You must have known. You must have known!
Her former enemy’s words still resonated in the back of her mind—a fleeting recollection of misery, pain, and anger. The quest for revenge from beyond the grave.
Being wed to the Dragon's Tear in the last moments of life. To be a powerful presence unto death. The very cycle of a High Witch.
“No…” Tillie whispered to herself. “That’s not going to be me. I won’t allow it. I will not allow it. I have a new life now—separate from the one I’ve always known. An existence that I will never go back to; for it is alien to me...”
A quiet knock interrupted any further thoughts of her personal torment and the girl rolled over off the bed and hit the floor barefoot and went to answer the door.
To her surprise—and relief—she saw the familiar faces of both Shay and Teena.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door a bit more and stepped out—closing it behind her.
Rubbing her head, she inquired: “Yes?”
Shay studied her friend with fresh concern and worry.
“Rough morning?” She asked.
“A bit.” Tillie admitted openly. “Some bad dreams, but nothing too serious.”
Teena nodded sagely. “Nothing we should be worrying about? I know how you witches are always connected with your passions as well as your dreams. It’s not exactly a state secret.”
The other girl shook her head.
“Not unless you discount the destruction of all known realities, then no.” She said. “That and a bad childhood memory to boot.”
Shay smiled gently. “I thought you couldn’t have any? That your life was absolutely picturesque?”
Tillie moaned softly, rubbing her face on top of that. “I wish.” She voiced strongly.
“So what’s up? Why the sudden visit?”
Teena grinned. “You have a visitor. Says he’s taking you out on a date or something to that effect. Real cute too.”
Tillie blushed.
“Butthead.” She giggled then. “After all the grief he gave me for wanting to be his girlfriend…?”
Shay’s ears perked up with interest. “Really? He actually told you that?”
“Well, not exactly.” The girl groused openly. “It was more of an educated guess on his part. But it would be the correct one.”
Shay went up to her in that moment and hugged her for all it was worth.
“Girl! You’re so lucky!” She gushed happily. “I’m so jealous of you!”
“I didn’t exactly say yes yet…it was more of a passing misunderstanding on both our parts.”
“What?” The girl squeaked in solid disbelief—pulling away. “Since when?”
“Bad timing?” Tillie ventured. “I mean, Charlie is right about one thing: We’ve only known each other for a few days. And it’s not like he has another girl that’s already interested in him and stuff.”
The Elva girl’s jaw dropped when she heard that unexpected news.
“Who? Which girl? I thought he was still single and very much available?”
Tillie shrugged.
“Seems like he has a close friend who has possible dibs on him. Some girl named Roz.”
Shay blinked.
“Roz? Roselyn Parker? That girl?”
Tillie nodded. “I think that’s her. What’s her story?”
“Besides being a half-ling and quarter elf on her grandmother’s side of the family? She’s trouble. And I mean trouble.”
“How so?”
Shay looked at her for a second. “Trouble as in, “going into the proverbial lion’s den”. That girl will eat you up and spit you out gangster-style if she catches you ogling her boy toy in any way.”
“So she’s a wild cat then?”
Shay laughed. “Way worse than that. She’s got her grandmother’s fighting spirit and her mother’s attitude. And believe me, I don’t mean that lightly.”
Tillie giggled. “I think we have something in common.”
“Girl…listen. Roz is in a completely different league than you. She will break you before you even get a chance to get to first base with her best friend. She is that possessive of Charlie.”
“I’m not afraid,” the other girl said in passing. “If I can take on the armies of the Third Watch and a rogue High Witch without blinking, I can certainly stand toe to toe with a jealous would be girl friend of his.”
Shay shrugged in defeat. “Your funeral. But don’t say I didn’t try to warn you. Roz is a bitch when it comes to her guy. She just doesn’t want anything bad to happen to him.”
“Believe me, I’m not trying to steer Charlie wrong in any way. I just find him interesting and super cool.”
“Enough to risk the wrath of the Grim Reaper?” Shay said then. “Because I can tell you the story of the last girl that tried to put the moves on him in full view of her. And she left the establishment in tears.”
Tillie paused for a second. “So I am not the only girl to take a fancy towards with him in question?”
“No. But after the last few times, Charlie’s available “pool” of admirers and suitors just about dried up after the last incident—especially when word got out of Roz going completely ape shit in full view of the other patrons.” Shay told her. “After that, everyone on Level One and Two got the idea in their heads that Roz was Charlie’s secret girlfriend. A point he’s tried to disavow very stringently in the past six months. That’s why I’m saying “be careful”.”
Tillie nodded. “I’ll consider myself warned. Now where is he?”
Teena pointed in the other direction. “In the visitor’s lobby. First floor. Right next to the receptionists’ area.”
“Where you found me?”
“Yeah. Where I found you.”
“Oh. Okay. Let me get dressed real quick and I’ll join you guys downstairs.”
Both girls nodded.
“Don’t take too long.”
Tillie nodded. “I won’t.” Then she went back inside her bedroom and closed the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Sparring Match
“There she is,” Tabitha Gorges commented with a warm and welcoming smile of her own—as Tillie traversed the long hallway of the first floor and managed to witness Charlie get from a recliner chair that he had been parked in for the past twenty minutes or more.
But he wasn’t alone. Right with him was a girl dressed in loose clothing, all weather boots and wearing fresh tracer make up to boot that had a dazzling effect on her bright aquamarine colored eyes.
But the softly tapered points on her ears gave away the fact that she was definitely an elf complimenting cropped black hair. She even had the right height requirement for it—which made Tillie all that more conspicuous about how tall she was compared to other girl.
But even from here, she couldn’t even tell that she was a scrapper—let alone a fighter for the boy of her own heart.
“Good morning—or should I say afternoon?” Charlie said in ways of greeting; before Tabitha stepped forward with a new meal voucher for Tillie.
“Tayna Beck asked me to give this to you.” She interrupted smoothly. “For what you did on the streets last night—saving everyone’s bacon. It’s good enough or several days worth of meals.”
Tillie gingerly accepted what was being given to her with some wariness and curiosity to boot.
“But I thought that I had to be assigned a work detail to earn credits for meals and other things?” She said—pulling out a similar voucher which Old Man Felix gave her mom whom turned around and slipped it into her pack when she wasn’t looking.
“You are working.” Tabitha said. “You are the resident High Witch in training—tasked to protecting Level One and Two from all things bad and terrible.”
“—and doing a pretty good job at it—minus the blisters.” Charlie joked at her expense. Roz elbowed him in the side for that comment.
“What?”
“Be nice.” The other girl intoned. “She’
s had a rough night—or so I was told. To be honest, I always to meet the hero of the Resistance—even if she is a witch.”
“No hero,” Tillie offered with a blush of her own. “I just got lucky I played my cards right.”
“Bullshit.” The other girl spat in annoyance. “You played Captain Kara Plummer like a fiddle and make her rue the day she met you. That’s not going to sit well with her in the days to come before the armies of the Third Watch rain death and destruction on the city proper.”
Tillie looked at Charlie. Then at Roz again.
“Come again? They are going to do what now? I thought—”
“I’m surprised you remember any of the conversation Kara had with you with your little Mexican standoff. The pathogen eradicator was a ruse to cover a much darker plan in the works.” Charlie told her. “One of our Resistance spies was able to corner a high level intelligence officer in Brooklyn early this morning while we were out where he learned of the truth.
“Do you remember hearing anything like heavy machinery being moved throughout the city near the location of your old high rise apartment?”
Tillie nodded. “Yeah. I do. After I opened the bedroom window for a spell to let in some fresh air.”
“Those were mobile ballistic batteries. Slug launchers.” Roz told her before Charlie even could. He gave her a slightly dirty look which she took in stride.
“Chariot class?” Tillie ventured uneasily.
The older boy shook his head. “No. Scorpion. At least…that’s what we were told by Felix this morning after you left for the women’s mission.”
“Blessed Mother,” Tillie intoned respectfully. “Even those will devastate a quarter of the city even from short range. Reduce most standing structures to absolute zero.”
“The Regency Council decided at the last minute to change their plans from a biological weapons’ test to a ballistics exercise—at least that’s what the news media is calling it.”
“So why the lies then?” The girl bit out angrily.
“It’s more or less a test—to see how we would react. The fact that the armies of the Third Watch knows about this place means that our own personal safety can be compromised at any time they wish.” Charlie revealed to the group at large.
“So they are just toying with us? Me I mean?” Tillie grumbled unhappily.
“Could be worse.” The older boy compromised with a chuckle. “You could still be stuck with me back in that acceleration couch with your bare feet hitting me in the face.”
Tillie grinned in that moment. “I rather enjoyed that.”
Roz pinched Charlie in the upper arm. “I thought I told you to stop flirting with the hired help.”
“Not like I had much of a choice,” the older boy said with a slight wince of his own—while rubbing the affected area.
“Ouch. You got claws.”
“And I’ll use them again if I have to,” she warned contritely.
Tillie rather enjoyed the scene playing out in front of her. Would make it much easier for her to tease him when she wasn’t looking.
Yep. Serious competition here. She thought, subtly eyeing the other girl and quietly sizing her up. Well, sister, I’m not going to let you steal the guy I like. If you want a fight to the finish line, I’ll give you a real run for your money!
Then she looked away in that instant to study the new food voucher she was given—before looking back at both Charlie and Roz; whom the latter wore a dirty look of her own.
Tillie couldn’t help but laugh inwardly over his current predicament. She did something he knew he would find aggravating from time to time, but she found to be fun in itself—just to get a rise out of him while keeping his attention occupied while she went “exploring” on her own in the time they were together.
Of course, personal boundaries were pretty much out the window by then when he made a grab for one of her legs at one point and pushed it aside in a huff. But regardless, she deeply enjoyed testing or teasing him during the ride over.
Then only thing she wished she could still do was kiss him.
But that would wait till later. When the opportunity presented itself. And when Roz wasn’t around, on the lookout for any potential competition, or just trying to keep his undivided attention all for herself.
That thought gave the girl more than enough reason to kick things up a notch in their relationship. Just to see what she would do.
Your move, girl. She threw out at her mentally. What are you going to do to counter me? I just made an opening play for your friend back there. Time to ante up!
“Anyways…” Charlie threw out—breaking into her own personal thoughts, “the timetable for evacuation has been put on hold until the Resistance can determine the Third Watch’s next move. So that gives us a little more time than we initially had.”
“More than a few days?” Tillie queried hopefully. That would give her some ample time to come up with interesting game plans of her own—both on a personal level and a professional one.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not.” Charlie countered slowly. “But tonight, we’re going to be sending a few scouting parties to lock down those slug launchers and mark them down on some gel sheets. The operation shouldn’t take more than six hours minimum.”
“Maybe I should go ahead of the first scout party.” Tillie volunteered right off the bat—drawing a satisfied look from Roz herself. “To get the lay of the land?”
Charlie shook his head. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. After last night, we need to keep you safe and contained until the last possible moment. With your mother gone and her friend, we don’t have anyone else of your stature or capabilities. So Felix elected to ground you until further notice.”
Tillie mouthed the last few words to herself in quiet astonishment.
“But…why?” She managed to get out.
Tabitha interjected herself into the conversation at that point.
“It’s a numbers game, honey. If we put our strongest pieces out on the playing field, they’ll end up getting destroyed before we could put them into position or even use them.”
“I very much doubt that.” The other girl scoffed in defiance. “I can hold my own when it comes down to it.”
“No. Not yet.” Charlie opined then. “But eventually, you will. Last night you hesitated for a few seconds between sparring matches with Kara Plummer. That shows you have no idea how her men operate—to say nothing of her directly.”
“I saved your butts.” Tillie growled fiercely.
The older boy nodded in sympathy. “By a stroke of luck and your dogged determination. But you haven’t mastered the finer arts of logistical combat. To you, the enemy is expendable—along with anyone else in your party. A wise field commander would’ve sought a different venue of attack than the one you laid out in quiet desperation.”
The girl stared at him in open disbelief. “How could you possibly know, you insufferable dumb ass? You had your head covered just as I was about to launch my own missile barrage into the enemy’s midst!” She argued then.
“Your mother was watching the whole exchange from a safe vantage point. She filled things in as we waited for the inevitable.” Charlie revealed to her sullenly. “The rest I figured out myself after Kara and her men left the scene.”
“Your not a weapons’ specialist, Charlie! You are a scout. That’s what you are paid to do! I am a witch! I get paid to do the dirty work that nobody else wants to do. In the grand scheme of things, I am a pawn on the world’s stage. Not the knight. Not the bishop. Not the rook. And certainly not the queen or king.”
“And pawns can be useful, yes.” Tabitha sought to point out in my defense. “But you are unique among all of us. You are not just a witch. Or High Witch in training. You carry so much potential within yourself as the keeper of things. A sage. A muse. A scholar.” She paused in that second.
‘Imagine all that being lost on the count of impulsiveness or error.”
Tillie nodded irritably.
“I know that, but I am also a valuable asset. I can do the things that most of you can’t. I can create a timely diversion if the situation called for it. I can move our important people away from the line of fire if it came down to it. I can offer protection. Healing. I can buy everyone the time they need to get their shit together and counterattack.”
“But at what cost?” Tabitha countered. “You are alone, honey. You won’t have backup.”
“I got Charlie. I have Shay. Even Teena—if necessary.”
“But they aren’t tacticians. They certainly aren’t soldiers. But civilians with some unique skills or abilities. They hardly qualify as useful on the battlefield.” The assistant manager pointed out gently.
“She’s right,” Charlie offered. “I’ve got some mad skills to beat the band, but I’m not very useful in a firefight when it comes down to it.”
The other girl eyed him speculatively. “So…that little pistol of yours is more for show than the real deal then?”
“Oh, I didn’t say my sidearm was useless. I just that I was useless.”
Tillie nodded sagely. “So all that talk about wanting to protect me was—what again? Just for shits and giggles?”
Charlie shrugged. “I didn’t say I couldn’t protect you like I did before we made a mad dash for the pneumatic transit system. It’s just that there is a difference between being valiant and brave and stupid and suicidal.”
“Humans usually fear death at times than they value humiliation or sheer modesty.” Roz told her.
Tillie nodded. “So the night we first met…what was that then?” She wanted to know.
Charlie grinned. “A rare opportunity to play hero for once. Mind you, people like me don’t get that chance very often. We are usually rule bound by the hour so we have to be mindful of our immediate surroundings. You just happened to be in the right time at the right moment for a quick save.”
The girl smirked. “So you are a useless dog then, aren’t you little boy?” She teased with an appraising voice. “Whatever am I ever going to do with you?”
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