Umber's face emerged from the darkness, and he didn't look pleased to see me. "You and I have a debt to settle, chovihani."
I was so shocked by the challenge I laughed. And while I knew it was the worst possible response-mostly from experience-I couldn't contain the absolute absurdity of it.
"At the risk of sounding arrogant," I said, not even trying to hide the amusement in my voice, "you don't stand a whit of a chance." I called up my power, letting it sit on the surface of my body, the pulsating blue shimmer sliding around me in soft whorls of light.
He scowled, fear in his eyes, but didn't back down. "One of us will reach you before you can fight us all, witch," he said. "And you will pay for your evil."
So much for there only being one or two in his particular posse. I felt at lea
