It’s neither late nor early, but on the cusp of a time when animal or human brains cannot ascertain what they should be doing, so they become inert. Weak. Vulnerable. I knew that was when he would appear, and I was right. Predators share methods if not reasons, so it was easy for me to track the shadow that moved without sound across the chilled grass of the manicured lawn before me.
It looked like a man. I took in certain peculiar traits from his silhouette alone; there was a roll to his gait, he had had powerful, columnar legs, and he wasn’t tall. A broad chest and burly shoulders molded him as a person of immense strength. The moon cast shadows on the planes of his face, and his eyes lurked as mere glimmers in shadowed nooks beneath a strong brow. His silence was total; his motion, predatory. I knew then he was no man, but I reached that critical decision to let my spell speak first in order to subdue him. If I could.
I waved a negligent hand at him and let my spell smash into his feet, flipping him up and over in a wrenching arc. Before he could move, I stood, holding one hand outward, charms tinkling together in the light of the moon. “If you wish to live, you will stay still.” My voice was cold. My anger was not.
To my utter surprise, he obeyed, even going so far as raising one shoulder in a tiny shrug, which was a feat given his bulging muscles. I could see that he was deeply tanned, and his teeth leapt out at me like mirthful beacons. He was smiling.
“I choose to obey.” His voice was light, nearly mocking, and completely without accent, save a sing-song quality to his speech that told me he knew other languages. They were old tongues, if I made my mark.
“That’s good. Stay seated, but get comfortable. If you even twitch, I’ll set you ablaze. If you make a move, there won’t be anything left to burn. Got it?” I asked.
He folded his legs neatly as an answer, and waited. After I cocked my head to examine him thoroughly, I asked him, “Who are you?”
The shark tooth necklace was tight around his neck. It moved up and down slightly with his breathing. In the dim light, I could see it well enough to know this was certainly the man Amy described to me earlier.
“You could not pronounce my name,” he said, brimming with confidence. Names are powerful things. His sidestep of my acquiring some power over him was deft, but not unnoticed. I took his glib assumption of my inability to speak complex words as a sign of overconfidence. Fine by me, I decided. If he chose to regard me as weak, I’d exploit that supposition at every turn. Witches are sneaky that way; we use every little advantage and then some.
“What shall I call you, then?” I persisted.
“Philip. That will do. And you are?” He raised his brows at me over a smile. He was rather cocksure for a man staring at a ring of charms loaded with enough magic to burn down the forest.
I waited to respond, just to let it be known I was in charge. Interrogation is in the details. “Why did you scare the girl today, Philip?” I was going to ask one question at a time, just to judge his answers.
He flicked long fingers dismissively. “Boredom.”
When it became obvious he wasn’t going to say anything else, I shook my head in a rueful twist, my lips pulled sardonically to the side. His eyes narrowed as he began to process what I was doing.
“Philip, I understand that we don’t know one another. I can also grasp that you’re an archaic pig who thinks women can’t say big, scary, polysyllabic words like your name. Are you with me so far?” I asked, and his shoulders tightened at my flippant tone.
“Perhaps I did not wish for you to know my name.” His expression grew mulish, casting more shadows on his face in the rare light of the stars.
“That isn’t really relevant, Philip. You see, you’re on my family lands. You’re clearly inhuman, and you assaulted a child today,” I began, but he interrupted me heatedly.
“I did not
It looked like a man. I took in certain peculiar traits from his silhouette alone; there was a roll to his gait, he had had powerful, columnar legs, and he wasn’t tall. A broad chest and burly shoulders molded him as a person of immense strength. The moon cast shadows on the planes of his face, and his eyes lurked as mere glimmers in shadowed nooks beneath a strong brow. His silence was total; his motion, predatory. I knew then he was no man, but I reached that critical decision to let my spell speak first in order to subdue him. If I could.
I waved a negligent hand at him and let my spell smash into his feet, flipping him up and over in a wrenching arc. Before he could move, I stood, holding one hand outward, charms tinkling together in the light of the moon. “If you wish to live, you will stay still.” My voice was cold. My anger was not.
To my utter surprise, he obeyed, even going so far as raising one shoulder in a tiny shrug, which was a feat given his bulging muscles. I could see that he was deeply tanned, and his teeth leapt out at me like mirthful beacons. He was smiling.
“I choose to obey.” His voice was light, nearly mocking, and completely without accent, save a sing-song quality to his speech that told me he knew other languages. They were old tongues, if I made my mark.
“That’s good. Stay seated, but get comfortable. If you even twitch, I’ll set you ablaze. If you make a move, there won’t be anything left to burn. Got it?” I asked.
He folded his legs neatly as an answer, and waited. After I cocked my head to examine him thoroughly, I asked him, “Who are you?”
The shark tooth necklace was tight around his neck. It moved up and down slightly with his breathing. In the dim light, I could see it well enough to know this was certainly the man Amy described to me earlier.
“You could not pronounce my name,” he said, brimming with confidence. Names are powerful things. His sidestep of my acquiring some power over him was deft, but not unnoticed. I took his glib assumption of my inability to speak complex words as a sign of overconfidence. Fine by me, I decided. If he chose to regard me as weak, I’d exploit that supposition at every turn. Witches are sneaky that way; we use every little advantage and then some.
“What shall I call you, then?” I persisted.
“Philip. That will do. And you are?” He raised his brows at me over a smile. He was rather cocksure for a man staring at a ring of charms loaded with enough magic to burn down the forest.
I waited to respond, just to let it be known I was in charge. Interrogation is in the details. “Why did you scare the girl today, Philip?” I was going to ask one question at a time, just to judge his answers.
He flicked long fingers dismissively. “Boredom.”
When it became obvious he wasn’t going to say anything else, I shook my head in a rueful twist, my lips pulled sardonically to the side. His eyes narrowed as he began to process what I was doing.
“Philip, I understand that we don’t know one another. I can also grasp that you’re an archaic pig who thinks women can’t say big, scary, polysyllabic words like your name. Are you with me so far?” I asked, and his shoulders tightened at my flippant tone.
“Perhaps I did not wish for you to know my name.” His expression grew mulish, casting more shadows on his face in the rare light of the stars.
“That isn’t really relevant, Philip. You see, you’re on my family lands. You’re clearly inhuman, and you assaulted a child today,” I began, but he interrupted me heatedly.
“I did not
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