Page 4 of Witch

Kana turned to the witch, angry. “What do you want?” he snapped.

Chapter Two

THE OLDER WOMAN smiled serenely at Kana, apparently completely unconcerned with his anger.

“Just to chat, dearie. It’s not every day I see a young man with a cat sitting on his shoulder.”

“And that made you think it was okay to attack someone?” Kana growled out, sounding almost like a werewolf himself.

She waved her hand through the air as if physically brushing aside his words. “Oh, that little wolf wasn’t hurt. I don’t know what you’re so concerned about, dearie.”

Kana really wished she would stop calling him that, but he wasn’t about to give her his name. Instead, he just gritted his teeth and tried to contain his anger.

“If I hadn’t sent him away, he could have torn muscles and tendons fighting against that spell, and you know it. Stop pretending your nonchalance.”

She suddenly frowned, and the ground lit up where her fingers were still buried in the dirt. Except this time Kana was ready for her. He let the spell hit him, but he drew a quick circle—carefully hidden underneath his clothes where she wouldn’t see it—that funneled the power through him and directly into the ground below his feet where it harmlessly dissipated.

“Now then,” she said, and her smile had a sharp edge to it now that the fake sugar syrup tone was gone. “Perhaps you’ll be a little more amenable. Tell me who you are and why you’re working for the hunters and werewolves.”

Sora let out a wide yawn from where he was draped over Kana’s shoulders. Kana just glared at her.

“I said”—she emphasized with another flare of magic that Kana let run into the ground without touching him—“who are you?”

Ember says to blast her, Mika stated, his voice a touch too eager.

This isn’t a dominance fight, Kana replied in disagreement. He wasn’t trying to prove he was top dog—or top wolf, in this case. He just wanted to get her to stop.

She won’t stop until you force her to, Mika said, no doubt echoing Ember’s words to Kana. Her spells will only become more and more powerful until she starts bothering the neighbors.

Kana let out a breath. He could see the logic in that, and the sooner he made her stop the sooner he could go home.

The ground flared again under her hand, but this time Kana changed his spell. Instead of redirecting the magic, Kana reflected it, sending the spell arrowing back at the caster. She waved her free hand in front of her body, and the spell vanished. Her eyes narrowed when she looked back at Kana.

“So you do have some power, boy,” she said, her voice sharp. “But do you think you can keep up with one of the Three?”

Kana had no idea what she was talking about, although—if she was throwing out a title like that—he thought it pretty safe to assume she believed she was powerful. Luckily, Kana was powerful too. He threw open the channels between himself and Mika and Sora, drawing in magic through them until his fingers and toes were vibrating with power.

He had to stop her before she did something that would hurt the neighbors. The hunters and the wolves could take care of themselves, but the rest of the street was comprised of regular humans who wouldn’t be able to defend themselves against whatever she was about to throw at Kana.

Magic built around her, so Kana built his own circle around her magic. He suppressed his power so only the barest hint of it was visible as he used it to draw his circle. The light he generated was easily concealed by hers as her magic continued to build. Pressure punched Kana in the chest as her magic hit a crescendo, and a split second before she released it into a completed spell, Kana flooded the miniscule lines he had drawn with as much power as he could.

Her magic slammed against the walls of Kana’s circle, both spells lighting up the street like miniature supernovas. Kana had drawn his circle and star, with runes for containment and protection, with her in the center. She still had her fingers buried in the dirt, her plants forming the base of whatever spell she had tried to send at Kana. Her runes were obscured by the dirt and the light from the spells.

She poured magic into her spell, and it battered against Kana’s circle, sometimes chiseling at it as if to force an opening and other times bashing against it as if sheer force could blow Kana’s circle apart. Kana met every surge with his own power, gritting his teeth as he pulled magic from Mika and Sora and thrust it into his circle to match her.

His Mobius circle had at least been designed to sustain a circle indefinitely. This containment circle was one spell and forcing it to keep working against every onslaught was draining Kana’s magic almost faster than he could pull it from Mika and Sora. His already taxed magic channels between them were starting to ache. Kana lifted one hand and twisted his wrist sharply. His circle twisted as well, forming into the shape for his mobius. The magic pull instantly reduced by a third, but Kana was still panting for breath. His locked knees were all that was keeping him standing, and Sora was lying limp on his shoulder rather than sitting up. His only consolation was the woman was now laying on the ground rather than sitting, her face bright red as she gasped for air with every blast of magic she sent.

As long as she kept sending magic, Kana had to keep up his own circle, which kept them locked together in this strange dance.

“That is enough!” Ember roared, his voice so powerful some of the people still unloading the vans, oblivious to the battle, finally looked over. Two women dropped what they were holding and rushed over. “Stop right now before you kill yourselves,” Ember added, his voice alpha-firm in a tone that brooked no arguments. Kana wanted to obey, but he couldn’t risk the neighborhood.

“Mother Diana!” one of the women gasped in alarm when they reached the older woman’s side.

Diana grimaced. She looked at Kana and lowered her chin slightly as if she were acknowledging him. She didn’t send out another blast of magic, and the light from her spell faded away. Kana gratefully dropped his own spell. He staggered, his knees finally giving way, and fell into Ember’s warm, strong arms. Ember slid one arm around Kana’s waist, effortlessly holding most of Kana’s weight. Kana was happy to curl up against Ember—he was ready for a nap and napping with Ember was a rare pleasure—but Diana letting out a low groan reminded Kana he had to figure this mess out first.

Kana didn’t know when he had closed his eyes, and it took work to fight the weight holding his lids down, but he finally opened them. The other two women were helping Diana sit up. Diana looked as tired as Kana felt, her shoulders stooped as she continued to lean on one of the women for support. The flowers she had planted were brown, the leaves flaking off in brittle pieces as a breeze wafted past.

“You’re no Horned Lord,” Diana said, her voice scratchy, but still strong.

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