A witch among witchs

ir hearts' desire-never mind that I had no idea if they even had hearts. I aimed to please and surprise them so hard they'd drop dead on the spot. If I were a lucky girl. But I was a believer, and that's why I was at a cons

y throwing knives had become like removable fingers to me, and my Butterflies were my most prized possessions. The blades were as long as my forearm, making them easy to conceal and carry. They were identical, with longer-than-usual crossguards that allowed me to hol

rsts of energy. I couldn't see it, but I felt it. I intensified it while holding my breath, because I needed my guests to arrive soon. Rain poured heavily outside. It

ike a hawk its prey until he cornered me in an alley and began to suck me dry. Vampires were bad, but this guy? He was horror incarnate. He drained my powers and left me for dead. I didn't wake up for a full day afterward. At the time, I had no idea what had

e same. I called them mindless because they never spoke. I'd never heard any of them utter a single word or make a sound. They came, they stared, the

ut didn't. Using it meant attracting the mindless thingies, and you never knew when they might decide to end me for good. I'd spent a lifetime hiding my magic, but hiding it from

guests. With Butter in one hand, Fly hidden under my sleeve, and four throwing knives in the other, I was ready. Guns were fun, but they didn't seem to hurt

e, but not quite. At first glance, you'd think they were brothers, but if you looked closely, you'd spot the differences-like how the second guy's eyes were wide-set, the third was bald, and the fourth had muscles like he was on steroids. A chil

agic tightly inside, I threw all four knives at once and ran forward in the same breath. They were ready, as ready as ever, charging at me in an instant, oblivious to the knives now buried in their bodies. Swinging my arm, I c

rom them. Good thing the mindless thingies didn't use weapons. Bad thing: their fists were huge and felt like hammers-like the one the bald guy hit me with on the jaw. No teeth came out that I could tell, but my vision blurred long enough for one of them to kick me straight in the