AWitchsSkill by Ashley Shayne Read Free Book Online Page A

staggered to his feet and headed out the door, off
into the night. The other drinkers slowly followed and even the stag party got
to their feet and stumbled toward the front entrance. After an hour had passed,
the bar was empty. We sat there quietly, watching the stage and occasionally
pretending to laugh and flirt. The tension was becoming too much for me and I
was relieved when a back door opened and one of the Galloways came through it.
    The twins were big men with acne-scarred cheeks and dull,
dangerous eyes. The one who entered—I thought it was Danny but it was hard to
tell—looked around the bar with surprised eyes under shaggy black brows. He
turned as if to leave and the waitress I’d spoken to hurried up to him. She
gestured in our direction and I took a moment to bless my decision to speak
with her. He looked us over and then nodded before heading our way.
    “Leslie said you wanted to talk business?” he said, his
voice gruff as he neared us. I kicked Acayo under the table and he nodded to
him, rising to shake his hand. I smiled and inclined my head, and Danny joined
us. Acayo began speaking, surprising me with the fluent lies flowing from him. Very
smooth, I thought, and half wondered if he had been planning to open a
strip club in Dallas after all, he sounded so believable.
    With effort, I tuned them out and concentrated completely on
the silent chant running through my mind. I finished, gathered myself and
quickly reached out to grab Danny’s hand. He looked at me in surprise and as
soon as we made eye contact, I snapped the last word and he was mine.
    “Where is the warlock?” I asked him, maintaining eye contact
the whole time.
    “With my brother.” His voice was quiet and curiously
monotone.
    “Are they alone?”
    “Yes.”
    “Are there protective spells?”
    “I don’t know. I didn’t know there were protective
spells.”
    He frowned and I could feel him start to fight my control. I
wasn’t too surprised. The twins had been called many things in their time, but
weak wasn’t one of them.
    “Take us to them.”
    Danny got up immediately and we stood and followed him back
through the door. I saw the little waitress watching us and for a moment, I
worried she could be a witness if things went nasty…but then I remembered our
disguises. Even better. If things did go badly, there was a witness who would
distinctly recall two people who actually looked nothing like us. Good thing
witches were born, not trained. Crime really was absurdly easy for a good
witch. We’re limited only by our imagination, intelligence and the ability to
follow through on a plan. But born we were and there weren’t that many of us. And
most of us had a more law-abiding nature. Even I had considered robbing a bank
once or twice but I’d always gotten a hold of myself in time. I’d always
thought the world would be a horrible place if people went around doing things
just because they could, and I respected the law. Mostly…
    We followed Danny into a long, dismal corridor. He led us
through a door and up a flight of stairs into an apartment over the club. The
soundproofing was excellent and only a small hint of bass came up from the
speakers down below. The warlock and Danny’s twin, Eddie, were standing at a
table in the center of the room and looking down at a tablet in Eddie’s hands.
    They looked up as we entered and the instant Eddie caught
sight of us he roared in anger and flung the tablet at me with all his might. I
yelped and ducked aside too slowly. The tablet caught me in the arm and I
stumbled backward, cursing. I had no idea how he’d known and it crossed my mind
to wonder if it was a twin thing. Maybe he’d somehow sensed I had Danny’s mind
in my control. I’d heard a lot of stories about twins and magic and certainly
believed it could be true.
    The warlock attacked before I could recover my balance and I
sprawled to the floor, losing my grip on Danny’s mind. Acayo leaped at Eddie,
and Danny