Chaos Burning Read Online Free PDF

But they’ll be prepared. Which is what we need to be. The world is changing and we can’t afford to pretend it’s not.”
    “Meriel and Dominic are both smart people. You’ll get what you need now. Hell, even Edwina can see it by this point.”
    “There’s drama between her and her sister. Witches are an odd bunch. Those two love each other fiercely, would protect the other to the death. But they have issues. It’s all complicated and I hope for everyone’s sake they get it dealt with. Gennessee and Owen are powerful when they’re united. This isn’t a time for old wounds to be reopened.”
    “This is a story I need to hear apparently.”
    “I don’t know much, but I’ll fill you in on what I do after we shoot things for a while.”
    “Deal.”
    *   *   *
    SHEILA Kelly looked up from the pink box of lemon bars and then at Lark one last time before she harrumphed and indicated Lark sit. The other witch may have been at least in her eighties and couldn’t have topped five feet even in heels but that didn’t fool Lark. Power came in all shapes and sizes and Sheila practically crackled with it.
    “Meriel tells me you’re from Los Angeles.” She said this in the same tone Simon had used when he’d asked if she was a vegetarian.
    “Yes, ma’am. Born and raised.”
    Again the hmph sound as she chose a lemon bar and placed it on a pretty plate next to the matching teapot. “You’ll have tea.”
    “Yes, thank you.”
    “Nice manners for a Californian.”
    Lark tried not to smile but it was a losing battle. “I’ll tell my parents you said so.”
    “Please do. It’s rare these days.”
    “To see a Californian with manners?”
    Sheila looked at her, eyes narrowed for a long moment. “You’re not afraid of me. Deferential, which is only right given my age and the fact that you need my help. But you don’t bow and scrape. And you brought something. People always forget to bring something.”
    “Oh, you’re quite scary. But this is your profession. I respect that. My father always says a guest should bring something with they come to visit. Plus it enabled me to eat a lemon bar of my own on the way over. I had to stop in the bathroom down the hall to get rid of the powdered sugar I had on my shirt.”
    “Nicely done. Your father is right of course. And no, not the only Californian with manners. Young people in general seem to forget how to say please and thank you .”
    It was clear what Sheila thought of that trend.
    “I’ve been able to track down some of these older spells you asked about.” Sheila poured out a cup of tea for each of them. “I’ve got them in the file over there. And Gia put them ona USB stick for you as well. She’s more fancy than I am. I told her I would tell you that.”
    Just then Lark missed her sister so much it nearly hurt. Missed the closeness they once shared but had been missing over the last year.
    “I appreciate that very much. I’m trying to arm all my people with as many weapons and protections as I can.”
    “If you’d like to share some of your particular concerns, I may be able to help you better. The information I have is very general.”
    “We’ve got a feral wolf issue. Not the normal, run-of-the-mill rogue wolves, these are not part of any pack, not even in an ancillary way. They’re roving groups of criminals who’re content enough to harm humans be they in their human form or their shifted form. We’ve had some problems with them infecting people on purpose.”
    “Hm. That’s not good at all. Have you spoken with the local pack leader?”
    Lark resisted rolling her eyes. “You all have a far better relationship with your local pack than we do. They just tell us it’s none of our concern and that they’ll handle it. But they aren’t. I don’t want any of our people getting victimized by this. We’ve also got problems with the vampires. Oh, and necromancers.”
    Sheila leaned forward in her chair. “ Really? Necromancers?