The younger woman picks up after two rings. "Hello, Narcissa. Is everything all right?" comes the soft, curious tone over the phone.
Narcissa does her best to keep her voice level and pleasant. "Everything is fine, dear. I am decluttering my shed and there are some books that belonged to a white MP I knew that I think should go to you, as you are the strongest white MP I know. I was wondering if I could get your address again so I can mail them off to you?"
There is an odd silence on the other end for more than a beat. "Hold on a moment, will you please?"
There is mumbling and Narcissa knows HJ is talking to somebody else who is also wherever she happens to be. The mumbling grows more heated and Narcissa swears she hears a man's voice and feels herself frown, as the male voice gets louder and more insistent. Then HJ seems to cut him off.
A moment later she comes back on the phone. "You know what, I was actually in Vancouver for the long weekend since I didn't have to work on Veterans Day, but my plans are not going the way I thought they would. If you don't mind I can stop by the house in an hour or two and stay for a visit or take you out to lunch and pick up the items in person. Will that be all right?"
The tone to the younger woman's voice worries Narcissa. Even if she isn’t in a hurry to disperse all of her items, that tone would have made her say yes. There was desperation and a worry to it. She finds herself responding with another question instead of an answer.
"Are you all right, child?" Her voice comes out stern and matronly. She doesn’t try and hide the unpleasantness she thinks is happening on the other side of the phone.
"I will be. I'll explain to you when I get there. I'll see you in about two hours then?"
"Of course, HJ. See you in two hours."
If Narcissa isn’t mistaken, a sigh of relief comes over the phone. "Great, see you then." Then the phone call ends.
Narcissa's brain works at the problem as she sets the phone down on the counter. There was definitely relief in HJ's voice when Narcissa agreed to let the younger woman come over. But she didn't sound like she was in danger. While HJ is a powerful MP, that doesn’t mean she would use her powers to defend herself. On the plus side, with both Bandit and Narcissa here, if HJ makes it to the house, nothing negative will happen to her. Setting the whole thing aside to gnaw on later after she gets HJ's version of the story, Narcissa walks back to the hidden bookcase, scanning the titles to see what will be going where. Her next step will be to go down her list getting every address she needs to ship the collection she has been building for decades.
Chapter 3
Everyone Narcissa calls, except Harold, picks up the phone. Not entirely surprising as Harold still only maintains a land line with an answering machine. It usually takes him almost a week to return calls, so she isn’t surprised when she hears the voicemail kick on.
Rex was more than happy and more than a little suspicious of what he called Narcissa's generous gift but also said there was a young pupil of his who would benefit from her texts greatly. Rex himself is a red MP and specializes in training those who are either on the path toward or become red MPs and need help knowing the boundaries that keep them off the black MP list.
While the counsel believes in balance, they are also not fans of Magical Practitioners who dabble in the dark arts. Every Magical Practitioner home has a list containing all known red and black MPs in whatever Kingdom they reside in. The lists update magically overnight. They are not one hundred percent accurate in that they rely heavily on self-registration or multiple confirmed sightings of an MP changing colors.
An MP can see what color magic another MP is because there is a fog that varies in degrees of density depending on how powerful that individual practitioner is. It is hard to hide what one's color specialization is. It is certainly do-able but is rare outside of those who are trying to hide that they've been doing black magic. Even then a strong enough MP can see through any camouflage a spell can come up with.
This makes Rex's training especially pertinent to young red MPs. Red is one step away from black and he made it his mission decades ago to help foster those who need it and to train them on how to be responsible red MPs and not cross the line into black. He doesn’t always succeed and is heartbroken every time he finds out an ex-pupil went dark, but it doesn’t seem to deter him from his goal.
He tells Narcissa he has recently been taking on gray MPs who couldn't travel to see her or Harold. He has a lot less experience; since he went from gray to red in his mid-twenties, almost half his life ago, he didn't remember the ins and outs of everything so the texts she sends him will be helpful for not only his pupils but him as well. Narcissa is glad to oblige and when Rex questions her, she simply says she is getting to an age where taking pupils is becoming increasingly difficult. She is easing herself into retirement, she says and only maintaining her duties on the Council and to those who come seeking advice on an individual basis, but that she’ll no longer hang up her shingle as a mentor.
That isn’t unbelievable since the last pupil she took on was almost five years ago. Since then she has been turning people down for anything longer than a week at a time. It has become too tiring to keep pupils for weeks or months as she did in her youth.
After she gets off the phone with Rex, she grabs the books she’ll be giving to HJ and locks up the shed. When she reenters the house, several of her cabinet doors, not just the ones whose hinges were broken, are completely off the cabinets themselves. Bandit is outside the kitchen in the hallway that leads to the living room. His eyebrows knit together in concentration as he scrolls down his phone.
"What on Earth have you done to my kitchen, Bandit?" Narcissa says with a sigh as she plops the heavy books on her kitchen table next to a toolbox that usually stays in its home in the garage unless one of the brothers were there.
Bandit looks up from his phone in surprise; he was concentrating so hard on whatever was on his phone he didn’t register that she came back into the house. "I'm trying to find the hinges you have on your doors. I wanted to make sure you had a matching set but it looks like they aren't still in circulation. I knew when Buck installed these fancy specialty hinges a decade ago that it would be a problem later and sure enough now I can't find them. I don't know why he felt you needed ornate hinges on your kitchen cabinet doors. I think I'm going to get all new ones and install plain, sturdy hinges so we don't have to worry about this again." He doesn’t seem entirely thrilled with his brother as he speaks.
Not that Narcissa blames him. A little more than ten years ago the cabinets were creaking quite loudly and Narcissa was covering them in WD-40, which didn't solve the problem in the long term. On one of his visits, Buccaneer volunteered to fix them, but he became overzealous and bought ornate hinges with little flower prints on them. It didn't seem to matter that she had no interest in them whatsoever. To her they looked cheap and unnecessary but he was the one doing it so she didn't say anything. She knew the next time Buccaneer and Bandit spoke, Buck would be getting an ear full.
"When are you planning on heading out to the hardware store?" Narcissa responds, laying on a heavy layer of patience to her voice to cover up the amusement she feels towards Bandit's frustration.
Sighing, he clicks the side button on his phone and slides it into the back pocket of his dark jeans. "Depends, are we going to the post office today or do you need another day to put stuff together?"
Narcissa leans on the table and glances at the clock before looking back at Bandit. She wants to make sure lunch will be ready when HJ arrives. It’s good hospitality, especially considering the younger woman seemed a little stressed. There is nothing like home-cooked food to comfort the soul. If HJ is on time, and Narcissa has no reason to think she won’t be, she has about forty-five minutes to cook. And she doesn’t know how long HJ will stay. So it is probably best if she gives it another day, so she doesn’t rush and forget something.
"I think tomorrow afternoon will be best. The white MP
I spoke of happens to be in Vancouver already so she's going to swing by for lunch. I expect her within the hour and I don't know how long her visit will be."
As expected, the side of Bandit's mouth works up and he takes two steps towards her. "So, what age bracket would you put this white MP in?" His lips grow into a devious smile.
Narcissa rolls her eyes deep into her head before moving to the refrigerator, brushing past him and nudging him a little bit harder than necessary. "You stay away from her, Bandit. She has confidence issues enough without your particular brand of wooing getting involved. Don't think I don't know what you and your brother seem to think your love lives are. You are not going to ‘love them and leave them’ on this one. You hear me?" she lectures, looking over her shoulder at him with the sternest expression possible as she opens the fridge door.
Bandit puts his hands up again and takes a step back. "Alright, alright, you win. If that's the case, I'll head to the hardware store now. There are a couple nails I need to pick up and odds and ends to fortify that banister on the staircase. It's not on your list but I noticed it's wobbly, so I'll grab everything and be back in time for lunch most likely; if I'm not start without me." He takes a quick step and kisses her on the top of the head in a brotherly way before beelining out of the house.
Shaking her head, Narcissa leans down and scans the contents of the refrigerator to see what can be thrown together for a nice lunch for three people. She is so used to cooking for herself that even though she expected one of the brothers to show up, she didn't have enough contents in her fridge for a big meal. As her family did for centuries when relatives stopped by with no notice, she knows she can make do with what she has on hand. It is cold enough outside that a nice hearty stew will be perfect. Though she doesn’t have time to let it simmer on the stove for hours, she can still make a good one.
Chapter 4
Sure enough, at twelve-thirty on the nose the doorbell rings. Narcissa is singing to herself the songs her grandmother used to sing while she cooked. Old songs she doesn’t know the names of and is sure the words she associates with them are not the original words, but she finds great comfort in singing them as she cooks. Singing is part of the cooking process for her. She opens the preheated oven and slides in the garlic cheese bread she threw together with the homemade rolls she made earlier in the week. She takes her time setting the timer then makes her way to the front door.
It is a sign of HJ's politeness that she doesn’t knock again or try ringing the doorbell incessantly in case Narcissa didn’t hear it. The young woman waits patiently on the front porch, gaining her an even bigger smile from Narcissa as she opens the door.
She takes in the younger woman as quickly as possible to see if she can gauge what kind of situation HJ was in.
The woman's bright green Fiat seems perfectly fine in the driveway. Narcissa's gaze quickly moves to HJ. The younger woman's blond curls have been wrangled up into a ponytail, though some of them have made their way out of the band and frame her face. Her round pale face is flushed, but it is cold outside so that doesn’t mean anything. The younger woman is only about two inches taller than Narcissa, more with the heeled boots she’s wearing. When Narcissa looks at her eyes she sees frustration and pain swirling in the ocean blue irises that stare back at her. HJ forces a smile but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
Narcissa knows she’s frowning as she reaches out to the younger woman, wrapping her in a tight hug. HJ's arms wrap around her in turn and they stand there a moment until Narcissa feels HJ's body relax ever so slightly.
She backs up, motioning for the other woman to come inside. "I'm so sorry, I should've had you come in immediately. It's grown a bit chilly this afternoon."
HJ gives a small chuckle as she walks back with Narcissa. "No worries, it's not like I was out there that long." She takes a deep breath and frowns slightly. She turns to Narcissa, putting her hands on her hips. "I planned on taking you out to lunch but it smells like you've beat me to it and made something. Don't get me wrong, it smells delicious and I'm grateful, but I didn't want to put you out."
Narcissa waves her off and turns towards the kitchen, speaking over her shoulder, "Nonsense. You sounded like you needed some good, warm home-cooking when I spoke to you on the phone. Besides I have an overnight guest that I am feeding anyway so it's no trouble to add another plate."
There’s an intake of breath from behind Narcissa. "Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to intrude if you have someone you're training."
Before HJ can excuse herself, Narcissa turns and looks at her, giving a stern expression; it works better on HJ than it should work on a woman coming up on thirty. "Don't be ridiculous. It's a friend and he's here to check up on me like his brother and he do from time to time. You'll have to excuse the mess he's made in the kitchen. He's trying to fix some things for me and it seems he became a little overzealous." She turns and keeps walking, heading straight for the stove so she can stir the pot of beef stew.
She's already cleaned off the table, so she points to it as HJ follows her into the room.
"Grab yourself a drink, I'm almost done here and then have a seat at the table. Lunch will be ready in ten minutes. The two thick books, the two thin ones, and the medallion sitting in a stack on the table are all for you. Remember to take them on your way out. I put them on the table in hopes we wouldn't forget," Narcissa explains before turning her attention back to the food. Several herbs have to go in last minute so they don’t go limp as they cook.
"Oh, thank you, Narcissa. This is really kind of you. Would you like me to grab you something to drink while I'm at it?" she hears from a few feet over as HJ reaches up and grabs a cup.
"No, I've got some water next to the stove but thank you." Narcissa waits until the noises associated with HJ getting a glass of water subside before speaking. "So would you like to tell me what was going on during our phone call earlier today?” she asks the younger woman, keeping her tone as neutral as possible.
While she and Harper Janine are in no way strangers, they don’t have the mentor-mentee relationship Narcissa has with many other MPs HJ's age. Narcissa is relying on HJ's politeness and her general people-pleasing nature to be enough to answer her question.
Some shuffling comes from the table but Narcissa doesn’t look to see what exactly is making the noises. She knows better than to turn and give a pointed stare. The younger woman will be uncomfortable enough in the silence that she’ll speak. Whether to answer the question or to state it is not any of Narcissa's business, she can’t predict. While Narcissa hopes for the former, she can appreciate the latter as well. She worries about the young white MP’s backbone sometimes and displaying it to Narcissa would be a good sign.
After more than a full minute of silence she hears her guest sigh. "It was just an awkward situation I feel I should have been able to get myself out of beforehand. Nothing too serious. I've been seeing a man, a gray MP, I met at a Magical Practitioners mixer I guess is the word for it. He seemed nice enough and we went on a couple of dates. We've been seeing each other for several months now and this was the first time we went away for the weekend. We drove up late last night because he ended up having to work late on a project at his day job. I figured he must not be a very strong practitioner if he still had a day job but to each their own."
Narcissa looks over to HJ tracing the gold on the top large book as Narcissa did earlier. Clearly lost in thought as she spoke.
"We didn’t get in until after midnight so we ended up crashing once at the hotel. Then went out to brunch this morning. The weirdest thing happened at brunch. It was as if he was a different person. I assumed it was a lack of sleep or exhaustion as he just wrapped up a large project at work. But he was rude and dismissive to the wait staff, which I'm not a fan of in the first place and if he had done that kind of thing before I wouldn't have continued to go out with him.
"Then we went out for a walk and he was night and day talking to me then the staf
f. We stopped to get coffee and he was almost snippy. When we were outside in the sunlight I looked at him and there was this weird, flash I guess you would say, as he got angry with a passing bicyclist that rode a little too close to us. Sure, the bicyclist was at fault but his reaction was overkill. And as I watched his energy grew darker. And I don't mean his aura I mean his magical energy grew darker and darker gray. I've never seen it before. And as it went later in the morning it grew darker.
"We stopped in a little shop and he seemed to be friends with the owner. He had me wait in the front of the shop for maybe five minutes as what was clearly a red MP and he went to the back of the shop and that seemed suspicious to me. When he came back out his energy was back to a light gray again.
"I don't know why but my instincts tell me he might not be a gray MP and was in fact trying to hide that fact either from me or in general. It made me really uncomfortable and I knew I didn't want to spend the rest of the weekend with him because one, that's a massive deception and two I'm not sure I want to be associated with a black MP even if they're hiding themselves. The strata enforcers aren't necessarily understanding about that kind of thing.
"You called while we were leaving the shop and it gave me an excuse to leave. He grew rather angry that I would leave early, which only fortified my feelings that it needed to happen. I told him that I was leaving and didn't want to see him anymore. I told him the way he treated wait staff made me uncomfortable and I didn't want to be around it. I don't know how he really felt about that because I bolted and went back to the hotel, leaving the key inside as fast as possible. He didn't follow me, which was weird but I'm grateful. I'm also grateful I had the peace of mind to take two separate vehicles since I promised my sisters I would stop by a bakery in Bellingham on my way home."
Visions Across the Veil Page 3