Free The Enchantress (Wicked Book 1) by Blaire Hammond Page A

fight in order to get her back. But those had been just words. Just
thoughts.
  Now, they had become real. She could feel it in her gut that something was
coming. Something that would require her to fight, and she suddenly realised
that she wanted to know how to do just that; fight.
  That realisation shocked her, but beyond that, it scared her. It scared her
because she wasn’t sure what she was capable of, or what she would be willing
to do to save her mother, and herself. She was afraid of herself. She was
afraid of what was to come. She was afraid of the unknown.
  ‘Next lesson is tomorrow, same place - same time.’ Drew said, breaking her
out of her trance.
  ‘Sure,’ Laura nodded and worked her way down the stairs, wiping the sweat
from her flushed face with her towel.
  Her hair was sticking to her sweaty neck, the prickling beginning to bother
her. She had just entered the hallway, intending to head for the shower, when
Drew called out to her, ‘hey Ace?’
  She considered questioning him about the nickname, but decided against it.
  ‘Yeah?’ She said turning to face him.
  He stood at the entrance of the weapons room, the door half open and his
blazing green eyes watching her thoughtfully.
  ‘Good work today. You have already made progress.’ With that, he entered the
room, closing the door behind him.
    The Harmers
farm loomed into sight before Leo and Stella, and they circled around the house,
directing their motorbikes towards Wimerack Mountain.
  Taking the long way around the city extended the trip by an hour, but the two
were use to long treks. Deciding to go while Laura was occupied was a unanimous
decision, both of them believing it would only upset her if she knew the Wicked
had come back to her home.
  They slowed their bikes, eventually bringing them to a stop in the bracken by
the hillside. Turning them off, they hid them under the trees and snuck through
the bush, coming as close to the house as they could without leaving the
concealment of the trees.
  They weren’t surprised to find the Wicked were still there, and watched the
two Wizards cross the dirt road from the house to the shed. There wasn’t a lot
of cover between them and the house, so they waited for the Wicked to enter the
shed before they made their move.
  Treading carefully so as not to make any noise, Leo took the lead. They
crossed the final paddock and climbed the fence into the house yard. Now the
house was between them and the shed, providing them with enough protection to
peek around the corner. They couldn’t see the Wicked anymore.
  ‘What do you want to do about them?’ Stella asked her husband.
  ‘Wait for them to go, then search the place. We can’t risk killing them, we
don’t want to let the leader of their mission to know we are on to them.’ he
replied.
  A gritty voice behind them laughed, ‘it’s a shame you won’t live to do that.’

Chapter Six
Two Steps Forward
    Leo didn’t
have time to draw the dagger from his belt before he was tackled to the ground,
but Stella was there, her blinding purple light latching onto the Wicked’s
back, searing his skin as he shot from Leo’s body.
  He landed with a thud in the dirt and staggered to his feet, preparing to
fire his Lightening back at Stella.
  Before he could, Leo was up and electrocuting him with his Lightening. The
screams leaving the Wizard’s lips were sickening, and his body jittered and
shook, before slumping to the ground with one final shudder.
  His companions arrived then, already shooting fiery red blazes of light at
Leo. Stella intercepted as best she could, but not before one of the blasts hit
Leo in the shoulder.
  He cried out, rounding on the Wizards and sending one of them flying with his
power. Stella was still in battle with second Wicked, their lightening
interlocked, sending sparks flying. She bared her teeth and let loose a cry as
she pushed forward with all her power, forcing back the red blaze of