by Nikki Dean
Or so she’d heard.
“I didn’t take anything and you know it. You’re just not as slick as you’ve somehow managed to convince everyone else that you are. I’m not even doing anything right now.” She backed off from his presence in her web, curious to see if she really was managing to interfere with his ability to see the future.
“You sure slick is the word you want for that, Bunny?” he asked as he moved his next piece.
“Stop trying to distract me.” She leaned back, looking at the board. Something about the way he was holding himself told her to be wary.
Dammit, I recognize this setup. It’s a trap. He’ll take my queen in two moves unless I do something… but what was it? She tried to remember what the first book had said, but couldn’t.
I guess I could just use my own powers, instead.
She pictured the board from his angle and slid neatly into his presence on her web. He was only marginally focused on the game, like she’d thought, but what else she found in there made her pause.
It was her. Images of her, memories tucked into a random slideshow in his mind. She saw herself the way he’d first seen her, covered with dirt and dust, wearing her jeans and a light blue bra, her hands up in submission to avoid getting shot by his team. Next, her smart mouth destroying them all in the truck while he fell that first little bitty bit in love with her.
What. The. Fuck?! He really feels that strongly about me?! Maybe it’s just a crush. It has to be.
She kept going, even though she told herself that she shouldn’t. More images filled her mind, the soft curve of her cheek as she slept that first night after her powers went crazy on her, the reassuring weight of her legs in his lap while she snuggled between him and Nico for movie night. The crushing disappointment he’d felt when he realized that she would choose Nico over him.
The way he’d still lit up inside every time he saw her since then.
His desperate sadness about something unexplainable.
None of which had anything at all to do with his powers, or the chess game.
He casually made another move without even thinking about it, that portion of his mind working on autopilot. She tried to focus on the feeling he’d described, seeing everything in high definition instead of the drab detail that came with everyday life.
It didn’t work. It doesn’t help if I can’t figure out what his powers are telling him, or how to avoid losing. She bit her lip, annoyed with herself. Why can’t I see it? Maybe they really aren’t working for some reason? But why? She couldn’t deal with anything else she’d seen inside his mind.
“You planning on sitting there all night?” Matt finally asked. “You’ve been staring off a lot.”
“Sorry, I was a little distracted,” she said as she moved her next piece. It fell in the next instant, leaving a clear path to her king and queen.
“Check. I can tell. Thinking about Nico?”
“No, actually.” Just you. “Wondering how your powers work and why I can’t remember the escape for this strategy from my book.” It was a weak excuse, but if she said anything else she’d have a million questions, and all of them would give her away.
“The counter had to be done three moves ago, so don’t feel too bad about it,” Matt replied. “By this point you’re pretty much screwed.”
She turned her king on its side to show that she was giving up. There wasn’t much point in continuing the match when they both knew that he’d as good as won. Matt didn’t say anything about it, but picked up the white pieces that he’d claimed and held them out to her, his fingers brushing her palm as she took them.
Tingles arced over her skin, like tiny electric shocks had jumped between them.
“You wish.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and her eyes flew to his. He froze for a second, his eyes widening in disbelief. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m not trying to be mean since I’ve already said no, I just…” she trailed off, unsure what to say next. Dammit, when will I learn to shut up? I just saw how lonely he is, how much I mean to him and now I’m rubbing it in that I won’t sleep with him?
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” he replied. “I’m hung like a gerbil and have all the energy of one.”
A fucking gerbil. Not according to those sweatpants, you’re not. “Now I’m just picturing a little gerbil ‘oh’ face,” she replied, trying to think of something, anything, to say. “You think they just give one long, loud squeak, or would it sound like a dog toy getting squished? Eee, eee, eee, eee, eeee, eeeeeeee.”
“The fact that you’re thinking about that isn’t really the direction I wanted to go here,” he chuckled. “But I appreciate your imagination.”
“Oh, yeah? You wanted me to picture you with a fuzzy little micropenis instead? I don’t even know what a gerbil’s dick looks like. Did you know that some animals actually have two?”
Jesus. Why am I like this? At least he’s not all mopey any more, and I’m not snooping around in his personal thoughts, so maybe the weirdness is worth it.
“Two… dicks?” His eyebrows were so high that they were almost touching his super-short hairline.
“Yep. Sugar gliders, some snakes and lizards. Ducks only have one, but it’s shaped like a corkscrew, which I feel deserves mention in this conversation.” She nodded. “Thankfully mating issues aren’t covered by my powers or anything, but I thought about becoming a veterinarian just after my parents’ diner got bombed and I was out of a job. Turns out the schooling is really expensive and I would have had to get retested so they would have seen my magic, but I learned a lot in the meantime.”
“Which is clearly the end of the world.”
Mallory flipped him off as she moved her first piece again. “According to my mother, it is.” Oh, shit, should I have said that? Now he’s going to know that she has magic too!
She felt his reaction more than saw it. He stilled, his mind whirling as he immediately knew.
“So, she told you to hide your magic, I guess? Put in for your work papers early?”
Mallory nodded. It was too late to do anything else, and she didn’t want to lie to him. Everett’s words about never, ever lying to one of the guys rang through her mind, and even though he was a douchecanoe, she didn’t want to jeopardize her friendship with Matt by hiding anything else.
Not anymore. Not after invading his mind like that.
“Yeah. She told my dad to put me on the payroll early so that I could get my papers, and then to keep that registration card and guard it with my life. I guess it’s not really an issue now.”
“Nope. Any more witches in your family that you want to tell me about?”
She shook her head. “Not that I want to discuss.”
“So there are more?” he pressed.
Mallory crossed her arms and glared at him. “Why are you so interested in my family? I don’t want to keep things from you, but I won’t betray them, either. It’s none of your business, anyway.”
He heaved a sigh as he scraped one palm over his short hair. Mallory found herself wondering what it felt like against his hand, what it would feel like against her own.
Stop it, Mallory. You have a boyfriend, she lectured herself. Even if they want to share, that doesn’t mean that I do, too, no matter how much he likes me. Or I might like him. Some animals might make it work with two cocks, but that just sounds like a pain in the ass to me.
“I know it’s not. I’m not trying to pry, it’s just really important to study magic through the generations if we can, since it only developed so recently. Witches were still considered a myth even fifty years ago, so looking at the DNA of someone who manifested back then might be helpful to figuring out what triggers our powers.”
They had continued to play as they talked, and soon enough Mallory was annoyed all over again. She’d seen one strategy and successfully avoided it, but fell right into his second.
“Why do you know about the science stuff and studying magic
if you work on a city defense patrol? Especially with your powers. Isn’t that a little beneath your paygrade?”
“What exactly do you think my paygrade is, if you think city patrols are beneath it?”
She tipped her king over again before he’d even had the chance to say check. “What? You would’ve have taken it in two moves with your rook, or three with your knight. I see the moves, I just don’t know how to get myself there from the beginning.”
“Practice.” He set his side back up.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she replied, standing up to stretch. She grabbed her phone in case Nico texted for her food order, then sat back down. “I don’t know why I don’t think you’re just a patrol grunt, but you don’t seem like it at all. For starters, I doubt they’re assigned to be handlers very often, which you still need to explain to me, and I highly doubt they’re allowed into the captain’s office as casually as you were. He seemed like he knew you well, and he has a pretty high rank. So it makes sense that you should, too.”
He nodded thoughtfully as he grabbed the edges of the board, rotating it. He’d already set her side up as well, so now he had the white pieces while she had black.
“I’ll show you how to start off, if you want to win.”
She waited for him to continue, then reached across and poked him. “What about Captain Fitzam? I’m right, aren’t I? You’re a lot higher up than you want to tell me.”
Chapter 13
“I’m not trying to hide it, but yeah, I’m not just a grunt.” Matt nodded as he popped a cracker into his mouth. “Not anymore. I’m not usually on patrols, but it’s a good thing I was on that day. Fate, if you believe in it at all. I like to stay busy between missions but I hate being tied to a desk, so I volunteered to join patrols while I’m here. It’s why I only go during the week, and have every weekend off instead of rotating through like everyone else. I haven’t been on a real mission recently, so it’ll probably be time pretty soon.”
“Oh.” The thought of him leaving was strange. It was hard to picture Nico without him for long. Hell, she’d even put sheets on the other bed in her room since she knew he’d most likely sleep over this weekend, while Nico cuddled in bed with her. “When will you be back?”
Matt shrugged. “Depends on what I have to do, I guess. It usually takes a few weeks, but could last up to a few months if it’s complicated. Fitzam has mentioned putting me on a special project, whatever that means.”
“What kind?”
He shrugged. “I’m about to take your queen again.”
“Fuck.” He was right. “You don’t even have to use your powers on me, do you?”
Matt grinned and shook his head. “Maybe next time, Miss Magic. Read your books again.”
“Sure, because that sounds so entertaining on top of my other homework.”
He flinched a little in sympathy. “How are you holding up? Must be swamped with all of the catch-up work you’re having to do.”
Mallory nodded while she studied the board between them. “Yeah, it’s a little rough. I’m almost caught up in runes, and MacKenna will probably tell you all about what a disappointment I am in strategies tomorrow afternoon. History is a lot of reading, but I really like my professor in there, so I’m not complaining. Technical charms has been a little intense, but I think I made a friend and he gave me access to his notes on the cloud drive, so it hasn’t been as difficult to catch up as it could have been.”
She felt the flicker of annoyed curiosity skate across his mind. “Access to notes is always a good thing.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” He tried to look innocent.
“Don’t pretend I don’t know exactly what you were just thinking. Girls can be friends with guys.”
“I never said they couldn’t.”
“Then why’d you tense up like that?” she asked. “I’ve seen cats hear a can of food open that showed less interest than you just did.”
A reluctant smile tugged at his lips before he could help it. “I did not. I’m just glad you’re making friends. Tell me about him.”
She shrugged. “Not much to tell. His name is Chris, he can refill things with his magic and I think he’s scared of me. I may or may not have reminded him that controlling hordes of insects was once considered a plague of biblical proportions, and capable of taking down whole societies at a time.”
Matt pursed his lips and blew a little whistle of surprise. “Thought you said you were friends?”
“I find that some people need to respect you before they’re ready to be friends.”
“Everyone should respect you, no matter what your powers are.”
She paused a second before continuing. “Damon and Alec aren’t giving me too much hell, surprisingly enough, but I think they’re a little annoyed that Nico hasn’t been in class to help out as much.”
“They’re not that annoyed. I’d know if they were.”
“Oh, yeah? They bitch to you a lot?” she had to ask. “You guys have a group message going where you sit and give each other shit all the time? This is our last game by the way, since Nico should be here soon, then I’m taking a nap. I was looking forward to it before I found you on my doorstep.”
“Something like that,” he replied. “So speaking of sitting and bitching, should I expect any surprises from MacKenna tomorrow?”
“Like what?” Her eyes narrowed. “Can you not see that far into the future or something?”
“I wish.”
He was silent for a minute, leaving her staring at the board. “Hey, what am I going to do next?” she finally asked. “Because I have no idea.”
“I don’t either. You haven’t decided.”
She looked up from the board, digesting that detail. “So I have to decide what to do before you can see it?”
“It might help. It’s not usually necessary, but you seem different than most.”
“Oh. Well, then what are you thinking about right now?”
“Wondering why you’re so difficult to read. Wondering when Nico will get here. Wondering what a pain in the ass the meeting with MacKenna will be tomorrow, and if we can get you out of any consequences from today. Wondering what Fitzam will do about it.”
“You sure do wonder a lot.”
“You know what they say. Curiosity is the spice of life."
Mallory tilted her head at him. “I think the word you're looking for is variety. Variety is the spice of life."
“Variety is overrated. Why have something new when you can figure out cool new things to do with what you've already got? Especially if there's more than enough to begin with?"
“Are we still talking about the same thing?"
“Aren't we?" He winked at her. Mallory huffed at him.
“You're such a teenager."
A knock on the door saved him from having to respond. Mallory got up and answered it to find Nico and Alec on the other side. Nico kissed her hello on his way in, and Alec just patted her head as he followed.
“Um, okay. Hi, Alec, what's up?"
“Nothing, just grabbing my food out of the bag, then going to my room. Damon would shit a brick if I stayed." He gave her a speculative look. “Which means I'm tempted."
“Nope." Mallory shook her head. “You're not. The last thing I want to do is piss off Damon. It's enough that Everett abhors my very existence, so the last thing I need is to get my actual TA to hate me on my second week of school. Not that I have any idea why he can't stand me, unless it's just that you're all adopting me into your little circle."
“Yeah, pretty much," Alec replied as he dug out a to-go container.
“Well, thanks for not sugarcoating it," she said in a dry tone. “What, does he think all vaginas have teeth, so he's afraid to have one within ten feet? It's not like I just whip that shit out for anyone."
“Pfft, teeth aren't scary. Blowjobs are the best, so why would vag teeth be any different?" Alec scoffed.
Mallory's eyes went wide as
she choked on air. He not-so-helpfully pounded her on the back, where she was sure she'd have a bruise later. “Alec, I really think you need to discuss your blowjob receiving versus fucking techniques with someone. They're not supposed to be the same thing, buddy. One is a lot more active than the other."
“Oh, yeah? Prove it," he taunted, just before he disappeared from the room. They could all hear his laughter from the hallway outside. “See you guys later, then."
“Sorry. He gets carried away," Nico apologized as he handed her a container of food. “I got you sweet and sour chicken."
“Mmm, thanks. I like it."
“I can't take all of the credit, Matt told me that you would."
Mallory shook her head as she looked from one of them back to the other. “Seriously? You can tell what I'll want to eat, but couldn't tell anything about chess?"
“It's a different thing," Matt said. “You like sweet and sour chicken, it's not based on a decision. At least I think that's how it's working, I've never had anyone be as difficult as you are."
She sat back down beside the chess board and pulled her feet up. “That's me, Little Miss Difficult."
“Tell me about it," Matt muttered around a bite of Chinese food. “You've been a pain in my ass since I saw you in that building, covered in dirt and dust with your boobs hanging out."
Mallory stabbed him with her plastic fork.
“What? You have nice boobs."
“Nico, make him shut up."
“Shut up, Matt," Nico grumbled. “You don't get to look at her boobs until she says so."
“She was shirtless in the middle of a bomb scene. It was hard not to look."
“And I threatened to make the next guy in that van that mentioned it pay, didn't I?" she asked sweetly. “Keep talking, Matt, you're just ensuring your own demise."
He rolled his eyes and ate the rest of his food in silence. Mallory checked on him once or twice with the web, relieved to find that the cloud of despair that had been threatening him earlier was gone, leaving normal Matt in its wake. Still, she could sense the threads of loneliness that stayed at the edges of his mind, just waiting for a quiet moment to slip back in.