Page 134 of Castings & Curses

Her sole bonded warlock answered. “Ready for me to come get you?” He yawned loud enough to wake the dead.

“Ricky. Listen. I’m on the north path leading from the meadow. Someone’s attacking me. Real arrows, actual threats. A witch.”

Rustling sounds accompanied Ricky’s stern voice. “On my way. Keep the line open. Can’t you use magic?”

“I’m in a protective circle, but magic won’t do spit against flaming arrows. I’d rather not use wind magic to force them away and risk setting the forest on fire. Can’t see the glamoured familiars, and they’ve surrounded me.”

“Move closer to the house in the protective ward.”

“Too dangerous with all the people here for the festival. I need to ground my circle here. Any hole in my ward can trigger these gremlins to attack.”

“I knew this was a bad idea,” he groused. “I’m snagging the first witches I see. On the way. Here, talk to your sister.”

“Hey,” her middle sister, Aspen, chirped into the phone.

“I’ve had enough of today already. We’re in a no-magic period. Festivals are supposed to be safe zones for everyone to set aside their beefs for three days.” She spoke louder for her stalker to hear her ranting.

“Did a stupid rock hit you on the way to your orgy?” Aspen chortled. “Ya think the Helwigs and their minions care one wit about rules?”

A flush of annoyance stole up Sage’s chest. “Shut up.” She knew better. But alcohol and sex spoke a unique language.

“Sage, honey.” Concern rode her aunt Jessica’s voice. “Are you safe?”

“Safe as can be.” Another flaming arrow hit the ground at her feet, and she scurried behind a cedar tree. She swished her hand like a hose nozzle and doused the fire.

A telltale ache formed behind her eyes. Gritty eyeballs and blurry vision chased the pain.What the holy goddess?Her buried aether magic hadn’t surfaced in years. Such powerful magic, she never used it, nor ever controlled it. Why now?

“Son of a witch’s tit. Gotta jam.” She hung up and wedged the phone in her pocket. Spine stiff, she stood and readied fireballs on her palms. Using her witch-air, she tossed the fireballs at the ground where her four-legged stalkers waited. Witch-water followed to extinguish any flames.

She uttered a silent spell to control the flames and launched more balls of fire. They sizzled to the ground, and embers showered the air. Dirt, dried leaves, and twigs pinged her shield. Flames threatened to engulf the creatures, and they yelped an ear-piercing sound. They fled, their screeches fading into the depths of the woods. A fire spread across the dry forest floor, consuming a small ribbon of land, the heat exacerbating the natural heat of her body. She raised her hands, ready to use her witch-water to extinguish the flames. But to her surprise and joy, the fire died down on its own, leaving nothing but ash and smoke. Her silent incantation to douse the flames reverberated in the air. A spell always just out of her reach. Knots untied in her shoulders, and she returned to the path. Why now had her rare aether magic emerged and aided her witch-fire?

The unseen witch uttered her final say, “You won't see me coming next time. I won’t hold back either.” The words dissipated in the misty morning air, floating toward the Pacific Ocean.

The threat drove shivers down Sage’s spine. She hiked through a puff of smoke and raised witch-air to dispel it. Fear and uncertainty lingered in her mind. She’d taken her security for granted. Took life for granted. The incident was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. The time had arrived to prove to the witchworld that she was a smart, capable adult, not a silly, irresponsible party animal. Maybe then they’d respect her magic. Respect her, period.

CHAPTER2

Footsteps approachedfrom the direction of the house. Sage readied her witch-fire for blast off, but the gloomy dawn revealed Ricky, Aspen, and Jessica. Cell phone flashlights lit the gravel pathway and bounced up. Their eyes glommed onto her, radiating a mixture of curiosity and concern.

“Are you okay?” asked Jessica, her mother’s twin sister. They weren’t identical twins, which helped smother her grief every time she looked at Jessica. Jessica had already donned her ubiquitous fashionable jeans and a loose, shimmery silk blouse. A light layer of makeup on her youthful face accented her short-layered brunette hair, styled for the day. Way too early for Sage.

The sun emerged above the distant horizon, and the forest eased to life, bathing the foliage in a soft, warm light. The trio cut their flashlights and the forest murk settled in again.

“I'm fine,” Sage replied, her pulse not quite steady. The threat hammered the last remaining nail into her fate.

“We saw a fire. Do I need to do anything?” Ricky asked. With his shaved head, he stood warrior-like, ready to slay her foes. Jessica had assigned the forty-year-old warlock to Sage under duress. Sage’s duress. She wasn’t ready for the three warlocks a High Priestess required. Ricky was enough. Though not a warlock she ever wanted to sex it up with. Too old, too much in love with another coven witch. The way she wanted it. She didn’t want biases disrupting his split duties. And he wielded her witch-fire well. Her bonding familiar, Ice, flitted on his neck, speckled-white feathers against the collar of his black T-shirt.

“No. I doused the fire,” she replied, trying to process the freaky situation.

He led the procession to the house, Jessica taking up the tail.

“What happened?” Aspen clutched Sage’s arm to her side. “You shouldn’t be alone with the circus in town. Why didn’t you call Ricky to escort you home?” Tendrils of Aspen’s long red hair escaped the ponytail she wore when working in her lab. She already wore a purple work apron, and rosemary and echinacea wafted off the coven’s young healer and alchemist.

Sage invoked an air mask over her nose to filter the herbs aggravating her sinuses. “I’ve walked this path a million times.” Sage plodded forward, the aether ache receding into the alcohol-induced implosion of her entire head. The eye grit cleared, but her inner turmoil refused to abate. “I don't know what happened. Some douchebag attacked me, and I defended myself against a few familiars.” She knocked her head against Aspen’s head. “My aether magic surfaced,” she whispered.

Aspen ground to a standstill. “Wait, what?” Sage pushed at her to move, not wanting Jessica to freak out.

“This incident is why you need another warlock. Rules dictate it, Sage,” Jessica admonished. “Too many witches and warlocks are on the property for the festival. It’s too risky to wander alone.”

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