No Humans Involved

Around us, the trees shook and moaned, dying leaves raining down. A strong wind rushed past me, and I could tell it wasn't a wind at all, but spirits. Not ghosts, but something more primitive, more elemental. Before I could get to Savannah, one knocked me off my feet.

Everything had gone still, and the sky above us was tinged with an eerie red, warning of the calm before the storm. Then the redness seemed to twist over our heads, gathering speed and size like a tornado. It turned blue. Then a greenish yellow. Then it shot down, hitting the earth next to Molly. She screamed and backpedaled. Another hit behind her.

I struggled to my feet. Savannah still stood there, rigid, on her tiptoes, eyes closed. Around us, a strange illuminated mist rose from the earth, then shot into the air. Elemental spirits. I could feel them. They shot up all around now, like geysers, ripping up chunks of earth, raining down dirt and rocks.

'Sav-' I began, but an earsplitting yowl cut me short.

I tried again, but the spirits kept screaming, flying around Molly. Then one shot right up under her, hitting her, and her mouth opened, eyes going wide as she gasped for air. Another veered her way, then another, their howls turning to shrieks as they found their target. Molly dropped to her knees, hands going to her throat, mouth working, trying to get air but only letting the spirits steal her breath. Her eyes bulged.

' Savannah!' I shouted to be heard over the din.

She turned on me, lips pulled back. 'I told you to wait!'

I strode forward until I was close enough to see uncertainty flicker in her eyes.

'She's down,' I said. 'You got her. Now what are you trying to do? Kill her?'

Savannah hesitated.

'Maybe right now it doesn't seem like such a bad idea. She did kidnap me. She could pose a threat. But can you justify it to Paige?' I paused a beat. 'Can you justify it to yourself?'

She flushed, raised her hands and cast again. For a second, nothing happened. She cast again, faster, eyes bright with worry, and I knew the first cast had failed. I held my breath as she finished the second. A seemingly endless pause as Molly clawed the air, face going blue. A second thunderous clap. A second red flare in the sky. And the spirits vanished.

Molly fell forward onto her hands and knees.

'They're just koyut,' Savannah said as we ran to Molly. 'They'd only have knocked her unconscious.'

'Are you sure?'

She flushed and I knew she wasn't.

As Savannah cast a binding spell, I grabbed Molly's hands and tied them behind her back, and while it felt pretty good to be tying her up, it was more than revenge. Most of a witch's nasty spells are sorcerer ones, which require hand gestures. Bind their hands, and they're almost helpless. Not completely-they still have witch spells-but I'd rather get hit with a binding spell than an energy bolt any day.

'Good idea,' Savannah said, her voice almost apologetic.

'Now we need to take her into the forest to question her, in case anyone drives up.'

A smile. 'Yes, ma'am.'

She grabbed Molly's left arm. I took the right, and we hauled the witch into the woods.

HUMAN MAGIC

WE FORCED MOLLY TO KNEEL. She wasn't gagged or silenced by a spell, but she hadn't said a word. Hadn't tried to escape. Just watched us warily, tensed for a fight, but making no move to start one.

I waved Savannah back. She hesitated-maybe a reflection of her faith in my interrogation abilities, but more likely just an instinct to take charge-her parents' daughter to the core. After a moment, she backed off with a nod.

I stood over Molly. 'You screwed up. You've been on the dark side so long, you think everybody is just as devious and dangerous as you. I was telling you the truth. All I wanted was information, and I was offering a fair deal in return. I had no idea what really happened to Mike until you got paranoid and started confessing.'

'I never admitted-'

'True. We can go that route. I take you into custody. You plead your innocence before the council.'

Molly's eyes narrowed.

'Or we can leave the council out of this. Killing Mike wasn't the solution I'd have come up with, but from what you've said, it wasn't completely unjustified. You had a good reason-'

'I did. That bastard tried to-'

Savannah cut her off. 'Heard it already.'

I glanced over at the young witch. She'd settled onto the grass, cross-legged, leaning back on her hands. A cocky pose-as if so un-threatened by Molly she might as well make herself comfortable. Molly's lips pressed into a thin line. I strolled behind Molly and motioned for Savannah to sit up. She did. Molly relaxed.

'The council doesn't know I'm here,' I said. 'The werewolf is only coming as unofficial backup. Friendship, not duty.'

Molly's gaze slid to Savannah.

'I'm the unofficial unofficial backup,' she said. 'I sent Jaime to see you because I thought you'd help her. Then, after she left, I had second thoughts. So I followed.'

'Do they know you're here?'

By the contemptuous twist Molly gave 'they,' she meant Paige and Lucas.

Savannah shook her head. 'I said I was driving Jaime to the airport, hanging out until her plane came. By now they're probably figuring I skipped out on my chores, but nothing more than that.'

'So, Molly, your secret is safe… if you want it to be,' I said. 'We can back up and start over. Pretend we're in your living room again. I just told you my problem and you want to help.'

'In return for…'

Savannah barked a laugh. 'You think you're in any position to bargain?'

'I'll offer the same deal,' I said. 'If you help me, I'll contact Mike.'

Molly scowled.

'In that case, how about this deal: you answer my questions in return for me forgetting who killed him.'

I TOLD her the story again.

'First piece of advice?' she said. 'Go back and take a hard look at whoever is giving you this cock-and- bull.'

'Cock-and-bull?'

'Someone's having you on. Feeding you bullshit.'

'I've tried contacting these spirits myself and-' A brittle smile my way. 'Step one, then, would be to find a better necromancer. Either there are no spirits or they're in on the game. Whoever came up with this story doesn't know jack shit about magic. They trolled the Internet or maybe checked out a few reference books at the library. What they researched isn't our magic. It's human magic.'

'Human magic?'

'In human folk magic, you kill someone to drain his energy, his power, and take it for yourself.'

Savannah made a rude noise, summing up her opinion of humans.

'But human magic doesn't work,' I said.

Molly pinned me with a withering look. 'No kidding, which is why I said someone's pulling your leg.'

I looked at Savannah.

'She's right about this not sounding like a sacrificial ritual. Same as Paige and Lucas said. But if you've tried contacting them yourself, then it's not a problem of power.'

Molly rolled her eyes.

'Could the ghosts be playing a trick?' Savannah said. 'That does happen, doesn't it?'

'A trained necromancer can tell if she's being played.'

A sniff from Molly.