The Most Wanted Witch: Tales of Xest by Donna Augustine

Author:Donna Augustine [Augustine, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-01-14T23:00:00+00:00

20

The weekly meeting, the one that typically put me to sleep or had me hiding in a corner, trying to avoid eye contact, was tonight.

I was wide awake and filled with dread. There’d surely be questions directed my way, and I didn’t have a lot of answers to shoot back, which seemed to be the norm. I’d run short on answers the majority of my life. Why should these people get special treatment?

I made my way downstairs, figuring I’d get there early and find a good corner to hide in. The noise of everyone talking made it obvious I was already late. Seemed everyone else had decided to get there early.

The smell of Gillian’s cocoa wafted through the packed back room as she walked around, topping off mugs and smiling as if she were hosting this affair.

She spotted me at the door and smiled, holding up her pot of cocoa in a silent offering. I raised my hand and declined with a smile. Never thought I’d miss Belinda’s outright dislike of me. At least it had all been laid on the table. Gillian was all fluff and good graces. She might’ve hated my guts or thought of me as a sister, and I wouldn’t know either way.

Hawk was sitting on the edge of the table. He watched me as he sipped cocoa—that was, until Gillian stepped in his line of view, to top off his drink.

Bibbi waved me over, and Zab moved, making a spot in between them. Beyond them was Musso, who was typically hanging near the front of the room, and Oscar, who was always lingering in the back of the room. Bertha was in front of us.

The hand-chosen seat made me feel like I was encased in bubble wrap. Was there a problem I was unaware of? We were all on the same side, I thought. That had been my impression until I’d gotten bodyguards all around, the Xest version of bulletproof glass.

I’d sat by Bibbi because I usually sat by Bibbi. I hadn’t sat here for security reasons. This was not the look I was going for. Everyone probably knew I’d taken a beating recently, and now it looked like I was afraid of my own shadow. I glanced around, but there weren’t any other free seats to be had. It appeared that I’d ride this meeting out in my bubble.

Hawk stood, glancing my way before he walked to the board. This look I was very familiar with. It was his guess you’re not stepping up again glare.

I looked to the board, indicating that was exactly what I was doing. There would be no debates, not even silent ones, because we still weren’t on speaking terms for the most part.

Hawk tilted his head toward the board with the lists of where everyone stood in this fight. “Any updates?”

There were a couple of murmurs but nothing else. Guess it had been a slow week for spying. Looking at the turnout this week, I’d expected a bit more.

Hawk called out a woman in the back of the room.

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