Shenka rushed toward me as the wild magicks threw themselves into a frenzy of fluttering, battering me with their power.

"What do they want?" She was calm, at least, though the faces of the other witches, from various covens, now gathered in the large center common room weren't quite so composed.

"I don't know." I gritted my teeth against the constant pecking of the magicks and threw out a soft net of my own power. They stilled immediately, coming to heel almost like ...