by HDA Roberts
"That is a lie, Grandmother!" Stone said, "I didn't do anything to him!"
"Look in his head. Hell, look in mine if you want," I replied.
I coughed up another mouthful of blood. I felt Kron ready a probe and I deliberately lowered my defences. I felt her slide into my active memory while Hopkins glared daggers at her fellow Archon. She'd fixed my skull, teeth and jaw, bless her, and was moving on to my bruised and battered torso. I was already feeling miles better.
My head started aching again after a second; Kron wasn't being gentle in there. Before long, she yanked herself out, making me wince a little. Her face went white with fury again as she turned on her descendent.
"You can't believe anything he says!" Storm protested.
"Get out of my sight," she rasped, "What you have done is unforgiveable. Even worse is what you've had me do on your word. Step one toenail out of line and I'll make what Graves did to you seem like a gentle walk along the riverside! Now get out!"
Storm ran, tears in his eyes again, while I propped myself up into a more comfortable position against the wall where Kron had dropped me.
Lady Time turned to look at me.
"I don't know what to say," she said, letting her eyes drop.
Neither did I, really. She'd tuned on me again. That hurt more than nearly being beaten to death (though not by much, that woman was freakishly strong). Thank goodness she hadn't wanted to use Magic. It was almost as if she'd just wanted an excuse to hurt me.
"Whatever your issues are with me, work them out," I said, "I am not your punching bag. I let you do that this time because you needed to realise that actions have consequences. It shocks me that Lady Time has to be taught a lesson that even I know, but there it is."
Kron glared, her eyes going dark.
"If you come for me again, I'll defend myself. I'll lose, but I'll try. So, next time, maybe act like Lady Time should and exercise some bloody foresight!" I shouted at the end, which made her jump.
"I mean, how did you not see that this was how it was going to end? Did you even check? I was never going to fight you; it was never even a question. Did you know you were just going to beat on me until you'd had enough?" I asked, my tone bitter.
Hopkins was squeezing my shoulder, still glaring at Kron.
"Is this about the last one?" I asked her, "He went bad on you and now I'm tarred with the brush?"
Kron looked away from me, her arms crossed under her breasts, defensively.
"I apologise for my mistake," she said at last, her voice empty.
"You apologised for the last one, too," I said, "and yet here we are again, only this time I'm bleeding. What happens next time?"
Kron winced. She kept looking down. She opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to think the better of it and stormed out the room, leaving Hopkins and I alone.
"Don't tell her I said this, but that woman has a mean right hook," I said.
Hopkins smiled sadly, fixing up the last of my injuries.
"I can't believe she did that," she said as she sat against the wall with me.
"Nash..." I asked, referencing my predecessor, "Did he hurt her? I mean, we've never discussed it, and I don't want to push..."
"No, maybe you should know. Nash... Nash was never a particularly good man. But he was our brother and we accepted him. He was the middle one, third oldest, about a hundred years older than me. When he went bad, nobody really noticed, as he was always a little dark. It started small, a little too harsh here, a little less patient there..."
She paused and I took her hand, squeezing the fingers, trying to offer my support. She took a breath.
"Anyway, he didn't want to share power anymore. And he destroyed centuries of work when he made his move. It was only through sheer dumb luck that he didn't kill at least a couple of us when he went bad. When he couldn't get to us, he went after our families, trying to draw us out. Kron didn't get to hers in time, a few died. Nobody really close, thankfully, but it still cut her deeply.
"We lost a lot of good people putting him down, friends and associates, whole alliances were torn to pieces. Nash wasn't a particularly smart man, or even a great Battle Mage, but he planned carefully and he exploited our weaknesses. The mess made was immense. We still haven't fully recovered."
"Oh," I said lamely, after an awkward silence, "No wonder she's wary of me."
"That's not the only reason," she said, sighing, "You... you're potentially far more dangerous than Nash ever was."
I turned and gave her a raised eyebrow. She smiled back.
"I'm serious. You make alliances and friends where you shouldn't. Bloody hell, Cassandra kills Shadowborn with only the teeniest provocation, and now she's your Warden. Tethys... well even I have to acknowledge that she adores you, and the way those Pixies drape themselves on you is only just this side of disturbing. Let's not even touch the other creatures that live in your garden or the princesses. But the big problem is that you're also clever, and that's more frightening than anything else."
"I'd never hurt anybody who wasn't trying to hurt me, I swear."
"I know that, Matty, but even I went into this relationship expecting the worst of you. It took me a while to get over that. It's going to take Kron a while too."
I nodded.
"How about the others?" I asked.
"Palmyra thinks you're great and Killian thinks you're a future partner in hilarious crime. They aren't the problem. Their bodyguards are something else, though, the Sisters of the Skull in particular. They lost nine-tenths of their ranks to Nash; they really don't like Shadowborn."
"Sisters of the Skull?" I asked with a snort, "Oh, Demise and the leather girls."
"They are a dramatic lot, aren't they?"
"Nearly took my bloody head off," I muttered.
She smiled, "Just give Kron time. She'll come around."
I chuckled.
"What?" she asked.
"Give her Time," I pointed out.
"I see why people keep beating on you," she said, planting a small peck on my cheek.
"Um, Miss Hopkins?" there were suddenly faces at the door, "Can we come in now? We didn't mean to disturb... you two."
Ho boy, I sent to her as her face went bright red, how much do you think they saw?
Shut up and go do something useful!
You're still holding my hand.
Sorry, she said, letting me go. I stood and helped her up.
Thanks for fixing me up, Jen.
Sorry I needed to, Matty. See you in class later.
I nodded and headed out to some giggles.
Rats, can't imagine that's going to end well. I mean, I know she's my sister, for me a peck on the cheek is just a peck on the cheek. But the rest of the student body don't know that. To them, she's a teacher and I'm a student. That could be... problematic.
Chapter 9
When lunch came around, Bill, Cathy and I had a double Physics class under our belts and I was looking forward to the two free periods we had that afternoon.
Bill and Cathy were waiting for me at our usual table, looking suspiciously amused...
I sat down with my plate of stew and yawned before shovelling it down at an indecent pace. Magical healing taxed my physical reserves something vicious and my stomach had been growling like a wolverine for the last two hours.
"You'll never guess what I heard today," Bill said a little too innocently, his eyes darting to Cathy, who was sitting next to me, trying to look nonchalant.
"Do tell," she said, forking up some macaroni and cheese.
"Micky Pratt, in fourth year, was in one of the outer buildings today, and he tells me that he walked in on a student and a teacher," Bill said.
I winced and turned a thirty-megawatt glare on him as his face lost its innocent smile and broke into a full-on evil smirk.
"Yep, full on heavy snogging. And groping. And grunting," he said.
"Really?" Cathy said, her tone so obviously faux-curious, I wanted to laugh (and be
at Bill over the head with my tray, but mostly laugh).
"Oh yes, caught in the act, hot and heavy," Bill continued.
"I hate you so much," I said.
"Why, Matty? Whatever do you know about this situation?" Cathy asked brightly, her smile turning just as evil as Bill's.
"How far has this horror spread?" I asked.
"Everywhere," Bill replied, "your rep has shot through the roof, B.T.W.."
I groaned and rubbed my forehead, which was still aching after Kron's intrusion.
"Ah, the pitfalls of having a close secret sister," Bill said, "You didn't really use tongue, did you? They say you used tongue."
"I really hate you," I said. Cathy started laughing.
Well... that was awkward. Hopkins remained blissfully unaware of the mess for a while, but after she found out, she could barely look at me, blushing horrifically every time I was in the general vicinity.
Magic Class, which started in week two, was normally a fun time when I got to argue with my sister about all sorts of Magical nonsense. But it was a lot less fun when she was too mortified to talk to me and ran out of the building when I tried to see if she was alright. In the end, I had to resort to sitting in the classroom next to hers and connecting Telepathically.
Jen, what's wrong? I sent once she'd let me in.
You know very well. My reputation is in ruins!
Hardly. Nobody who knows you thinks you acted inappropriately, I replied.
Tell that to Kenilworth! He threatened an investigation. I almost cursed the little weasel!
Would it help if we went public? You can tell them I'm your brother, it's okay, I sent, slightly worried about that outcome, but not wanting her to be in a bad way because of me.
You forget, Matty, that we don't actually share any DNA. Just saying you're my brother doesn't make it so. We've only known each other a year; you are technically in my care, and while we're family outside these grounds, in here, I'm your teacher and what I did was inappropriate. It's even against the rules for blood-related teachers and students.
Alright, that I can understand, I just don't know why you've gone to such lengths to avoid me. We missed debate night. I love debate night.
I love it too, Matty, but I've been showing favouritism, and I shouldn't. I'm not just your teacher, I'm everyone else's too.
But don't you think that acting out of the norm makes you look more guilty, not less?
Don't try to confuse me with your well-though-through logic, I'm trying to spiral, here! she sent back.
Look, whatever else you are to me, you're also the best teacher I ever had. You taught me things about Magic I'd never even considered before. You made me think about things that really needed thinking about. A lot of how I choose to use my Magic is down to you and the example you set me. Don't let the misperceptions of idiots colour that, I replied.
She gave the equivalent of a mental sigh.
Fine, no need to be such a girl about it.
I smiled.
See you tomorrow. Try not to act inappropriately before then, I'll get jealous.
I will throttle you in your sleep, Graves, see how funny you are then!
Okay, that was one problem solved. But the problem of Storm was just starting to develop. He became something of a wreck as the days went on. He flinched at the sight of me, but that didn't stop him muttering behind my back, stirring up trouble.
And he wasn't the only one starting to mutter.
He'd taken up with Charlie Oxley, once my nemesis, and now a school outcast after being overly aggressive with a friend of mine. I didn't think anyone had even bothered to speak a kind word to him in over six months.
Serves him right, the little bugger.
The only problem was that now he had a knowledgeable ally in Stone, and people were starting to listen to what the Mage had to say.
Bill was also acting a little out of character, disappearing at odd times. He'd stopped going to the school shop for his morning sherbet and his afternoon ice lolly. I didn't pry, he'd talk when he was ready, but that didn't stop me worrying for him.
Even with whatever was bothering him, Bill was still keeping an ear to the ground on Stone for me through his web of gossip. Essentially, people were starting to whisper that having a Telepath wondering amongst them may not be the best thing in the world. It started with just Stone and Oxley muttering at meals, but then that mostly empty table started attracting more diners and then more still.
And then they stopped eating when I was around altogether, which was more concerning, not less. Bill managed to find out that this new 'club' (or whatever it was) had more than three dozen members by the end of the second week and they really didn't like me. They weren't giving the other Mages any trouble, thank goodness.
They were doing a pretty fair job of causing me problems, though...
"Thanks, Matty, I'll pay you back when I can," Bill said as I handed over a twenty.
"No rush," I said. Bill and I leant each other cash from time to time. He had been borrowing quite the chunk this last week, though.
We were sitting in the Big Square with Cathy. It was the third week of term and starting to warm up nicely. The leaves of the Old Oak and the grass under us were vibrant green, the breeze smelled of roses and fresh turned earth; we were happily chatting about absolutely nothing.
"Mister Graves?" Mister Kenilworth said, he had a pair of people with him, both tall and professional-looking, with short-cut hair and wearing neatly pressed suits.
"Yes, Sir?" I said, standing up.
"These gentlemen are with Stonebridge Police's Magical Liaison program. They'd like a word with you."
"Regarding?" I asked, thoroughly confused.
Law enforcement and Magicians were a complicated mix. Generally speaking, most of the work was done by the regular police, these very people, in fact; regular men and women with Spelleater amulets and other equipment, trained to deal with Magicians. They even had a few Adepts and Acolytes on staff.
If there was a problem they couldn't solve, they called in the S.C.A., which was staffed by actual Magicians, including Battle Mages, who were not to be messed with.
If they couldn't deal with the problem, then the Conclave sent in a Hunter Team, who were very dangerous. I'd dealt with them before; they cast attack spells first and... that's it. If you sent a Hunter Team, you weren't expecting a prisoner.
"There have been some troubling accusations made by a member of the student body. He says that you've been using Telepathy on your fellow students," Kenilworth said.
"Can he prove it?" I asked levelly.
I'd actually been doing that for years, for both fun and necessity, but nobody would ever be able to track it back to me... well, except maybe Kron, and she wouldn't tell on me.
"That's what these gentlemen are for," Kenilworth said, "D.C. Beck and D.S. Pike."
They both carried active Spelleaters.
"So you called the police on the word of another student without even talking to me first?" I asked. That was annoying, I'd always thought that Kenilworth was a good sort, a little weak and easily influenced, but essentially solid when it mattered.
"Well, if you're using Telepathy, then you might... that is to say..." he mumbled.
Beck was the taller of the two, broader at the shoulder than his partner, with dark green, squinting eyes that never left me, he stepped forward, "We'll be asking you some questions, Mister Graves, and are you two," he consulted a pad, "William Hedrin and Catherine Campbell?"
"Yes," my friends answered.
"We'd like you to come with us and answer some questions, too."
"What for?" I asked, stepping in front of them, alarm bells ringing in my head.
"We'll be checking them for Telepathic influence."
"Not without their permission, you won't," I said.
"Which we don't give, just F.Y.I.," Cathy said.
"Miss, until we can be sure otherwise, we must assume that you are under a compulsion, so we
must insist," he said, stepping forward.
"Do you intend to force my friends to go with you, then?" I asked, politely, but I felt Bill and Cathy tense, they knew my 'angry' voice, and what that generally meant for local property values.
This was getting out of control quickly, and was quite complicated besides. These men may well be legitimate officers, just doing their jobs as they saw them, even if they were acting on the word of an embittered sociopath. I needed to calm things down.
"They're both over eighteen," Pike said, his eyes narrowing as his hand migrated to the collapsible baton at his belt, "We can if we have to. Do we have to?"
"Yes," I said, "and you'll have to go through me to do it, best of luck."
So much for calming things down. It's not my fault, I'm protective.
I crossed my arms and stood my ground, already preparing the whopping amounts of energy it would take to break through two Spelleaters at such close range. I'd foolishly let them get too close.
"Mister Graves! These are police officers!" Kenilworth squeaked.
"Who are acting like the Gestapo," I countered, "They have no evidence of a crime, no victim, no warrants. Do you have a warrant for any of this?"
"No," Pike said, now snarling, "But in the case of potential Telepathic abuse, we have the right to investigate."
"First you must have probable cause. Have you questioned the complainant? Have you checked his story? Examined his mental landscape?"
Neither of them were Mages, so that was unlikely.
"That's a police matter, Graves," Pike said, "and this conversation is over."
"That's a no," I replied, "Cathy, go get Hopkins please."
She would know what to do to fix this.
"Mister Graves, Miss Hopkins doesn't run this school!" Kenilworth wailed.
"No. If she did then these storm troopers wouldn't have gotten in the gates," I replied (perhaps a little unfairly).
"Hey, Miss, you come back here!" Beck said, stepping towards her.
"Touch her and the hand that does it comes off," I rasped, now getting really angry.
Beck stepped back at the tone of my voice.
"Enough of this crap. Beck, get the girl, Mister Graves, you are under arrest," Pike said, stepping towards me.
