by T S Paul
“Mills, Madeline Mills. I used to be in charge of the FBI Academy and one of Arcane’s shadow agents.” Madeline nodded her head to one side. “These are the Bs, Beatrice and Betsy. May we come in?”
The woman with the gun tilted her head to one side and said, “Alex?”
“They’re clear. No other Agents or otherwise within a mile,” a man’s voice said from inside the house.
Taking a step back, Amber Carson, team leader of Arcane’s Theta Section, motioned for Madeline to step inside the house. “Why are you here?”
Madeline smiled. “For much of the same reason you are here. To hide, regroup, and plan for the future. The world is burning down around us young lady, didn’t you know?”
“We knew,” a woman on the left replied.
Stepping inside behind her boss, Beatrice eyed the smaller woman. “Being hunted sucks, especially if it’s your own agency. We know how that one feels. You shouldn’t worry too much about it right now, though. They have much bigger fish to fry.”
Betsy was right on her sister’s heels. They might look alike, but they were sisters from another mother. Not that it mattered all that much. Her eyes took in the room and the people who occupied it. She smiled. “This will work.”
Amber turned away from Madeline to stare at both older women. The B’s were the boogeymen of Arcane. All new agents were told if you didn’t follow the rules or if you screwed up, the Bs would be tasked with hunting you down. No one was sure if all the stories told about them were true or not. Almost everyone was afraid to ask. Ambers eyes narrowed as she looked at the three women together. “I’ve heard of you.”
Madeline laid her hand upon Amber’s arm. “I’m sure you have, dear. Why don’t we go somewhere more comfortable? If we wanted you dead, you would be dead. Isn’t that right, Mr.Jungers? Or should I call you Sergeant?”
Alex Jungers shook his head in disgust. Lowering the submachine gun in his hands, he waved one hand. “Boss, they are who they say they are. Maddie recruited me into Arcane.”
“That doesn’t answer the question if they’re friend or foe though,” Amber said without looking at her friend.
“There aren’t any cleaners in the area or and we don’t have the luxury of a strike team on backup. Let’s hear them out,” Alex replied.
“It’s all gone,” Madeline revealed. Agreeing to a moment of truce, the two groups of fighters had retreated to the kitchen and small dining area. “You were there at the beginning. That was good work closing the hole with that bomb. The tornado wasn’t a good idea though. Having spoken to those in the know, I believe it really did just get away from you. Rule one, never, ever, tamper with the weather. Not if you wish to live, that is. You can thank the paranormals in California for stopping it. If it hadn’t bounced off the Fae holdings in the North, it could’ve gotten out onto the plains.”
“It was all I could think of at the time. If I hadn’t cast the spell, the Demons would’ve overrun us,” Amber replied. “We barely got out of there with our lives as it was.”
Madeline nodded. “I agree. Commander Best taped most of the battle with his satellite assets. From what little I saw, the nuke you dropped almost got you. Why did you disappear?”
“That was my idea,” Nadya Perry replied. The native Californian and youngest member of the team was a powerful class three Earth Mage. “One of my Mage mentors contacted me right before Amber was to report in. He told me to go to ground and stay there. That trouble was on the wind and it wasn’t just Demons that were coming for us. It took a bit, but I finally convinced the others.”
“I bet it did. Arcane is like a cult. It’s very hard to betray them. Be glad you did though,” Madeline replied.
“And why is that, Director Mills,” the fourth member of the team asked. The youngest man in the room spun a small handgun that was lying flat on the table in front of him.
Mills glanced at the both of her girls. Beatrice and Betsy sat on opposite ends of the couch. While one scanned the room, the other was watching Agent White closely. In her files Rob was listed as tech support but clearly he was more than that. Especially to Amber, his boss. Every few seconds they would switch tasks without moving. It was creepy to watch. “Because Arcane is gone. The moment the President was killed, the base and everyone inside it was lost to us.”
Both Alex and Amber jumped to their feet yelling, “What?”
Madeline didn’t move. She cut her eyes toward the other Mage in the room, Nadya. Watching the woman closely, she explained, “Commander Best was compromised. He was the member of an underground organization called the Hammer. They’ve been working for more than a century to gain the upper hand here in the states.”
“Like a secret society?” Nadya snorted. She waved her hands in front of her face like she was pushing Madeline’s words away from her. “Arcane was as black and secret as it gets. No way they didn’t catch on to anything like that. You’re lying to us.”
“No. If I can access the computers here, I’ll show you the records. Best was dirty. He fooled everyone, even me, and that’s a hard thing to do. The Hammer has operatives everywhere in every agency all the way to the top,” Madeline waved at the Bs. “We suspect even in the White House.”
Nadya made a small motion with her left hand. “I can’t believe it. Arcane is our family.”
“If that’s so, why are you four hiding out here?” Betsy asked. She’d stopped watching the computer specialist and was now concentrating on the Mage Perry.
“We thought it was best,” Amber broke in. “Nadya and I decided to hang back a bit. They didn’t want to pick us up.”
“Your idea or Nadya’s,” Beatrice asked as she shifted on the couch. Only her sister noticed her loosening her gun.
Amber locked eyes with her fellow Mage for a moment. Stuttering, she replied, “...mine? I’m...uh, pretty sure it was my idea.”
“Amber, honey, are you ok?” Rob asked as he stood and approached her.
Nadya glared at Madeline. “Stop confusing her. We were afraid of breaking the rules.”
“I don’t believe you,” Madeline replied. “It doesn’t click right in my head.”
When Rob touched her, Amber froze completely. Her inactivity caused Rob to lean into her even more. “Rob, step back away from her,” Nadya said.
Alex was in motion now. Seeing the distress of his team leader he rose to support her.
“Alex, I’ve got this under control. It’s them.” The young Mage pointed at the Bs and Madeline. “I care for our team.”
Alex stopped moving and scanned the room, much as the Bs had done.
“That won’t work on us, just so you know,” Betsy said. “We might be old school, but all three of us are protected from mental manipulation, unlike your friends here. What are you, a five or a six on the mental scale?”
Starting to look frantic, Nadya flicked her eyes back and forth. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Suddenly focusing on Madeline, she raised her hand to point. Almost instantly, she stopped moving as she felt the cold, hard touch of a gun barrel to her head.
“Lower your arms slowly. Don’t even blink in my direction. If you think I won’t pull the trigger before you zap me, you’re dreaming,” Beatrice explained to her slowly.
Alex looked over his shoulder to see that Betsy was drawing down on him as well. He hadn’t even seen either twin move before they were on Nadya. “Let’s just keep calm here now,” he said, making a calming motion with his hands spread out.
Rob peered into Amber’s eyes. “Hon?”
Amber blinked a couple of times then cut her eyes to Nadya. “Why?”
Not even acknowledging her team member, the Mage glared at Madeline even more.
Feeling the slightest amount of pressure her training had taught her to recognize, Madeline pulled her own weapon out. “Try that again and you’re dead. When did they recruit you?”
Everyone in the room was now staring at the rogue Mage. Hands at her sides, she just sat watc
hing them all. Beatrice pushed her gun harder into her temple. “Answer the freaking question.”
Instead of answering, the Mage’s eyes rolled up in her head and she passed out.
“Crap,” Beatrice remarked. “Now it just gets harder.”
Lowering her gun just a bit, Betsy agreed with her sister. “I’ll find something to secure her with.”
“Who the hell are you people?” Rob practically shouted.
“Amber, you ok?” Alex turned his head to look at his boss but still kept Nadya inside his vision.
Amber shook her head as if to clear it, “I’m getting there. We’ve worked together for more than five years. How did she manage to do that to us?”
“In our day, which is a polite way of saying more than twenty years ago, we were schooled in how to recognize mental influence and dually we were implanted with certain…devices to protect us from that.” Madeline pointed at the sleeping Mage. “Any idea how long she’s been controlling you?”
Alex and Rob both shook their heads without speaking, but Amber nodded. “She predates me at Arcane, but not by much. I remember her saying she was adopted by the group at eighteen. My background was so different from hers, we really didn’t talk about things.”
Beatrice scooped Nadya up and carried her from the room. Alex moved to help her, but Director Mills waved him off.
Betsy gave Amber a long look. “What sort of background?”
“I was part of a Witch clan for a while, but my husband died,” Amber answered.
“Sorry for your loss. Did they not train you in mind magic?” Betsy asked her.
“No, they only put up with me because of him. Prejudice is alive and well in that community,” Amber explained. She went on to tell how they kicked her out with nothing but the clothes on her back. Witches only; no humans allowed.
Madeline nodded even as she motioned for Betsy to go help her sister. “It happens that way. Arcane gets the best recruits from bad situations. Or at least they used to. Standards seem to be slipping quite a bit. Don’t paint all the communities with the same brush, though. I can think of at least one that would welcome you with open arms if need be.”
“I don’t hate them. But it still hurts. What do we do about Nadya?” Amber asked.
“Lock her down the best we can. Blindfold, handcuffs, and earplugs for now. The Bs will take care of the details. She knows who we are and,” Madeline waved to the room around them, “where we are. If we let her go…expect a strike team the moment she reaches a phone. I have to tell you the truth, we came here to ride out whatever is happening in Washington. As you might know, this place is off the beaten path and largely unknown to Arcane. Or at least it was. We need to think of alternatives and we need to do it now.”
“How did you end up in California? Last I heard you were based out of Quantico,” Alex asked Madeline.
Madeline grimaced. “We intercepted a bit of intel during the incursion in Italy about a Demon worshiping cult in Los Angeles. As a rule, the FBI tracks those down, but with active sites popping up it got overlooked. The Bs and I thought we’d do something about it ourselves, off book.”
“Off book? Maddie, you didn’t? Why didn’t you call in a strike team? Arcane has some resources locally.” Alex shook his head, exasperated.
“Some of my own people told me the same thing, actually. But we saw some of this coming. I supervise the Magical Division as well as a few other Black operations. One is a group of Seers. There’d been hints of a takeover, but we’d assumed, wrongly, that it was Demons. The fall of Arcane and the rise of this Hammer group is only a small part of the whole. We took the cult mission as a favor to Agent Blackmore. This was the same group she tangled with more than three years ago while still a cadet. It was a way to kill two birds with one stone,” Maddie explained.
“Who’s behind it all then, do you know?” Alex asked. He and Rob gently moved Amber to the couch and sat her down.
Madeline blew out a breath. “We aren’t completely sure. The American Witches Council is up to something, but this kind of organization is a bit beyond them. They are like a bunch of cats, completely disorganized. This is bigger. Someone who can organize humans and paranormals for years and still keep them on track. Arcane is a human organization. Who could turn someone like Commander Best?”
“Right. Nadya may have brought us here, but the kind of suggestion she uses needs something to build upon. We were scared already,” Amber replied.
Giving Amber a hug, Rob turned to face Madeline. “Do you know anyone that can help?”
Madeline looked past the Arcane team at the wall for a moment. Someone in the past had painted a mandala there and it drew the eye. “Well...Maybe. The FBI is out. Most of the other Black projects are out as well. I have a few international contacts that I could call on but those are better saved for a dire emergency. The Canadian Paranormal Protective is one option, but we’d be locked down almost immediately and drafted. CPP is another last resort idea.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “Agatha and her team are on suspension for saving Charleston from the Demons, but I know where they are. Her grandmother really doesn’t like me, but Maine might be our only chance. They have the ability to close off the entire valley there. Witches are fun that way. If they don’t want to let you in, they won’t.”
“Are you talking about Briarwood and the Blackmore Cover?” Amber asked.
“Yes,” Madeline replied.
Rob turned toward his boss and girlfriend. “You know these people, Amber?”
Amber laughed. “Everyone does. Marcella Blackmore is one of the most powerful Witches in the world. And her Coven is even more so.”
“Maybe. The Bs and I think Agatha is stronger. But yes. The Blackmore Coven is our best bet,” Madeline replied.
“You do realize that Maine is on the other side of the country from where we are, right?” Alex asked waving his hands around. “You up for driving this lot there?
“Then you better steal us a car, a speedy car. Get one that holds six comfortably,” Maddie told him. “We’re going on a road trip.”
The Bs took that moment to walk back into the room.
“I call shotgun!” Beatrice exclaimed. She held up a black combat weapon. “I found one, too.”
Betsy only smiled. She, like her twin, was decked out in what some would call mall cop gear, complete with cross draw pistols. “We found the armory.”
“You need a Segway to complete the outfit,” Alex remarked, remembering a popular movie.
Beatrice snorted. “The last time I rode one of those I fell on my ass. I’ll stick to motorcycles and cars.”
“Did I hear something about stealing a car?” Betsy asked.
Chapter 12
Training with Agnes Pickleberry took three long days. Using nothing but what she called battlemagic, I destroyed more than half the furniture in her storage rooms. While I learned a lot, it left me with more unanswered questions.
Sitting in my grandmother's office, we broke down what I’d learned and how I could potentially use it. “Why didn’t you teach me anything like that before?”
Grams winced and looked away for a moment. “You were too young and too untried at the time, dear. The risk of you killing someone accidentally wasn’t worth it. Please understand when I say that it’s not that we didn’t trust you. We didn’t trust your Magick. You needed to learn balance, and I couldn’t teach you that.”
“Between your aunt and the issues with your mother…Agatha, I’m sorry. I let people who had no business telling me what to do influence me. I trained you how to run the Coven, giving you more than half my knowledge of the how and why we Blackmores do what we do. But I couldn’t give you all of it. Until you came of age, things like the Species Council and our place in the world had to stay secret, but we’ve already discussed this. The Witches Council promised…” Marcella paused. Her usually calm face became angry for just a moment. “I was given guarantees by them to train you in the very things you were missing
. Jack Dalton swore to me that you would receive all the assistance the human Mages received and more. That was the primary reason I agreed to it all. There was supposed to be a program in place to help. I set it all in motion so you wouldn’t be loose in the world alone and in need. One more reason to not trust the humans, I guess.”
“Bethany and the Council have always had an agenda beyond what we’ve given them. If I had known they were sabotaging your training…” Marcella made a calming motion with her hands. “I would have done things differently. I assure you.”
“Bethany. Is she the one that everyone says has no face?” I asked. The American Witches Council was an enigma for most of our people. They enforced the rules with an iron fist but did so from the shadows. Only the most experienced and powerful were supposed to be a part of it. Nepotism was alive and well among them, too. Several of my early teachers came from the Council as they were supposed to, but none stayed more than a week.
“She is masked or veiled most of the time,” Grams said. “There was an accident shortly before the first Demon War. Bethany was scarred very badly. The healers who were involved claimed she might never see again. Obviously she healed. It made her bitter, though. We had...an agreement of sorts. It’s ancient history now. If you ever meet her, walk away. She is a danger to you now, dear.”
Frowning, I gave my grandmother a funny look. “What sort of agreement? I thought the Witches Council was a neutral party.”
Grandmother started laughing. “They are about as neutral as a Demon. Don’t believe everything you read. That group is as dangerous as any opponent you’ve faced to date, including your Aunt Camilla. Think of them as a cabal of terror. Through my own machinations, I’ve held Bethany and her inner circle in check your entire life. I knew where the bodies were buried and threatened them with it. Only total agreement of the Species Council can rein them in now, and as we’ve discussed before, that group is like herding cats.”