Free Single Witch's Survival Guide by Mindy Klasky

Clerk of Hecate’s Court.”
    David stiffened beside me.
    “Yes, Montrose,” Pitt said, and he actually chortled. “You’re one of the first to hear about my promotion. It will be announced officially at Lughnasadh.”
    I glanced from Pitt to David, trying to fathom the importance of the promotion. Hecate’s Court, of course, was the bureaucracy that managed all the witches in the world. I’d sent them the registration papers for my magicarium, months ago. Now, I tried to swallow, but my throat was too dry. It took me three tries to choke out, “I’m always happy to serve the Court, Mr. Pitt.”
    The Head Clerk beamed as he released the clasps on his briefcase. The spring-loaded fittings sounded like pistol shots. I jumped despite my best intentions, and David leaped halfway out of his chair to save me from a nonexistent danger. Spot was on his haunches.
    Even as David sat and ordered the Lab to do the same, Pitt reached inside the case. As he took his time, digging deep for some supposed treasure, my mind flashed over possibilities, cataloging things that could warrant David’s jagged emotion.
    Pitt might have a magical stone in there, a chunk of jasper that would drain my powers, leaving me helpless and exposed. He might have a rowan wand, a tool to bolster some deadly spell a witch had packaged for his use. He might have fresh-harvested bay leaves and rue, powerful herbs that would disrupt the balance of my own magic, render me as helpless as a child. He might have a gun.
    Pitt cleared his throat as he extracted a sheaf of papers.
    The pages were covered in small type. A column of numbers ran down the left margin, counting off rows of text. Some words were printed in bold; others appeared entirely in capital letters. A copper grommet bound the document together, and a red ribbon wrapped around the ring.
    David collapsed back in his chair. “All these cloak and dagger games to deliver a Charter ?”
    Pitt’s smile was different now. He’d gone from unctuous to carnivorous. “I assure you, Montrose. This is not a game.”
    David reached for the papers.
    “Ah, ah, ah! These pages aren’t for warders’ eyes. We have rules , Montrose. You used to know that.”
    “I still do,” David snapped. Good. His temper was rising. I’d rather see him angry than afraid.
    “Then show a little respect. I busted you back to apprentice when you reported to me eight years ago. I hardly need to remind you the Court doesn’t offer third chances. One more Class A violation, and you’re through with warding forever.”
    Eight years ago. I knew the whole story. David had warded a Washington Coven witch, a woman named Haylee James. They’d had a series of fiery disagreements about proper uses of magic, about the roles of witches and warders. Against all logic, he’d fallen in love with her, and she’d betrayed him, taking another warder as her lover. Ultimately, David had been cast out from the Coven, sent back to Hecate’s Court. He’d only been allowed to ward me after years of rehabilitation. Even then, the Court had only sent him my way because I was an upstart. An unknown. Someone who couldn’t possibly be important in the long run.
    And now, I understood what I should have recognized the instant our unwelcome visitor materialized on the beach. Norville Pitt wasn’t some hapless accounting clerk, running errands for Hecate’s Court. He was an enforcer . Pitt held the power of arcane life and death, the ability to terminate David’s career. And mine too, in all likelihood.
    I cleared my throat. “Excuse me, Mr. Pitt. I’m afraid I don’t know what’s in that packet of papers.”
    “Forgive me, Miss Madison.” I’d been wrong when I’d thought the man was a shy rabbit. He was more like a snake, hypnotizing me with his bulging eyes. “May I present the Madison Academy Charter?”
    He handed over the beribboned papers with a greasy flourish. I glanced at the front page, taking care to hold the document at an