Page 45 of These Witches Don't Burn
“Who are you?” I have to yell over the wind and the pulse of blood in my ears. “What do you want from us?” My cyclone tugs at his mask, at the black clothes covering every inch of his skin. Ihave to know who it is so we can stop him and whoever else he’s working with.
My hands tremble, and a fresh wave of fear tugs at my heart. I’ve never used magic offensively like this, and my strength is fading. Fast. As the thought rushes through my mind, I feel it. The subtle dip in the wind’s speed. The pain lancing up my arms as I push too hard.
“Veronica!” I yell up the stairs to my right. “Our parents will be here any second.” It’s a lie. I have no idea how long until the cavalry arrives, but I need the Blood Witch to think he’s about to be severely outmatched.
I press forward, hoping my nearness will hide the way the wind dies bit by bit. With shaking fingers, I reach for the mask. I have to know who he is.
The Blood Witch curses, his voice deep and gravelly. Fast as lightning, he grabs my wrist, twisting it until my arm is pinned behind my back. I cry out in pain, and the wind falters.
This is it. He’s going to kill me.
“Get the hell away from her.”
I glance to my left and find Veronica, her brother’s baseball bat clutched tight in her trembling hands. There’s dried blood on her nose and lips. Tracks of tears down her cheeks. I’ve never been happier to see her.
She rushes into the room, bat raised, and then I’m shoved forward, tripping and falling onto my knees. Every muscle protests when I turn around, looking for the witch who shoved me, but Veronica doesn’t need my help. She’s already chased him out her front door.
My lungs ache, and I let myself relax onto the floor, trying to get the room to stop spinning.
Veronica kneels beside me, brushing tears off her face. “Are you okay?”
“Never better,” I say, groaning as I pull myself into a seated position.
“What happened to your face? Did he hurt you?” Veronica reaches for my cheek, for the healing cuts from yesterday’s shattered window. Dad seemed so sure the brick was about his work, but what if he was wrong? And if it was from the Blood Witch, why did he go after Veronica instead of me?
Before I can share these new worries, the front door slams open. “Hannah! Veronica!”
Relief washes through me as Dad spots us. He hurries over and kneels beside me on the floor, crushing me in a hug. “Your mom is on her way. Lady Ariana’s two minutes out.” He turns his attention to Veronica. “Where are your parents? Your brother?”
Veronica sinks to the floor beside me, leaning against the wall. “Mom’s at a conference in Chicago with Dad. Gabe’s at our grandparents’ place for the week.”
Dad nods and turns his attention on me. “Where is your phone? You can’t call in a panic and then not answer.”
I pat at my jeans and come up empty. “I must have left it in my car.” I lean against the wall, my arms still shaking and my head woozy.
“Hannah? Tim?” Mom’s voice cuts off whatever Dad was going to say next. She’s beside us a second later. “Oh, thank god.” She kneels and wraps me in a hug.
I pull away from her embrace and glance at my ex-girlfriend, dried blood on her face and tears in her eyes.
“Now do you believe me?”
13
WE’RE SITTING AROUND VERONICA’Sdining room table when Lady Ariana arrives.
She sweeps into the house, surveying the damaged walls and broken windows. The air grows heavy with her power, an electric current that raises the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck. By the time Lady Ariana makes it to the dining room, she can’t hide her familial worry behind her usual high priestess mask.
“Explain.” Her single word is soft and full of emotion I know she’ll never admit aloud.
I tell my grandmother about Veronica’s call and how I broke into the house to scare off the Blood Witch. Dad asks where I put my binding charm while he removes the twisted marks from my finger. After explaining, I ask Veronica why she didn’t remove hers, but it turns out she suffered a different punishment for stealing her mother’s crystals.
Instead of forcing her to wear a binding charm, Veronica’s parents placed a temporary binding tattoo at the base of her neck. There’s no way for her to wipe it away and restore her magic, which means she was as powerless as a Reg when the Blood Witch attacked.
Even my grandmother cannot erase the binding rune, though she admits she might if she were able, given the circumstances.Instead, Veronica will have to spend the next ten days without her magic, until the binding wears off naturally.
“Tell me more about the intruder.” Lady Ariana sits at the table and motions for my dad to make tea, which he does dutifully. She hasn’t admitted that the intruder was a Blood Witch. I don’t know if it’s doubt that stills her tongue or pride.
“He was tall. Slender. Athletic.” I shiver at the memory and wonder at the witch’s identity. Is it someone I know? Is it the same person who set the fire? I run through Benton’s list of suspects from yesterday. Nolan’s about that height and build, though I still can’t see him burning his own house. The intruder clearly wasn’t Savannah, but the scrying session I’m determinednotto mention suggests the Blood Witch isn’t acting alone. She could be involved. “He was strong, Grandma. Fast. I really think this was a Blood Witch.”
