island. I pulled three more major healing charms out of my bag, activated them, and pressed them to his body as quickly as I could. The dwarf whimpered at the touch of the healing charms to his flesh. I left one charm at the base of his throat, one at his belly button, and the last on his knees.
"Michelle, we need you!" Jerry sounded panicked.
I'd been ignoring the noises behind me while I helped the dwarf, but Jerry's voice reminded me that the dwarf would've lasted a few more minutes. I turned back to the living room, looking at the woman who'd injured the cop for the first time. She was one of the strangest things I'd ever laid eyes on. She had a mohawk of greasy looking black hair, beady black eyes, and her nose and mouth had merged in to something of a beak. To go with her clawed hands, her bare feet had claws rather than toes. She was wearing some strange garment that wrapped around her, but had dislodged in the struggle, leaving her breast bare.
Several valuable seconds passed as I stared at her before noticing her struggle to break out of the two sets of handcuffs on her wrists. Now that I was paying attention, I could feel the magic she was using to break the metal. I sketched runes for metal and strength in the air, willing them to work. For a second they did, then her eyes glowed and I could feel the magic draining from the spells.
"NO!" I put power behind it, reaching forward to put my strength just inside of the metal, but where it wouldn't touch her. She wasn't behaving like a sorceress, but a hedge-practitioner. Sorcerers, or sorceresses, were as powerful as witches. Hedge-practitioners were less powerful, with limited education and abilities. If she couldn't touch the magic she wouldn't be able to break it. The creature struggled for a moment, and then spat at me. I jumped aside. I didn't think that claws were the only alteration that had been made. I quickly tied the spell off, making sure it didn't touch her skin.
"How do we contain her?"
I didn't remember Jerry coming over to me. "I don't think she can get out of those or the special containment cell at the jail. I'd put her in there. I think she's a hedge-practitioner, but from the look of things she's been harvesting energy from people. I doubt she has much power without gathering it in rituals. In a few days, when the energy has drained, she'll be mostly normal. But, if she can inflict pain on anyone, even herself, she'll start to gather power again."
She sagged down between the two police officers hauling her out and I could see the three bullet holes in her torso. "Admittedly, I'm not sure where her vital organs are. She may live, she may die. You have a nullifying cuff right?" A nullifying cuff would counteract any magic she had or could do. For something like her it was the perfect solution.
"Yeah, I don't know why I didn't think of that," Jerry said.
"Because you're freaked out, and most officers keep them in the cars, not on their person. I need to check out the rest of this place. Is there anywhere you want me to start?" I asked.
"Check on the shifters in the back. They should've been able to secure that area and may need help."
I walked past the paramedics working on the dwarf, who was looking less like raw meat, and out the kitchen door into the back yard. It had been fenced in and covered, but I could see where the shifters had ripped through; let's hear it for raw power. The enclosure was lined in cages with all manner of creatures held captive behind their iron bars.
Before I could take it in, one of the shifters walked over and said, "We've already called animal control and they are sending officers. We'd like you to label and spellbind anything that would cause trouble."
"Ok, sure," I said faintly. I took the big stickers he shoved at me on his way out of the yard. Spellbinding was a great way to prevent something from using passive magic, but I didn't have the ability to cut off a hedge-practitioner from their magic without
"Michelle, we need you!" Jerry sounded panicked.
I'd been ignoring the noises behind me while I helped the dwarf, but Jerry's voice reminded me that the dwarf would've lasted a few more minutes. I turned back to the living room, looking at the woman who'd injured the cop for the first time. She was one of the strangest things I'd ever laid eyes on. She had a mohawk of greasy looking black hair, beady black eyes, and her nose and mouth had merged in to something of a beak. To go with her clawed hands, her bare feet had claws rather than toes. She was wearing some strange garment that wrapped around her, but had dislodged in the struggle, leaving her breast bare.
Several valuable seconds passed as I stared at her before noticing her struggle to break out of the two sets of handcuffs on her wrists. Now that I was paying attention, I could feel the magic she was using to break the metal. I sketched runes for metal and strength in the air, willing them to work. For a second they did, then her eyes glowed and I could feel the magic draining from the spells.
"NO!" I put power behind it, reaching forward to put my strength just inside of the metal, but where it wouldn't touch her. She wasn't behaving like a sorceress, but a hedge-practitioner. Sorcerers, or sorceresses, were as powerful as witches. Hedge-practitioners were less powerful, with limited education and abilities. If she couldn't touch the magic she wouldn't be able to break it. The creature struggled for a moment, and then spat at me. I jumped aside. I didn't think that claws were the only alteration that had been made. I quickly tied the spell off, making sure it didn't touch her skin.
"How do we contain her?"
I didn't remember Jerry coming over to me. "I don't think she can get out of those or the special containment cell at the jail. I'd put her in there. I think she's a hedge-practitioner, but from the look of things she's been harvesting energy from people. I doubt she has much power without gathering it in rituals. In a few days, when the energy has drained, she'll be mostly normal. But, if she can inflict pain on anyone, even herself, she'll start to gather power again."
She sagged down between the two police officers hauling her out and I could see the three bullet holes in her torso. "Admittedly, I'm not sure where her vital organs are. She may live, she may die. You have a nullifying cuff right?" A nullifying cuff would counteract any magic she had or could do. For something like her it was the perfect solution.
"Yeah, I don't know why I didn't think of that," Jerry said.
"Because you're freaked out, and most officers keep them in the cars, not on their person. I need to check out the rest of this place. Is there anywhere you want me to start?" I asked.
"Check on the shifters in the back. They should've been able to secure that area and may need help."
I walked past the paramedics working on the dwarf, who was looking less like raw meat, and out the kitchen door into the back yard. It had been fenced in and covered, but I could see where the shifters had ripped through; let's hear it for raw power. The enclosure was lined in cages with all manner of creatures held captive behind their iron bars.
Before I could take it in, one of the shifters walked over and said, "We've already called animal control and they are sending officers. We'd like you to label and spellbind anything that would cause trouble."
"Ok, sure," I said faintly. I took the big stickers he shoved at me on his way out of the yard. Spellbinding was a great way to prevent something from using passive magic, but I didn't have the ability to cut off a hedge-practitioner from their magic without
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