JoJo leaned back in her desk chair and rubbed her head, eyes closed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. T. Laine and Nell will be there ASAP.”
She ended the call and looked between us. “You’re getting your service weapon back,” she said to me.
“Okay, but protoc—”
“Protocol is temporarily canned. We need you on this, and I’m making an executive decision. I don’t know what’s going on, and I want you armed. I also know everyone needs sleep but there’s been a major change at UTMC. Gear up and get back there.”
“Gear up how?” T. Laine asked.
“As in weapons and unis and the psy-meter 2.0. As in any magical tricks, trinkets, and a magic wand. Take a frigging Quidditch broom if you got one. Soul says someone is flying.”
***
“Flying,” T. Laine murmured softly.
We had taken our own vehicles in the hope that when we got done, we’d get to go home, in different directions, though that seemed unlikely as quickly as things were evolving. We had parked one lot over and entered another building, and were taking a pass-through to the back entrance of the paranormal unit, thereby avoiding the press, which was wonderful, and so smart. I had to remember this.
“Freakingflying.” She sounded as amazed and tired as I felt.
“Like a witch on a switch?” I asked, not smiling, but teasing nonetheless.
“Ha-ha. Not.”
Ahead, in the empty hallway, something moved, but when I looked, it was gone. Just the way witches looked when they hid behind an obfuscation spell. “Lainie?”
“I saw,” she murmured. “We might have found our missing witches. Be ready.”
“For—” Power raked along my skull.
I reached for my Glock.
T. Laine threw up her hands. Shouted,“Revelabitur!”
In the same instant someone else shouted,“Dormio!”
A sleep spell slammed through me. My eyes closed. I dropped my weapon with a clatter. Hit my knees. Fell to my belly, face to the hospital floor. I blinked, hearingbooms and shouted foreign words, feeling the scalding abrasion of magic along my flesh. I was the victim of a magical attack. Was lying on the floor. Grit under my cheek and on the palms on my hands. But not enough to do anything, not without the attacker’s blood, and so far she was uninjured. I was useless.
T. Laine stepped across me, one foot to either side, her shoes touching me in a protective stance that kept me within her defensive circle. Something hit the ward she had erected around us, and she shuffled back in reaction, kicking me. I felt the vibration of the curse hitting the wall behind us and through the floor. She fought back. I saw blue and red behind my lids.
T. Laine screamed, “Mortem!” Blackness stole the light. T. Laine fell beside me, heaving breaths, gagging twice, gasping, “Oh God. Oh God,” over and over.
Minutes passed like dreams, and she moved away from me, touching me now and again. Finally she said, “Did I kill you?” When I didn’t reply, she shook me. “You have a pulse.”
When I still didn’t reply, she said,“Suscito.”
Witch energies raced along my nerves and my eyes popped open. “Owwww,” I said.
“Sorry. I didn’t know what witch workings would do to you, but I needed you awake.”
“I’m awake.” I pushed myself to a sitting position. “Did you get her?”
“Not a scratch on her. Next time I’ll have bigger guns.”
I managed a laugh and let the U-18 witch pull me to my feet. The witch energies were zinging through me. I felt pretty good. Like I’d downed a cup of really,reallystrong tea. “I’m good,” I said, surprise in my tone. I looked at the moon witch, who looked like a faint breeze would blow her over. “You okay?”
“Good. Well, good enough. I’ve reported in. Soul is trying to track the energies and follow the witch. We need to check the patients.”
“Yeah. I figured.” I followed T. Laine down the hallway, wondering why I was still alive. Wondering what effect theMortemworking had on the other witch. Because I was pretty suremortemmeantdeathin some foreign language.
