“As I said, not all magic is stolen.”
“And that’s how you were able to overpower five vampires at one time?” I asked.
“Well, it’s not as if I was facing all of them at a single time, is it? It was more like one after another.” He made it sound so easy, like his diagnosis back on the ward, the one that’d shamed me into doubting myself.
“That’s kind of the same thing,” I argued. “Five vampires is five vampires…”
“It’s not the same. Five at once would be difficult,” Matt said. “Even for me.”
“Difficult? You’re saying that when you faced five vampires, it wasn’t difficult?” I asked.
“Well, no; let’s say it wasn’t as difficult as it could have been. I’ve been in worse.”
“What is the paramilitary?”
“It’s a branch of the military which handles dangerous situations.”
“What kind of dangerous magical situations?” I wanted him to admit he was involved in magical stuff, but he seemed intent on avoiding the implication.
“The kind others can’t manage.” He watched me for another moment. “What were they after?”
“They tell me I have a Mark of the Elder,” I said.
“A vampire mark? Did they share with you why that’s so valuable?” He squinted at me, as if assessing.
“Other than it granting various vampire abilities?”
“That’s nothing more than a rumor,” he said.
“What isn’t a rumor?”
“The Mark allows its bearer to lead the family.”
“And they wanted because they want to—”
“Whoever is after it wants to lead. It’s dangerous to be caught up in a vampire succession. Too often, bodies get left in the wake,” Matt said.
“Well, I’m not going to get caught up in any succession,” I ventured.
“It seems as if you already are.”
Ugh. That made me shiver. So, I was caught in a vampire succession—one in which bodies might get left behind? I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that.
“I’ve got friends watching over me,” I said.
“The same friends you were going to call.”
“That’s right.” Was he challenging me? He thought my contacts weren’t enough to protect me?
“Well, what I’d like to know is,” he said, “where was your friend when you were attacked?”
“But he didn’t know I was going to be attacked, did he?” I argued.
“And yet, if he was watching over you, he should have anticipated it.” His face took on a smugness like he was sure he had one over on me.
“Like you did,” I said.
“Well, I had a hunch.” He relaxed a little.
“I imagine my friend will suspect you were responsible for the attack,” I came back at him.
“And he can think that if he chooses. Think that would worry me?” he asked.
“Yes. You want to assure me you have nothing to do with it.”
“Listen,” Matt said, a touch irritated. “I don’t need to assure you. I had nothing to do with it. Other than bringing you here. And I’ve met worse enemies in my time—”
“In the paramilitary…” I said, a little tired of hearing about it.
“Yes. That…” His voice trailed off.
I watched him for another moment before getting to my feet. I stood in place, afraid I might wobble and fall and was thankful I didn’t. “Are you going to prevent me from returning home?”
“I have no need to prevent you from returning home.”
“Because you intend to keep me here?” I said.
“Dr. Stone, I’m your intern,” he said. “Not your captor.”
“I’m not sure what you are getting at.”
“I’m not going to hold you. That’s not the mission, is it?”
I hesitated, watching him. “Then what is the mission?”
“Getting through residency!” He laughed, loud.
He stood and opened the door for me, standing off to the side and waiting for me to go first. After grabbing my coat, I refused to go ahead, feeling a little vulnerable. I nodded to him instead, encouraging him to take the lead. So, he walked on, guiding me through a paneled hallway matching the one inside the room—the home looked to be an older style.
When I reached the door, I paused. “Thank you.”
“Now, you’re going to thank me?”
“You helped me. Wasn’t I supposed to thank you?” I asked. I was finding this man confusing—maybe even deliberately so. I felt like one of his underlings in the military, as he toyed with words to see how I responded.
“I guess I would’ve expected that sooner,” came Matt’s answer.
“Yeah? Well, thanks don’t come easily to me.”
“Why is that?”
“It doesn’t matter. But thanks.” It struck me I had finally put an end to all of his relentless questioning. A flush of great relief washed over me; that had been tough. Grueling, even.
I headed outside, pulling my coat around me more tightly. It was chilly out, dusk lightening the sky. It wouldn’t be long before it was fully light. I turned around, realizing I had no idea where in the city Matt had brought me, but he’d already closed the door.
Stubbornly, I continued to walk away from the house and had the sense he was watching as I did. I ignored that and punched in a number on my phone, sending a quick message.
It didn’t take long before a car pulled up—the same Lexus Barden had picked me up in before, and he stopped in the middle of the street and waited for me.
“Dr. Stone.”
I shook my head, glancing back toward the small home. From the outside, it looked almost cozy, a faded white picket fence surrounding it. The homes on either side were not as well maintained as the one Matt occupied. I didn’t see anyone watching from the window, but I wasn’t sure if I even would.
“Thanks for getting me, Barden.”
“You care to tell me what this is about?”
“Not really. Not here.”
He got the passenger door for me, closing it and heading back around to the driver’s side. Once inside, he drove off without saying another word, guiding me to the condo. After parking in front of the building, he came around and opened the door for me, gesturing for me to go first.
I moved slowly inside the building, the nausea still persisting, and my head throbbing as I made my way toward the door. I had to wait for Barden to open it and was only distantly aware of his magic as he did, pressing the spell into the door before it opened.
Reaching my sofa, I sank back, lying flat and closing my eyes.
“What happened?” Barden asked.
“Apparently, I was attacked by five vampires outside this building.”
“Five?”
“That’s what I was told.”
“By whom?”
“Have you ever heard of the paramilitary?” I opened my eyes, watching Barden, and something about his facial features changed. “You have heard about them,” I said.
“They’re dangerous, Dr. Stone. They believe they can be trained to hunt mages, shifters, and vampires, along with other creatures from the other side of the Veil.”
“How is that different from the archers?”
“The archers are tied to the Mage Council. The paramilitary is not tied to any magical group, at least not that we know of.”
“Is it tied to the government, then?”
“You would think so, wouldn’t you? But no. As far as we know, they operate independently, and I haven’t been able to determine who leads them.”
“Seems like you have a lot of things you haven’t been able to determine these days.”
Barden watched me. “Unfortunately, that is truer than I would like it to be. Equally unfortunately, the threat we face is greater than we had known before.”
“What sort of threat?”
“The sort of threat that involves powers from the other side of the Veil gaining a
greater foothold on this side.”
“I thought the Veil prevented that.”
“And it is supposed to. But surprisingly, it looks like the Veil has begun to lose its effectiveness.”
“Is that what Kate is doing?”
“No, but it’s why I wish she would return. She’s off trying to understand her powers, and that might be necessary, due to what we are dealing with, but in the meantime, different threats are posing challenges for us, the kind of threats we haven’t experienced before.”
“Do I need to be afraid of this guy, Barden?”
“You don’t need to fear he will harm you—at least, I don’t think so. The paramilitary doesn’t work like that. You don’t have enough magical juice for you to be much of a target.”
The way he said it made me feel slightly incapable and lesser than I’d have liked. But I knew he meant well.
“What about you?” I asked.
“I operate within the confines of the existing magical society. I’ve done nothing to raise the wrong kind of attention.”
“Then what kind of mission do you think they might be on?”
“There’s another who has done something to draw that kind of attention.”
“You mean Kate?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, it’s possible.”
“So, we need to keep her away, and we need to keep him away from her.”
“Indeed, but if there’s one here, it’s likely there are others,” he said.
I took a deep breath. I was tired of feeling so weak and helpless. “Train me.”
“Dr. Stone, I want you to be certain that’s what you want.”
“It is what I want. I don’t want to be helpless when it comes to that sort of thing. Train me.”
“It’s not going to be quick.”
“I doubt it will be, but if the vampires are after me because of something they believe I possess, and now we have someone from this branch of the paramilitary, I feel I can’t sit back and do nothing anymore.”
“I wish you weren’t right, and I wish you didn’t need to be a part of it, but it seems to me everything has conspired to bring you into it,” Barden said.
“Much like it conspired to bring Kate into it.”
“I’m not sure they are related, but it’s possible.”
“When do we start?” I needed to know how soon I’d be getting stronger.
“How much rest did you get?” he asked.
“Apparently, more than I realized. It’s morning.”
“Very good. It is morning.”
“The last I was aware, it was nighttime, and then when I was knocked out, I came around to find it was dawn. I guess I had enough sleep.” I touched my head. The pain was still throbbing. “It would be nice if I had your kind of magical healing,” I whispered, feeling fragile.
“As you develop your abilities, that part of them will become more pronounced.”
“Good. I just don’t know how long I can put up with the pain in my head.”
“Perhaps I can do something to help with that.”
He reached over, touching me on the arm. I jerked away, but only for a moment before forcing myself to relax; Barden didn’t want to hurt me. He had proven that time and again, and I needed to get past the fact I had issues. A strange warmth washed through me. As it did, the throbbing in my head began to ease. It happened slowly at first, then disappeared altogether.
“How do you feel?”
“Better,” I said. “That’s… amazing.”
“Good. I confess I don’t have much experience with healing,” he said, but he looked pleased and I felt oddly cared for—and even a touch mischievous.
“So, you just thought to use your quack magic on me?”
“Quack magic? I can assure you I am quite skilled in the use of my magic, Dr. Stone.”
“But you’re not skilled with using it to heal?”
“Unfortunately, that hasn’t been my role over the years.”
I sat up, rubbing at my temple, but I didn’t have the same throbbing in my head. I got to my feet, moving around, testing to see if the nausea would return, but it didn’t. Whatever Barden had done had made a difference, healing me. The sickness had gone.
“Thank you,” I said. “I really mean it; thank you.”
“I only did as you asked,” he said.
“I know.”
“No, Dr. Stone. I need you to know I only did as you asked.” He said it in a way that was almost knowing, and for a moment, I wondered if the shared connection to Kate had revealed something about me to him, but that wasn’t how the connection worked. I wasn’t always certain how it did function, but it wasn’t as if we shared thoughts. It was more a sense of emotion that passed across our strange connection.
“Thank you for coming after me, Barden.”
“Why don’t you rest a little, and then we can begin your training. If it would help, I have others who can work with you.”
“I’m okay. And I thought you were going to work with me.” My heart sank a little.
“I wonder if perhaps you might be better served by having someone else.”
“Barden, I—”
“I recognize a tortured soul, Dr. Stone. I have lived long enough to understand that and want no part in contributing to it. There is no shame in recognizing pains that have been done to you. The only shame is not working to move on.”
“What if there is no moving on?”
“You must find whatever you can to enable yourself to do so.”
He got to his feet, dragging the chair over by the door. When he was done, he smiled, nodding to me. I leaned back, closing my eyes, now feeling surprisingly tired, despite having slept the night before. “Maybe I’ll just take a little nap.”
“You take whatever you need, Dr. Stone.”
I closed my eyes, and sleep claimed me.
10
The inside of the warehouse was cold and uninviting, but it was empty, something reassuring to me. I didn’t need the possibility of harming someone by being there. The flat expanse of concrete looked like it should be impervious to magical attack, but Barden had made a point of adding additional protections to it.
Barden stood across from me, a book in one hand, bottles of paint in another.
“I didn’t realize we were going to do artwork.”
“What is magic but art?” Barden asked.
“I guess I would have said it was quite a few things other than art.”
“Then you would have been wrong.” He set the bottles down, and took up a position across from me, settling himself on the ground; he crossed his legs and looked up at me. “To begin with, we are going to focus on some basic patterns.”
“Patterns are important?”
“Patterns are quite important, Dr. Stone.”
“You can call me Jen.”
“You have earned the honorific. I think I will continue to refer to you by it, if that’s all right,” he said. It was a statement, not a question.
I shook my head. “Such a gentleman.”
He just looked at me a while, and something in his expression made me think he was seeing right through me. “We will begin with basic patterns.” He opened a jar of paint, dipping his finger inside, and making a small circle on the ground. “Circles are often the most useful to a mage. They allow the magical user to focus their energy, and to concentrate it.”
“But I’m not a mage.”
“Look, even a hedge mage is still a mage.” Barden tapped on the circle. “Listen, and don’t argue,” he said. I didn’t know if he was being playful or bossy, but I thought he meant business. I vowed to talk less and hear more.
The circle glowed softly, and I could almost feel the power he was using, pushing it outward from himself. “Now, with experience, managing something like this does not require much in the way of effort, but at first, you will need to exert quite a bit of energy in order to make a similar effect.”
“What if I can’t do it?”
“But like I said, what I’m not able to?”
“We will help.”
“We?”
“The Dark Council is just that—a council. We have never been alone. That has been the entire purpose of having a Council of Mages. We work together, not only helping each other but by ensuring each other’s safety. What works for me may not work for you, and what works for one mage might not work for another. If I’m unable to teach you what you need, then another will attempt to work with you. Eventually, we will find something effective for you, Dr. Stone.”
“I’m not even sure how to call upon magic.”
“Which is why we start with the circle. Some call it a summoning circle, and while it can summon other things, it also has the capacity to help the magical user in their own magic. It’s why we consider it one of the foundational patterns.”
“And if it doesn’t work for me?”
“Then we will try something else.”
“I know you’re convinced I can use magic, but what if that’s not the case?” I knew I was talking too much again; maybe I was breaking the magic even with my doubts? But I thought about the vampires attacking, and having done so twice. Would I have to live in fear of them continuing to come after me, eventually getting captured by them? That wasn’t what I wanted, to become some vampire familiar, forced by the power of their persuasion in order to serve them. It reminded me of something I’d already experienced.
“Do you doubt yourself before you have even tried?”
“No,” I said, while feeling quite the opposite.
“You said you have to work at medicine. You doubt you are capable there?”
“No. I know I can work hard.”
“And yet you still have self-doubt.”
“I’ve worked hard, but I’m surrounded by people for whom it comes more naturally.”
“I’m afraid the same is said about magic, Dr. Stone. Some people will find it comes easily to them, while others find they have to work diligently at it to reach the same level. That does not matter if the end result is the same. Would you say you are any less of a doctor than someone who comes by it naturally?”
“Not any less. As we said in medical school, ‘P equals MD.’”
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