Page 13 of Black Willow Witch
Emberlyn shook her head. ‘This is a total shit show.’
‘An entertaining shit show,’ Paisley remarked.
Ames, apparently deciding not to learn from his father’s mistake, copied Dez’s move – his own blasts much more intense. So intense that when they moments later rushed at him, he didn’t have a chance to dodge. They whacked him so hard he flew back.
Mari, her face a mask of ‘I will be the one to do this’ determination, slammed up her hands and hurled waves of magick at the house . . . only to have them crash back into her.
Rubbing at various parts of their bodies, the four defeated witches gathered together, their expressions a blend of aggravation and helplessness.
Reena let out a sound that was something between a growl and a scoff. The woman could probably feel all her plans falling to pieces around her.
Emberlyn raised a hand. ‘Okay, now me.’
Dez glowered at her. ‘The manor won’t let you in. Millicent must have cast an additional spell; something to keep people out.No oneis going to get inside until we can figure out what spell it is.’
‘There’s no spell,’ Emberlyn told him, approaching the gate.
‘Therehasto be,’ Gill insisted. ‘And since she wouldn’t want you to claim the house, you can bet your ass she’ll have taken extra measures to ensure that you never do. The spell would react even worse to you than it did us.’
Ignoring her, Emberlyn didn’t walk to the steps, she paused halfway up the path. She sent out just a few ribbons of magick; watching as the glittering dust drifted toward the manor and then gently brushed over the translucent defensive barrier. An offering. A gift. An introduction.
The sentient power studied hers, tasted it and she felt theclickof recognition. It remembered her magick. Rememberedher.
It didn’t reject her offering, which she took as a very good sign. She walked a little closer, chanting as she let her magick roll out in a rush of more glittering dust. That dust became thousands of moths – some black, some silver, some dark teal.
Wings fluttered as they streamed toward the manor, parting to surround the defensive barrier. Not attack it, not intimidate it,temptit with the promise of more power.
Sentient magick was like a predatory pack animal – it could do just fine on its own, but it knew there was strength in numbers and preferred to not be solitary. Emberlyn was giving it a promise of power, of protection, of a partnership.
She kept on chanting, and the moths swirled around the mansion uber-fast – some clockwise, some anticlockwise. Inside the insect-tornado, electricity buzzed.
Then the defensive power reached outwards and clashed into her magick. Welcomed it.Connectedto it.
She closed her fists, ending the chant. The moths rose above the manor and then disappeared down chimneys.
Inside the house, lights switched on and off, curtains flapped and the stained-glass windows seemed to bulge outward.
Then the magick settled, and one of the front doors slowly swung open in invitation.
Delight curled Emberlyn’s lips, and she metaphorically rubbed her hands in glee.
She heard a distinct feminine curse come from far behind her.Reena.Ha.
‘Why?’ asked Dez. ‘Why didn’t it attack you?’
Easy. ‘I wasn’t rude,’ she replied, facing him.
He stared at her numbly. ‘Rude?’
Emberlyn swept her gaze over her family. ‘You came with no offer of goodwill. You weren’t respectful of the manor’s boundaries. You didn’t politely introduce yourself. You just boldly tried totake. And bashing the barrier was pure bad form.’She cocked her head. ‘Do you know nothing about sentient-magick etiquette?’
Emberlyn looked at the twins, who both wore huge grins, and gestured for them to follow as she advanced up the path.
‘What do you mean, an offer of goodwill?’ Gill called out. ‘What did you give it?’
Halting halfway up the porch stairs, Emberlyn peered down at her. ‘Power, no strings attached.’
Gill’s eyes narrowed. ‘You manipulated the manor into accepting you?’
