Red Witch: Book Two of the Wizard Born Series Read Free Page A

people don’t want to see it.”
    “Don’t care. Kiss him all you want.”
    Jamie looked at Rollie in the rear view mirror as he started the car. “Where’s your bag?”
    “My football bag? Don’t need it. I’m quitting.”
    “Dude! Are you serious?”
    “Yep. I’m still third string and I haven’t played a down in either of our first two games, so I’m done. My parents want me to focus on my grades, anyway.”
    “They sound like mine.”
    “Yeah, and I talked to the basketball coach, and he said I’ve got a real good chance of getting some playing time this year if I keep working on my three-point shot.”
    “Even though you’re only five-seven?”
    “Huh,” Rollie grunted. “But I can knock down the outside shot, Baby.”
    “Well, you know Fred and I will be there cheering for you, ’cause we’re the Crew, right?”
    “We can’t be beat,” Rollie said, a grinning splitting his dark face.
    Together they shouted, “Everybody smell our feet!”
    * * *
    Carl shared an office with two other detectives. One wall was lined with filing cabinets and a whiteboard; two others were filled with shelves overflowing with books and papers. One wall was dominated by a long window with open blinds that looked out on a long room where the uniformed officers worked.
    On his desk was a file, an unsolved case, of the murder of shopkeeper Sheldon Steinhauer. Inside were two photos of the deceased’s head, showing the small hole in his forehead and the exit wound on the back of his skull. The skin around the holes was cauterized, suggesting high heat. A sticky note was pasted to one photo that had “Possible laser?” written on it in green ink.
    Carl had talked to Jamie about it a few days ago, and Jamie, his science-freak son, had assured him that a laser powerful enough to burn through a human skull would only be found in a research institute or an industrial facility and would be too massive to be portable. Jamie had taken his father to the back of their yard and demonstrated how Renn might’ve killed the shopkeeper. Jamie shot a white-hot pencil-thin beam from his finger that burned through a watermelon in a microsecond.
    It’s a good thing that psychotic wizard is dead , Carl thought. Then he realized something even more important: It’s a good thing Jamie’s a good kid. With the power he has, he could be a monster like nobody’s ever seen around here . Carl closed the file and dropped it on the far edge of his desk.
    I bet Jamie is the only sorcerer who goes to church every Sunday . He laughed to himself. I also bet he’s the only one who has a grandmother like Evelyn Wallace.
    * * *
    Jamie was in the boys’ locker room after school, sitting on a wooden bench, dressing out for cross country practice, when Bryce walked up. “Hey, Jamie, you know that new guy, Spencer?”
    Jamie leaned past Bryce to peer down the row of lockers.
    “Don’t look.” Bryce said in a low voice.
    “What about him?” Jamie leaned back and brushed off his bare foot before pulling on a short white sock.
    “I heard he’s been talking trash about you and me. Seems he’s upset that we got named captains.”
    “What’s the big deal?” Jamie pulled on the other sock. “He’s just a junior anyway, and coach won’t let juniors be captain. We’re the two fastest guys right now, too.”
    “Well,” Bryce leaned closer, “I heard his dad donated some big bucks to the athletic booster fund, and for some reason he thinks that makes him entitled to it.”
    “So what?” Jamie slipped on a running shoe. “Your dad donated, too. You’re Richie Rich, right?”
    Bryce’s face clouded. “Wish you wouldn’t call me that.”
    “Manny did.” An image of last year’s team star popped into Jamie’s mind.
    “Well, that was Manny, and he’s gone off to college now.”
    “He’s probably got some nicknames for his college teammates already, I bet.” Jamie pulled on his other shoe.
    “So what do you think we oughta do about