She leaned across the passenger seat. “I meant to ask, with everything that’s been going on are you coming back to the bakery?”
I grinned. “Who’s going to make the cinnamon rolls if I don’t?”
“Hey, mine aren’t that bad.”
“Ahuh.” I climbed out the van and slammed the door. “See you tomorrow, bright and early.”
The van zoomed off and I climbed the steps to the offices where I’d been told I wasn’t good enough. Urgh, that had been a bitter pill to swallow, but on the plus side, after this debriefing I wouldn’t be setting foot in the rejection building again.
The receptionist buzzed Melody, and my butt had barely grazed the waiting room seat when she appeared at the front desk.
“Carmella, glad you could make it, and bang on time.”
Not like I’d had a choice. “Sure. Punctual is my middle name.” Although we hadn’t really discussed a time … had we?
She led me down into the back office, then through a glass door into her personal domain. I’d been here on several occasions, not just for training but to grab a bite to eat or just hang. I’d thought we were becoming friends, but on reflection she’d probably been babysitting me for Malina, because once I’d failed she hadn’t bothered to continue cultivating our one-on-one time.
“Have a seat,” she said.
I parked my butt. “So let’s get this debrief done.”
She sat across from me and made a steeple of her fingers. The move was totally godfather, and my gut gave a nervous twinge.
“So there’s a rumor something went down at the Mayfair Ball last night. Care to elaborate?”
She was digging, probably because no one else was talking. The coven was powerful like that. They kept their shit under wraps, unless they had to air it.
“Just magick coven stuff. Nothing important,” I lied.
She stared at me steadily for a long beat. “Fine. Look, the reason I asked you here today wasn’t just for a debriefing, we pretty much got what we wanted from you the other day. I was hoping to have an offer for you.”
“An offer?”
She nodded, her eyes twinkling. “You were an exceptional candidate for IEPEU, outperforming your fellow cadets in all areas of perception, social maneuvering, and intuition. You passed the physical, and if not for the combat exam you’d be wearing a badge right now.”
“Is there a point to all this? I mean wound … salt …”
She laughed. “And then there’s your sense of humor. I’ve missed you.”
“Really? Because you could have picked up the phone and called.”
She frowned. “So could you. And you did, but not just to chat. I thought you needed space after the rejection.”
So she had been my friend? “I thought you were nice to me ‘cos you were babysitting me for Malina.”
Her expression grew hard. “I don’t do babysitting. I get very little spare time, and I do not waste it on people I don’t care for.”
I pressed my hand to my chest. “You care for me.”
She rolled her eyes. “On that note, I have an offer for you.”
My pulse kicked up, and I sat up straighter.
She reached into her desk drawer and withdrew a badge. She slid it across the desk toward me. “This is for you. You’ll be IEPEU Investigative Division.”
My fingers itched to touch the badge, but I held back. There had to be some kind of mistake. “But I didn’t train for that.”
“I know, but after the great job you did on investigating the apsara case and uncovering that lab, I took the proposal to the department heads. They all agreed to bring you on board, on a trial basis to start, of course. Three-months’ probation on full pay, and if all goes well you’ll get a permanent position.”
The badge was already in my hand.
A few months ago it would have validated me—proof I was good enough, proof I could make a difference. But I no longer needed the validation. The last couple of weeks had put me through the wringer and I was still standing. I’d validated myself—no power, no magick needed. Those things were bonuses, but I could live without, just like I could live without this badge. I didn’t need it, but it didn’t stop me wanting it.
“So … you on board?” Melody asked.
“Is a yaksha hairy?”
“Good. You start first thing Monday morning.”
She was talking at me now, details and stuff, and it was being archived in my memory banks while I admired the shiny new badge.
My badge.
I wasn’t sure what tomorrow would bring. The creatures taking the djinn hadn’t been caught yet. I was about to have my magick taken away, and oh, better not forget the fact I had to play bait to catch a possessed witch. My life had gone from mundane to unpredictable in so many areas. But I’d found my tribe—Paimon, Urvashi, Banner, and yes, even Mira. For the first time in a long time there was no quiver of anxiety in my belly, no voice telling me I needed to sit this one out.
I pulled my phone from my pocket, Melody’s watchful gaze on me, and dialed.
“Hi, Urvashi. You may need to brush up on your cinnamon roll skills.”
To be continued…
Carmella’s adventure continues in Defying Magick, book 2 of the Witch Blood Chronicles.
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Other books by Debbie Cassidy
The Gatekeeper Chronicles
Coauthored with Jasmine Walt
Marked by Sin
Hunted by Sin
Claimed by Sin
The Witch Blood Chronicles
(Spin off to the Gatekeeper Chronicles)
Binding Magick
Defying Magic
The Sleeping Gods Series
Forest of Demons
Desert of Destiny
Novellas
Blood Blade
Books under the pen name Amos Cassidy
The Shadowlands Series
Shadow Reaper
Shadow Eater
Shadow Destiny
The Crimson Series
Crimson Midnight
Crimson Darkness
Crimson Dawn
Crimson Chaos
Standalones
Aurora
Hawthorn
Novellas
Raven’s Call
Scarlett’s Path
A Kiss of Silver
Tainted Snow
Ash Rising
About the Author
Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head – in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction. Debbie also writes dark, diverse Urban Fantasy fiction, under the pen name Amos Cassidy, with her best friend Richard Amos. Connect with Debbie via her website at debbiecassidyauthor.com or twitter @authordcassidy.
Binding Magick: an Urban Fantasy Novel (The Witch Blood Chronicles Book 1) Page 22
