My Favorite Witch

by Lisa Plumley

  Drawing in a deep breath, Dayna held out her hand. Smiling, she walked toward the vixens with her head held high.

  Frowning, T.J. watched as Dayna approached Francesca and her fellow vixen witches. He’d realized—finally—what he should have known all along: Dayna was the juweel he’d been seeking.

  Now all that remained was trusting her.

  Standing by as his bonded witch held out her hand to Francesca was the hardest thing he’d ever done. From the corner of his eye, T.J. saw Deuce watching him, his face taut. No doubt his partner feared that T.J. couldn’t help intervening.

  This time, though, T.J. believed. He believed in Dayna.

  Beautiful and accomplished, Dayna reached her fellow vixens. Francesca murmured something to her; Dayna nodded.

  She couldn’t be forming the quad vixen pact…could she?

  T.J. refused to believe it. Quietly shedding his disguise as Professor Reynolds, he fisted his hands. Far from him, Dayna lifted her arm, clearly preparing to link hands with Francesca.

  At the last instant, though, Dayna wrapped her fingers around her graduation amulet instead. She turned to the cusping witches in her class. In an unmistakable signal, she raised her amulet high. The symbol of having finally overcome all her witchy struggles gleamed beneath the ballroom’s bright lights.

  With a hoarse incantation—one T.J. recognized—Dayna hurled her amulet to the floor. Noisily, it smashed in pieces.

  To his amazement, at least two thirds of the cusping witches rose and smashed their amulets, too. Defiantly, they repeated the incantation Dayna had used—T.J.’s Patayan spell.

  Their actions broke Francesca’s hold on the cusping witches. Their voices rang out, overriding Sumner’s outraged shriek and Francesca’s desperate call.

  Francesca tried to regain control of the witches, but it was too late. The combination of T.J.’s Patayan incantation and Dayna’s ability to make the other witches link with her was too powerful to be countered—even with the vixens’ Old Ways magic. Proudly, T.J. watched as Dayna stared in amazement at the crowd of witches she’d led and inspired and guided…all by herself.

  A heartbeat later, all hell broke loose.

  Shocked into stillness, Dayna stared at the mêlée surrounding her. The Followers in the audience—and among the cusping witches—bolted for the ballroom’s exits. Hoping that meant she’d succeeded in ruining their plans, Dayna watched as IAB agents swarmed through those same exits, then took the Followers into custody with governing charms. Farther away, Deuce punched a warlock Follower who was sneaking past him. T.J. passed by in a blur of Patayan and legacy magic. Camille—to her astonishment—laid out a Follower with a well-placed kick. Proudly, she brushed back her hair and grinned.

  Amid the mayhem, Dayna turned. Lily shouted something, then ran into the crowd—amazingly, it seemed, coming to Deuce’s defense in his struggle with another Follower. Sumner cast Dayna a snarling look, then snatched the amulet from Francesca’s hand. Leaving a visibly weakened Francesca behind, Sumner disappeared.

  A flare of magic whooshed past Dayna. Newly alert, she tensed and prepared to fight back. But the battle was over almost as quickly as it had begun. Garmin appeared—bandaged but otherwise as in command as ever—and led his private IAB agents onstage. With blunt efficiency, the agents immobilized everyone whom Garmin identified as one of Francesca’s Followers.

  Hollow-eyed and pale, Francesca spit a hex at Garmin.

  It had no effect. Her failure seemed to make the vixen witch twice as infuriated. It was obvious that Francesca hadn’t had much experience with overcoming disappointment. With a frantic expression, she wheeled around, looking for an outlet for her rage. Her gaze landed on Dayna. Crazily, she smiled.

  “That was so stupid of you. You turned down a chance to be one of us,” Francesca said. “You could have had it all.”

  Dayna shrugged. “I already have everything I need.”

  Francesca gave a derisive laugh. “A loser like you would think so. But you don’t know what you’re missing.”

  Bitterly, Francesca cast a transmogrification spell. Dayna sidestepped it easily. Strangely, she found no satisfaction in seeing her old witchy rival stripped of her powers.

  “I guess you shouldn’t have spread yourself so thinly,” Dayna said. “You’re too weak to make me feel bad anymore, Francesca. Besides, I’m not missing a thing. It turns out I have something you’ll never have.”

  “What’s that?” Francesca asked meanly. She tried another spell. “A half-breed boyfriend and a hideous haircut?”

  “No.” Dayna smiled. “I have real friends—friends who believe in me no matter what.” Still astounded by that, Dayna broadened her smile. “And I have an awesome, kickass magical compound boyfriend. I’m going to find him right now.”

  Panting and battered, T.J. raised his head. The battle against the Followers—brief and intense as it had been—had wrecked the Janus ballroom. Overturned chairs littered the room; shattered chandelier crystals and broken glasses crunched underfoot; that hated sulfurous magic smell hung in the air.

  Excited and chattering, the graduation attendees and their guests milled around the ballroom. Some of them cast repair spells. Others turned in avid circles, magically recording the event with memory flickers. Deuce sat across the room with Lily at his side, deep in conversation. Francesca cursed and swatted at the IAB agents as they hauled her away, ineffectually trying to hex a despairing-looking Garmin. Just as T.J.’s magus had foreseen, dark forces had come to Covenhaven.

  But his bonded witch had bravely defeated them.

  With thoughts of Dayna foremost in his mind, T.J. straightened. He peered over the heads of the witchfolk gathered in the ballroom, but he couldn’t catch sight of her. Determined, T.J. used his earth magic to draw in a shaft of sunlight.

  It roved over the ballroom, then came to rest on one rebellious dark-haired witch. She stood on her tiptoes, searching.

  With his heart feeling newly full, T.J. headed in Dayna’s direction. She hadn’t seen him yet, but that didn’t change his plans. Putting on his most single-minded expression, T.J. sneaked a pair of handcuffs from a nearby IAB agent’s belt.

  A short distance away, Dayna swiveled—her kitten familiar placidly grooming itself at her feet—dressed all in silver and looking like the magical answer to all his hopes and dreams. Still searching, she pursed her mouth, inspiring an urgent need to kiss her. Soon, T.J. would have his chance.

  With his path lit by his conjured sunlight, he continued toward Dayna. His stolen handcuffs clinked at his side. If he was right—and T.J. fervently hoped so—these handcuffs would function the same way his magical bonds had done before.

  Filled with raw anticipation, he unsnapped his restraints.

  Standing close enough that his breath caressed her hair, T.J. stopped beside Dayna. The mayhem still continued around them, but he didn’t care. His thoughts were filled with only one thing: making Dayna his own again…now and forever.

  With a final flourish, T.J. conjured a field of wildflowers. Under his direction, the flowers popped up across the ballroom, following in the same path his footsteps had. Next T.J. made a few magical blooms spring up near Dayna’s feet.

  With a startled exclamation, Dayna looked down. Then she spun around, spotting him at last. Her smile broadened, more beautiful than the wildflowers and twice as magical.

  With an answering grin, T.J. brandished his handcuffs. “Did you really think I wouldn’t track you down and bring you in?”

  “Well…Not for a minute. You’re an excellent tracer.”

  “I’m even better at loving you. That’s why I’m here.”

  “Okay then. I surrender. Make it official.” Solemnly, she raised both her wrists. “You know I’m yours…now and forever.”

  Caught beneath her enchanting smile, T.J. dropped his handcuffs. He didn’t need them anymore. Instead, he pulled Dayna into his arms, then brought his mouth to hers. Amid the chaos of the ballroom, his senses fill
ed with sulfur and noise, T.J. kissed his bonded witch with all the passion in his heart.

  Dayna leaned back. “I love you, too.” Leaning companionably against him, she whispered his name—his true name—in his ear.

  Startled, T.J. reared back. “How did you do that?”

  “I can’t explain it.” Happily, Dayna shrugged. “It just came to me—sort of like Garmin’s clairvoyance. It’s a good name, though. I don’t know why you keep it a secret from everyone.”

  T.J. grumbled in disagreement…but he couldn’t resist smiling. It was good to hear her call him by his true name.

  “My ability to do that is probably similar to your ability to magik these wildflowers.” Nodding at the floor, Dayna pointed. “Did you notice they’re unpixilated?”

  T.J. stared. To his surprise, the flowers were solid.

  “Apparently, we’re awesome apart…but we’re incredible together.” Dayna gave him an earnest look. “I’m so sorry, T.J. I promise I’ll never doubt you again. I never meant to hurt you.”

  Urgently, T.J. kissed her again. “I’m sorry, too.”

  “The thing is, there was a lot I didn’t know, and—” Dayna broke off and peered at her arm. “Hey. My arm prickles.”

  “Mine, too.” Curiously, T.J. looked down. Then he looked at Dayna’s arm. Just below her shoulder, something was happening.

  “It’s a tattoo!” Dayna stared at it. As they watched, a golden Gila monster formed above her biceps. With a distinct flourish, it ended its creation with a showy glow. “Look!”

  “It’s my birthright mark tattoo.” Awestruck, T.J. watched as an identical symbol came to life on his arm. The golden Gila monster offered a swish of its tail, then settled into place, satisfied at last. “I think this means we’re bonded forever.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Dayna kissed him again. Teasingly, she said his true name—again and again and again. “I love you.”

  Feeling exactly the same way, T.J. smiled. “Life in a fully realized bonded pair isn’t easy,” he warned. “First, there’s all the unstoppable love. Then there’s the new and improved magic. Then there’s the legendary, mind-blowing sex to reckon with—”

  “Lead me to it.” With an eager growl, Dayna rose on her tiptoes. This time, the words she whispered in T.J.’s ear had nothing to do with his true name…and everything to do with driving him crazy. Drawing back, his bonded witch arched her brow in a naughty way. “Are you up for it? I’m a fully licensed bonded witch now. I’m going to be a lot to handle.”

  “I’m a compound Patayan and warlock, fully in love and ready for action.” With a lingering kiss, T.J. pulled Dayna closer. Outside, the Covenhaven Hallowe’en Festival continued in all its noisy frivolity, its attendees blissfully unaware of how close they’d come to having their lives changed forever. “I’m pretty sure you just saved the world. I think you should be rewarded for that.” T.J. gave Dayna his most wicked grin. “It turns out, I’m perfectly equipped for that job. So let’s go.”

  With a satisfied smile, Dayna accepted his hand. Branded by their matching tattoos, she and T.J. headed for the door. This time they were bonded by choice and effort instead of magical fate. This time, they were ready to take on the world they’d saved. This time, they had a lot of love to guide the way…

  …and a little bit of magic, too. Now and forever.

  Dear Reader,

  I’m so excited to bring you My Favorite Witch! This was a different kind of story for me, and it’s taken my writing in a few new directions. I really appreciate your coming along for the ride. I did my best to bring you a world you would enjoy and characters you could believe in…and I had a lot of fun along the way! I truly hope you did too.

  Don’t forget to visit my Web site at www.lisaplumley.com, where you can read free first-chapter excerpts from all my books, sign up for my reader newsletter or new-book reminder service, catch sneak previews of my upcoming books, request special reader freebies, and more. I’m also on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, so please “friend” me on the service of your choice. The links are available on lisaplumley.com.

  As always, I’d love to hear from you! You can send e-mail to lisa@lisaplumley.com or write to me c/o P.O. Box 7105, Chandler, AZ 85246–7105. In the meantime, I’ll be hard at work on my next Zebra Books contemporary romance. I hope you’ll be on the lookout for it!

  Best Wishes,

  Lisa Plumley

  ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

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  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2009 by Lisa Plumley

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

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  ISBN: 1-4201-1275-9