A Witch's Magic

by N. E. Conneely

  Option One: agree with Susanna and hope I could rescue as many of us as possible before too much harm was done.

  Or take Option Two: do not comply. Do not pass go. Maybe we all die.

  Twice, I opened my mouth to ask Ethel what to do and thought better of it. Susanna was a competent witch and more than capable of listening in from a distance. Nothing we said was truly private.

  “Susanna was behind the magic you’ve been chasing,” Ethel volunteered.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Ever since you informed me illegal goods were still being discovered, I started an investigation. Susanna’s first clan was disbanded for misusing their magic years ago. I hired her to keep a closer eye on her, though as you can see, that didn’t go as planned.” The chains clanked as Ethel motioned to the cell.

  “It was a good distraction.”

  “Do what she asks Michelle,” Ethel whispered.

  I didn’t answer my premier. Once I’d had to watch my mother and father being tortured. No matter how many times I replayed my actions that day, I always wished I’d intervened sooner. I didn’t know if I could watch Susanna hurt Elron. I didn’t know that he’d be safe if I complied.

  Acting the part of the docile little witch didn’t feel right either. I couldn’t do it for long. Susanna had to know me well enough to know that, so she’d never release Elron. He’d be her prisoner until she no longer needed me, and then we’d both be dead.

  “What does she want with you?” I asked.

  Ethel hesitated. “I’m her contingency plan.”

  “And after telling everyone you’re dead, just how is that going to work?”

  Ethel didn’t answer.

  I leaned back against the wall. “I see.”

  She was the contingency if I didn’t cooperate and Susanna killed me. My part in this mess would be rewritten. I would become the evil mastermind, the one who’d sacrifice anything to get power. Ethel would reappear, rescued by Susanna, only to resign or die publicly. That would clear the way for Susanna to step into Ethel’s shoes. Once Susanna was premier, few would stand in her way, even if they disagreed with her decisions. Years of progress, gone.

  The silence stretched on, with the block walls obscuring enough outside sound that it became the two of us in our own small world. At some point, I must’ve drifted off, not asleep but not truly awake either.

  The door rattled, and I came back to myself with a jolt and shiver.

  Susanna held the door open. Zach huffed his way into view, dragging someone along with him. The hall light caught on silver hair. Zach heaved Elron through the door.

  He landed limply on the floor, skin sallow, a smear of dried blood across his cheek.

  Elron was alive. For now, but they hadn’t treated him as kindly as Ethel. It didn’t take a clairvoyant to know our future depended on the next few minutes.

  My gaze went from his prone form to Susanna. “What do you want?”

  “You agree to do as I say, and the elf comes to no harm.”

  “That’s a promise you’ve already broken.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Most humanoids don’t do well without food or water. I could remedy that, if only you’d do as told.”

  “You’ll have to be very clear as to what you want.”

  Anything to buy time. Three captives and an open door. This was about as good as an escape opportunity got. Well, being out of the chains and nullifying cuffs would help, but baby steps.

  Susanna shook her head. “I don’t trust you, Michelle. I don’t trust you’ll hold up your side of our little bargain.”

  “Give him food and water, and I’ll do what you ask.”

  “No.” She pointed her wand at Elron. “Algiz.”

  Invisible bindings pulled his arms against his body. From the stiff position he ended up in, they seemed to reach from his knees to shoulders.

  “Nazid.” Susanna levitated him off the ground, repositioning him so it almost looked as if he was kneeling next to her, head bowed. Through all the movement, Elron didn’t stir.

  She had to have another spell on him, perhaps a sleep spell. I hoped that was it. The other option was injury.

  “All this hair. It won’t do him any good here.” The end of her wand flattened. She lifted a slender braid and brought her wand next to his scalp.

  She sliced through his hair and into his skin. “It seems I need to work on my technique.”

  Blood ran down his temple, but he still didn’t stir.

  Susanna twisted another lock of hair around her fingers, pulling it taunt. The bladed tip of her wand scraped across his scalp. Blood oozed in its wake.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Wake up! I wanted to scream at him. Fight back!

  Elron didn’t react at all to that slice. Or the next one. If he’d been capable of waking up and fighting, he would’ve.

  I bit my lip to keep from shouting at him. As bad as this was, it could be worse, and it would be if I antagonized Susanna. I couldn’t do anything but watch as she carelessly cut another chunk of hair. She sliced into his scalp again, and again with the next cut.

  “Stop, please, stop,” I begged. “I’ll do what you want.”

  She curled a strand of hair around her fingers. “You will learn I do not make empty threats.”

  I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t close my eyes. I watched every cut. I winced even though Elron couldn’t. I cried. Not tears of pain, but of anger.

  My hands shook as they tightened to fists. If Susanna thought this would teach me to be quiet and do as she said, she was wrong. I would be quiet, because I would watch. I needed one moment, a second where I could get the upper hand. That’s all it would take.

  “Last one.” Her wand dripped blood as she let the last strand of Elron’s hair fall. It drifted down to the bloody pile of hair around him. His remaining hair, an uneven fuzz, held thick drops of blood, making his head look like one ragged wound.

  Looking past Elron, I found Susanna watching me. Watching my tears.

  “You’ll do what I want, how I want, for as long as I want, or I’ll find another way to hurt him.” She rested the sharpened point of her wand against his throat.

  “After the press release, he gets food, water, and medical care.” My voice shook.

  She tipped her head to the side. “That wasn’t what I said.”

  I bowed my head, hiding the anger I couldn’t keep out of my eyes. “Please. I’ll do anything if you’ll take care of him.”

  Ethel drew in a sharp breath.

  “Fine.” She lowered Elron back to the floor and turned her wand on me. “Algiz.”

  Ropes pulled my arms in close, tightening until I could only take shallow breaths.

  “Zach, undo her cuffs,” Susanna ordered.

  He stepped over Elron. His boots left bloody tracks marking the distance between Elron and me. Zach’s fingers dug into my arm. He hauled me upright, but after all the time on the concrete floor, my legs had gone to sleep. Sharp pinpricks ran down them.

  Zach fumbled with the lock as I swayed. He muttered a curse and steadied me with one hand as he removed the cuffs.

  For a moment, I could access my magic, but I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t cast complex spellwork without a wand since before the accident.

  A heaviness settled over my mind, pushing away thoughts of fighting. The pain in my legs battled for attention but fell beneath the blanket of the compulsion spell.

  “Michelle, look at me,” Susanna commanded.

  My head moved, and my eyes went to her.

  “Good.” Her satisfied smile faltered when she noticed Elron. “Zach, lock him up. Michelle, follow me.”

  The spell told me to walk directly to her, but that would force me to step on Elron’s hair, in his blood.

  “Don’t do it,” Ethel whispered.

  Susanna narrowed her eyes at Ethel.

  In that fraction of a second, I pushed against the spell. My foot landed on the other side of his hair, but
I couldn’t miss the blood.

  Susanna’s attention snapped back to me, but she’d missed my little rebellion. She’d missed the real meaning of Ethel’s words.

  Don’t waste effort on the small battle. Pick your moment. Fight to win.

  With Elron’s blood marking my passing. I joined Susanna in the hall.

  She took the nullifying cuffs from Zach and tucked them through her belt.

  I waited for her orders. Three other doors came off this hall, two on the same wall as the room that had been my prison and one at the end of the hall. The room I’d come from didn’t have a sign, but the other two were labeled as storage and the bathroom. The door at the end of the hall would take me to the rest of the building.

  That was where I could fight Susanna.

  “Follow me.”

  Like a good little witch, I trailed after her.

  “We can move the press conference here. I’d planned on you announcing your resignation, but I like this better.” She stopped. “Open the door for me.”

  Dutifully, I moved around her. The door opened to a small office space with several desks. A strong air freshener warred with a sour odor I couldn’t place. Marquette lounged in a chair.

  If Isadora wasn’t involved in all of this, she really needed better friends.

  “Michelle, you will follow Marquette’s orders as if they are mine.” Susanna took a seat at the desk next to Marquette. “Get her ready for the conference. We’re moving it here.”

  “Here?” Marquette leaned forward. “Are you sure that’s wise, with, you know, going on?”

  Susanna flicked her fingers dismissively. “They’ll never know the broadcast came from here. And our newest asset should be able to take care of that other issue for us.”

  Through the haze of the compulsion spell, I didn’t care about their problem. I didn’t care about anything but my next orders. Under it, I waited. Once, I’d have risked two-against-one odds, but I wasn’t that witch any more.

  “Michelle, call Rodriguez. Tell him you found a magical problem at Regional Disposal and have sealed the border for the town’s protection. You’re working with a clan to come fix the issue. It isn’t safe for him or his men to be here.” Susanna pointed to a phone on the desk next to her.

  I did as I was told and listened to the phone ring, her orders clear in my head.

  “Officer Rodriguez.”

  “It’s Michelle. I’m inside the gate at Regional Disposal and have sealed the area after finding magic similar to what we’ve been dealing with. I’m in contact with a clan to fix the issue, so the police aren’t needed.” The words filtered through the compulsion spell before reaching the part of me that could think. I didn’t sound like myself.

  “Is that so?” Rodriguez asked.

  “I’m sorry for the confusion. It’s a dynamic situation.” The spell made me say exactly what Susanna would want me to say, not what I’d actually say.

  “Why aren’t you calling me on your phone?”

  “It was damaged before I got the situation under control.”

  “Alright then,” he said briskly. “I’ll move everyone out and put up road blocks to ensure no one comes in contact with this area. We don’t need another Roasted Beans situation.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be in touch if the situation changes.” I hung up and turned to Susanna. “Was that satisfactory?”

  Her fingers tapped on the desk. “We will see.”

  Marquette toggled the screens on her computer until she found a video feed of the front gate. The police were getting in their cars and driving away. She switched to a different camera, watching until all of them had retreated down the road and out of sight.

  Susanna turned to me and nodded. “You saved your elf more pain.”

  The compulsion didn’t allow for a reaction, but it couldn’t stop the spark of anger.

  Soon. Soon I’d be in the right position to fight back.

  “Get her camera ready. Zach and I will set up for filming. We can tape it now and show it later as if it’s live.” Susanna pushed away from the desk. “I’ll write up questions we can ask, make it sound like press is there and interactive.”

  “She’ll be ready soon.” Marquette pushed away from her desk. “Follow me.”

  The compulsion had me on my feet and following Marquette. She led me back through the door Susanna and I had come through and ushered me into the bathroom. Before the door closed behind me, I saw Zach walk out of Ethel and Elron’s room.

  “Sit.”

  Either Susanna had planned to have me here at some point, or she’d been using this as her base of operations for a while because a small rack of suits sat in a corner next to a slender rolling set of drawers and two chairs.

  Marquette took the seat across from me and rummaged in the drawers until she came out with cloths and a fistful of cosmetics. “Hold still.”

  I couldn’t move while she scrubbed my face with a cloth and then slathered a lotion on me.

  “I questioned Susanna when she had me buy clothing in your size. I questioned when she had me befriend Isadora, but Susanna is always right. With only a little encouragement, Isadora set in motion your downfall. Shame you interfered when we tried to set her up for Ethel’s death, but Susanna said she had a better plan, and she was right.” Marquette leaned back to inspect her work. “Let that soak in. After makeup, we’ll do your hair and get you changed.”

  Her words flowed over me as I retreated to the part of me the compulsion couldn’t touch. The two of us alone in a room seemed like a great opportunity, but it was too soon. I knew Rodriguez, and he wouldn’t believe what I’d said on the phone. He was my back-up plan in case I failed, but that meant I had to buy him time to come back with a way through the gates. I couldn’t gamble with Elron’s and Ethel’s lives.

  Marquette did my makeup and hair, and she dressed me as one would a large doll. Eventually, she positioned me in front of the mirror on the back of the bathroom door. The woman in that mirror looked polished, the type of woman who’d wear a plum suit and decided the fate of her race. Only the eyes were empty. No spark, no passion, nothing but a shell.

  I must’ve passed Marquette’s inspection because she ushered me out of the room and into the conference room, where Susanna and Zach had set up a royal purple backdrop with the seal of the premier in the center. By tradition, only the premier or her representative could use this background. I hadn’t used it before and wouldn’t have until I was sworn into the office if the decision had been left up to me.

  Susanna looked me over from head to toe. “Good. Stand behind the podium, but be careful not to lean on it.”

  From the front, it looked study and official, but when I rounded the side, I noticed the thin boards and equally fragile frame. For as nice as it looked, it had all the structure of a cheap prop. I took my place, complete with blank cards so it would look like I had something to refer to. But I knew how Susanna liked to organize her confrences. Letters took shape next to the camera.

  “Questions and voice adjustments to use with them.” Susanna handed a sheet to Zach and Marquette, keeping one for herself.

  A man in Regional Disposal coveralls barged into the room. “I got it—”

  “Stop.” Susanna’s order cut through his words.

  He froze, mouth in mid-motion, body completely still.

  That was a compulsion, just like the one she had on me. While she was distracted, I studied Marquette and Zach. They didn’t jump to follow her orders the way I did, but there were different types of compulsions. Some were more mild. Even so, there would be signs. If I was a betting woman (not that my luck had ever given me a reason to gamble), I’d put money on them being true believers.

  A shame, really. The more compulsions Susanna was holding, the less magic she’d have for other spells.

  “You will knock before entering a room. You will not speak until spoken to.” Susanna sighed. “What do you have to report?”

  Even after the scolding, he didn
’t look the slightest bit upset. “I have the chemicals repackaged and set out for you to spell. What else do you want me to do?”

  Susanna walked out of the conference room, returning a few minutes later with a small bag of white powder and a water bottle of fluid.

  I tried to reach out a probe, but the compulsion wouldn’t let me. Susanna hadn’t told me to do magic, so I couldn’t, but I could still feel a spell in the water. The powder she had dumped into the drink was the real problem. For humans, it could give them magical abilities for a time, but it was dangerous. Their bodies weren’t designed for large energy transfers, and it could be unpredictable. When witches consumed the powder, it supercharged their magic for a time, but for us, the risk was even greater. For many, it was addictive, and a single dose was enough. Others couldn’t manage that amount of power in their skin and burned themselves out.

  “Take a sip, then take the potion to the rest of the employees. Each of them should take a sip. Defend against any intruders.” Susanna handed him the bottle, sparks swirling through as the powder dissolved.

  Damn. I should’ve staged my rebellion when I was in makeup.

  He took a single swallow of the fluid before capping it, bowing, and retreating. “Yes, premier.”

  Susanna closed the door behind him before resuming our little farce. “Read the statement, then take questions as if this is real. Answers will appear in the same place as the statement.”

  The compulsion rolled over me again, shoving away the part of me that could function independent of her orders. My body did as told.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Witches and warlocks, I come to you again in this troubled time to bring hope.” Ugh. She’d even given me a terrible speech. “At the request of numerous clans, I will be taking over as Premier effective immediately. It has become clear to many of us that the path Premier Ethel laid out before her untimely demise isn’t viable. An interim premier and a premier in training was an unprecedented solution that is unwieldy and impractical.”