Bloodmagic (Blood Destiny 2) by Helen Harper Page A

mouth dropped open and I stared at the smoking pile.  A sweet acrid smell of burnt paper filled the store.
    “Uh, Maggie, I don’t want to be put behind bars for accidentally combusting someone who tries to cop a feel.”  I had enough trouble controlling my actions when I was angry as it was.  I didn’t need the power of actual fire to tempt me.
    I turned back to look at her.  The small woman’s face was pure white and she stared at me in horror.  Her hands were up in some kind of ‘ward off all evil’ position.  “What the hell are you?” she hissed through gritted teeth.
     

Chapter Nine
     
    I stared at Maggie in confusion and more than a little trepidation.  “Umm…what do you mean?  Was that not supposed to happen?”
    She backed away from me as if I was carrying some terribly contagious disease, the twinkle in her eye now all but completely absent.
    “Maggie?”  Now I was afraid.  Fuck it, this must be some kind of Draco Wyr spin off.  The only thing I could do would be to plead abject ignorance.  “What is it?  What went wrong?”  I tried to look baffled and scared.  It wasn’t hard.
    “You’re shooting green fire from your hands and you’re asking me what’s wrong?  You are not human.”
    Mrs Alcoon interrupted.  “Maggie, are you sure?  I mean I’ve not sensed anything at all about Mackenzie other than that there are some men looking for her.”
    “Oh for goodness sake, June!” Maggie snapped.  “You’re hardly clairvoyant of the year.”
    Mrs Alcoon looked hurt at that, something which good old Maggie May clearly realised as soon as the words were out of her mouth because she immediately apologised.  “I’m sorry, that was mean.  But your Mackenzie is not normal.  And I want to know exactly what she really is.”
    Join the queue, darling, I thought tiredly.  “Maggie, I’m sorry.  I don’t know what I’ve done.  All I did was follow your instructions.”
    “Instructions which should lead to little more than a harmless repellent spell, not endow the recipient with full-blown attack capabilities.”  She continued to glare at me as though I might start shouting flames and incinerate her at any moment.
    “Well, here, then.”  I started to take off the necklace, wincing at the residue heat, but her eyes widened even further and she looked alarmed.
    “Don’t you dare take that off young lady!  Who knows what might happen as a result.”
    Young lady now, was it?  I tried not to bridle although I could hardly call it an endearment when Maggie looked as if she might try to claw my eyes out.  “Like what? Are you saying I have to keep this on forever or I might suddenly spontaneously combust or something?”  I was starting to get angry.  I hadn’t asked her to come over and start bespelling me; I hadn’t asked her to give me the freaking necklace or to make me suddenly able to seemingly control fire.  Heat spiraled up through my aesophagus.  Since when was I responsible for fucking everything anyway?  I bunched my fists and took a step forward without thinking.  Maggie raised up her arms once more in either some kind of defence or attack pattern – I couldn’t tell which and I wasn’t sure I cared - before Mrs Alcoon suddenly stepped in front of her, blocking my path and Maggie’s intentions.
    “There now,” she said soothingly.  “I’m sure this is just all some kind of misunderstanding.  Are you sure that the necklace wasn’t contaminated or something?”
    I couldn’t see Maggie any more but I could hear her spat comment of denial. 
    “Mackenzie,” Mrs Alcoon began, reaching out to touch my arm.  She didn’t get the chance to finish what she was going to say, however, because she suddenly recoiled away from me as if she had been burned.  Her eyes were as round and as big as golf balls.  “You’re a…” her voice trailed off and something flickered in her gaze.  She turned back to Maggie.  “You should