279 279 Got the Loot
The boat pulled up smoothly at the ramp that led to the garage, now smoothed with Witch Magic into a proper ramp again and guarded by Coconut the Treant. There were a dozen witches waiting eagerly there for his return, all wondering what sort of thing he had gone all the way to Myrrh Coven to retrieve.
The largest and most identifiable item in the boat was the stand mixer, and its presence caused a great deal of confusion among the crowd.
“You went to the Coven to get a present for Cook and one for yourself? Or, six for yourself and one for Cook?” Cassie asked as she inventoried the boat.
“This is Janet, a Magical Engineer who wants to work with you all to make her designs a reality. These five will be new students for the school once I awaken them in a minute, and there are gifts for everyone.
I got lots of spellbooks, educational books, design schematics, and of course, the gift for Cook.” Wolfe explained.
“The witches just let you take a bunch of underage witches away for schooling?” Cassie asked dubiously, and the girls began to look nervous that their history would come back to haunt them.
“Once they found out what we were capable of, the Coven was practically giving them away. These aren’t from the village. Coven Security brought them to us from further away. I think they will like it here, so please treat them well as they learn to harness their magic.”
The fact that nobody questioned his words helped set the girls’ minds at ease, but his next words still caught them off guard.
“I need you all to take off your shoes and socks. The process of cleansing the curse leaves behind a sludge, and I will push it out of your feet so we don’t get your clothes dirty.”
All of them, Janet included, took off their shoes, and after seeing the happy way she wiggled her toes in the dirt, Wolfe didn’t have the heart to tell her that it wasn’t necessary for her, as she was old enough that the curse had dried.
“Let’s start here at this end.” Wolfe decided that Janet would be the last one up. Her process would be a bit different, and he didn’t want to scare the young ones out of their decision to stay here.
He placed a hand on the first girl’s head and quickly purged the curse from her body, moving it out through her feet, where the soil began to glow faintly green, and the sludge was either dissipated or absorbed by the magic of the forest.
The final push awakened a hint of aura, and Wolfe moved on to the second witch candidate while she was still in shock at what she had seen.
By the time the second one was finished, they were beginning to recover, but none of them moved as Wolfe finished and then stepped back to admire his handiwork.
“There we go, five freshly minted witches. Who would like to get them set up in their rooms and introduce them to the essentials of the Den?” Wolfe asked.
“I will. I’m going to be their primary teacher starting tomorrow, anyhow. I have been doing most of the lessons for the younger girls ever since Katerina started to hide from Mary’s headpats.” One of the witches laughed.
“It’s been a long day, so make sure you stop in at the kitchen as well. But don’t spoil the surprise for Cook and her staff if you get there before the present does.” Wolfe warned her.
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Wolfe smiled at Janet. “Now, the process for an already awakened Witch is a bit different. The bloodline curse has dried and allowed you to use magic on your own, so I just have to cleanse the blockages that are lingering in your system and expand your mana veins a little.”
Janet tapped her chin as she thought. “If expanding Mana Veins does what it sounds like and lets me channel Mana faster from my aura, why not expand them a lot?”
The witches around her all burst into laughter, and Cassie placed a hand on both of her shoulders, turning the witch to face her.
“Don’t wish for that. Because he will do it, and your mind might not survive. What you are about to experience is like nothing you have ever expected, but I promise that he won’t harm you or go overboard.” Cassie promised her.
“But how do you get stronger without pushing your limits?” Janet asked innocently.
“Fine. Wolfe, don’t go too far, but see how much you can expand her Mana Veins before she loses consciousness.” Cassie sighed.
That was what the assembled crowd was waiting for, and the forest fell silent as Wolfe moved forward to take Janet in his arms so she didn’t collapse as the process began.
Cleansing her system only took seconds, and the dust blew away in the wind, but when Wolfe began to pour mana into her veins, the response was instant, and her knees went weak as the Engineer moaned his name.
“I think she is more sensitive than you were the first time. I don’t think this will last long.” Wolfe whispered to Cassie. But in the silence, most of the Witches could hear him.
“No, I can keep going. Please keep going. I want to be stronger.” Janet pleaded as Wolfe increased the mana flow, making her eyes roll back in her head.
She was doing her best to remain conscious, though, and she nearly lasted through a whole third cycle before it was too much for her, and she passed out.
“Pass her here. I will put her to bed and wait with her until she can move again, then bring her for dinner.” Priya offered, extending her arms to the witch.
“Alright, everyone, the show is over. Let’s get downstairs and bring Cook her gift. Is anyone here from the library? There is a load of books to be sorted and copied.” Wolfe informed the crowd.