Coven Codex: From the Federal Witch Series (Standard of Honor Series Book 2)

by Taki Drake

  Zhanna feared that after all this work that the vehicle was not going to be any good. Marina had insisted that the car was something that her great-grandfather had gotten as a reward for his mercenary work and that it should be in working order. Zhanna hoped she was right.

  Finally, they were at the point where the vehicle was no longer buried, and the surrounding floor space had been cleared. It was time to see what they had.

  << If I had a horn, I would blow it. But since I don’t, I won’t. >>

  << Dascha! This is serious so stop trying to make me laugh. >>

  Willie and Mark each grabbed a corner of the tarp and peeled it away from the car, like a banana skin being pulled off the fruit. In the dim light of the shed, they could all see the vehicle.

  At first, Zhanna did not know what she was looking at. The car was massive, with dusty dark blue paint and chrome trim. The Russian-made Buick looked more like a tank than it did a modern vehicle. But the glass windows were without defect, and even the paint seemed to be in good condition. Considering its age, it was better than she had any right to expect. Breathing a sigh of relief, Zhanna looked over at the other woman happily. Smiling tiredly, the young Witch said, “It looks amazing! Thank you so much, Marina.”

  Marina just nodded, offering up her own exhausted smile. The two women watched quietly as the men dusted off the vehicle, closed opened valves, checked a variety of fluids, and added gasoline to the empty tank.

  Dascha was watching these preparations with an unblinking stare and motionless pose. Turning her eyes to follow the cat’s intent gaze, Zhanna watched for a while before addressing her Familiar, << It looks like some form of arcane ritual, complete with chanting. >>

  << A new spell of transportation? Not one I’m familiar with. >>

  << Oh dear, first snark, now bad puns. >>

  << It’s a new skill. >>

  <<<>>>

  The car had seen better days. It was filled with dust, and anonymous debris gathered through decades of hidden existence. The men had been extremely enthusiastic throughout the process. Zhanna had heard but never experienced before, the affinity men seemed to have for vehicles. It was on full display as the men exclaimed in the discovery of features and functions, happily analyzing the size and capability of the car.

  The younger man, Ivan, was especially taken with the vehicle. His rather solemn face lit with enthusiasm and he became far more animated than when Zhanna had first met him. She was conscious of the fact that he kept glancing sideways at her when he thought that she wasn’t looking at him. Briefly, she wondered what it was that he saw or wanted.

  << It’s a bit curious. I don’t think he is particularly attracted to you, but he really wants to ask you something. I just can’t tell what. >>

  << I know, Dascha. I can almost feel a desperate need for an answer, but I don’t know what to do about that. It certainly isn’t because he’s attracted to me. >>

  << Da, I know. I’m sure he would want you to have his kittens, but that’s not what he’s thinking about. A cat can tell these things. >>

  << Really!? Sometimes you are just disgusting! >>

  << It’s a feature. >>

  Before Zhanna could continue their discussion, the tone of the men’s conversation changed. There was a note of worry that crept into their voices. The young Witch straightened up from where she had been leaning against the wall and walked over to them.

  “Is there some sort of problem?” she asked.

  Mikhail answered her quickly, “Almost everything looks good, Zhanna, but this car has been sitting for so long that it is possible that it may not start. We are going to try helping it to start with assistance from one of our cars to see if it is capable of running. Whoever wrapped it up was smart enough to drain the gasoline and most of the other fluids out of it, so we don’t have to deal with a big mess. We replaced most of them and we think it should start but the battery obviously is worn down by age and lack of use.”

  Zhanna’s look of incomprehension encouraged him to continue talking. He smiled briefly and said, “I think it will run, and if it does then everything but one problem will have been solved.” The young Witch tilted her head in inquiry, so he finally got to the point she wanted to know. “Its tires are too old. They are almost powdered. We cannot patch tires that are this flat or are this full of holes.”

  Willie chimed in, “Let’s first see how the engine is. That would be the biggest problem, and if that works, we can then deal with the tires.”

  Just then, there was a sputtering and a ragged response from the engine. Spinning in surprise, Zhanna and the two mercs saw that Ivan had climbed into the front seat and started the car. It ran raggedly at first but soon evened out and began to produce a powerful but muted roar. The men excitedly hurried over to talk with Ivan and look inside the hood of the idling car. Ivan had a broad smile on his face and was cheerfully responding to the older men.

  << Zhanna? That boy is a Witch. He helped the car to start, Magically. >>

  << That’s an interesting twist. Now I really need to know what he wants from me. >>

  << I will watch him. >>

  Willie called out to Zhanna, “It’s running really well. Now if we had good tires, it would be all set.”

  Zhanna thought for a moment. All of the practice that she been doing with the spell books from Blagogarsk had been pure practice and drill. She hadn’t done much that was practical with the spells yet other than the battle that they had just survived, and it worried her that she didn’t know how to apply the theory of the base spell to the reality of need. Perhaps this was the place where she could try something.

  Taking a deep breath, she said, “I think I may know something to do. It may not work, but I think it’s worth a try.”

  All of the men stared at her, some in question, some in challenge.

  Dascha asked, << Are you sure you want to try this? >>

  << I am not sure that I want to, but I think I need to. >>

  “Mikhail, tell me what a sturdy tire would look like and its characteristics. I know nothing about cars, and I need to have an understanding of the tires before I can try a spell.”

  Willie interrupted, saying, “I have never heard a spell that would do something with a tire. Are you sure this is something that you can and should be doing?”

  Although she had expressed her doubts to Dascha, Zhanna was tired of putting up with disparaging remarks. She responded evenly and forcefully, “I think it’s a reasonable way of testing a spell. It’s one that I’ve learned recently, and this seems like a good place to try it out, providing that you can tell me what a tire is supposed to be like. If you can’t tell me, I will find somebody else who can.”

  Mark said placatingly, “I can certainly tell you what a tire is supposed to be. Just because we’ve never heard of a spell like the one you’re talking about, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. And I, for one, would be interested in learning useful spells if you find and test them out.”

  It was obvious from the expression on Willie’s face that he didn’t necessarily agree but he wasn’t willing to confront Zhanna again right now. He merely stepped back with a skeptical look plastered all over his face, folded his arms across his chest, and waited.

  Mark and Mikhail began to explain the use and shape of a car tire. He talked about the tire shape and that it was attached to the vehicle with bolts. They covered the desire to make the tires impermeable so that they did not easily go flat. Mark also explained that the tire outside was made of rubber. Mikhail stressed the need for sturdy tires that would not wear out quickly on rough roads. It was a very short introduction to a topic that they obviously loved, distilled down into only a few sentences for the young Witch’s understanding.

  Once they were done, Zhanna motioned the men away from the vehicle. She could feel the weight of Marina’s gaze on her back and the comforting presence of Dascha along their Familiar bond. Mentally centering herself, Zhanna waited until she felt stable and subvocalized th
e words of the spell just like she had done in practice. Holding the shape and characteristics that had been described to her, she gathered her will and intent, channeling them along her arms and through her open hands toward the car.

  There was an explosion of light and a muffled sound. The car jerked and raised as the old tires were replaced with unflattened versions. The air resonated with a curiously muffled clanging sound that shivered through the spectator’s bones and rattled the walls of the shed.

  All of the men wore identical looks of disbelief on their faces. Willie slowly approached the vehicle as if he were afraid that it would either disappear or somehow attack him. He touched the fender of the car with a hand that shook slightly and bent over to examine the tire. Straightening quickly, face paled in surprise, he took one step back and spun in place to stare at Zhanna. “It looks like a new tire!”

  Looking slightly calmer, Mikhail walked over to the vehicle. He didn’t bend down, but he looked at each of the tires in turn. After going around the car once, the mercenary marched over to Zhanna, planting himself directly in front of her. He looked her in the face, half in entreaty and half in challenge. “They look perfect. Totally perfect.”

  “I just tried to create the things that you had told me about,” responded Zhanna.

  Mark came up next to Mikhail and stared at her wordlessly for an instant more before walking back to the car. Ivan had approached it while Zhanna was talking, carefully examining each of the tires in turn. As the other men rejoined him, Ivan addressed the group in general, “There are no tire valves. How will we refill the tires?”

  “Zhanna, how much air pressure did you put in the tires?” asked Mikhail.

  “Air? You didn’t say anything about air!” answered Zhanna.

  Author Notes

  Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I appreciate everyone that chooses to visit the products of my imagination and step, if only briefly, in the worlds of my mind.

  The sheer act of writing things to share with others has given me a new appreciation for both the power and the cost of the written word. I have learned that, just like sleep is an optional luxury for single parents, so is it a totally expendable currency for writers. The drive to write, to create, can be relentless. I find myself taking notes at strange times, wanting to discuss space battles in the middle of expensive restaurants, and other behavior that only a loving and tolerant spouse could accept.

  Writing in TS Paul’s Federal Witch World has been an exhilarating experience. It has stretched me to write in different ways than I have before and ones that I am looking forward to doing again. Look for many more things from us over the next few months. It will be FUN!

  I hope you have enjoyed this book. Comments and feedback can of course be entered into Amazon and Goodreads. But you can also reach me at taki@technologymage.com or by signing up for my newsletter at http://www.takidrake-author.com/. The Blog also will let you know about the things that are new with me and some sneak peaks and advanced information about publication.

  There several series that I have started to publish. In the fantasy and science fiction areas I have two: Becoming Sephera about a woman’s journey from a pampered heir to a self-reliant, and responsible member of society, and the Unfettered Mage about technology and magic among the stars. Both of these series fall into an emerging genre called tech mage where technology and magic combine for explosive and interesting mixtures. Please feel free to chime in about how you like them and what you would like to see next.

  I would love to hear from you!

  Author Introduction – Taki Drake

  The mixture of technology and magic is where my mind and heart live. In today's world, it mixes engineering and creativity. In the worlds of my mind, technology and magic live intertwined. I hope that you will find my stories interesting enough to be frequent visitors to where my heart beats.

  I am continuing to write my stories of intertwined technology and magic. The challenges of that are fertile grounds for many story lines and series. Several of those planned for the next few months have been listed below. I am happily writing each of them, discovering new worlds, new situations and new challenges. The wonder for me is the number of readers that are enjoying my visions and tales.

  Enjoy the stories in the emerging genre of techmage!

  Please feel free to contact me via email at taki@technologymage.com or visit my blog or my Amazon page.

  Unfettered Mage

  We Are Not Prey

  Fleet of the Mage

  Fleet Genesis - Mid 2018

  BattleMage Investigates

  An Attitude Adjustment

  Case of the Frozen Hands - Mid 2018

  Maritime Madness - TBD

  Badger Hole Bar

  Thru the Badger Hole

  Grand Opening

  The Remembrance Wall - 2018

  Passage Beyond - 2018

  Becoming Sephera

  A Learning Experience

  You Just Go On - Early 2018

  Life Rebuilt - 2018

  New Paths - TBD

  Standard of Honor

  In the World of the Federal Witch

  Shade of Honor

  Coven Codex - 2018

  A Confluence of Covens -TBD

  Familiar Magic

  Familiar Shadows

  Familiar Trials - Fledgling

  Familiar Travels

  Familiar Trials - Expert - Mid 2018

  Familiar Trials - Master - 2018

  Familiar Trials - Adept - TBD

  Cookbooks

  The Badger Hole Bar Food Cookbook

  Fergus Favorites Cookbook

  Marcella's Garden Cookbook

  Marcella’s Summer Bounty Cookbook

  Marcella’s Autumn Harvest

  Tasting Sampler

  A Food Palate - Holiday Heartwarmers

  Taking it on the Road

  Baba’s Kitchen - Coming Soon!

  Anthologies

  The Expanding Universe: An Exploration of the Science Fiction Genre

  The Tide: The Multiverse Wave

  Inanna's Circle: Flight of Imagination - Thru the Darkness

  Holiday Heartwarmers: An Anthology of Short Stories

  Inanna's Circle: The Game Begins

  Mysterious Hearts

  Journal with a View

  CyberWar: Digital Battlefield

  CyberWar: Byte Conflict

  Prime Fantasy

  Phoenix Fantasy

  Phoenix Imagining

  The Imp Prince

  The Goblin and the Grocer

  Prime Peek I

  Snapshots of Life I

  Tales from the Pumpkin Patch

  Haunted Hearts I

  Reindeer Don’t Fly

  Silent Thanks

  Shadowed Light

  Powerhouse Punch