by T S Paul
The Norse God Loki was not one of my favorite Gods, but he could be very useful. He would appreciate this prank too, so I included him in my prayer. I won't turn away a little extra boost of power. Concentrating for a moment, I released my spell with a silent word of power. Grandmother recently told me to stop saying the spells out loud. Too many of our enemies could understand us.
Several panels of glowing letters popped into view amongst the soldiers. This sudden display of Magick both shocked and confused them. They needed orders, and I could see them calling for help.
"Attention. The area above the Laboratory for the Magical Crimes Division of the FBI will soon become like the outside fence area. Anyone or anything still sitting on or touching the area in ten minutes will be stuck here and unable to escape. You have been warned."
A countdown clock also appeared and began to count down from ten minutes.
I scooped up Fergus and went back inside the Lab. Weres only react to certain substances, and much of what I would need for spells was not available in the Mid-West United States or even much of Europe. Wolfsbane was on the endangered species list for this country. Aconite, a poisonous plant of the buttercup family, was available locally but it was a poor substitute. Only pure Wolfsbane from Eastern Europe worked the best. The Blackmore Garden was one of the biggest suppliers of it and other plants.
I was head down working on my list when Fergus interrupted me. "Did you want to leave the Marines up there for a long time?"
Checking my phone, I could see that more than an hour had already passed. "Are they still up there?"
Fergus snickered, "Yes, and the soldiers don't look very happy." Crap.
Dropping my list on the desk, I went outside and looked up.
Why did the military have to be so obstinate? All of the troops were still up there, but now they were frozen like little statues. Letting out a big sigh, I just knew I was going to catch hell over this. Waving my arms like a traffic cop, I began gathering the Marine-sicles up and stacking them in a pile near the aircraft.
"Can they feel that?" Looking down Fergus was back outside. I looked over at the Lab doors which were closed. How is he doing that?
"I have no idea. Want to ask them?"
"For real?"
"No! I'm sure a Government lab would love to take you apart to see what makes you tick. Talking Unicorn? Score!" I frowned at Fergus who shuddered for a moment. Government Labs were nothing to joke about.
Using my telekinesis, I upended the plane and started placing the troops inside. It was sort of like a monkey game I saw on TV as a child. Now for the really hard part.
The Osprey levitated off the shield wall, and I moved it past the fence-line. Trying to be careful, I set it down near the trees to the left of my lab. With luck, the Marines saw it coming and moved.
"That was so cool Agatha! It was just like that movie we watched last year." Fergus was hopping up and down.
"What movie was that?"
"You remember. It was you and me and Cat. Chuck brought pizza and beer. I ended up getting sick in Cat's shoes. Remember?"
I tilted my head. The vomiting thing sort of rang a bell. Trust Fergus to remember a dorm party where he was fed pizza. "Some science fiction film, right?"
"It was the second Star Battles movie! You are just like that little frog guy! All you need is a gunny sack and stick, and you would have looked just like him!"
"OK, Fergus. Time to lay off the Magick Hay for a while." He just compared me to a frog. He's lucky I don't want a slimy frog in my pocket all day.
"You don't remember, do you?"
"Not so much. You're choice. Either wait for me in the RV or the Lab. I have to get ready for our next assignment."
"We're leaving? But we just got home!" Fergus hung his head.
"Jack is taking some time off, so I'm in charge now. We are getting some partners to work with too. So be good. I'll make you a deal. If you're good, I will bring a small part of the Magickal Hay patch with us. Deal?"
"Deal! New people could be fun. We don't need any more stinky cats around here. I'll sleep in the camper for now." I picked him up and carried him inside. His barn door mooed as I put him inside.
I smiled. Fergus didn't ask where we were going. I didn't ask Madeline. The case might be cats. I yawned and looked up at the sky. It was sundown, and I had a ton of work to do as well as reinforcing the shield.
~~~~~~
In the end, I called Grandmother.
"Hello, child. It's late. What can I help with?" It was late, so I tried to be quick.
"I have a problem with the shield, and it was penetrated with more of those machines again. Do you want me to send you one?"
"Tell me the whole story please." I proceeded to tell her about the last twelve hours or so.
"...so I set them down outside the fence." I really couldn't explain why they keep attacking my lab shield. The story sounded a bit crazy even to me when I retold it to Grams.
"It sounds to me like we need to reinforce the 'roof' portion of the spell. I know you wanted to spare birds, and other flying creatures but anything trapped up there isn't dead. As for the so-called 'shield breakers' that you took? Do not send one, even an old one, to the Witches Council. Those idiots will hide it and suppress the information for the greater good. They will ignore the fact that the Mundanes can and will make more. No. Send it to me instead. I will pass it along to some of my contacts. It will be deciphered. Trust me in this Agatha."
I agreed with what she said about the roof shield. I just didn't want to impact the environment too much. "OK, Grams. I will. I'm about to start a new mission, and I'll send you the package on the way so as to confuse those that might be watching."
"That sounds good. Be warned, the Council might send watchers of their own after you. The Dragon you fought was not known to them. That fact alone has them all in a tizzy about you. Montgomery confronted you about Verity's bracelet?"
"He did. How did you know?" That surprised me. Montgomery was a pompous ass.
"The Council sent someone to question me about it. Don't worry dear, I let him live. I was very tempted to turn him into a tree for a while, though. They apparently have been searching for that one for many years. But then I knew that," Grandmother said.
"Grandmother, about the bracelet. Do you know anything about it before Grandmother Verity had it?"
"Before Verity?" She sounded surprised. "Why?"
"It seems alive sometimes. Almost aware of its surroundings. I examined it under a glass and found Egyptian hieroglyphics running along the edge."
"Really? I barely remember Verity. She was ancient by the time I could talk. Our histories tell that she served the European Council for over a century. This was well before she came to this continent in the fifteen hundreds."
"Wow. I had no idea! How old was she when you knew her, four hundred?" Age among Witches isn't talked about much.
"Not quite. Verity was well into her third century when I first became aware of her. Child, I'm into my second century. Witches in our family age very slowly. Keep the Egypt information to yourself. I will dig into the family archives and see if there is anything there about Verity. Be well and watch your back." She hung up the phone with a series of clicks. Grandmother might not like modern technology much but, she got the whole spying thing. There wasn't a computer yet that could listen in on her calls.
Two centuries? If Grandmother was that old why did she wait so long to have mother and Camilla? Too many new questions. I needed to focus on Weres and murder. I looked at my list one more time. Time to pack.
Chapter 5
Morning came far too early for my own taste. Last night was a whirlwind of packing and Magick. After loading up all the necessary herbs, crystals, and weapons of mass destruction, I reset the spells on the lab. I also made the adjustments Grandmother, and I agreed upon to keep uninvited 'guests' from trying to breach the roof.
"That should keep them out for a little while," I spoke to the air ar
ound me.
"I still say you should dig a moat and put out prickly rose bushes around the edge of it. They keep finding ways in." Fergus answered me.
Looking down I could see him staring up at me. "How did you get out of the RV?"
"The window was open, so I jumped." He smiled his little Unicorn smile up at me, and I glared at him. The windows on that particular RV don't open.
Scooping him up, I held Fergus up to my face. "One of these days we are going to have a conversation about your 'jumping' and windows that don't open."
I ignored the tongue that was immediately stuck out in my direction and put him in my pocket. "Let's go, we have a meeting to attend."
Hoping that the entire Marine Corps wasn't outside my gates, I triggered the ward to open them up. I was wrong.
I could see the angry faces as soon as the gate opened. Color me impressed! Tanks, a few Humvees, and a couple of attack helicopters hovered or flew outside the fence. They seemed surprised to see the RV, and I didn't give them any pause, speaking my word of power and releasing my pent up frustration.
"I still think you're like the little green guy. He does a 'freeze' thing like that too!" I looked down, and Fergus was in the passenger seat again.
"Is that your new spot now?" I looked at him ignoring the frog comment.
"Nah. I just wanted to see the action. Are you going to leave the soldiers frozen?"
His question caused me to look back at the Marines. I really have to stop doing that and talk to these people. I flinched when I heard a bullet hit the side of the RV!
"Hey someone's shooting at us!" Fergus jumped off the seat and ran toward the rear.
"Coward." I peered out the windscreen to see the attack helicopters angling in for a better shot at me. So much for that spell. I needed to do better the next time! Thinking about fireballs, my bracelet solved the problem for me. A shield popped into existence all around the RV.
"Good idea. Thanks." I gave it a rub for luck.
"Are you talking to me?" I could hear Fergus in the back.
"No. Go hide some more."
Giving the Magical Crimes RV a little gas, I headed toward the Academy. The two attack helicopters were still up there firing at me. My shield was absorbing most of the rounds to avoid injuring innocent bystanders.
I grabbed my phone and dialed. "I'm surprised you're awake. Did the Marines give you more trouble?"
"Yeah, about that. I have two helicopters shooting at me."
"What? The General... Damn him! Can you stand them off without dying?" I could hear her scrambling around on her desk.
"I think so."
"Do what you can. I'm calling Washington and the General's office right now. Try not to hurt them." Madeline hung up the phone in a mad rush.
"Hurt them?" I stared at the phone for a brief second. The FBI campus was still too far away, but the area near Chopawamsic Creek was relatively empty. Maybe I could lead them in that direction, and the tree cover should make it harder for them to hit me.
I turned off the side road I was on and on to one of the main area roads. This was a bit of a risk. I was hoping that they would back off rather than run the risk of hitting a civilian. Recently they had opened up some of this area to commercial development around the Marine recruiting areas. A few cars passed me, and I didn't sense the helicopters anymore. I needed to go through one of the Marine gates to get back to the FBI campus, and I would run the risk of being detained.
"What do you think Fergus? See if they arrest an official FBI vehicle at the gates?"
"Arrest who? Are they coming for me?"
"Forget it. It was rhetorical anyway. Go back to hiding." Carefully I pulled into the line of traffic headed toward the populated part of the base.
I watched the guards as they allowed several cars in front of me past their checkpoint. A large burly looking guard gave the RV a once over, noting the FBI logo and seal. "Pass please."
"Good morning." I handed over my credentials and my base pass.
"Everything looks good." He handed me back everything and waved me onto the base. The Academy was on the far side of the base. I needed to travel by the headquarters building and cross through part of the flight line.
Disguise spells are hard to do. For humans, you have to have intimate details of the subject as well as hair and skin samples. Getting the voice right was the hardest part especially for gender exchanges. It was almost easier to change the person than disguise them. Large non-living objects were just as hard. Take the RV for example. It could be seen from all sides as well as from above. Every detail needed to be right, or someone would notice. Not a spell that I could work while driving. I could hide it, but it couldn't move if I did that. I took a chance.
I just stayed on the main drive and smiled as I passed each traffic officer and intersection. The flight line was the hardest part. The tower and runway area were right along the road. I could see the two attack helicopters landing as my RV drove by. I wondered what the pilots thought of the whole thing and if they even saw me.
My phone rang startling me. "Agatha are you alright?"
"Of course I am. Did you get through to someone?" There was a Marine MP directing traffic up ahead. He signaled for me to stop.
I hesitated for a moment. Would I have to zap or toss him into the air? I was almost home!
"I did. Washington did something, and the General called to apologize. A mix up of orders he said." The MP waved a large semi-truck forward with his other hand before gesturing me clear to go.
"Do you really believe that?" I smiled at the MP as I drove past.
"No, not so much. Did you increase the protections on your Lab?"
"I did. Grandmother told me how to strengthen the top. Let me know if too many birds get trapped up there. I can come back and free them." I saw the first sign for the campus and breathed a sigh of relief. Home.
"Good. Come up to my office when you get here. Your team is assembled and ready."
"OK. I should be there in a few minutes." She hung up, and I smiled. It will be good working with new people. Hopefully, they are friendly.
~~~~~~
Catherine Moore, Cat to her friends, was happy to be back at the Academy. Her probi assignment was unusual to say the very least. She had done something unusual as a newbie. She tracked and caught a serial killer on her first try. How do you even top that? For her next assignment, she was told to return to the Academy for a debriefing and her next assignment.
"The Academy? I thought that you would give me the next one?" Cat looked at Agent Nixon.
"It is a bit unusual, but not unheard of. I can tell you the order came from Washington. It's been great having you with us, Cat. Good luck in your new assignment." The Supervising Agent had a big smile on his face.
So here she sat outside Director Mill's office. She had only been here a few times and usually in the company of her former roommate Agatha. The door opened a crack, and a voice called her in. "Probationary Agent Moore? Please, come inside."
Cat stood and checked her clothing over real fast. As the door opened, she could see a pair of feet sticking out from behind the door as well as Director Mills welcoming smile. "Please come in Agent."
The door swung closed as she entered and she could now see the person behind the door. "Chuck!"
Charles Winthrop, also known as Chuck was part of Cat's pack and a good friend.
"Hi, boss. Good to see you." Chuck didn't get up. He looked to be wedged into a seat much smaller than he was. Chuck was a big guy!
"Chuck here is waiting for an assignment too, Catherine," said Director Mills as she continued to smile at Cat.
"What sort of assignment?" Cat looked at the director with narrowed eyes. She was no dummy, something was fishy here.
"It's not nefarious if that's what you mean. Both of you, as well as three others, have been selected to form a new team of sorts. It will troubleshoot some of our more challenging crimes. Charles here will have double duty as both a forensic t
ech and investigation. You will assist the Special Agent in Charge of the group as second-in-command and top investigator. Good work on catching that serial killer, full Agent Moore." The Director tossed Cat a new badge and set of credentials.
Cat stared at the shiny new badge and smiled. Full Agent. "Who else is on the team?"
"Washington is sending a veteran Agent with experience in coordinating assets and inter-agency cooperation. It will be his job to liaise with local LEO's and smooth the way with any and all media contacts. William Maxwell is the name I have. Anastasia has demanded to be allowed to serve with you as well. She had to go all the way up the chain to the very top but was approved to join you. Her truck has been redesigned and modified to support both her and your team's assignments. She's here already but not in the building. We don't have accommodations for Vampires here."