“I hate it when she does that,” Alec murmured.
“She can still hear you,” Alena warned him with a quirk of her lips. She nudged Alec’s bare toes with her foot.
“Yes. She knows it gives me the willies.”
“The willies,” Alena repeated with a giggle. Alec’s firm lips curved in an answering smile. “So, the girl. Is she in danger?”
“I don’t know, Alec. Nothing about this case is typical. I sensed no power in her and no magic in her apartment. I can't think of a single reason for a mundane or a techie to break into her apartment and write 'mage' on her wall. Zar, however, is greatly interested in her. He says she has power, but it's muffled or hidden because I can't sense it.”
“If she’s been raised a mundane, she might fight us tooth and nail. What if she doesn't come?”
“Another question I can't answer, honey. She might; she looked frightened this morning. If something else happens, she may need a place to run. She won’t be like the others.” Alena and Alec shared a smile as they remembered the woman who had joined them for a week and then absconded with their silver candlesticks in the middle of the night. Zar had told Alena it would happen. They didn't stop the theft because the mage had seemed desperate. The house refused to keep any mage against his or her will.
“She’s been sensing Zar and me. The BlackDog name on my business card almost gave her a heart attack, but we didn’t know about the break-in before it happened. She says they stole nothing, but I think she was lying or uncertain. She either didn’t want us to know about it, or it was an item she shouldn't legally possess. That object could be the missing link we’re not seeing.”
“And Zar likes her?” Alec scratched behind the dog’s ears. Zar merely opened one eye lazily, but he expressed pleasure across the connection he shared with Alena.
“He does. Similar to Bette, he insists she’s important. Why? I don't have an answer to that question.” The strange woman confused Alena's familiar; she was a muddle of mundane and magic too tightly knit to separate. Or her magic was so powerfully shielded, it was impossible to sense. However, Alena didn’t think the woman was aware of the shield or her magic. She hadn't feigned the shock on her face when she’d met Alena. The aptitude tests labeled her as a mundane, not even a low-level techie, despite her obvious intelligence. Zar was never wrong, though, and now Bette was interested. Their atypical interest made Alena even more curious about the mystery surrounding Edania Eidahl.
A bell chimed, interrupting their conversation. Both Alena and Alec stood. The best part about living in a Brownie's house was the food. Zar padded behind them, his massive feet silent on the wooden floors despite his long claws. Alena didn’t know how he had mastered the skill, but it was useful.
Beyond the cozy sitting room, the house was brighter and more cheerful. Though it screamed its age, harkening back to the Civil War between mages and techies, it was structurally sound. Some areas had been renovated, including the main hall. A grand staircase wound upward, leading to the three floors that housed the bedrooms. Windows, which had been resealed to retain the house's warmth, filtered the last rays of the evening sun.
They walked toward the back of the house, nicknamed The Hub. Another building dominated the backyard. It was primarily used as classrooms for enchanting, potion making, and spell casting. At this late hour, though, the main house’s occupants gathered in the dining room that adjoined Bette’s kingdom - the kitchen. Alena and Alec walked in on an argument.
“You can’t just do it that way!” Jessie screamed at her sister. They were the only blood-related occupants currently residing in the house. Both girls had arrived almost a year ago, and Alena was excited that they would soon begin their trek across the border. She would miss them, but she wouldn’t miss their fighting. The twins were difficult to tell apart by sight but had very different personalities. Jenny frowned, her face creased in concentration. She was attempting to cast a spell - during dinner. Alena sighed.
“Your sister is right, Jenny. If you miscast the spell, Bette’s hard work will go to waste. And no one wants Bette mad.”
The other four people seated at the table startled as they entered. Charity simpered at Alec, and he ignored her as usual. Charity was an incomparable flirt. No matter how many times Alec rebuffed her, she always tried again. She was twenty-one, beautiful, and believed every man wanted her. Alena might have intervened a long time ago if she were the jealous type. Alec had begged her to speak to the younger girl, but Alena told him it helped Charity practice her persuasion magic. If Charity ever progressed to the point where her attentions actually affected Alec, Alena would put an end to it. Afterward, she would praise Charity for advancing so far in her craft.
“Alena!” Kathy, the youngest at thirteen, always missed Alena when she was away doing consultant work. Kathy bounced in her seat, waiting for a hug. Alena ruffled her blond curls and the young girl beamed. She was a whirlwind of energy, even on her worst days. Elliott, as usual, had his head buried in a book and was ignoring everyone. Mac sulked at the end of the table, studiously avoiding eye contact. The mages ranged in age from Kathy, at thirteen, to Elliott at twenty-six. Alena rescued them after their magic erupted and frightened their techie or mundane parents. The house cared for them until their mage counterparts across the border arranged an extraction.
“Is it true we might have another girl soon?” Kathy asked. She bounced on her chair as Alec and Alena sat in their usual places at opposite ends of the oblong table. The cherry wood surface gleamed under the lights. The members of the household waited with their hands in their laps for Bette to perform her unique brand of magic. Another short bell rang, and everyone in the room blinked as the table filled with steaming plates and bowls of food. The Brownie remained in the kitchen, the clang of pots ringing through the doorway.
Each person reached for the nearest serving dish, scooped their portion, and handed the plate to their left. Zar’s bowl was filled as well. Odorless pieces of raw steak blended with nutrient-rich vegetables satisfied him when he wasn’t hunting helpless bunnies. He completed his meal before everyone else and settled down on a large pillow in the corner until the rest finished.
“How do you know that?” Alena spooned a steaming serving of chicken pot pie from the casserole dish. The young girl shrugged, her curls bouncing in time to her body. Alena suspected Kathy might have a sliver of foresight power, but her magic was slow in developing. The situation grew stranger by the minute. Zar, Bette, and Kathy were all concerned about the new girl, but Alena couldn't detect her magic, and her specialty was magic identification.
“I just had a hunch. So, are we?”
The other mages were interested now; even Elliott raised his attention from his book. Only Mac remained unimpressed, pushing the mashed potatoes around on her plate. Mac was a quiet woman in her early twenties. She had arrived on the doorstep one night several months ago and had barely spoken since. Alena had asked her if she wanted to accompany the younger girls over the border, but she had only said she wasn't sure yet. Alena waited patiently and didn’t push her. The young woman had obviously experienced a traumatic event.
“I don’t know,” Alena responded. Kathy’s face fell. “Besides, she’s not a girl. She’s only a year or two younger than me.”
Jessie’s face scrunched. “Why another female? Why aren’t there any boys with magic around here?”
Charity mumbled her agreement around a mouthful of pot pie, and Alena shrugged. “There aren't more female mages; females are just more likely to seek help. Magic is ethereal and chooses people by birth or random chance. For those of you not born to magical parents, there is no explanation for why you possess your specific abilities.”
“Magic is not even the proper term,” Elliott argued. “The word magic has so many descriptions. It means something different to every person that uses it. Magic doesn’t choose people, either. The electromagnetic field alters our DNA, giving us different abilities, or we possess unique DNA.”
“That’s just one theory,” Alec interjected. “There are other theories.”
“Yes, but science doesn't support any of them,” Elliott retorted. Alec and Alena shared a look. They could argue all night, and neither of them would win. The mages of the Western Territory researched magic, but they never developed a plausible definition or reason for magical talent. Alena preferred the term 'magic.' No one knew why or how it worked, but everyone used the same label in the West and East. Even Zar considered their abilities magic, or at least he didn't disagree with the name when Alena used it. Since he couldn't communicate in human words, his silence was agreement enough.
“DNA doesn’t explain techies, though,” Jessie retorted. She loved pushing Elliott’s buttons, and the young man reddened. He didn't hide his true desires. He would much rather be a brilliant techie than a mage. He’d grown up in an Elite techie family. His parents had been utterly disappointed when aptitude tests had proven him to be intelligent but unable to understand engineering, computations, or complex equations. After years of trying to force the knowledge into him, his parents had given up and disowned him. He had moved to the streets, and his magic quickly manifested, no longer hampered by the scores of electronic gadgets in his childhood home. Alena’s searching magic had found him, and he’d reluctantly agreed to join the house. He had been dying on the streets because he didn’t know how to take care of himself.
“Yes, it does,” Elliott scoffed. He clapped his book closed with a loud snap. It was a treatise on physics that Alena was fairly certain he couldn’t understand. “Techies are born with their tech ability, so it is in their DNA. Few techies can be educated to the level natural techies inherently possess. And you know most mundanes and mages can’t even master low-level tech skills.” His words dripped with bitterness, and he was mostly right. Complex computers and phones powered down when mages used them. The act of trying to decipher code or computer programs would confuse and irritate a mage, often causing headaches. The Elite, the highest level of techies, had dumbed tech down to market to mundanes, mages, and lower level techies. Most mages still didn’t use electronics, however, because they interfered with their magic. Even the Elite hadn’t created tech that could be used simultaneously with spells.
“What did you do today?” Alena asked, changing the subject. Elliott humphed and returned to his book, dropping peas on his lap as he ate and read at the same time. The younger girls attended classes in the building in the backyard. They had all been targeted by mage hunters or the Eastern Territory government. The house and grounds employed powerful wards to protect its inhabitants, but they didn't work if the girls stepped past the border.
Alec, who controlled the house finances and electronic contact with their tech counterpart in the West, hired two mage sympathizers to teach the girls simple reading, math, and history -similar to what they would learn in a mundane school. The little house also harbored an old mage who taught the young girls how to use their magic. He forgot what day it was more often than not. The three staff members lived in the little house full-time. Alena suspected Bette somehow decreased their desire to enter the larger building or leave the grounds.
“Mr. Crowley forgot my name again,” Kathy complained. Alec sighed. They wanted to retire the senile old man but couldn’t find a replacement. The mages in the Eastern Territory wanted to work for the tech companies or fight the government as part of the growing underground network. They didn’t want to teach teenage girls. The girls’ magic had also manifested in different ways, so tutoring them was like trying to capture the wind in a holey bag. It was pointless.
“Well, soon you'll travel west,” Alena pointed out. Mr. Crowley would become a memory, and they could be taught by real mages. The twins and Charity were excited to leave, Kathy was apprehensive, and Elliott had outright refused. Alena didn’t know whether Bette or the house would permit him to stay much longer.
The younger girls ate and complained about history and math lessons while Elliott argued the importance of learning physics. Mac ignored everyone and excused herself after a couple bites.
Alec and Alena mostly ate in silence, sharing bemused glances now and then. They parented this motley crew, despite Elliott being the same age as her. After sending the younger girls off to bed, Alena and Alec retreated to their room. Alena knew the girls wouldn’t sleep soon, but the house would watch over them. As long as they didn’t practice their magic in unsafe ways or leave the grounds, they were free to do as they pleased. Alena asked Zar to scout for Edania, and he slipped away like a shadow.
“So, what is it about this woman?” Alec asked Alena when they were alone. His bright blue eyes shone in the dim light of the lamp. Alena stripped and slipped naked between the sheets of their antique, four-poster bed. Propped against the pillows with the blanket across her breasts, she watched him perform his nightly ritual. His brilliance and fastidiousness amazed her, and she attributed his idiosyncrasies to his detail-oriented mind. After he removed his clothes, he folded them and placed them neatly in the dirty laundry basket on top of her crumpled clothes. She admired his well-toned body as he brushed his short black hair. He was as meticulous about exercising as he was about everything else, and it showed. Her body heated as the glowing magelight played along the planes of his lean muscles.
“Alena?” he prompted.
She grinned. “Sorry, you distracted me for a moment.” He smiled with satisfaction and sat beside her, naked except for his boxers. His cleared throat reminded her he’d asked a question. “I don’t know,” Alena confessed, resting her head on his shoulder. “She's different.” She shrugged, unable to put her feelings into words.
“Is it because she’s older and you can’t sense her magic?”
“That might be part of it, but there’s something else, and Zar agrees.” The creaks of the old house and the wind against the glass panes filled the silence as they considered the mysterious woman.
“Is she cute?” Alec asked playfully.
“Actually, she's beautiful.”
Alec nodded as if that explained everything. She wished she owned his certainty. “Well, that explains your fascination."
Alena punched him in the bicep, her fist hitting rock hard muscle. “Unlike men, I don’t think with my sexual urges.” He held up his hands in defense.
“I didn’t say you did. And stop dumping me into the 'all men' bucket. How long has it been since you met a female mage your own age? Charity and Mac don’t count; they both have serious emotional hang-ups.”
Alena considered Alec’s words. Alena and Alec had a fantastic relationship, but he was a techie and a male. She could forgive and appreciate both, but she didn’t entirely understand either. She often felt guilty for wanting more, although they discussed the matter often.
“Hey,” Alec soothed, nudging her side. “We’ve done this before. I knew who you were when I met you. I've always known you desire women. I don’t own you, Alena. We make a wonderful couple, but you are free to make your own decisions as long as we communicate.”
Alena nodded. They’d held this discussion more than once during the four years they had been together. Alena couldn’t bear to be tied down, and this was the compromise they had reached. She abruptly flushed as his words sank in further. “She’s not even here, and you’re already trying to push me into her bed.”
He chuckled, combing his fingers through her loosened hair. “I am not, Lena. I’m just reminding you of your freedom. Magic calls to magic; we’ve always known this, and we are both grown-ass adults, not each other’s possessions.” He paused for a moment. “Even I, clueless non-mage that I am, believe there’s something different about this woman. My intuition is pinging me.”
Alena nodded, her eyes blank as she stared at nothing in particular. She didn’t even acknowledge Alec’s tech speak. “Yes, but I can’t figure out what it is.”
Chapter Three
Eden
Halfway through her shift at the factory, Eden began to f
eel normal again. Her station relied on mindless repetition. Her current job was assembling printers. Each mundane performed a simple task. The plastic casing sped down the conveyor belt, and she connected a bundle of wires to the green circuit board and placed the cartridge into the wheels the next person in line screwed into place. She lived in her head once she relaxed into the flow. Most nights she thought about what to draw, Izzy’s kids, or a plan for a weekend trip to the local mountains and the hiking trail she loved.
Tonight, the only things on her mind were the vandalism of her apartment and the policewoman's business card. Mindful of Izzy’s and the mage’s words, she eyed her fellow workers suspiciously. They performed their jobs wordlessly or chatted in small groups about kids and work. She was ignored, and she kept to herself.
Immediately following her hiring, she was the subject of animosity. Everyone had a mundane friend who needed work. That she was hired, with her distinct disability, provoked sneers and murmured insults. When her co-workers noted she performed her job with no accommodations, never called in sick, and never came in drunk, they changed to ignoring her. The offer of employment had surprised Eden as well. The tech in charge hadn't hesitated. He’d hired her, and the managers assigned tasks she could perform with one hand. Eden had found it suspicious, but she wouldn't refuse the good luck.
She'd spent the afternoon on the phone with Izzy and her landlord, attempting to restore order to her life and home. Unfortunately, the little studio no longer welcomed her. If her apartment never regained its status as a sanctuary, she would have to move. Izzy expressed shock and sympathy and had demanded she stay with them for a couple days. Eden expected the offer. Their house resided within the techie suburbs, though, and the bus routes didn’t run after her shift. Eden didn’t want to walk several blocks in the dark after recent events, but she was determined to deal with it as an adult. A break-in and a word on her wall wouldn’t make her retreat into a hole. As the night wore on, however, she grew nervous.
Magic's Divide Page 3
