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

mounds of earth, framing the dwelling places of the reclusive people who choose to live there. I’d go mad in a place like that, only the wind and sky for company when you choose to step outside.

It’s a bit like Drandok in that it draws Society members who’ve chosen a separate existence, although the inhabitants of The Royisin Heights aren’t broken, preferring isolation to Society duty in one of the many faculties and buildings making up the modern part of the S.P.M.A.

As the silhouette of the landscape comes into view, we ready our Spintz charms to signal our arrival — showers of multi-coloured light appearing in the night sky. I don’t know if I expected figures to appear from the mounds of earth dotted through The Royisin Heights, but no figures appear so we touch down, keeping the Spintz charms active to light the way.

The darkness is the first surprising thing, resting like a blanket over the place where with no sound or visible signs of movement: the perfect hideout for shifty character like Neve Blin.

“Here,” Lucy offers, handing me a vial of clear liquid: eye drops known as Crilliun to help you see in the dark.

I pass the vial to Conrad after administering the eye drops, blinking as a purple glow tints my vision: another magical touch in an infinite world of wonder. Wonder isn’t how I’d describe this place, though, looking more like a burial site than a land of the living.

“A bit creepy out here,” Lucy states, echoing my own thoughts.

It would be easy to get into a fire fight simply because you can’t see anything, making it easy to over react if someone suddenly pops up out of nowhere. We’re not here for another duel though, just to track down the lady who thought she’d got the better of us in Drandok: a mistake she’s going to pay for.

“So, what’s the plan?” Conrad asks, blinking as the Crilliun eyedrops begin to work their magic.

“We just wander, I suppose,” I reply, conscious that our Williynx have maintained their massive, majestic forms: a sign we need to be on our guard.

“A ‘hello’ would be nice,” Conrad adds, unbuttoning his grey coat in readiness for sudden action, should it be needed.

I doubt it’s going to be needed, judging from the blankness of the place — but looks can be deceiving so I ready a fire charm just in case, uttering ‘Smekelin’ to activate a circle of flames around me.

“That’s a bit dramatic,” Lucy says, glancing at me as we tread carefully across the silent landscape, decorated only by our Spintz charms and my fire.

“It’s about the only dramatic thing here,” I reply which leads Conrad to flash a streak of light into the air, triggering the Promesiun charm into action.

He’s funny when he gets bored, always thinking of something to add interest, and the circling string of tanzanite light adds another touch of drama to the blank landscape.

“Your turn,” I say to Lucy with a smile, hoping she can use some magic to let off a bit of steam.

Lucy does me proud with a blast of water, the utterance of ‘Leverin’ causing a flood to surge from her hands. She adds the ‘Iscillus’ charm soon after, gently forming two arches of ice ahead of us — arches in the form of an enormous bridge, suggesting she’s still got Noah on her mind.

With the ice arches dominating the landscape, we now have a touch of drama to pass the time, and I’m hoping we either find Neve quickly or get out of here before someone takes offence at the way we’ve decorated their home.

“It looks like we’re in for a boring night,” I say, seconds before the ice arches explode and a figure appears through the falling shards: a silent silhouette arriving to offer an unusual welcome.

22

A Strange Welcome

As the final fragments of ice fall onto the ground, the figure steps closer, walking casually towards us to signal no active threat. I glimpse the face behind the long, greying hair … a female face with intense, grey eyes. I’m struck by the woman’s intensity, as if she’s moving towards an object rather than a group of people.

It’s the way she looks past us that’s most off-putting, making me turn back to check there’s no threat lurking behind us, but there’s nothing but blank landscape and a dark, starless sky.

Something tells me conversation isn’t what she’s seeking so I stand alongside Conrad and Lucy, trying to work out our next move. This becomes apparent when she gestures for us to follow her, her long, greying hair lifting as she turns back the way she came … her bare feet stepping onto the ice shards without drawing a trace of blood.

With our trusted Williynx hovering above, sniffing out potential threats hidden in the darkness, Conrad taps me on the arm.

“This is weird,” Conrad whispers, keeping his Promesiun charm active, swirls of tanzanite light circling around his arms.

“She doesn’t seem like the party type,” Lucy quips, glancing around to make sure there aren’t other silent silhouettes hovering in the darkness.

“So, do we follow or not?” I ask, feeling myself walking towards her before I get an answer.

“Maybe we should ask where she’s taking us,” Lucy suggests but I keep walking, wanting to find out more about this place, the silent figure and whether Neve is actually hiding out here or not. I mean, what’s the worst the strange woman can do? Attack us? It’s three against one and we’re confident our powers unless, of course, she’s drawing us into a cursed cavern hidden within the mound of earth she disappears into.

Sensing Conrad and Lucy aren’t as keen to blindly following the stranger, I offer a thought. “We could still be on the bridge in The Winter Quarter or having a quiet night roaming Society Square. Instead, we’re out in the middle of nowhere, tracking a person we’re not sure is even here — so let’s find out what