Four-Leaf Clovers

by Samantha Silver

  Once again, I let the energy build up inside of me, I did the incantation, and a split second later Amy appeared in front of me, the smile across her face enormous.

  “That’s actually amazing. I can’t believe you managed that.”

  “Me neither,” I grinned. It felt really nice to have not only cast a spell, but also reversed it.

  “Are you good to try something harder?”

  I thought about it for a minute, and then shook my head.

  “Honestly, I don’t think I am. I feel really wiped all of a sudden, like I just ran a marathon, but without the sweat or the sore feet. I just feel like I could lie down on the couch for an hour and have a nice, long nap.”

  “That’s normal,” Amy nodded. “Magic does take the energy from you, and when you’re not used to expending that much energy at once, it’s certainly something. Harder spells require more energy and will zap it from you more quickly. Go and lie down; it’s probably a good idea at this point anyway.”

  I made my way over to the couch while Amy brought me a glass of water, which I took gratefully.

  “Is it always like this? When we go out, it doesn’t look like you and Ellie have any problems with exhaustion, and you’re casting multiple spells like this at once.”

  “It’s like exercise: the more you do it, the more you get used to it, and the more your endurance builds up. So over time, which in mine and Ellie’s case is two and a half decades, you become much more adept at casting multiple spells at once.”

  “So I just need to keep practicing?”

  “Yes,” Amy replied. “The more often you cast enough spells that you take yourself to your physical limit, like you have now, the faster your body will begin to adapt, and the faster you’ll be able to recover. That means eventually you’ll be able to cast more and more difficult spells without feeling fatigued.”

  “No one told me I was going to have to exercise to be a witch,” I complained.

  “Don’t worry. Running a marathon is still significantly more difficult than practicing magic,” Amy told me, taking the now-empty glass of water from me. I yawned and settled myself down more firmly on the couch, and the next thing I knew, I was dead asleep.

  Chapter 18

  The next day, I woke up to find a DVD of Rush Hour 2 on the front doorstep. Evidently Kyran had been here sometime during the night. I smiled as I picked it up and looked at the picture of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker on the front cover. I really hoped this movie night was going to go well.

  Amy was working, both for Lita and in the coven library, until later, but she promised she would be by before the movie started to use magic to create the large, white screen onto which I projected the film.

  “Are you sure you’re ok with me doing the food for this event?” Ellie asked for what had to be the millionth time that day while she rolled out some dough for her famous cinnamon buns.

  “Of course,” I said. “My answer isn’t going to change just because you asked fifty-one times instead of fifty.”

  “I’m just worried that being associated with me is going to taint things, somehow.”

  I shook my head firmly. “Absolutely not. Changing people’s minds about associating with people who are different is the entire point of this exercise. Besides, if I did that now, people would start asking questions. Why won’t she let her roommate make the food anymore? Is it because she believes Ellie is a murderer? Nope. The best thing you can do for yourself is to cook for this group.”

  “Thanks,” Ellie said with a smile. “I have to admit, even though it’s only been a couple of days, it does feel good to get some dough on my hands.”

  “And honestly, if I have to go somehow, I’d rather it be by eating poisoned food Ellie made than any other way,” Sara said, making her way into the kitchen and earning herself a glare by stealing a chunk of cookie dough from the fridge where Ellie had been leaving it to cool.

  “I will be poisoning your food if you don’t get out of here right now,” Ellie threatened, holding up the spatula in her hand like she was going to throw it at Sara, who let out a small squeal and ran out of the room giggling, happily munching away on the cookie dough.

  The day went by faster than I could have imagined—in the end, I did almost nothing to help find Luna’s killer—and before I knew it, Ellie, Sara, and I were headed to the Coven Gardens to set everything up.

  “I’m actually excited for this sequel,” Sara said as she spread around a bunch of chairs Ellie conjured up from nothing and topped them with blankets. After all, with the weather as cold as it was, I figured people would want to be cozy. “I liked the movie last week.”

  “Well, you’ll be glad to hear there’s a third movie, too! Apparently they’re making a fourth. At least, that was what I heard before I left the human world.”

  “Ooh, nice,” Sara laughed. “I can’t wait.”

  About ten minutes later, the first few visitors began to show up. There was Randy Tonner from the clothing shop and his husband Eric, followed closely by a couple of vampires who made their way right over to the table of goodies Ellie had set up.

  Amy arrived just then, looking slightly out of breath.

  “Sorry, I was held up a little bit. Here, let me set up the screen for you.”

  A moment later, a huge white screen appeared in front of the chairs, and as I put the DVD in the projector, I knew I was ready to go. All that was left to do was to press play. Checking my phone, there were still fifteen minutes left for anyone else to show up. I really hoped five wasn’t going be the total number of attendees today. After all, the previous week we had actually reached twenty for the first time, and I really wanted to surpass that total. Especially after all the effort Ellie and I had gone to to get the word out.

  To my immense relief, a group of five fairies appeared a moment later, followed by two more vampires and a couple of wizards. Then three more witches appeared, and even Kyran made his way out from the trees and took a seat at the back.

  “Hey,” I said, taking the spot next to him. “How’s it going?”

  “Ok. How about you? I heard my dad worked his magic.”

  “He did,” I nodded. “Thanks again. Hopefully Ellie is definitely out of trouble now. Though she still doesn’t have a job anymore.”

  Kyran shook his head. “That sucks.”

  “Yeah, it does. But I’m not too worried. As anyone who’s ever eaten her food can attest to, I don’t think she’ll be out of work for long. Especially if we find the real killer.”

  Kyran’s eyebrows rose. “Don’t tell me you’re going after yet another murderer.”

  “Well, why not? It’s the best way to clear Ellie’s name.”

  “You’re definitely loyal, I’ll give you that. Hey, what’s this I hear about your other roommate being picked as one of the new athletes for the broom competition?”

  This time it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. “I thought the competitors were supposed to be kept secret until Friday.”

  “They are,” Kyran said. “But I have an inside line on the names. I wasn’t expecting to see Sara Leach on there.”

  “Why not? She’s an excellent broom rider.”

  “An excellent broom rider with a huge self-esteem problem. There’s no way she did that entirely on her own.”

  “She may have gotten a bit of encouragement from the rest of us,” I said. “Hypothetically, of course, since you’re not supposed to know about it.”

  “Is that why today’s movie was moved up to Wednesday?”

  I nodded. “I’m going to go to Desert Plains with Ellie to watch the official swearing-in ceremony.”

  “Well, that should be fun. She’s got a chance, you know. I know some of the best broom riders in the paranormal world, and Sara definitely would hold her own against them.”

  “I didn’t know that, but it doesn’t surprise me,” I replied. “Now, if only she would believe that. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t realize this is real yet, and that a part of her prob
ably thinks it’s some kind of sick prank.”

  Kyran gave a small smile. “Well, she’ll notice soon enough that’s not the case.”

  “I hope so. Anyway, I have to start the movie. I’ll be back soon.”

  Kyran nodded as I got up and made my way to the front of the group. I was pleased to see that another handful of paranormals had arrived while I had been talking to Kyran, and there were now a good thirty, maybe forty paranormals ready to watch Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.

  This was good!

  I made my way to the screen at the front and cleared my throat. I saw Amy pointing her wand at me, and when I started to speak, I found my voice was coming out of me amplified, like I had a built-in loudspeaker.

  “Hello, paranormals,” I said with a smile. Public speaking had never been my forte, but I also wasn’t completely terrified of it like some of my friends had been when we had to present in class back in school. “Thank you for coming tonight for this special Wednesday showing of human movie night here in the Coven Gardens. I want everyone here to feel welcome to interact with each other, so please, have a seat, and maybe make some new friends along the way,” I said.

  I couldn’t help but notice that no one was really mingling. The witches were all sitting together; the vampires were all sitting together; the fairies were all sitting together; Kyran, the only elf, was by himself; and the three shifters that had shown up were sitting in the corner seats at the front on their own.

  “Alright,” I added. “For those of you for whom the blankets aren’t warm enough, if you make your way to the front row, there will be a heater there, but it’s not going to be strong enough to reach further back. So please, feel free to move toward the front for more heat.”

  I looked over at Amy, a pleading look on my face, and she nodded with a smile. She was going to take care of the as-of-yet non-existent heater for me while I set up the DVD.

  As I made my way to the projector, I noticed that, sure enough, a lot of the paranormals began making their way toward the front. While they were initially leaving space between them and other species, it quickly became apparent that there weren’t enough seats, and soon the fairies were sitting next to the witches and wizards, who were next to the vampires, who were next to the shifters. Some were in the second row as well, and I smiled to myself. My plan was working.

  Maybe next week I could try and incorporate some sort of game to make them all work together.

  A moment later Amy gave me the thumbs up—the heating spell was working—and I began playing the movie. I went and sat with Kyran, who hadn’t moved from the back row, and wrapped myself up in a blanket as I enjoyed the movie.

  A moment later, Mr. Meowgi, my familiar, hopped up onto my lap and I smiled. I had gotten so caught up with the setup that I had almost forgotten he was here. After all, he was the entire reason we were watching martial arts movies.

  “This was a good choice,” he purred softly as he watched the movie from my lap. “Although I really could use one of those blankets.”

  I grabbed a spare blanket from another chair and placed it over the cat, who began softly purring as the movie continued. With my cat in my lap and Kyran next to me, I felt all warm and cozy inside, and it had nothing to do with the blanket.

  Chapter 19

  The movie was just ending, with the main scene in the casino coming to an end, when I suddenly heard some footsteps behind me. Kyran and I looked back at the same time to see Chief Enforcer King making her way toward the screen.

  “Chief Enforcer?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m here to carry out an arrest,” she said, and slowly the other moviegoers looked up to see what was going on. My eyes immediately moved to Ellie, who had turned as white as a sheet.

  I launched myself at the projector and pressed pause.

  “Ellie Graham, you’re under arrest for the murder of Luna of the fairies,” Chief Enforcer King announced.

  “Hold on,” Amy said, stepping in front of Ellie. “Do you have a Request to Arrest?”

  “I do,” Chief Enforcer King said, pulling a sheet of paper from her pocket.

  “Could I see it?”

  Chief Enforcer King handed over the sheet of paper, and Amy scanned it quickly.

  “It’s legitimate,” she said to Ellie. “You need to go with her. Do not say a thing, though. Not to anyone. You’re entitled a legal representative. Tina will go and get him, and I will come with you.”

  “No,” Chief Enforcer King said. “She is under arrest, and you are not her lawyer, therefore you are not authorized to come along with her.”

  “According to the Paranormal Criminal Code Section 118, Article 7b, I am,” Amy said confidently. All eyes were on the unfolding drama now, including mine. I was frozen to the spot. I had no idea what to do, but Amy was definitely in her element now.

  “Oh?” Chief Enforcer King said, raising her eyebrows.

  “That section states, and I quote, that a suspect who has been arrested with a proper Request to Arrest signed by a judge is entitled to competent representation until the attorney of his or her choosing arrives to negotiate with the city attorney.”

  “Yes, and you are not a lawyer, and therefore not ‘competent representation,’” Chief Enforcer King replied.

  “On the contrary, the section does not specify that the person must be a lawyer. And seeing as I was able to quote the exact section of the law for you, I think that’s pretty competent representation, personally. But hey, if you want to deny Ellie her Paranormal Criminal Code rights and find yourself in front of the Overseeing Court at some point in the future, then that’s your prerogative.”

  Chief Enforcer King paused for a minute. It was like no one in the Coven Gardens was breathing at all as we all watched to see what was going to happen. Finally, the lion shifter spoke.

  “Fine,” she nodded curtly. “You may accompany Ellie as her competent representation until her attorney arrives.”

  “Good,” Amy nodded and turned to Ellie. “Come on. We have to go with her.”

  Tears welled in Ellie’s eyes and my heart broke for her. Amy took her by the hand. “You can do this. Come on, it’s not forever. It’s a misunderstanding, and we’re going to clear it up. Tina’s going to get Kilmordir, and everything is going to be fine.”

  Amy looked over at me after saying those words, and I nodded. I could already feel Kyran by my side.

  Ellie and Amy left the garden, followed closely by Chief Enforcer King, and I realized I didn’t know what to do.

  I eventually went over to Sara. “Take over the screen. You know how to work the projector, you just press the triangle button to play. Not that anyone is interested in the movie anymore. I need to go and find Kilmordir. Can you make sure Mr. Meowgi gets home with you?”

  Sara nodded, her face pale. “Yeah. Sure. Is Ellie going to be ok?”

  “With Amy there?” I said with a small smile. “Of course she is.”

  I could only hope I was right.

  Kyran and I made our way to Isisopolis straight away, where Kilmordir was incensed to find that he had not yet been made aware of his client’s arrest. The three of us headed straight back to Western Woods immediately and right back down to the basement of City Hall, where Ellie was being interrogated once more, in the same room as the last time.

  “I have Enforcers searching your home right now,” Chief Enforcer King was saying to Ellie, who sat mutely on her chair next to Amy, who I had to admit looked right in her element. She sat tall and confident as she rebuked Chief Enforcer King.

  “I do hope they’re aware that they aren’t to search any rooms in the house that aren’t Ellie’s or a common area,” she said. “If we return to find that your men have searched anywhere in the house that is not specifically authorized, I’ll have the entire search thrown out in court.”

  “Believe it or not, my Enforcers are well trained. They know how to execute a search.”

  “Well, good, because I’ll make sure th
at when Kilmordir gets here, he’s made well aware of the facts. Where is he, by the way? He should have been called by now.”

  “I am here, and not because of any contact from the Chief Enforcer,” Kilmordir said, striding into the room. Amy stood up immediately.

  “Good, you’re here. I’ve been acting as Ellie’s council, and I can assure you she hasn’t said a word.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Kilmordir said. “I’ve heard that you did excellent work ensuring that my client was properly protected until my arrival.” He turned to Chief Enforcer King. “Which, apparently, was quite necessary, as I hadn’t yet been told about my client’s arrest.”

  “I called your office, and there was no answer,” Chief Enforcer King said. “Seeing as it’s, what, four in the morning in Isisopolis, I assumed that I was going to have to wait until business hours before I’d be able to get in touch.”

  “If an arrestee’s lawyer lives in a town more than four time zones away, an Enforce must stop questioning until business hours resume in the time zone where the lawyer resides if he or she cannot be contacted,” Amy said. “As soon as you were unable to contact Kilmordir, you should have stopped the interrogation and waited until it was nine in the morning in Isisopolis.”

  For the first time in my life, I noticed a blush crawl up Chief Enforcer King’s face. “I’ve never heard of such a rule. Of course, I’ve also never had a client who went all the way to Europe to get a lawyer. I had no idea.”

  “Well, as the Chief Enforcer in Western Woods, it is your duty to know these things,” Amy scolded like she was Chief Enforcer King’s boss.

  “Regardless, it’s not as though anything has come of it,” Aria King replied, getting her footing back under her. “It would only be an issue if Ellie had said anything that could be used against her, and she hasn’t. She’s had you as her representative here the entire time.”

  “Right. Now that her lawyer is here, I’d like to be brought up to date on the facts,” Kilmordir said. “And Amy, if you could please stay here as well, I’d appreciate having you here since you seem to be up to date on not only the case, but paranormal criminal law as well.”