I realised, in an instant, what was happening. Darrell’s team had lost. There was no sign of Darrell herself, which meant she’d lost to either Blair or Ham. Her team had come apart, her teammates running for their lives … running straight into our accidental ambush. I wondered, suddenly, if I’d been wrong. Blair and Ham could have agreed to a brief alliance … it wasn’t as if Blair was short of things he could use to bribe people. He could have offered everything from gold to later patronage or … I shook my head. The sergeants wouldn’t be pleased when they found out …
“Get into position,” I hissed. If I was right, the last thing Blair wanted to do was give the remnants of Darrell’s team a chance to either make a stand or break contact. They might circle round and free Darrell and the others, bringing them back into the game, or simply hide somewhere and force Blair to waste time hunting them down. “You know what to do.”
I braced myself, then struck a silly pose. It was all or nothing. If I was hexed now, I’d look stupid as well as a loser. But … Blair would scent a trap, I was sure, and come in carefully rather than charging madly into the clearing. How long would it take for him to work up the nerve to strike …?
A thought crossed my mind.
The bushes parted. Ham’s team – or what was left of it – burst into view. I cast an immediate set of defensive charms, tightening my wards, then triggered the entanglement spell. Mildred went to work instantly, casting a series of freeze, compulsion and transfiguration spells at the enemy, while I worked on defending myself. I smiled at their shocked faces – to them, it must have seemed as if I was playing both offense and defence simultaneously – and then concentrated on defending myself. I was far too out in the open to allow myself to relax. If they got a clear shot at me, they could still turn everything around.
I felt my smile grow wider as Ham stopped dead, then melted into a rat. He’d be shocked when he found out
Blair exploded into the clearing, his team casting spells towards us with fearsome skill. I tensed, struggling desperately to counter their spells as Mildred pressed her advantage. Jerry froze, then tumbled; I countered the spell to free him, only to be struck and frozen myself. I hoped Mildred would follow orders – we’d planned for it – as the last of my defences faded away. Blair thought he’d won.
“Yep, you’re still a loser,” Blair said. The asshole dropped his pants and mooned me. I was surprised I wasn’t struck blind on the spot. “And without you the rest of your team is thoroughly fucked.”
He laughed, as if he’d cracked the funniest joke in the world, then swaggered off. I frowned inwardly. He had only three teammates left? What had happened to the others? It wasn’t entirely impossible he’d ordered one or more of them to hide, just to spite the rest of us … I waited, hearing him tramping off into the bushes. The spell held me firmly in place. He thought he’d won …
The entanglement spell flickered. The spell binding me in place snapped. I ducked quickly, turning my head to make sure Blair and his cronies weren’t right behind me. There’d been no way to work out the timings, let alone ensure they didn’t notice me being freed. I hastily freed the rest of my team, then turned and sneaked after Blair. He couldn’t have gotten that far, not if he was searching for Mildred and the others. And he wouldn’t be watching his back.
My lips curved into a smile.
We kept moving, careful to stay quiet even though we had the edge. It was important, vitally important, that we took them out without losing any players ourselves. It was the only way to guarantee a complete victory, one that would take our team to the finals. I inched forward, cursing under my breath. Blair might already be laying siege to our base, then insisting it gave him the right to declare victory. He might be right. Certainly, the rest of my team would be effectively trapped.
His voice boomed through the air. “COME OUT, LITTLE BITCHES, COME OUT!”