Read Online Electric Heat by Stacey Brutger - Free Book Online Page A

bad?
    Raven ignored everyone else and studied the problem. The
ward was clever, created to bar anyone from entering or exiting. But if the magic’s
purpose was to consume power, why not allow others to cross over and devour
them as well?
    She was missing something.
    “I didn’t burn.” She stepped closer to the ward. “It was
created to keep out witches.”
    Raven tugged at her power, urging it to rise.
    Nothing.
    Durant had warned her to never try altering an active spell,
it could have very nasty side effects, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t play
with it a bit.
    Spells were just another form of electricity. This was her
milieu. She should be able to manipulate it easily enough.
    No one stopped her when she lifted her hands and stepped
forward. The invisible wall was strung across the doorjamb and encased the room,
making it impossible for anyone to punch through the wall to get inside. Static
rose under her touch as she pushed closer. If she concentrated hard enough, she
could see the individual threads of energy crisscross each other like they had
been knitted together. She just needed to pull a few strings and create a large
enough opening for her to sneak through.
    She had to be fast. She had only one shot to get it right. She
might be able to alter the magic, but once she released her hold, the ward
would instinctively snap back to its natural form and become stronger than
ever, if not downright impenetrable.
    Energy crackled while she pulled and shoved.
    She was sweating by the time she stepped over the threshold.
What remained of the ward clung to her like a caress, purring in welcome. Its
reaction, as if it were a living thing, creeped her out.
    The closer she got to the woman, the thicker the magic became.
    Only there was something wrong with it.
    It was wild and dangerous and nearly uncontrollable. Kind of
like the boogeyman in its relentless pursuit of prey. It wasn’t something she
could touch, there was nothing she could see, but the threat was all too real.
And like the boogeyman, she couldn’t catch it, not until it was too late, and
she was left facing a killer with no way to protect herself.
    She had felt something similar once before…in her house when
someone tried and almost succeeded in killing a young man under her protection.
    She knelt by the witch, but the woman ignored her,
continuing to scratch the floor. Her nails were broken to the quick, her
fingertips bloody, torn stubs as she tried to drag herself toward safety. The
blood had dried, the flesh beneath so shriveled it resembled jerky.
    It made no sense. Help had arrived. Why ignore it?
    Raven turned and studied the door.
    Everything appeared normal.
    Unless she wasn’t trying to reach the door.
    Raven lunged forward and tore away the rug. Etched underneath
was a series of symbols and lines, organized in three rows like a language of
sorts.
    The constant click and scrape of fingers against the floor
had finally stopped. The witch tried to speak, but the sound was more of a
gurgle than anything intelligible.
    Raven studied the mummified corpse, a little unnerved by the
yellowed-jaundice eyes staring back at her. The bloodied fingered creaked as the
witch pointed, the act of straightening her clawed finger snapping the bones.
    Raven followed the bony finger to the door and finally
understood.
    The symbols were the wards.
    Raven reached over to swipe away the words, then hesitated.
If she ripped down the wards, the magic would no longer be contained. It would
spill into the other room and kill everyone with even a hint of magic.
    She slowly withdrew her hand.
    No, she had to stop the magic first. A rattle came from the
witch’s chest, and Raven realized she was laughing.
    “I’m going to have to touch you.” Ignoring the nausea
churning in her gut, Raven hesitantly placed her hand on the woman’s arm. The dying
witch’s skin was paper-thin and tore at even the lightest brush of her
fingertips. The witch shuddered. At first,