Page 1 of Which Witch Is Wicked?
Claire
Cindy Stark
1
Goddess of power, hear my plea
Watch over those who pray to thee
Grant the power, give it to me
To protect those who are worthy
By earth, air, fire and sea...
Energy crackled and hissed as Claire de Moray chanted the magical words.
A red haze colored her world and a loud crack filled the air. Claire blinked and glanced around, her gaze landing on shattered pieces of turquoise pottery that had once been a beautiful vase. Broken white roses lay mixed with the shards as a puddle of water seeped from the wreckage.
“Tierra’s going to have your ass,” Aerin said with a sassy smile. “She made that vase. Grew those roses.”
Claire put a defeated hand over her face. “This will never work.”
After a deep breath, she focused on Aerin, who’d joined her in the solarium. “Something is missing, but I can’t figure it out. I need the damn Grimoire. Without it, how will we ever protect ourselves? Protect Tierra and her baby? Death might have spared Tierra, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t kill one of us. And it doesn’t mean the other Horsemen won’t try to end her life.”
“Fucking thief sneaking intoourhouse, takingourbook.” Aerin perched on the edge of the windowsill, staring into the cool morning air, a cup of heart-stopping coffee in her hand. The house had been hauntingly quiet for the past week since Nick had shot a deadly arrow at Moira and nearly killed Tierra instead. A thick, strangling gloom hung over all four sisters, mimicking the damp gray skies outside. “We need to figure out who took Grim and kick her ass.”
“Agreed. And you and I are the perfect ones to do it.” Claire wanted nothing more than to lash out at someone or something.
“Damn straight.” Aerin leaned farther out the window and stared up at the sky with a frown on her face.
“Couldn’t have been the guys who’d taken Grim,” Claire continued. “We’d know if they’d gotten through our wards. Wasn’t Justine because she was dead drunk. What about someone else in the coven?”
Aerin didn’t answer, seeming preoccupied by something in the sky.
Claire stood and approached her sister. “What are you looking at?” Just as she reached the window, something sailed through the air, heading straight for the pink rhododendrons below. “What the hell was that?”
“Fish.”
She leaned over Aerin’s shoulder to see a salmon flopping on the ground in close proximity to several others. A frazzled bat swooped in through the open window and landed on Aerin’s knee, his favorite spot to rest, barely escaping the next fish bomb.
“Oh, my God.” Three seagulls came in for another round, all carrying squirming fish in their beaks. “Have they gone mad?”
“Bat-shit crazy.” Aerin stood, leaving Doctor Lecter to flutter about the room as she hurried to shut the window. Just as she did, the body of a fish smacked against the glass, leaving a blurry streak as it slid down the surface.
“But not as crazy as your sister.” Aerin opened the window again. “Moira! What the hell are you doing out there? Get your ass inside before you get hit.”
Claire watched as Moira dashed across the lawn to gather one, then another flopping body from the grass.
“Get your sweet ass out here and help me,” she cried. “A’fore they all die!”
“Oh, hell.” Claire hurried from the room, nearly colliding with Tierra as they reached the back door, both of them heading outside. “Don’t ask because I don’t know.”
“They need water! Get a bucket or somethin’,” Moira yelled as salmon smacked her head. “Damn it! Help me gather them up!”
“I’ll get it.” Tierra dodged a flying fish as she ran for the side of the raised porch.
Claire caught Aerin’s questioning look and shrugged. “She’s our sister. We have to help her.” She grabbed the closest squirming body and tried to ignore the feel of slimy scales and thick, moving muscle in her hand. As she bent to capture another, one slapped her on the bottom.
