Witches in Training (#2 in the Witches Trilogy) [rewrites ongoing]

Chapter Twenty-One: Wings

VERA

THREE DAYS LATER

There are so many eyes watching me. One is cold and calculating. Another is narrowed, scrutinising me. The third pair watches my every move. Yet another looks down on me, full of darkness.

Someone takes hold of my chin and tilts my head first to the right, then to the left, and back again. The last character's dark orbs are fixated on mine, studying me like a specimen. 

"What do you think?" Asks the man.

"She's fine. A brilliant pick."

"You sound doubtful."

"At this time, she may still be hard to bend. Wait a few days when her power has waned."

"You don't sound keen." A lady's voice observes.

"I'm not keen because I'm not sure how well Rachelle's magic will work on a witch. It would be better to get rid of her."

"What a waste of magic."

"Rachelle's touch may give her powers beyond your wildest imaginations. Witches are in a class all by themselves, surpassing the classes of light and dark, you know that."

"She's an ideal recruit."

"But a dangerous one. If you seek to break her sister, then I suggest you find another, more guaranteed way."

"What about the fairy?"

The girl holding me releases my face, her lip curling. "His mind is uncommonly strong. It would have to be, to be able to bend the will of others. You know as well as I do that he can almost fight Rachelle. It would be hard to recruit him."

"Then who do you suggest?" The lady demands, looking cross.

"I would have suggested the ghost." The girl says, sneering, "but you had to kill her."

"She was in the way of a more important target."

"One who got away." The girl scoffs. "The ghost would have been perfect. Vulnerable enough, but with plenty of magical strength."

"It was useless once I took it from her." The man puts in.

"Still, if there was anyone to recruit, it would have been her. Not Vera, not the fairy boy. You set your sights foolishly."

Neither the man nor the lady are pleased by this. "We have her friends as well."

"Those two are just about compensation for the ghost," the girl admits. "They have interesting abilities. It seems you had foresight in your choosing, Parker."

"It was unwise to have Vera and Kieran together."

"I agree wholeheartedly." The girl says. "Which brings me to another point. Kieran-he's an immediate priority. Do whatever you can to find him, but he must be found."

"Of course."

The lady strides up to me and takes off her glove, a white cashmere one that reaches up to her elbows. She caresses the side of my face. "She would make a lovely Exile." She says softly. Her hand has a tattoo on it, a cross with a bullet-shaped hole in the intersection.

"You said the same thing about the fairy." The man snaps, coming up and brushing away her hand. His skin on my bare cheek makes a shock run through me, a thrill of magic.