Page 7 of Slouch Witch
Biggins cleared his throat. ‘All assignments have to be completed in tandem. You have to be together and work together when you are investigating.’
I closed my eyes; this was even worse than I thought. I inhaled deeply. ‘It’s simple then. Winter, you take a sabbatical until the binding is removed. We both stay in Oxford to avoid anything untoward happening.’ I nodded to myself. ‘Job done.’
Winter glared at me. ‘First of all, you will address me as Adeptus Exemptus Winter.’
I raised my eyebrows. He was at the very top of the Second Level. I wondered whether he ran his own Department; it was certainly possible. He seemed rather young to have such power but what did I know?
‘Secondly,’ he continued, ‘I am not taking a sabbatical. You obviously know something about how the Order works and it appears you have a working knowledge of magic. We will work together and,’ his lip curled in distaste, ‘somehow get through this.’
‘Nope. Not happening.’
‘Now, listen—’
I pulled myself up. ‘No,Adeptus ExemptusWinter, you listen. I have a life. I don’t want to be in the Order. You can’t make me work with you. Plus,’ I added, pulling out my trump card, ‘you can bet your life-savings that the Order doesn’t want me.’
Biggins undid his cloak as if it were starting to constrict him. ‘What did you say your name was?’ he asked.
I smiled. ‘Ivy Wilde.’
He flinched. ‘Oh.’
My smile grew. ‘Oh indeed.’
Chapter Three
Biggins skittered off to make his report to the Order and to find out if there was a way to undo the binding spell; boy, I’d like to have been a fly onthatwall. Meanwhile I put down some food for Harold and took Winter to my own flat. As I opened the door and realised that it was colder inside than it was out in the draughty corridor, I remembered that I still hadn’t called a damned plumber. That sucked – but at least it was a problem I had a chance of fixing.
Winter’s gaze swept across my living room. No prizes for guessing what he was thinking. There might be an absence of bee pollen but this wasn’t the gleaming place that Eve’s was. I picked up my bra from the back of the sofa and absently twirled it on one finger. He stared at me. Screw him. I wasn’t going to apologise formyclothes lying aroundmyhome.
‘So,’ he said, averting his eyes from my offending underwear, ‘I’m going to assume that you’re not in the Order because you couldn’t pass beyond Neophyte. You have the intelligence but not the magic.’
‘Guess again.’
He pointed at my thumb. ‘You’ve recently been bitten by a rodent of some kind,’ he said smugly. ‘That means you’ve not even mastered Myomancy.’
I held up the offending digit. ‘This is proof that I’m a Myomancy expert,’ I told him serenely. ‘It’s a bad omen. And look, here you are: the living embodiment of bad luck.’
‘A bite isn’t an omen.’
‘It is if you’re as adept as I am.’
He snorted. ‘Yeah, right. What can you actually do?’
I might have told him if the tone of his voice hadn’t been so incredulous but I didn’t need to prove myself to him. He needed me a hell of a lot more than I needed him. ‘What canyoudo?’ I returned.
‘I’m an Adeptus Exemptus. I should have thought my capabilities were obvious.’
The fact that I didn’t answer was answer enough.
Winter half-shrugged as if my silence was evidence that I was useless and changed the subject. ‘Why are you wearing wellington boots? Are you expecting a flood?’
‘I’m wearing them to guard against the pathetic tears of Order geeks like you.’
Anger flared in his eyes. ‘Let’s get one thing straight, Ms Wilde. I’m in charge here. Until we get this mess straightened out, you will follow my lead and do as I say. You will stop the insults and watch that smart mouth of yours. You will not test my patience.’
‘Was that one thing?’ I asked, cocking my head. ‘Or about five things? Do they not teach arithmetic at the Order these days?’
It was probably fortunate for both of us that Brutus chose that moment to saunter in and flop at my opponent’s feet. ‘At least you have a familiar,’ Winter grunted, avoiding my eyes in an apparent bid to reduce the antagonism between us.
