The Veiled Diplomat

by Thomas K. Carpenter

  Few maetrie did business in the city of Invictus. He'd heard there was one that ran a bar on the west side of the seventh ward, but they'd been told to avoid it, and for once, Zayn thought it was sound advice, especially after barely surviving his trip into the embassy.

  Zayn was considering getting a different view of the building, maybe from a nearby apartment building, when he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. It was Amber from Howling Madwoman Fortunes and Spells. She looked unchanged from when he'd seen her last, with the same straight black hair, sugar skull tattoo on her neck, piercings, and an expression of dangerous ambivalence, as if his continued existence relied on her not caring enough to end him.

  He went to greet her, but the vision disappeared, which didn't surprise him. Zayn sighed. She wanted him to visit her shop. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what she had to say, considering he owed her a favor, one that had come with a pretty big price tag.

  The next class with Instructor Konig was supposed to meet in an hour, but he supposed he could make it to her shop and to class in time if the visit was quick. He took the Red Line around the city to the tenth ward, where Howling Madwoman Fortunes and Spells was located.

  Before he went in, he wondered if the visit had to do with Katie and her visit last month, but decided it was unlikely Amber knew what had happened after they'd called her back from the dead to explain how she died.

  The little bell above the door rang, announcing his entrance. Zayn didn't see Amber, but there was a young girl around his age lounging on a couch against the wall. She had her boots up on the armrest, nodding them along with whatever music she was listening to on her headphones. It was hard to see her face, but she'd taken mascara and smudged it around her eyes as if she'd started to dress up like a Goth, but had gotten bored halfway through and stopped.

  "Zayn Carter."

  He startled, spinning around to find Amber DeCroix behind the counter, when no one had been there before. She looked exactly as she had in the vision, except he could tell she was wearing a Violent Femmes shirt now.

  "You scared the crap out of me," said Zayn. "Were you hiding behind the counter, or am I that oblivious?"

  The corners of her eyes creased with the slightest amusement. She studied him for a long moment, which only increased his heart rate. He felt like a bug in a glass.

  "You've survived," said Amber, as if that were a surprise to her.

  "There were a few close calls, but I'm sure you already knew that." He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was made of hair and bone and gave him the shivers, but he suppressed them in her presence. "Was there something you wanted? I don't want to be late to class."

  He expected an answer, but she continued to stare, as if she were weighing his soul. His previous interactions with her had been unnerving, especially when she'd sucked the blood from his hand to read his fortune, but this encounter was far worse.

  "Amber..."

  A throbbing beat from a pair of headphones briefly adjusted filled the space before silence descended once again. Zayn glanced at the girl on the couch.

  "That's my niece," said Amber. "She's new in town. I'd like you to take care of her while she's here."

  "Wait? What? Take care of her? I can't do that. I have classes at the Academy, roommates. Why can't she stay with you?" he asked.

  "This isn't an option," said Amber, a hard look in her eyes. "You promised."

  Zayn's jaw hung open as he glanced back to the girl. He was imagining bringing her into the house and introducing her to his teammates. Hey guys, besides all the other crap we have to do this year, I'm watching this crazy lady who can talk to the dead's niece for the year.

  "Isn't there something else I can do to repay you? Rather than babysitting...what's her name?" he asked.

  "Rain After Dry Spell," said Amber. "And she's not a child. She needs friends her age. I cannot provide that for her."

  Zayn put his hand to his forehead. "You know what I am, you know which hall I'm a part of...hell, you read my future. You know it's a mess. Why would you have...Rain After...is that really what she goes by?"

  "Petri," said Amber. "Shortened from Petrichor, which is an English way of saying her Choctaw name."

  "Petri," said Zayn, shaking his head incredulously. "There's nothing else I can do?"

  Amber raised an eyebrow while her lips flattened. Her expression told him this was probably the easiest task possible.

  "Okay, okay. I'll do it. I can only imagine the alternative involves my liver bleeding on an altar or giving a dragon a sponge bath." He wanted to pound his forehead on the counter. "Any instructions? Things she can or cannot do?"

  "Show her the city. Introduce her to your friends. But above all you must take care of her. If I find out that you have neglected your part of the bargain, I just might ask you to give a dragon a sponge bath with your liver," said Amber.

  "Fair enough," said Zayn. "Can I come back later and get her? I have to get to class and I'm going to be late as it is."

  When Amber stayed silent, he knew her answer.

  "Alright," said Zayn, appraising the lounging girl.

  Amber switched from her patient, imposing tone to an overbearing aunt when she threw a pen at the girl.

  "Petri, get up. I know you've been listening. This is Zayn. You'll be staying with him this year," said Amber, jabbing her thumb in Zayn's direction.

  Petri slipped her headphones around her neck, glaring at Amber as if she would rather put daggers into her own ears rather than listen to another word. She rose from the couch like an apparition and immediately went out the front door.

  Zayn ran after her, finding her standing on the edge of the street, glaring at the passing cars as if she could crumple them in her fist.

  "Do you have any gear? Clothes we need to grab first?" asked Zayn, motioning towards the shop behind them.

  She patted an olive green shoulder bag as an answer.

  "Great, well at least we don't have to haul luggage across the city. Look, we're going to have to get a move on. I have to be at class in thirty minutes, but first I have to swing by the house and drop you off. It's in the seventh ward."

  He started walking in that direction, expecting that Petri would follow. He made it a dozen strides before he realized she wasn't with him.

  Zayn spun around. "Hey, Petri. This way."

  She was still standing on the edge of the sidewalk, nearly getting hit when a white Buick with tinted windows pulled up to the Prestige Hotel next door to Amber's shop. An elderly gentleman got out, pulled luggage out of the trunk, and prepared to put his keys into his pocket, but Petri snatched them out of his hand, and before Zayn could do anything to stop her, she got into the Buick and drove away.

  "Thief!" yelled the old man after the girl.

  Zayn felt his whole face go numb at the realization of what she'd just done.

  The old man fumbled with his cell phone as he hurried to call the police. The white Buick turned right at the next block up. Zayn flooded his imbuement and took off after the stolen car.

  Chapter Eleven

  City of Invictus, November 2015

  Neat-o roomies

  When they'd received their imbuements, Instructors Allgood and Pennywhistle had been clear that they were not to make their use an obvious display, reminding them of the word "Subtle" in the Hall's title. Battles, whether they were physical, magical, or political, were easier to win if your opponent underestimated your abilities. Braggadocios and trash talkers usually ended up dead or had their innards turned to bug guts in their line of work.

  So it was uncomfortable for Zayn as he sprinted past the gawking onlookers, leaping cars when the No Walk sign was lit, and generally, treated the city streets like a game of speed parkour. His only solace was that he was moving so fast it was unlikely that anyone would notice who he was, and in the city of sorcery, people dismissed displays of supernatural abilities fairly quickly.

  Still, he could imagine the cuff upside his head if Allg
ood found out, not to mention the trouble he'd be in for getting mixed up with the felonious niece of a powerful witch, or whatever Amber was.

  Two blocks up, Zayn spotted the white Buick turning left. He dodged into rush hour traffic, fully expecting to get pulverized as he zipped in and out of the cars. A delivery truck switched lanes, and Zayn had to freeze on the white line, or get smashed.

  In that moment of stillness, his legs reminded him that all the faez in the world didn't make his muscles supernatural, as they burned with the effort of running flat out for blocks and blocks.

  But he had to catch up to Petri in her stolen car, or...or…he didn't even want to think about it. Zayn took big breath and sprinted into an opening in the crossing traffic. He made it across the street and leapt a trashcan when a lady in a wide blue hat walking a Malamute exited a pet shop right into his way.

  The Buick was stopped two blocks ahead at a stoplight. Zayn pushed his imbuement so he could reach it before the light turned green. He was half a block away when the light changed, and before he could reach her door, she sped away.

  This time, the street traffic was in Petri's favor, and the Buick slipped into the distance. Before long, he had no idea where the car, or he, was.

  "This is not good," he said, trying to calm his breath after running straight out for a good five minutes. He had his hands on his head to catch his breath, and he was glistening in sweat.

  He checked the time. He was going to be late for class, and there was no way to find her.

  "Why did I agree to this?" He shook his head. "Giving a dragon a sponge bath doesn't sound so bad right now."

  A dark-skinned businessman gave Zayn a funny look as he walked past.

  "How do I find her? She could be anywhere." He spun around. "Where am I even at?"

  The crowded sidewalks were filled with men and women in expensive business clothes, accented with minor trinkets like weather-resistant cuff links, or wind-perfect earrings. The gleaming office buildings smelled like money and power, or as he stood like an island in the sea of people, expensive colognes and perfumes.

  A quick check on his cell phone map showed him he was in the third ward. The Spire was on his left, its top mixing with the streaking white clouds of the sky.

  There was no way to find Petri, not without some spell components and a little space for rune lines. He might as well head home. He'd already missed most of Konig's class.

  But when he took a step, the effects of the mad sprint across the city caught up with him, and his legs started shaking. His skin had stopped sweating, and his mouth felt like a desert.

  Zayn found an upscale store called Excelsior Market to purchase a rejuvenating sports drink. He was standing in the aisle when an older lady who'd clearly had a lot of anti-wrinkle enchantments and was wearing expensive workout clothes pointed into the cooler.

  "You have to get the cherry Mage Blaster," she said with a Spanish accent. "I always have one after gargoyle yoga, and it makes me feel like I'm forty again."

  She grabbed a bright red bottle of Mage Blaster, winked as she passed him, and disappeared into the front of the store. Zayn shrugged and grabbed one himself.

  The price was shocking. More than a night out at the bars, but he knew he shouldn't have been surprised given the area. He wasn't disappointed when the red liquid hit his lips—it was salty sweet, and his legs stopped shaking right away. He checked the ingredients, but there were none listed. Given that it was a D'Agastine product, he probably didn't want to know.

  After he'd downed half the Mage Blaster, Zayn found the Green Line, which took him to the outer ring, where he switched to the Blue and rode it until he reached the station nearest his house in the seventh ward.

  The white Buick with tinted windows was sitting out front of his house. Whatever exhaustion he'd had was replaced with rage. He saw Petri inside the house, talking with his teammates, who'd clearly just gotten back from class.

  Why the hell did they let her in?

  He marched to the door, disarmed the guardian with a series of complex gestures, and went inside. Everyone's head turned towards him. His teammates looked like they were trying to make sense of Petri's story.

  "What are you doing?" he asked, rage catching in his throat.

  The smudged mascara had been washed away, revealing her high cheekbones and dark mysterious eyes. If he weren't so furious, he would have found her extremely attractive.

  "Meeting your friend," said Keelan, with an eyebrow raised. "Where were you during class? Instructor Konig is pissed. Well, I mean, he never really showed any emotion, but he did assign you a pile of makeup work, which I’m sure is going to keep you up all night."

  "I was...why did you…" Zayn was about to say steal that car, but he realized that would not help his explanation regarding why she had to stay with them. "Why didn't you wait for me?"

  "You said you had to get to class, so I came here. I waited until your roommates got home and introduced myself," said Petri.

  The sweetness in her voice, the calm surety as if she'd done nothing wrong, completely knocked Zayn from his anger. She'd stolen a car, so easily and brazenly, and then beat him home—a place he'd not told her where he was headed—and calmly introduced herself to his teammates. The idea of giving a dragon a sponge bath was sounding better by the second.

  "How did you know where I live?" he asked.

  Petri rolled her eyes, giving a petulant half-shrug. "Aunt Amber told me, silly."

  The others had been treating her kindly, but seemed ready for a real explanation.

  "Petri, can I speak to my team for a sec? Since your aunt kinda sprung this on me, I haven't had a chance to tell them," said Zayn.

  "Sure thing," she said. "I'll go grab my stuff out of the car."

  As soon as she left, their polite moods turned serious. Portia was first to tear into him.

  "Agreed to take a roommate? Are you completely insane?"

  Zayn put his hands out as if he were trying to stop a herd of stampeding wildebeests.

  "I get it, all of it. You are all free to rip me a new one over this, but I promise you I didn't have a choice. I was bound, and I don't mean pinky swears, to this favor from her aunt," said Zayn.

  Keelan wrinkled his forehead. "Is this the Amber that let you speak to Katie after she was dead?"

  "The very one," said Zayn. "She has a strong 'Don't cross me' vibe, like more than I had when facing down those maetrie."

  "You should have told us you'd promised her a favor," said Skylar.

  "It never crossed my mind that it would be something that would impact the team. I was thinking I'd have to retrieve a stolen artifact, or wrestle a zombie bear, something normal. Not babysit her niece for the year," said Zayn.

  "She's hardly a baby," said Portia, very speculatively.

  "No," said Zayn, shaking his head. "She's off-limits. I have to protect her and show her the town. Amber wanted Petri to have friends her age. While she's here, you should treat her like another member of the team."

  "Yeah, about that," said Keelan. "There's a lot of private stuff that goes on here—our plans for the maetrie, Instructor Minoan could show up at any moment, the normal trouble we get into around here. Is this really a good place, or a safe place for her?"

  "Amber read my fortune. She knows what kind of life I lead, what kind of trouble we get into, probably more than I do. While Petri doesn't give me the off-the-charts power feel that Amber does, I assume that she's not a frail little flower who needs to be coddled. I'm taking Amber at her word—show Petri the city, be her friend."

  Try to keep her from stealing any more cars, he thought.

  "Just tell me one thing," said Vin. "If we say no, what happens to you?"

  "Bad things, I imagine," said Zayn.

  Vin shrugged. "Okay, it's settled then. We're a team. Your problems are our problems."

  The others nodded their agreement. Zayn shook his head.

  "I don't deserve you. You guys are the best," said Zay
n.

  "This, our fearless leader, is very true," said Vin, patting him on the shoulder.

  "Hey," said Skylar. "Maybe this will end up being a lot of fun. She's our age, seems a little supernatural. What could go wrong?"

  Zayn nodded absently as he watched Petri walking up to the front door with her olive carryall over her shoulder. She looked up, right into his eyes, and smiled in a way that made his gut sink to his knees.

  Though he didn't say it out loud, in his mind, there was only one word, in bright glowing red letters.

  Everything.

  Chapter Twelve

  Fifth Ward, December 2015

  The living mage's motto

  The trip to the Eternal City had been in the works for a month, due to the logistical planning and magical preparation required. The hardest part had been getting the equipment needed to utilize the Hall portal system to travel to another realm.

  The portal in question was in the fifth ward in the maintenance tunnels beneath the northwest Blue Line station. They'd picked it because the first years were training on the other side of the city, and none of the other third years were living in the fifth. It also had the largest space available, as half the rusty washed-out green generators had been removed years ago, leaving only a few random empty bolt holes in the concrete.

  Zayn was reading through the portal spell on his cell phone, practicing his enunciation, when Vin arrived carrying a black duffle bag. The thunk as he set it on the concrete floor suggested it was much heavier than it looked.

  "My back is killing me," said Vin, placing his hands against his hips and stretching.

  "Was it hard to get?" asked Zayn.

  An expression rose to Vin's face as if he'd left something important back at the house. "No. Strangely easy." He looked up at the group. "Konig handed it over as if he were expecting me to ask."