Strange Ways

by Gray Williams

  ‘You never did?’

  ‘I did a little. But I knew none of it was really your fault. You didn’t summon that thing or force them to take me. But you hated yourself enough for the both of us. You were wallowing in it. I had to leave. But none of it’s brought them back, none of it’s helped us. I love you. Nothing’s going to change that. You have to stop blaming yourself.’

  The tears were running down Amanda’s face.

  ‘If I’d been there for you, none of this would be happening.’

  ‘No. Probably not. So pull yourself together. Stop hating yourself. We’re going to get through this. Both of us.’

  Amanda laughed. ‘I thought I was about to help you. Now you’re the one helping me.’

  ‘You say that like it’s any different from any other day. Just talking to you helps me. I’m sorry I never visited, but I didn’t want you accusing me again. I didn’t know what to do, then weeks went by and… I’m sorry. I know what I’m going to do. I know how I can fix this.’

  ‘How?’ Amanda leaned forward. ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘I’m not like you. I thought I was. I thought I didn’t really have a choice. But I’m not. I can’t do what you and Dad did. I don’t like where it’s all taking me. All it is is more problems down the road.’

  ‘Please don’t do anything dangerous. If you’re not going to tell me, promise me that much.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘I’ll figure something out. I’m glad you’re OK. Nothing else matters to me.’

  ‘No, Mum. You have to matter to you. How else are we ever going to see each other again? Please stay safe. You’re all the family I have left. I need you. Not for what you can fix. I need you. I’ve always needed you.’

  ‘I’ll try. That’s all I can promise.’

  Using the scryball was beginning to drain her. Amanda could feel Michaela’s fatigue across the invisible thread between them.

  ‘Whatever you do, don’t lose this,’ said Amanda. ‘We can speak again.’

  ‘OK. I love you.’

  ‘I love you too. I’m sorry.’

  ‘I know you are. Everything’s going to be OK.’

  And the connection broke, reducing again to faint sensations of her daughter’s presence.

  It was all Amanda needed.

  Chapter Twenty

  Steph and Karina were raiding the kitchen fridge when Amanda joined them. Steph had found some bread and peanut butter and was methodically working through both. Weilding the knife like a builder mortaring bricks, the thick dollops of butter barely had time to settle before they were shuttled to the young woman’s mouth.

  Karina, meanwhile, was taking the time to make herself a sandwich, while simultaneously working through a second bag of crisps. They sat at opposite ends of the kitchen island, too intent on their gnawing hunger to give the other much attention.

  As the pair sated themselves after days without proper food, there was an air that if the problems between them hadn’t been resolved, they had at least been brought to a ceasefire in the face of more pressing matters.

  All Amanda’s thoughts of talking to the pair dissolved at the sight of food. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten.

  The fridge was well-stocked. Ludicrously so. Like it had been prepared ready for a catalogue shoot.

  The pair stopped eating as she joined them at the island, watching as she quickly devoured a plastic pot of olives, oil running down her fingers.

  ‘I didn’t kill him,’ Amanda said, when she was ready. ‘My daughter is… handling it. We don’t have to worry about McKittrick.’

  She quickly went through what the pair of them had talked about, Steph and Karina listening attentively.

  ‘So what’s she going to do?’ asked Steph.

  ‘I’m not sure. But there’s nothing I can do. Not from here and certainly not in time. But she’s got herself this far and… she can do it. You both seen the weather?’

  The pair looked out. The wind was whipping at the surface of the waves, lashing them to a froth. Sand was sliding down the beach in long brushstrokes, rattling against the glass. In the distance, they could see the dark bruising of the storm clouds, closer than before.

  ‘The storm wards are breaking down,’ said Karina.

  ‘Harry’s started. This whole island is about to know what a hundred and fifty years of pent-up curse feels like.’

  ‘He’ll be up on the highest point of the island,’ said Steph.

  ‘The cliff by the pier,’ said Karina.

  ‘So we know where he’ll be,’ said Amanda. ‘He’ll have Andre waiting by the safe to open it once the wards break. He has Bohdan taking care of the boat, securing his exit. The guards are on his side for now, but I don’t think he’s planning on taking them with him. He wouldn’t want to start on the mainland with a whole gang he didn’t handpick himself. Having them look after the prisoners is just his way of keeping them distracted. By the time Drummond and his men know they’ve been shafted, Harry and the others will already be gone. Now, if we figure this out and play things right, I reckon we can fuck up his plan and use it to escape this place ourselves.’

  ‘I’m not leaving without the other inmates,’ said Karina. ‘They deserve to leave here just as much as either of us.’

  ‘I thought you built this place,’ said Amanda.

  ‘I compromised on this place. And look what they’ve done with it. I’ll never agree with how you do things. But I am done with playing nice.’

  ‘They always said prison makes better criminals,’ Amanda smirked.

  ‘I’m not breaking the law. I’m protesting. Harry might have the guards, but we’ve got the prisoners. Hundreds of magic users. Get me to them and they’ll join us. They have to.’

  ‘But how do we get them out of here?’ asked Steph. ‘There’s only one boat and that’s not nearly big enough to take everyone. It wouldn’t even handle a quarter of them. We can’t make a doorway, either, it won’t get past the wards, and when the storm hits, the sigils won’t work.’

  ‘Then we use the storm,’ said Karina. ‘We use it in the same way I tried to use it earlier. I was going to use one ward to get a signal out. But now Harry’s done the work for us, I think we can piggyback his spell and change the whole island into an amplifier. With all of us working together, we can send out a message that no one can ignore.’

  ‘How do we do that?’ asked Amanda.

  ‘We’d need Harry’s amulet for starters. And we’d need to get past all those guards, free the prisoners and keep safe long enough to send the message out.’

  ‘The storm will be our friend there. Once it hits, the sigils in their armour will fry.’

  ‘So it’ll just become armour,’ said Steph. ‘You know, armour that protects them from rocks and sticks and guns. Everything.’

  ‘But not confusion,’ said Amanda. ‘Not panic. And that’s more valuable. Keeping someone from carrying out their plan is just as important as doing yours. That’s what we’re going to try and do. The three of us.’

  Karina folded her arms. ‘What are you proposing? But just to say, if I don’t like what I’m hearing, I will let you know.’

  ‘Then I’d best get started.’

  * * *

  The wind was picking up as Amanda and Karina crossed the island. The trees roared and creaked in disapproval at the gusts, shedding debris down on the women’s heads. Leaves and needles dashed around their knees, a stampede of litter heading for the ocean.

  ‘He really would do it,’ said Karina. ‘Harry would really kill all these people just to get what he wants.’

  ‘You’re a politician,’ said Amanda. ‘I thought you’d be more used to that idea than I was. Are you sure you can do this?’

  ‘I’ve been doing this for a few years now. Today shouldn’t be much different.’

  ‘I’ve seen you a couple of times on the television. No offence, but I’ve never seen a politician rally people in real life lik
e they do in the movies.’

  ‘You’ve seen me on television?’

  ‘I’m a criminal. I’m not stupid.’

  ‘And you saw all those people standing behind me when I talked.’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘Well, there you go then.’

  It was dark away from Fitzackley’s house. The cloud cover was thick and moving fast, the stars blinded. Only the lightning offered illumination, an ominous strobe.

  The guards’ village was ahead. The lights were still on everywhere. The White House was brightest of all, surrounded by the floodlights, the building haloed in daylight.

  Steph was waiting for them in the spot they’d agreed upon.

  ‘Everything all right?’ asked Amanda as they approached.

  The young woman held a clear plastic bin bag filled with clothing and equipment. ‘There was no one there. I think they’d already taken what they wanted. But they left the smallest stuff, which works for us. I don’t know if it’ll fit though…’

  ‘It’s better than nothing,’ said Amanda, taking the bag from her. ‘No one’s going to be looking too closely.’ She began to paw through the kit. ‘The only problem we’re going to have is our height. They like to recruit these guys tall. Not much we can do about that.’

  She looked over the baton, the head mask. Steph had done well, stealing everything in the armoury that made a guard ready for a riot.

  Steph had also grabbed a dozen tins of paint for ward work.

  ‘I might be able to work a glamour,’ Steph suggested. ‘Make you both look taller. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it would work for a while at least.’

  ‘No time. We don’t know how long we’ve got. I need to be there when the safe opens and you need to be doing your thing as soon as possible,’ this she said to Karina, who was turning one of the helmets over in her hands. ‘This is just to pass at a distance. The less time we actually spend with these people, the better. Now get these on.’

  They worked in silence, Karina pulling on the equipment, her lips pinched in displeasure. Amanda wondered what it must be like, to be dressing up as something you’ve feared for so long. To her it was just another costume, a means to an end, but this meant something more to the other woman.

  The armour felt uncomfortable. Like Steph had guessed, it was all too big on her. Amanda tried her best, securing straps and buckles, squeezing and pinching until she felt like she was being pressed from all sides.

  All across her scars she could feel the tingle of the interior wards as they started to leech power from her skin.

  ‘Something wrong?’ asked Karina, spotting something in her expression.

  ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘She doesn’t like the wards,’ said Steph.

  ‘What are they doing?’ asked Amanda.

  ‘You can’t tell? You should be able to…’

  ‘Leave it, Steph, she’s not used to it,’ said Karina. ‘Don’t worry. Nothing permanent. But we’re not going to be wanting to wear these for long. The longer we spend in these suits the more drained we’re going to feel when the storm hits and the sigils die.’

  Amanda nodded. Running her tongue across the inside of her gritted teeth, she tried to keep the memories of her past at bay. She had quietly come to terms with magic over the past few years, a reckoning that had come to a head during her time on the train. But the instinct ran deep and part of her hind brain still felt that fear and revulsion.

  Steph did her best to help, tucking and folding to make the uniforms fit as much as possible. Even with their prison clothes on underneath, the uniforms were still loose.

  As they settled, the purpose of some of the glyphs began to become apparent. The vests and armour, heavy in Amanda’s hands, didn’t feel as bad once they were secured. In fact, when she concentrated and knew to look for it, she could feel the material becoming lighter as the glyphs charged. This was expensive stuff. The joints eased her movement, her whole body feeling quicker, more supple. She could feel the wards storing strength and giving it back when she needed it. An hour of wearing this stuff and she suspected she would be able to run faster, punch harder and work for longer than she could have done on her own. Anyone who met her would find subduing her a challenge, but that cut both ways. She didn’t want to think how facing a fully glyphed guard would pan out.

  Amanda made a fist, feeling the power of it. ‘This is good,’ she said, trying to vent some of her anxiety. ‘The moment the wards go down, those guards are going to have a hard time doing anything.’

  ‘Do I look the part?’ asked Karina, spreading her hands.

  They looked each other over. As far as Amanda could tell, they were kitted out exactly like the guards.

  ‘You’ve been around them longer,’ Amanda replied. ‘Anything missing?’

  ‘Not that I can see. But I’m not sure…’

  ‘Don’t worry. People will be too busy to notice. We just keep moving, act like we know what we’re doing. By the time anyone realises, it’ll be too late. OK?’

  Karina made a face, a smile holding in the urge to be sick.

  ‘You ready for these?’ Steph held up the helmets.

  Amanda took a breath. The thing looked tight, hot and claustrophobic. ‘All right. Let’s go.’

  She held her breath as Steph pushed it on. It was every bit as unpleasant as she’d expected. More wards ticked on, a tingle growing in her sinuses, but their purpose wasn’t immediately apparent.

  The mirrored visor dulled the colours around her, like wearing shades, but then they began to flare where there was magic. The night began to brighten, sucking in and diffusing the available light, turning the whole world to dusk again.

  Looking down her body, Amanda could make out the glow of her wards. Looking towards the village she could see all the glyphs around the houses, all the small magical suppressors and detectors that they used.

  When she looked at Steph, there was nothing at all. The girl’s home-made wards, the ones that she’d made to hide herself, were every bit as effective as she had claimed.

  Amanda’s breath felt hot and close against her face, her head felt squeezed. She took a moment to let herself acclimatise, tucking in the strap and buckling it under her chin. The padding scratched against her head uncomfortably. She would be pulling this whole thing off as soon as she could.

  ‘Right,’ she declared, but neither woman replied, Steph helping Karina on with her helmet. She realised that with the helmet on, they hadn’t heard her speak.

  Shit, how did they make themselves heard? Somewhere there had to be a passive ward that she was meant to channel energy through. A more experienced user would know how to find it, but not her. She reached out with her senses, put out her magic here and there to the wards that responded, trying to figure out how to—

  ‘Whoa,’ Steph grabbed her shoulders, trying to find Amanda’s eyes under the visor, ‘what are you doing? Anyone could feel that a mile off.’

  Amanda was glad the girl wasn’t able to see her expression. She touched a finger at where her mouth was and flicked up a hand in a shrug.

  ‘There’s a ward,’ said Karina, now completely transformed into a faceless guard. ‘You just have to find it and… Look, maybe I can…’

  Amanda waved her away as she approached. They didn’t have time for a tutorial. She pointed to the White House, their next destination, then down at her wrist. No time.

  Steph nodded. ‘I’ll go on ahead.’ Picking up the paint tins and looping the handles into the crook of her elbows, she performed a few of her cantrips. Wooden fingers bending in ways that her old hands couldn’t, there was a snap of magic. The air folded around her in shapes that hurt Amanda’s brain and the girl was gone.

  She and Karina flexed their bodies, trying to settle the suits around them. As they prepared to leave, a new ward began to tingle and, a moment later, Karina’s mirrored visor became transparent.

  ‘Whoa,’ said Karina, the same presumably happening for Amanda. ‘Are you…?’<
br />
  They stared at one another. It wasn’t Karina’s face that she could see, rather the face of a stern white woman. The face didn’t move when she spoke, it was fixed in the expression of someone in the middle of a passport photo.

  ‘Are you getting the same thing?’ asked Karina.

  Amanda nodded.

  ‘You have the face of a bald guy. Must be whoever had the suit last. It’s a glamour so they can recognise one another. Makes sense, I suppose.’ The woman took a breath. ‘Super weird. Are we ready?’

  Exchanging thumbs up, they began to stride towards the bright lights of the White House.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Karina dashed off prayers to anyone and anything that would listen as she and Amanda made their way through the trees.

  Her whole mind felt like it was on fire. Steph’s words had hurt and, though she had fought back, spoken her mind, nothing felt the same.

  Because she was worried that they were both right.

  She tried her best to match the other woman’s gait. The moment they had left the trees and joined the path, Amanda had transformed, walking with an easy authority. Trying to do the same, she felt every inch the fraud.

  Any moment, she expected a voice to call out, for someone to question them, spotting something they’d missed. What would Amanda do if they were discovered? Karina would get violent if she had to, she hoped. Or would she shrink back? She didn’t know. She’d never had to know.

  There were no guards on the White House gate, none at the doors. Discipline was already breaking down. Amanda had been right, the chaos that Harry had sewn was working to their advantage.

  The doors opened before they’d even reached them and there was Steph, waving them in.

  A harsh gust of wind almost plucked the door out of her hand, but she managed to catch it in time. The weather was getting worse, and as they headed inside Karina felt the first spatter of rain against her back. She pulled the door closed behind her, the silence of the interior pressing in, the fluorescent buzz of the lighting – they were in the belly of the beast.