“You’d like it too much you fucking perv. Now go bathe. I‘ll be right here waiting for you.” She said—turning him around and marching him towards the baby grand staircase.
“Go. Bathe.”
Jake leaned over the railing and kissed his exasperated girlfriend on the head.
“Love you.” He declared solemnly.
“Same here.” She responded automatically. “Now go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The Plan
Felix studied the assembled group before him with a mixed expression on his face. Clearly, he wasn’t entirely on board with the girl’s idea, but at the same he thought it had some merit worth exploring.
However, he couldn’t dismiss what he had heard over the audio link with a casual air either. Not considering the tight timetable they were all under presently.
And time was more worth than anything the Resistance or the Underground could provide at the moment.
“I will need to discuss this idea of hers with a few of the Resistance leaders in the neighboring quads,” he said as he pored over a recent report detailing the enemy’s current strength and position.
“Then I will get back to you both no later than six this evening. Be sure that you’re up at this time. You may need to go a lot sooner than we originally planned.”
Alicia nodded with some heartfelt relief and gratitude. At least he didn’t call her daughter crazy to her face in this instance. But he had asked her what possessed her to come with such a harebrained plan to begin with.
And the response surprised even her—because deep down, she believed her only daughter didn’t understand the full weight of the world she was about to enter since she was her age.
But the past couple of days had proven her wrong.
“Fair enough,” the woman announced—tearing her attention back to the present.
Felix looked at both Charlie and Teena Clarkson. “You two will be their guide through the lower part of the city—once they emerge from the drainage tunnels near Westmont Plaza—via the access tunnel on the south side. From there, you will head for the Jackson Park Express Way. Afterwards, you’ll need to traverse four city blocks which our intelligence last indicated was currently empty and devoid of activity from all sides.”
“Then home,” Tillie was saying—knowing the back alleyway that she always took the corner street market for raspberry ice slushies and licorice whips.
“Yes.” Felix said with a bit of caution in voice. “But I wouldn’t celebrate just yet. Rumors have it that your former residence may have been overshadowed by task force elements of the Third Watch. If they were to spot you or your party—?”
Tillie punched her hands together.
“I’m not afraid of the Third Watch, Felix. My mom and Sarah have been fighting them all of their natural lives. I know what to do—having fought some of them myself.”
“That may change, child. Especially in light of recent events. Just be aware you won’t be the only ones who will be targeted for destruction.”
“We know,” Alicia spoke up. “We know. That’s why we have to do this. We need to buy you as much time as possible to get most of the city’s populace into safe shelter.”
“Going by the numbers, it won’t be easy. We can most at least the first ten thousand in the first five hours, but the rest will be more difficult as the day marches on—especially if any elements of the Third Watch catch onto what we are doing.”
“What do you mean? I thought Level One was always impregnable?” Alicia questioned outright.
“It hasn’t always been the case, Mrs. Gunderson. We haven’t had the time to show you past incidents of when the access tunnels had been breached over the years and then shored up or reinforced.
“Suffice to say, we are not in a most indelible position based on defense. Lately in the past twenty-six months, there are have been repeated incursions by the armies of the Third Watch, the Seventh Arm, and the Tenth Legion. Fortunately, the Underground and the Resistance had contingency plans in place that prevented our core network from ever being compromised or exposed to the enemy.”
“But I get the feeling even you are running out of time.” Sarah guessed correctly.
“You would be right.” Felix answered with a defeated sigh. “If our reports are on the money, then all of Level One and Two would have to be evacuated and abandoned. We would have to retreat to the Great Lakes area in order to regroup.”
“It sounds like you need an army of your own.” Tillie observed. “One that isn’t tied to either the Resistance or the Underground.”
Alicia laughed a bit over that idea. “Sweetie…this isn’t like the movies. This is as real as life will get.”
“Really? So what about getting the Star Rangers or the Jackal to assist us like they did in the old days—before the Great War?”
“They were more myth than reality. A legend really,” Alicia told her—before Felix looked at them both in confusion.
“Sorry? Star Rangers? The Jackal?” He questioned up front.
Tillie nodded—hoping she didn’t feel like an idiot for even making the suggestion.
“Yeah. A legendary army which used to safeguard the realms and lands of all magical kinsfolk before the encroachment of humanity upon the face of the Earth. It was being led by a demi-god named the Jackal. Nobody knows if that’s his real name or not, but in times of emergency or strife, he would call forth this army called the Star Rangers to do battle with the forces of evil. Or injustice. And it would be brutal and quick. No mercy whatsoever.”
Alicia chuckled at her daughter’s vivid imagination.
“Such stories…” she said with a quiet shake of the head. “Not that I can readily blame you.”
“Mom…” the girl pressed in exasperation. “What if they were real—as the legends say they were?”
“If they ever were real, they’d be gone by now. Passed onto the river of time.”
“—I’m sure we can come up with some more soluble in the meantime.” Felix was heard saying. “Until a more proper solution can be made.”
Tillie scowled a bit—not happy with the way things were going. Or how she was outmaneuvered on both fronts.
Alicia nodded in sympathy. “I’m sure you’ll be able to in the time to come. But for right now, we need a small measure of field support from the Resistance and the Underground—whichever comes first—if this plan of hers is going to work.”
“Two spotters. Two guardsmen. Two scouts.” Felix ticked off—before pointing at both Charlie and Teena. “And you already have the scouts.”
Teena chuckled to herself. “Well, technically speaking, you have a maintenance head supervisor and Resistance leader to Block Twelve. But yeah. I can throw in with this idea. My hunting and tracking skills haven’t atrophied in a long time—given what we’re up against.”
“No unnecessary risks.” Felix warned the two of them. “Especially you, Charlie. I know how much you enjoy jumping into things by exposing yourself prematurely to danger, but out in the open—as things are—you won’t have as much cover afforded to you as it is here in this part of the city.”
The older boy grinned despite himself.
“I’m fine with that,” he freely admitted. “But someone’s gotta save Ms. Witch here from time to time.”
Tillie’s face colored a bit at his words. But she managed to laugh in return.
“Dude, I almost vaporized you—before you tripped and fell; whacking your head on a rock. I’ll be okay.”
“But what about before? Two nights ago?”
“That was a freebie.” The girl shot back evenly. “I don’t do so well in confined spaces since I am an open space kind of girl. Plus, I was running out of time. You just happen to come along at the right moment.”
“Still a save in my book.” Charlie responded without question. “But if you’re sure you don’t need me saving your bacon every now and then—?”
Tillie giggled. “I’m sure. But don’t be
surprised if I don’t return the favor before too long.”
Charlie stared at her for a second. Then he smiled some more.
“This I gotta see.” He invited teasingly.
Tillie deliberately batted her eyes at him—accepting his challenge.
“It won’t be pretty.” She warned him up front. “Especially if things were to get ugly in a heart beat.”
“I think I can live with that. It’s not often the princess swoops in to save her prince during the heat of battle.”
Tillie’s mouth fell open then. “You think you’re my prince?” She said boldly—her mother sharing the same exact look as she.
Charlie shrugged. “Maybe.” He vouched up front.
The girl laughed. “You think way too highly of yourself. I like you as a friend, but I haven’t started any traditional courtship rituals with anyone I know as of late.”
Charlie looked at her for a second in surprise. “There’s courtship rituals?” He asked, feeling a bit overwhelmed and defeated on this front.
Alicia stepped in to stop her daughter’s would be Romeo from making a complete fool of himself.
“I’ll explain later,” she said, patting him on the arm.
Charlie glanced at Tillie and then at her mom. “So there is such a thing with witches? Magical familiars I mean?” he corrected on the fly. “I thought those were just stories. Rumors. Myths…?”
“It wasn’t a myth for dad. Believe me.” Tillie quipped openly—before her mother could readily respond.
“Sorry I asked.” Charlie offered with false cheer. But it was clear that he was visibly crushed and disappointed.
“It’s okay. It was a perfectly honest mistake,” Alicia comforted him. “However my daughter is not a pure born witch since her powers didn’t awaken until she was ten.”
“Is that normal?”
Tillie shook her head. “No. Like mom said, I’m a special case.”
“So…” Charlie mulled hopefully. “Does that mean you’re still human?”
The girl giggled. “I haven’t been called that since I was little. But no, I am not a pure human. I am a half-ling by definition.”
“So which side do you claim allegiance to?” Felix broke in—having listened in on the conversation thus far.
“I’m a witch.” The girl announced. “That’s all I have ever been and all I’ve wanted to be.” Looking at Charlie, she added: “It doesn’t mean I am a lost cause, man. I just need to find my own way in life. But you’re welcome to tag along with me—especially when I reach the rank of Field Mage later on.”
“Yep,” Sarah commented from off the side. “Your little girl is certainly headstrong and stubborn. Determined too. I wonder where she picked those traits up from?”
Alicia chuckled. “Who do you think? My late husband. He was such a profound influence on her the entire time after she awoke.”
“And the idea that she could become a Field Mage?”
The woman sighed with some heartfelt embarrassment.
“That would be me. I kept telling her if she kept up with her studies, her training, and so on, she could very well become a powerful Field Mage some day.”
Sarah giggled. “And she believed you?”
The other woman shrugged.
“It was the only way to get to her do things around the house. And outside. She needed motivation and focus. I couldn’t think of a better way to give her both.”
“But she knows that there hasn’t been a such a position in quite some time—right? Not even by the last few generations of High Sorcerers?”
Alicia glanced over at her daughter and smiled.
“She knows. But she still hopes and dreams it will be her someday.”
Sarah Winters just shook her head with open amazement.
“Such notions. To want to be the most powerful magical familiar in existence…”
“She’s already on par with Greta Freeman in some ways—even if she is a tad rusty at times.”
Sarah’s mood dampened a bit. “I still can’t believe—” she said, before her friend cut her off.
“I know. I know. It was hard on us as well. But what’s done is done.”
Charlie raised his hand a little.
“Dare I ask what this is about?” He queried in a delicate manner.
Tillie shook her head. “No. You shouldn’t. It’s not meant for the ears of outsiders or non-magical folk.” She told him flat out.
“Okay, not a problem. Just thought I’d ask.” The older boy deflected easily enough.
The girl sighed heavily.
“Please understand. It has nothing to do with you, Charlie. This is more about me than anything else. But it’s a vow that we all made and can’t be broken no matter what.”
“Not even for love?” Charlie gently pressed.
Tillie shook her head again.
“No,” she answered softly, the pain beginning to well up inside her heart.
“Not even for that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A New Friend
Alicia could tell that her daughter was upset by what she had to tell Charlie before any other misunderstandings could crop up—even though she knew that she liked him more than just a friend from the moment she laid eyes on him.
For her, it was a painful experience mirroring her own. She also had a guy friend she was smitten with when she was about her daughter’s age and no matter how many times she tried to remain friends with him, there was this part of her whom was a hopeless flirt and couldn’t be tamed no matter what the circumstance.
Alicia wanted him in her life so bad that she started to take unnecessary risks and gambles that almost ended up with her being ex-communicated with the family—with her own mother screaming at her that the love between them could never be.
Because he was also human and not a pure blood sorcerer.
And while she was accepting of her little girl’s newfound relationship with the boy, she couldn’t help but wonder if she would go down the same path as she—even though her family had a long and sad history of intermarriage with humans whom possessed no magical talent or power?
Who would be the one to finally tell her that she couldn’t love this boy?
That question still dogged her all the way back to the women’s mission after they had left the court house and managed to catch a break in the lunch line for a quick meal before they were due to depart.
Felix was at least gracious enough for that. But the night was going to prove to be a challenge no matter what happened.
But by now, everyone around them was a bit more forgiving and accepting of the three—since the woman could hear their excited whispers about the upcoming engagement with the armies of the Third Watch.
And every so often, one of the bystanders in line would be pointing them out and the discussions would resume at an even more harried pace—much of which Alicia had a hard time following because the flow of dialects were becoming an insurmountable log jam for her poor ears.
Tillie didn’t happen to be bothered by the explosive flow of discussion in the lunch line. She felt like she was on top of the world with the very world on her shoulders.
Sarah Winters was more quiet and reserved than anything else—only offering some mollifying tidbits on her friend’s behalf. But it was clear even to her that everyone was hoping for some kind of miracle save from the three of them.
85,000 versus three witches, two spotters, two scouts, two guardsmen…
That wasn’t much of a fighting chance.
But in truth, the Resistance and the Underground had their own problems to deal with and would have their hands full regardless. This was a needed diversion to make sure that some magical kinsfolk living in the old city could live to fight another day.
Alicia was willing to put her remaining family on the line to fight for a cause they all believed in. And she knew that her daughter would back her up on that sentiment.
She could tell from all the enthusiasm she
held for an enemy she tangled with before but felt confident that she could win the day again—this time on her terms.
The line moved forward again—this time putting the three of them within spitting distance of their food trays.
The woman elected to grab a few for themselves—excusing herself as she went—but nobody was giving them any problems this time. This time, the atmosphere was much different than before—more charged with excitement—as those that once feared or felt intimated by the trio of witches became a little more relaxed around them.
For once, the woman couldn’t blame anyone for the initial reaction. This had been the way it had for untold centuries—since the first witch or sorcerer made their mark on the world.
Always rejected. Completely feared and given their space.
Even when society become more tolerant and integrated with humanity and then the magical kinsfolk. But recently, all that changed with the Great War.
Witches and sorcerers could no longer be ignored. But a necessity in protecting the realm. To give hope where there was none before.
Witches like Alicia and Sarah Winters had to fight. To protect. To give shelter. To save those whom were accused unjustly. To safeguard the ideals of freedom, justice, and even democracy.
And while the stories varied, tales of heroism took root in the consciousness of man. Of all magical kinsfolk whose lives were saved through the sacrifice of a witch.
The Guilds rose as payment given—where witches would have a place of their own and given sanctuary. Training. A school—until the Academy of Magic and Arts was formed.
Then an uneasy peace followed. Witches vanished back into the realm of lore and legend—forever scattered to the winds—save for a few rare sightings over time since the end of the Great War.
Then…
Here.
In the now. The present where the Guilds came under attack. Witches came under attack. From an enemy they thought they knew.
Boston was gone in a heartbeat. Old New York soon followed—leaving Sarah, Alicia, and even Tillie as the sole remaining survivors of a great coven that stretched back into antiquity.
And for what?
What was there left to fight for?
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