by T. S. Snow
He smiled brightly like he truly did believe his plan was foolproof.
“I want to move so bad just so I can facepalm,” Andres mumbled from beside me, and I had to agree.
If there was ever a facepalming worthy moment, this was it.
“You… I can’t… You…” Andres’s mom stopped trying to speak and just took deep breaths to calm herself down. Diego threw Gran a pleading look, and she sighed and released the hold on us.
Wasting no time, he ran to his wife and knelt on the floor in front of her.
“I’m sorry, darling. I wanted to tell you, but you’re a terrible liar. I knew Ricardo would find out the truth if he spoke to you. We both know how cunning the bastard is. I hated that I was worrying you, but I did what I thought was best for our family.” He cupped her cheek and lowered his head to hers so their foreheads were touching. I felt like I was intruding on an incredibly private moment, but I had nowhere to run. So instead, I averted my eyes to give them what little privacy I could. “Please forgive this foolish old man. I just wanted to end the threat of him once and for all.”
I heard soft crying sounds, even as I kept my gaze fixed on the ceiling, right above Gran.
Maybe, just maybe, if I pretended I wasn’t here, then I wouldn’t hear anything that was going on.
“We were supposed to do these things together, Diego,” Serena said between sniffles, and I twitched uncomfortably. The only thing separating me from them was Andres, who was probably as eager to get the hell out of here as I was.
Except, those were his parents, and want it or not, this situation affected him too.
Serena hadn’t been the only one hurting. When Andres had come to Char and me, he’d been beside himself, and it wasn’t just because of the duel. And while his father might’ve been feeling better—or rather, had never been dying to begin with—Andres would still have to deal with the challenge. He’d still have to fight his uncle.
I felt sorry for him.
“While this sappiness is cute and all, can you two save it for when you’re alone? You’re making the ghosts uncomfortable,” Gran complained, her face serious, as if it were an actual issue.
Andres gave a soft laugh at my side. “The ghosts aren’t the only ones they’re making uncomfortable, Gran. Bast here is about two seconds away from making a run for the door.”
That asshole. I changed my mind—I didn’t feel sorry for him at all.
Should’ve punched him in the nose rather than the stomach. I’d like to see how he’d deal with things with a huge black eye marring his pretty face.
Unfortunately, I’d missed my chance, but there was always next time.
Gran nodded, conceding Andres’ point, and the Illuderes broke apart. Diego went back to his chair, taking Serena with him so she could sit on his lap.
I made sure to keep my gaze at eye level in case they got frisky. Clearly, Andres had taken after his father.
“Now that that’s settled and we know you’re not dying, I’m going home.” She started to walk toward the door, and I rushed to catch up to her.
“Well, are you just going to sit there gaping all day? Let’s go, boy. Put your magic on me and drive us home. I’ve wasted enough time with you lot. I need to cleanse myself and my ghosts.” Gran didn’t even turn as she bossed Andres around, and he wasted no time in following her command.
I think we were all afraid she’d take matters into her own hands and use her master puppeteer trick again.
“Hold it, hold it! I need a few seconds to concentrate so I can place the illusions,” Andres called, just as Gran reached the door and turned the knob.
She stopped moving, just stood there holding the doorknob while Andres’ magic washed over us, then she opened the door and kept marching out as if nothing had happened.
The Illuderes jumped to their feet to try to thank us, but Gran was getting the hell out of here.
“Don’t worry about it. And sorry about her…manners. She doesn’t get out much.” I smiled at the Illuderes and ran to catch up to Gran, who was already at the bottom of the stairs and heading to the door as if she were late for a sale at some store that only sold awful house décor.
I’d know. Once, I had to actually drive her to one of those, and it had been an experience I’d rather never repeat.
“Fucking hell, what’s gotten into her?” Andres asked from my side as he finally caught up to me.
“I think it was hard on her, seeing your dad. It reminded her of my mother.” At least, that was my theory. I’d been worried about how she’d deal with seeing Diego again ever since Andres had asked for our help. I imagined that if it had been awkward for me, when I hadn’t been around when my mother had dated Andres’ dad, I couldn’t imagine what it would’ve felt like for Gran.
Andres cursed under his breath just as we passed through the front door, finding Gran—well, Blair’s illusion—sitting in the back of Andres’ car.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think…” He trailed off, but I knew where this was going.
I shook my head. “Don’t sweat it, man. Just get us out of here before she decides she’s done enough waiting and tries to drive the car.”
No point feeling sorry for the past.
I was going home to my future, to my Char.
14
Charisma
Suddenly, as if she had some kind of sixth sense that she’d been honing to use on me, she raised her head and stared right at me.
Jess looked the same as she always had whenever I saw her at the gym. Her dark hair fell like thick, silky curtains ending just past her shoulders. Her blue eyes were wide, and when paired with a face full of freckles, gave her a super innocent look. And her height… Well, Jess had always been vertically challenged, but anyone who’d ever sparred with her knew her size was no indication of her strength. She might’ve been small, but she was mighty as hell in a fight.
Now, those blue eyes were zoned in on me. I knew she couldn’t actually see me behind the glass, but that didn’t make this whole thing any less weird or creepy, honestly.
It was like she could see me, and when she smiled, I knew for a fact she somehow knew I was there.
“About damn time you showed up, Charisma,” she said cheerfully.
Goosebumps took over my entire freaking body.
I took a step back from the glass, picked up my MET, and activated a ward against her just in case.
Was Jess…a mage?
A Soul Mage?
No, I’d have known about it before, wouldn’t I? I mean, I’d known her for a while now. Granted, it wasn’t like we were the best of friends, but I should’ve been able to tell if she had magic or not. It wasn’t like I’d ever had trouble differentiating a mage from a normal human before.
Christian turned his head sharply in my direction, said something to Jess, and then I watched as he left the interrogation room, probably to come talk to me.
I stood frozen to the spot, even as the door opened and Blair, Blaze, and Christian all walked inside the tiny room.
It felt like Pacman was inside my brain, eating every single bit of rational thought.
I needed an eject button so I could catch a fucking break for once. For real. I missed my days at Arcane Academy when my biggest worry was whether or not I could eat a whole pizza by myself. I usually failed, but that just meant I got to have pizza as a meal for the next day too, which was a fucking win.
That had been a happy, simple life. I wanted it back.
Unfortunately, while magic was vast and handy, there was no magic to control time or allow me to go back and have a do-over. If I could, I’d flunk a subject a year at the Academy and just stay as a student forever.
Except, maybe not, because the Academy’s tuition was crazy expensive, and while I was a self-made opossum, I didn’t believe in wasting money. Unless I was investing in video games and food…but those were basic human needs.
So it didn’t count.
I blinked, and Blaze was suddenly in fr
ont of me, pulling me into his body and hugging me like I had every right to be there.
“Little Spitfire, what is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, true concern in his voice. His entire chest rumbled with his words, but it only made me feel safer.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Futhark, release Carter at once. Illudere, I’m sending you in as Carter. Do you think you can maintain an illusion that’ll convince her?” As Christian barked his orders, Blaze’s arms tightened around me, refusing to let go. I took advantage of his proximity and calming presence to take two big sniffs of his scent before I patted his lower back.
I was rocking this being bros thing. The temptation to squeeze his butt had been real.
“It’s okay, I’m okay. I was just freaked out a little, is all,” I assured him as I took a step back, putting some distance between us.
Blaze let me go, and I could see disappointment in his eyes before he got control of himself again and put on his usual scowling mask. Though it pained me to be the reason he was hurting, the lines had been drawn. Besides, right now, we had work to do.
“Sure, boss. That should be easy enough. But what’s the situation?” Blair asked, and I focused fully on the two of them.
“She was brought in early this morning. Intel says she’s a member of the resistance, but she’s willing to talk…to Carter. That was her condition. However, I’m not willing to just meet her demand without getting something first. I refuse to fall into this trap.” And we all knew if there was someone who was capable, it was Blair.
Not that I was anything to scoff at, really, but Blair was next-level badass, and interrogations always made me antsy. I always worried I’d fuck it all up and ruin whatever information we had gotten. I was far better at being a behind-the-scenes gal.
“Family?” Blair asked again.
“Unconfirmed. She’s not a Soul Mage, nor a Rune Mage.” Christian looked at Blaze for confirmation, and he shook his head.
Rune mages always had tattoos. It was the fastest way for them to access their magic. Or at least a set number of spells they’d tattooed on their skin.
“So that leaves Elemental, Divination, Dark Matter, and Illusion,” Blair confirmed, thinking through the options.
My mind was racing a mile a minute as I tried to remember every single interaction I’d had with her for clues of what kind of mage she could be.
“I may be wrong, but I don’t think she’s an Elemental. It’s rare for Elemental Mages to not exude at least a faint smell of the element they favor. I mean, it could happen, but unless her magic is crazy weak…” I trailed off, letting them finish the sentence for themselves.
They all knew where this was going. If her magic was weak enough that I couldn’t smell the elements on her, odds were it was weak enough not to be a threat to us.
It would also explain why she’d joined the resistance.
However, there was something in my gut telling me she wasn’t an Elemental. She was something else. I just didn’t know what.
“Can she be a Necromancer and this is a trap?” Blaze asked, and both Blair and I turned sharply to look at him.
Did he know? No. He couldn’t know. There was no way he knew. Right? Right.
“Why would Necromancers be after Char, though?” Blair asked, and I was grateful she had been the one to do it.
Blaze knew she’d been raised by Necromancers, or at least that her mother had been one. Surely he’d take her word for it, right?
Blaze scrunched his face. “I don’t know, maybe they want her tech skills to help them get revenge? They’ve mostly been wiped out at this point.” He sent Blair a little grimace as if to apologize in case her family’s death had been our fault, then continued, “How do we know they aren’t after her so they can get their revenge on us?”
Surprisingly, Christian was the one who answered. “I don’t know where you’re getting your information, Agent Futhark, but the Necromancers are not quite the threat you think they are. Maybe you should have a closer look at your family’s actions and intel before you say dumb shit. Regardless, she’s not a Necromancer.” He turned to Blair. “Illudere, you have your orders. Be convincing and get her to talk.”
“Hey, boss. Is it…is it okay if I go in too? Not as me, obviously. But maybe since Blair is going in as me, I can go in as her? We can do the whole good cop, bad cop thing?” I asked.
Yes, interrogations made me antsy, but this was different. This was Jess. If she had wanted me dead, she could’ve killed me a long time ago at the gym or after I left the gym. There was something more at play here, and I wanted to be there to find out what.
Christian considered me for a moment before shaking his head. “No. Let Blair go in alone at first. If she struggles to impersonate you, then we can try plan B. As for you, Futhark, stay here with Carter. Make sure she doesn’t go in there and don’t let anyone near her other than the three of us. You’re officially on bodyguard duty. But please, no more pawing at my agent. Especially not in front of me.”
I blushed and watched in fascination as Blair’s blue activation circle appeared over her and her features started to change. In the blink of an eye, I was staring at…well, me.
It was freaky, like staring in the mirror except the mirror could talk and probably kick my ass too. She looked just like me, from the pink hair to the shirt that I’d put on this morning which had a bunch of pandas on it and “Pandamonium” written across the top.
Seeing her—well, myself, rocking that T-shirt had me wishing I’d bought more online. I just had to focus on the shirt rather than the creepy factor, and we would be good.
“My Goddess, there are two of you. I did not think this through,” Christian complained, and both Blair and I blew a raspberry at him.
Twinning powers, activate!
“Fuck me,” Blaze murmured under his breath, and I was only able to hear it because I was still kind of close to him.
Looked like someone was having non-bro thoughts about a double yummy Char sandwich.
Blair sent him a wink, and Blaze gulped.
I had no idea how I felt seeing myself flirt with him, but before I could decide, fake Char walked towards the door. “Okay, I’m off to play the weirdo character.”
“Hey!” I yelled in protest. I was not the weirdo character. I was totally the badass, amazing, flawless hero who came to save the day.
More Nani than Stitch, in my humble opinion. Like Nani, I had worked a few jobs at once to make money. Unlike Nani, I didn’t have a younger sister depending on me…or her cute but weird as fuck pet.
Details.
Blair left the room, followed by Christian, while Blaze and I walked closer to the mirror so we could watch.
A few seconds later, the door to the interrogation room opened and Christian walked inside, followed by fake me.
Jess turned her head when they entered, her gaze zeroing in on Blair’s illusion of me.
“Charisma?” she asked, frowning.
Uh-oh.
She knew something was wrong.
Abort! Abort!
“Jess? Is that really you? Ho… Wh… How? Why are you here? Is it true you’re a mage? A rebel? What the fuck?!” Blair’s impersonation of me was shockingly good. It wasn’t just her voice that had changed, but the whole way she talked. Hell, I was here watching, and she even had me convinced she was me.
This was how the alien invasion had begun. I saw this movie once already.
Hell to the fucking no, Satan.
“Damn, she’s good,” Blaze murmured from beside me, and I was forced to agree with him.
“Too good,” I responded, crossing my arms.
Beside me, Blaze chuckled. “Stop thinking she’ll kidnap you and impersonate you for life. I’m pretty sure holding the illusion, with the voice and everything, is taking a shit ton of mana.”
On the other side of the mirror, Jess fidgeted, uncomfortable.
She turned pleading eyes to Blair. “I swear I had no idea they were going after you at a
ll. If I’d known, I would’ve told you. Please, Char. You have to believe me. I wasn’t… I didn’t know. I swear. I know you have no reason to trust me, not when I’ve been clearly keeping shit from you, but you guys have to help me.”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning and tell us everything?” Christian suggested, taking charge of the interrogation.
Jess sent fake Char one more pleading look, but Blair didn’t say anything. She just sat down beside the boss.
Honestly, I was grateful Blair wasn’t speaking for me on this, because I had no idea what to think or feel.
I supposed I would just have to hear her whole story and then decide.
Standing beside me, Blaze interlaced our fingers and squeezed my hand.
Thank fuck he was here right now. No matter what had happened between us, Blaze had become someone I could trust, someone who would have my back.
That meant I wouldn’t have to deal with my confusing feelings alone.
At least not the ones concerning Jess.
15
Charisma
After Christian asked the question, Jess seemed to freeze for a second. They’d called her name a couple of times, but she didn’t respond or even acknowledge their presence.
I gripped Blaze’s hand tightly, worried for my friend, or the closest thing I’d ever had to a human friend.
“Is she okay?” I asked him, turning my head so I could keep an eye on the interrogation room but also see him as he answered.
Blaze opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, we heard a gasp from the room. We both turned just in time to see Jess narrow her eyes at fake me.
“You’re not really Charisma, are you?” she accused, but there was a certainty in her voice that hadn’t been there before.