It’s #BookQW and Cor is ‘ready’ to save trees and his friends.
More from Chapter 7:
Slick paused on the wall. Clearly, he’d been leaving, but was now looking back hesitantly. Marty popped up in front of Fern, sneering again.
She flinched, then immediately straightened and narrowed her gaze at him. She raised her hands.
Cor said, “Particularly not this witch.”
What did that mean? She’d been ready to trust Cor, but should she?
“Cara?” Marty said. “Tell him to get lost.”
She’d lose her edge of looking tough, but Fern opened her mouth to beg him not to. One look froze her tongue.
Cor was smiling at Cara, and it wasn’t a nice smile.
###
Cor’s cheek muscles were aching, but the smile that Aunt Syl hated was working on Cara. He’d never gotten into a fight with her, but he didn’t want to find out what she could do. The wide-eyed witch backed up enough to give him room to pass, bumping into Bret, who dropped a few blackberries. Where had he gotten those this time of year?
Cor kept walking. Not his first choice to put his back to them, but he did. Up in the bed, Marty was eyeing the tall witch with her glowing, green hands, a ball of red energy forming behind his back and out of her sight.
They better not catch that birch tree on fire.
“Do it, Cara,” Marty said.
“Tell him yourself,” Cara yelled from farther away than she’d been.
Cor didn’t turn, but Marty did. Slick appeared from the far side of the black mess that had been the energy plantings, saw Cor and stopped. His lips were stained purple, and he cupped a mound of berries against his hoodie.
Marty lifted his chin at Slick. “Take care of him.”
“No way, man, I had enough the other night.”
“I don’t care. I want her, so get your ass in gear.” Marty turned his back on Cor.
By the look on Slick’s face, things were going down the loo for him. He made a wide circle to avoid Cor, jumped off the wall and trotted away.
Well, well. It’d been worth his time to stand up to Marty, aside from collecting the beechnuts. Cor mounted the wall. The tall girl was smart enough not to look at him, and he moved silently up behind Marty. “Sorry? What did you say?”
Marty spun, throwing out a close blast, but Cor was ready, blocking it with a gold shield and striking at Marty’s legs as the shield rose.
The girl shrieked and ducked. Bloody good thing, because Marty fell into the wall of plants and Cor dove after him, taking a fist to his jaw and a kick as they tumbled to the charred ground, but finally getting a good hit back with a stunning blast. Marty lay there. Cor grabbed his foot and dragged him off the bed. Marty crumpled to the sidewalk. Cor pulled him up and retrieved his magic at the same time.
Marty slowly shook his head.
Cor didn’t wait for him to be able to think. He poked a glowing finger to Marty’s belly. “You’ve scared a visitor and made a bloody mess of someone’s project. I’m reporting it unless you walk with your hands in the air straight down Wolman Street. Don’t stop until you enter your building.”
~~~
Cor loves trees and will do anything to save the ancient pines, even risk his greatest secret…and his heart.
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