Page 84 of Traitor Witch

“What you gonna do, stupid Solar?” He taunts, wrenching the Solar’s head back. “Your temple will disown you if you hurt me.”

I snort, digging the dagger in deeper. “I’m already an exile, you son of a bitch. Try me.”

Transmutation circles start to flare in lime green all around him, and I snort.

“You really want to take the chance on being able to cast anything before I slice off your cock?"

Someone approaches from behind, and Opal pounces from my shoulders, shifting into her larger familiar form in a blast of magic.

Whoever she landed on pisses themselves. The acrid scent overpowering the smells of the market around us.

The asshole lets the Solar go. But instead of running, the other witch dives for the woman on the ground, furiously muttering prayers as she pulls herbs out of a tiny bag at her waist and shoves them between the woman’s clenched teeth.

Almost instantly, the stiffness of the woman’s body eases. Her limbs still. A second later, she starts to blink rapidly, bringing the world into focus.

When she sees the Solar, she flinches backward.

“Get away from me.”

“You’re welcome,” the Solar whispers. “Maybe stay off the fae dust in future?”

The woman ignores her in favour of staring at her husband. “Rodney!”

Her eyes catch on the way I’ve got him backed against a wall.

More specifically, on the dagger I’ve got pressed against his crotch.

“Get away from him, you savage!”

I dig the dagger in a little deeper. “Say thank you to the nice witch who saved your wife’s life first.”

But the man won’t even look at his wife. Doesn’t even seem to care that she’s okay.

No, his eyes are fixed on us witches.

He says nothing. But there's hatred in the stiff lines of his jaw.

I smirk as I remove the dagger, letting the magic I have gathered manifest and push outwards on a near-silent hex.

That smirk turns into a full-blown laugh as his face starts to break out in hideous warts.

And his face isn’t the only place he’s been hit.

There’s a certain satisfaction in delivering divine justice.

The Solar dives for him, obviously trying to heal his new ailment. Before she can reach him, I catch her arm in mine, pulling her away.

“Oh no, you don’t. Modern medicine will fix that, I’m sure.”

The Solar makes a show of some token resistance, but otherwise says nothing as I drag her out of the protective circle that Rysen, Cas, and Opal have created for us and away from the main street.

Opal shrinks as I pass her, leaping back onto my shoulders with a tiny, innocent mew.

“You’re so great at pretending to be a pacifistic Solar.”I can hear the smirk in her voice. “Tell me, oh great one, how do you plan to explain all of that to your pirates?”

“Oh shut up,” I mutter. “Kier knows, anyway…”

But my mind is already calculating. Ilyani is big enough for me to disappear if they decide to leave me here and there are temples so someone here will have a broom.