Magic Ain't a Game

by P. D. Workman

  “That would be fine if it meant I didn’t have to see you for a hundred years!”

  He snarled at her wordlessly.

  Reg looked down at the wand, sobering. She had pushed him too far. He would be coming after her in earnest now, if he hadn’t been before. He would show no mercy. It didn’t matter whether she tried to excuse herself with self-defense. He was going to do whatever it took to take her down.

  “Look. Julian…”

  “I’m not Julian to you. I am Investigator Sabat.” His eyes burned scarlet.

  Reg swallowed. “Investigator Sabat,” she repeated, hating that she was bowing to him. “I just reacted. I was upset. I didn’t mean to do any harm. And I didn’t mean to…” She looked at the wand. “I never… You can have this back. Just don’t use it on me. I was… afraid.”

  His face relaxed slightly. “You’re in deep trouble.”

  “I get that. I’m sorry. I just reacted, and I should have better control.”

  “You never did have any,” Julian sneered. “Back in foster care, you were… feral. No one had ever taught you how to control your powers. None of them knew what to do with you. What do non-practitioners know about disciplining a child with powers?”

  She didn’t want to think about the discipline in her foster homes. They might not know how to treat someone with paranormal powers, but they had known how to punish her, how to drive it out of her. How to keep hurting her until she stuffed everything down.

  Until she felt exactly how she was feeling. Trapped and beaten and backed into a corner, and it had to come bursting out.

  “Maybe you can give me a break, then,” she suggested. “I didn’t mean any harm. I was just reacting. Take this back. Just don’t…” She stopped herself before begging again for him not to hurt her. She was stronger than that. She could still walk away from this, go home, and have her movie night all by herself.

  She held the wand out to him, pointed down slightly, just pinching it at the very tip in hopes that she wouldn’t trigger something. She didn’t know exactly how wands worked, but she imagined it would magnify the powers she already held, like a megaphone or a microscope. And she didn’t want her anger to find a way out through the wand.

  Julian looked at her, grinding his teeth. Just when she thought he was going to object, he snatched it out of her hands.

  Reg jumped, but she let him take it. Julian turned it around to point it at her. Reg watched it, queasy, waiting for him to zap her with lightning or to hit her with some spell that would drop her to her knees.

  He kept it pointed at her, his hand shaking. Reg still had her shield up. If he tried to bind her or take her into custody, she hoped it would prevent him.

  “Get out of here,” Julian said finally, his tone flat.

  Reg looked at the food in her cart. It wasn’t worth it. There was no way she was going to wait patiently in line for her turn and watch the cashier ring up her order. She needed to leave.

  She left her cart in the middle of the aisle. Let the store employees worry about putting the ice cream back away before it melted. She backed away from Julian one slow step at a time, her eyes on his wand.

  When she was out of his sight, she turned and fled, running until she got to her car.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Reg hesitated about even going back home to the cottage. Julian would know where she was. He could have people there waiting for her. Going where she was expected to go would be a grave error.

  But how could she leave Starlight there without arranging for his care, even if it was just to ask Sarah to feed him until she and Francesca were able to find a home for him? She couldn’t. She just couldn’t do that to him. She knew how much he had mourned when he lost his previous owner, and she couldn’t abandon him as if she didn’t care. She had come to care for him a great deal.

  She went back to the cottage, startling at every sound and unexpected movement out of the corner of her eye. She was sure that Julian would be there ahead of her or would have sent someone else. But she didn’t see anyone lurking in the shadows as she drew up to the house.

  Reg looked around. She reached out with all of her senses and tried to feel if anyone were there. Sarah was gone, having already left for the Spring Games. The only presence Reg felt was Starlight. And of course, the night birds and animals around the house. Forst was gone too, home to his own plot, Reg assumed. He didn’t seem like the type who would want to watch the Games. There had been gnomes there, but Reg assumed they were the most extroverted of the species, which Forst was not.

  Reg blew out her breath slowly. Then she held her breath and listened, trying to pick up every sound around the cottage. She still couldn’t sense anyone there waiting for her. But if she waited forever to act, she would end up getting caught.

  She walked along the grass border in the shadows of the trees rather than walking on the cobblestone pathway that led to her door. She watched the darkest of the shadows for any movement. But there didn’t seem to be anyone there waiting for her.

  Reg inserted her key shakily and unlocked the door. Starlight jumped down from the couch and hurried over to her, yowling hungrily and nudging her legs to encourage her to produce his tuna.

  “We have to go,” Reg told him. “I’m sorry, there’s no tuna. And we have to run.”

  He stopped stock-still and stared at her.

  “We are in danger.”

  Starlight sat back and began to wash. Reg was comforted that he would take the time to do something so ordinary. He didn’t keep begging for food, but he didn’t rush her to the door either. There was still time for grooming and thoughtful consideration.

  Reg went to the bedroom and grabbed her duffel bag. She rifled quickly through the drawers and the bathroom to gather the items she would need for several days and nights, then zipped it shut. She grabbed the cat carrier from the closet. She took it out to the living room and placed it on the floor, door open, near Starlight.

  He looked at it and continued to lick his paw and groom his face.

  “We need to go,” Reg encouraged. “I don’t know how long we have. I was surprised there wasn’t anyone here already.”

  But Starlight wasn’t ready, and Reg figured if she tried to force him into that carrier, he would take off her hand.

  “What else is there to do?” Reg asked. “You can still wash in the carrier. I need to go.”

  He paused to look at her, his gaze steady and calm, and then he resumed.

  “Okay.” Reg looked around. What was she forgetting? She picked up the crystal ball and slid it into her bag. There was still enough room for it, and it was a tool of her trade, so why not take it with her? It clinked against something else in her bag, and the sound brought a flash of revelation into her mind. Her box of gems. She was acting in such a panic that she’d forgotten all about her wealth. She could stay under cover for a long time with those gems. Without them, she would have to set up somewhere close by and start offering her psychic services right away. It would be much easier for them to track her down.

  Reg went back to the bedroom and retrieved her hidden stash. She even had the presence of mind to put a couple of gems into her pocket so that she could liquidate them quickly without having to open the box in front of someone else.

  When she returned to the front room, Starlight was nowhere to be seen.

  “Starlight? Star, where did you go?”

  There was an answering meow and Reg found him inside the cat carrier.

  “Oh. Right.”

  She shut and latched the door on the carrier. “Sorry about this. But it will keep you safe on the drive.”

  He was quiet. Reg picked everything up and walked out of the cottage.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Reg couldn’t shake the feeling someone was watching her as she left the cottage. She looked around quickly for anyone, but everything seemed just as still and quiet as it had before. She needed to stop looking for spooks and get herself out of there.

/>   Reg forced herself to move quickly out of the yard and to her car. She should have had the gas tank filled, the oil changed, and the engine serviced before going any distance. But since when did she plan her getaways like that? The gas tank was never full. She was lucky if she had enough fuel to get out of town.

  And this time, it was three-quarters full. Reg thought that was a good omen.

  She opened the map app on her phone once she was sitting down and had the door locks engaged. She pinched and zoomed and panned around the map, looking for a good place to hide. There was never a perfect place to run to, but she had enough money this time that she didn’t have to worry about depending on friends or even looking for a job right away. She could afford to just lie low for a few weeks until everything had blown over.

  Julian would forget about her soon enough. And how long could Magical Investigations watch her cottage and wait for her to show up again? If Julian could talk them into it, maybe they would provide an agent to watch it for a couple of days, but they wouldn’t start a nationwide manhunt for her. What had she done wrong, after all? She had accidentally broken a bottle of wine and had taken Julian’s wand from him for two minutes to protect herself. She hadn’t threatened him with it. She had given it back. He didn’t have anything on her.

  Not really.

  And the stuff that had happened in the Everglades? What happened in the Everglades stayed in the Everglades, right? There were no witnesses to testify against her. All they had were suspicions. So what if they had the ropes she had been tied with? What did that prove, other than that she had been bound? There was no evidence to connect the panther attack to Reg. She was no skin walker. She couldn’t command panthers. She wasn’t responsible for what had happened to Tybalt and no one could prove that she was.

  She found a small town a couple of hours’ drive away. They had a few motels and B&B’s. She would use cash and a fake name. It would take time for anyone to track her there. She would be safe for a day or two at least.

  Hopefully, they were pet-friendly.

  Starlight snoozed in the cat carrier while Reg drove. He’d been with them on the road trip to the dwarf mountain, and the new carrier was much more comfortable than the cardboard box she’d had for that trip. When Reg pulled to a stop at the B&B, he yawned and stretched and looked around, sniffing the air with interest. Reg grabbed the carrier and her bag and went up to the front door. She hadn’t registered ahead. Hopefully, they would have a room free. She didn’t know how often they were fully booked, but hopefully with the Spring Games, they would lose some of the bookings that they might normally have had, leaving space free for Reg.

  A woman came to the door. Older, hair turning from a strawberry blond to gray, round coke-bottle glasses blurring her eyes.

  “Hello,” she said in a welcoming voice. “Are you looking for a room?”

  Reg nodded. “Yes. Sorry, I didn’t call ahead, but things happened… sort of suddenly.”

  “Don’t worry. I have two rooms free right now. You have your choice.”

  “Great. I’m so relieved. And… I know this is a stretch, but… it will only be a couple of days—I have my cat with me…”

  The woman peered into Reg’s cat carrier, squinting through the thick lenses. “Oh, and isn’t he a gentleman? Of course. That’s not a problem. The larger room has an attached bathroom and you can set up a litter box in there. He can’t have run of the house, in case others have allergies, but I don’t think there will be any problems. You’ll be just fine, won’t you, honey?” she finished, querying Starlight directly.

  He just looked back at her. At least he didn’t hiss or try to scratch her through the grill of the door.

  “Good boy,” Reg breathed.

  “This way,” the woman led the way into the house, and Reg had to jump to keep up with her. She moved much more quickly than Reg would have expected.

  The larger room was located on the main floor, near the kitchen. Reg looked around the room, made cozy with handmade quilts and little plaques with sayings hanging on the walls or propped on the dresser or tables.

  “This is perfect,” she said, even before opening the door to the bathroom to verify that it was large enough to put a litter box into without crowding.

  She started a list in her head. Box, litter, cat food. It was too late to get anything that night, so she would have to get out early in the morning to make sure that Starlight had everything he needed to be comfortable.

  The old lady, Mrs. Agnes, chattered on about the schedule and rules of the house. Reg nodded and thanked her repeatedly and, eventually, the woman left. Reg let Starlight out of the carrier, and he stepped delicately out onto the quilt-covered bed.

  “How are you doing?” Reg asked him. “Can you wait until morning for your litter box? Or should I take you outside?”

  Starlight strolled across the bed to the nearest window and peered out into the darkness. Apparently deciding that he didn’t need to go outside, Starlight lay back down on the bed and curled his tail around his nose.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Reg slept with Starlight cuddled against her, which helped her feel more normal. Like she wasn’t sleeping in a bed and breakfast, miles from home. As long as she had Starlight with her, she was fine. Being away from the Spring Games and Julian didn’t hurt, either. She was away from the anxiety that they both produced and could finally relax to sleep.

  She got in a few hours of sleep, but then Starlight insisted that she wake up, and Reg couldn’t put off taking care of his needs. She might be able to steal some fish from the kindly Mrs. Agnes, but she didn’t suppose there was any kitty litter lying around unused. She hadn’t seen any sign that the old woman had cats of her own.

  Morning was not Reg’s best time. There was no way she would have been up that early if she were at home and didn’t have to worry about her familiar. She would have been sleeping for several more hours.

  But she wasn’t at home, so she had a shower to wake herself up and explained to Starlight that she would be back as quickly as she could with his kitty litter and food. He wandered around the room a little, meowing conversationally and sniffing at everything. She turned the bathroom faucet to a dribble and he had a drink. Reg headed out, asking Mrs. Agnes where she could buy kitty litter so early in the morning. There was a 24-hour department store. Reg tapped it into her GPS and hoped that they had a counter where she could buy hot coffee.

  Her phone began to ring.

  Reg hadn’t properly thought through what would happen when people discovered her absence. Or how she would handle the phone calls. Of course, it was best to disappear without a trace. She had left friends behind before. But she didn’t want the police involved. Especially if some police detective started doing country-wide searches on her history and warrants.

  The number on the screen was Sarah’s. It made sense that she would be the first to notice Reg’s absence. Reg took a deep breath and tapped the answer button on the phone.

  “Hi, Sarah.”

  “Oh, Reg. I’m glad I reached you. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. I came in to check your schedule this morning, and you and Starlight were both gone. I know it’s none of my business, but you hadn’t said anything about going on a trip…”

  “Yeah. It was kind of… an impulse.”

  “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

  “I’m all right.”

  “Are you coming back?”

  Reg considered the question. If she wanted to keep the police from investigating, then Sarah would have to know something. She would have to reassure Reg’s friends that even if she never returned, she was okay. Reg couldn’t talk to them all. It was probably the last time she would answer her phone.

  “I don’t know.”

  “What happened, Reg? Is it this investigation? I told you it is nothing to worry about.”

  “It’s more than that. If you can hold the cottage for now… I’m paid up for another month, right? If I’m not ba
ck by the end of the term, you can get rid of anything I left behind and find another tenant.”

  “Reg, I don’t want to do that. You can come back. Everything will be fine.”

  “I don’t know that. And neither do you. Right now… it could go either way. It doesn’t feel very safe. Maybe if it all blows over…”

  “Can I call you? Will you keep this number?”

  “No. I don’t want anyone to be able to trace me. I’ll dump this phone. I’ll find another way to get in touch with you if things settle down.”

  “How will you know if they have settled down if I can’t contact you?”

  “I have to be sure that no one has followed me or can find me. Then… we’ll see. I have ways to reach you.”

  “You are overreacting,” Sarah said sternly.

  “I hope so. If anyone asks questions about me disappearing, can you head them off? Say that you’re in contact with me and I’m just fine. Make sure no one starts a missing person investigation.”

  “Yes, of course,” Sarah agreed. “But I don’t understand why you think this is necessary.”

  “Keep an eye out. See what happens.”

  “Okay. I guess someone will need to contact the people that you have appointments set up with as well.”

  “Oh, yeah. Could you do that?”

  “I will. You take care, Reg.”

  “I will. You too.” Reg touched the red button to end the call.

  The silence in the car was deafening.

  Reg picked up what she needed for Starlight and added a pint of ice cream to her cart. She hadn’t gotten her ice cream the night before, due to the complication of running into Julian.

  She couldn’t put her whole life back to rights, but she could have her ice cream. Knowing that her load would be heavy with kitty litter and cans of cat food, she didn’t bother to get anything else. She had what she needed to survive. She would get breakfast at the B&B and maybe go out for dinner in the evening. It wasn’t a big deal if she missed meals. She’d missed plenty before and could stand to lose a few pounds. It was more important to stay safe and out of sight.