Witchcraft (#2 Witchblood Series) Read Free

retches, tried to push the bone back in, but it
seemed stuck and tears sprang to my eyes. I was useless, pathetic!
I couldn’t even mend myself properly. I couldn’t cast spells. I
couldn’t bring myself to bite people and defend myself. I was
nothing, neither a vampire nor a witch.
    ‘ Are you crying?’ Her surprised
voice cut into my thoughts and I glanced up quickly, wiping the
tears away. ‘Oh my, you were, weren’t you? I never knew vampires
could cry. Well, aren’t you an interesting find!’
    Anger surged within me, a maelstrom of
emotions giving me the strength I needed. I jumped to my feet and
found to my surprise that my arm still worked. I punched forward
and then brought it back, swinging it round until with a sickening
crack it found its rightful place in my shoulder joint once again.
The bone would just have to wait, as the witch was already
clambering hurriedly to her feet, my book clasped to her chest. She
had hastily dug deep in her pocket and withdrawn a handful of salt,
and was pouring it out on the floor in a circle around her,
chanting as she moved.
    ‘ I conjure thee, O Circle of
Power. A boundary between...’
    ‘ Oh no you don’t!’ I cried,
leaping out of the shade of the old oak and into the bright
sunshine. My eyes squinted against the light and I could feel the
instant warmth against my skin. It wasn’t uncomfortable, yet. But I
didn’t have long.
    A second later my hard body slammed into
hers and I knocked her back out of the half-circle. The book had
tumbled from her grip and we both made a jump for it. I was
quicker, and though I fumbled with my injured arm, I somehow
managed to stuff it into the waistband of my jeans as she flew at
me. I hurled myself onto my back, and as she landed on top of me,
curled my feet into my body and kicked out hard, flinging her back.
I jumped to my feet and made a run for it, as a low chant broke the
silence and a hot wind whipped up, blowing my hair about my face
viciously. I ran full pelt towards the road and with vampire speed
it should have taken moments, but her chanting made my legs feel
leaden. I looked down with dismay to see the sun-baked ground turn
to a thick quagmire of clay-like mud, sucking me in, slowing me
down. I turned round to face my quarry. If I couldn’t run, I would
have to fight.
    I bent down, then sprung up, focusing
all my strength to power my thigh muscles and jump me out of that
bog and back onto dry land. It worked, and I looked up to see
Susannah coming at me once again, her face set in a determined
line, as she produced a wooden stick and began a slow, menacing
chant. I had no idea what her spell would do, but I was pretty sure
it wouldn’t have a pleasant outcome; so as the dark clouds drew
together overhead, mercifully blocking out the bright sun, I
unleashed the vampire which I had always kept locked up.
    My fangs broke through the surface of my
gums, as I let her intoxicating scent wash over me. I felt all the
muscles in my body tense for a fight and my eyes flicked around the
field, scouting for enemies, searching for allies. But nobody came
to help me, as they had no idea where I was. I was on my own.
    As Susannah finished her chant, I
watched with superhuman eyes as she flicked her wand towards me. A
bolt of silver shot out of the air, and had I been human would have
pierced my heart within seconds, but I’d seen it coming and easily
jumped out of the way. Leaping gracefully over the arched beam of
light I landed nearer my quarry. She took a step back tentatively
and flicked her eyes skywards again. Relief washed over her face,
and I followed her eyes upwards, to see a crazy paving design of
electricity skim over the surface of blackened clouds. Then, like a
finger placed upon a static electric ball, it condensed, before a
lightning bolt shot to the ground. This happened four times, once
in each of the corners surrounding us, to the north, south, east
and west, and from each of those corners a woman’s figure