The Witch with an Attitude
Federation of Magic Book 2
By Rachel Medhurst
Copyright 2021 © Rachel Medhurst
Please note that the author is English so spelling is in British English.
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
The Witch Seeks the Necromancer – Book 3
Copyright
Author
Chapter One
“See,” Tinniel said, checking around the corner of the building. “She’s dyed her hair blonde and wears big ugly sunglasses. Classic case of trying to hide.”
Frowning, I looked around the corner. “I used to wear a pair just like that, I’ll have you know.”
Holding up his hands as the woman looked over her shoulder, Tinniel raised his eyebrows. “And I’m sure they looked just as hideous on you.”
I ran a hand through my hair in an attempt to look casual. Not that the woman looked in our direction, she was too busy talking hurriedly to a cab driver, arguing over the amount of fare he’d charged her.
“She’s wasting precious time.” Tinniel was playing with her, biding his time.
It had been a week since we’d rescued him, and he’d offered to bring me on a hunt. The bounty was a werewolf who had skipped bail by shifting and disappearing underground. I didn’t know her crime – apparently, I had to learn to grow a thick skin before I knew all the details – I just had to help bring her in.
“How did you do this without me?” I quipped, tugging on the sleeves of my denim jacket.
Tinniel had asked me to track the shifter. With a little help from Synthia, his physical recovery had been quick. He wasn’t right, though. One minute, he was on the ball, ready for work. The next, he was distant, staring off into an unknown faraway land. I wasn’t surprised. The twins had become paranoid about their brother, Henrick, both wanting to forget their workload and hunt for him. However, Klarita had insisted that they concentrated on Jimmy, banning them from chasing a lead that could be false.
Nothing had been said about our connection. I understood, there were more important things to worry about. Like catching Jimmy and rescuing my mother.
A pang squeezed my chest every time I thought of her. Having seen the world she had lived in, my fear for her safety had quadrupled.
“Focus.” Treading carefully, Tinniel took my hand and strode out into the street.
The roughness of his calloused fingers sent tingles up my arm. I swallowed the flash of desire that tickled my nerves. I had to forget about the charge and do my job.
Following his lead, I walked beside him, my head held high and my shoulders back. The werewolf woman waved her arm angrily and marched away, distracted as she shoved her wallet back in her bag.
“Watch her body language,” Tinniel said quietly as she dodged around a group of children. “She doesn’t like kids.”
“How can you tell?”
We skirted around the same group, keeping our pace in line with hers. My gaze was glued to her, watching every part of her body. Her dyed hair flicked as she tucked it behind her ear, her face turning ever so slightly to the left.
“She knows someone’s following her,” I said, interrupting Tinniel as he opened his mouth to speak.
“Nice one.” Squeezing my fingers, he pulled me beside an ice cream van, just on the edge of a small park.
If it were a different day, when life wasn’t so paranormal, I would’ve taken the opportunity to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his soft lips. Alas, my skin remained untouched and unkissed.
“Good job Naz isn’t here to listen to my thoughts,” I muttered as the woman looked over her shoulder.
Her luscious locks moved gently, revealing piercing, bright yellow eyes that were looking straight in my direction.
“Great.” Tinniel’s sigh was accompanied by a shake of the head. “She knows.”
Kicking into gear, he thrust away from the van, releasing my hand as he bolted. The woman was running also, ducking into the park.
Crap. Tinniel was right, I had let my guard down whilst daydreaming about kissing him. Jeez, did they expect me to be a perfect bounty hunter right away? Didn’t they have to train when they wanted to become a kickass hunter? Okay, maybe I should actually be chasing the bad guy. Girl. Bad girl.
Going after Tinniel, I apologised to a kid who darted into my way. Wait, why was I apologising? I shook my head clear of stupid thoughts as I dodged around the parent, trying not to apologise again.
“Bloody London,” I muttered as I grabbed the iron bar fence that lined the park and flung myself over it.
My feet landed perfectly, propelling me over the grass and towards Tinniel, who was on the path, chasing the wolf woman. Sweat lined my forehead as I panted, pushing myself as fast as I could go.
The woman clutched her bag as she moved, her dainty shoes barely touching the concrete pathway. It seemed her wolf genes made her super speedy. I had to admit, I was a little jealous of the stronger, faster paranormal creatures. Witches didn’t possess an extra boost of fitness. Unfortunately.
People were littered around us, staring as we passed them. The autumn leaves were slippery under my boots as I caught up to Tinniel.
“Good job,” he muttered as his arms pumped harder, thrusting him forward.
I heaved air into my lungs as I tried to keep up with the sorcerer. The man carried twice my weight in muscle, and yet, I still couldn’t stay next to him.
Falling back, I gritted my teeth in an effort to go faster. It didn’t work. As the woman drew closer to another exit, Tinniel was hot on her tail – huh, literally – pursuing her until the very end.
His heavy body launched, ploughing her face-down with his bulk. She didn’t utter a sound as he pinned her with his weight and gestured for me to join them.
“Excellent,” I managed to huff as I sank to my knees nearby.
The woman didn’t even bother to resist as she looked up at me from under her hair where it had fallen across her face. Gosh, she was eerily wolf-like, her bright yellow eyes mesmerising and her nose long and regal.
“You’re new.” Her perfectly plucked eyebrows rose as far as they could in her botoxed forehead. “Bit slow, dear.”
“Yeah, well,” I replied, searching for a good comeback in my exhausted mind, “you’re the one lying on the ground with a huge male on top of you.”
A snigger left her lips as she winked at me. I smiled back, unable to help myself despite the fact that I’d just completely failed at being witty. It clearly wasn’t my forte.
“Can you girls stop chattering?” Tinniel grunted, glaring at me. “We’ve got somewhere to be. Lyla, the cuffs?”
“You let yourself get caught, didn’t you?” I asked the woman as I wrestled with the extra-strong magical handcuffs, grunting when they wrenched out of my pocket. “I don’t blame you. He’s smoking.”
The corner of her lip lifted into her cheek. “I’ve only heard tales of the twin’s prowess but feeling his butt against mine is kinda–”
“Okay,” I interrupted as a blast of heat flamed my cheeks. “Let’s get you arrested. Tinniel, get off her butt.”
My insides quivered as he snatched the cuffs from me and clamped them around her wrists, jumping off her as soon a
s they were fastened. I hadn’t been prepared for the grip of jealousy that had made my heartbeat soar and my tummy churn. What the bloody hell?
“I’m not technically arrested. Already done that part,” she said as Tinniel grabbed her and hoisted her to her feet. “I like you, you’re funny.”
Funny? Yeah, right. And who did she think she was, being all nice? The beauty didn’t have a chance at making friends with me. I knew her game. She probably thought that if she got me on her side, I would take it easy on her. Well, she had another thing coming if she thought we could be pals.
“Call it in,” Tinniel said, throwing me his phone.
Dragging my glare away from the woman, I dialled Karita. “We’ve got Helen Boken.”
My statement was short, sweet and final. Tinniel had told me that we never said anything more, just let the top dog know that we’d been successful in our hunt.
“Nicely done,” Klarita muttered. “Bring her in.”
The phone went dead, the tone beeping in my ear. “All goo–”
Turning, I froze. Helen’s mouth had stretched into a muzzle, snarling and snapping at Tinniel’s arms. He grappled with her as he tried to keep her from ripping his throat out.
My heart leapt into my throat as I grabbed out Beauty, stepped forward and raised my arms.
Tinniel’s eyes widened when he saw me, his eyebrows pulling low. The were-woman’s head spun to look at me, her yellow eyes narrowing on the blade as I pressed it to her neck. Her smart navy blue jacket would be ruined if I thrust my sword forward. I wasn’t into fashion but even I could see the quality of her attire.
“Put that away,” I said, nodding at her shifted muzzle. “Or I’ll cut it off.”
Gnashing her teeth, she stopped when I pressed Beauty harder into her skin. Tinniel’s arm came up, his fist ploughing into her deformed nose. She whined as her head snapped back and her eyes rolled into the back of her skull.
“Please tell me no one saw that,” I said, glancing around the park.
A couple stood nearby, their mouths hanging open and their phones in their hands. Oh shit, we’d be on social media in no time.
Hurtling over to them, Beauty hanging by my side, I smiled graciously, almost laughing when they backed away, their hands held up to show surrender. “Give me your phones,” I said, waving my fingers.
The man raised a thick dark eyebrow and slowly shook his head, his black dreads brushing his collar. “No, I paid a fortune for this.”
“Seriously?” I said, attempting to cross my arms over my waist before realising that I still held my sword. “What’s so great about it? Social media just makes you feel like utter crap.”
“It can be used for good.” The woman pressed her screen and held it up for me to see.
A picture of a bonnie dark-skinned baby with huge eyes looked out at me. I wasn’t a baby person, at all. And yet, my heart skipped a little when I saw her glowing smile.
“You can stick pictures of your gorgeous baby over your house instead of online.”
“Lyla?” Tinniel called. “We need to go.”
Looking over my shoulder at him, I shrugged. I couldn’t very well steal their phones, could I? What did he want me to do?
Huffing, he lifted the were-woman, whose face had spontaneously changed back, and threw her over his shoulder. He avoided eye contact with me as he strode over and waved a hand in front of the couples’ faces.
“Now, we can go.”
Blinking, the lovely people smiled at me when I nodded and turned with Tinniel, determined to leave before they asked why we were unceremoniously carting away a pretty lady.
“I can’t believe we did it,” I said, trying to keep my tone upbeat, even though Tinniel had a harsh scowl on his face. “My first proper bounty, actually caught and delivered. Well, almost. Will I get paid something for this? I know–”
“Lyla?” Tinniel interrupted. “Stop trying to make me happy. It won’t work.”
As we reached the exit of the park, Tinniel placed Helen on her feet and clicked his fingers. Her eyes opened. Wait, no they didn’t, it just appeared that way. When she glanced at me, there was a delay, revealing her slumped head and closed eyes.
“Woah.”
The corner of Tinniel’s lips lifted into his cheeks. “Time magic, baby,” he said, winking at me. “Time magic.”
For a split second, he reminded me of Naz. It was as if the sun had shone on his handsomely miserable face and brightened it. Maybe capturing his bounty had given him a confidence boost. He sure needed it.
“What do we do now?” I asked, a bounce in my step as we made our way to Tinniel’s car.
The werewolf looked like she was walking along with us, being supported by the sorcerer, but really, she was still unconscious. It was a clever spell.
“Now,” he said, his expression pulling in on itself, “we get back to our hunt for Jimmy and your mother.”
Chapter Two
“Good job,” Klarita said as Tinniel closed the reinforced metal door and locked it.
The werewolf had woken up just as we were escorting her into the club. A snarl had escaped her before a dart had shot right in front of my face and plunged into her arm. Almost immediately, she’d collapsed in Tinniel’s arms, all dramatic. No, I wasn’t jealous, it was just a little pathetic.
“How did she do?” the boss asked Tinniel, nodding her head towards me.
Running his hand through his hair, the sorcerer glanced at me from under his fingers before clearing his throat. A shot of desire threaded through my nerves and jolted them. No matter how hard I tried to remain cool, he made me hot. All the bloody time. Even in inappropriate situations, like right now.
“She did okay.”
Klarita’s lips pursed, her cheeks blushing a slight pink. “Just okay?”
Opening my mouth to reply, I snapped it shut when Tinniel raised his eyebrows at me, daring me to go against him. She was the boss, the one who would decide whether I should become a bounty hunter. Not that I’d fully decided to take up the new career. However, the fact that I got a thrill every morning, had nothing to do with the thought of Tinniel. Not completely, anyway. It was fifty percent twin sorcerer, fifty percent bounty hunting. Oh, and fifty percent tracker witch awesomeness. My maths wasn’t on point, but something had awoken in me, driving me to pursue my newfound ability.
“She tracked her perfectly.” Tinniel’s eyes threatened to roll when I crossed my arms over my waist and flicked my eyebrows.
Squeezing my shoulder, Klarita smiled, her bright white teeth florescent under the corridor lights. When Tinniel had driven to a car park at the back of the club, I’d expected him to drag Pretty Wolf-woman to the entrance. Instead, he’d ducked down a tiny set of steps to a dingy wooden back door.
Once inside, I had shuddered at the long row of metal doors. Ah, they were like cells in a police station. The perfect place to hide bounties until the police came to pick them up.
“Good job,” she said again.
Nodding, she stared at me, her gaze boring into mine.
Ah, maybe that was my hint to leave her alone with Tinniel. Would she discuss the catch with him in more depth? Or was it something else? Surely, if it was the hit, she should let me hear what she had to say.
“I’m just going to go,” I muttered when Tinniel dropped his gaze to the ground.
It was a tiny bit awkward as I backtracked and waved, making a total dick out of myself. Why couldn’t the boss just be professional and ask me to excuse them?
“You can go through that door, instead of outside,” Klarita said. “It leads upstairs.”
A flush heated my cheeks as I smiled and thrust through the offending door. How had I not seen it, clearly marked Stairs?
Ever since Jimmy had escaped, I’d been treading carefully, not wanting to upset Tinniel. Not that he’d shown much of an outward reaction to the werewolf’s claim of Henrick being alive. In fact, he’d not mentioned it at all.
Jogging up the step
s, I slunk past the door to the club and slipped into the library – yea, they had a fuck off library with ancient witch texts and everything.
Built-in wooden shelves surrounded the walls, the old fashioned green lamps illuminating the oak desks dotted here and there. An inglenook fireplace dominated the far wall, tucked away in front of a small black sofa and cosy armchair.
When I’d first discovered the room, just after our failure to catch Jimmy, I’d buried myself in front of the roaring fire, daydreaming about the days when my mother would take me to the park before making us hot chocolate and ice cream. She was a contradiction, always enjoying opposite tastes and textures. In food and in life.
“How did it go?” Jamie asked as I joined him at one of the desks.
Synthia was sitting by herself nearby, barely acknowledging me with a nod. Her head was buried in a book, copying what looked like a recipe. No, it would be a healing spell. She was just so bloody kickass, even when writing.
Thumping down on the padded chair with a sigh, I rested my elbow on the table and tapped my fingers against my chin. “We got her. It seemed a little too easy. Although, Tinniel was the one who actually captured her. I need to work on my fitness and persuasion skills.”
“I checked out the gym.” Jamie rubbed a hand over his bald head and kissed his poor excuse for a bicep.
Raking my gaze over his rainbow cardigan, I clucked my tongue against the roof of my mouth. “You checked the men out at the gym, didn’t you?”
His shrug was followed by a chuckle as I feigned surprise. As if the human would lift weights, he was a thirty year old hippy who refused to get dressed properly most mornings.
“Were you trying to persuade the bounty to return to prison?” Jamie asked, distracting me from his naughtiness.
Confused, I frowned at him before his meaning sunk in. “No, I was trying to get a couple to give me their phones after they filmed us taking the she-wolf down.”
“Er, yeah, I wouldn’t have given you my phone, either. They’ll get paid a fortune from the press.”
The Witch With An Attitude (Federation of Magic Book 2) Page 1