“How are we going to take her?” the big girl asked the one on the floor.
They held back, waiting for their orders. I might have been trapped, but it wouldn’t last long, especially if they had to take me alive.
Concentrating on the ley line, I took up as much magic as I could. It was weak, but a small strand filtered into me. There were three able bodied witches ready to do anything to take me to the PFF. The bounty must have been handsome if they were willing to risk their lives to take me in.
“Every witch is looking for you,” the one on the floor told me as I flicked my dagger again. “I can’t believe how easy it was to find you.”
The corner of my lip lifted into my cheek as I made my move. Spinning in three circles, I mustered all the magic inside me, forcing it into the dagger. Letting go, I flung it, releasing it from my fingers. It flew out of the circle, the blade spinning towards the big girl. It sliced through her other arm causing her to scream out in pain.
The thin girl managed to swirl out of the way, her magic fast.
As the knife lodged into the shoulder of the one witch who hadn’t threatened me, a pang of regret squeezed my chest.
“Bitch!” the big girl screamed as I pushed against the barrier spell, my hands able to break it into small pieces.
Holding an Essex witch was difficult, even without the ley line magic to help.
Getting ready to run through the maze of witches, I braced myself. The thud of the door slamming open and rebounding off the wall alerted us to Dave’s arrival.
Assessing the scene, Dave dodged out of the way of the bigger girl as she launched at him. When she came for him again, he punched her straight in the face, knocking her out cold.
“Leave them!” I called when Dave took out his gun and aimed it at the others.
Holding their hands up in surrender, the girls backed up to their leader, who still scowled on the ground.
Seeing the blood that dripped from my wrist, Dave snarled, the sound rumbling up his chest. “You’re under arrest for attempted abduction.”
Going over to the almost innocent witch, I raised my eyebrows at her. She nodded, her lip quivering when I took hold of my dagger, which was still lodged in her shoulder. Slowly taking it out, I smiled apologetically. Her whimper made guilt rush through me. She was only a young witch, her energy still pure.
“Why are you hanging out with this lot?” I whispered.
Looking at the others as Dave handcuffed them, she swallowed hard. “I have no one else. When I was young, I was orphaned. No coven wanted me, so I-”
“You better not be talking, bitch!” the girl on the floor shouted as Dave called backup.
The young girl winced, not from the pain of her wound, but from the way the others glared at her. It had long been a rule that orphaned witches who didn’t know their relatives were not allowed into a coven. It meant that groups like this one would form, causing havoc on the streets.
“My colleague will see you at the station. Just a word of advice,” I said, wiping my bloody blade on my jacket. “If you find the right people to hang around with, your life would improve dramatically.”
Nodding, she ducked her head as a tear dropped from her eye. It was obvious that she didn’t fit in with the ruffians who had tried to kidnap me. I would ask Dave to help her find a suitable place in society. Maybe he could get her a job at MI5 as an office worker. It might help get her life back on track.
“Gemma?” Dave called me over when two agents from the main team turned up.
Dragging the witches away, the other agents nodded at me, their eyebrows raised. Dave would have to bribe them to keep their mouth shut. Although, my mother would need to know that I had been attacked. The PFF was still part of the team’s investigation.
“That just totally backed up my mother’s fear that I’m too much of a target, hasn’t it?” My moaning voice was dull even to my ears.
Taking hold of my arm, Dave inspected the cut on my wrist. It wasn’t too deep but blood still seeped out of the sliced skin.
“It doesn’t hurt-” I started, sucking in a breath when he pushed the edge of the wound, testing the depth.
“Let’s get back to yours, I’ll need to stitch that.”
Inspecting the scene, I shook my head. Blood was splattered over the floor, bright against the white lino. Inciting a clean-up spell, I frowned when nothing happened.
Dave looked at me, shock lining his handsome features. Nothing, my magic was depleted.
“Have you just used up the ancestors’ powers?”
Scratching my head, I took a moment to reply. “No,” I whispered, looking around us. “I didn’t use hardly any magic. Something...” I stuttered as pain lanced my chest. Grasping it, I glanced at Dave. “We need to go home. Something is seriously wrong.”
Chapter 5
“I can’t understand what’s wrong with you,” Dave muttered as he opened the car door.
He had offered to take me home and tuck me up in bed. Obviously, I wasn’t going to take him up on that offer, but ever since I had gone into the bathroom at the book convention, something wasn’t right with my magic.
Gripping his hand, I got out of the car, allowing him to support my weight as we went through the cast iron gate.
My gaze traced up from the ground when Dave’s breath hitched, his inhale sharp as he squeezed my hand.
“What...?”
My sentence trailed off when my gaze landed on what Dave had seen. Blood pooled on the top of the steps, just outside the door. Lying in it, motionless, was Smudge. My stomach rolled as I pushed Dave away. He had been trying to hold me, waiting
