Free The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein

wrong with that smile, Aldwyn thought. Then Loranella spoke again, and all of his worst fears came true. “Guards,” the queen said coolly. “Kill them.”
    Aldwyn didn’t want to believe his ears, and from the look on Kalstaff’s face, neither did the old wizard. But that didn’t stop him from aiming the glass tip of his rod at his three apprentices. “ Shieldarum resisto !” Kalstaff shouted, and suddenly, three large but delicate bubbles, lookingas if they had just been washed off a bar of soap, were spinning through the air.
    But before they reached Jack, Marianne, and Dalton, the queen pointed one of her rings at them. She flicked her finger and the ring shot out a trio of ruby needles that popped each of the protective spells in midair.
    “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Loranella said, wagging her finger from side to side, clearly amused by Kalstaff’s feeble attempt. Then she turned to her soldiers. “What are you waiting for? The prophecy ends here.”
    The guards advanced on Jack, Marianne, and Dalton, readying their blades. Seeing one of the soldiers’ chipped battle swords glint in the moonlight snapped Marianne out of her paralysis. As the soldier prepared to strike, she chanted, “Lich’s eye, dragon’s belly, turn that sword into jelly!”
    The weapon made contact with Jack’s shoulder, splattering his white shirt with globs of red. The sight gave Aldwyn a severe shock, tightening his chest and making him go weak in the legs.
    “I’m bleeding!” cried Jack.
    “No, that’s just strawberry,” said Marianne, asthe guard lifted the hilt of his sword. The blade was gone, having been transformed into jelly. Aldwyn breathed a sigh of relief; Jack was okay, for now at least.
    The other two soldiers wasted no time and charged forth with their deadly blades held over their heads. The first one tossed aside what was left of his weapon and removed a double-headed battle-axe that was strapped to his back.
    “Get to the cellar,” Kalstaff shouted. He closed his eyes and beckoned the spiked club, trident, and halberd from the cottage. The pole arms crashed through the window and flew into the fray, defending the young wizards against the attacking guards as if wielded by unseen hands.
    The loyals and their familiars took off running again. Aldwyn glanced behind him to see the enchanted weapons, kept afloat only by Kalstaff’s spell, fighting the queen’s three soldiers. The trident’s three blades ducked and dodged, trying to fork the belly of one of the guards. The long, sharp metal edge of the halberd was quick enough to slice a gash in one of the sword-wielding henchmen’s shoulders. But Kalstaff’s concentrationwas too divided: the spiked club met a devastating blow as the battle-axe splintered the blunt wooden weapon in half.
    “Old age has weakened you,” mocked Loranella, her nose twitching with delight. “Funny, because I seem to just keep getting stronger.”
    She conjured a ball of fire in her hand and hurled it at Kalstaff. He held up a forearm to redirect it.
    “What has corrupted your mind? A curse? Disease? You can be healed. I’ll help you.”
    “It’s far too late for that,” said the queen as her black eyes narrowed coldly, a shimmer of pink behind them. “I’m going to feed your corpse to the bone vultures.”
    She clapped her hands together, sending out a beam of energy. Kalstaff grabbed his rod with both hands, shooting forth a beam of his own. The two bursts of light smashed up against each other, deadlocking in the air, neither wizard able to gain an advantage.
    Skylar and Aldwyn arrived at the iron cellar doors first. Jack, Marianne, and Dalton got there moments later. Gilbert lagged behind, hopping as fast as his legs could carry him. Aldwyn realizedthey were just a swing of the door and a jump away from safety: below the ground, behind the alabaster-lined walls of the cellar, they would be protected. But just as Marianne reached for the latch, a pale orange stream of light shot