Page 40 of House of Vampires and Flame

He had water magic. Instead of it going somewhere else, the water drenched his pants, almost like he’d peed himself. I hid a smile.

He and the mage boy lunged at Bea. The mage had his hand on Bea’s shoulder to keep her down; the shifter put his foot on Bea’s thigh.

“It must be a spell from the Book of Shadows,” said the fake blonde witch. “That book is forbidden. I’ll take the book for safekeeping; the rest of you can drag her to Lady America. Her ladyship will want to interrogate this low witch since she hasn’t paid homage to our lady.”

“Don’t take my book, please,” Bea cried as she struggled to break free. “Take everything else. It’s all I have of my grandmother!”

Fake Blonde stepped toward the book, bending to extricate it. Before she could get her hands on the book, I released the hijacked air magic. A strong wind suddenly lifted the book and slammed it into her face. The witch yipped, and the book flew over her head and rose into the air until it floated beyond anyone’s reach.

“She’s using black magic! Punish her!” the fake blonde witch shouted while covering her bleeding nose with a hand.

The shifter lifted his foot from Bea’s thigh to kick her, a smile on his face. Shifters loved violence even more than vampires.

No, you don’t, I murmured under my breath and released the magic I held. It slammed into the bullies around Bea, and the gang fell over each other on the ground. Bea widened her eyes while searching the crowd until she spotted me.

I winked at her, finishing half of the fourth cup of ice cream.

The bullies shot up, growling and cursing.

“It’s the servant boy messing with us!” the fake blonde witch called, stabbing her finger at me as recognition lit her eyes. “His name is Little Bob! Professor Longweed said he’s an Echo, a null who can cancel out magic. Prince Louis beat him into submission in class last time! He deserved it and more!”

Her narrative wasn’t exactly true. Louis had dragged me to the center of the classroom by my ear, but he hadn’t hit me.

“Hello, Fake Blonde.” I clucked my tongue and shook my head. “The dye doesn’t even look good on you, and I see the dark roots all over.”

She shot daggers at me, but her other hand that didn’t cover her bleeding nose automatically went to touch the top of her head.

“We’re going to beat the crap out of this little shit!” the shifter said.

“But he belongs to Prince Louis,” another witch said. “Will we get into trouble?”

“He’s only a stupid servant,” the fae boy said arrogantly. “I don’t think Prince Louis would mind us putting this Little Bob in his place. And he’s a freak. Look at his two-toned eyes.”

I laughed. “And you bunch of cunts think you’re the shit.”

Bea’s eyes went even wider at my bold, crude insult at her bullies, but more than a few bystanders snickered.

The gang looked astounded and utterly offended that a servant dared to mock them, then all of them cursed at me. Five of them stalked toward me, coming to teach me a violent lesson.

“Leave him alone!” Bea cried, but she was pinned to the ground. The mage grabbed her wand and yanked it out of her hand.

“Apologize and beg, Little Bob,” the shifter yelled, “and—”

“In what order?” I interrupted him rudely, then raised my hands in surrender as he came near me. “Wow, wow, you look so big, shifter boy. Chill. Sorry about my mouth, okay? I was wrong. You lot aren’t shit.” I paused. “You’re clowns.” He snarled, and I smiled. “I’d love to apologize and beg, but I’m not good at either. So, one of you will have to teach me. You can write it down and read it for me, then I’ll repeat it. How’s that?”

“You’re dead meat!” the shifter bellowed.

The gang—the pack of coyotes—assaulted me as one. I ducked a blow, faster than they could believe. My boot kicked out, making solid contact with the shifter’s soft nuts.

He doubled over to cup his groin, yowling in pain; the others stared at me in surprise, tentatively halting their advance on me.

“That move was classic in any book, don’t you agree?” I asked the gang. “And it never gets old. Even if a dude tries to protect his balls from the front, you can always shoot to his back and kick him between his legs from behind. It’s actually more satisfying, and I’m talking from personal experience.”

The gang gaped at me as if I’d grown two heads.

“Anyone else want an apology?” I asked gleefully.

“Maim him! Put him down!” the fae boy bellowed.

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