Page 2 of Destiny of the Dragons

The bell over the door rang. As if thinking about her too much summoned her, Mia’s mother walked through the door.

Mother always used the front entrance, like she was a customer and not one of the most feared witches in the Southwest. Dressed to the nines, as always, wearing a fitted black dress with a purple lace shawl over her shoulders, Mother wore her graying brown hair in a tight bun.

Like all Caravaggio witches, her eyes were bright blue. When Mother passed people in the Troll Market, people made a ward for the Evil Eye.

Mother pretended not to know, but it pleased her to strike such fear in peoples’ hearts.

Mother studied her with a sour look.

Mia braced herself. She used to smile, trying to defuse the tension, but Mother snapped at her about looking like a simpleton.

Mia barely resisted raising an eyebrow. “Good afternoon, Mother.”

“Business?” Mother swept into the shop all at once, looking at the antiques and curios that cluttered the tables around the front of their shop.

The backroom was where they did their readings, and had more of a mystical vibe, but the front of the shop was set up to make the customer wander around.

“Okay.” Mia knew not to say good. It was never busy enough for her. “Aside from the usual tourists and impulse buys, I did four readings and set up a time next week to do a group reading for the Lancaster witches.”

“Lancasters. Useless.” Mother sniffed, coming around the counter. She looked through the receipts, checking what Mia had sold. “Weather telling. Used to be a bit useful, but now? Any fool can turn on the Weather Channel.”

Mia didn’t reply. The Lancasters were an old and respected witch family. Too powerful to snub, but Mother didn’t think much of their abilities.

Privately, Mia thought weather-telling was still vital, but didn’t dare voice those thoughts. “Their money spends just as well, and they seem to be doing regular readings.”

Mother sent a scowl at her. “Don’t tell me what I already know. You keep giving those old broads a quality reading, and earn your keep.”

Mia bit her lip. Mother wasn’t usually this confrontational, not unless there was another blood magic job. She picked a fight, and then acted like Mia could redeem herself by doing a spell.

Mia was sick of the endless monotony. “Tell me about the job.”

Mother’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

“You only come into the shop to pick a fight with me when someone needs blood magic. Just tell me what it is.”

Real anger flashed in Mother’s eyes. She grabbed Mia’s hand, digging her thumb into the small gray mark on Mia’s inner wrist, and twisted hard. “You listen here, missy.”

Pain shot up from her wrist to her arm. Mother was mad enough to activate the shadow mark she put on Mia when she turned sixteen. Mia suppressed the dull anger.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but I am the Matriarch of this Family, and you will show me respect.”

The last was said with a growl. She really pissed her mother off; that was a miscalculation. If she’d known Mother was angry about something, she wouldn’t have sassed her.

Mother jerked her hand. “You understand?”

“Yes.” Mia bit back a whimper.

“Talk back like that one more time, and you’ll regret it.”

A shiver of fear wormed its way through her. The mark on her wrist pulsed with dark energy, sharp and cold. Her mother dug her thumb harder, an ache radiating up her arm. Mia had been locked in a closet without food or water for days, been forced to walk home in a bad area of town, had done magic for days until she passed out.

Nothing hurt like the mark. Whatever spellbook Mother found the marks in was hidden from her, but it had to be a nasty one.

Mia wasn’t afraid of pain exactly, but Mother never liked just dishing out pain. There was always some sort of humiliation. Now that Mia was an adult, she’d gotten better at avoiding pissing her mother off. She didn’t want to see how Mother would punish her as an adult.

Mia swallowed her pride, and looked up at her mother. “I’m sorry.”

She stopped herself from explaining that she was tired from so many readings today, that she slept badly. Mother didn’t like excuses.

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