by T S Paul
I could see a rearing cobra, a shepherd's crook, and a mace in the hands of a warrior. There was a cartouche too, but only the shape remained.
"Are you really that old?" I stroked the gold bracelet on my arm as the slight vibration increased. The bracelet was purring!
I pulled out my cell phone and texted Grandmother asking her to call me. One of the spells I had perfected under her tutorship was a phone privacy spell. No one could listen in on our calls. I'm sure that the military has tried. That reminded me. I left two guards floating in the air, and Director Mills had said something about trapped Intelligence officers.
The easiest way to find them was to go up on the roof. I hated using the ladder, but levitation was harder than it looked when you cast it on yourself.
Whoever designed this old building wasn't thinking clearly. The emergency escape hatch was in a closet that couldn't be closed from the inside. The ladder itself was at least fifty years old and very rickety. Rust and bits of paint fell everywhere as I climbed the ten feet or so to get to the roof. When I first took possession of the building I checked the roof out, casting protection and waterproofing spells. The greenhouse sparkled off to the right as I heaved myself up onto the gravel-covered roof. I turned toward the front and could see two green figures floating beyond the front gate. Several military trucks stood outside, and other soldiers were trying to grab the men. I briefly considered leaving them up there for pointing guns at me. Nobody touches the Witch! I sent a mental projection out and snapped my fingers. They were released and floated to the ground unhurt, except for maybe their pride. Then I scanned the fence the Marines graciously put up last time, and I found the breach.
My compound was triangular in shape. The rear portion of the fence came to a point, and that was where they had forced a way through. I could see more military vehicles and Marines outside that portion of the fence. Before taking any action, I called it in. Better safe than sorry.
"It's about time you called in." I stared at the phone in my hand for a moment.
"Agatha are you there?" It was clearly Madeline's voice, but the tone was all wrong.
"I'm here. Sorry. Madeline is that you?"
"Yes." There was a long pause. "Who else did you expect?"
"I'm so sorry. Your tone and the way you answered the phone threw me for a loop. I was expecting the whole teacher to student thing."
Madeline dropped her voice and spoke to me in a gentler tone than before. "That is to be expected. But you are no longer a student. I would hope that you would speak to me as a friend and confidant. I will understand if that is not to your liking."
"No. I would love to have you as a friend. There are so few that I can call that. Thank you." I blushed. For the most part, she had always played things straight with me. I hoped to earn her trust.
"Let me guess. The Marines blocked your gate again, and you did something to get inside."
"Did they call you?"
Madeline laughed. "They didn't. But it just has to be something like that. I was aware that there was a new General over there. He has yet to contact me, but he's been making waves everywhere else. Your lab is part of the FBI reservation, so I will formally call him now that you have confirmed their presence. Did you hurt anyone?"
"No. The guards tried to stop me and drew weapons. I put them in the air about ten feet up. They are down now. I was actually calling about the trapped intelligence officers. I can see where they are. Should I be concerned about the troops with them?"
"It's good you didn't hurt them. Hmm. Can you free the officers without confronting the others?"
"Maybe? I would have to go to nearer to set them free. I can only see them because I'm up on the roof of the lab." I looked back toward the front.
"Why are you... Forget I asked. I'll put a call in for the General's office, but you will have to take care of it yourself. Just remember not to kill anyone. You are a Special Agent now. Try to stay within the rules. Good luck. Don't forget we have a meeting in the morning to discuss your new team."
"Bye Madeline. Try not to get into trouble yourself."
I let out a sigh. This was going to be an issue, I just knew it. I climbed down the ladder back into my lab.
Fergus was still sound asleep in the middle of his hay field. This patch of grass was his favorite place in the world except for anywhere that would serve him pizza and salad. I let him be since this wasn't a task where he would be needed.
I could hear the men before I saw them.
"...I still say he cost the team the world series. If he hadn't run off the field and not touched the base, the game would have been won, and they wouldn't have had to replay the game." The speaker's voice was deep and sonorous.
"But Merkel wasn't the one that threw the ball to second. It was Chance's fault. The ball he used was not the game ball. That one was tossed into the crowd by pitcher Joe McGinnity. If anyone lost the game, it was him. Not the runner." This voice was thin and reedy.
"But the game..."
"Stop! You two are seriously debating a game that has been over and done for a century! Please, no more about baseball. Can't we talk fashion again?" This came from a woman.
"Like that is any more interesting, Sims. I could have lived my whole life without knowing the eight ways to spot a fake Louboutin shoe. I'd never even heard what one of those was until you told us. Who even looks at the stitching or heel transition?"
"Women do. If you had a girlfriend, you might know this. Doesn't your wife tell you these things, Jenkins?"
"My wife wouldn't even know how to put one of those things on much less walk in them. She's more of a flip-flop sort of girl. I'd show you a picture but ... you know." Jenkins it seemed was the reedy voice. Sims sounded a bit vain if shoes were all she talked about.
"OK. So let's discuss something else then. How about disco?" The deep voice made the suggestion.
The other two made loud groaning noises. "That is exactly why you are still single Sloan. How can you stand to listen to that stuff?"
Sloan, Sims, and Jenkins were apparently the ones that were trapped. I could hear other voices, but those seemed to be the support troops. I could see the hole in the fence as well as the speakers. The two men each held what looked to be a similar gizmo to the one I took last year. The woman was frozen looking over her shoulder.
"Uh, guys." Jenkins was frozen looking in my direction, and he saw me first.
"... I still say disco sucks!" Sims and Sloan were still arguing.
"Guys! You need to listen to me!"
"What! Jenkins, you will get your turn. We all agreed to protocol here." Sims yelled at him.
"There is a woman on this side of the fence, and she's looking at me!" Jenkins sounded a bit frantic. I made a mental note to tweak the spell a little. It shouldn't be even allowing them to speak. Could it be the machines they held?
The wards allowed me to reach through and take the small machine from Lieutenant Jenkins. I could see his insignia now. "Thank you, lieutenant. This will go nicely with my collection of these."
"She just took the shield breaker from me!"
"Jenkins shut your freaking mouth! That name is Top Secret, and you know it. Who took your machine? Describe her?" Sloan looked to be a Captain. Interesting.
"Hey, we need some help over here! Help!" Lieutenant Sims yelled toward those on the other side of the fence.
The voices on the other side of the fence suddenly got louder. I needed to hurry. The ward and shield should prevent bullets from penetrating, but I didn't want to take any chances. I removed the shield breaker from Sloan and used my telekinesis to push the three officers back through the fence.
"We're free!" Sims yelled.
"Somebody stop her she has the ... the things I can't talk about! Hey you, give me that gun I need to shoot a Witch!" Captain Sloan started arguing with an unnamed Marine.
Not cool. I held up my hands and muttered a repair spell. These little machines troubled me. They were able to penetrate the
shield, but not all the way. Mundanes shouldn't mess with things they don't understand. I walked back to my lab but in a roundabout direction making ninety-degree turns and watching the corner of the fence as much as possible. My protections should stop a bullet, but I didn't want to test them out that way.
My safe was in my office. It was original to the room and one of those incredibly heavy reinforced steel ones from the early twentieth century. Grandmother and I had used magic on it to change the lock and add some protections when she was here at graduation. Modifying the composition of non-living things is something I was gaining skill at, and we actually used it to test out my magic. Why not get something useful out of it?
The door opened with a creak. I made a mental note to get some oil. Inside was the original device as well as more spell bombs and a few rare crystals. The spell bombs were something Grandmother cooked up. Too bad I had left them here on my probi mission, they could have come in handy. They were transmogrification bombs.
I held the six pack of disks in my hand as if weighing them. Take them with me or not? They were temporary and outside the Council's rules for changes. The effect only lasted a half hour and turned the victim into something harmless. It seemed prudent to take them this time. The other device was larger than the new ones. It was troubling that they were now making them smaller as they perfected its workings. I had the address for the Witches Council. I debated sending one of these to them, I would have to think some more on the subject. The two new ones were locked up. I left out the original.
My phone buzzed me as I boxed up the original device.
"Yes, Madeline?"
"I see you survived. The Marines are a bit incensed. They claim you have something of theirs and won't give it back."
"Did they say what it is I'm supposed to have? All I did was push them through the fence and seal it behind them. I didn't speak to them at all."
"They just said it was a piece of equipment. Do you know what they mean by that?" Madeline sounded concerned.
"I'm not sure. Do you want me to walk back out there and look if they dropped something? They talked about shooting me last time, so I didn't stay long."
"Oh, really? That is an issue. Don't worry, for now, we can talk about it when you come for the meeting. Are you staying out there tonight?"
"I am. The RV is set up for boondocking with plenty of water and power. I should be fine. What time is the meeting?"
"Ten. Try not to be late. Good night then." Madeline disconnected. I trust her, but do I trust her with this? I looked at the older machine in the box. I needed to begin some long-term thinking and planning.
Chapter 4
Using cleaning rags and sprays, I made myself clean up the RV. Madeline didn't say if the new people were men or women, so I tried to at least make the accommodations respectable. Jack was a typical man and didn't pick up after himself very well. Every so often I still found a dirty sock wedged up under something. I performed a smaller version of the 'clean and repair' spell I have used before to maintain the RV. I was really only worried about dirt that I couldn't see. A general maintenance check would be needed pretty soon. The use of Magick only delayed possibly required repairs. A good mechanic was still necessary.
The day was ending and the sky darkening when I heard the whirring. Looking up, I could see one of the Marine Corps new Ospreys. Jack, being a Marine himself, talked about innovations and changes to the military that could affect our services, so I knew with only a glance what it was. The sky above my lab was protected but not disguised. They could see me, as easily as I saw them.
"Step away from the vehicle and put your hands on your head!" I stopped washing the floor mats and stared up at the aircraft. The rear door was open and what looked like an assault team was about to descend. Shaking my head, I went back to cleaning. This should be fun.
"This is your last warning!" Members of the base's Special Operations team dressed in black combat gear began sliding down ropes as the plane hovered about thirty feet off the ground. Stopping again, I watched and winced as the first soldier hit the shield.
~~~~~~
Jessica Shore always wanted to be a Marine. Follow your orders, was the one thing that was hammered into her over and over by her trainers. Jump, she would ask how high? March, she would ask how long? So when her Lieutenant told her to slide down the rope and capture the Witch, she didn't even hesitate. It looked easy. Fifty feet she could practically do that in her sleep. She quickly checked her weapon and grabbed the rope.
She was first out the door sliding down the rope when she hit.
Twenty-five feet of momentum felt like a full ninety feet when her boots suddenly hit what felt like concrete. Wham! Her whole body shuddered as it slammed into an immovable object that no one could see and didn't show up on radar.
One minute she was muttering the paratrooper's prayer and the next she could hear screaming. It was several hours before she realized it was her doing it.
~~~~~~
Thump, thump, thump. That was what it sounded like to me as three young soldiers hit the immovable object that was my shield. Twenty-five feet up I could see the agony of the young woman and her two companions. Fortunately for all of them, the jumpmaster stopped the rest of their unit and stared in shock at the three writhing troops. The Osprey came lower and deployed its landing gear. It set down near the wounded, then more men and women jumped out. Many of them stepped lightly as they tested the 'ground' for holes. I imagine for them it was as if the air was suddenly solid, which is was.
I sighed and pulled out my cell phone yet again. "Madeline?"
"Agatha, are you OK? You sound... I'm not sure how you sound. What happened?"
"They tried dropping troops in an air assault."
I could almost see her wince through the phone. "Is anyone hurt?"
"Yup. The first one out the door hit the top of the shield hard. Two others followed her. An Osprey is sitting out there right now to pick them up." I glanced upward and could see about a half dozen armed troops staring back at me. I gave them a small wave. One actually waved back!
"I made a formal complaint to the Marine Corps and General Ney, but only his secretary was available. I've put in a call to Washington, but it is Saturday night and it being the weekend..."
"Gotcha. I can get out and to the meeting, but I might have a horde of Marines on my tail. Want me to still try in the morning?" I looked back up at the troops. Yup, still there.
"I do. You and your team are needed for a case. Someone sent me the paperwork already. You and your team are leaving tomorrow regardless."
"Can you tell me the case?" My mind was racing. I had so much to do to get ready. Herbs to dry and spells to prepare. Disappointing a Unicorn was in there somewhere. I just knew he wanted to stay and play for a while.
"I can. Local law enforcement found the dismembered body of a child in western Arkansas. At first, it was deemed a wild animal attack. But then he was identified. He was the youngest son of the local Alpha."
Ouch. "Could the child shift?" I knew from talking to Cat and the Wolf boys that shifters generally could shift from birth but could only control it around the age of ten. There were a few rare non-conforming cases, but ten was the norm.
"He could. At first, a rogue or enemy pack was considered, but the Were on the police force says it didn't smell of strangers. They are really puzzled by it all. The BAU doesn't do Magical, so it falls under your jurisdiction."
"Thanks, Madeline. I'll pack accordingly. See you in the morning. Goodnight." I hit end on my phone and looked up. The soldiers were still there, only now they were pacing about poking at my ward looking for holes. I pursed my lips. The sky above wasn't warded like the sides. Trespassers wouldn't stick like the one on the fence. Those gizmos of theirs might penetrate it.
I didn't expect them to leave voluntarily, so I leaned against the RV to think. How to get them to leave?
"Whatcha looking at?" I jumped a bit and looked down. Fergus was standing at
my feet.
"How did you get out, I closed the door?"
"I jumped." He looked up at the sky. "Did you put them up there?"
"No. The soldiers tried to jump through my shield, and they landed up there."
"Dumb. Don't they realize that you and your Grandmother are forces to be reckoned with?"
Reaching down I picked him up and set him on the hood of the RV. "They have a new boss who is throwing his weight around. Hmm, I wonder."
"You just thought of something. Didn't you?"
"I did. Thanks, Fergus." I gave him a little pat on the head with my fingertip.