A Witch's Magic

  A Witch’s Magic

  N. E. Conneely

  Copyright © 2019 N. E. Conneely

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  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information-storage-and-retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or author. Requests for permission to copy part of this work for use in an educational environment may be directed to the author.

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  This book is a work of fiction. References to historical events, real people, or real locales are made fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  To friends old and new, thank you for being here with me. I hope you enjoy this book and are as excited as I am to fall into new adventures.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Also by N. E. Conneely

  New Release Newsletter

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  I crouched down and held out my hand, palm down, fingers curled to look as harmless as possible, and in the sweetest, and highest pitched voice I could manage, I said, “Here, puppy. Who’s a good dog? Who wants to come over here?”

  The dog perked its ears, cocked his head to the side, and then his eyes slid from the gently extended hand to the one tucked by my side. The one that happened to be holding a slip leash.

  “Yes, you’re a good puppy,” I repeated.

  The dog took one careful step closer and then another. He reached my hand, and his nose just barely brushed against my fingers.

  I started to reach forward with the open loop of the leash. The dog whirled around, tail thumping heavily into my legs. I swayed to the side as he scrambled away. The tail lashed again, this time with a phantom tail extended past it, whacking into my legs and sending me toppling to the ground. My shoulder ached from the impact with the concrete. “Narzel take it.”

  If he wanted to play that way, well, I had magic too.

  With a twist my wrist, I summoned my wand and pointed at the dog. “Sowil.” A small containment field snapped into place around the dog. He wasn’t going anywhere until I let him out.

  I picked myself up off the floor, wincing as I rolled my shoulder. That was going to leave a bruise. I readjusted my grip on the leash as I caught up with the dog. I shoved my hand through the spell, slipped the leash over his head, and sucked the power back out of the containment spell. The dog looked up at me, tail tucked between his legs.

  Glancing around and not seeing any of the other escaped creatures that had turned Happy Paws Rescue into a less than happy place today, I dismissed my wand and held my hand down for the dog to sniff. His nostrils flared, and his tail wagged ever so slightly. “Yes, you’re a good boy. You just had some magic get to you, yes you did.”

  His ears came up, and his tail wagged a little more.

  “Who’s a good boy?” I continued the high-pitched babble as I led the dog outside to where Cherokee County Animal Control had cages and trucks waiting. “This nice lady is going to take you somewhere safe and remove the magic from you. You were never meant to be magical.”

  I handed him off to Ryeleigh, a fey animal control officer with ash-green skin, pointed ears, and sage green hair in a ponytail. She got the dog settled in one of their specially crafted cages that could hold this dog and whatever magic had attached itself to him.

  I turned back to Happy Paws, the site of my first case back at work, which was shaping up to be a great dinner story and a unique location. The house, a cheerful bungalow, was backed by an attached building that lacked significant character. As far as rescues went, the kennel was exceptionally clean and well-maintained, and the dogs had nice big rooms. They even had an indoor run for foul weather. I hadn’t made it over to the cat housing yet, but if the dog section was anything to judge by, it would be equally nice.

  I snagged another leash and summoned my wand with a twist of my wrist as I headed back in for more critters. Thanks to a bracelet and some elven crafting I didn’t understand, it allowed me to summon and dismiss my wand as I pleased. A vast improvement over the usual wand sheaths.

  Inside the dog section of the kennel, I walked quietly and listened. I couldn’t hear anything, but that didn’t mean another dog wasn’t hiding in a corner, ready to bark flames at me the moment I got close.

  That exact issue was why the head of Happy Paws was in the hospital. Unfortunately, due to the amount of morphine she’d been given, she couldn’t tell us how many critters were currently on premises. The police were trying to find someone else who knew that information, because going through the records hadn’t gone well. Apparently, a mix of cats and dogs had gotten into the bungalow. Three animal control officers and a hedge-practitioner were still taming that mess.

  Unlike me, who’d been born a witch with magic and a three-hundred-year life expectancy, hedge-practitioners were human. Many hedge-practitioners, including Officer Rodriguez, who’d called me to this scene, were competent and capable, but they didn’t have the same power as did a witch. Even one like me who’d had an injury and was rebuilding her abilities.

  Claws clacked against the concrete floor. I froze, scanning the aisle and open kennel doors as I tried to locate the source of the sound. The dog kept moving and trotted out from the kennel ahead of me. It stopped, looked at me, and barked.

  A shock-wave crashed into me, forcing me back several steps.

  I shook my head, trying to clear out the slight ringing in my ears. I’d met some dogs who could bark loudly, but none that carried the concussive waves with their bark. That was new. I dug around my pocket, pulling out a slightly squished liver treat and held it out on a flat hand. “You have such beautiful chocolate fur. And I love your ears.”

  The dog stretched out his nose and sniffed.

  “Are you a lab mix? You look like you might be a Labrador Retriever.” I inched closer.

  The dog wagged its tail and trotted over, slurping the treat off my hand. I slipped the leash around its neck as it gulped down the treat. I wasn’t sure the dog had bothered to chew the treat before swallowing.

  The lab walked quietly next to me as I led it out and handed it off to Ryeleigh.

  As the leash changed hands, Ryeleigh glanced at the cages behind her. “My colleagues who were in the main house came out with several animals. We filled their truck, and they’re headed to our facility. They also found a list of animals. I think we’re only missing two cats. There may have been a bunny on premises as well. Rodriguez is looking for them.”

  “Thanks.” I headed for the main house. Hopefully, the bunny could take care of itself, because a day when cats could pass through walls and dogs could bark with concussive force wasn’t one when a bunny rabbit needed to be depending on its speed to escape.

  The front door opened without a squeak. At one point, this had been an orderly room, with a few chairs and a desk. Now, the chairs were turned over, the magazines were strewn across the floor,
and a smelly puddle decorated one corner. Wand in hand, I made my way around the front desk and into a hallway.

  “Son of a—” Rodriguez bellowed as he scrambled through a doorway.

  I was halfway to the room when I spotted a cat lurking in an office doorway. Not taking any chances, I pointed my wand at it. “Sowil.”

  The containment spell popped into place around the cat, who promptly hissed and scratched at the barrier. It could do that all it wanted, it wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Get back here, you hellcat!” A cat darted out of a room, barreling down the hall with Rodriguez hot on its heels. Both his hands were streaked with blood, and somehow he had a scratch across his cheek too.

  “Sowil.”

  The cat was still running when the shield formed around it. It collided with an interior wall of the spherical containment spell, sending the sphere rolling down the hall with the cat sliding around inside. The containment spell came to a stop against the wall. The cat stood up, shook itself, and stumbled two steps to the side before laying down. I turned to Rodriguez.

  He leaned against a doorway, panting heavily, glaring at the cats. Along with the scratches I’d seen earlier, the shirt of his previously pristine uniform was torn. Rounding up cats, it seemed, was more difficult than finding the dogs. “It’s good to have you back.”

  “How did you manage without me?” I kept my tone light, not wanting either of us to relive the last few months. It turned out burning yourself out as a witch and healing wasn’t exactly a picnic. Rebuilding magical powers was hard, and I’d only just gotten to the point where I could use significant amounts of magic in the past few weeks. It would be a long time before I had the power I once commanded so casually, if I ever did again.

  For now, I was happy to be back. Michelle Oaks, of Oaks Consulting, providing permanent solutions to magical problems. Even though this was my first day back, business was as good as ever. Every police contract I’d had before losing my powers had renewed. Life didn’t get much better than this.

  He held up a hand that was still oozing blood. “With difficulty, as you can see.”

  I grimaced. “I have healing charms in the car, but I think the department would want you to go to the hospital.”

  “I know.” Rodriguez sighed. “Is that everyone?”

  “I’ve heard there might be a missing rabbit.”

  Rodriguez shook his head. “The rabbit didn’t make it.”

  “I see.” I eyed the bloody paw prints crisscrossing the hallway. The rabbit explained that. “Why don’t we each grab a cat and we can get out of here.”

  “That one’s mine.” He pointed at the cat at the end of the hallway.

  “Whatever you want.” I scooped up the containment spell holding the remaining cat. It hissed and clawed the inside of the spell for the entire trip. I was all too happy to put it in a cage and remove the spell. Rodriguez looked rather gleeful as he locked up his cat. I removed its containment spell too.

  Ryeleigh checked off two more cats from her list. “That’s everything but the rabbit.”

  “The rabbit didn’t make it,” Rodriguez said.

  She made a note. “Where is it? They’ll want to send it off for a necropsy and magical evaluation.”

  “Michelle can do the magical evaluation.”

  Ryeleigh jerked her head up, eyes darting between Rodriguez and me. I gave my best professional smile, the one that said I was capable and willing to get to work.

  “I have orders to send them off to the state lab,” she said evenly.

  I kept smiling politely as my heart sank. My first day back and people assumed I wasn’t up to the job.

  Rodriguez locked eyes with Ryeleigh. “I’m not sure what you’re implying, but Michelle is trusted by the department, competent, and qualified. As far as magical evidence, I outrank everyone but the top brass. Michelle can examine the rabbit. We will develop and implement the best plan for removing the magic from the building. I will be working beside her and review her performance if there are any doubts.”

  The animal control officer shrugged. “Fine, but you get to tell command why I didn’t send everything to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.”

  “Done. They give you any flack, send them to me. I’ll inform them of our department’s strict policy to do work in-house, especially considering how long it takes to get things back from the GBI.” Rather than waiting for Ryeleigh to answer, Rodriguez turned to me and tipped his head towards the building. “I’ll show you the rabbit.”

  I followed him inside, ignoring the sound of Ryeleigh calling her boss. At times like this, it was nice to be a consultant. They might fight over what I did, but I wasn’t involved in the fight itself.

  Rodriguez guided us through the building, down the hallway decorated by bloody paw prints, and then to a small room near the back of the house. The enclosure for the rabbit took up most of the room, with a pet door leading outside. I suspected a covered run let the rabbit go out and enjoy the great outdoors without risking it getting away or being attacked. No one had expected the danger would come from inside.

  In life, the rabbit would’ve been huge. The biggest one I’d seen, and I’d seen some large bunnies running around North Georgia. Whatever breed of rabbit this was, it wasn’t your average wild rabbit. Unfortunately, the cats had had a little too much fun killing it, and what was left looked nothing like the majestic creature it had once been.

  I extended a slender strand of magic and probed the rabbit’s remains. As sad and gross as it was, I moved the tendril of magic along the skin and across the visible innards. Magic dotted the outside of the rabbit, but the inside only had tiny traces, perhaps transfer from the cats. I probed the floor around and found more magic clinging to something on the ground. Squatting down, I spotted a black hair that was pulsing with magic. Since the rabbit had been brown, it had to belong to one of the cats who killed it.

  I probed the rabbit’s remains again, including its blood. A more extensive exam matched the results from the first. “The rabbit wasn’t affected by the magic, so whatever did this to the rest of the animals is something they use for the cats and dogs but not for the poor rabbit.”

  “Any idea what that would be?” Rodriguez asked.

  “A food or air treatment, maybe a cleaning agent? This isn’t my specialty. Do you think our neighborhood animal control officer would be in a mood to help us out?” I turned away from the rabbit, not wanting to think about how it died.

  “Maybe. If not, I have a few ideas. Give me a minute to collect the remains.”

  I waited outside while Rodriguez gathered the rabbit’s corpse. Not that I was squeamish, but he didn’t need my help.

  “Got it,” he said as he joined me. “Let’s do a quick survey of the rest of the buildings before we talk to her again.”

  As we walked, I opened my shields, letting myself sense the magic around us. While there were bright flashes of magic in some rooms, the cats’ kennel was absolutely coated in it. I turn my focus to the dog’s kennel and found it awash with magic too. Whatever had caused this was localized.

  “Did you feel that?” Rodriguez asked.

  “That the magic only affected the kennels?” I waited for him to nod before continuing. “I did, and the magic feels the same in the two buildings.”

  “They wouldn’t eat the same food.” He sighed. “Let’s see if we can get a helpful answer.”

  Outside, the animal control officer was sitting on the bumper of her truck, making notes. She looked up as we exited the building. “Boss said he didn’t know you were back, Ms. Oaks. And, um, I’m sorry for arguing with both of you.”

  “It’s been a while since I was working with the police.” I shrugged. “Communication issues happen.”

  “Thanks.” She glanced at Rodriguez.

  “Rabbit remains, still contaminated with magic.” Rodriguez held out the bags.

  “Boss said you would know what to do.”

  “Yup.” He stowed them in a
cooler in the back of his car.

  Ryeleigh shuffled nervously. “Like I said, I’m sorry about before.”

  I was running out of things to say, so I smiled.

  “You can make it up to us.” Rodriguez shut the trunk of his car. “We found magic coating both kennels, but not much anywhere else. The rabbit’s area was mostly clear of magic.”

  She tipped her head to the side. “What about the cleaning supplies? Those might be the same for both kennels.”

  I locked eyes with Rodriguez. “There was enough magic I might not have noticed the chemicals. We’d need to find the stock for both kennels and check.”

  “Ryeleigh, you’re free to go. We’ll finish up here,” Rodriguez ordered as he headed to the dog’s portion of the facility.

  “Yes, sir! I’ll get these guys to decontamination.”

  I turned back to the building as Ryeleigh loaded a crate with a hissing cat into the truck. That hiss captured my frustration perfectly.

  In a building slathered in magic, I needed to find the extra potent magic. Maybe trying to feel the magic around me had been the wrong way to solve the problem.

  I let down the shield that prevented me from seeing magic all the time. Happy Paws lit up like a second sun. Squinting at the building, I adjusted how brightly magic appeared until the glow didn’t hurt my eyes. When the spots in my vision faded, I looked over the building again.

  Between the even coating over both kennels and the comparative lack of magic in the main office, it was hard to tell where to start. I’d really expected to see a concentration of magic. “I can’t find the source.”