Page 34 (1/2)

Chapter One

Sofa time!

I pressed down on the accelerator to speed past the group of woantly raised in the air in an attes on my phone that were supposed to alert h today to pay my bills so I was onself-employed I can clock off when I want and, darn it, that’s exactly what I was going to do

I turned up the ht roads I could be hoiving myself whiplash in the process

A red-robed witch was standing at the corner up ahead Hello… I pulled up alongside her and rolled down the‘Where to?’

‘I thought you weren’t going to stop,’ she said with surprise ‘I’ to the Order headquarters’ She looked atnise me, but I wasn’t anti-witch Far fros are different these days

‘Excellent!’ I beamed ‘Hop in’

She claetting caught in the door She tugged at theed to pull them inside with her and we took off

‘It’s a bit late, isn’t it?’ I enquired

She gazed at me blankly in the rear-vie ‘Huh?’

‘For work,’ I said helpfully ‘It’s a bit late for work’

She scratched at her arm ‘I’m on call’ There was a pause ‘It’s a confidential matter’

I alive two hoots why she was on her way to work at this hour Nonsensically, the Order still keeps its machinations to itself as much as it possibly can; if they want to hide away fro to make conversation Frankly, I prefer thethe effort to discuss the weather or politics or whatever is just a pain in the arse

I took the back roads, avoiding the rush-hour traffic, and dropped her off right in front of Runic Magic Another witch aiting outside and aet in my taxi I pretended not to see him and took off down the ca my eyes peeled as I went

I kneas being silly; perhaps I was even verging towards the obsessive I wasn’t stalking Winter though, I reasoned I just happened to have had a custoo this way It was just coincidence

Perhaps if I told h it would become true

I stopped again, this ti of Arcane Branch Due to the late hour, there weren’tBut if Adeptus Exemptus Raphael Winter, with his lapis-lazuli eyes which could stop a herd of sta work around this hour…

I dru wheel He had his own car He didn’t need a taxi But if he came out, it would be iether very closely last month Very closely

Now that the binding that er required to stay near hier had to ith hi unbidden intoto do with the hot, zippy kick of sheer lust Andnot to think about too much

I’d not seen or heard froreat speed after our rather inebriated visit to the karaoke bar I shouldn’t have cared about that But I did

Another light flicked off inside the building and I held my breath A ait shuffled out of the er ones All of thehtenment certainly demands its pound of flesh

I couldn’t help wondering what they orking on It wasn’t reallydays feeling like those witches obviously did I just wasn’t that kind of person All the sa my flicker of curiosity