Page 16 of Demon's Bluff
“Supporting?” I blurted, as I took in his gray hair, wrinkled eyes, and loose, unassuming clothes. Supporting meant he wasn’t the junior member or lead, but the middle—not necessarily in power but in rank.
Scott grinned, flashing me his coffee-stained teeth. “You can’t retire from the coven, but you can go out on disability. I’m filling in for Lee until June.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, feeling my ergs rise to my skin where we touched. He was running low—or I was running high—and I let go whenI felt him draw on the ley line and our balances came to a pinging match. He was probably over a hundred, but seeing as witches averaged a hundred and sixty, it wasn’t out of the question for him to be called back to duty.
“Ah, and this is Adan,” Elyse continued, awkward as she took control of the introductions. “He’s our junior earth magic practitioner.”
“Hi,” I said, remembering the gawky, slim blond boy from Fountain Square as I met his smooth, uncalloused hand.
“Rachel,” the kid said as he quickly let go, a worried slant to his blue eyes.
“And Yaz,” Elyse continued, looking at the only other woman in the room. She had the fresh face of a sixteen-year-old, with brown skin, wide shoulders, and a powerful build. “Yaz is our supporting earth witch.”
“Nice to meet you.” I extended my hand again, impressed by her firm grip. The scent of lilac drifted from her, and her nails were stained from chlorophyll.
“Rachel,” she said, head bobbing. Her voice was higher than I would have expected from her large frame.
“Orion is our leading earth magic practitioner,” Elyse said, and a young man, probably late teens by his sparse, razor-burned stubble, rocked forward and extended his fist.
“Hey,” I said, remembering him as I bumped my fist against his.
“Nice to officially meet you.” His gaze dropped to the bag still on my shoulder.
“Same here.” I rocked back, one hand on my shoulder strap. The scent of redwood was growing, and all five of them were tapped into the same ley line I was. Even an earth witch knew how to set a circle. “We were kind of busy the last time for introductions.”
The heartbeat of silence was telling.
“This isn’t awkward at all,” Elyse said sourly. “Rachel, help yourself to the cheese and crackers. Can I get you a drink? We’ve got a cider-tasting flight. Apparently they go from sweet to tart.”
I glanced at the four decorative glass containers of cider with a newunderstanding. “Some tart cider would be nice,” I said faintly, and the five of them began to move a little. It wasn’t stuffy in here, but I felt trapped, as if I was one of the books they wanted to put on the shelves. Adan, the youngest earth witch, was wrinkling his nose, and I wondered if it was from the scent of burnt amber coming from my bag.
Elyse made a point to crack the seal as if to prove that the cider hadn’t been tampered with. “I’ve been wanting to try this since it was delivered,” she said as she filled two small sampling cups. “Anyone else?”
My lips quirked at the sudden rush. Everyone wanted something to do with their fingers, and I took a tiny black paper plate, putting three crackers and a couple slices of cheese on it. Heads were down and no one said much…but they were sneaking glances at my bag. Jenks hadn’t shown up yet, and I scanned the freestanding bookracks behind them for a hint of pixy dust.
The old guy, Scott, sat down with a heavy sigh. As if it was a signal, we all found seats, the table between us as they held their little plates of cheese and crackers. I took the chair nearest the door, but I still felt trapped.
Frowning, I set my plate on the table and crossed my ankles. “Elyse, why am I here?” I said, my shoulders relaxing when I spotted a faint stream of pixy dust sift from a book-laden corner. “You gave me until June to get Brad uncursed,” I added, not liking that that crow had spotted Jenks, too, the bird’s head cocked and a questioning rattle escaping him. “I understand your impatience, but I’m working on it. I’m not comfortable showing you the curse until I have the cure.” Yet there it was, stinking up the entire room from the bag at my feet as requested.
Elyse wiped a cracker crumb from the corner of her mouth with a forced casualness. “You brought it, right? Yes? Good.”
I tugged my bag possessively closer, my next words lost when Orion pushed to the edge of his seat, the leading earth magic practitioner’s dark eyes fixed on mine. “We’ve been over the ley line practitioners available to fill our vacant position,” he said, his ring-decked fingers playing with the amulets around his neck. “Either they are too old—”
“Or too young,” Scott said with a chuckle, his attention on the cracker-cheese-cracker-cheese-cracker sandwich he was making.
“Or too bossy,” Elyse said, staring at Scott as that crow chortled from his perch.
“To be suitable candidates,” Orion finished.
“As you said.” Elyse firmly resumed control of the conversation. “We see no reason to wait until June when everyone’s choices are obvious. Scott gives us a quorum, so we took a vote and I am pleased to offer the position of junior ley line practitioner to you with immediate induction. Here and now.” She hesitated. “We can do it today.”
Junior?I thought sourly as Jenks’s warning trickled through my thoughts.
“Elyse,” I began, my words choking off when Elyse leaned forward and stuck a Möbius strip pin on my leather jacket’s lapel. “Um,” I added as I pulled my coat away so I could see it. The stones weren’t the clear purity of traditional diamonds. No, she’d gone for rubies, and the bloodred gems glistened from a band of bright gold. It matched my aura.
Annoyed, I tried to take it off, my gaze going from Elyse’s satisfaction to Scott, his old face wrinkled in amusement. If I said yes, he’d be my boss.Junior, my ass.
“Uh, this is all very overwhelming,” I said as I continued to try to get the pin off. “I thought I made my position clear weeks ago.”