“Horrid weather, Jules,” she comments, sliding off fine calfskin gloves.
“Yes, quite,” he absently responds, the two of them disconcertingly oblivious to our presence as they take a moment to complain about the frigid cold that’s moved in.
Finally, there’s a break in the conversation, and a long silence as the Vice Chancellor settles in and levels her eyes at us.
I struggle to hold her penetrating, green-eyed glare.
As if suddenly remembering we’re there, Professor Kristian looks at me and gestures toward the Vice Chancellor. “I believe you’ve met Vice Chancellor Quillen.”
Panicked, I glance over at Tierney. Her eyes are riveted on the very Gardnerian Vice Chancellor, her fear dangerously apparent.
“Relax, Mage Calix,” Vice Chancellor Quillen says dismissively. “You’re among friends.” She turns to Professor Kristian. “How many Fae children did we hide during the war, Jules?”
“Two hundred and fifty-six,” he responds without a pause. “Not including Zephyr.”
My head is spinning. “Who’s Zephyr?” I ask.
“My adopted daughter, Mage Gardner,” the Vice Chancellor replies succinctly. “She’s Sylphan Fae. And far away from here. In Noi lands, with my brother, Fain.”
“How is Fain?” Professor Kristian puts in congenially.
“Enjoying the East,” she replies just as cordial. “He’s keeping pit dragons now.”
“For sport?” He seems surprised.
She smiles mischievously. “No. You know Fain. They’re his companions.”
Professor Kristian coughs out a laugh.
“Anyway,” Vice Chancellor Quillen continues, turning to me. “Zephyr is quite safe there. For the moment.” Her expression turns reflective as she looks at Tierney and shakes her head from side to side. “But so many more in hiding. And now—” she lets out a deep sigh “—it seems we’ve got to get you all out.” She shakes her head again and purses her lips at Tierney. “Don’t fret, Mage Calix. We’ve some unexpected friends, it turns out.” She looks to Professor Kristian. “It seems that someone dissolved the Elfin steel dragon cages. Did you hear about that?”
The side of Professor Kristian’s lip twitches into a smile. “Clearly the work of a Level Five Mage, Lucretia.”
The Vice Chancellor pins her eyes tight on me. “Isn’t your brother a Level Five, Mage Gardner?” I open my mouth, desperate to find a convincing lie, but she doesn’t wait for my response. “Tricky spell, too.”
“A protected military spell, I believe,” Professor Kristian idly comments, glancing over at her.
“I am so glad you brought that up, Jules,” the Vice Chancellor says, her gaze uncomfortably tight on me. “Because it turns out there’s a military grimoire missing. They just can’t seem to find it.” Her eyes sharpen. “Might you know anything about any of this, Mage Gardner?”
I can barely breathe. All our secrets, secrets no more.
Except for the white wand, I note with some relief.
Professor Kristian laughs lightly. “Come now, Lucretia. You know these girls are ignorant of all these matters.”
“Oh, that’s right,” she agrees. “How silly of me. They were with me last night, Jules. Mage Gardner and both of her brothers.”
“And why’s that, Lucretia?” Professor Kristian asks, blithely playing along.
“Well, there’s the matter of Mage Gardner being behind on her University tithe. And her younger brother’s acceptance into the Gardnerian Weapons Guild.” She shakes her head wearily. “We were in my office. All evening.”
“Putting in late hours again, Lucretia?”
The Vice Chancellor rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue. “Oh, it’s never ending.”
“Well, that is a relief,” Professor Kristian comments. “Especially since the Gardnerians are investigating every Level Five Mage’s whereabouts last night. It’s good to know Mage Gardner and her brothers are well accounted for.”
I sit there, speechless, blinking at them.
A smile lifts the corners of Vice Chancellor Quillen’s mouth as she eyes me with open approval. “Welcome to the Resistance, Mage Gardner.”
* * * * *
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It takes a village to bring a novel into fruition, and my village of readers/editors/authors is a talented one.
First of all, a huge thank-you to my husband, Walter, for all his years of support, child/teen care, reading, editing and all-around book-widowerhood—and all that tree information!
Thank you to my daughter Willoughby (for her spot-on, unflinchingly honest feedback); daughter Schuyler (for her great editing and ideas); and daughters Alexandre and Taylor for putting up with my writing habit and helping to “hold down the fort.”
Thank you to my parents, Mary and Noah Sexton, for their enthusiasm, ideas and encouragement.
Thank you to the Burlington Writers’ Group—Cam M. Sato, Kimberly Ann Hunt and Denise Holmes (three of my favorite writers and talented editors); the amazing Diane Dexter (editor, reader and good friend); the incredible Eva Gumprecht (esteemed writer and editor); everyone at Harlequin TEEN who worked on this project; Liz Zundel (reader, editor and font of intrepid moral support); Leslie Ward (for her feedback and encouragement when this project was in its infancy); my mother-in-law, Gail Kamaras; my sister-in-law, Jessica Bowers (without whom none of this would have happened); my brother Jim and M.J. Bray, two of my earliest readers; Bronwyn Fryer (genius friend) for teaching a novice how to format my editing; Anne Loecher; Tanusri Prasanna; the fabulous authors/editors Dian Parker and Kane Gilmour; The Burlington Writers’ Workshop; Lorraine Bencivengo Ziff (for amazing editing and encouragement); Susan Shreve; Crystal Zevon; Geof Hewitt and everyone else who read and gave feedback on parts or all of my various novels/novellas. Thank you, Beanbag, for loaning me your mad writing skills and genius wit!
A big thank-you to Mike Marcotte, computer whiz extraordinaire, for tech support and my fabulous author website, www.laurieannforest.com. And thank you to everyone else who helped with tech support.
Thank you to Natashya Wilson, Executive Editor at Harlequin TEEN, for taking a chance on this series—I’m thrilled to be working with everyone at Harlequin TEEN (the most fabulous and fun imprint EVER). Lauren Smulski, you are the best (and wittiest) editor I could have imagined for this project—you’ve brought this book to a whole new level. Thank you for your endless patience and incredible editing/ideas.
Above all, I want to thank my tenacious agent Carrie Hannigan (Hannigan, Salky, Getzler Agency) for believing in The Black Witch Chronicles for so many years (and through so many edits). I couldn’t ask for a more encouraging or talented agent/reader/editor.
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ISBN-13: 9781488015397
The Black Witch
Copyright © 2017 by Laurie Forest
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