Free Witch for Hire by N. E. Conneely

but that would be hard, dangerous, and take a lot of time. You could hire it out to a firm. That could cost more, but they would be able to do it faster and with less danger to themselves or others."
    Jerry's mouth was pinched and his brow furrowed. "Is there anything else we can do?"
    "Yes. I would photograph, but not touch anything in that room, and burn this entire damn house in the hottest fire the department can manage. If they need to they can cut down more trees to make it easier to contain, but burn everything in here. Then, have a witch come back out here to make sure everything is destroyed. Anything that wasn't completely destroyed needs special care. I can't work with any of that stuff; you're going to need to hire it out."
    "Are you sure there's nothing else you can do?" Jerry preferred to work with me. Unlike most witches, I didn't treat him badly because he was a hedge-practitioner.
    I rubbed my face. "Honestly, I don't think I'd work with anything in that room no matter how much you paid me. Standing in there, fully shielded, I could feel things tugging at me. I'm a good witch, both in skill and type of power. That kind of power is seductive. It would be best if you could send a null in there. That's the one type of person I can guarantee won't be attracted to the power."
    "I didn't feel anything." His wide eyes showed his fear.
    "Not everyone would and you might feel it in different way. Most people who devote their life to protecting others aren't attractive to this power." I patted him on the back, "Don't worry about it, but follow my advice. Do I need to do anything else? I'm wanted in Forsyth."
    "No, you're good to go. I'll find someone to drive you back to the station."
    "Thanks, Jerry."
    "Could you give me better news next time?" He smiled a little.
    Smiling in response, I answered, "I'll try."
    Twenty minutes later I was riding back to my car with an officer who wasn't needed at the house. It was a long bumpy ride back to pavement. By the time I made it home, it was four in the afternoon. I ran up to my room, throwing enough things for an overnight trip into a duffel before running down to the kitchen to pack the lunch I missed, the dinner I wanted to have later, and some snacks.
    "Oaks Consulting." I hated it when my phone rang. It didn't matter that I needed to answer my phone because it meant work and money; I didn't like phones.
    "It's Jones. White will be there soon to pick you up."
    "Alright, I'll be ready." I hung up without saying goodbye, knowing he wouldn't wait for it anyway.
    Sure enough, ten minutes later I heard gravel crunching and hauled my overnight bag, the small cooler, and duffel of work supplies outside. A young man with short dark hair emerged from the car.
    "Ma'am, I can help you with that." He zoomed around the car, taking my overnight bag and the cooler. I followed him to the open trunk.
    "I'll trade you the cooler for this duffel."
    "Yes, Ma'am." We switched and I hopped in the passenger seat with my cooler so I could eat my belated lunch. He zipped around the car and back into the driver's seat in a blur.
    "What kind of shifter are you?" It was a long drive, and I wouldn't mind chatting over my food.
    He pulled down the driveway. "Well, Ma'am—"
    "Please stop calling me Ma'am. I'm not that much older than you." I was grumpy, unfed, and hated being called Ma'am.
    He looked sheepish. "Sorry, I was told to be respectful."
    "I'm a witch, a young one at that. It would take far too much effort to turn you in to a toad. Beside, I'd be afraid you'd just turn back. So, what kind of shifter are you?" I started to eat my turkey sub.
    "I'm a jaguar."
    "Cool. How do you like it? Do you wish you were something else?"
    "I don't think I'd like being any other type of shifter, but I grew up like this so it's hard to think about being different. I like the power and strength, but we are still adapting to more modern society and roles for women. We aren't sure how all of that is going to