Wizard in a Witchy World Read Online Free Page B

Maggie was generally good about not doing her business in the house, but it wasn't a hundred percent type of thing. It took a few minutes to unearth the stand and clear a spot on the floor. As I’d learned a few times, a little effort upfront would pay off in the end. Maggie and I were still working on our communication. I could only understand a few things she said, but I didn't need to be a wizard to know she was hungry. She was always hungry.
    "Good to see you, dear," I said, setting the perch next to the table. She fluttered gracefully to it and grabbed on firmly.
    Maggie had been with me since before I'd known I was a wizard. Originally, she'd just followed me, always watching from nearby trees. I'd been freaked out by her behavior at first. Of course, I didn’t realize the big black birds I started to see everywhere I went were all the same raven. It had been Judy Babcock who'd suggested Maggie might be a positive character in my life and that ravens were not some evil omen.
    The last time I’d seen Maggie was in North Carolina. The poor girl had to be hungry after that long trip, but I was prepared. I'd been saving a thick strip of funky smelling beef and tied it to the perch. She bobbed her head half a dozen times in appreciation. I didn’t even wonder anymore how she'd found me. It was just the nature of our bond.
    "What do you think of the new place?" I asked. She understood me, although she ordinarily ignored idle chit-chat. "Thinking about doing a reagents hike early tomorrow. Want to go along?"
    Finding wild sage, sumac, ginger, goldenrod and a dozen other native plants was a good way to fill my cupboards without going broke. I had fond memories of running around the woods with half a dozen semi-clothed, middle-aged women in Judy's coven in search of usable plants. It was one of the few activities I could participate in and I'd enjoyed it immensely.
    As expected, Maggie focused on her strip of meat.
    It had been a crazy night and I was exhausted. I lay back on the couch, picked up my e-reader and tried to remember where I was in the story.
    I awoke to the sound of pounding on my door.
    "Hang on," I growled, trying to focus on the wall clock in the kitchen. One o’clock. I'd only been asleep for a few hours.
    The pounding started again.
    "I said, hang on!"
    I yanked the door open, prepared to give some asshole salesman a good piece of my mind.
    "What… do you want?" I asked. My bluster evaporated as I recognized the woman standing in front of me. It was Red. In person.
    "Mister Felix?" she asked. It sounded more like mee-stir. Cool. I'd always had a thing for accents, but maybe I paid too much attention to that sort of thing.
    "What are you doing here?"
    "I need to talk to you. May I come in?" she asked.
    Water splashed from the hood of her cloak and it dawned on me that it was raining. The weather explained why I'd slept so deeply. As a wizard, my strength was tied to the natural forces around me and rain was a powerful regenerator.
    A hint of her perfume caught me and something else … a wisp of evergreen and clay.
    At this point, I need to admit that I'm not always the sharpest knife in the drawer, especially when it comes to attractive young women with accents.
    "Sure," I said, stepping aside.
    She smiled demurely and reached up. The gesture seemed natural and harmless - that is, until the point when her hand touched my chest. Fire coursed through my body as she lifted, tossed me over a chair, and then jerked me back onto the couch.
    "Shit! What the hell?" I groaned. This girl had a serious attitude problem.
    Red jumped over the chair and placed her knee on my chest, right where her hand had burned me. She shoved her finger in my face.
    "Quiet, Felix. I'm going to ask you some questions and I need you to be truthful with me." Her innocent, doe-eyed persona had completely evaporated - not to mention her accent.
    "Damn it, I was letting you in, wasn't I?" I asked.
    "What were you doing outside Victoria