Page 116 of Last Witch Attempt
“I have some bad news for you,” I continued. “I don’t have the magic required to get through those safeguards either. The Winchester witches are not portal jumpers.”
“You’re lying,” he spat. He was no longer even pretending to be amiable. “Portals have been opening all over the place lately. Doors to places that shouldn’t even exist have slid open and shut again. You’ve been around for many of those openings. In fact, I think you’ve been around for all of them. You’ve just done a better job of hiding that fact in some instances than in others.”
I burst out laughing. “And you consider yourself smart? I didn’t open any of those doors.”
“You did!” he exploded, his cheeks growing red. “You opened them, and you’re going to open this one.”
I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest. “I didn’t open them, and I won’t open this one. You’re kind of stupid.” I chose a word I knew would drive him to distraction. “My presence at some door openings doesn’t mean I was responsible. You said you’ve been watching us for two years. Did you even look at the people I was with?”
Confusion knit Greg’s eyebrows. “I don’t know what you’re even getting at. If this is a distraction, it’s not a good one.”
“Oh, you’re so cute.” I wrinkled my nose and wriggled my butt like a teenage cheerleader flirting with the quarterback. “You’re completely blind to what’s happening in these parts.” I lowered my voice. “You need specific magic to open a portal. I don’t possess that magic.”
“You have to! I need to get to the other side. There are things there—riches and magic—we both can use. We’ll split it.” He acted as if he was doing me a favor. He assumed there was something of worth over there. He didn’tknowanything.
“I’m not interested in claiming money or magic from another plane,” I replied, my affect flat.
“Everyone is interested in money and power.”
“I have power at my disposal, and I’m doing fine for money.”
Greg rolled his eyes. “You can always have more power, and more money.”
“I’m good.”
Fury had his nostrils flaring. “Youaregoing to do what I want.”
“Even if I could—which I can’t—I wouldn’t.”
I expect him to start throwing magic around and was prepared to protect myself. Instead, he stomped his foot. “I want that plane door opened right now!” He sounded like a toddler having a tantrum. “You’re going to do it, and then you’re going to help me get rid of the naiad.”
“I won’t.”
Greg drew himself up to his full height and squared his shoulders. “Then you shall die.”
I stared him down for a full two seconds, then burst out laughing. “You’re a little boy freaking out over something he can’t have.”
“I will have it.”
“You won’t. You might have caught the naiads by surprise and thrown a bunch of rabid humans at them, but that won’t work with me. Half your army of humans is either dead or out of the picture. And I have an army of my own to stop you.”
“Is that so?” Greg turned smug again. “Where is this army?”
Evan was the first to appear. He dropped out of the trees, positioning himself within five feet of Greg. The warlock was so surprised he took an inadvertent step back and smacked directly into Gunner’s solid chest.
“Hey, buddy,” Gunner taunted as Greg’s hands flew into the air. Evan caught his wrists before he could start flinging magic. “You really should’ve thought this through.”
Evan had no problem wrestling Greg to the ground, making sure the man’s face ended up in the dirt as he tugged his hands behind his back. “You made a few big mistakes here. Would you like to know the biggest?”
“I don’t know you,” Greg snapped. “I’m not afraid of you!”
“That girlie scream of yours makes me think otherwise,” Gunner replied. He was grinning when he looked up at me. “When did you figure out we were here?”
“I knew when I woke that you were either already here, or soon would be,” I replied. “How long did it take you to figure out I was gone?”
“Not long,” Evan replied. He’d situated himself on Greg’s back and was licking his index finger and sticking it in the wriggling warlock’s ear. Sometimes, when he and Gunner got together, they reminded me of teenage boys.
“Landon got upset when you didn’t show up for lunch,” Gunner explained. “He went out looking. When you weren’t on the bluff, he started to panic and called us in.” He gestured between himself and Evan. “Scout went out with a locator spell. Once it headed in this direction, it wasn’t difficult to ascertain where you were.”
