Free Mojo Queen by Sonya Clark

volcanic glass in the corner. She stepped out of the shadows with a smile on her face and a swing of her long blond hair. Khakis and a pink twin-set really brought out the evil demon in her.
    In a manner I recognized from every obnoxiously fake cheerleader I had ever met, she said, “Well, hey there, you. Nice to see you again.”
    “Well aren’t you just the cheerleader from hell. Speaking of which, why don’t you go back where you came from?”
    “You know if you don’t learn to mind your own business it just might get you killed.”
    I took a step closer, something she clearly had not anticipated. She didn’t move away but her eyes and mouth narrowed. I looked her over, searching for signs of anything breaking through that black. There was nothing. “You in there, Delia?”
    She rolled her eyes. “Oh, honey, please. You’re in so far over your head. You just have no idea what you’re dealing with, do you?”
    She sounded so pleasant, so cheerful. Even if she weren’t an evil demon I wouldn’t be able to stand her. “I know exactly what you are. Honey.”
    She arched an eyebrow and I had to confess, she did it better than I could. A curl of jealousy stabbed me.
    Pointing at her with more confidence than I felt, I said, “You are a raven mocker. And I have seen your true visage, which means you’ve only got seven more days to live. Actually, six, I saw you yesterday. So it doesn’t matter what you do. You’re already on your way out of here.”
    Delia giggled. Now it was time for me to be disconcerted. “Like I said, you have no idea. Now Roxanne, it is Roxanne, isn’t it?”
    Well, damn. It’s never good for the nasties to know your name. I nodded since there was no point in lying.
    She continued. “I like you, Roxanne.” She stretched out a hand and stroked the air in front of my chest. I could feel her touch in my mind, in my soul, in whatever that part where my magic emanated from might be called. It made me shudder.
    “You have a lot of potential in you. I could teach you so much.”
    She twisted her hand into a claw. Nausea churned my insides. I reached for the mojo hand, pulling it out from under my shirt. “There’s nothing I want to learn from you.”
    I raised the little red flannel bag in front of me like a shield, sending my will into it and prodding it into action. Immediately I felt relief as she snatched her hand back. A web of indigo lines spread from the bag, crisscrossing into a protective wall through the auric spectrum.
    Delia’s eyes turned to slits, anger twisting her beautiful face into a nightmare. For a moment the black of her aura overtook her, a pulsing obsidian emptiness all I could see. She recovered quickly and the perky cheerleader gave me a toothy smile.
    “You’re pretty good at amateur hour, sweetie, but do you really think roots and leaves are any match for me?” A nasty derisive laugh slipped from her cotton candy mouth. “I mean, seriously? Do your friends call you Polk Salad Annie?”
    Something flared out from me, cracking through the mojo hand’s protective wall and slicing open a cut across Delia’s cheek. It happened so fast I didn’t realize it until blood welled on her skin and fury turned her eyes black. I wobbled a little. That unintended spike of energy had cost me.
    Delia stepped as close as the mojo hand allowed. “I don’t need to kill you.” A slight shrug of her slim shoulders dismissed me, my abilities, my very existence. “Don’t particularly want to, either. You know why that is?”
    She waited, intending to make me ask. Finally I did, wanting this over so I could breathe normally again. “Why?”
    “You don’t matter, Roxanne. You’re just a bug. If you get out of my way, fine. If you don’t, I’ll step on you, and I won’t think twice about it, you insignificant little bitch.”
    Fire burst from her aura, framing her in angry red flames. I jumped back, shouting. The flames twisted around her in a tight coil, increasing in