Prelude to a Witch, Amanda Lee [ebook reader web txt] 📗

“Contego.” I created a shield as the invisible wave circled back for another hit. When it collided with the flimsy shield I’d erected, it sounded like a train running off the rails.

Sparks flew like fireworks on a summer weekend, and the tourists littering the sidewalks broke into applause.

“They don’t understand,” I said when Landon finally made it to my side. “They don’t realize it’s real.”

“Are you okay?” Landon moved his hands to my face. “What was that?”

“The shades. They’re in the police station window.”

Landon looked in that direction, his gaze fierce. “Well, that’s just great.” He looked caught, a little boy who had to make a split-second decision and save the world. “What do I do?”

I couldn’t answer him. “I ... don’t know.” I turned my attention to Aunt Tillie. She stood on the opposite side of the road, her eyes scanning the sidewalk. She didn’t speak, but I could practically hear the gears of her mind working.

“They’re in the police station window,” I called out.

Aunt Tillie shifted her gaze in that direction, her forehead creasing. Then she started across the road. Up until that point, I didn’t believe things could get worse.

“Oh, no, no, no.” I shook my head and moved to intercept her. Landon caught me around the waist before I could take more than two steps. “What are you doing? They’ll kill her.”

“She’s a super witch, too,” Landon insisted. “She can take care of herself.”

“I won’t leave her.”

“Just ... wait.” He locked his arms around my waist and focused on Aunt Tillie.

For her part, she didn’t look worried in the least. She moved directly to the center of the road and raised her arms above her head. “Illisus!” she intoned.

I realized what she was going to do when it was far too late to stop it. “Duck!” I yanked Landon down in time to avoid a spinning manhole cover.

Aunt Tillie’s magic exploded in a flood of water as all the fire hydrants on the street began spouting. She spun her hands faster, the magic lifting the water until it was a wall, and then she shoved that wall at the police station.

“Oh, no way.” I couldn’t allow her to take out the building. All I could picture in my head was Chief Terry losing his second home. I intercepted the spell with one of my own. “Glacio!”

The water froze at the exact moment it hit the building, coating it in more than several inches of ice. It looked like something created for a movie. Through it all, I could see the shades. They remained in the window, moving slower than before. It was as if the ice served as a trap of some sort.

“Huh.”

“What?” Landon looked bewildered. “Seriously, baby, how are we going to explain that?”

I couldn’t worry about explanations when I was struggling to wrap my head around the shades slowing. Then I had an idea. “Give me your gun.”

“Excuse me?” Landon’s eyebrows practically flew off his forehead. “I will not give you my gun.”

“Then shoot the window.”

“What?”

“Shoot the window,” I insisted. “It’s the only way to get rid of them.” At least for now, I silently added.

Landon hesitated and then drew his service weapon. “Bay ... .”

He didn’t want to fire it. He could get in trouble for discharging his service weapon under these conditions. “Don’t worry.” I squeezed his hand. “I have another plan.”

“What is it?”

Before I could answer, I realized something was hurtling through the air above our heads. When I angled myself to see better, it became apparent that the thing flying through the air was the manhole cover ... and it was hurtling toward the window.

No.

I jerked at the sound of the new voice. It came from the trapped shades. They wanted to escape the window, but the ice was blocking them.

The manhole cover hit with terrific force, bolts of energy cascading from the impact. The glass shattered, and from within the glass I heard the screams overlapping. Then I heard one voice above the rest.

This isn’t over.

It was, though. The shades disappeared ... and then everybody on Main Street broke into enthusiastic applause and cheers of delight. They had no idea that what they’d witnessed was real.

My shoulders sank as I looked to Landon. This was not good.

20

Twenty

Landon stood rooted to his spot, his gun clenched in his hand. Aunt Tillie looked calm, although there was a fierceness in her eyes.

“What happened?” Chief Terry demanded as he raced out of the diner, Hannah at his heels. “What was that?”

“Shades,” Landon replied, his eyes moving to me as he holstered his gun. He looked shaken.

“Well, great!” Chief Terry threw up his hands. “Can somebody explain why my building is covered in ice?”

“Shades,” Aunt Tillie replied, brushing past him and heading for me.

“And the window?” Chief Terry looked at me, as if registering that I was present for the first time. His expression softened. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

I had to laugh. Even in his moment of greatest fury he thought of me first. “Shades,” was all I could say when he knelt next to me. “They were in your window.”

“And attacking,” Landon said as he lowered himself next to me. He gingerly began feeling along my back. “They did something that actually lifted her off the ground. I thought they were going to smack her into the pavement.”

“They were,” I confirmed. “That was the plan. Then something moved me.”

“Don’t look at me.” Aunt Tillie said. “I saw what was happening, but something moved you before I could do anything.”

“So, what moved me?” I looked around. “Something shifted me at the last second.”

The sound of pounding footsteps drew my eyes to the road, where Thistle was racing toward me. Her hair stood on end and she looked panicked. I tried to stand, but Landon pressed his hand to my shoulder to still me.

“You stay right here until I’m sure you’re not hurt,” he ordered.

Rather than argue, I nodded and focused on Thistle. “Are you