Chapter 1

I could taste the blood before my tongue traced the split. My lower lip oozed from a cut in the middle of my lip where it would be clearly visible and sure to touch everything I ate or drank before it healed. Wiggling my jaw assured me it wasn’t broken, though it throbbed, as did most of my right cheek.

Behind my back, magic pooled in my left hand. I thought the runes to shape the spell, one that would record what was said and play it back later. It wasn’t easy to cast without channeling the magic through my wand, but anger helped me focus. When the spell solidified and warmed in my hand, I knew without looking that the clear orb, about the size of a golf ball, was recording.

Locking eyes with the man who’d punched me, a trim human in his late forties with salt and pepper hair and green eyes, I enunciated carefully in case he wasn’t as intelligent as I’d been told. “I’m reporting this. Frankly, I should arrest you myself, but that seems like a bad way to start my first full day as a special agent.”

Colten Floyd, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Field Investigators assigned to the Middle Tennessee region of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, rocked back on his heels. “Good luck with that. We all know it was a training exercise.”

“Bull. And don’t try to tell me otherwise.” I ignored the men watching us through the window and pointed at the security camera in the corner, one of more than ten in the room. “There’s video evidence of us standing here and you hitting me without provocation.”

He shrugged. “How else was I to see if you could manifest a shield to protect you, or other agents, from physical attacks?”

“Ask? Or better yet, look at my past weapons and field qualifications where I did just that.”

He opened his mouth, but I didn’t stop. “You asked if I would create a shield to stop bullets. I declined. Rather than inquire as to the reason, you hit me. Nothing in that exchange demonstrates my skill as a witch. I was told you were liked by the non-humans under your command because you understood their abilities and let them use their differences to do their jobs better.

“So far, I’ve spent eight hours indulging your desire to test my abilities rather than actually doing my job,” I said. “If you review my file, you’ll find I’ve passed the same basic qualification required of every field agent, as well as the magical qualification that is the current TBI standard. If you want to continue testing my magical abilities, take me off active duty for a week.”

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“You haven’t passed my evaluation.”

My eyebrows shot up. If that was his attitude, I’d wasted four years at college and two years of training, during which I’d only used magic during exercises and back here for testing rather than in the field. A requirement that was just for me. They already had standards for training most non-humans, but I was their first witch, and they didn’t know exactly what to do with me.

Or, more accurately, they didn’t trust me. “That should’ve been worked out between you and the chain of command before I graduated training and was put on active duty.” There, a nice diplomatic response he didn’t deserve.

“We have an understanding.” The jerk smiled.

“One that includes assaulting fellow agents?” I held my breath.

“Training accidents happen,” he said casually. “You learn and become a better agent.”

It only took a touch of magic to call my wand to my hand.

Agent Floyd flinched. Now wasn’t that interesting? Maybe he did work well with other non-humans, but I doubted he’d worked with many magic users—at least not well.

He covered quickly with a tight smile. “Why don’t we get some ice for that and call it a day.”

I gave him a feral smile of my own. “No. We are done.”

I held up the orb shaped recording spell, a third of which had gone opaque with content. “I’m taking this above you, first to your boss, Agent Smith, and then to other departments if he won’t listen. If you want me to complete extra evaluations, it goes through the proper channels, and you never touch me again.”

He paled. “What’s that?”

“What do you think it is?” I took a step forward.

Floyd had retreated five steps before he caught himself. “That was a question, Agent Pine.”

“It’s a recording spell. It has a record of everything you’ve said since you hit me. I’m turning it over as evidence in case there was some malfunction of the recording systems in this room.” I started toward the door.

“You haven’t been dismissed.” He reached for me but hesitated an inch from my arm.

“I told you not to touch me.” As I stepped around him, I slid my wand into the thigh sheath. My hand settled on the door handle. “You may be my boss, but you assaulted me. I don’t need your permission to leave.”

While he was still forming a retort, I yanked open the door, turned my back on him, and left. The door slamming closed let me take my first full breath since he had hit me, though it did nothing for my throbbing face.

In the hall, the two men who’d been by the window were now moving away from the door to give me space. I vaguely recognized the one in front, having seen him around during training. With the quintessential military hair cut leaving a sandy fuzz on his head, the easy confidence with which he moved, and muscles that didn’t stand out but were there, he struck me as ex-military. The man behind him turned and peered through the window.

“Do you need help?” Ex-military held out a hand but wisely didn’t touch me.

“You can come with me to report this to Agent Smith.”