Page 66 of April's Fool
They were in the heart of the building. Poppy stood with Zinna, a crib behind her. In Poppy’s arms was a book so ancient I was surprised it hadn’t crumbled to dust. The leather binding was frayed. Even from this distance, I could feel the power.
Basil, alone, stood in front of them. He was building a spell, muttering in an old language, Greek or Latin, so old no one spoke it anymore.
Our steps across the boundary must have triggered it. Basil let go of his spell, a percussive wave of energy that shook the foundations of the building.
Damon reacted on instinct. He threw up two shields.
One covering me and him, the other, the crib.
It all happened so fast, I didn’t have time to react to anything.
The blast hit our shield, leaving us to watch as it hit the others.
Oak, Thyme, Poppy and Zinna all fell and didn’t move.
Basil
Damon
Reacting reflexively may havesaved mine and Mori’s lives. Somehow, my magic had identified the one other person in the room incapable of looking after themselves; baby Sage, and threw up a shield for her, too.
For the first time, I truly thought having magic might be a good thing if I could save the one I loved from coming to harm.
As soon as the others fell to the wave of magic, Basil bolted to another door, book in his arms.
My initial response was to go after him, but I needed to know if the others were alive.
Without having to ask Mori, he was running forward to check for a pulse on Thyme’s neck.
“Alive.” He reached for Oak, the pair having landed on each other in a tumble of limbs that would be funny under any other circumstances. “Him too. Check Poppy and Zinna!”
I was on my knees next to the women in the next second, finding each of them also alive but knockedout cold. I had no idea how long this magic would last. Likely too long for them to help me.
Basil couldn’t get away, not after this attack.
Without thinking, still working just on pure instinct, I shot to my feet and chased after Basil. There was no chance he was getting away from me. He might be a powerful witch, but I was a hitman. I’d trained for nearly half my life, was in perfect physical condition, and was furious. My anger fueled me, giving me extra speed.
The building was large, yet Basil’s gasping breaths led me to him easily. Dude could really do with laying off the donuts and trying some cardio. I followed the sounds of slapping steps and heaving breathing until I’d closed the distance between us.
Scanning for something to stop him, I spotted a picture, yanked it from the wall, and with a burst of magic, flung it at Basil, nailing him in the back of the head with a satisfying thump.
“Aaahhh!” he wailed as he pitched forward onto his pasty face.
Not going to lie. After what he’d just done, I got a sense of satisfaction from using my magic against him.
Basil got to his feet and rounded on me, his nose bloody, cheeks red with fury. His eyes were like mine, almost the same shade of blue, certainly the sameshape. We had the same nose, or we would have if mine hadn’t been broken and improperly reset.
People could probably guess we were related. I couldn’t really see it. Basil was so alien to me, the antithesis of who I was, I couldn’t bring myself to find things in common with a madman. I certainly wasn’t looking to claim him as family.
He muttered strange words and fired magic at me which I shielded without a thought, pushing it back on him and forcing him to brace his own barrier against it.
We exchanged magical blows, with me successfully backing Basil into a corner.
“You’re not leaving here with that book, Basil. It belongs to the coven. You aren’t coven.”
“It belongs to me! I am the rightful High Witch! Not that weak little girl. Not you, either.”
I couldn’t help my laugh. “I want nothing to do with that book if it just makes you a target of losers like you.”
