Upheaval!

by Deborah Martin

  “Yes, she should have but I don’t think she’s bright enough to have thought of that. Plus, Althea is located here in the Twin Cities whereas Howard lives in Chicago. But because it was Ev, you work for him and he rents office space from a witch, Althea kept hold of everything to protect your interests. Then when you went missing, it was definitely under the Witches’ purview.”

  He sighed. “Howard, while a powerful wizard who plays politics well, is something of a namby-pamby when it comes to emergencies. Had Marianna gone to him in the first place, he probably would have dithered long enough for me to actually find Ev and disprove Marianna’s accusations. Althea tends to get right to the heart of a problem and get whatever it is dealt with so she can move on.

  “I may not have liked confinement but I knew with Althea and Ed on the case, it would get resolved quickly. I do not have the same confidence in Howard.”

  That jived with my initial impressions of both of them. Ms. Fitzsimmons acted like the decision-making executive she was. Mr. Sharretts, on the other hand, let her lead the questioning. On to the next topic.

  “Waldo?”

  “Ah, the old man,” Gregory smiled. “As far as I know, Waldo is the oldest magical being on Earth. He not only heads the US Familiar Council but the international one, as well. His age and experience make him the most powerful familiar known. That’s probably why he is capable of mind speech with anyone. I know it disconcerted Ev. That was fun.”

  “Who’s familiar is he?”

  “Althea’s. If I understand correctly, he chooses his own witch or wizard, making that person quite special. It also means he heads the area council wherever he happens to be. Three hundred years ago or so, he was a rabbit with a wizard somewhere in the Ottoman Empire. Or so I’m told.”

  Interesting. A rabbit, then a Rottweiler. When Fudge woke up and was ready to be interrogated, I had some questions for him, too.

  “How come you know about this headquarters place but Ev and I had to be magically blindfolded? And how come you could disable the wards?”

  “Ev? Think about it. Would you want an ogre with a temper knowing where you worked? As for you, you’re still young. And inquisitive. They don’t need you snooping around where you don’t belong. Think of it as one of those super-secret places the CIA has. Only those who need to know, do.

  “I’ve also done some work for the Witches’ Council in the past that necessitated my knowing where Althea’s office is. Once my name was cleared, I was given back their trust and a password to let me through the ward guarding their holding cells. I’m sure if I worked at it, I could have completely disabled Ed’s ward but why? That would just have angered them further.”

  He got up and refilled his coffee. He was just as caffeine-addicted as I was. “Ed’s a strong wizard and the wards change, depending on who they have back there. I will remind you that those rooms are only the equivalent of a holding cell, not full-blown prison. That you never want to see.”

  I had a million more questions floating around my brain but couldn’t seem to formulate a coherent thought. Even with the caffeine flowing through my veins, I was still tired. I also had to check email and respond to what I assumed would be multiple messages from my editor. And had to call Sally to let her know Ev and I were okay and ask what had happened at the office from her end. But one last query surfaced:

  “What did she use to drug us? Do you know?”

  This time instead of giving me one of his small smiles, he grimaced. “Opium. The team found where you had buried your food. There was enough in the scrambled eggs to knock Ev out so you would have gotten a snootful, too. Based on what Ev said, his meals always included a sauce or something liquid the opium could have been dissolved in and the taste disguised with strong seasoning.

  “Your metabolism helped dispel a dose large enough to have killed a non-witch. But Ev doesn’t have that kind of metabolism and had been dosed long enough that he will go through withdrawal. Healers are at his house and will help him through the worst of it. He should be well enough to work by Tuesday but he will not be a happy camper for probably a week.”

  Gregory downed the rest of his coffee and politely put his mug in the dishwasher. “I’m going to let you enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Wait for me to call before going into the office tomorrow. Although I think Ed will have everything wrapped up today, Marianna may still be there and I want to ensure she’s gone before you go back. We will resume your lessons next Saturday.”

  I shut the door behind him and groaned. I had a week’s respite then would be back to the schedule I didn’t want … office work, writing and school. In the meantime, I knew my email inbox would be packed. I padded over to my desk and fired up the computer. While I waited, I thought I’d call Sally. It took me a few minutes of looking around before I realized my cell phone was probably still in my purse, which was probably still on the floor under my office desk. I looked on the bright side: it would be a quiet afternoon!

  Chapter 22

  Three hours later, I’d read and answered the bulk of my emails, eaten the rest of the food in my refrigerator and showered. Fudge hadn’t moved a muscle since I’d risen shortly before noon and was still asleep on the bed. I thought he had a good idea so curled up on the couch to nap during the afternoon baseball game.

  The next thing I knew, the sun was shining through the living room window and Fudge was a ball of warmth next to my stomach. Given that the sun set on the opposite side of the building, I knew it had to be morning. I’d slept about fourteen hours – on the couch – and my neck was confirming what the clock said. Normally, I’d be running a little late since I usually woke around five-thirty but since I was supposed to wait for Gregory’s call before going into the office…

  More likely Gregory’s knocking at the door since any call would go to voice mail on an undoubtedly dead phone. I heaved a huge sigh as I made my way into the kitchen, attempting to work out the cricks in my neck. I hated waiting for coffee and if I didn’t put it together and turn on the timer the night before, there was no immediate caffeine infusion.

  Not knowing when that knock/call would come, I went through my morning routine as quickly as I could. By seven-thirty, I was dressed and ready to go but there was still no word from Gregory and I knew there would be hell to pay if I walked over to the office without his okay. I decided to use the time to my advantage.

  “So Fudge, are you always a cat?”

  “No. I have been many animals in my lifetime.”

  “How do you decide what you’re going to be? Do you push aside the animal’s awareness? How does being a familiar work?”

  I heard a sigh. “I know you well enough to understand you will not let this go. The Council determines what animal will be appropriate for the witch or wizard it is going to be assigned to. A pregnant mother appropriate to the species is found and we inhabit the body before birth, just as the fetus or embryo would gain awareness. Therefore, we wake with the knowledge and habits inherent in that species. Circumstances are arranged so the witch or wizard finds us. My current mother was a feral cat living behind a nearby restaurant and I picked a fight with the tom you chased away, arranging it so I would end up in your apartment.

  “As you have guessed, we have magical abilities of our own but we are limited in what we can do. It has something to do with the bond between us and our human. The stronger the human, the stronger our abilities. We also act as guardian and something of an encyclopedia for our human to reference. That my human, is all I will say.”

  “What happened to you when you ate the food? I know you were knocked out like I was but despite the fact that a cat would have died, you didn’t. And how did you know it was the food and not the water?”

  “As I said, we have magical abilities of our own and a familiar will not die unless its human does. I caused the poison in my system to become inert then I had to repair the damage it caused my respiratory system. It took some time and effort to do so. I knew it had to be in the food because t
he water tasted fine. Will you cease questioning, now?”

  I didn’t have a chance to ask anything more because there was a knock at my door. I admitted Gregory, who also was dressed for work in slacks rather than jeans. “Is it safe to go to the office?” I asked as I filled my travel mug.

  “I tried calling but only got your voice mail. Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Answering a question with a question was not a good way to start the day.

  I explained about my phone and sarcastically added, “If I had my phone on me, don’t you think I would have tried to use it sometime in those couple of days?”

  “Point. Although you may not have had a signal that far down. Let’s walk over to the office and see what a mess there might be.”

  “Is Marianna taken care of?” I really didn’t want to confront the bitch again. My temper might not hold and Cassandra would kill me if I damaged the building.

  “She was picked up at her home by the sheriff, with Ed’s help, a couple of hours ago. Ed said she did not go quietly.”

  I closed and locked the door, and the three of us trooped up my stairs. “How’s Ev?”

  “Still sleeping, I believe. I spoke with George, the healer on duty, an hour ago. They are keeping him under as long as possible so he doesn’t feel the worst effects of opium withdrawal. Not to mention avoiding his temper when he wakes up to find Marianna has not been zapped to the ether for what she has done.”

  I mused on that. Ev probably didn’t want her evaporated (or whatever the ultimate punishment was for a magical person). Beating her to a bloody pulp, waiting for her to heal and then pummeling her again would be more his style. Ev had a vicious side to him that, thankfully, didn’t show up very often.

  Him still asleep was a good thing, too. I hated to think what the office was going to be like. Marianna had had two days to really muck things up. His temper would rear its ugly head unless I had a chance to sort things out. It was going to be a long day.

  As we approached the office, Cassandra flew out of the deli and enveloped me in her bony embrace. “Are you okay? I’m so glad you’re back. That Marianna is a real bitch. You’d better call Sally. She’s been on the horn to me several times a day and is beside herself with worry, although I finally got her to calm down yesterday when I relayed the good news from Mom. Come on in. Let me get your usual latte. Gregory, hi. I’ll get you a cup of coffee, too. Oh, and Fudge! I’ve got a special treat ready for you.”

  She finally came up for air and let me go. I laughed. It was good to have people worried about me. “I’m fine,” I said as we followed her into the deli. “Well, as fine as I can be worrying about what kind of mess I’m going to walk into upstairs.” The deli smells were so comforting…coffee, fresh-baked bread and pastries coupled with the tang of whatever stew Cassandra had on the stove. The deli was technically closed on Mondays but she usually had something cooking, either for the next day or a catering job.

  After promising to call that evening to give her all the gory details, I headed upstairs with Fudge climbing next to me and Gregory bringing up the rear. I took a deep breath before trying to open the door. It was locked and my keys were in the same place as my phone.

  “Allow me.” Gregory handed me his coffee. He rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a key ring and inserted his copy into the lock. Nothing happened. “The bitch even changed the locks!” He grumbled. “No matter.” A small strand of sparkling red energy threaded its way into the keyhole. I heard a “click” and Gregory turned the knob to open the door with a smile on his face.

  I wanted to ask how he did that so effortlessly when Fudge and I had exhausted ourselves but what I saw nearly made me drop both cups of coffee. Not only had she changed the lock but she’d also very quickly redecorated. Gone was the serviceable furniture and Sally’s old secretarial desk in the reception area. She’d replaced it all with Louis XIV-style stuff that was so ugly I almost choked. Sally’s “desk” looked more like a boudoir table. No ogre would be able to sit on the chairs. Not only would they not be able to get their butts between the arms down to the seat but I was willing to bet the legs would break like twigs under their weight. I felt the tingle of magic permeating the room.

  An “oh” escaped my lips. I walked with hesitation to my office and then let out a huge sigh. Marianna hadn’t gotten around to that room, yet, and all my stuff was still there.

  I heard Gregory say, “Holy shit” and raced out of my office into Ev’s. Once again, the plain but comfortable furniture was gone and in its place was more of the same frou-frou crap, ogre-sized this time. “He cannot see this,” Gregory growled.

  “How did she do this so fast? It was only a couple of days,” I moaned.

  “Her wizard, probably. Go do what you need to do. I can take care of this but it will take a bit of time. It’s just a transformation spell but a good one. I wonder how much she paid him? No man in his right mind would have done this.” He started muttering as I walked back into the comfort of my office populated by cheap, mahogany-veneered fiberboard furniture. I’d just sat down and reached for my phone to plug it into the charger when the office phone rang. My day was starting.

  “Good Morning, Angelich Security,” I answered, attempting to make my voice bright and cheerful.

  “Thank goodness you’re all right,” Sally yelled into my ear.

  “Hey, don’t yell,” I answered. “I’m fine but unless Gregory works quickly, you won’t be when you get here.” I told her about the redecorating.

  “She turned a security office into the front room of a bordello? I knew she was off her rocker but damn that’s a bit much! Now that you’re back, do I have a job again?”

  When I gave her a virtual thumbs-up, she told me she’d be there shortly and hung up. I turned my attention to the voice mail and was puzzled when there were only three messages, all of them from over the weekend. I knew Marianna didn’t have the password and the telephone company wouldn’t have given her the time of day without tons of legal paperwork. It should have been overflowing. So what happened?

  I encountered the same thing when I checked the main email inbox. Just the standard reports and a couple of queries. Nothing unusual. And despite Marianna’s statement that she’d rearranged assignments, everything was as I’d left it. I was at a loss…until I checked my personal inbox.

  It was filled with quick notes from clients and employees alike, all saying pretty much the same thing: “Got Sally’s message and will comply. Please contact me with an explanation ASAP.”

  I couldn’t wait for Sally to get in and tell me what she’d done. Whatever it was, she’d circumvented everything Marianna had planned – except for the décor, that is. Knowing I wasn’t going to have to untangle a huge web of deceit, I happily settled into a normal morning of reading reports and making notes.

  I’d just finished with the weekend reports and was about to turn my attention to bookkeeping when Sally walked in. I heard an expletive escape her mouth before she walked into my office and, tossing her purse on the floor, sat in my guest chair.

  “That is hideous. With the computer monitor, there’s no room to work on that damned desk. So I’m sharing yours until Gregory finishes.”

  I eyed her. “What did you do? I’ve got a boatload of emails in my inbox that say they got your message and everything seems to be status quo.”

  She grinned. “Marianna is apparently deficient in the technology department. When I got here on Thursday she told me you’d quit and I was fired. Since I knew she was lying, I left and called your cell from downstairs. When you didn’t answer, I asked Cassandra where you were and she didn’t know. So, I borrowed her computer, logged on up here and sent an email to both the client and employee distribution lists saying that Ev’s girlfriend had gone crazy and to ignore anything coming from the company until they got word from either you or Ev personally.

  “Then I went home and paced until Cassandra finally called me yesterday afternoon. I think you have a bunch of emails to answer off y
our personal address.”

  I went around the desk and hugged her. “Thank you for that. And how did you think of it? I never would have!”

  “Well, how else do you mass-communicate nowadays? I didn’t want her screwing anything up and the only way to prevent that was to have everyone ignore her.” The phone rang and before I could get it, Sally reached over my desk and answered.

  “It’s for you.” She handed me the phone and as I brought it to my ear, I heard her ask Gregory how much longer it was going to take him – she needed a proper desk.

  “Amy, it’s John. Is everything okay?” the voice on the other end said. “I got Sally’s email on Thursday and then Marianna showed up at my party Friday night, claiming she was the new head of Angelich Security. What the hell happened?”

  John Minton, agent-to-the-stars, was a long-time business associate of Ev’s, and a vampire. He was old enough, I knew, to be awake most of the day and operated out of an office in his basement. Without going into too much detail, I described Marianna’s behavior, then told him she’d kidnapped both of us but that we were free and she was in custody.

  “Damn, that ogre gets himself into more trouble, doesn’t he?” John chuckled. “He really does have poor taste in women.”

  John didn’t know the half of it. No one outside a close circle knew about the prior kidnapping and it was going to stay that way. I let John think all Ev’s problems stemmed from his love life. Assuring him that we were fine and that I expected Ev in the office the next day, I hung up.

  Only to be told there was another call waiting for me on line two. This one was Omar, an ogre who was a friend of Ev’s and a former guard who, although officially retired, helped out every now and again when scheduling got messed up.

  I gave him essentially the same spiel as John, only this time telling him of the opium problem and the fact that Ev was recovering at home. What he said next floored me.