The components of the spell were a mix of things I had in stock and others I needed to gather: nail clippings from a raccoon, caraway seeds, ash from garlic stalks and five more things I didn't have. I wrote out the list and stuffed the piece of paper into my pocket, pausing to look up at a staccato tapping on the kitchen window. A large raven was perched on the sill, looking in.
"Maggie. Hold on, I'm coming." I closed the spell book, slid the window to the side and pulled the screen off.
"Cawwk." She greeted me as she fluttered through the window and landed on a pile of books.
She and I both looked around the room for her perch. Maggie was generally good about not doing her business in the house, but it wasn't a hundred percent type of thing. It took a few minutes to unearth the stand and clear a spot on the floor. As I’d learned a few times, a little effort upfront would pay off in the end. Maggie and I were still working on our communication. I could only understand a few things she said, but I didn't need to be a wizard to know she was hungry. She was always hungry.
"Good to see you, dear," I said, setting the perch next to the table. She fluttered gracefully to it and grabbed on firmly.
Maggie had been with me since before I'd known I was a wizard. Originally, she'd just followed me, always watching from nearby trees. I'd been freaked out by her behavior at first. Of course, I didn’t realize the big black birds I started to see everywhere I went were all the same raven. It had been Judy Babcock who'd suggested Maggie might be a positive character in my life and that ravens were not some evil omen.
The last time I’d seen Maggie was in North Carolina. The poor girl had to be hungry after that long trip, but I was prepared. I'd been saving a thick strip of funky smelling beef and tied it to the perch. She bobbed her head half a dozen times in appreciation. I didn’t even wonder anymore how she'd found me. It was just the nature of our bond.
"What do you think of the new place?" I asked. She understood me, although she ordinarily ignored idle chit-chat. "Thinking about doing a reagents hike early tomorrow. Want to go along?"
Finding wild sage, sumac, ginger, goldenrod and a dozen other native plants was a good way to fill my cupboards without going broke. I had fond memories of running around the woods with half a dozen semi-clothed, middle-aged women in Judy's coven in search of usable plants. It was one of the few activities I could participate in and I'd enjoyed it immensely.
As expected, Maggie focused on her strip of meat.
It had been a crazy night and I was exhausted. I lay back on the couch, picked up my e-reader and tried to remember where I was in the story.
I awoke to the sound of pounding on my door.
"Hang on," I growled, trying to focus on the wall clock in the kitchen. One o’clock. I'd only been asleep for a few hours.
The pounding started again.
"I said, hang on!"
I yanked the door open, prepared to give some asshole salesman a good piece of my mind.
"What… do you want?" I asked. My bluster evaporated as I recognized the woman standing in front of me. It was Red. In person.
"Mister Felix?" she asked. It sounded more like mee-stir. Cool. I'd always had a thing for accents, but maybe I paid too much attention to that sort of thing.
"What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you. May I come in?" she asked.
Water splashed from the hood of her cloak and it dawned on me that it was raining. The weather explained why I'd slept so deeply. As a wizard, my strength was tied to the natural forces around me and rain was a powerful regenerator.
A hint of her perfume caught me and something else … a wisp of evergreen and clay.
At this point, I need to admit that I'm not always the sharpest knife in the drawer, especially when it comes to attractive young women with accents.
"Sure," I said, stepping aside.
She smiled demurely and reached up. The gesture seemed natural and harmless - that is, until the point when her hand touched my chest. Fire coursed through my body as she lifted, tossed me over a chair, and then jerked me back onto the couch.
"Shit! What the hell?" I groaned. This girl had a serious attitude problem.
Red jumped over the chair and placed her knee on my chest, right where her hand had burned me. She shoved her finger in my face.
"Quiet, Felix. I'm going to ask you some questions and I need you to be truthful with me." Her innocent, doe-eyed persona had completely evaporated - not to mention her accent.
"Damn it, I was letting you in, wasn't I?" I asked.
"What were you doing outside Victoria Barrios' house last night?"
"What's it to you?"
My chest hurt where her knee pressed on me and there was only so much humiliation I was willing to take, even from a beautiful young witch. I shifted my position and tried to sit up.
She murmured an incantation and touched my collar bone. Her finger felt like a blowtorch.
"Knock that shit off!" I snapped. "Or I'm going to start taking it personal."
"Tell me." She wagged her finger menacingly.
The magic she was using was as familiar to me as my own. She was obviously part of a local coven, as no witch would be dumb enough to use this much magic outside her own territory. The pine and clay told me they were earth witches, just like Judy's coven. I concentrated and felt three additional souls supporting her. They were standing with shoes off, toes dug into the soil and hands joined. They had to be close by. Why the hell were they focused on me?
I grabbed her hand and twisted hard. The look of surprise on her face gave me a feeling of smug satisfaction. I bet she hadn't expected that when she'd come into my house and tossed me around. Who was she to start this crap? Dark feelings turned into their own power and I pushed her back, sending her sprawling on her butt against the overturned chair.
"Is that how you want to play it?"
She raised her hands defensively.
"Cawwk." A dark shape flitted through the open kitchen window and into the living room. Maggie landed between us on Red's knees, spreading her wings protectively.
"Crap." I backed up and dropped to the couch.
I closed my eyes, trying to center myself. It had been a long time since I'd come that close to losing it. I pushed away the darkness and breathed out the way Judy taught me. My heart rate slowed and my breath shuddered.
I heard Red get up and knew she was trying to slip past me to the still-open front door. I flicked a wave of power, slamming the door shut.
"Sit, if you know what's good for you," I growled, still not completely in control.
She returned to the couch and sat quietly.
After a few minutes, I opened my eyes. Red sat rigidly, a look of fear on her face, her original confidence shattered. Maggie was back on Red's knees.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
"You already know my name." It wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was the only one she was going to get until I had some answers.
"Felix Slade is all I know."
"Don't you mean we?" I asked.
Her eyes grew wider.
"Call your coven and have them join us."
"What are you going to do?" she asked. "I'd rather die than give them to you."
"I'm not going to do anything to you or your coven. Don't turn this on me. You're the ones who barged in here," I said.
"So you say. Can you get this bird off me?"
"That bird saved you, so I'd show some respect," I said. "And her name is Maggie."
Maggie bobbed her head in agreement. She expressed her desire to get back outside, so I stood up and offered my arm. Flying indoors was hard for her, given the broad wingspan, but she knew I'd help and she jumped onto my arm. I walked her into the kitchen and lifted my arm to the window sill.
"Cawwk," she chided and dove out the window.
"She's your familiar?"
"More like a friend," I'd always been uncomfortable with the other term. It didn’t fit my relat
ionship with Maggie.
"Why were you at Victoria's house last night?" Red pulled the willow switch I'd used to form the seer's glass from her purse and threw it on the coffee table.
"Where'd you get that?" I asked.
"So, you were there," she said.
No use denying it. "Yes. I was there."
She started chanting an incantation. I didn't recognize the words, but power rolled off her in waves. At the same time, my attention was caught by the sound of bare feet slapping up the stairs to my apartment.
I sprang to action, grabbing the grease pen from the counter. In the middle of the kitchen floor, I crouched and drew a large circle, finishing just as my front door exploded inward.
"Sphaera." A translucent bubble popped up around me, binding to my hastily drawn circle.
The storm outside intensified. Through the splintered door frame, a violent wind whipped rain against the house.
The first person through the door was an older woman, mid-fifties if I were guessing right. A dark green dress thrashed around her matronly figure and long black and gray hair blew wildly around her face. She stepped across the rubble of my door, looked once toward Red and then bee-lined for me, gnarled staff in hand. She was followed by two others, progressively younger, but similarly dressed.
Red joined them as they formed a circle around my ring of protection, joining hands and chanting. With my shield in place, I heard their words, but felt none of the magical energy they generated. Sparks bounced off the circle from all directions, but nothing penetrated.
As they continued, the chants grew louder, rain and wind poured into the apartment, and lightning intensified. I wasn't sure how much of a beating my hastily drawn circle could take, but so far, it was holding.
As interesting and exciting as it might seem to be surrounded by four women bent on your destruction, there's only so much it can do to hold your attention. After ten minutes, I'd become bored. Sparks, chants, gouts of flame, icicles… whatever. I had the same problem with Independence Day fireworks celebrations. Five minutes in and I'd seen everything I needed to. Way too repetitive after that.
I sat on the floor, pulled out a small pocket knife and peeled dirt from under my fingernails. If there was something I couldn't abide, it was dirt under my nails. I blame Judy. She had a huge herb garden and didn't mind putting me to work in it. I really wished I'd taken the time to bring a chair in with me. I'd have to remember that next time.
After another ten minutes, the storm outside began to pass and the magical attacks slowed. I suspected the coven's energy was dissipating. The older woman’s face was drawn and her arms were shaking. Red had opened her eyes and was looking around their circle, worry on her face. I had to admit, at this point, I didn't much care. They'd barged into my house and made a mess of things.
"What in the hell is your problem, Red?" I growled.
"You will be vanquished," she declared bravely.
"Vanquished? Who talks like that? The way I see it, your coven is about to run out of gas and I haven't even started swinging yet. Tell the sisters of mirth here to drop this bullshit and we can talk it out. Otherwise, we can turn this into a real pissing contest."
The older woman opened her eyes and looked at Red. She attempted to project an aura of strength but I saw the fatigue in her face. Wordlessly, the four of them dropped their hands and the magical buffeting abated.
"Are you going to behave?" I asked the older woman.
She swayed slightly and locked eyes with me. I felt like a child caught telling a lie. With the circle up, I knew her attack wasn't magical, but man, she really had that stare down. I fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Why did you murder Victoria?" she asked.
"Mrs. Barrios?” I asked, furrowing my brow. "I didn't."
"You were there. You admit to using your evil enchantment at her home. Do not lie to me. Who was your accomplice?"
"What evil enchantment?"
"This," Red said thrusting forward the willow switch I'd used as a seer's glass.
"No good deed," I muttered under my breath.
"What is that?" The old woman snapped.
"Knock it off," I said. "Here's how we're going to do this. When I drop my circle, you get to make a choice. You can keep coming at me and we'll see what's at the end of that road or we can sit down and talk like rational people."
"Finis." As with most of the incantations I knew, Latin was the primary language. The power didn’t come from the words, but from my ability to channel the correct magic. Using a second language was simply a helpful focusing mechanism.
The older witch's face showed her internal struggle as the spell circle dropped. If someone were going to make a move, it would be her, so I prepared for a new round of hostilities. In the end, however, she relaxed and the other women followed her lead.
I sighed. "It feels like we're off to a bad start. Perhaps we should try again." I held my hand out to the matriarch.
She paused and then reached out her hand, slipping it past mine to grab my wrist. It was an intimate gesture that allowed her to read my blood – but it also allowed me the same access.
"Tell me, Felix Slade. Did you participate in killing Victoria Barrios?" she asked, not letting go.
"No."
"Why were you at her house when she died?" She was probing for more than the truth and I suddenly felt naked.
"Really? A lie detector test?"
"Tell me."
The old girl had some bite to her words. Her magic pushed at me, but wasn't enough to compel my answer. I stayed relaxed. I had no reason to fight her questioning.
"I was tracking a werewolf that followed Red to Mrs. Barrios' house earlier that evening."
"He tells the truth," she said.
"And…" I said.
She looked at me confused. "And what?"
"This is where you apologize for busting up my house and assaulting me," I said.
"You are right, Mr. Slade," she said, dropping my hand. "On behalf of the sisters of Whyte Wood Coven, I humbly ask your forgiveness."
"I'm going to need a new door," I said.
"Kelli?" she asked.
"I'll call Andy," a red-haired witch in her early thirties offered.
"Mr. Slade, how do you know it was a werewolf following Gabriella?"
"Gabriella, is it?" I asked, lifting my eyebrows at Red.
"The werewolf, Mr. Slade," the older witch pushed.
"Trust me. Shaggy is a werewolf. Now, you tell me why he was tracking Red there and why he would murder your High Priestess?"
One of the other witches gasped with a sharp intake of air.
"How do you know Victoria Barrios was our High Priestess?"
"I didn't, until you confirmed it. And now, you aren’t answering my questions. Why was that werewolf tracking Red?"
"My name is Gabriella," Red said.
"Stay out of this, Mr. Slade. There are things at work here beyond your understanding," the older witch said. She turned and walked over the broken front door and out into the storm. Wordlessly, the other witches turned and followed her.
"Yeah. That's not creepy," I said as Gabriella, last in line, disappeared through the doorway.
Half a second later, she stuck her head back in the opening. "Owe you coffee?"
"Uh, sure. Anytime."
"Tomorrow morning? Howling Hounds?"
"Can we make it eleven o’clock? I've errands," I said.
"Sure. I don't get up most days until then, anyway." With that, she ducked back out into the rain.
MUD ON MY FACE
My first order of business was to stop the rain and everyone else from coming into my tiny apartment. The witches had really done a number on the front door, making me wonder what kind of stuff they ran into to have developed so much offensive capability. My experience with Judy and the girls had been completely different. They'd been all love and light, a lot more likely to drop their clothes and run naked through a moonlit forest than bust down a wizard's
front door.
The rain was lessening and it was still early in the afternoon. I grabbed my wallet, walked down the stairs and hurried out to the truck. Even if I had the spell components, I still couldn’t cast a protection enchantment without a door to cast it on. My gathering trip had been planned for tomorrow morning and that would be my first chance to gather the components I needed. Securing the apartment for the next twenty-four hours would require a more mundane approach. That decided, it was time for a trip to the hardware store.
Thirty dollars later, with a new hammer, staples and thick plastic sheeting in hand, I was ready to at least cover my front entrance. The rain had stopped and I rolled down the windows of my old pickup. I loved how the air smelled after a rain.
The sound of a motorcycle echoing against the buildings caught my attention and I swung my head around, looking for its source. Ordinarily, it wouldn't be cause for alarm, but my sixth sense screeched a warning, so I turned down a side street. It wasn't until I'd taken the next turn that I caught a glimpse of a biker. While she bore a certain resemblance to Shaggy, her gender was a dead giveaway that I was just being jumpy. I looped back around and headed home.
As soon as I pulled into the gravel drive and turned off the truck, I saw Mrs. Willoughby sitting on her small back porch. I walked up to the house, plastic wrap under my arm, and prepared for the worst.
"Problems, dear?" she asked.
"Yes, sorry, Mrs. Willoughby. I broke the door, but I'll fix it," I spoke just short of yelling so she'd hear me.
"You're handy, just like my Carl. I know you'll fix it. You're a responsible young man. No, you had a visitor while you were out. She told me to give you this." She held out an envelope.
"What did she look like?"
"Tall for a woman," she said. "Not very friendly. But I'm afraid my eyes aren't very good."
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that. If she comes by again, just stay inside." I placed the envelope in my front pocket.
Mrs. Willoughby gave me her best motherly smile. "You be careful, Felix. She felt dangerous."
Wizard in a Witchy World Page 3
