Witching Games: The Fire Witch Chronicles 1, R.A. Lindo [top 100 books of all time checklist .txt] 📗

“A duel with Silverbacks?” Noah queries, suddenly looking a little pale.

On the surface, it looks like a strong breeze would blow him over, but his anxiety turns to measured fury when he’s tested. His quirky dress sense also gives the impression of a mild mannered wizard, but he’s far from it if you get on the wrong side of him. Chinos, T-shirts and waistcoats are his current look, never bothering with a coat unless the temperature falls below zero.

“If they want a duel, they can have one,” Conrad states with a look of defiance.

Like me, he hates bullies and never backs down when faced with one. Odin and Neve are either bullies or have a fiercely competitive spirit, and there’s nothing wrong with the latter. In fact, the more I think about it, the more a duel in the sky between Silverbacks and Williynx sounds like fun.

A gladiator battle without the killing. We’ve got remedies for minor injuries and can easily organise referees to oversee the friendly rivalry — the friendly part being a loose term. The Silverbacks have armour as a weapon and the Williynx have ice: ice that killed The Prince of the Underworld so I know who my money’s on.

“Right, we’re out of cake and talking about crazy duels,” Noah says, watching the Silverbacks rise into the evening sky. “I say we get out of here before we agree on something I’m going to regret.”

“Not The Singing Quarter unless you agree to the duel,” Conrad says with a mischievous smile.

He knows how much Noah loves to be the centre of the attention, and The Singing Quarter is always full of life, humming until the early morning hours: a welcome break from Night Ranging.

“I’m in,” Lucy says, nudging Noah as she walks past. “Come on, Sinatra. Clear your lungs and find your courage. You never know, mentioning the duel might get Zoe’s attention.”

That perks Noah up — the thought of Zoe Tallis finally going on a date with him.

“Only if I get to sing three songs and you sing along with me.”

Conrad heads for the door at this request, realising he’s been out manoeuvred.

“Did I hear a ‘yes’ from the sky-rider of the century?”

Noah doesn’t get a yes, so it remains to be seen if Conrad’s willing to risk public ridicule to put The Domitus in their place.

The Singing Quarter is situated on the south side of The Society Sphere. It’s the most boisterous of the four quarters, drawing high-spirited witches and wizards who like to shake off their Society duties with remedies and revelry. It’s hilarious to walk through a shop in the above ground section, maintaining its hum drum tones, before stepping through a Perium into a hidden world of magic and revelry.

It got its name from a group of wizards who refused to stop singing until a law on opening hours changed. Apparently, the Society elders were more uptight in the past, thinking there should be a curfew on fun. The singing wizards got their way, mainly because they started singing between worlds, belting out their tunes above ground: a sight that brought unwanted attention to them.

The tipping point was when the police arrived in Merrymopes, the famous milkshake and ice cream parlour, responding to complaints from above-ground residents. The singing wizards ran upstairs when they spotted the police, pretending to be terrified but knowing they were heading to a Perium on the top floor.

Apparently, the two policemen waited for over an hour, insisting they come out, finally getting the key for the door only to find the room empty. DRUNKEN ASSAILANTS EVADE CAPTURE was the headline in the above-ground papers, leading to a reconsideration of the law on opening times in popular drinking establishments.

The Singing Quarter isn’t decorated by perpetual snow like The Winter Quarter; its magic is more subtle. We appear by Rebel’s Rest with Conrad still mulling over Noah’s deal: a duet for a duel. I leave him to make up his own mind, knowing how embarrassed he gets at the thought of public displays.

“I bet any money he gives in,” Noah whispers as we turn down the alleyway leading to Rebel’s Rest.

“A thousand Kyals?” I say, offering to relieve him of the money he won from Taeia in Pat’s Caff.

“A thousand? I thought we were friends?”

“Sorry, I thought you were confident.”

“Have you even got a thousand Kyals?”

“I can get my hands on it.”

“I bet money he doesn’t,” Lucy counters in reference to Conrad refusing the duet for a duel deal. “He’s too shy.”

I could tell Lucy a few things but she’s weird about personal stuff.

“Okay, the bet’s on. A thousand Kyals a piece,” Noah states with confidence, moments before Conrad bursts into song — a sight that even shocks me.

The three of us watch Conrad do a ‘Singing in the Rain’ rendition, swinging around a lamp post as he activates a Spintz charm, sending showers of light above him, manipulating them so they fall like raindrops around him.

“Is he drunk?” Lucy asks, mouth open at the sight.

The strangest part is that Conrad can sing, bellowing out the notes in the most surprising event of the evening. Noah’s lost his bet and needs to focus on reaching Conrad’s heights: the thought of a duel with The Domitus hanging over him.

I click my fingers for him to hand over the bag of Kyals — Society money — pocketing it in my Keepeasy stitched into the pocket of my leather trousers. Keepeasies make things disappear until you need them again, and I’m already thinking what artefact I can get my hands on with the money. It’s not a case of needing things but it’s fun to barter for things on the Trading Lane in Tallis & Crake.

Noah grudgingly agrees to deliver Lucy’s thousand Kyals in the morning, reverting to his habitual sulk on facing losses. He’s a terrible loser but needs to get over himself if he’s going to woo Zoe Tallis with talk of a duel in the sky.