Page 21 of Slouch Witch
‘Treadmill,’ Winter barked. ‘We’ll start with a comfortable jog to warm you up.’
Horror settled in my bones. Since when was a jog ever comfortable? A slow stroll perhaps, preferably in broad sunshine with an ice-cream in my hand. Before I could begin to suggest we started more sedately, he shoved me onto a machine and started jabbing the buttons. ‘Hey!’ I protested. ‘That’s too fast!’
‘It’s barely a walk.’
‘But…’
He glared. ‘Continue complaining and I’ll increase the speed.’
I gritted my teeth. ‘I don’t see,’ I said, already beginning to pant, ‘how jogging is going to make me a better witch.’
‘How will you run down a suspect if you can’t run?’ Winter retorted.
The last thing I planned on doing was running anywhere. ‘I’ll zap him between the ears to stop him.’
‘A good Order witch never relies on magic alone,’ he chided.
I’d have reminded him that I wasn’t a good Order witch but it was impossible to talk. I found it difficult to believe that people did this kind of thing for fun. It didn’t help that, every minute or so, Winter increased the speed. In the mirror opposite I saw my face growing redder and redder. I was fairly certain I was about to have an aneurysm when he gave me a break and stopped the treadmill.
‘Thank the heavens,’ I wheezed. ‘Can I take a shower now?’
There was a glint of amusement in his eyes. ‘We’ve not even finished the warm-up yet.’
‘I hate you.’
He smiled. ‘You must have come here when you were a Neophyte.’
I like to think I had more sense. ‘I was busy,’ I said shortly, as he directed me to some terrifying contraption with heavy weights attached to its back.
‘Cheating?’ he asked mildly.
I grunted. ‘Amongst other things.’ I felt Winter’s cool eyes on me and changed the subject. ‘What does this do? It looks like some ancient torture device.’
‘It will help your upper arm strength. You’ll love it.’
Somehow I doubted that.
Winter adjusted the weight and corrected my posture. ‘We’ll start with ten reps,’ he told me.
I began to lift. Ten? I’d be lucky to manage two. ‘I need water,’ I told him.
He flicked me a frustrated look. ‘You didn’t bring a water bottle?’
‘I didn’t have time.’
He sighed, as if all this were a great imposition. He should put himself in my shoes. ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Wait here.’
‘Where else am I going to go?’ He threw me a narrow look and I smiled sunnily. ‘Thank you, Adeptus Exemptus Winter. You’rethe best.’
‘Don’t push it,’ he growled.
I smirked. As soon as he turned away, I got to work. I reached back, focusing on the weights. This was a series of runes I’d used on many occasions. I hated lugging customers’ bags in and out of the taxi, especially when they had heavy suitcases. Some people expected it; some demanded it because they enjoyed watching a girl heave their stuff around. There was a simple way around it. By the time Winter returned with a cup of water, I was all set to go.
I took the cup from him, drained it and smacked my lips. ‘Thanks!’
‘You’re welcome,’ he murmured. His eyes were suspicious. I’d have to give an Oscar-worthy performance.
‘Ten reps?’ I asked. ‘You don’t think maybe we should start with less?’
