Clever Witch

by Nikki Dean

  She's speaking from experience, Mallory realized. Who did she lose that makes her so bitter? "Why do you sound like you know personally? What happened, Mom?"

  Both her parents glared at her, and Robert put his arm around Anna’s back, pulling her closer. Or attempting to, anyway.

  Anna sat stiffly on the couch, her presence on Mal's web vibrating with anger, and grief. "That's none of your business, young lady. We aren't going to talk about it again, but remember, I know more about this than you do. Just because you think you're happy there now doesn't mean you'll always be. Paul is doing the right thing by hiding his power, and you should have done a better job hiding yours."

  "That's a felony," Matt murmured softly. "I understand what you mean, but do you understand that he'll be in a lot of trouble if he's caught?"

  "Are you planning to turn him in?" Anna's eyes glittered and she folded her hands in her lap. It was a demure pose, but Mallory knew it was just to stop them from shaking in anger, betraying the depth of her feelings.

  "Of course not. But that doesn't change anything. You're still encouraging both of your children to commit a federal offense."

  The other guys nodded. Mallory felt how much they regretted agreeing, but unfortunately, no one else could.

  "Mallory, can we please speak outside?" Anna asked. Mal nodded with a sigh, pushed Dice off her lap and followed her mother out the front door. Paul joined them.

  "What are you doing?" Mallory hissed. "Mom wanted to talk to me."

  "It's fine, he can stay," Anna said quickly. "Mallory, I have to tell you how uncomfortable I am with this. You brought five men here and claim that two of them are your boyfriends, but all five know that your brother is a renegade witch now. Not to mention that I have my doubts about how serious this thing with Matt and Nico could be if they're agreeing to you dating both of them at the same time. Do you really trust them not to turn him in?"

  Mallory took a deep breath to stem her anger. It wasn't her mother's fault, not really. "Yes, I trust them. They've both been looking out for me since I got to the academy, and they both love me. There's no way they would betray me. The others wouldn't either, because they know it would hurt Matt and Nico."

  Anna tilted her head and pursed her lips, glancing at Paul out of the corner of her eye. Paul returned the expression, his arms crossed over his chest.

  "Stop it. I trust them with my life. They've already saved me a few times now, and I'd do the same for them. I know it's not what you're used to, but you're going to have to accept them sooner or later. It's definitely serious."

  "They had to save you?" her mother's voice rose in alarm. "From what? Why? You're not supposed to be in danger until after you graduate!"

  Of course that's all she heard. "It wasn't a big deal, Mom. My magic flipped out on me and got really intense before I was ready. I've learned to control it, but it was making me pass out in the beginning. So they carried me to the nurse and stuff like that." And didn't let the amaroq eat me.

  "It made you pass out??" Anna's voice rose to a low shriek. "Like, a seizure or something? I've heard that can happen when magic is too stressful! Did you go see a doctor?"

  "No, just the nurse. It's fine, Mom, really. She said it happens all the time." She could tell her mother wasn't buying it.

  "I want you to stay an extra day and go see the family doctor on Monday," Anna demanded. "I don't trust any of these academy nurses or doctors at all, especially since they only want people healthy enough to fight. They don't care if you're permanently injured."

  Mallory sighed.

  "I'm sure they care, Mom," Paul said, surprising them both. "She would be useless if her magic didn't work anymore, since that's the only reason they enrolled her in Dark Arts, anyway. If the nurse says she's fine, then I'm sure she's fine."

  Mallory was afraid her eyebrows had jumped so far up that they'd been swallowed by her hairline and would never come back down again. Did he just back me up on this? But he hates the Defense Department just as much as she does. Most people do out here.

  Anna must have felt the same way, because one hand was pressed against her chest as she looked up at him in betrayal.

  "Mom. Relax." Paul drew their mother in for a hug. "For real, she just talks to cats. No one is going to put her on the front lines of anything with a talent like that. What's she gonna do, have them scratch someone to death?"

  "There is a jaguar in there that would say yes!" Anna hissed.

  Paul flinched. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Still, she said it's a rescue, and Mallory's a softie, so she wouldn't let anyone put her new pet in danger. Just breathe, and we'll get through it. Matt and Nico seem cool, so I'm fine with them. Another one, Alec, seems like a good guy, too."

  "And the other two?" Anna asked. Mal held her breath as she waited for his answer.

  "Honestly, they kinda seem like dicks, but Mal's not involved with them, so I don't care. Everyone has one or two asshole friends."

  Mal laughed in spite of herself. "You guys don't need to worry about me getting together with Damon or Everett. I'm pretty sure they'd both rather jump off a bridge. They're not really 'girlfriend' kind of guys."

  Anna's face relaxed as Mallory realized her mistake, and her mother's assumption.

  "Oh. That's nice then, dear, I'm kind of relieved. We all know you can't resist men like them, so I'm happy to hear they won't get a chance to break your heart. Matt and Nico certainly aren't bad to look at, so I understand your attraction. And that big one - "

  "Alec," Mallory supplied. What the hell does she mean, I can't resist men like them? I'm morally opposed to dating douchenozzles. Now, at least. Some of her high school boyfriends had been questionable, but hey, that's what high school was for.

  "- is very handsome, too. I understand the appeal, even if I don't quite understand how all of this is working."

  "We just all hang out together, mostly. It's very relaxing, like hanging out with my best friends," Mal replied. "There's no drama."

  "That's good. I still don't trust them about your brother though. Maybe if they knew him better, they wouldn't turn him in?"

  Oh, no. She's plotting something.

  "Maybe you should come over today and have a girls' day with me and we can leave your men here with Paul to go fishing? Let them have some male bonding time."

  Paul met her eyes and shook his head the tiniest bit. Mallory almost laughed at the panic in his mind.

  "Actually, I promised to introduce Mal and her friends to Luca, one of my old friends from the Academy of Civil Development. He lives about an hour away, so we'll be gone all day."

  So he'll hang out with us, but only if I'm along too, huh? That's fair. Plus the guys will be excited to talk to this Luca guy in person and ask him about the sigil.

  "Sorry, Mom. I can take the bus back next month and spend the whole weekend with you if you want," Mallory promised. "No boyfriends allowed."

  Mallory cringed inside as she felt her mom's disappointment. "Oh. I suppose that will be fine. But I'll send your father to pick you up so you don't have to ride the bus."

  "Okay."

  "Well, I should get your father and let you get on with your day, then. It's already nine in the morning, and you'll want to leave soon so you don't have to drive back at night."

  Paul and Mallory exchanged a smile. Their mother had always hated the thought of driving at night, for whatever reason. She'd never told them exactly why.

  They went back inside to find Dice halfway on top of Mallory’s dad, his nose tucked under Robert's jaw as he stroked Dice’s soft side. Dice was kneading a pillow on Robert's chest, his claws extending and retracting as he purred.

  The pillow was shredded. Stuffing was falling out with every press of Dice's huge paws. Robert looked like he was in heaven.

  "This is one amazing cat you have here, Mallory. Maybe academy life isn't so bad for you after all."

  Chapter 23

  "Why is he taking us to meet Luca?" Everett demanded. "Did yo
u ask him to?"

  Mallory shook her head. "No, he just told my mom that to get out of having to spend all day with just you guys. She wanted me to come over for a girls' day."

  She looked around at them and threw her hands up. "Don't pout about it. He just met all of you and thinks two and a half of you, whatever that means, are dating me. It would have been a little awkward."

  Alec gave a light shrug and nod, as though he agreed. The others weren't so kind.

  "So anyway, we're going to meet Luca, the guy who Paul stole the sigil from. Maybe we should ask how he got it, and what it is? But without telling him that we have it now?" she guessed.

  "It's as good of an idea as any. We might get lucky and he knows something about it, or can tell us who was interested in buying it," Nico agreed.

  "You really think he's going to volunteer that information?" Damon asked, rolling his eyes.

  "Nope. But maybe Bunny can pick something up with her magic and give us some kind of lead. Even a description of the buyer would be better than nothing."

  Damon harrumphed in annoyance, but he didn't negate the possibility. Not that Mal was sure it was a possibility, since she had to be matching thoughts with her targets to slip into their mind.

  Maybe Paul can help. Or one of the guys asking him to describe the sigil. He'd have to picture it for that, right?

  They all loaded up in Alec's SUV, this time with Nico and Mal in the very back. Paul's car was only a four-seater, and he had to sit up front to navigate.

  "It's going to be a long hour," Nico whispered. Mallory cuddled up between his legs, her back to his chest. Dice had been forced to stay at the house. She could only hope he didn't destroy the place while they were gone.

  She had just started reading an eBook on her phone when it rang, the loud trill ringing out in the small space.

  Unknown number. She stared at it for a second before it rang again. Nico poked her.

  "You gonna answer that?" he asked. Matt and Damon turned back to look.

  "You think it's a good idea? Anyone that needs to call me should be programmed into my phone. What if it's Pohler?" she replied. The thought of him tracking her down all the way out in Winn made her uneasy.

  "Won't know until you answer," Nico murmured. "We won't let him hurt you again."

  "Fine." She hit the answer button just before it went to voicemail. "Hello?"

  "Mallory, thank god you answered," Janae shrieked from the other end. "I was afraid he'd gotten to you again. I need your help."

  "Who? Janae, what's going on?" Mallory asked, sitting up a little straighter. Nico wrapped his arm around her belly and leaned close so he could hear. Damon and Matt turned back toward the front of the vehicle, but she could tell they were still listening.

  "That fucking cocksicle Pohler came after my sister, like I knew he would! Luckily I was there, since I moved back home for a while, but he was here, Mallory! He tried to grab us and I had to use my magic on him and beat his ass, then we ran. I called the captain's office and they said he's been fired, so they have no idea what's going on."

  "Fired? You're sure?" The shock in her voice had the guys turning back around again. "What did you do to him? I want to hear everything." She tapped the button to put it on speakerphone. The volume was low enough that Paul couldn’t hear her over the radio.

  "Just returned what he was trying to inflict on us. I can do that sometimes, but no one else knows because I never do it at school. And yeah, fired. That's what the receptionist said. She wouldn't tell me why, even when I asked if it was because he broke into your room. She sounded surprised to hear that though, did you not make a report?" Janae demanded.

  "No," Mallory admitted. "I wasn't sure who to trust, honestly."

  "Yeah, well, same. Do you still have your old apartment or anything I could stay at? My sister, Lona, is only twelve. Her magic hasn't manifested yet, so she's the last one that wasn't enrolled at Dark Arts. I dropped out."

  "Dropped out?" Mallory repeated. "I didn't think you could do that."

  "You can't. I made it happen though, so if you hear rumors at school about me, just agree with everything. No one needs to know where I am."

  What the fuck? How do you just make it happen? "Janae, are you okay?"

  Janae let out a laugh that was just the wrong side of hysterical. "No. No, bitch, I am not okay. I lied to everyone and faked my own death, plus Lona's, just to keep her safe. I am far from okay."

  "Oh. Oh, shit. Well then." Mallory was silent as she tried to process everything.

  "Look. I know you probably hate me, but I could really use a place for me and my little sister to stay, if you know of anything." Her voice was desperate.

  "Give me a minute," Mallory said as she covered the phone. "Hey, Paul? Do you have a roommate lined up for either of your rooms?"

  "Not yet, why?"

  "Can a friend of mine and her sister come stay with you? They're trying to stay under the Defense Department's radar, too."

  "What the fuck, Mallory?" Paul and Janae both demanded at the same time. Mal smiled.

  "I knew this would work out. You both said that at the same time. Look, I won't tell anyone why, for either of you, but seriously, you'd be a good fit," Mallory said. "Can she come out for a week or two just to try it?"

  "Ugh, I guess. No fucking jaguars, though," Paul said.

  "She won't bring anything like that." Mallory paused. "Janae, you don't have any pets, right?"

  "Girl, I'm on the run. You think I'm bringing a fucking puppy along or something?" Janae spat. Mallory could hear her pulling things together in the background, like she was packing a suitcase. "Lona, get your stuff. We're leaving."

  "Are you sure she's not being used to track us?" Damon whispered. "To see where you are?"

  Mal hit mute. "Why would anyone do that? I haven't missed any classes, and no one would even know I'm gone. I haven't been sleeping at the dorm for a week, so it's not like my absence would be noticed. I only hang out with you guys."

  "Where should I go?" Janae demanded on the other end of the phone.

  Mallory waited until Damon nodded.

  "Come to Winn. Call me when you reach the city limits and I'll talk you in. It's a few hours from Helston."

  "Okay. You better not be setting me up here," Janae warned.

  "Bitch, you better not be setting me up," Mallory shot back. "You're the one calling me from an unknown number, telling me that Pohler already found you once and you kicked his ass. What'd you do to him, Janae? I know he wasn't that easy to beat."

  Janae sighed, and the background noises stilled. "Sometimes I can redirect my energy," she muttered. "From healing to damage. I don't even know why I'm telling you this since the last time I swore you to secrecy, you brought a shit ton of TAs along with you to rescue your handler when I specifically told you not to."

  "That was necessary. Now I just wanna hear about how you made that asshole squirm."

  Janae's grin somehow came through her voice. "Well, in that case, I made him feel like I'd set him on fire, to start with. I needed to get Lona out of the house, so I had to distract him. Burning pain, all over. Even under his clothes, which he was really confused by once he realized they didn't matter. Then I made his muscles seize up in cramps to give us time to run, because he's actually pretty fast. It was hilarious, you should have seen him fall down and scream like he was being ripped apart."

  "Effective. What else? I know that couldn't have been it."

  "Well, that's about when my little sister hit him in the head with a pipe. Knocked him out cold."

  Nico shook his head the tiniest bit. Mallory agreed.

  "You're really trying to tell me that your non-magical little sister hit him hard enough to knock him out? While he was having muscle cramps? That doesn't make sense. Pohler is tough, tougher than that, at least."

  "She had a lot of momentum behind it."

  Mallory knew a lie when she heard it. The rest of the guys did, too.

  "Janae, is som
eone else there with you? Or is someone else listening?" Mallory asked.

  "Not that I know of. Can I just explain in person when I get out there?" Janae demanded. "It's not something I want to talk about over the phone."

  Mal leaned her head back against Nico's shoulder and rubbed her hand across her forehead. She could feel the guys all willing her to say no, to tell Janae to fuck off.

  "I need to be able to trust you, and I can't do that if you won't tell me everything," Mallory said.

  Janae cursed. Mallory heard a zipper being zipped up, then a thud, like her suitcase hitting the floor. "Come on, Lona, we have to go. I understand what you're saying, Mallory, but I really don't want to talk about it here. I'll call you later when I'm close."

  "Okay," Mallory said slowly. A little regretfully. Janae hung up first. "Well. At least we know someone got some revenge on Twatasaurus Rex. It wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but whatever."

  "Why'd you invite her out here?" Everett demanded without preamble. "That was stupid."

  "I know. I did it without getting all of the details first. Hey, Paul?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Is there somewhere else she can stay? I don't want you dragged into this if someone is actually after her. It'd be better if you know of anywhere else that's not associated with you. Preferably someplace out of the way," Mallory said. "Sorry to just spring it on you like that."

  "Like you sprung it on Mom and Dad that I'm a witch this morning?" he retorted.

  "You deserved that for talking shit about my relationships. I would have told them eventually that I'm dating Nico and Matt at the same time."

  "And me," Alec called from the front seat.

  "No, she's not," Damon and Everett both muttered.

  "Well, now I kinda want to say yes just to annoy you two," Mallory threatened with narrowed eyes. "It's good for you that I'm taking this seriously, and don't want to fuck up your group."