Heart's Darkness

by H D A Roberts

  "Oh," Mary said as she digested the information, "well, alright then."

  "Just like that?" I asked, shoving the last of my things in a bag.

  "Sure," she said, "You wouldn't lie to me."

  "Would too, have so, and will likely do so again."

  "Sure you did," she said, tugging my ear playfully as she walked me back down the stairs, "Did you eat this morning?"

  I nodded, still a little full, actually.

  "I don't believe you. You'll come to Marx for lunch? Good!"

  "Do I even need to be around for these conversations?" I asked as we walked.

  "Not really, but it helps preserve the illusion that you make life decisions," she said, patting my shoulder.

  She walked me over to the Magic School, where Jocelyn was waiting, leaning against a column, her bodyguard unobtrusively watching from nearby. She looked over as I approached; her face lighting up in a smile.

  She came over to me and threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly.

  "Thank you," she whispered in my ear, "Thank you so much, Mathew."

  "S'alright," I managed, patting her back, suddenly very aware of her pressed up against me. She wore heavier clothes, but still stylish and sleek, silks and high grade cottons, in black and forest green with platinum on her fingers and around her slender neck. I could still feel the wonderful shape of her, though, and I kept my hands to gentlemanly places only with effort.

  "Ahem!" Mary coughed unsubtly to attract my attention.

  Jocelyn pulled back, still beaming, "Who's your friend?"

  "This is Mary, one of my housemates," I said, making introductions, "Mary this is Jocelyn, an old friend of mine."

  They shook hands, but Mary's expression had turned distinctly calculating, and Jocelyn's slightly frosty as they looked at each other.

  "Nice to meet you," Jocelyn said a little coolly.

  "You too," Mary replied.

  "All well at home?" I asked Jocelyn, aware that I had class in less than ten minutes.

  "Very, thanks to you. I moved out!" Jocelyn said to me, practically bouncing, "I even have full control of the family trusts, I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Mathew."

  She put her hand on my arm, smiling widely, and I couldn't help but smile back. She'd used her gift wisely, clever girl.

  "I owed you that much," I said quietly.

  She smiled again, a more gentle, knowing thing. Mary was becoming agitated.

  "You have class, Matty, you're going to be late," Mary said after another few minutes of this, "perhaps your... 'friend' would like to join us later for lunch?"

  "I'd like that," Jocelyn said, turning her eyes back on Mary.

  I couldn't imagine lunch together was the best idea, not if their introduction was any indication of what was coming. Naturally, before I had a chance to say a word, Mary had told Jocelyn where we were eating, pecked me on the cheek and marched off.

  "I like her," Jocelyn said, smiling naughtily at me.

  "The last person I liked as much as you like her got eaten by a Leviathan," I said dryly.

  She smiled, kissed my cheek right on the spot Mary had, and walked off to her own class with a wave, leaving me confused and worried about what was going to happen at lunch...

  Marx was a great little place towards the edge of the campus grounds. There had been some confusion about the name when it first opened up, with some rather heavily socialist students turning up thinking it was a communist cafe. They quickly discovered that it was actually named after Groucho Marx, not Karl, but the ambiance was so cheerful that they stayed anyway! The interior was brightly coloured, with framed pictures of the comedy greats on the walls, many of them signed, not all of them authentically. The waitresses were all cheerful, the proprietor was quick with a joke, and the food was a real treat.

  And all of the mother hens were there. Well, not all of them, but enough that any private details Jocelyn let slip would never be forgotten. Jocelyn herself was already in situ when I showed up, along with Mary (naturally), Betty, Polly and Penny, the hardened core of the 'Council of Ladies', (a name I desperately wanted to snicker about, but didn't dare) as well as six more besides.

  Nobody noticed as I came in and headed towards their table, they were engrossed in something Jocelyn was saying.

  "What, Matty? Dangerous? Of course he is, he's a Shadowborn Sorcerer. He's just not dangerous to you or anyone who doesn't offer an immediate threat. And he's so old fashioned, you'd have to be packing the equivalent of a small atomic weapon before he'd even consider engaging a woman in a fight at all. He doesn't like it when people go after ladies, you see."

  "Aww," was the almost universal response to this, making me blush.

  "Oh, good grief, please stop telling them things," I said, coming up to the table.

  Jocelyn turned and smiled, and the others looked evilly gleeful.

  "You've already told them far too much, haven't you?"

  Jocelyn's smile turned evil as well, "No, of course not, as if I would," she said completely deadpan. I couldn't help but smile back. Mary patted a chair between her and Jocelyn and I sat.

  "So, Matty," Mary said in a tone of voice that just screamed at me to run, "Jocelyn tells us that your first kiss was with a Succubus? Care to expand on this delightful piece of information?"

  I turned to glare at Jocelyn who just smiled back.

  "That was really more an act of domination than anything else. I really count Jocelyn as my first kiss," I said with a flush, not really realising what I'd said until after I'd said it.

  That 'Aww' sound again, which just made me want to hide.

  Jocelyn was blushing, too. Mary looked a little miffed. Well, she brought it up, so she can lump it.

  "That wouldn't be the same lady we met the other day, would it?" Mary asked, "The one who lives with you?"

  "Oh, Matty, you didn't move in with her, did you?" Jocelyn asked, aghast, and crestfallen, "That's so dangerous!"

  "No it isn't, and anyway we aren't like that, and for heaven's sake, shush in front of the mother hens!"

  "Wait, you're living with a Succubus, and you're not with her?" Jocelyn asked, her face crinkling in confusion.

  "She's his 'business partner'," Mary said mischievously, placing as much innuendo into the term as she could.

  I sighed, already resigned to humiliation. Thankfully Jocelyn was a very smart girl, and knew to take anything Mary said about me with a grain of salt.

  It carried on like that while we ate. I thought my face was going to catch fire by the end of it.

  Thankfully, the conversation eventually moved onto more normal things after the initial humiliation. Much to my horror, Mary and Jocelyn discovered a mutual love of horseback riding, shoes and the work of Justin Bieber. They were quoting the latter's songs and getting along like a house on fire before the end of the meal.

  Jocelyn walked me back to the Magic building with Mary right beside me. They were still chatting, and now also holding hands, which was making me sweat.

  "Thanks for lunch, Matty," Mary said.

  "Thanks for making sure everyone forgot their wallets," I replied.

  She grinned evilly and simultaneously kissed my cheek and tugged my ear. The girl was a lunatic. Not that Jocelyn was much better, giving me a full-contact hug and nuzzling my neck enough to raise goose bumps. They left together, waving cheerfully as they walked away, apparently deep in further conversation, which was even more disturbing.

  I was seriously considering moving back to Blackhold; I wasn't going to get any peace!

  When I finally got back to Naiad at the end of the day, tired and eager for bed (Magical labs were demanding no matter how powerful you were), I found my path blocked by girls in black clothing.

  There were three of them, tall and thin, not very healthy looking. All wore some form of leather and silver, almost like a uniform. The one in the middle was so highly pierced by the metal that I was concerned she'd clang if she sneezed. They looked a lot
like those girls who'd accosted Tom, actually.

  They were looking at me with distinct hunger in their eyes, and not in the fun way, either. Though they didn't do anything threatening as I walked up to them.

  I sensed the faintest trace of Magic and cast Mage Sight. Yes, definitely like the girls who'd gone after Tom. After my first meeting with their sort, I did some research into what I'd seen in their Wells, and discovered that they weren't Magicians in the traditional sense; they were Witches.

  I should probably explain about that, and why this lot were eyeing me up like Burglar (my dog) inspected an unguarded pork chop.

  Witches were a little different than your standard Magician. They were almost exclusively female, and were rather the 'have-nots' of the Magical World. You see, they had Wells, just like a standard Magician, but they didn't fill up on their own, like mine did. No, a Witch had to consume things in order to get Magic, or draw the power out of those things in other ways. This happened naturally just by eating, drinking and breathing as there was at least a little Magic in everything, but that was a very slow process.

  If they wanted real power, then generally that meant blood or bone, or even flesh. Now, they could get these things from animals, and that did provide power (more than plants and air, anyway) but you can probably guess where they'd be far more likely to get a good jolt.

  That's right. Human beings; especially, other Magicians.

  As far as I knew, the really nasty, cannibalistic Witches were all eradicated during the last Black Purge, as they fought for the other side (for fairly obvious reasons). But the ones that remained weren't above pinching a sip of Sorcerer's blood (or noble blood, hence their interest in Tom) when they had the opportunity.

  "Good afternoon," I said politely.

  The trio bowed, which was new. The one in the middle spoke.

  "Good afternoon to you, sir. I've been sent by my Coven Mistress to invite you to our college for a brief meeting," she was very polite and sounded friendly, her expression open and smiling (if still a little predatory).

  I thought about it for a moment, but anything that could put off the probe into my relationship with Jocelyn, which waiting for me inside Naiad, was a good thing. I decided to see what they wanted.

  "Lead the way."

  They bowed again and set off; guiding me towards the older parts of the campus, through the administrative heart and out the other side into a grassed area where some of the smaller sports clubs had pitches. I knew that the University's board of governors had been trying to poach that land for ages, but the clubs and the ancient colleges surrounding it had fought so hard that it simply wasn't worth the aggravation (you'd be amazed at the bureaucratic mess better than six hundred law students could make, and that was just one of the colleges).

  At the far end of the pitch was a walled off Georgian mansion, surrounded by trees. It was built in a classic style of dark grey stone, the slate roof darker still. The main gate was as tall as the outer walls, made of hard wood and painted black. There was a small plaque on the left mounting which identified it as 'Pendle College'.

  The name was a bit on the nose, but that was Witches for you, not the most subtle bunch. The Pendle Witches were tried in the 1600s for murdering ten people by Witchcraft. They hadn't done it; it was actually a Necromancer on a binge. The Pendle Witches weren't even real Witches, as far as I was aware. Witches may not have been especially powerful, but they were generally strong enough to avoid getting caught by an angry mob.

  To my knowledge, only one real Magician was ever caught by a Witch-hunter, and that only because he was drunk at the time. Unfortunately, the idiot didn't sober up in time to avoid his hanging.

  And that is why, as a rule, Magicians didn't take mind-altering chemicals. After all, the ability to hurl fire and shoot lightning from your eyes is greatly diminished when you're too trolleyed to even stand up.

  The gates opened as we approached, swinging inwards to reveal an immaculately maintained garden, with extensive herb patches and an impressive rose bed surrounding the house. There was a gravel road leading to a broad driveway where six cars were parked next to the front doors, which were thoroughly warded. The whole house was pretty well protected, actually; not as well as Blackhold, or even Faust's mansion, but I was still quite impressed.

  The girls led me in (and hadn't spoken a word the whole way, by the way), and right into a small reception room just off the hall. It was clean and bright, decorated to take advantage of sunlight. There were three women waiting for me, dressed much as my guides were.

  They all stood to greet me.

  "Good afternoon," the one in the middle said. She was older than the rest, perhaps in her early twenties. She wore black and silver as well, but hers was in the form of a rather tasteful business suit, the silver in a pendant and earrings, "I'm Lytta Jones, the Coven Mistress."

  "Mathew Graves," I said, shaking her offered hand.

  She introduced the two with her as Sylvia and Louisa, her assistants, but neither of them spoke during the meeting, simply staring at me the whole time, occasionally nibbling on a lip in a rather distracting fashion.

  I was invited to sit and offered tea, which I accepted (I didn't really like it, but I wanted to be polite), making small talk about their house and garden until it arrived and the door was closed behind the departing server.

  "So, what can I do for you, Ms. Jones?" I asked after sipping my tea.

  "I believe you came upon a couple of my girls some weeks ago?" she said, meeting my eyes.

  "I did. They were about to assault a friend of mine."

  At this, she looked a little uncomfortable.

  "I must apologise for that. I would have done so earlier, but it only came to my notice recently. I hope that you understand that youthful exuberance can get out of hand?"

  "Of course. As long as they haven't done anything similar since, I consider the matter closed."

  "No, you scared them straight, I assure you!" she said with a smile, "Which leads me to why I called you here."

  She looked down for a moment, her fists clenched, like she was gathering herself for a high dive.

  "You demonstrated that you are a Magician of means; strong, in other words. Research told us who you were, and what you were capable of. Simply, we need help, an ally, some sort of power we can call on."

  "Why?" I asked.

  She twitched a little, "Something has changed around here. Something's gotten... darker. My girls were friends with the Duellists for ages, a mutual cooperation and respect, even the occasional... donation," this last said with a lascivious smirk.

  Blood wasn't the only way to absorb energy from a donor, just so you know. This was how Witches got a bit of a reputation back in the day...

  "But now... now they've become cold, almost militant."

  "When would you say this started?" I asked.

  "About three weeks ago? Four maybe? They cut off all contact, stopped responding to our invitations. One of our number was rather close to a Duellist, she was hurt trying to get into their club. That's when we knew something was wrong."

  "Did you report it?"

  "To who? Who would take the word of a Witch for anything?"

  Unfortunately, she had a point. When I'd asked Hopkins about them, she spoke with some fairly obvious contempt. Witches were not well regarded by Magicians, not that you could blame them. Witches were known to seduce my people just to get more access to power.

  "What can I do?" I asked.

  "Help us. Teach us. I know you're qualified to Level Ten."

  "Nine, actually."

  "Only because you were subject to the same sort of discrimination we suffer from every day!"

  Oh, she was good, I had to give her that.

  "Look, Ms. Jones, I'll do what I can, I'll teach you what I know, of course, but I must warn you that allying yourself with me can do more harm than good, I am far from well regarded by the Conclave, and they occasionally try to kill me."

  "We
know. We do have one or two sources. We're not asking for a military alliance, we're asking for a teacher, someone who can guide us, help us with Spells and acquiring reagents nobody will sell to our kind."

  I nodded, thinking for a moment.

  "Alright, I can do that. I presume you'll want me to keep this to myself?"

  Oh, this was probably a bad idea...

  "If you wouldn't mind. Also... if we did find ourselves under attack... could we call on you?"

  I didn't need to think about that one.

  "Of course."

  We talked a little more after that, but it was largely done. I agreed to come by on the next Wednesday, and then I took my leave, heading back to Naiad. I wondered how the hell I was going to explain this to everyone. I'd just agreed to be the Magical teacher and protector to a group of people known to sneak up on Magicians, like me, in the dead of night with needles in their hands.

  There was going to be yelling... a lot of yelling.

  I decided to put off telling people for a while (which I thought quite sensible), thinking I'd have a little time to come up with a good explanation before they found out.

  That led me to the Tuesday before my meeting, when another of my persistent problems showed up to have another shot at giving me a heart attack.

  I was sleeping soundly, probably snoring, when I was woken by a gentle pressure on my cheek. I awoke into darkness, which wasn't a problem for me, and I was easily able to make out Maggie's face inches from mine.

  "Hello," she said softly.

  I couldn't fully suppress a jolt of fear, bearing in mind that she'd broken my bones the last time we'd met.

  "My arm and shoulder ached for a week, you sadist!" I said eventually.

  She looked a little sheepish about that and muttered an apology before looking me right in the eye, and smiling.

  "I've made a decision regarding you," she said.

  "Please don't break any more of my bones."

  "You gave me your surrender. You were mine to do with as I please, just as I was yours."

  "And?" I asked, looking into her eyes.