Witcher Upper - Amy Boyles Page 0,13

leaned over and shut it. “I carry a lot of money on me sometimes, making deposits to the bank. I need protection. You never know when someone might try to rob you.”

“In Peachwood?” I nearly laughed. “It’s such a safe place.”

His eyes darkened. “You never know.”

A lot of folks carried guns around. It shouldn’t be a big deal to see that Shane carried one, too. So I shrugged it off and let him lead me up the sidewalk.

“I’d like to see you again,” he murmured.

“Sounds good to me.”

“How about this weekend?”

I smiled widely. “I’m free.”

“Great. Maybe this time we’ll do something more official.”

“Wow,” I joked, “sounds so serious.”

Shane chuckled. “Not at all.”

We reached the front door, and Shane stared at me, his green eyes shining with affection. My heart thundered in my chest as he leaned down.

Lady suddenly jerked in my arms. I lost my balance, and the only way that I could keep from falling was to lunge forward.

“Lady, be careful.”

She jumped down and darted into the bushes.

“Lady,” I called after her.

“Need me to help look for her?” Shane asked, the kissing moment shattered once again.

I waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. She does this sometimes. I’ll nab her in a few minutes.”

“I’ll stay,” he said.

“No, go on. I’ll see you soon.” I shot him a wide smile.

Shane returned it. “Okay, but if she stays gone for too long, call me and I’ll come back to catch her.”

“Thanks.”

After he left, I chased Lady into a hedge, where I found her rolling around on a pile of leaves.

“Boy, you sure do have crappy timing. Come on, girl. Let’s get you inside.”

Lady shot me a guilty look before I scooped her into my arms and hauled her in. As soon as she was settled with a fresh bowl of water and food, I headed back outside and into my truck.

It didn’t take long to reach the same spot that Shane had taken me to. The balls of magic still glowed in the distance.

“I’m going to catch you now,” I murmured.

Shane had told me that a trail led down to the woods below us. I pulled out my phone and fired up the flashlight. The trail was well-worn, making it easy to follow. When I reached the bottom, I paused, watching.

A person stood in shadow, surrounded by orbs of all hues. They drifted about, flashing to different colors. One blinked red, then green, then yellow.

I sucked in a lungful of air as I realized exactly what they were—spells. The witch was resurrecting spells from the ground. There was no telling exactly what spells were being summoned. They could be dangerous, unstable, things that could hurt any and all of us in Peachwood.

The shadowy figure moved among them, taking one and inspecting it before letting it fall to the ground. The witch searched for one in particular, but what?

The shock that ran through my body locked me to the ground. My legs wouldn’t move. They were pinned in place.

How had all these spells gotten here? This wasn’t a magical town. The only other times that I had seen spells roaming freely like this was when I visited a town full of magic.

Why were they here, and why was this witch resurrecting them?

I inhaled a deep breath. Two choices lay before me—I could either run and confront the witch or…walk in and confront the witch. If I ran, whoever stood out there might get scared and start fighting me. Better to walk.

With fists clenched, I stalked forward. The last time I confronted a wizard, I barely escaped with my life. I could feel it now, his magic wrapped around me, trying to drain all the power from me.

My skin crawled at the thought. I stopped, my breath coming in staggered clumps. I could not let this undo me. After all, Clementine Cooke was a survivor, not a scaredy-cat.

Magic surged at my fingertips, reminding me that my power waited to be used. It would not abandon me like a boyfriend scared of commitment.

Ha. Where did that thought even come from? Didn’t matter. Time to focus on the witch and what she wanted.

I stood behind her, maybe twenty feet away. She hadn’t heard me because of her search. She plucked orbs from the air, studied them and then, deciding they weren’t what she wanted, let them fall away.

I cleared my throat to get her attention. She kept right on with her business. Great. Now I had to speak.

“Excuse me.”

The witch did not turn around; instead