceiling of sparkling joy for the richies—and an annoying hindrance of footage for her.

  The assistant nodded and counted down with his fingers, then pointed to the reporter who now held her mic in hand.

  Cindy and Mark picked their sandwiches up from the counter and wandered over to slide into one of the booths. She exhaled a deep breath and shook her head. “This building is amazing but I can’t wait to hire more people so we don’t have to do this constantly.”

  Mark nodded and took a big bite of his sandwich. “At least we get a break.”

  She snapped her fingers and pointed at him. “You are the king of glass half full. This is why I love you.”

  He pumped his fist. “Boy meets girl, boy courts girl, girl is repulsed, boy gives daily motivational quotes and pep talks, girl finally loves boy.”

  Cindy giggled and glanced up as the deli man turned the news on. “This is Veada Bowls with Federation Entertainment News coming to you live from the Federation Arts Gala and Charity Event. As you know, this is the biggest event of the season, bringing in celebrities, political heads, and the most influential people of this decade.”

  She ate her sandwich, thoroughly exhausted, and simply stared at the footage on the screen. Suddenly, her head jerked and she choked, covering her full mouth. Mark looked at her and she pointed wildly at the screen. When he turned, his wide eyes matched hers as they watched their daughter lead the Ambassador of Meligorn around one of the most prestigious events in the world.

  Cindy gave a maternal sigh and tilted her head to the side. “Oh, she looks so beautiful. She is knocking them dead.”

  Brilgus leaned over and whispered to Stephanie. “You had better watch out or he might try to bring you on full time.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Over my dead body.”

  Gunfire blazed out ahead of them and screams rang out. Brilgus put his body in front of the ambassador and Stephanie whipped her head around to see where it came from. She turned instinctively to the Secret Service agent on her left. Before she could call out, his head snapped back and blood splattered on the ground behind him as his body fell heavily. She ducked and spun to the other agent on her right. He had his gun up and fired into the open levels above and ahead of them.

  Suddenly, his body jerked to the right, then to the left, and finally landed hard on the steps. He groaned, raised his weapon, and fired. A man screamed and his body went limp as he toppled over the balcony and plummeted to the floor below. The agent slid his gun over a smidge and pulled the trigger. It sounded like a cannon as both the sharpshooter and the agent fired at the same time. A bullet slammed into the agent’s forehead to finish him off. At the same time, the other sharpshooter tumbled over the balcony and fell to his death below.

  Brilgus, his arms shielding the ambassador, walked his employer toward the back of the venue. Another barrage of shots erupted to strike the ceiling and spray chunks of plaster onto the crowd. Everyone crouched and scanned the room frantically to find some kind of cover. Seven men pushed out of the crowds, distinguishable from the other guests only by the weapons they now trained on the ambassadorial group.

  Beta walked forward, a toothpick in the corner of his mouth and a glass of scotch in his hand. Lars and Marcus shoved through the crowd and hurried to the middle of the grand staircase where Stephanie and everyone else now stood.

  He flipped his toothpick to the other cheek and looked at his drink before he yelled, “I know, this is supposed to be a party, huh? Yeah, everyone hates a party crasher. Let’s be honest with each other here, sweet little girl.”

  The man studied the so-called sweet little girl with a sudden sense of unease. Something within him said he should recognize this woman—she was certainly the type to be readily remembered—yet he couldn’t quite place her. His gaze swept rapidly over her and triggered a response. She reminded him a little of the witch, he realized, and grinned. There was no way that scruffy teenage magical-wanna-be could even begin to compare. Satisfied that he’d traced the odd sense of familiarity, he turned his attention back to the matter in hand.

  “We appreciate heroic actions here and everything but there are three of you—only two armed—and seven of us. I feel like a smart person would put their guns down and walk away. So I’ll give you that option. You get your buddies to throw them down, and the three of you can walk out. And you won’t even have messed up your dress. What do you say?”

  Stephanie snickered and Lars shook his head. She set her clutch on the ground with a slow, deliberate movement, tugged at the black satin wrist gloves she wore, and slowly inched a hand down the front of her dress. Beta pursed his lips as his gaze followed the almost sensual gesture. His eyes widened when she drew a compact long-barrel pistol from between her breasts and pointed it at his head. Brilgus had slipped it to her with a grin and a wink a few minutes after their arrival, and she’d been delighted that it had nestled so snugly in the cushioned holster Mother Nature had provided.

  Everyone was silent for a moment and Stephanie leaned forward. “How dare you come into this party, among my friends and my people, and think that you can take lives without repercussions? And don’t you ever stand there and tell me the odds when the other team is chock-full of assholes!”

  She gestured dismissively and nodded with a smirk. “Oh, and my dress? It’s stain resistant.”

  Lars and Marcus immediately opened fire and the trio raced across the staircase and slid to dodge a volley of return fire. Stephanie aimed at Beta and he smiled as he backed slowly out of sight and headed for the front doors. He didn’t intend to stick around for this.

  Suddenly, the ambassador used his magic to push Brilgus off him. He flung his arms back to throw his robes off and onto the ground. His expression grim, he summoned his energy and launched into a concerted attack. Death balls of magic spiraled at the assassins in a relentless barrage. He hurried forward and stood beside Stephanie, glanced quickly at her, and winked when he eliminated three of the men, whose bodies instantly ignited with magical fire.

  It was a trick Stephanie hadn’t seen before, but she loved it. They felt as if they were burning alive in torturous agony, but when the magic dissipated, there wouldn’t be a scratch on anything but their pride. She shot her last bullet and fumbled under her dress to retrieve another mag and thrust it in place. She raised it, ready to fire, when Lars flailed back with blood flooding down his arm and over his hand. He smacked into the steps and groaned.

  “Nooo,” Stephanie screamed.

  She clenched her jaw and descended slowly, one step at a time, firing relentlessly at one of the assassins at the base of the stairs. Her slugs connected with his flack vest twice before she adjusted her aim. His eyes widened as her gun focused on his head. She pulled the trigger and his body catapulted away and landed to slide across the marble floor. Two more secret service agents went down, one to the far right of her and another in the main venue who tried to reach the gunmen.

  At that point, everything seemed to move in slow motion. She backed up the steps again and paused beside the ambassador. He stared at her, his gaze fixed, his mouth slightly open, and his brow creased. She knew immediately that something was wrong and her gaze fell to his stomach where he gripped it tightly with one hand. Blood seeped between his fingers.

  Stephanie grabbed him by the shoulders as he fell and eased him down. She breathed heavily and scowled at the wound, uncertain that he could survive it. She pushed desperately to her feet and tried to find Brilgus. As she stepped forward, a shot rang out and the bullet struck home in her right shoulder blade. She tumbled forward and her gaze found Marcus. Blood streamed from his thigh, and beyond him, Brilgus continued to shoot despite a painful flesh wound on his huge arm.

  She landed hard and her head sagged. Her gaze settled on the ambassador’s face. His eyes focused on her and although he didn’t open his mouth, she swore she could hear him speak. You have the power, Morgana. You know what to do. Your fear is the only thing holding you back.

  Stephanie gritted her teeth and forced herself into a sitting position. She fumbled for her purse and suppressed the instinctive scream at the pain that seared in her shoulder. Her hands weak and trembling, she managed to retrieve the battery from her bag and gripped it tightly in her hand. For a moment, she felt the energy of Meligorn, but something began to tingle and pulse through that magic, calling for her.

  Her arm dropped and her hand released the battery. She closed her eyes and pushed past the pain to focus only on the sounds of the energy around her. On instinct, she focused her mind on the Earth’s ley lines to draw the energy and magic of humans into her body. Like a warm, welcome presence, a slow wave of energy seeped into every part of her.

  Everything but the awareness of the power faded. While on one level, she was aware of her injury and even of the excruciating pain, she seemed to have somehow stepped beyond it to a place where she functioned on the energy alone. She opened her eyes.

  Her pupils had once again become dark black and her mind was suddenly able to distinguish each distinct crack as a weapon fired. She first identified a man on the balcony level above them and all the way to the right. The energy pulsed within her as she snapped her head toward him and extended her arm with her palm up and her hand curled into a claw-like shape. She flung the magic and directed it to grip the ceiling above him and rip it down piecemeal. In moments, it had showered him with huge marble stones until the only thing left to see was his limp hand that hung lifelessly between the railings.

  She slid her focus to an assassin standing front and center—the one who had wounded the ambassador and most likely shot her friends as well. Anger blew through her and she screamed, the sound of something otherworldly that echoed violently from her chest. She clenched her fist tightly and hauled her arm back. The man wheezed and clutched his neck as his body rose and levitated toward her. He stopped inches away, his eyes wide as he choked on the invisible force. She turned to the side and kicked hard to pound her foot into his crotch. The magic released him and he fell hard to curl into a fetal position and writhe in pain.

  Stephanie spat at him before she swished both arms to the right and swiftly to the left. The man’s body careened over the heads of the cowering richies and crashed through the plate-glass window and out onto the lawn. Shots rang out again, but not at her. The attackers continued to shoot at her people. She jerked her fists upward and slammed them down hard on the marble steps. The energy rocketed out, splitting the stone, and rose into a high barrier. It wavered there as a bright blue shimmering haze. The bullets bounced off and ricocheted back at the gunmen.

  She thrust her hand through the protective shield, gripped the air, and twisted hard. A man panicked when he lost control of his own hand. It turned toward him, his finger on the trigger. He shoved the barrel to his forehead and screamed until the shot echoed and his shriek fell silent.

  Chapter Seventy-Three

  Stephanie withdrew her hand through the barrier and walked slowly toward the ambassador. As she approached, the crack of gunfire distracted her once more. She whipped around and immediately created a hole in her shield to walk through. Her eyes angry, she stopped and stared at the floor below. The guests had created a battle arena when they ran and cowered against the sides of the room.

  Two gunmen lay dead on the ground and blood pooled around them. Standing behind them, their guns out, stood the admiral and vice admiral. The two additional assassins had tried to sneak in, but the officers had noticed them and were able to intercept and eliminate the threat. Stephanie nodded her head at the naval dignitaries and they returned the gesture. She turned away and hurried over to V’ritan. As she dropped to her knees beside him, Brilgus walked toward them and shook his head in disbelief.

  The ambassador took her hand and tugged it to hover over where the wound was. She stared into his eyes for several moments before she focused on the bloody, gaping hole. He opened his mouth to speak but she shook her head and closed her eyes. She centered herself and drew back from the frenzy of the battle. Her energy pushed down into the palm of her hand and light began to permeate from her palm. The Meligorn magic inside the ambassador—the little he had left—spiraled from the wound, attracted by her energy.

  The two trails of magic hovered mere centimeters apart for several moments. Grunting with effort, Stephanie pushed harder and the energy connected to release a wave of light. Wind whipped wildly around the two of them and Stephanie’s arm shook so violently that she had to use her other to stabilize it. Everyone around them backed away as the force of the magic merging created almost a force field around them. Slowly, the tendrils of Meligorn magic drew the light magic down into the ambassador’s body. He groaned and his head tilted back as the energy surged through him and out of Stephanie.

  Even with her eyes closed, she could see the ambassador. She could see him in the fields of Meligorn in youth and in his early years of marriage. He danced with a beautiful little girl and she could hear the child’s laughter echo around them. A surge of pain—not physical, but emotional—pounded into her chest and almost knocked her back. She struggled to hold her hand firm and watched as he stood in that field where they’d danced, surrounded by so many Meligornian men and women. He clung tightly to his wife and they watched as sparkling and shimmering specs of their daughter’s soul rose from her flower-shrouded body up toward the heavens, through the MU spectrum, and out into the stars.

  Stephanie gasped and her chest pushed forward and her shoulders thrust back as more and more visions of him hurtled through her mind like a homemade movie. So much sadness and pain, so much loss. What she thought she knew before all seemed so simple compared to the truth that dangled over her as her magic healed his. After several more intense moments, the two energies separated. She fell back on the stairs and her body ached all over. After a long moment, she opened her eyes and shook off the flooded field of emotion that slithered through her down to her soul. Her energy was severely drained, but she wasn’t done. There were so many who needed healing.

  Brilgus hurried down the steps now that the energy had dissipated and knelt beside the ambassador. Slowly, the Meligorn opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times before he sat up. His energy had been restored and the dried blood on his clothes and skin were the only remnants of the wound. He turned quickly in search of Stephanie. She nodded at him and their eyes connected for a moment. He knew what she had seen, and she knew it was not for her to speak of. It was an unfortunate reaction to the healing powers that they had combined, but it was private.

  V’ritan put his hand up and allowed Brilgus to help him to his feet. He felt better than he had in years, like he had lost a hundred years from his life. He walked over and lifted Stephanie by her shoulders. She paused and furrowed her brow. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

  Startled, she looked over her shoulder to find nothing more than dried blood and no wound. The ambassador smiled. “We healed each other. Now, let’s heal the rest of them, shall we?”

  Stephanie nodded, turned, and knelt beside Lars. He looked at her and groaned. “I thought this was only a party. Who gets shot at a party in the richie neighborhood?”

  She chuckled and held her hand over his shoulder to allow her energy to pulsate through his wound. He hissed in pain but she maintained the pressure and pushed the magic into him until it stopped of its own accord. She moved her hand and smiled when she confirmed that the wound was gone. Lars was in shock and awe, completely speechless for once in his life. His eyes drifted over her and he jumped up. “Marcus!”

  The other man grumbled and gripped his thigh tightly. “This is the worst. I’ll take your punishment. These white people went super ghetto in here. This is bullshit.”

  Stephanie laughed and sat beside him to put her hands on his leg. He grimaced and scrunched his face for several moments until finally, he began to relax. The energy seeped into his wounds to heal him from the inside out. When it disconnected, she raised her hand, satisfied with her work. Marcus poked at it and looked in shock for a moment before he grabbed her by the arms and yanked her into a tight hug. “You are a shit-hot witch, you know that? You don’t play. Thank you.”

  He pulled back and looked keenly at her, seeing the tiredness that had settled over her face. “Hey, you should give it a break. The ambassador has got it.”

  Stephanie rubbed her face and shook her head. “No. I gotta do this.”

  She stood and shuffled to the first victim she could find, a Federation guard with a bullet wound to the bicep. He watched her with tears in his eyes as she wrapped her hands around his arm and closed her eyes. It was strange to her. She had gone her whole life without that much Earth energy inside her but once she’d experienced it, when it began to wane, it felt almost painful. Like the life was sucked from her chest. But she had to help these people. They had put their lives on the line to help her and she couldn’t let them suffer on the steps while the very people they hated for their ignorance and money stared at them from the perimeter.

  As the magic disconnected from the healed wound, Stephanie fell back and grasped instinctively for something solid to hold onto. Lars hurried behind her and steadied her. She had given everything she had to give and then some. The ambassador had taken care of the other wounded, and Brilgus carefully carried the fallen guards’ bodies to the marbled platform halfway down the steps.