A Witch's Trial (Witch's Path Series: Book 3) (17 page)

He raised an eyebrow. "What dost ye think could happen?"

"This wagon movies faster than any chariot. When we stop, you might continue forward, as you would on a balking horse, without the harness." After he nodded, I continued, "Grab the strap by your shoulder and bring it across your body. Put the metal piece in this fixture. When it clicks, it is secure."

I demonstrated with my own seat belt and watched as he followed my motions, successfully fastening it on the first try.

"This method of travel may seem strange, but I am proficient in its operation. There is no need to panic. Simply tell me if you would like to take a break."

"I have faced down demons, rogue dragons, and renegade elves. This will not frighten me." 

Respectfully bowing my head, I hoped he was correct. I silently asked any deity that was listening to bless us with a smooth and uneventful ride. As I cranked the engine, his hand clamped down on the door. I shifted the car into drive, rolled forward, and the locks clicked down. This time he jumped. 

I said another prayer.

The officer dropped me off, then backed his car out of the parking lot fast enough that you would've thought I was a plague-bearer. Granted, I didn't smell the best, but I hadn't frozen anyone in at least an hour. Then again, maybe he wasn't fleeing me but the two envelopes and the blue orb floating above my car.

Looking at the orb, I sighed. It was identical to the one I'd frozen this morning. The Narzel-blessed thing must've thawed and come to find me. It turned into a ribbon and talked at me about how I should join its clan. I couldn't even be happy when it finished because two more of these lovely clan-recruitment messages were waiting for me.
 

The first letter floated into my hand. It was all I could do not to crumple it and toss it in the trash. Instead, it unfolded itself, and I got the joy of reading through another letter telling me how I was powerful and should hurry to their door so that I could be accepted into their clan. I tossed the letter into my car along with my purse. The second letter followed me into the car where it unfolded and vanished.

I blinked. None of the other letters had vanished.
 

"This is Gretchen Tomlin, your minister. You must reply to this promptly as we need to schedule a meeting to work out the details of your transition into the clan."

"Not likely." I muttered.
 

Gretchen continued, "In the event that you do not comply, we will be forced to take drastic action to bring you into the Wapiti, where you belong. Good day, and please respond quickly."

"Great. Just what I needed, more threats." I cranked the car and headed for the lodge. There was nothing I wanted more than a hot shower and a slice of Landa's pie.

Someone should tell Gretchen that demands and threats had never been an effective method of wooing someone. Her attitude was insulting and off-putting. Each communication from her reaffirmed my parents' theory that clans were bad news. Even if I'd been looking for a clan, one that was this difficult before our first interaction would be at the bottom of my list. At this point, I'd settle for being left alone, but if this communication was any indication, the clans had no intention of letting me be.
 

There had to be a way to get off their radar. Maybe if I could make myself undesirable to the clans, they would leave me alone. They wanted me because of my power, and I couldn't make that go away. But I could develop some undesirable personality traits. It wasn't worth risking my job, so it needed to be something that would bother witches but not police. This was a time when more knowledge of the clans would be a good thing. A rumor that I was part human might deter some of the clans; that is, assuming they believed it since most half-human witches weren't very powerful. The less judgmental clans would be harder to dissuade, but they would probably be more understanding of a politely worded refusal.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I parked in front of the lodge. It was good to be home. Slipping out of the car, I noticed Elron helping a gray-haired fey out of his car. Last time I'd seen Elron, he'd been asleep on my sofa.

I started over to them but was distracted by a glossy Mercedes-Benz rolling down the driveway. As I watched, it backed into a parking spot and three women emerged. They were as immaculate as the car, in crisp blouses, freshly pressed slacks or pencil skirts, and leather flats. As one of the ladies closed her door, I could see a row of pumps in the floorboard. The ladies had come prepared for the gravel road.

They gave the area a cursory look and gathered at the front of the car. One of them said something to the others, and they glanced at me before returning their attention to the woman with the carefully arranged hair and steel-gray skirt. She was older than the others with creases at the corners of her eyes and a hint of dark roots showing at the base of her blond hair. A few words later and the group started over to me with Gray Skirt leading the way.

I stepped back over to my car and deposited my purse inside. This had clan politics written all over it, and I didn't think the purse was going to help me much. After considering the way the letters had been phrased, I walked around my car and met the group in the middle of the gravel parking lot. If this got interesting, I didn't want to injure my car, Elron, or the old man.
 

Gray Skirt spoke first. "Ms. Oaks, I presume. I am Tammy Smith."
 

She offered her hand, but I didn't take it. I'd had enough of witches interrupting my day because they wanted something, and there were plenty of ways she could spell me upon physical contact. Being polite wasn't worth the risk.

After a moment, she dropped her hand and cleared her throat. "I'm here to represent the Wapiti."
 

I suppressed an eye roll.
 

"Since you have not answered our previous communications, I am here to take you to the minister for an interview."

"No."
 

"Beg pardon?" She arched a plucked eyebrow.

"You heard me. No, I won't go with you. I have no desire to take an unplanned trip at the whim of a clan that can't be bothered to see if I actually want to join its ranks before it starts bossing me around." That settled it; I was going to try to offend the clans to the point that they didn't want anything to do with me.

"Let's start over."

"Let's not," I said before she could continue.

She flashed a smile that had an uncanny resemblance to a dog baring its teeth. "Then we will continue from here. Your grandmother is a very busy woman who has waited a long time to meet you. If you come with us, the two of you can have a long-overdue reunion and discuss your return to the clan." Tammy gave me another toothy smile as she studied my reaction.

She could try to make this sound like a long-overdue family reunion, but I'd been warned about my grandmother's charming disposition and offended by the rude communication. "That's nice, but I'm busy. If you leave me her number, I'll be sure to give her a call."

"This isn't optional."

"Yes, it is, and I'm choosing to continue my life rather than dropping everything to satisfy the whim of a group of people I've never met." I gave her my own smile, the same one I'd used as a teenager when my mom told me to smile.
 

"You belong with us. We are your family." She didn't smile this time.
 

Behind me, the front door to the lodge opened and closed. I hoped Elron and the old man were getting out of the line of fire, but that wouldn't be like Elron, and the crunch of gravel informed me that an additional person was occupying the parking spaces behind me.

Her eyes drifted past me. "Oh, dear. That won't do. We can't be having any interruptions."

I twisted around to see Liam encased in ice on the stairs. A few feet away, Elron and the old man were motionless, trapped by a spell that was glinting purple.
 

"Let them go!" I yelled.

"As soon as we finish our discussion. Where was I?" Tammy tapped a manicured nail against her lips. "Right. You belong with us, your family."

"You aren't my family. I don't know you. For all I know, you're lying to me about being part of my grandmother's clan." Even if she was telling the truth, the interactions I'd had with the Wapiti left something to be desired.
 

I could feel a spell settling over me, a mild compulsion that made want to go with them. My power flared, incinerating the spell and leaving me clearheaded.
 

"That wasn't nice. I am staying right here." I stamped my foot, and it sank into the ground. With the four witches ready to drag me off to meet my grandmother, I didn't have time to worry about the mud on my shoe.

A witch in black slacks stepped up beside Tammy. "You will come with us. We will take you to your true family and home."
 

I formed a shield bubble around myself. Tammy and Black Slacks had joined hands, and power was building between them. If I wouldn't go with them, they were planning on taking me.
 

"I won't go with you."

They mouthed a few words, and I was tugged forward. Leaning back, I kept my feet planted, suddenly grateful that my right foot had sunk into the ground. I slashed my hand through the air and sliced through the spell connecting us.
 

"No," I shouted. "I will not go with you." The words vibrated through the air, sending a wave of energy at them, much like the concussive force of a bomb.
 

Tammy and Black Slacks flew through the air and landed limply ten feet behind their fellow witch. I blinked a few times and snapped my jaw shut, hoping it looked like I'd done that intentionally rather than my temper getting the better of me. When my mom found out, she was going to scold me. I hadn't lost control like that since I was a young child. From experience, I knew that I hadn't hurt them. They would be unconscious for a little while but otherwise unharmed. Oh, except for the bruises from landing on gravel.

A witch in a cream pencil skirt looked at the two of them and clucked her tongue. "I guess the elders were right about you. I thought they were exaggerating your powers, that this would be an easy job. Drive out to your home, put you in the car, and drive you back to the clan. Well, easy or hard, you will be coming with us."

"I don't think you understand. I am happy here. This is my home, and I'm not leaving. If you were any sort of family, I would've grown up with you." I snarled.

"That was a dreadful error, which we are attempting to rectify," she said crisply.

"Really? What about my mom?"

"She isn't important in this discussion."

"I think she is. She's my mom." These witches had a hard time understanding the concept of family. It didn't speak well of them, and I was getting a clear picture of why Mom didn't want them in our lives.

"Well, that was… unfortunate. However, we need to focus on you right now." She curved her lips. I think it was supposed to be a polite smile, but she was missing the warmth that would've taken the movement from strange to friendly.

I shoved a puff of wind at her. She swayed but wasn't pushed backward.

"That was cute, but I feel like you didn't hear me. You are coming with us." With those words, she drew me in, the spell on her voice.
 

Swaying forward, I shifted to start walking to her. My foot refused to move. Confused, I looked down to see that both feet had slipped into the earth and vines were creeping across my shoes and up my ankles. Within seconds, the vines had twisted around my lower legs and up to my knees. Even if I wanted to move, I couldn't. As the spell faded, I was happy to be rooted to the spot. Turns out the earth didn't want me to leave either.

"You're going to have to do better than that," I taunted.
 

This was a very bad situation. She'd iced Liam. Elron and the old man were paralyzed under some spell, and I didn't have a way out of this. At this rate, she would spell the entire lodge and carry me away before dinner. Right about now, help would be good.
 

A roar shattered the silence, and the ground trembled. Ty charged around the side of the lodge, head down, teeth snapping between deafening growls. From this angle, the pink-and-purple body didn't look funny. Several tons of angry dinosaur was frightening, even in those colors.

I had the pleasure of watching her eyes bulge and her mouth drop open, but it was short-lived. She pulled out a wand, mouthed a few words, and heavy rope encased his legs and snout. Ty toppled over sideways, making the ground tremble, setting off a car alarm, and sending the witch to her knees.

The vines inching up my thighs kept me upright, and I gave them a grateful pat. Over my shoulder, I could see Elron and the old man. They were still upright too, which was better than the alternative. Liam had fallen, and cracks were spider-webbing across the ice. I didn't know if that was good or bad for him. He'd be better off if he could defrost before permanent harm was done, but if he was cracking along with the ice… Werewolves were as mortal as the rest of us.
 

Ty's nostrils fluttered and he thrashed, whipping his tail as he tried to escape. A small pine tree separated from its roots after a collision with his tail and fell on top of him. He snorted and lay still.
 

It hurt to see him bound and scared. Knowing he wasn't truly alive was a small comfort at best. Spells might have brought him to life, but he had a personality and feelings. That made him real to me.

Hearing the lodge door swing open, I twisted around, shouting, "No!" I reached out, trying to deflect the spell, but I missed and a shield bubble swallowed Landa, Mander, Baden, and Julius.

The witch laughed. "Everything here can go back to normal if you get in the car and come with me to meet your grandmother. This doesn't have to get ugly."

"Get ugly? What do you mean
get
ugly? We passed ugly when y'all cast the first compulsion. This is not how you woo a prospective clan member," I yelled, my temper at its breaking point.