Page 80 of Black Willow Witch
‘You ignoring him for the fun of it?’ asked Kerr. ‘Because I get it.’
‘There’s just no point in giving him my attention. All he’ll do is make some silly comment designed to get a reaction. The thing about Ames is that he’s average in most respects. Nothing about him stands out, so he uses other people to gain attention and seem relevant. And since he’s probably still feeling sour about what happened at the last meeting, he won’t have anything nice to say to me.’
Seated on her other side, Logan looked her way. ‘You mean that thing where you caught and crushed his magick?’
‘For Ames, who links his power to his physical prowess, it was the equivalent of me stomping on his dick,’ she explained.
Logan grimaced. ‘Gotcha.’
‘Out of curiosity, who’s trying to burn holes into my back with their eyes?’ She could feelsomeoneglaring at her.
Logan cast a furtive glance behind her. A sigh rattled his lips slightly. ‘That would be CeCe. Ignore her.’
‘I intend to. She bores me.’
Kerr snorted in amusement.
‘I’m wondering what her issue is, though. From what I’ve heard, she doesn’t believe that I’m actually sleeping with Ripper.’
‘She doesn’t,’ confirmed Logan. ‘But it’ll still annoy her something fierce that you wear his scent and he walks around smelling of your magick. The longer that goes on, the more worked up she’ll get. Don’t be surprised if she approaches you about it.’ He paused, his expression turning sober. ‘If that happens, you call Ripper; he’ll deal with it.’
Emberlyn couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘You’re cute.Call Ripper; he’ll deal with it,’ she mimicked before shaking her head. ‘It’s like you’re new around here.’
A snicker popped out of Kerr. ‘Yeah, Logan, she’s no damsel. Just sit back and enjoy how much it both frustrates and turns on your brother that this woman does not need him.’
Emberlyn felt her lips bow up.
It was minutes later that Reena and Ward arrived. Ward took a seat between Tyra and Sera while the High Priestess headed for the platform. More townspeople filed in a little at a time, until the entire hall was jam-packed.
When seven p.m. hit, Shane cleared his throat and said, ‘Let’s start, shall we? Firstly, for all those wondering how Lincoln is doing, things are progressing well. His family is delighted to have him home. But they’re also furious on his behalf. Why?Someone placed a spell on him that trapped him in a state of bloodlust.’
Gasps and mutters sounded throughout the hall while several voices loudly burst out comments . . .
‘What?’
‘You must be joking!’
‘Bloodlust?’
‘That’s not possible!’
‘You can’t be serious!’
Ripper raised a hand for silence, and everyone immediately quieted.
Emberlyn half-turned in her seat, wanting to better observe the room.
‘You are sure that Lincoln was bespelled?’ Reena asked Shane, seeming genuinely disturbed.
‘Positive,’ he replied.
Her brow pinched, she shook her head in incredulity. ‘But . . . why wouldanyonedo that?’
Ripper stretched out his legs beneath the table. ‘You can’t guess? This is now the second time in a relatively short period that a Rabid found its way to Black Willow Manor. The first time, one was lured out there using a dead goat. On this occasion, it would seem that Lincoln was caught, bespelled, and then placed near the manor – his instinct in that form would have been to hunt the nearest lifeform he could sense. Which he did.’
‘If Emberlyn told you that he was bespelled, how do you know she didn’t lie?’ Ames piped up, the little prick.
‘I can confirm it to be true,’ said Marvin. ‘I was the one who later untangled the spell.’
