Page 61 of Bewitched By the Wicked Witch
The dark magic surged through my veins like liquid starlight, and I threw back the arms holding me, letting the power manifest in ways that finally felt natural rather than restrained. I rose into the air, my hair whipping around my face in an otherworldly wind, amethyst flames dancing at my fingertips.
The crowd fell back in terror, their pitchforks and torches clattering to the ground as they cowered before what I'd spent years trying to hide.
"You wanted a wicked witch?" I asked, my voice echoing with harmonics that definitely weren't human. "Well, congratulations. You've found one."
I turned my gaze upon Councilman Bishop, watching his face turn ashen as he realized he might have miscalculated. The dark magic crackled around me, begging to be unleashed, to make him pay for his lies and willful ignorance.
Before I could decide whether turning him into an amphibian to match his son was ethically justifiable, a spell hit me with the force of a freight train. The freeze charm immobilized me mid-air, and I dropped like a stone, my concentration shattered.
The box containing Tommy and Cate went flying, landing with a crash that released two very confused frogs into the chaos.
"Sorry, Sage," Hank's voice said from somewhere behind me as gravity claimed me ungracefully. "Orders are orders."
Iron shackles snapped around my wrists before I hit the ground, the metal burning against my skin and effectively cutting off my connection to the magic that had been flowing through me moments before. Unlike the simple silver-plated cuffs I'd slipped out of in the past, these were clearly designed specifically for magic users. Enchanted iron meant to be unbreakable and to null all magical abilities completely.
But as I wiggled my finger and tested the boundaries, I noticed something. These were defective. Someone had tried to enhance the spell, but there on the seams of the enchantment, I felt a minor mistake. Just enough to sneakin my magic and break it open. Instead of ripping them apart, I played along and waited.
Smirking openly at their stupidity.
"Hank," I said with the patience of someone explaining basic concepts to a particularly dense student, "you do realize you're helping cover up a child torture ring, right?"
"I'm following the law," he replied, though he wouldn't meet my eyes. "Until the council says otherwise, you're under arrest for practicing dark magic."
Cosmo's growl split the air as he launched himself at someone, I suspected Hank based on the scream of terror that followed, but soon Cosmo went silent in a way that made my blood boil. They'd incapacitated my familiar, the one truly innocent party in this entire mess.
"If you've hurt him—" I started, but Callum's shout cut me off.
"Stop!" he called out, his words infused with the authority of the High Council. "As a representative of the Council, I declare that Sage Blackstone is innocent of these crimes!"
The mob hesitated, their grip on me loosening slightly as they turned to face Callum with a mixture of confusion and resentment. I tested my jaw to make sure it still worked, then rolled my eyes at the dramatic pause.
"Oh, please," I scoffed, my voice dripping with sarcasm despite my current predicament. "You wouldn't know real justice if it bit you on your collective asses."
Callum's expression turned coldly professional as he addressed the crowd. "Actually, Councilman Bishop, you're wrong on several counts. First, the moment youattempted to execute someone without a proper trial, this became a High Council matter. Second, when crimes cross jurisdictional boundaries, which kidnapping and murder certainly do, local authority is superseded. And third…" His voice dropped dangerously. "...when a High Council agent is investigating, obstruction becomes a federal magical offense."
Bishop jabbed a finger at me, his face mottled with fury. "Jurisdictions and trials and procedures, while this witch walks free to kill again!" He turned to rally the crowd. "Justice delayed is justice denied! To the pyre with her!"
The mob surged forward once more, propelling me towards what I now realized was a hastily constructed bonfire in the town square. Someone had been very optimistic about tonight's entertainment value.
"Callum!" I called out, my voice tinged with exasperation more than fear. "A little help here? I'd rather not be barbecued today, if it's all the same to you!"
Callum's lips twitched as he fought back what might have been amusement at my irreverent response to mortal peril. He raised his hands, his aura shimmering with golden light.
"By the power vested in me by the High Council, I command you to release Sage Blackstone immediately!"
The mob completely ignored him, which seemed to genuinely shock Callum as if official authority usually worked better than this.
"No!" I called out with growing urgency. "Use actual magic, not bureaucracy!"
Callum began to chant what sounded like a bindingspell, but before he could complete it, Hank appeared behind him and delivered what could only be described as a professionally executed sucker punch.
"Callum!" I screamed as he crumpled to the ground.
The mob dragged me toward the towering pyre with the enthusiasm of people who'd been looking forward to this all evening. I struggled against their iron grip, my magic sputtering slowly working through unraveling the enchanted shackles.
"Come on, guys!" I pleaded, my voice tinged with desperate humor. "Can't we discuss this over coffee like civilized people? I promise not to turn anyone into small amphibians!"
They hoisted me onto the pyre, the rough wood scraping against my skin as they secured me to the stake with ropes that had clearly been prepared in advance. I craned my neck, searching frantically for Callum among the sea of angry faces, my heart sinking as I spotted him still unconscious beside an equally incapacitated Cosmo.
