Mind Games

by Christine Amsden

  “It’s hard to say,” Alexander said. “But they did try to take you. If it hadn’t been for Evan–”

  “Stop!” I put my hands up to ward off the name.

  My father shot me a look that said we’ll talk about this later. He was clearly upset that I hadn’t told him, but I’d had other things on my mind. “All right,” Dad said. “Do they have anyone now?”

  “Two of my people,” Alexander said. “I think it’s time we took care of this threat, don’t you?”

  “I suppose so,” Dad said.

  Alexander inclined his head toward Matthew. “What about you?”

  Matthew shook his head. “The Travises don’t know about me and I’d like to keep it that way. Unless you’re running desperately short on men, I’d prefer to stay out of it.”

  A sense of something – disappointment, perhaps – came over me at hearing his answer. Weren’t some things more important than anonymity?

  “I’ll go,” Nicolas said. So much for his investigating the remains of the Robertses’ house tonight.

  “Great.” Alexander stood. “I’ve got a little more recruiting to do, but we’ve got a dozen men and women lined up so far, not counting my own men.”

  “This doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind about you,” Dad said. “I’ll still oppose you.”

  “Of course.” Alexander didn’t look in the least perturbed. He didn’t act like much put him out. “So, is there anything that would make you support magical unification?”

  “No,” Dad said, but his eyes fell on me and suddenly, he didn’t look as sure. “Well, maybe one thing.”

  My mouth fell open, but Alexander beat me to the question.

  “What?” Alexander asked.

  “If you’re really into justice, then get my daughter’s magic back.”

  My mouth remained open, but my voice failed me. What could I say? What should I say? Dad was asking Alexander to get me exactly what I had always wanted.

  Burgeoning hope overwhelmed me to the point of pain. Get me my magic back? Wow. I wouldn’t have to take crap from people like the McClellans anymore. As a deputy, I could enforce the laws more equally, even if the law breakers used magic. I wouldn’t need a name to protect me – I could protect myself.

  I also wouldn’t need Matthew, although I would still marry him anyway. It would be an even better relationship, because we could be equals. Maybe he would even share the secrets of mind magic with me, and I could learn to read his mind, or at least his feelings. Sharing his mind last night had been one of the most intimate moment of my entire life.

  With magic, I would completely belong to my family and community. I would no longer be a weak link or a disappointment. I would be… Cassandra.

  “I’ll give it some thought,” Alexander said, shooting a slight speculative glance in my direction. “Right now, we need to get going.”

  Then he, Dad, and Nicolas headed out the door to deal with the Travises, leaving me alone with my mother and my pounding heart.

  “He shouldn’t have said that,” Mom told me. “I wouldn’t want you to get your hopes up. I used to dream about finding the guy who took my magic and somehow getting it back. If he can make Evan…”

  Evan. I hadn’t considered him, had I? What would this cost him? How much pain? I remembered sharing my mother’s pain when we had been connected. Would it hurt us that much, too? Then I remembered the recently drained woman we’d met the other day, the one with the light gone from her eyes. Would it return in time? My mother’s had, or at least, some version of it had. But how much had she lost that had never returned? And how long had it taken to reclaim what she had?

  “Would you do it?” I asked. “Would it be worth the pain?”

  “Oh yes,” Mom said, a strange gleam in her eyes. “It’s worse for the person losing the magic. And then I’d have it back, and he’d just have the pain.”

  The look in her eyes frightened me, though I couldn’t say why. She was describing what I desperately wanted, wasn’t she? If only I could get the image of a drained Evan out of my mind.

  “It’s not his,” Mom said, as if sensing my doubts. “It’s yours. I know his father is to blame for it all, but he still has it, and it doesn’t belong to him.”

  20

  WESLEY AND I HAD A FULL and exhausting day on Monday. Our first stop was Clark and Linda Eagle, two of the oldest and most respected sorcerers in town. Linda was the witch midwife who had delivered me, along with all of my brothers and sisters. One of those brothers, Nicolas, was apprenticed to Clark Eagle. Nicolas was there when I called, beads of sweat dotting his forehead as if he’d been working hard. They were outside, Clark and Nicolas, practicing defensive shielding around the back of the house. I saw the flames long before Linda Eagle rushed outside to point the way.

  “Yes, your father told us you’d probably be by today,” Linda said with her usual sedate and understanding air. “It’s such a shame that it’s come to this, but most of us knew it was only a matter of time.” Then she changed subjects faster than blinking. “How’s your mother doing? She always eats too many sweets when she’s pregnant. Those weight control potions are no substitute for eating a healthy, balanced diet.”

  Since my mother had eaten at least two pieces of chocolate cake the night before, I would say she wasn’t following her midwife’s advice, but I didn’t rat her out.

  “She’s been a bad influence on that young friend of yours, Kaitlin. Not that she’ll let me look at her, you know. Insists on seeing that hack Dr. Williams. I swear he cuts open half his patients when a little patience and common sense would do the trick. Childbirth is more spiritual than magical, you know. Oh, I help out a bit here and there, especially if my patients get too uptight. People like to freak out young moms, in particular. Why, when she went into serious labor with you, your mom had a full-blown panic attack!”

  Linda went on in that vein, talking practically nonstop until we reached the practice field in back – a large clear space, about an acre, where two men, young and old, battled for supremacy. Linda rang a bell that, to my ears, made no sound. It seemed to mean something to Clark and Nicolas, though, because they immediately stopped their lesson to join the three of us on the back porch.

  “I hope you’re being welcomed, Wesley,” Linda said, turning to my partner as if seeing him for the first time. “We’re a small town, but a touristy one, so we’re used to outsiders.”

  “Everyone’s been very nice, ma’am,” Wesley said.

  “So polite! Now that’s what I like to hear. I’m sure our little Cassandra has been filling you in on what you need to know. Well, not so little now, but you’ll excuse an old woman who was, after all, the first person to see her come into the world. Cassandra’s special, you know. She cares about people.”

  My face went red, but luckily Clark and Nicolas reached the patio before I had to find something to say.

  “Dad never called me last night,” I said to Nicolas.

  “We didn’t get back until five in the morning and he crashed,” Nicolas said. “Sorry about that.”

  “Everything’s okay, then?”

  He looked at Wesley suspiciously for a moment, but gave a slight nod. “Yeah, and I’ll check out that other thing tonight if I can.” Clearly that meant details would follow when civilians weren’t present.

  Clark was a short, balding man in his late sixties who had a tendency to bounce on the balls of his feet. “Yes, yes, Cassandra, nice to see you. Wish it were under different circumstances. Don’t like being accused of murder just because I could have pulled it off, you know.”

  “So you could have done it?” Wesley asked.

  Clark bounced and nodded, a motion that made him look oddly like a marionette. “Yes, yes, everyone knows that. Well, maybe not you since you’re new here, but my family has never hidden what we are. We founded this town, you know. Well, my great-great-great grandfather, at any rate, back in 1826. The lake wasn’t there at the time, of course. That was man-made only
fifty years ago or so, so he built his house directly over the node.” Clark pointed in the direction of the water. “That caused some fights later on, because everyone wanted to be as close to the node as possible. That’s why my grandfather compromised by influencing the creation of the lake over the top of it. Now we all have beach houses, nobody much closer to the energy source than the next person.”

  “You seem to care a great deal about the town,” Wesley said. “What do you think of a group coming in and claiming that witches should be killed?”

  Clark stopped bouncing for a few seconds. “That’s an awfully accusatory question, young man. Think carefully before asking questions like that.”

  “Come on,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  “No, no, I’ll answer,” Clark said, resuming his bounce. He winked at me. “You know I don’t get bent out of shape over words, but others do. No, I tell you what, my father wasn’t thrilled when outsiders started filling the town in the 1950’s, setting up hotels and resorts, but by then he knew the world was going to be bigger than this settlement we had going on. We founded this place because we didn’t want to be a part of the world, but that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, we chose to be a part of a small, controlled part of it. So we tolerate the others.”

  Wesley had an odd, faraway look on his face, so I decided to try to lighten the mood. “We would be the others.”

  Clark laughed. “Not you, Cassandra. Even if it wasn’t self-evident, both the town seers swear there’s something special ahead for you. Alexander might have left your name off that guest list of his, but that only shows he doesn’t understand us here.”

  My mouth fell open a little. “How did you know that?”

  Linda put her arms around me and gave me a gentle squeeze. “It’s a small town, dear. Your roommate told your mother, who told me.”

  “So are you going?” I asked.

  Linda hesitated. “Yes, I think so. It never hurts to listen. Doesn’t mean we’ll accept what he has to say, of course.”

  “Of course.”

  We said good-bye to the Eagles and made our way back to the patrol car, Wesley oddly silent during the walk. He didn’t even try to fight for the driver’s seat.

  “What’s up?” I asked him. “You don’t think they had anything to do with the fire?”

  “Hard to say. They’re the most outspoken people we’ve talked to so far. So what’s up with that guest list they mentioned?”

  That was one thing I did not want to talk about. “It’s not important.”

  * * *

  By lunchtime Monday, I was ready to pull my hair out. Not only had most of the people we’d seen that morning been fairly hostile, but it was all useless. The sheriff wasn’t even letting me in on his part of the investigation, and sitting idly by while someone else did all the real work had never been to my liking. I wanted to do something; I even thought I’d be the best woman for the job, if I could only dedicate my time to it. True, I hadn’t made any headway on the McClellan case after many weeks, but this was different. This time, I felt like there was something hanging in front of me, just out of reach. I even thought it had something to do with the McClellan murder, though I kept getting stuck on that point. On the surface, the murders didn’t seem to have anything to do with one another.

  Monday afternoon brought us to another person I dreaded seeing, even though I’d never met her. Abigail Hastings was a powerful seer, which was bad enough, but she also happened to be Evan Blackwood’s maternal grandmother. She was almost eighty years old and wheelchair bound, though it surprised me that magic couldn’t have cured that.

  When I rang the bell, she bade us enter through a speaker system. “Come in, Cassandra! And your young man, as well.” She began to chuckle before she cut off the speaker.

  Tentatively pushing open the door, I walked through her foyer and into the formal dining room where Abigail sat, along with tea for three. “Come on in, I’ve been expecting you.”

  I glanced at Wesley, who gave me a helpless sort of shrug before taking the chair to Abigail’s right.

  “You’ll have to excuse a tired old woman, but if I’d waited until you got here to set everything out, you might have left before I had it done. I’m a feeble old woman, you see.” She coughed, dramatically.

  “Mrs. Hastings,” I began.

  “Grams. You simply must call me Grams.”

  “Um, is that something people call you?” I asked.

  “Of course not.” Abigail said. “Only my grandchildren call me that. Now, pour yourself some tea. Don’t be shy. It’s hard for me to reach.”

  I picked up the tea pot. “You’re not my grandmother.”

  “A technicality. I will be when you marry my grandson. I’m old, but I’m not senile. I still know present from future… most of the time.”

  I splashed some tea on the white linen tablecloth and cursed, softly.

  “Speak up, my dear,” Abigail said. “I’m a little hard of hearing.”

  “I think what I said was, ‘There’s no way in hell I’m going to marry your grandson.’”

  Abigail sighed. “He didn’t tell you the truth, did he? And you’ve found out for yourself. Tsk. Tsk.” She looked at Wesley imploringly. “I did warn him, you know, but he never listens to me.”

  “I don’t think the messenger matters nearly as much as the message,” I said.

  “Come now,” Abigail said. “There’s no point mincing words on young Wesley’s behalf. He can handle it.” She turned to Wesley, conspiratorially. “What Cassandra doesn’t realize is that I’m the one who made sure her parents wouldn’t tell her, so if there’s anyone she should be mad at, it’s me.”

  “What?” I stood up, splashing more tea on the tablecloth. “Why?”

  “So you would marry my grandson, of course. Aren’t you paying attention? It’s the same reason that stuck up Grace Blair tried to manipulate your family into disowning you a few months ago. Although if you ask me, they accepted her twisted prophecies way too easily.”

  My head was spinning. “Back up. How did my parents ever end up owing you anything in the first place?”

  “Oh not me. They owed Victor.”

  “After he stole my magic?” I asked, outraged.

  She scowled. “No, after your father sterilized Victor. Don’t think their enmity went only one way.”

  “Good! I’m glad my father got him back.”

  Her scowl deepened. “And cost me all those grandchildren I might have had. At least you were born. Do you regret it so much?”

  My mouth flapped open a couple of times, but I didn’t have anything to say to that.

  “Drink your tea, dear,” Abigail said.

  “Did you poison it?” I asked, red-faced. “Spike it with love potion, maybe?”

  “What a question! You’re confusing me with the Blairs. Grace and I had quite a fight recently about what her grandson is doing to you. She’s encouraging it, of course. Thinks you’re perfect for him, and even fixed it so your family couldn’t interfere.” She glanced at the diamond sparkling on my finger. “Seems to be working.”

  For a few short, heart-stopping moments, I knew exactly what she meant. A strong, almost overpowering sense of fear stabbed viciously through my body and, irrationally, I almost lashed out at the woman who, in my mind, had caused the pain and fear. My hands were nearly at her throat when something blocked me – an invisible but impenetrable wall.

  My head cleared and I sat, trying to pick up the last tendrils of sanity. It wasn’t true. The things Abigail said couldn’t be true. Not that it would matter if they were. I loved Matthew and he loved me. What was love if not this overwhelming feeling coursing through my body? Did it even matter what had caused me to fall in love in the first place?

  It was more than love, though. I needed Matthew. I needed his strength, his compassion, and his protection.

  “I have to go.” I stood.

  “You can fight him, my dear,” Abigail said. “But first you have to ack
nowledge what’s happening. He’s doing everything he can to make it tough, but I know you can fight him.”

  Fight him? Why would I even want to? At the moment, Matthew was the only thing standing between me and Evan. “Why do you care? So I can marry your grandson? He’s the one I need protection from.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t need protection from anyone, dear. You know, you really ought to stay with me for a while. I could show you a few things. I haven’t had an apprentice in years.”

  “Apprentice?” I was so shocked I could barely form the word. And yet, I sat back down. “Did you miss the part where your grandson and son-in-law stole all my magic?”

  “So? I never had any to begin with. No one questions my power.”

  “You can see the future,” I reminded her.

  “Yes, which is why I know that you’re ready to take charge of your own magical destiny. So come learn from me; I doubt you’ll get a better offer.”

  For a minute, I teetered on the edge of anger, trying to decide what to make of this outrageous old woman. There was no question that she wanted to manipulate me into marrying her grandson for whatever strange reasons she had, but she knew things. I’d never even considered getting a magical apprenticeship. I wasn’t even sure what I could learn, but here was this crazy old woman, handing me a surprisingly tempting offer.

  “Ah, you’re interested, I see.” Abigail took a sip of her tea and gave Wesley a conspiratorial wink. “You’re a quiet young man. Are you always so quiet?”

  “I’m a listener. You hear better when you don’t talk too much.”

  Abigail laughed. “I like him. You should go out with him, if you’re dead-set against my grandson. He’d be better than Matthew.”

  I glared at her. “There’s no way I’m going to take you up on your offer if you keep giving me unsolicited dating advice, especially if it involves your grandson.”

  “Oh?” She went suddenly serious. “Will you think about it, then?”

  Think about it, yes. I would be a fool not to seriously consider her offer, but I was definitely not ready to make promises. “Will you give me some straight answers?”