Page 1 of Sweetwater and the Witch

Chapter One

“The witch will burn.”

Ravenna Chastain could hear the chanting in the adjacent chamber. It was growing louder and more intense. The members of the witch hunter cult were working themselves up into a frenzy.

“The witch will burn. The witch will burn.The witch will burn.”

Until a few minutes ago she had kept panic at bay by telling herself that help was on the way. All she had to do was stall for time. She had done her best, but the trial that had condemned her had lasted less than twenty minutes and had consisted primarily of a lengthy reading of the charges against her.“You have been accused of practicing witchcraft. You have presented no evidence to the contrary. You must be cleansed.”At the end the Master had pronounced the verdict, which had never been in doubt: guilty.

She and the dust bunny were on their own.

The cult’s head enforcer appeared in the arched doorway. He gripped a flamer in one hand. Such weapons were among the few that functionedin the heavy paranormal energy that circulated in the ancient ruins of the Underworld.

“Time to meet the cold fire, Witch.” He selected a key from the metal chatelaine at his waist. “The Master and the Acolyte are waiting. The Guardians have gathered to witness the destruction of your powers.”

Ravenna watched him through the bars of the cage. He wore a black, hooded robe and a black mask. His eyes glittered with a sick excitement. He called himself the First Guardian, but she knew his real name was Charles Granger.

“Tell me, Chucky, are you having fun with this crazy witch-hunting cult?” she asked.

Granger flinched. Panic flashed in his eyes. “How do you know my name?”

“Magic. I’m a witch, remember? That’s why you kidnapped me. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already. What’s the problem? Short attention span?”

“You’re going to be a flatlined witch soon.” Granger shoved the key into the lock and opened the cage door. “Come on out.”

“Doesn’t it bother you to know that you’re being used by a manipulative, deranged psychopath who gets his thrills using his talent to put innocent people into a waking coma?”

“Shut your fucking mouth. Your powers will be destroyed tonight. Tomorrow morning they’ll find you wandering the streets. You won’t remember who you are, let alone that you used to practice magic. You will be cleansed. If you’re lucky you’ll end up in an asylum.”

“Between you and me, I don’t think the jury is going to buy your rationale for helping Fitch psi-burn innocent people.”

“The Order of the Guardians must fulfill its mission,” Granger snarled. “We will rid Harmony of all those who practice witchcraft.”

“Yeah, right. Do you realize just how ridiculous you sound? You believe in magic? Really? Can you even spell the wordscience?”

Granger grabbed her arm and hauled her toward the arched doorway of the glowing green chamber. Ravenna caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. The dust bunny was back.

“No, please,” she said, willing her to remain in hiding.

She had no idea how much the creature understood, but dust bunnies were hunters by nature. That meant they probably shared a few basic takedown strategies with humans. For some reason, this one had apparently adopted her after she had been thrown into the cage. The dust bunny had been careful to remain out of sight when the cult members were around. She seemed to understand that they were outnumbered and outgunned.

If she revealed herself too soon in a valiant but futile attack on one of the enforcers, she would be killed. Dust bunnies were quick and fast, but they were as vulnerable to a flamer as any other living creature.

Ravenna was scared but she was also pissed. She was not supposed to be in this mess. Things had gone very wrong.

“Too late,” Granger said, assuming she was pleading with him. He hauled viciously on her arm. “Nothing can save your magic.”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” she said.

“Is that right? Who, then? I don’t see any other members of your coven around.”

“I don’t have a coven,” she said. She was a member of an FBPI task force team, but she didn’t think that qualified as a coven. “I’m not really a witch, you know.”

“The Master identified you as a witch. That’s good enough for me.”

“Seriously? I’d like to blame your failure to think for yourself on the defects of the modern education system, but I’ve got a feeling it’s a symptom of a personality disorder instead. You’re pretty much doomed to be a pawn for others to manipulate, aren’t you? When Fitch gets arrested, which he will eventually, he’ll go back to that high-security para-psych hospital for the criminally insane. But you’ll probably go to prison. Onceyou’re inside, you’ll drift into the spiderweb of some other narcissistic psychopath. I’m sure there are a lot of them in there.”

Granger used his grip on her arm to give her a violent shake. “I told you to shut up.”

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