How To Defeat A Mage

How To Defeat A Mage
\[Lucian’s POV\]
My heart drops at Pandora’s words, but I can’t let it get the best of me. I know that, right now, pure determination is the only emotion that is allowed to be here. Even if I wasn’t in my adult form and my wolf abilities were just awakening, that didn’t mean that I was completely incapable of fighting. Even now, the hand-to-hand training I took for years kicks in, but would that be enough to take down a mage?
In all my years of fighting, this was the first time that I was encountering one. Of course, I ran into those who attempted to use magic in order to defeat me, but that was nothing compared to someone who spent their entire life practicing.
“What a cute group.” The mage says, snapping his fingers so the swarm of warriors disappears, and we are left staring only at him. “Do you truly think that you’ll be any match for me?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” Pandora says, and I feel my heart squeeze.
Right now. She was the easiest target since she was incapable of doing much of anything. As it was, Victor was the strongest out of all of us because he was already capable of shifting and tapping into his kitsune abilities, but I didn’t think that even he was strong enough to take out this bastard alone.
“Don’t worry,” the mage says, focusing on Pandora. “You won’t be killed. You see, my master wants you alive.”
Of course he does. I growl inwardly. Since he was working for my father and Lux, he would be instructed to bring Pandora back alive, but I would be damned if that happened.
“I have no intention of going to your master.” Pandora counters, her voice even. “I would much rather die before then.”
“What a cute little kitten.” The mage chuckles. “To think that you think you have any other choice.”
As he speaks, he lifts his hands, and when he drops them, it feels like something hard and solid is pressing against me.
Gasping, I feel my legs wanting to buckle under the weight of what I’m feeling, but I hold strong, fighting against it while refusing to let him get the better of me. However, Pandora isn’t as capable, and I watch in horror as she drops to her knees, but even then, she keeps her gaze fixed on the bastard torturing us.
“Is that all you’ve got?” She asks, a slow smile spreading across her face. “How pathetic.”
“This is nothing.”
Smirking, he holds out his hands, and when they clap, the pressure intensifies so even I’m left dropping while Pandora crashes to the ground.
“Dammit,” Victor growls, baring his teeth. “What the fuck is this?”
“Magic,” I respond, though it’s the most obvious thing. “Did you really expect it to be that simple to defeat him?”
I wasn’t dumb, nor was I overly cocky. I was more than capable of weighing the abilities of my opponent and then coming up with a plan of action, but that was the adult Lucian who fought many wars, not the child Lucian.
Think. I hiss inwardly, trying to come up with a way to deal with this mage. There’s got to be something that we can do, but what?
Frowning, I begin to rack my brain with memories of all my past battles, particularly the ones that involved magic. What was it that we did back then to counteract what was happening?
I knew that being in my wolf form made me less susceptible to magic, but I couldn’t shift, not yet.
“Dammit,” I growl, hating everything about this. “It can’t end like this.”
Drawing on all my strength, I get to my feet and then fix my angry gaze on the mage as he continues to watch on in amusement.
“It looks like you’re a stubborn one.” He chuckles while I take a single step and then a second. “I suppose I should up the ante.”
Baring his teeth, he claps his hands again, and I feel the pressure pushing against me grow stronger, but even then I don’t let it stop me. But before I can actually begin to close the distance between us, I hear a gasp, and when I look over, I see Pandora gasping.
“Victor!” I roar as he is already dropping down beside her. “You need to get her out of here.”
I knew that she wouldn’t be happy with my instructions, but right now she was nothing more than a liability. As long as she was here with us facing off with this bastard, then we wouldn’t be able to focus properly.
“Understood.” Victor responds, scooping Pandora into his arms and then moving toward the panic room whose door is still open. “Don’t die before I’ve got her to safety.”
“No promises,” I huff, feeling my strength quickly waning.
“Not like I would care.” Victor says. “But I fear that our princess may be upset.”
“Are you acknowledging me?” I ask him. “That’s so sweet.”
Instead of responding, he clicks his tongue before disappearing, and once he is out of sight, I turn my attention back to the mage.
“Alright,” I grin, feeling my power starting to flow. “It looks like it is just me and you now.”
“And?” The mage asks. “Do you really think that is going to make much of a difference? Look at you; you’re not in the best of conditions, and you think that you can take me?”
“Who knows?” I shrug. “I guess that there’s only one way to find out.”
Finished speaking, I burst forward, all my power erupting. Leaning forward, I prepare my head, and when I reach the mage, I let it slam into his chest, sending him crashing backwards.
Straightening up, I watch as he hits a wall and then starts laughing.
“Oh ho,” he says between guffaws. “It looks like the pup really does think he can do something. It seems that I can’t continue to play with you; I’m just going to have to kill you before you even know what happened.”
"Go ahead and do it." I grin. "But I'm afraid you're going to find that you won't be able to achieve such a thing."
Clenching my fists, I start to call on my wolf. I knew that I had until the next full moon to shift for the first time, and there was a good chance that even if I tried to make it happen earlier than expected, it may not, but hell, stranger things had certainly happened.