Page 269 of Sigils & Spells

He huffed, and more garlic stench floated my way.

I coughed.

“After … After sunset … I was here watching a movie with the others until ten, and then we played Euchre until midnight. I’m sure that will all be on the CCTV tapes, which I will send to you.”

“Thank you. And after midnight?”

“I … I went to my room upstairs, read for a while, and fell asleep. I woke at sunrise.”

Another mage, I recognized as his second-in-command, stepped forward. “I was here. What the grand master says is true.”

I exhaled slowly. “Do you have any idea of who the Fang Hunter could be?”

The two mages glanced at each other.

“Not everyone likes vampires in this town,” said the second-in-command.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I firmed my lips. “But the locals are getting used to them. I don’t think it’s a local.”

“A … A vampire did it,” pronounced Lugnut with certainty. “They … They enjoy hurting others, you know.”

I bit my lip to stop myself from cursing. After a moment, I spoke. “You have my number. Please forward me footage from your cameras last night and let me know if you learn anything about the Fang Hunter.”

Lugnut squinted. “You’re not getting off that easy.”

I blinked. The two mages moved closer to me. I felt like a slice of bologna in a cheap cafeteria sandwich, squished between the bread and slimy butter. I pulled my protective magic around me. The others in the room stood and moved towards us.

“She has to walk the walk,” said someone in the back of the room. I hadn’t realized until that moment that all the mages in the room had stopped what they were doing to listen in to our conversation. Hexen hell!

“The walk,” repeated another.

“Walk. Walk. Walk.”

If I wasn’t gripped by terror, I might have found their chanting humorous. But there was nothing funny about their walk of shame. It was notorious, as in notoriously bad.

“Make her do it,” said another cloaked mage closing in on me. His words echoed in the hall.

“Walk. Walk. Walk.” They raised their voices, and the whole room shook with their enthusiasm. They thumped their staffs as they circled me. It was like being in the center of a really bad musical. “Walk. Walk. Walk”Thump. Thump. Thump. “Walk. Walk. Walk.”Thump. Thump. Thump.As their energy grew, the hair on the nape of my neck stood on end.

I fought the trembling in my body, but to no avail. Sweat trickled down my spine. My chest tightened to the point I could hardly breathe, and an icy-cold weight settled in the pit of my stomach. I had heard about the mage’s walk of shame, but never actually witnessed it.

Lugnut’s beady eyes burned into mine. “I proclaim …”

The group fell silent.

“That Rebel Black of the Black Magnolia witch coven deserves punishment. She trespassed on our sacred space, and she must pay for her foolishness.”

“Wait. No. I’m here to protect others. You can’t—”

His hand rose, and a mage spell resonated through the room. Before I could say another word, my clothes flew off my body. I stood bare-naked in front of him. My enchantress powers were nothing against the collective energy of the mages.

Nonetheless I tried to fight back. As tears of frustration, anger, and shame ran down my face, I called on my magic. I pleaded with the universe. I cursed the ground Lugnut stood on. This was not justice.

My pleas and curses were drowned in the swamp of their spells. I mentally called on my sisters for help, but I didn’t think they would hear me, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to get to me in time. I was truly done for.

I considered trying to cover my private parts, but I only had two hands. Raw anger stilled my edginess. I took a deep breath and stood tall. Screw this, I thought. I firmed my lips and stopped crying. Whatever they had in mind, I would endure it, and someday I would get my payback. I do love payback.

Lugnut’s brow furrowed at the change in my demeanor. “You are a proud little witch. That’s your problem, Rebel Black. You are too proud.”

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