Free A Wizard of the White Council by Jonathan Moeller Page A

Kelly. 
    Ally didn’t want to tell anyone about it. “No. I…just have a pulled muscle, and a lot going on with school, and…”
    Kelly nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” She grinned. “I think I’ll go take a shower. I probably smell real ripe.” 
    “You do.”
    Kelly rolled her eyes. “Well, thanks! Later, Ally.” Ally shut the door and collapsed back into bed. She fell asleep almost at once. 
    No dreams tormented her this time.

    ###

    Ally walked across campus, fallen leaves crunching beneath her shoes. The test had gone well, which brightened her mood. She wanted to get to her room, change, and get to work. She had a night class to teach with Katrina at the studio. Perhaps she and Katrina could go out to dinner after the class. Maybe she could tell Katrina about the dreams. 
    Something moved behind her.
    Ally turned, her eyes narrowing. She saw nothing but the usual students talking on their cell phones. Ally shrugged and went on her way. But the feeling of someone following her refused to go away. 
    She whirled without breaking stride, just in time to see someone dart into the bushes. Anger overrode her common sense, and she stormed into the bushes. A man knelt in the dirt, looking at a smartphone. He wore jeans and black sports jacket, and a number of earrings glittered beneath his unkempt dark hair. He peered through the leaves, squinting.
    “Why the hell are you following me?” said Ally.
    The man jumped to his feet. “Oh, shit.”
    Ally stalked towards him. “I said, why the hell are you following me?”
    The man stammered. “I…um…I’m not following you. I work for…um, the museum. I’m trying to capture bugs…”
    “Crap,” said Ally. “I thought someone’s been following me for the last few days. It’s you, isn’t it? Why?”
    “Um.” The man blinked, turned, and ran for it. 
    Ally caught him before he’d gone five steps. She seized his arm, twisted it behind him, and slammed him against a tree. “Ow! Hey, stop that. That hurts, that hurts…”
    Her anger grew. “Why are you following me? Tell me or I’ll…”
    “Let him go, please.”
    A scruffy old man with a gray beard and a steel-handled cane stood behind her. “What do you want?” Something tickled in the back of her mind. “Wait a minute. I remember you. You’re that old man I saw a few months back. What was your name?” She snapped the fingers on her free hand. “Regent, that was it. Regent.” 
    The man she held against the tree whimpered. “Regent, hey, help me out here.”
    Regent raised his free hand. “Could you kindly let my associate Mr. Allard go?” 
    Ally glared at him, but let Allard go. He staggered away, watching her with a half-terrified expression. “Associate? You mean you work with this guy?” Regent nodded. “Then you were following me the other day, at the coffeehouse.” 
    Regent lifted his free hand. “You have to understand. We weren’t following you. We had to…”
    “Bullshit,” Ally snarled, her temper building to a fever pitch. “What are you, some kind of stalkers? Kidnappers? Or just a pair of perverts?”
    Regent’s eyes glinted. “It’s nothing like that.” He hesitated. “I may have to tell you some things…”
    “I don’t want to hear anything from you,” said Ally. “Stop following me. Do you understand? Stop following me. Or else I’ll call the police.” Her temper burned hotter. “No, forget the police. If you keep following me, they’ll need to call the police once I’m done with you. Understand?”
    A bit of anger burned in Regent’s eyes. He pointed his cane at her. “Damn it, listen to me…”
    White fire blazed in Ally’s mind
    She moved faster than she had ever thought possible. Her left hand clamped over Regent’s cane. She twisted, wrenched the cane from his hand, and leveled the tip at his throat.
    Regent raised his hands, his face very still.
    “Holy shit,” said Allard.
    Ally’s