Chapter 3

I slumped against the backseat, shifting to ease the magical handcuffs from cutting into my skin, while the officer drove us deeper into downtown. Guilt squeezed my chest, and it felt as if I couldn't take a deep enough breath. What had I been thinking? How could I have let my spell morph and kill all those people?

Tears pricked my eyes and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. The ASH car rumbled down the road toward headquarters on the other side of town. I couldn't tap into my zenyar with this enchanted metal snapped on my wrists. Here I was, half-witch and half-wizard, and unable to break out of confinement. Headquarters would book me, find a lawyer for me if I didn't have one, and set a date for my trial. Somehow I would have to convince the judges of my innocence. What if they ruled it as involuntary murder? Sure, it was an accident and I had been defending myself, but I still killed all those people. Sorrow swam in my stomach and I swallowed back the bile that burned the back of my throat.

How was I going to get out of this mess?

If my baton hadn't been confiscated, I could've merged both halves of my magic and escape that way. But that was like mixing lightning and oil and napalm. They just didn't play well together and honestly, I had no idea if I'd survive it, much less whether it would level the entire city to a crater. Which is what my mother told me would happen if I ever let the swirling zenyar inside me come together.

The last time a witchard had done that was 50,000 years ago near Winslow, Arizona. It had wiped out a metropolis city, leaving a hole two miles across and over five hundred feet deep. Some people said it was a meteor, but I knew the truth. My folks had taken a trip out there when I was ten, before puberty struck me, and the remains of zenyar even thousands of years later itched along my skin. Feeling that sticky Black Death crawling through the dirt helped me keep my magic separate inside me during the chemical and biological changes during my teens. Because I didn't want to cause that kind of damage nor feel that kind of darkness and evil again.

The ASH vehicle jerked to a stop, and I slid forward, nearly crashing into the clear plastic divider.

“Watch it,” I grumbled.

The stern-faced officer didn't even blink. “What's it matter to you? As soon as the council finds out what you've done, you would be lucky if you can get a job scrubbing toilets much less having any zenyar to float a dust bunny.”

He laughed at his own joke, and I kicked his seat while he gunned the engine and we tore down the road.

“It wasn't me!” Goddess why would no one listen? I had to get out of this and return to the scene before the Terin's residue was gone. With it, I might figure out what went wrong and not have it happen again when I caught the bitch's grandson. “A Terin trapped me and my zenyar backlashed.”

“Bullshit!” He jerked the wheel, and I went sailing into the side door. “Never heard of a Terin and nothing but your tainted dual magic as a witchard could do what happened back there. Keep this up and the judges will send your ass to the electric chair.”

And I bet the guy would happily flip the switch and fry me. Let him try. The execution method had safeguards to control the most powerful witch or wizard so they wouldn't have to worry about my magic spiraling out of control.

We swerved onto the freeway, and I sat back against the seat. No way would this guy believe anything I said, but I had to convince the three judges who would rule during my trial. What if there were more Terins out there, sucking up magic users? At best, they were a magical parasite. At worst, if someone didn't get away like I had, how many more people would die in the process since no one seemed to believe Terins existed? Had all others before me not been so lucky and died?

We pulled into ASH headquarters, a blue and gray warehouse building. The officer parked, opened my door, and hauled me out of the car. He shoved me up the ramp and inside.

“Hey, I can walk on my own.” I jerked out of his grasp, but he snatched me back, his grip squeezing my arm harder this time. “I've got these,” I held up my cuffed hands. “Can't go anywhere with these clunky things.”

“Not gonna risk you trying to escape.” He led me to a long counter where several officers checked people in.

My handcuffs, well, one of them, was removed so I could be fingerprinted, and then it clicked back into place immediately afterward. My mug shot was taken, and I was given a nice bright blue jumpsuit.

“When can I speak to my lawyer?” Not that I even knew one, but figured in this situation, exaggerations were better than the truth.

“Sure, we'll call your lawyer for you while you clean up and dress in your new uniform.” A thin officer with an eye patch smiled, but her gaze said she'd rather rip my heart out.

I was pushed and prodded along with six other women into a public shower area.

“Strip!” the officer belched.

A hose blasted us with soapy water. I shivered, the cold making my bones hurt. Dressed in the baggy jumpsuit, I was escorted to a cell.

“Hey, wait, I didn't get my phone call.”

A hand jammed against my back, knocking me forward inside my jail. I leaped up and charged to the opening, but patch gal slammed the cage shut, nearly slicing my nose off with it.

“Enjoy your stay.” She grinned and walked off.

“Hey!” I banged the cage and a bolt of electricity zapped me for my trouble. Figures they'd put me in a magical cage. The bars were enriched with all types of zenyar to prevent anyone from using their magic to escape. Damn it, I was innocent. No way would I have done what I'd done if I'd known it would cost others their lives. And now I was facing trial, where they might just decide I was too dangerous not to kill. I shook from a mixture of rage and fear, and I sat down on the metal-framed bed. My cell was four by four feet. A threadbare cot that smelled of urine and vomit shared the space with me. Two other cells connected to mine stood empty.

I tapped my bare heels while I ran a hand over my face. Somehow I had to put this right. Not just my arrest, but I had to fight for justice for the victims' families.

A short time later, Eye Patch strolled in carrying chains with two sets of handcuffs.

“Sorry, I'm not into kinky things like that. And you're not my type.”

“Time for your trial.” She rattled the leg irons at me.

“What?” I stood and clenched my fists. “No! I didn't get my goddamn phone call.”

She whistled and an officer that looked like a shaved white gorilla marched forward. Patch unlocked the door with an expression like a kid who has just been told to smash all the glass in a China shop for a prize.

I squared my shoulders and lifted my fists. “I'm not going anywhere with you until I've spoken with my lawyer.”

Gorilla man grabbed me. His steel grip locked my arms at my sides. I kicked his shins as hard as I could, but with bare feet, I only succeeded in bruising my heels.

“I'm going to enjoy watching them fry you,” Patch whispered in my ear and I tried to knee her, but she snagged my ankle instead. I kicked, squirming to get away, but she fastened the metal around one leg then the other. “Give me one of her arms.”

With a grunt, Gorilla spun me, wrenching one of my arms out. The cuff clicked into place.

“Me and my lawyer will sue everyone here. I have rights!” Despite my struggling, my last free hand was cuffed. A chain connected the leg irons on my ankles with my wrists. It was spelled so that not only wouldn't my magic work, but I couldn't physically move my arms or legs unless instructed by the officers the chair was attuned to.

“Let's go, witchard.” Gorilla man shoved a hand against my back and I stumbled forward.

Dread coiled in my stomach. Would they bypass the council like they had my phone call, and electrocute me without any trial?

As we walked down a cemented hallway, I hunted for a way to escape. We turned down a dark corridor and my nerves went into overdrive. “Listen, we can talk about this. I won't tell anyone what you've done. Back in my cell, we can have a nice laugh while you let me ring my—”

An eeriness flickered over my skin, like spider webs brushing across my flesh… everywhere.

“Shut up and keep moving,” Patches barked.

The chains forced me forward, controlling my steps, and I shuffled against the tethered restraints.

Gorilla opened a steel door that was at least three inches thick.

Darkness lay beyond and there weren't any windows. Fuck! This must be where the executions take place.

Not being able to do anything else, I yelled, “No! I haven't seen the council! Help me.” My insides twisted as I fought not to move into where I made out the silver gleam of a chair in the middle of the room. It was made of silver, so even shifters wouldn't be able to change and escape.

Wires poked down from the ceiling. Straps hung from the chair, ready to fasten the head, neck, chest, arms, and legs together while the electricity and wizard lightning fried a person so bad that even their mother wouldn't recognize the charred remains. My throat tightened at the thought.

“If you kill me then I will haunt you in this life and every damn resurrected one you both have,” I seethed. But my heart pounded so loudly that I thought my body would save them the trouble by giving me a heart attack. No such luck though as they dragged me toward my execution. I screamed. This wasn't my time to die.