“It happened just a few hours ago and I had to incinerate a vampire assassin disguised as a giant bat. The girls thought I had killed a real bat. When you arrived, I was taking his ashes to the high school science lab to see if they could find out who sent him.”
“But we just found out about the girls two days ago…” Jezibaba stopped her defense. It was useless. There was only one real explanation for the attacks. “Someone on the Council must be trying to kill them. Whoever it is wants to end the cycle. Without a witch protectoress, the Council of Witches’s combined power would rule the magical world. I can’t let that happen, Professor Smoke. No Council will protect the magical community as me and my predecessors have done—not to mention what could happen to all the humans in our lives.”
She leaned back in her chair. Nathaniel’s gaze turned to her. He was thoughtful for a moment and then nodded in agreement with her rant. She swore internally. Damn. There went her easing into retirement plans while she pretended to babysit.
She nodded back that she accepted his judgment in the matter. The truth did not make her happy—not at all. Now she had no choice but to get involved.
Professor Smoke put an elbow on his desk and leaned forward. “After the insects, I called up my horde and got some of my old guards to come watch over the girls. Dragon warriors are pretending to be janitors, teachers, assistants, and the younger ones are college placed student aides. What they don’t have to pretend is how deadly they are, especially since they’d be immune to shifters and vamps. Whoever is after the girls is in for a big surprise the next time they try something.”
Jezibaba stood because she needed to pace. It helped her think. Nathaniel’s eyebrows rose when she put her hands behind her back. He knew it meant she didn’t trust her hands not to conjure up something to match her darkening mood. The idea of the children being targets went way beyond them being her replacements. They must be truly powerful… which meant they had to be protected until they came into full use of their magic.
She stopped and glared across the room. “Is this why you wanted to take the children and lock them away? You knew they were in trouble, Nathaniel?”
Nathaniel shook his head. “No. Only suspected, M’lady. Being in danger was merely conjecture on my part without any evidence to back it up.”
“Conjecture? You’re the most proficient seer who’s ever lived,” Jezibaba declared sharply. “And we’ve already had this ageist discussion. You and I might be waning in some ways, but trust your magic, old friend. Use every ounce up until it’s really gone. Don’t let self-doubt rob you of a single second.”
She frowned and shook her head when Nathaniel turned back to the window without answering. She hadn’t meant to lecture him in front of an audience. It had just slipped out.
Worry made her tongue sharp and her brain irrational. That hadn’t changed for her in over three hundred years. She’d just learned to work around it. But even her Goddess had given up trying to tame her bossiness.
She would have to do something to apologize to Nathaniel later. Making personal amends when she was wrong was more of a challenge than killing a thousand evil magicals.
Mind returning to the task at hand, she felt Professor Hottie’s gaze on her again and turned to meet it. “With death threats happening, I can’t avoid being involved in all plans for their safety. I want the girls to have their familiars. It is my intention to talk you into this, Professor Smoke. How hard is it going to be?”
His lips twisted into a sexy grimace as he considered it. She’d love nothing more than to bite that lip he was punishing with his very sharp-looking teeth. She’d crawl into his lap, plant her ass over his rising… shitballs. What was wrong with her freaking mind today? Lust never did this to her—never.
“The other children are not going to like the situation,” Damien warned.
Jezibaba shrugged. “Tell them Hildy and Carol earned their familiars because of their progress. We’ll let one or two other exemplary students have them as well. That should lay rumors to rest and give them all a goal worth striving for. This is only a year or two earlier than it is usually done. I will take care of the bestowance.”
Professor Hottie’s beaming smile had her hand coming to her stomach to calm the flutters it evoked in her. She had a feeling she could chant “no dragon” all day long and it would never lessen the power that flash of white teeth would have over her.
“Jezibaba—I think you’d make a damn good teacher,” he said sincerely.
At the praise, she favored him with a beaming smile herself. He leaned forward on his desk, his own smile fading. She knew it was to hide what was happening in his lap and she enjoyed the feeling of getting a little even with him. The wickedness conveyed in her twinkling gaze affected every male she encountered to some degree, but she was thrilled to know Professor Hottie—the off-limits dragon—wasn’t immune to her.
“I’m so glad you think that, Professor Smoke. Because there’s a second part to my plan.”
***
Damien couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he introduced her. All eyes were glued to the mesmerizing witch at his side and he hadn’t had to chastise a single student to get their complete attention focused up front.
“Class, this is the Jezibaba. I’m sure you’ve heard your parents talking about her. She’s started a new education project here at Witchery U and will be one of your teachers for the rest of this academic year. One of her many specialties is magical protection, so you’ll be learning all sorts of ways to protect yourselves in her classes.”
A student raised their hand. Damien sighed and nodded. “Yes, Rory?”
Rory squirmed in his chair, but finally mustered up his courage. “My dad said the Jezibaba turns people into toads when she gets mad at them. Is she allowed to turn us into toads if we’re bad, Professor Smoke?”
“What’s so scary about that, Rory? Hildy does that too when she gets mad at us,” Carol blurted out. “It just doesn’t last long because she’s a magical wimp.”
“I am not a wimp,” Hildy declared. “I just don’t want to hurt people. All I try to do is stop them from making me angrier.”
Jezibaba narrowed her eyes at Carol who shrunk down in her seat under her stare. She turned a smile to the original questioner.
“That’s a very good question, Rory. I suggest you don’t make me angry enough to test the theory and get a personal answer. My spells last quite a bit longer than Hildy’s—like hundreds of years longer.”
Rory’s eyes widened as he nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Jezibaba, ma’am.”
Damien fought back a smile when Jezibaba’s twinkling, amused gaze met his. She shrugged her elegant shoulders.
“I hope my honesty with your students doesn’t offend you, Professor. I used to incarcerate magic abusers. But the jails got full and there was all that overhead to feed the prisoners. There’s so much more room in nature. I find a few days catching flies and croaking as a toad work just as well as a few years spent behind bars,” she explained.
He covered his mouth so the students wouldn’t catch him smiling. He wiped it away before removing his hand, but it was difficult. “Your restraint in my classroom will be appreciated, Jezibaba. We don’t have that many flies around campus,” Damien said gravely.
Jezibaba turned and faced all the frightened stares. “Fear, such as you are feeling about me, is a healthy response. My power is great and yours is not. All strangers with magic require approaching with caution. I’m going to show you some tricks about how to protect yourselves, but today’s not a day for those lessons. Today, four of you whose power has manifested greatly already will receive a first line personal protector. We are assigning familiars a bit earlier than usual.”
Her gaze zeroed back to her questioner. She motioned with a hand. “Come forward, Rory. You’re on my list.”
Rory’s eyes widened in alarm and his classmates drew in a breath as they turned to stare at him. Jezibaba enjoyed knowing he wanted to pee his p
ants, but that wasn’t going to serve her purposes. She didn’t want to spare the time the boy would need to change clothes.
“I promise not to turn you into a toad today. Witches Honor,” Jezibaba said sharply. “Now come here. When a challenge is presented, a confident witch or warlock should never hesitate. In your hesitation, your adversary will have ample time to finish a spell. Disrupt their thinking in any manner possible as you challenge. Can you walk a little faster, boy? I’m aging as you dawdle.”
Damien watched as Rory picked up his pace, but only barely. Finally, the kid stopped about two feet in front of her.
Jezibaba paced around him, turning her head. “Lift your chin,” she ordered, and Rory complied. “Ah, you have a nice long neck. Are you afraid of snakes, Rory?”
“No ma’am—I mean—no Jezibaba ma’am.”
“Good,” she declared and pulled a two foot gold and black snake out of one of her sleeves.
When it hissed at her, she hissed back and spoke to it in a tongue Damien had never heard leave a woman’s mouth. The witch was obviously well versed in reptilian languages. He found himself wondering if she spoke dragon.
Smiling she walked to Rory. “Hold out your arm, boy.”
When he did, she placed the snake’s head on his hand. The snake wound slowly around his arm, crawling until it had wrapped itself lightly around the boy’s neck. The snake hissed, its tongue flicking against Rory’s cheek making him giggle. He looked beyond delighted, which delighted her in return.
“After you trust him, get him to bite you. Then you two can share thoughts with each other. His name is Saigon. This is his normal form, but he has others. It costs him greatly to use his magic to shift to them, so he won’t change forms until there is dire need. You must care for Saigon as you would yourself, Rory. He will protect you with his very life. Be worthy of the sacrifice or no other familiars will have anything to do with you in the future.”
“Yes, ma’am—I mean, I will—Jezibaba ma’am. I like him. He’s really cool.”
“I know. Now take him back with you to your seat. He must stay with you at all times. You can wear him like a scarf, but sometimes he likes to sleep inside your clothes where it’s warm. He’ll most likely leave you at night to hunt, but he’ll always return by morning.”
Damien grinned when Rory looked up at Jezibaba in adoration, even as she turned him and gave him a shove to get him walking. He felt his giant dragon’s heart squeeze alarmingly within his chest. The woman was a legendary badass. It made her huge efforts to shield these innocents from her true nature all the more impressive.
“Hildy. Come forward,” she called, tucking her hands behind her back.
Braver now because of Rory, Hildy slid from her seat and walked to where she stood. Damien fought back a chuckle when the girl swallowed hard as Jezibaba looked down in her eyes.
“It is very difficult to choose a familiar for someone with your affinity for all Morgana’s creatures, but we’ll do the best we can. I believe I heard you asking Professor Smoke about some special kittens.”
Hildy nodded. “Yes. They come, but they don’t stay long. I see them all the time.”
“I bet they are asking permission to be your familiars—all three. It is very rare to get a group like that. Only special witches get those sorts of followings,” Jezibaba said sharply. “Have you asked them to stay with you?”
Damien snapped to attention when Jezibaba’s gaze darkened. It went across the room to Carol shifting in her seat and frowning. He went on alert when she chastised the girl.
“The kittens are Hildy’s. And they will see you again because you are Hildy’s best friend. So there was no lying in their statements. Get that unworthy thought out of your head before it turns to a darkness you can’t control. Am I being clear, Carol?”
Carol hung her head and nodded.
Jezibaba’s gaze lightened as it came back to Hildy. “Now I wish your future could be different, but it cannot. Natural healers bear a great burden, but they also have a capacity to appreciate joy in a way most creatures don’t. So you might as well have amusing familiars to keep your heart light and a smile on your face. Call them to you, child. Call them like you usually do.”
Damien heard Carol snort, but she sunk into the seat when Jezibaba glared at her for the noise she made. He turned back as Hildy made a face.
“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”
Jezibaba snorted. “Do they actually come for that weak calling? No. Try again, Hildy. Forget all of us. Call them as if we were not present in the room. Do it, girl.”
Hildy frowned and stooped to the floor. She patted it three times, putting her concentration into her palm hitting the cool tile.
“Here. Kitty. Kitty. Kitty.”
Three kittens appeared out of thin air, materializing within reach of her hands. She laughed as she petted them.
“Jezibaba said you can stay with me and be my familiars. I would like that. Please stay.”
Damien’s eyebrows rose when the kittens froze in place and turned their heads to stare at Jezibaba. He smelled large amounts of fear radiating off all three of them. She was glaring at the kittens, one eyebrow raised in question.
“Did you think I didn’t know you keep sneaking out of your confinement? Your vile personal habits best not ever be a part of this child’s life—and I mean ever—or you will all three spend the other seven of your lives living as toads instead of cats. Now promise to serve Hildy during this life you now lead. In exchange, I will lift the remainder of your punishment and restore your powers.”
Damien stood transfixed as the kittens trotted over to the Jezibaba, wound themselves around her ankles one at a time, and then trotted back to Hildy and did the same to her.
“Good. It is done then,” Jezibaba declared. “Hildy, you don’t have to pat the ground anymore. They’ll come for any call you make. Kittens are a little more distracting than a snake or a grown cat though during school hours. I would suggest you let them blink out and come to you only when you want them around.”
Hildy’s head bobbed fiercely. “Yes, Jezibaba. Thank you. They’re wonderful. I will take the best of care of them.”
“I know you will. You are welcome, child. Now say goodbye to them and return to your seat.”
Hildy finger waved and said bye. She nearly skipped to her seat when the kittens disappeared. Her smile was radiant. It was the happiest Damien had ever seen her be.
Jezibaba called up a girl named Faith and gave her an older cat with one green eye and one blue. The cat trotted back to the seat with the girl and crawled under the desk to curl into a ball.
Then Jezibaba fisted her hands on her hips. “Carol—get up here. Don’t dawdle. I need to be somewhere else shortly.”
Looking anything but happy to be summoned so sternly, Carol trudged up to stand in front of Jezibaba lifting her chin and glaring back. Damien covered his mouth, this time to hide a grimace at the girl’s show of disrespect. He was amazed when Jezibaba favored the girl with a wicked, beaming smile. To him, it was far more frightening, and Carol seemed to know it, but the kid was holding her own.
“Professor Smoke, please open the window. I need to call Carol’s familiar to her,” Jezibaba ordered.
She turned and smiled down at the girl as she gave a long suffering sigh.
“You like using your power against people. It makes you feel strong and I think you revel too much in that feeling. By the laws of the Goddess, I could lock you away for a hundred years even at your young age, but you’d just grow into a bitter martyr for evil. I can’t allow that to happen to you because you’re far too powerful a witch to not be serving the magical community.”
Jezibaba wrestled her gaze away and walked in a circle around the child, chanting to constrain the girl from reacting when her familiar arrived. There was absolute silence in the room, but she could feel Hildy’s worried gaze on them both. Jezibaba couldn’t afford to comfort the other of her prospects, so she didn’t bother to even gla
nce her way. What was most important was that this mirror of her know she always meant exactly what she said.
“Carol, I’m assigning you a special guardian who will teach you right and wrong. He will judge your abuses, and if he finds you guilty, your familiar will mirror your spell back to you. Empathy is a very effective teaching tool. I can guarantee you will learn your lessons… just like I did under his tutelage. After you have sufficiently progressed in a few years, then you will be free to choose your own familiar. In the meantime, you will use mine.”
Carol looked to the window in fear.
Jezibaba leaned down. “What kind of beast do you think my familiar is, child?” she whispered in her most stern voice, raising goosebumps on the girl’s arms. “He is a powerful creature of many forms. Let’s see what he chooses to show you first, shall we?”
Jezibaba stood tall and held out her arms. She put all the power she had into her voice, mostly for dramatic effect in this instance, but she knew her familiar would understand her reasons.
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