Witch for Hire

by Conneely, N. E.

  "I doubt that's the full story, but I'm to tired too care. I'll stay for her. Are the aquarium people going to call or just show up?"

  "I don't know. I'm going to sit here until someone makes me move," he said ruefully.

  Laughing, I agreed. Minutes ticked by as we rested. In the distance a big diesel engine rumbled as it down shifted to make it up the hill. The truck rumbled closer and I perked up. It might be the folks we'd been waiting for. The truck rolled to a halt in front of the house. It wasn't an eighteen wheeler, but it was the little brother of one. It had a big aquarium logo on the side. Two guys jumped out, and headed over.

  "Hey, we're looking for Matthew Clark. He said ya'll needed help with a mermaid." I wasn't sure what to think about these two. They were about thirty, and looked like the boy next door. Nothing was remarkable, other than the energy they put off. I was guessing they were shifters.

  Clark stood up. "Nice to meet you." They shook hands. "I'm Clark. We have a mermaid that was being held against her will. Her original habitat was broken and we need to move her to some place more hospitable to marine life."

  The same guy, with darker hair, spoke again, "The van is equipped with a large transportation tank and a small crane. We usually carry creatures to the truck in a special net. At the truck we attach them to the crane and then lower them into the tank."

  I spoke up. "I'm worried about her going that long without being able to breath. If you can carry her, I can hold a bubble of water around her."

  The aquarium guys retrieved the net from the truck and followed us down to the impromptu tank. As soon as we reached the bathroom door, we had a problem. They couldn't fit the net through the door. I could remove the wall, but it would damage the shower and water would flood the room, dropping her to the bottom of the tub.

  "What are you thinking?" Clark asked, while the guys stood by the door holding the net.

  "I think I can make a shield and levitate her to the net."

  "Are you crazy? You'll be exhausted after you do that, and for what, to prove you can?" Clark demanded.

  I looked him in the eye. "That girl didn't deserve to be in the hands of human traffickers. I can do this. She might be able to survive without breathing for a few minutes, but that's unnecessary. She doesn't deserve to suffer more because I'll be tired. Help me help her."

  Clark pursed his lips and finally waved me forward.

  I looked at the unearthly beautiful girl. "I'm going to move you to a better place. Nod if you understand me." She nodded. "I need to take you out of the tub so we can move you, is that ok?" She nodded again.

  Concentrating through my wand, I formed a shield right around her, trapping the water in with her. Locking the shield in my mind, I found the magical threads holding the wall of her tank, and told them to allow her bubble through. Clark steadied me and I rotated her on her back before directing her through the magical barrier and out the door.

  The guys snapped open the net, and I slowly lowered her. They held her, relieving me of her weight. As soon as she settled on the net, I retraced the shield bubble around her until it only surrounded her head and gills. Behind me I could feel Clark open the drain on the tub.

  I trailed the men, because I needed to be close by to maintain the spell. At the truck, I watched them gently transfer her to the crane basket. One of them moved to the controls, raising her in the air. Before he swung her over the tank, I dropped the shield, not wanting to contaminate their water. The basket slid into the water, allowing her to slip over the side. The men secured the crane and the top of the tank.

  When my focus wavered, I lost my balance, stumbling back to land on my butt. Crap, I'd been concentrating too hard and hadn't realized how much energy I'd been pushing. Stupid, stupid me.

  Clark hurried over. "Michelle?"

  I tried to wave him off. I was fine. Next thing I knew I was being set in a chair on the porch.

  "Michelle, I need you to drink this." I sipped at the glass held up to my mouth. It wasn't one of my brews, but it was a good energy stabilizer. Something else was slipped around my neck. Clark was hovering over me and the truck was gone.

  "I over extended, didn't I?"

  "Yes, but I didn't keep an eye on you either."

  "Hell, it's dark out now." The sky was an even blue and the sun was nowhere to be seen.

  "The sun goes down fast this time of year. It was starting to fade when we went back in for the mermaid, who is safely on her way to a better location." His furrowed brow wasn't reassuring.

  "Could you bring my bag over? I need some food if I'm going to make it home in one piece."

  "Are you sure you should drive?"

  "I'm sure I shouldn't."

  Chapter Eight

  Michelle

  Hunger drove me down to an early breakfast. Runes could amplify power but the energy still came from the practitioner. That's why humans had such a hard time being hedge-practitioners, never mind anything more; their bodies couldn't handle those types of energy fluctuations. There were few out of shape witches, and even fewer fat ones, but if you wanted to be able to do powerful magic you needed to be in great shape.

  Not only was I hungry, but I was still tired. With only one day off in the past week, the pace was beginning to wear on me. I didn't like it when my life was this crazy.

  "Good morning, Landa," I went straight to the sideboard, grabbing anything that caught my eye.

  "Good morning, child. You're the only one who's going to be down for a while. Do you want to tell me what's been on your mind?" Landa was far more perceptive than I'd like. She set a glass of water next to my plate and sat down across from me.

  "Where is everyone?" I didn't want to answer her.

  "Paxton's been out of town for a bit, and Baden's on vacation."

  Paxton was the resident vampire. I hadn't realized he was away, not surprising considering how seldom I saw him when he was here. Baden was a shifter, a Bengal tiger to be exact. He'd been affiliated with a pack for as long as I'd known him, but wasn't very involved in the pack. Baden was a real estate agent. I thought traveling channeled his need to roam.

  "Troy, Shelly, and Jack moved out," she continued.

  "Why'd they move out?" They'd all been fey of some kind, but it was odd that they'd moved out at the same time.

  "They wanted to go live in nature for a time. I can't blame them. They're young and don't remember the way it was. I think they'll be back before winter really sets in," she finished with a chuckle.

  They had picked the worst time of year to strike out on their own and try to live as their ancestors had. If they made it past the third full freeze, I'd be shocked. You wouldn't catch me roughing it outdoors in the winter.

  "Now," Landa said. "I've answered your questions. Will you answer mine?"

  I'd known she'd circle back around. "I don't want to."

  "Darling, I can tell something is bothering you. Not those trolls, either, though they're enough to trouble anyone."

  Silence drifted over the table as I considered. "I met my dad," I answered.

  She stared at me. "Your father?" I could tell she was confused by the crinkled brow.

  "Yes, my long lost father. Imagine my surprise that he was my old teacher, Mr. Richards. I found him staying with my mom," I sounded bitter. Coming to terms with everything was a process and I hadn't left the anger behind.

  "What did they tell you?" she asked. Landa had known my mother, and probably my father, longer than I'd been alive. I was betting she wanted to know what she could say.

  "Not that much. They were scared. The big bad clan was out to get them, and it was all for me."

  "They had reasons, Michelle."

  "Oh, I know. They had lots of reasons. They told me a few of them, and at this point it sounds like they're trying to justify actions they think were wrong. They want me to understand, but that takes time."

  "Child, from someone who knows more than you, trust them. They did the best they could. Many of their friends wer
e afraid to help them. You can't blame them for being scared when you don't know what they were afraid of," she paused, "and, child, it's better if you don't try to find out."

  "That's basically what they said." I toyed with a piece of bacon I was eating. "I'm letting Dad into my life. He's helping me teach a class for hedge-practitioners. I'm letting him into my life, trusting him to be there. That's all I can do right now. Everything is going to take time. I need time to understand."

  "It's good of you to give your father a chance. Take all the time you need. As much as your parents want to rush things, they know this is difficult."

  "Landa, could we just chat? I don't want to think about it right now. I have a slow morning and I want to enjoy it."

  She reached across the table, squeezing my hand. "Darling, we can talk as long as you'd like."

  For the next hour we talked, not about anything important, just chatting. The brownies, Nelda and Sandar, enjoyed the last meal of their stay. They were leaving at eleven. Trent and Blenda, the dwarves, took food with them on an all-day sightseeing trip. By the time I returned to my room, I was happier than I'd been in days.

  I'd promised Jones more truth charms, so I set out the supplies at the work table. I loved charm work, the slow weave of spells, assembling the charm, and all the little pieces working together. By lunch time I had finished twenty of them and would be well stocked even after I sent Jones' order out.

  Continuing to indulge myself, I whipped up a sandwich for lunch and ate while reading a mystery novel. My energy level was still low. I needed to give magic a rest.

  I cringed when I heard my phone ring. My relaxing day was about to end. "Oaks Consulting."

  "Michelle, it's Jones again. I know, you're tired of hearing from me, but we've got a dead body. I think you can help."

  "Alright, I'll head out. I just finished the charms for you. I'll bring them with me. What's the address?" He read it to me, and I gathered my things. I wasn't in a rush. Dead bodies didn't go anywhere quickly. It would still be there when I arrived.

  It was a nice day, and pleasant drive to a small house in a residential area. The typical comfort of living in suburbia was offset by the swarm of police personnel outside the house. Pulling up, I called Jones. "Where do you want me?"

  "In the garage." We both clicked our phones shut and I hurried over.

  "How was the drive?" he asked.

  "Nice, but what do you want me to look at?" I didn't drive all this way to make small talk.

  "We've got a dead human that looks to have been munched on. Can you do anything to trace the killer? We can't keep panic down if people know trolls are out eating people every few days." Jones had big purple bags under his eyes, and a hollow, wane look. I'd never seen him look this ill.

  "Frankly, it depends on how far along digestion has gotten." It was gross, but while in chunks I could still connect the pieces to the whole. Once it was mostly digested, it was starting to become something new. "How recently deceased and how large are the missing pieces?"

  "There should be some large pieces and it's a fairly fresh kill. The neighbors heard something and called it in." He studied my pinched face. "Michelle, trust me on this one, you don't want to see any more of the body than necessary. Can you do the spell without looking at the entire body?" His usually cheerful expression was serious.

  "Yes, and I'll gladly skip the eaten body show." We had a problem, though. "I can do a tracking spell, but I keep doing sophisticated spells, and you can't find anything. The best bet is a simple connection spell, giving you a glowing line from here to the rest of the body parts. If I'm careful, I can even craft it so a human can follow the path of the line."

  Jones sighed, shoulders dropping, "Do it. We need the trolls more than we need their keepers."

  "I need to touch the victim's hand. It doesn't matter where, but out here in the driveway would be better." It would give them the best line to follow.

  "Done. Gather anything you need, they'll roll him out in a few minutes." He walked back in the garage, and I wandered over to the car to get my wand and another rock. They wouldn't want me to tamper with the body, so I'd have to do this from personal power. It was annoying, especially with my power so low, but easier to shape than other forms of conducting magic.

  They rolled the body out, and the medical examiner lifted a hand through the zipper so I could work the spell. I rubbed the pebble against the man's skin, transferring cells. Using my wand, I sealed the cells against the rock, before etching runes. Because of the cells, the rock thought it was part of the body they came from, and wanted to find the missing pieces. The runes formed the magic to make the rock show a connection, a path people could easily travel. In moments, a strong yellow line flowed out of the body, into the pebble, out of the pebble, and down the street. I stepped back, and thanked the medical examiner.

  Jones sent off a few cars to investigate the line. After he finished with them, he walked over. Looking a bit uncomfortable he said, "The Assistant Sheriff wants to talk to you back at the office."

  "About what?" I didn't like the sound of this.

  "He didn't say. Do you want to follow me over?"

  "Sure." Twenty minutes later I pulled in to a parking space. I didn't have a good feeling about this meeting. I hadn't said more than a passing word to Carls since I'd been hired.

  "Good afternoon, Miss Oaks."

  "Good afternoon, Assistant Sheriff. You wanted to see me?"

  "Yes. Miss Oaks, I have a problem," he started, leaning forward against his desk. "I think you may be a part of that problem. You see, I have these trolls on the loose, and in spite of a hedge-wizard and a witch working to find them, we've only found a dead one. You magic types-" clearly he wasn't fond of witches, "—aren't pulling your weight."

  "What do you want me to do?" He hadn't done anything but complain.

  "I want solutions out of you."

  "I can't fix this. I am not an investigator or officer, just an expert."

  "If you were worth the money this department is paying you, we'd have the trolls."

  "Assistant Sheriff, just so we're clear, your department owes me money. Never mind the fact that I am not part of your department. I am not an investigator, and am only allowed in the field in very specific circumstances. Those are not often met."

  He frowned. "Those trolls have been loose a week and you haven't given us anything that actually helps. If we haven't found those things using your spells within a week, you'll no longer be working with this department."

  "Why exactly is that? What haven't I done that I should've?" I hadn't thought the conversation would go this poorly.

  "You haven't found the trolls."

  My eyes widened uncomfortably. "I haven't found the trolls? It isn't my job to find the trolls. I've done my job better than most single witches could, and having ten witches wouldn't have provided you with a spell to instantly locate those trolls."

  "My statement stands. I want those trolls, and I want my money's worth from your wand waving."

  "Assistant Sheriff, have you used any of the tools I've provided?"

  "The department hasn't found them to be useful."

  "Why not?"

  "The magic you gave us isn't working as we requested."

  "You didn't request anything." He hadn't even been in charge when I'd done the last spells.

  "It has not performed to my satisfaction. If you will excuse me, I have work to do."

  "Do what you have to, but you're more than welcome to get a second opinion. I think you'll find that you don't know how to use the resources you've been given and that they can't do anything more than I did with the materials I have. My job was to make useful spells. I've done that. Your job is to find trolls." He was starting to turn red. I left before he could yell at me, or fire me on the spot.

  Jones intercepted me in the parking lot. "I take it Carls was angry."

  "To say the least. I was informed that if the trolls were not captured in the next week, usin
g the spells I crafted, Forsyth County would no longer need my services. I told him it was my job to make spells, not be a cop. It's his job to find the trolls." I rubbed my temples, attempting to reduce the throbbing in my temples.

  "I'm not sure he can fire you."

  "Do you really think that helps right now? I've done my best for you and have been told that I'm useless. I don't know what more I can do. If you've had any brilliant ideas, I'd love to hear them."

  "Sorry, Michelle, that didn't come off right." He sighed, "The spell you gave us today should find something, and that will buy you credibility and time. As for the rest of us, we don't want to work with a firm again. They aren't nice to us. He's trying to save his butt, but we can make sure he's gone if you are."

  "I have that many fans?"

  "Yes. You don't know what the last few witches we worked with were like. No one wanted to work with them, least of all me. They also charge more than twice what you do. Besides, he's the one who won't let us use the magic properly, or investigate it to make it worthwhile. We're not even supposed to be looking at the map anymore, via his orders."

  "Awesome. I don't know why I put two days of my life into that thing."

  Jones patted me on the back. "Go home, get some sleep. It'll work out."

  "Thanks . . . and, Jones, don't do anything that could hurt your career for me." He just smiled and waved me off. I wasn't sure that was a good sign.

  Sitting in my car, leaning against the steering wheel, I let a few tears escape. I couldn't drive while I was this angry. Slowly, far more slowly than usual, I was able to release the anger and fear. Driving home, I didn't know what to think about. I wanted to be sad and angry, but that wouldn't help.

  Most of all, I didn't want to go to dinner with my parents feeling like this. I was already nervous; being sad and angry wouldn't help anything. I wanted to go to dinner feeling happy and excited. I had a great opportunity to finally have the father I'd never had before. The last thing I wanted was for the bleak reality of my fledgling business failing to intrude upon what could be the start of great things.