Page 18 of Pitch a Witch
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My heart lurched so hard it felt like it punched the roof of my mouth, but I had no time to react to anything when a golden shimmer burst out of me and formed a wavering circle around us. Sissily slapped a hand over her mouth so she didn’t make a sound but, her blue peepers would give a fly a run for its money. One thing we had going for us was the fact that the door opened to the left, which placed us behind it when it was opened.
“It’s empty.” A hushed voice spoke from the other side of it. “Hurry up.”
Two figures rushed inside, slamming the door shut behind them. When we entered, neither of us bothered with lighting the candles spread all over the place, which left only the dim blue light coming from the black pillar ones to cast shadows around the ritual room. Probably why the two men thought they were the only ones inside. They didn’t need more light, either, because they stopped a few feet from where we were frozen and stared at each other silently. A million excuses jumped on my tongue for when they finally noticed us, especially when Shadowblood’s face came into view, but they didn’t spare us a glance.
We looked at each other in confusion.
The second person was Josh, of all people. I had totally forgotten about Dean and Sissily’s cousin until then, and seeing the other witch sent panic clawing at me. They were running toward the front doors when we intercepted them in the hallway, and none of us bothered to see if they were still there. Did they notice River’s wings?
“Well? Did you see anything?” Shadowblood’s nasal tone scraped on my nerves like nails over a chalkboard.
“They didn’t come until much later, so no,” Josh drawled haughtily. “You’ll excuse me for being preoccupied when over three dozen demons passed through the wards they placed around the building.”
“They can’t see us,” I mouthed to Sissily, and wide-eyed, she bobbed her head in agreement.
“You were hiding, is what you mean,” Shadowblood hissed, spittle spraying through his thin lips. “Pathetic waste of magic you are.”
“I agreed to help you because those videos, before they had them deleted, were creepy as hell, High Priest. I never agreed to be insulted while doing you a favor.” To Josh’s credit, he squared his shoulders and glared at the older man.
Now that I knew they couldn’t see us, I couldn’t stand in the same spot. Whatever my magic was doing kept us hidden, so I planned on taking advantage of that. Petty? Yes, it was. Did I care? Not for one second.
Yanking a still perplexed Sissily alongside me, I tiptoed as close as I dared toward the duo. My friend raked her nails over my arm to stop me, but I smacked her hands away and propelled her forward. I had proof that Shadowblood was recruiting others to spy on me, so that gave me the right to mess with his head as much as I wanted.
“It’d be a shame if your family loses favor with Danika Byrne, don’t you think, young Josh?” My teeth ground together when I heard him use my grandmother’s name to threaten the guy.
I could bet my new-found magic that Danika would love that when I told her.
Quiet as a mouse, I slinked as close as I could get to the old creep without touching him. There had always been a very distinct scent following the High Priest that reminded me of moth balls and some herb with a heavy earthy smell, but the moment I stood close enough, the sour tang of old blood magic nearly doubled me over. The odor was not present when he’d cornered me while I’d searched for Sissily, but there was no mistaking it now when I was practically breathing down his neck.
Silently gagging, I tapped my nose to signal my friend to sniff him. Sissily recoiled at the idea, but luckily for me, she couldn’t argue. Taking hold of the back of her head, I jerked her forward, almost mushing her face in the old man’s neck. She struggled for just a moment, but I knew the exact moment the stench filled her nostrils. She turned rigid, and all the blood drained from her face.
All color vanished from Josh’s face, too, after Shadowblood threatened him in a not-so-subtle way. I would’ve felt bad for him if the jerk wasn’t trying to spy on me and those around me.
“There is no shame in staying alive. So what if we hid? Did you see the demons? They had soul eaters with them, too. Better to lose favor with Ms. Byrne than end up dead.” Josh grew a backbone, although I could see his hands shaking.
After hearing their conversation, I had no warm fuzzies for Sissily’s cousin, but I hated bullies more. And that was what Shadowblood was doing. Bullying Josh to do his bidding so he could keep his hands clean. I reared back when the old man raised his hand and pointed his forefinger at Josh’s chest. A long, dark tendril sprung to life, and while I couldn’t hear the softly murmured incantation under his breath, I knew a curse when I saw one. It uncoiled toward the young witch before he could do anything but gasp.
Acting on instinct, my hand shot out and my palm intercepted the magic an inch from Josh’s heart. A bright light burst, blinding all of us when the curse made contact, but it blinked out fast. Colorful spots danced at the corners of my vision, yet I still saw Shadowblood jerkily turn this way and that, searching to see who’d blocked his power. Josh gaped at his chest with an unhinged jaw, and a quick check confirmed that the wavering light was firmly in place.
Smugly, I grinned at the weasel, even though he couldn’t see me.
Sissily swayed on her feet, and I caught her before she dived to hug the floor. She wrapped herself around my arm like a baby koala and petted me weakly to let me know she was okay.
“How did you do that?” the High Priest snapped, but it sounded more like “how dare you block my curse when I’m trying to kill you,” and my eyebrows hit my hairline. The insolence of the man was astounding.
“You tried to kill me.” Josh’s tone was threadbare, and I almost didn’t hear him.
“How. Did. You. Do. It?” Pushing each word through clenched teeth, he snarled at the younger witch.
“I don’t know,” Josh yelled when the shock wore off and panic twisted his features. “You tried to kill me. Blond hair just like Sissily’s fell over his eyes, and he yanked it back. “What in Hecate’s name is wrong with you?”
“Lower your voice …” Shadowblood took a threatening step forward, but I’d had enough. Regardless of what Josh felt, my friend was shaking like a leaf watching her cousin almost die. She might not like any of them much, but they were family.
“Step away from him.” My voice rang out loud and clear, and it was much calmer than I expected.
Shadowblood looked like he’d sucked on a dirty sock when the shimmering light faded, and when his beady eyes locked on mine an inch from his face, I almost laughed at his pinched expression. Josh shrieked like a little girl and threw himself back, but I ignored him. Sissily detached herself from me and rushed to help him up where he landed on his ass on the floor.
