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Authors: Elizabeth Lapthorne
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over him,
but the reality appeared rather different to what he had imagined.
Not to mention that he was damn fond of Kate and had no
desire to see his witch fight anyone for him. Now, if chocolate fudge
sauce or massage oils of some description were brought into play, he would know he was unconscious and dreaming.
“Who are you?” Kate asked. The blonde grinned and shrugged a
shoulder disarmingly.
“Does it matter?” she replied cheekily. Kate shook her head,
her red ponytail swishing and capturing Josh’s attention like a wonderful shiny
thing created purely for his pleasure.
“I like your hair, Kate,” Josh slurred, the words sounding
more like “Eeeye ike orr aire”.
Kate appeared to focus internally for a moment and Josh
worried she would cause herself damage by trying to summon another lightning
charge too quickly. When one drew too hard too fast on their magic, it was
possible to burn out, a state requiring much rest and recovery—if indeed more
permanent damage was not caused.
Seeming to realize she didn’t have another charge currently
within her, Kate pushed Joshua farther behind her and nudged him closer to the
busy main street. Josh desperately wanted to help, to fight this skinny blonde
witch—after all, she was a slender thing, she couldn’t possibly be too
difficult to control—but once again Kate took matters into her own hands.
“Fire!” she cried shrilly. Warm hands wrapped around Josh’s
upper arm as Kate hustled him without turning her back to the blonde. “Someone
call the fire department—there’s smoke coming from that restaurant!”
People paused at the entrance and peered down the small
street, curiosity piqued by Kate’s screams. The blonde witch’s eyebrows rose
and she nodded her head curtly in silent acknowledgement of the hit. Kate
shoved Josh back into the growing crowd and a moment later they were swallowed
up by the press of people as Kate half-led, half-dragged Josh back to their
car.
Kate let go of Josh’s arm as she hastily inserted the key
into the passenger side door lock. Josh found his legs none too steady and he
held on to the hood of the car to keep himself from face-planting onto the side
walk.
“Wuz ’mazing,” he complimented Kate woozily, his whole body
seeming to shut down on him. Kate wrenched open the door and all but threw Josh
into the seat. He struggled to sit upright—his face seemed drawn almost
magnetically to the dashboard. Kate had started the car and pulled into the
heavy peak-hour traffic, tires squealing, before Josh even realized she had
climbed into the driver’s seat.
“You,” he managed to articulate over-carefully. Kate nodded
and cast a worried glance at him.
“I know,” she replied, not unkindly but still fairly curtly.
“I was amazing. The blonde witch was pretty. We rescued that poor woman those
cretin thugs were using just as bait for us. Joshua, you were injected with a
drug I have no knowledge of. I’m going to take you to a good friend of mine,
someone I can trust. I know you must be terrified but—”
“No!” Josh insisted determinedly, cutting into Kate’s
seeming litany. She peered at him and risked taking one of her hands from the
wheel of the car to feel his forehead in the age-old gesture of checking for
fever. Josh batted her hand away—or rather his mind sent the directive and his
arm didn’t follow.
“Not worried,” he insisted. Josh knew for certain that he
was about to pass out. Either that or puke everything in his stomach up onto
the rug. He felt revoltingly ill. But it was imperative that he get this
message to Kate before he did either. Josh focused in a manner he only ever
needed to when performing an especially tricky magical task.
“I. Trust you, ’ate,” he ground out slowly with agonizing
precision, though even he could hear his words slur. “Not scared. Rrrussssss
ooooo.”
As soon as those final words passed his lips Josh felt as if
he had run a marathon or concluded the
but the reality appeared rather different to what he had imagined.
Not to mention that he was damn fond of Kate and had no
desire to see his witch fight anyone for him. Now, if chocolate fudge
sauce or massage oils of some description were brought into play, he would know he was unconscious and dreaming.
“Who are you?” Kate asked. The blonde grinned and shrugged a
shoulder disarmingly.
“Does it matter?” she replied cheekily. Kate shook her head,
her red ponytail swishing and capturing Josh’s attention like a wonderful shiny
thing created purely for his pleasure.
“I like your hair, Kate,” Josh slurred, the words sounding
more like “Eeeye ike orr aire”.
Kate appeared to focus internally for a moment and Josh
worried she would cause herself damage by trying to summon another lightning
charge too quickly. When one drew too hard too fast on their magic, it was
possible to burn out, a state requiring much rest and recovery—if indeed more
permanent damage was not caused.
Seeming to realize she didn’t have another charge currently
within her, Kate pushed Joshua farther behind her and nudged him closer to the
busy main street. Josh desperately wanted to help, to fight this skinny blonde
witch—after all, she was a slender thing, she couldn’t possibly be too
difficult to control—but once again Kate took matters into her own hands.
“Fire!” she cried shrilly. Warm hands wrapped around Josh’s
upper arm as Kate hustled him without turning her back to the blonde. “Someone
call the fire department—there’s smoke coming from that restaurant!”
People paused at the entrance and peered down the small
street, curiosity piqued by Kate’s screams. The blonde witch’s eyebrows rose
and she nodded her head curtly in silent acknowledgement of the hit. Kate
shoved Josh back into the growing crowd and a moment later they were swallowed
up by the press of people as Kate half-led, half-dragged Josh back to their
car.
Kate let go of Josh’s arm as she hastily inserted the key
into the passenger side door lock. Josh found his legs none too steady and he
held on to the hood of the car to keep himself from face-planting onto the side
walk.
“Wuz ’mazing,” he complimented Kate woozily, his whole body
seeming to shut down on him. Kate wrenched open the door and all but threw Josh
into the seat. He struggled to sit upright—his face seemed drawn almost
magnetically to the dashboard. Kate had started the car and pulled into the
heavy peak-hour traffic, tires squealing, before Josh even realized she had
climbed into the driver’s seat.
“You,” he managed to articulate over-carefully. Kate nodded
and cast a worried glance at him.
“I know,” she replied, not unkindly but still fairly curtly.
“I was amazing. The blonde witch was pretty. We rescued that poor woman those
cretin thugs were using just as bait for us. Joshua, you were injected with a
drug I have no knowledge of. I’m going to take you to a good friend of mine,
someone I can trust. I know you must be terrified but—”
“No!” Josh insisted determinedly, cutting into Kate’s
seeming litany. She peered at him and risked taking one of her hands from the
wheel of the car to feel his forehead in the age-old gesture of checking for
fever. Josh batted her hand away—or rather his mind sent the directive and his
arm didn’t follow.
“Not worried,” he insisted. Josh knew for certain that he
was about to pass out. Either that or puke everything in his stomach up onto
the rug. He felt revoltingly ill. But it was imperative that he get this
message to Kate before he did either. Josh focused in a manner he only ever
needed to when performing an especially tricky magical task.
“I. Trust you, ’ate,” he ground out slowly with agonizing
precision, though even he could hear his words slur. “Not scared. Rrrussssss
ooooo.”
As soon as those final words passed his lips Josh felt as if
he had run a marathon or concluded the
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