The four of us (including Fudge, who was now trotting at my side on plush carpet), continued down a long hall until we reached two oaken double doors at the end. These Blatherton opened to reveal what appeared to be a conference room. A large, mahogany table was surrounded by fourteen plush chairs. Six of them were occupied: one man and three women dressed in business-casual clothing, one man who looked just like our rescue team in a black uniform and Gregory. I rushed over to give him a hug.
His eyes twinkled as he hugged me back and said quietly, “You had better sit down or you will interrupt their schedule. We will speak later.”
Ev lumbered over and shook Gregory’s hand before he, too, was told to take a seat.
“I understand you’ve been through an ordeal but we have questions before you can fully relax,” stated a woman with her blond hair severely pulled back into a bun. I knew she was a high magical muckety-muck as I’d met her at Cassandra and Tommy’s handfasting but couldn’t for the life of me remember her name.
Ev’s stomach growled loud enough for the entire room to hear. He ducked his head and apologized.
“No need for apologies. We’ll get you something to eat shortly. We need to confirm. Are you indeed Evander Thorson Angelich?”
Ev cleared his throat. “I am.”
Another man who looked somewhat like my elderly wizard friend, Adamo, peered at him. “And did you voluntarily agree to be sequestered?”
I thought Ev was going to roar and break everyone’s eardrums. He turned almost purple with rage. “I most certainly did not. That woman …”
“Thank you,” the older man cut him off. Turning to me, he asked, “Did you voluntarily agree to be sequestered?”
“Absolutely not,” I kept my answer short, as I assumed they wanted me to. I could feel Fudge’s purr of approval in my lap.
“Thank you,” the woman with the bun said. “We naturally still have plenty of questions for you but I believe you’d like to clean up a bit and eat. We have suites prepared for you. Please return here promptly in an hour so we can resume our debriefing. Mr. Tremayne can show you the way.”
We were summarily dismissed. The five I didn’t know pulled their chairs closer together and started talking in low voices.
“Come,” Gregory said. “Your suites are next to mine.” He rose and made his way toward the doors. The rest of us got up and followed.
Once we were in the hallway with the doors closed behind us, Blatherton told Gregory he’d be in touch and walked down the hall toward the elevator we’d ridden. Gregory turned to his right and we trailed after him down a similarly-rich looking hall. I felt the wards long before Gregory muttered something under his breath and still felt a tingle as we passed through an archway. He muttered again and the wards went back to full strength. Not that I was all that experienced in this whole witchy business but what I’d felt made me grateful I wasn’t the one behind them all the time.
Gregory paused and opened a door. “Ev, you’re in here. Amy, you’re next door. Sorry for locking you in, as it were, but these are the only places that have showers. I got clothes for both of you. Once you’ve cleaned up, step near the bedside table and say out loud whatever you’re hungry for. It’s like hotel room service but your meal will appear on the table once it’s prepared. I will come for you in an hour.”
He closed the door on Ev, moved a few steps and turned the knob on another door to an identical room. I opened my mouth but before I could speak, he gave me a little shove and said, “Later. We only have an hour. The kitchen has cat food for Fudge.”
He closed the door behind himself and I made a beeline for the bathroom. Oh, it was civilization! Flushing commodes, toilet paper, and running hot water. On the counter was a pile of my clothing: slacks, a favorite turtleneck and…underwear. He’d better not have been going through my drawers! I’d ask about that later. The only thing I wanted to do was stand under the shower for as long as I could.
Thirty minutes later I looked like a prune but a clean one. There was no hair dryer so my back was cold and damp where my hair lay against it but at least it was clean. My stomach reminded me I really needed to eat and time was growing short. Although I felt a little foolish, I stood by the bedside table and said out loud, “Cheeseburger with everything but onions, French fries, water, both bottled and in a bowl, and cat food.” I really wanted onions on my burger and onion rings on the side but given that I knew I’d be talking to strangers, I held back. The lamp blinked off and on once. I guessed that was the acknowledgement and sat on the edge of the bed to wait. Fudge was already curled up on one of the pillows, fast asleep.
He perked right up a few minutes later when a tray twinkled its way into existence on the table. A covered plate held my food, a bottle of water lay on its side and two plastic containers with lids held water and food for Fudge. Whoever sent it was much smoother than Gregory with their transportation spell as the cover on the plate wasn’t the slightest bit askew. I put Fudge’s stuff on the floor and dug into my own food.
As soon as I wiped the last smidge of ketchup off my mouth, there was a knock and then my door opened. “Ready?” Gregory said as he held the door, obvious in his intent that I follow him. Fudge took one swipe at his whiskers with his paw and trotted on ahead.
Pausing long enough to pick up Ev (who grumbled because he hadn’t finished with the food on his serving platter), we trailed after Gregory once again, through the wards and back down to the conference room.
Chapter 21
The same five people were sitting at the table but this time another chair was occupied – by a Rottweiler. Fudge stopped in his tracks and lowered his head. I looked from the dog to my cat and back again before I felt a small shove at the base of my back.
“Head of Familiar Council. Sit,” Gregory whispered. I did as I was told, continuing to look back and forth between the animals until the witch with the bun cleared her throat.
“Please be seated. I hope your accommodations were satisfactory? Good. As you might expect, we have plenty of questions for you.”
Although I wanted to answer that everything was nice but I sure could have used a hair dryer, she didn’t allow us to get a word in edgewise. Fudge finally hopped into my lap but instead of curling up as usual, he sat at attention.
“Please allow me to introduce the table to you,” she continued. “My name is Althea Fitzsimmons and I am the current head of the Witches’ Council Midwestern United States Region. To my left is Janice Kokurrun, my assistant. To her left is Delilah Emerson, our recording secretary. To my right is Howard Sharretts, my counterpart on the Wizards’ Council. To his right is Edward Bartz, my head of security. To his right is Waldo, the head of the Familiar Council here in the United States.
“Now, Miss McCollum, I understand this is your first experience with Elders but I’m told you have read our rules.” (I could hear the capital “E” in her voice.) I nodded.
She continued. “Mr. Angelich, because the ogres have no ruling council, will you agree to abide by our findings?”
Ev shifted in his chair. “It depends.” I kicked him under the table. He glared at me. “I want that woman to pay for what she’s done. If you can punish her well and good, I’ll agree to it. At the very least, she should be locked up in a loony bin. But if you don’t, I’ll do it my way.”
Ms. (Miss? Mrs.?) Fitzsimmons cleared her throat again. “If all your answers are truthful and we find in your favor, I believe we can satisfy your need for vengeance. However, if not, we have no jurisdiction over an argument between ogres and you will be free to do whatever you wish.” She paused and fixed Ev with her ice blue eyes. “So long as you do no harm in the magical community. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Ev was polite! I almost fell out of my chair.
“Good. Shall we begin? Mr. Angelich, please tell us what happened to you on or about the night of April the fourth, continuing to the present. You may tell it in your own words but please leave out any profanity.”
The lady who was the recording secretary closed her eyes. “She has an eidetic memory,” Gregory whispered. “She will remember everything verbatim and make a transcript available later.” I nodded.
Ev began, “I was having a lovely candlelit dinner with Marianna Johannsen, the lady I was seeing…”
His side of the story didn’t take long because he had no idea how long he’d been confined due to the drugs. All he knew was that he’d eat food off that tray, sleep, take care of bodily functions as best he could and repeat. When they told him it had been at least fifteen days, he gasped then growled out a string of expletives.
Ms. Fitzsimmons made a face. Ev apologized. She turned to me. “Miss McCollum, I will ask you the same thing. In your own words, please.”
I took much longer because so much more had happened to me and they interrupted a lot with questions, asking me to clarify things, or to describe something in more detail. At some point my voice became a little hoarse. Mr. Sharretts apologized to the table and a bottle of water appeared in front of each person, along with a bowl of water in front of me – presumably for Fudge who was still in my lap, and a larger one in front of the Rottweiler.
Once I’d finished my side of the story, I heard a baritone voice growl, “Are you certain of your description of the wizard who sent the sleeping spell?”
Ev’s eyes widened to saucer-level. Why? No one’s mouth had moved. The voice was in our heads – Ev’s apparently included. I could commiserate. Having a voice in your head was quite startling until you got used to it.
“She is accurate in her description,” Fudge said in a strong voice. This time Ev didn’t move a muscle. Apparently, he couldn’t hear Fudge. I’d have to ask about that – later.
“Do you know him, Waldo?” inquired Mr. Sharretts – out loud. Ev’s eyes widened again as he looked at the Rottweiler, something akin to awe on his face.
“If he is as described then yes, I know him. He has a familiar – currently in chameleon form. I will have his location tracked and give it to you, should it be needed.”
“I didn’t see any lizard,” I piped up. No one bothered to acknowledge my statement.
“I do not go with you everywhere, either. At least I did not until just recently and that is for a very specific purpose,” Fudge chided me.
“Ed, please call in the team leader,” Ms. Fitzsimmons requested.
Flashlight Man came into the room at his boss’ bidding and proceeded to describe the scene they found. Apparently, it took them a little longer to find us than originally anticipated because someone had put a masking spell on the area. Although the familiar of one team member knew they were in the right area, they had a difficult time locating the hole in the ground. But I finally got my answer as to where we were.
“The prisoners were being held in an old air raid shelter built in 1942 by the then-owners of the property, who are apparently related to Miss Johannsen. According to tax records, the property has been abandoned long enough to be considered undeveloped. The cousin who pays the tax bill each year is currently being interviewed and I will report back with those results once we have them.”
“Thank you. You may go,” Mr. Bartz informed him.
“Miss McCollum, Mr. Angelich, Mr. Tremayne and Fudge, you are free to leave. We apologize for your distress. As soon as we have the complete results of our investigation, you will be informed of our decision. Mr. Bartz’ team will convey you to your homes.” I had all kinds of questions but Ms. Fitzsimmons’ pronouncement brooked no “buts”. The security guy opened the conference room doors for us. Flashlight Man and his buddy were waiting in the hall.
As the door closed, I heard a growled, “While you were too slow in recognizing a threat, you acted quickly in contacting me as soon as you awoke. Well done, youngling,” in my head. Youngling? Fudge? How old was Waldo, anyways?
“Much, much older than I am. If rumors are to be believed, he lived in Babylonia as a youngster.”
Back down the elevator, back into the same SUV (still carrying a faint aroma of unwashed ogre along with the smell of citrus – someone had made an attempt at deodorizing), back to being crushed in the back seat because Gregory climbed in with me and Ev, and back to not being able to see a damned thing. Flashlight Man apologized once again. “Security,” he said with a shrug.
When my eyesight cleared, I saw my apartment building with every single neighbor standing on the steps. I stepped out of the car to cries of “Welcome home!” and “Are you all right?” The two human men gave me grandfatherly hugs, the dwarf neighbor pinched my waist, and Elinda and Marge clucked over me like biddy hens.
“I will come over about noon and we can talk about everything, okay?” Gregory’s voice cut through the neighbors’ chatter.
That startled me. “You’re still staying next door?” I asked.
“For two or three more days, at least. Ev is probably going to sleep that long. You will probably still be asleep when I knock on the door so go hit the sack.” He gave me a little pat on the shoulder and with a “let the girl find her own bed” to everyone else, turned toward his own building.
I finally extricated myself from the small crowd and made my way down the steps to my own apartment. Once inside the closed and locked door, I allowed myself to cry. The last few days had been stressful, to say the least, and I was completely exhausted. I cried even harder when I finally saw a clock. It was after two in the morning. No wonder I was ready to fall asleep on my feet!
Pulling myself together as best I could, I stayed awake long enough to wash three-day old coffee from the pot and then put everything together fresh for whenever I woke up. Disdaining the thought of making an effort to put my clothes into the laundry hamper, I left them in a pile on the floor and crawled into my soft, warm, homey-smelling bed. Fudge wasted no time in making his nest in my hair. I don’t think I felt him curl up.
True to his word, Gregory banged on my door promptly at noon the next day. As always, I’d woken with the sun but managed to go back to sleep after pulling the pillow out from underneath Fudge and over my head. I was only on my first cup of coffee. At least I’d thought to put on a bathrobe instead of wandering around the house in just my jammies.
“You look like hell warmed over,” he said as I handed him a steaming mug.
“Gee, thanks. Good morning to you, too,” I retorted. “What do you expect me to look like after the last couple of days?”
He grinned. “No different. So, you managed to not cause any earthquakes?”
I puffed up at that. Yes, I’d kept my temper under control. Truthfully? Not because I was concerned about hurting the Earth or anything. It was really because I was afraid of burying myself under a ton of rubble.
“The point being you did, without Fudge’s help,” Gregory smiled. “From your testimony last night, it sounds as if you’re really getting the hang of things, and I am proud of you. You’ve known about your abilities for less than a month and you are already able to spin energy into a string. Now, I know you have hundreds of questions. Ask.”
Where to begin? I tried to organize my thoughts into at least a semblance of an outline so I wouldn’t be jumping from one subject to the next without exhausting the first one. I refilled our mugs and started a fresh pot while I was thinking. Gregory sat patiently waiting.
Once organized, I had a question in capital letters. “What will happen now?”
“The investigation isn’t quite complete and I really can’t speak for the Tribunal but I suspect they will find that no magical laws were broken.” He held up his hand to forestall my objections.
“That is not to say that Marianna will go unpunished. The transcript from last night, along with some other evidence they collected will be turned over to the mundane authorities. Two counts of kidnapping plus attempted extortion and fraud will ensure she is taken out of society. Whether their psychiatric examination will show the mental instability necessary for her to be institutionalized, I don’t know.”
My mouth opened and he held up his hand again. “Believe it or not, the magical and mundane law enforcement arms work quite well together when the situation warrants. In this case, the trial has already been held and the beings you saw last night were her jury. Everything will be presented to a human judge who is aware of our procedures. He will sign all the mundane legal papers and she will quietly be sent to prison, if not a mental health facility. You and Ev will probably have to sign statements and that should happen today, if not tomorrow.”
“What about you?” I asked.
He grinned. “I knew Ev was alive. After Atlanta, I devised a twenty-four-seven beacon charm for him. Before you ask, it’s in a tattoo on his shoulder. I spelled the ink. That’s probably why Marianna targeted me. Because I was behind wards before I had a chance to follow it, I could do nothing but sit and wait. Oh, and pay a barrister to represent my interests, just as one would do in a mundane case. As soon as Fudge contacted Waldo, I was released but kept old Blatherton around just in case something went wrong. I stayed at headquarters to keep an eye on what they were doing and to be there when you were brought in. It’s all good.”
“How can you be so calm about all this? I’d be freaking out if anyone accused me of murder and then once released, I’d be out for blood.”
“I’ve seen a lot in my years. This isn’t the first time I’ve had dealings with the Councils and probably won’t be the last. Shit happens in our world, Amy, more so than the mundane world and if the television news is to be believed, that has its own share of bizarre happenings. You learn to go with the flow. Next question?”
I moved down to the next topic on my outline. “Why were all of the Councils involved?”
“Just as in the mundane world, this case was multi-jurisdictional. I’m a wizard, you’re a witch and Fudge is a familiar. Fudge was just as kidnapped as you.” He tilted his head, asking for my next question.
“Why did Marianna report you to the Witches’ Council? Shouldn’t she have gone to the Wizards’ Council?”
Upheaval! Page 21
