The air crackled with malevolent energy.
Lila and Elian, barely a block from the Magic Dealer's cluttered storefront, found themselves trapped in a shimmering cage of dark magic.
"Seriously?" Lila muttered, adjusting her grip on the small, enchanted dagger Elian had gifted her.
"We can't even grab a post-battle latte in peace?"
Elian, ever the stoic, simply pulled her behind him, a wall of impenetrable cool against the brewing storm.
Two Council Guards materialized from the swirling shadows, their expressions as grim as tax collectors on audit day.
"Senator Voss sends his regards," Council Guard 1 sneered, his voice dripping with false courtesy.
"And a one-way ticket to oblivion."
"Charming," Elian drawled, his hand sparking with emerald fire.
He moved with the grace of a panther, deflecting a blast of dark energy with a flick of his wrist.
The force of the impact sent tremors through the pavement.
"Lila!" Elian barked, never taking his eyes off the whirling chaos of the fight.
"The shield! Remember what the Dealer said – visualize, focus, channel!"
Lila, frankly, was having a bit of a moment.
Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.
Visualize?
Focus?
Easy for him to say, he was practically a walking, talking magic nuke.
She was still trying to figure out how to boil water without setting off the smoke alarm.
But the sheer terror of the situation, the raw, pulsating power crackling around her, ignited something within her.
Fear morphed into adrenaline-fueled resolve.
Council Guard 2, a hulking brute with a face like a smashed brick, lunged at Lila.
Elian, engaged with the other Guard, couldn't reach her.
Time seemed to stretch, every detail etched in sharp relief – the sneer on the Guard's face, the glint of steel in his outstretched hand, the acrid smell of ozone in the air.
It was now or never.
Lila closed her eyes, picturing the shimmering, protective energy the Magic Dealer had demonstra