Page 270 of Sigils & Spells

“Proud? I’m not the bully in the room.” I spit out my words, and I could see by the flinch in his eyes, I hit my mark.

“Normally we would make you walk around the chamber three times. But for you …”

“More. More. More.” The mages had not lost their voices.

“For you, it will be once, a warning that you should never ever underestimate The Mage Guild of Mystic Keep. And … and … you should never enter our domain without an invitation.”

I tossed my hair back and walked in the direction he pointed. Sometimes a witch has to do what a witch has to do. I was there to protect my students. I could do this for them. I had to do this.

But my sheer, gut-wrenching humiliation could not be contained. Tears flowed down my cheeks, as I placed one foot in front of the other. The hungry eyes of the mages devoured my nakedness. I had never felt so exposed, so alone, or so shamed. To make matters worse, the cold air in the room hardened my nipples. Could anything be crueler than this walk? The fifty yards I traversed felt like fifty freaking miles.

When I returned to my starting point, my clothes magically returned to my body smelling slightly of mage breath. I wiped my face with the back of my hand and faced Lugnut. “Now what?”

“You … You may go.”

I considered threatening him, but I didn’t want more trouble. Any dispute I took to the town’s magic council would favor the mages. I had violated their space without permission. I had done wrong. I took a deep breath. “Let me know if you hear anything about the Fang Hunter,” I said.

“Of course,” replied Lugnut. His smug smile revealed blackened teeth.

That merciless grin pushed me one inch too far. I stepped closer to him, so that only he could hear my voice. “I will get you back for this. Someday. Somewhere. I will take my revenge. You are a marked man, Lugnut. Mark my words, I Rebel Black of the Black Magnolia coven have made you a marked man.” I vanished in a puff of pink smoke scented with cotton candy to annoy the group. Using my magic to this extent would give me a migraine, but I desperately wanted to show them I had power.

“Witch!” Lugnut hissed.

CHAPTER8

Tick Tock– 26 hours remaining to stop the Fang Hunter.

As I teleportedinto my office at Fangsters, Harvey shook his head at me. Because of our connection he experienced every second of my humiliating experience, though not as strongly as I had.

“Oh, be quiet,” I said. “It wasn’t a total loss.”

“Mm hmm.”

“A mage isn’t the Fang Hunter. I’m certain of that now. I can cross the number one suspect off René’s hit list.”

“Mmm.” Harvey nodded slowly.

“I know. I know. I should be careful with my magic levels, but I had to show those twittering mages my power.”

“I saw that. Pink fog that smells like cotton candy. Yup. You sure showed them.”

I firmed my lips and counted to ten.

“Darlin’, I don’t mean to fault you.”

But he so did! I exhaled slowly, a feeble attempt to temper the rage that swirled inside me like a cyclone.

“But” he continued, “you need to look at yourself in the mirror. That show-off blast fried you.”

I put a hand to my hair. Oh, hell in a cauldron. It felt crispy. That wasn’t a good sign. My shoulders ached with tension. My eyes stung. And true to form, a nasty migraine brewed in the top of my head. I groaned. “Maybe,” I said.

“You better lie down before you collapse on the floor.”

Again, the darn rabbit made a good point. I crawled onto the sofa beneath the window and managed to pull the blanket over me before I fell into a deep sleep.

Powerful witches totally control their dreams. Even the average witch next door can exert some will over her night adventures. But not me. Never. Ever. I careened into bedlam.

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