THE TWO WITCHES CIRCLED EACH other, eyes locked on one another like wrestlers seeking an advantage.

Lucas twice tried to stand to get a better vantage point, and both times he collapsed back into the chair, still weak from the debilitative effects of the aborted morlaga spell. He could feel his strength returning, but not nearly fast enough. Finally, he regained enough stamina to locate his pile of clothes near his feet. With as much speed his weakened condition allowed, he pulled his clothes back on.

He eyed Crick’s handgun on the floor not far from where his skinned body still hung suspended in mid-air. If he could just get to it while Morganna was distracted, he might be able to shoot her.

The fact he could so easily entertain the thought of taking a life, shook him. He became a doctor to save lives, not end them. However, the malicious evil which dripped from the witch had already led to the deaths of multiple people…he would have become the coven leader’s next victim without Tressalayne’s intervention. Morganna had to die before she hurt anyone else, especially Tressalayne.

The last look she gave him before going after Morganna chilled him. Her eyes, hard as steel, contained no warmth, no compassion.

The eyes of someone used to violence.

Worse, when she turned away, he caught a glimpse of her amulet…the gem’s color was now an obsidian black.

He shook his head. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore except to protect Tressalayne. He couldn’t let Morganna harm her. If he couldn’t stand, he’d move another way. Falling on his hands and knees, he crawled toward Crick’s gun.

“You fool! You destroyed the chalice, and for what? The love of a mortal man!” Morganna snarled.

A thin smile appeared on Tressalayne’s lips. “Yes, the same man you tried to use the morlaga spell on. For that, I’m going to kill you.”

A harsh laugh erupted from Morganna. “A mere apprentice challenge me? Your fate is sealed! While you lay broken at my feet, your lover will be torn and ripped to pieces before your eyes. The last sight you will see are his lips writhing in agony.”

With a quick flip of her hand, a pulse of green fire shot from her palm at her apprentice. Tressalayne didn’t try to dodge the fiery ball, but instead, raised her hand, caught it, and in one smooth motion, hurled it back at Morganna. The coven leader barely had time to raise her arm and block the sizzling sphere. The explosion of heat and energy staggered Morganna.

Her eyes narrowed. “Learned a trick or two, eh? Good! I haven’t faced a decent challenge in ages.”

Morganna chanted and the air turned bitterly cold, her breath billowing in white clouds. Crystals of frost appeared and formed jagged shards. The coven leader barked a final word, and the spears of ice shot forward at Tressalayne.

Tressalayne twitched a finger, and a circle of fire roared to life before her, the intense heat driving Morganna back. The ice shards passed through the fire and melted, turned into harmless mist. The coven leader, arms raised to shield her eyes from the red-hot glare, gaped at the ease which her apprentice defended herself.

She snapped her fingers, and with a blur of motion, one of the heavy metal chairs flew toward Tressalayne. Without taking her eyes off the coven leader, Tressalayne reached out and caught the chair in midair. It quivered and shook in her grip, the sorcerous power of each witch straining to overcome the other. Finally, Tressalayne wrenched the chair free and launched it at Morganna. It slid along the floor, sparks flying and metal squealing. Unable to react in time, the chair bowled over the coven leader, and she crashed to the concrete.

Hissing in pain, Morganna leaped up. Fear and uncertainty filled her eyes. “Where-how—”

“You taught me well.” Tressalayne stepped toward Morganna, her tread light and confident.

“For example, the most important lesson I learned was to conceal my true abilities. Better to be thought a green apprentice than an ambitious one…and a threat to your leadership of the coven.”

Morganna backed up. Her eyes darted back and forth. “Your dalliance with the mortal has driven you mad. I mentored you, nurtured you, kept you from harm. I saved your life from Lockstone!”

“Did you? I wonder what poor Argatha would have to say about that? You sacrificed her so you could escape. Only opportunity and circumstance prevented my life from being given as well!”

Tressalayne stopped, lips set in a hard line. “Once, like me, you were an apprentice witch. What happened to your mistress, your coven leader? Did you conceal your talent and bide your time? Did you nurture your mistress’s trust and when the time was right, betray her?”

Tressalayne leaped forward. The sudden movement caught Morganna off guard. Her arm shot forward and caught Morganna by the throat. She lifted her into the air while Morganna squirmed and fought. Sparks flew, the air thick with ozone, their magic’s competing for supremacy.

“You see, I know the answers to all those questions. In your haste to return my memory, you made a mistake. Only a small one to be sure, but enough to make things clear to me. Your spell restored my memory, but included parts of yours as well. I saw the sleep draught you slipped your mistress, and heard the crack of her neck, broken by your own hands. I saw faces of apprentice witches who came before me, killed because you feared their skill might one day challenge your supremacy.”

Tressalayne shook Morganna and tightened her grip. “And I saw my own face in your memories, the next apprentice to be disposed of. Seems I didn’t conceal my Talent nearly well enough.”

Tressalayne released Morganna, and she fell to the floor. The coven leader coughed and gagged, her breath wheezing gasps.

Tressalayne stood over her. “Despite all the blood and betrayal, your worst offense was to deny me any opportunity to experience love, to never know the feel of being held and cherished. You withheld from me the most precious of all life’s gifts! But I’ll take solace when I kill you. They’ll be no one to mourn your death, no one to carry on your memory. You will be forgotten, your remains turned to dust and scattered in the wind. It will be like you never existed. A fitting end don’t you think?”

“Weakness!” Morganna spat. “Love makes you weak! Do you think I care one shit about legacy? To survive, a witch must be merciless and strong. We take what we need, kill those who oppose us, and use the mortals as we see fit. It is a grand life spoiled only by emotion. WE DON’T NEED LOVE!”

Morganna rolled away and jumped to her feet. A dagger appeared in her hand and she flipped it at Tressalayne. It sped toward her throat in a blur of motion.

And passed harmlessly through the apprentice witch.

Morganna, mouth agape, watched Tressalayne’s image waver and disappear. Strong hands suddenly appeared at her back, lifted the coven leader, and tossed her through the air. With a crunch, she struck the wall, bounced off, and slid to the ground. Stunned, she watched Tressalayne approach.

“Dissipation spell. Don’t you remember? You said only a witch of great power and experience could cast the spell.”

Tressalayne looked down at Morganna. “I mastered dissipation long ago…not that I care about my prowess any more.” She looked back at Lucas, and her eyes softened. “My witching days are over…but not before your life ends.”

Morganna began to sob and crawl away. “No, don’t kill me! I’ll submit, do anything you ask. Please don’t kill me!”

The last thing she expected to hear was the implacable coven leader beg for her life. Distracted, Tressalayne missed Morganna turn away and palm an object. With a furtive sleight of hand, she raised a vial to her lips, and with a fluid motion, downed the contents. Moments later, her body rippled and swelled, the flesh pink and vibrant. Triumphant, Morganna leaped to her feet, younger and more vigorous.

The coven leader flipped the empty vial so it landed at Tressalayne’s feet. “The last of the morlaga potion. You should have just killed me, but instead you droned on about love.”

Morganna laced her fingers together and cracked her knuckles. “Now, dearie, where were we?”