Meta Marshal Service 1

by B N Miles

  “Sounds dangerous.” Cassie frowned. “That would pretty much upend your entire system.”

  “Pretty much,” Jared said. “They want to overthrow the Magi families and erase the Accords.”

  “And then what?” Cassie asked. “It’s not like all Elves and all Dryads are going to get along. Much less all Trolls, Shifters, Goblins, and Fae. Then within each race there’s a ton of diversity and dissent.”

  “Meta Rights would say each race can choose to govern themselves however they wish,” Jessalene said. “But when those races start fighting amongst themselves, I have no clue what’s supposed to happen.”

  “Nothing,” Jared said. “It’s a shallow ideology. I think it does have some merits, but in general, it’s just hateful and anti-human.”

  “Which merits?” Jessalene asked.

  “The Magi have too much power,” Jared said. “The Metas should have some sort of governing body that includes members of their own races, not just humans. It never felt right to me that the Meta Department was staffed entirely with humans.”

  “Good point,” Jessalene said, frowning. “I honestly never thought about that before.”

  “You never needed to. I mean, your clan seems strong, this current situation notwithstanding. You’ve probably never bothered with the MetaDept before.”

  “That’s true,” she conceded

  “But there are tons and tons of Metas that deal with the Department all the time. Like goblins living in cities without strong packs. They turn to the Department for all sorts of benefits, and the Department polices them when they step out of line.”

  “That doesn’t explain why Ferric would be into it,” Cassie pointed out. “Isn’t he some rich kid Dryad living in a fancy clan?”

  Jessalene laughed. “I never thought of if that way, but you’re right.”

  “That makes you a rich girl, you know,” Jared pointed out.

  She shot him a look. “Don’t you ever—”

  “Seriously,” Cassie said. “Your clan has it good.”

  “I’m guessing he’s always had some Meta Rights leanings,” Jessalene said. “But when the Medlar came after us, he went all in.”

  Jared nodded. He understood that sort of hate. He’d seen it plenty of times during his tenure as a Marshal. Metas resent humans for the position they play in the governmental body that stands between humanity and the Meta races. In general, if the Department staffed even a small percentage of Metas, Jared thought the resentment would be much more manageable.

  As it stood though, he wasn’t sure.

  “Come on,” he said. “We have one more stop.”

  They piled back into the car and drive a few more miles upstream to another park. Jared pulled the car into a spot and killed the engine. It wasn’t a great day outside, a little bit windy, a little bit chilly, with heavy black clouds in front of the sun. Regardless, there were people out and about, walking their dogs, playing with their kids.

  “Crowded,” Jared said. He got out and the girls followed. They went down to the water and walked along it. He kept thinking that he’d feel the artifact whenever they got close, but now that they’d been to all four spots he wasn’t so sure.

  Maybe Ferric dropped the artifact somewhere else. It was totally possible that he just chose some random spot along the river. But the more Jared saw these spots, the more he doubted that. The other three were perfect, nice and quiet, and they’d be familiar to Ferric.

  Jared walked a little away from the other two as Jessalene and Cassie leaned in close to discuss with each other. He walked to the water’s edge and knelt down, dipping his fingers in and touching the mud at the bottom.

  He expected a jolt of energy, but got nothing.

  There were places all throughout the world that were nexuses of power, where the division between the priori and their world were thin and more of it leaked through. They tended to be bodies of water, which was why Meta Max Prison was built on the edge of Lake Eerie. The Great Lakes were enormous sources of energy.

  The Schuylkill was another one. But touching the water wouldn’t be enough to sense its power. He’d have to use magic, open himself to the priori, and only then would he feel how easy it would be to rip the world to pieces.

  He stood up. Jessalene came walking over, her head tilted. “You okay?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Fine.”

  “You’re looking at the water like you hate it.”

  He laughed and wiped his hand off on his jeans. “No, it’s fine.”

  “Really?” She frowned at him. “You know, you’re the oddest Magi I’ve ever met.”

  “Have you met many?”

  “No,” she admitted. “Actually, I’ve never met a real Magi before. But still, I’ve read things.”

  “What did you expect?”

  “You’re more…”

  “Nice? Handsome?”

  “No.” She hesitated again. “You’re more lucid.”

  “Ah,” he said with a little smile. “Yeah.”

  “I mean, I figured that whole thing was exaggerated, right? To try to make Magi look worse.”

  “It’s not,” Jared said, his voice gentle. “It’s not exaggerated at all.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. Jared could see Cassie in the background petting some nice couple’s big goofy black Labrador.

  “Why?” she asked. “I mean… I don’t understand it. Magi are always shown as these… disconnected people that barely see the world around them.”

  “It’s from the priori,” Jared said. “It’s hard to explain, but touching it repeatedly is dangerous. Most Magi go insane as they get older, and some families have a reputation for producing crazy people faster than others.”

  “How is that sustainable?” she asked. “I always figured it wasn’t true because it made no sense. The Magi families wouldn’t be able to rule if they were always going insane.”

  “A few ways,” he said. “Big families with lots of members, for one. The priori affects people differently, so some can handle it for longer periods of time. Those types usually end up the heads of each house. But even they go insane after a while, they just might last until old age.”

  She shook her head and opened her mouth to ask more just as Cassie came bounding over. “Guys, did you see that dog?” She wrapped her arms around Jessalene. “Oh my god, so cute. Such a sweet dog with his big stupid face and—”

  She stopped herself and frowned at them. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Jared said.

  “I was just asking him something about Magi that’s always bothered me.”

  “Oh yeah? Is it about how they can give you a magic orgasm?”

  Jessalene stiffened and Jared laughed. Cassie looked between them, grinning huge.

  “No, Cass, that wasn’t it,” Jared said and met Jessalene’s eye. “But that’s very true.”

  “Magic orgasm,” she mumbled. “Got it.”

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go back to the car and discuss.”

  “Oh, yes, let’s discuss,” Cassie said. “I’d love to go into detail about these magic orgasms with Jessa. She seems very into it.”

  “I’m not!” she protested.

  “And that’s not what I meant.” Jared walked over and peeled Cassie off before taking her hand and leading her along. Jessalene came up behind them. “We need to talk about the plan moving forward.”

  They got into the car again and Jared leaned back with a sigh. Cassie fidgeted in the back seat. She clearly wanted to be out there with all the people, petting dogs and chatting with strangers. Meanwhile, Jessalene was still blushing and brooding about magic orgasms.

  “I think this place is off the list,” Jared said.

  “What? Why?” Cassie looked disappointed.

  “For the same reason you like it. Too many people. Ferric wouldn’t bring some magic artifact and throw it in the river out here.”

  “That’s a decent point,” Cassie muttered.

&nbs
p; “So what do we do?” Jessalene asked.

  “I say we each pick one of the other three locations and watch it tonight.”

  “What do you mean, watch it?”

  “I mean, you each get a car, and we sit there staring at the spot until Ferric shows up.”

  Cassie groaned. “That sounds so boring.”

  “Welcome to the Meta Department,” Jared said. “We get to do paperwork later, too.”

  “Oh, I love paperwork,” Jessalene said. “I mean, I get to use my signature on stuff. I love signing stuff.”

  “You’re weird,” Cassie said.

  Jessalene went to argue, but Jared cut her off. “We’ll need cars, one for each of you. And phones, or at least one for Cassie.”

  “I can handle cars and a phone,” Jessalene said. “The clan will have an extra car for Cassie, and I’ll buy her one of those prepaid things.”

  “Perfect,” Jared said. “Alright. Let’s go get set up. Just remember, you can’t fall asleep, no matter how boring it gets.”

  “Right,” Jessalene said.

  “I hate this,” Cassie complained. “I really hate it. Can’t we just watch one location together? Jared can give us both magic—”

  “No, Cassie,” he said, interrupting her before she could finish. “And stop it with that.” He took a deep breath. “But I can do one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m going to set a trap tonight. Well, a trigger. Before we get into position, I’ll lay out a magical trip wire, so if any Metas come to this spot tonight, I’ll get alerted.”

  “You’re going to use magic?” Cassie asked, excited.

  He winced. “Yes, Cassie. I’m going to use magic.”

  “Oh yes, can I help?”

  He gave her a look. “Down girl.”

  “Please?”

  “What is she talking about?” Jessa asked.

  “Magic orgasms,” Jared said with a sigh.

  “Oh. Of course.” Jessalene blushed again. “I really should stop asking.”

  Cassie laughed, delighted by Jessalene’s embarrassment.

  “All right, let’s all relax. We know the plan now? I’ll set the trip wire here then head to my position. You two can go right to your spots.”

  “Poor Jared,” Cassie said. “You’ll be sitting there all alone with your Need.”

  “I’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s not a lot of magic.”

  She grinned and shook her head as Jared started the car. He pulled out and headed back toward the clan.

  27

  Jared was in his element.

  It was dark, but the moon was nearly full, so he could see the watch from his spot. The car was tucked back under a tree, the branches hanging down low. The engine was off and the windows were down, and he had nothing to do.

  It was glorious.

  The last few days had been a whirlwind. Running from one place to the next, getting to know Cassie, sleeping with her, entering into this confusing little relationship they seem to have brewing, and now Jessalene getting thrown into the mix. Jared had been living a quiet, simple life for years now, and suddenly all that was gone.

  He yearned for his desk, for his computer. For the mind-numbingly boring paperwork that came with any Meta Department job.

  Just thinking about the paperwork he’d have to do after all this was over brought a smile to his face.

  It wasn’t that he loved being bored. It was more that he could control his thoughts better in boredom. Paperwork, sitting around, it was a form of meditation for him. All that clawing, groaning, fighting, roiling desire in the back of his mind that kept begging him to use magic could be silenced. And that wasn’t even the magical Need that came with using, even though he felt that too, but just the common addiction any person formed with something powerful.

  That was the thing. He wanted to use magic. He wanted to use it all the time, even when it’d been years. Some days were easier than others, but the idea of reaching out and touching that wellspring of power was always there. He could do so much more when he touched the priori, could be so much more than himself. Magi had power no other Meta race or human could ever dream of, and yet he forced himself not to touch it unless necessary.

  It wasn’t easy. It made him special, but he gave it up, all because he was better off without it.

  Now though, he was in a situation where he knew he’d have it touch it again. And the idea excited him beyond anything he could describe.

  The Need was a quiet murmur in his ear as he sat there, keeping his mind still and clear. Enchanting that portion of river didn’t take much magic since he could tap into the water’s power to augment his own, but the Need always came, no matter what. Fortunately, the quiet helped still his mind, and it really wasn’t bad.

  His phone buzzed. It was a text from Cassie. All clear here. A minute later, he got an identical text from Jessalene.

  He texted them both back. All clear.

  Two minutes later, his phone rang. He sighed and picked it up.

  “Hi Cassie.”

  “I’m bored.”

  “I know you are. I’m bored too.”

  “Can you just… talk to me? Tell me a story.”

  “I don’t have any stories.”

  “Please?” she asked. “I promise I’ll make it up to you. Tomorrow morning, before you go to sleep, I’ll be very, very nice to you.”

  “Nice… how?”

  “You know how. You want me to say it? I’ll describe in detail.”

  “That’s okay,” he said, smiling. “I have some pretty good details in my head right now.”

  “So you’ll tell me a story?”

  He sighed. “What kind of story do you want?”

  “Something about you,” she said. “How did you learn magic?”

  He closed his eyes. “That’s not so interesting,” he said. “It was a lot of memorizing, studying, and meditating.”

  “Boring,” she said.

  “But the first time I got a spell to work is a little funny. You want to hear that?”

  “Yes!” she said. “God, yes. Please. I’m dying over here.”

  He laughed and opened his eyes. He couldn’t let this distract him too much.

  “I was twelve years old,” he said. “I’d been training to be a Magi since the day I could talk. The thing with magic is, it’s universal, meaning the method for activating it can work with all Magi. We use the same spells, it’s not individualized. But it’s also very, very difficult to explain the spell in language that makes sense, because each spell requires a high level of specificity.”

  “You’re being vague,” she complained.

  “I know. Sorry.” He hesitated. “We’re not supposed to go into detail on this stuff.”

  “I’m a Shifter,” she said. “Can’t use magic.”

  “I know. But still.”

  “Come on. Just tell me.”

  He sighed. “Okay, fine. Spells use what we call memgrams. They’re mental images that hone and direct the mind as it touches the priori. You have to enter a sort of meditative state, call up a memgram, envision it absolutely perfectly, hold the circumstances of the situation in your mind, and release the gathered energy.”

  “Wow,” she said. “That sounds hard. And I think I can see why it would be hard to teach.”

  “I was twelve when I got a memgram to work. It scared the shit out of me. One day, I was sitting out front of my family’s estate with my tutor, a man named Brian Low.”

  “Boring name,” she said.

  “What did you expect?”

  “I don’t know. Something flashy.”

  “Do you want to hear this story or not?”

  “Yes, please,” she said. “And make it exciting. I’ll be extra nice, I promise.”

  “I know you will be,” he said. “Anyway, we were sitting out front on the porch at my family’s estate and he was going over a memgram with me. Getting me to close my eyes, enter the meditative state, and slowly describe
the memgram over and over. I kept trying and failing to make it work, I guess missing little bits and pieces here and there… until it clicked.”

  “What was the spell?” she asked, breathless.

  “He wanted me to turn a clay jar into ice,” I said. “But I wasn’t thinking about the clay jar. I was thinking about my father’s car. Earlier in the day, I hit it with a hockey stick when I was out screwing around, and I left a big scratch on the right side toward the bottom. I kept wondering if anyone would notice, if I’d get in trouble, you know, the sort of shit all twelve year olds think about.

  “Well, the car was parked like twenty feet away or something like that. Brian was going over the memgram with me and it suddenly clicked into place. It surprised the hell out of me, because I’d never gotten one to work before, and I sort of thought it was all fake or something. But the priori hit me like a truck.”

  Jared stopped and smiled at the memory. His first taste of power and magic had been unlike anything since. It overwhelmed him, ripped through his small body, made him cry out in pleasure and pain.

  “What happened?” Cassie prodded.

  “It was hard to control,” he said. “And I wasn’t prepared for it. So the magic hit me, right, and just floored me. I directed it at the first thing I could think of, and since the only thing I had in my mind at the time was my dad’s car… I turned the whole thing to ice.”

  She took a sharp breath. “No. You didn’t!”

  “I did.”

  She cracked up. “Oh my god, I bet you freaked out.”

  “You’re not kidding. Once the spell was over and the Need hit me, I went a little nuts. Brian had to talk to me down.”

  “Was your dad pissed?”

  “No, actually. He was proud of me. I turned an entire car to ice with my very first spell.”

  “Is that good?”

  “It’s fantastic. Remember, Brian wanted me to freeze a little mug. Throwing out enough power to ice a car was a big step up.”

  “Oh man, still, I bet you were so scared.”

  “I was. And that was when they taught me about the Need, which wasn’t fun.”

  “How do twelve year olds deal with it?”