by Terri Pray
“I don’t think I’d have listened to you if you’d told me to stay away from him. Stupid, but I thought I was in love. I doubt I’d have believed you if you’d shown me hard core proof of him beating up some kid behind the library.” Karol sucked in her bottom lip, wrapping her arms about her body, her shoulders tight.
“You made what you thought was the right choice at the time; just because I don’t agree with it…”
“I know. You’d have walked out on him with the first punch as well. You’re like that.” The accusation struck home.
Punch? Had he sunk that low?
“Are you telling me that he’s hit you?”
“Goddess, no. Shit, sorry, I meant the first verbal blow.” Karol stumbled over the words.
“All right.” Hailey’s gaze narrowed on her old friend as she searched for some sign of a bruise, a hint that Karol hadn’t quite been telling the truth about the violence in her life. Her stomach knotted, her throat threatened to close, and she swallowed hard before continuing. “I know I don’t stick things out if it gets rough but I made a choice a long time ago that I’d rather be single than live with a jerk.” She shoved her hands into her pockets, shrugging. “I’m not going to make excuses for it.” Marriage, dating, it was all a waste of time. They just wanted to get their end wet, tell you what to do, and leave you when you didn’t bow down to worship the ground they walked on. Most men seemed to be the “chase anything in a skirt” type, who acted like she should be grateful they were even looking her way.
Brian had tried that, ignored the fact he was married to her best friend, and hit on her a dozen times over. The threat of telling Karol hadn’t worked, he’d just come back with the “who do you think she’d believe, a witch like you or her husband” line, and that wasn’t worth the threat. Now she just kept clear of him. He wasn’t worth losing Karol over.
He’d laughed and told her that Karol would never find out. So just who else had he tried screwing around with?
“I never said you should.” Karol gave a half smile, the shadows hidden behind her eyes clouded the softening of her smile. She glanced at her watch, paling. “I should be getting back, he’ll be expecting me and I don’t need to make the situation worse.”
“He lays one finger on you…”
“I know.” She nodded, not meeting Hailey’s gaze. “I’ll call, I promise. I’m not going to let him push things that far.”
“You’d better.” Somehow knocking on Karol’s door at three a.m. didn’t seem like the best way of finding out if her friend was still in one piece. “Take care of you.” She pulled Karol into a tight hug, feeling the shake that claimed her friend, that hitch in her breath followed by a swallowed, muted sob.
“I’ll be all right, I’ve promised to call you, remember?”
“Okay.”
She wanted to believe that, wanted to believe Karol would go home, confront Brian, and put an end to it once and for all, but it wasn’t her choice to make and she didn’t make a habit of living in fairy tale land. Five years had been long enough to change. Karol didn’t see it, or wasn’t willing to, and it wouldn’t take much more before she’d have to act to help her friend despite all her self promises to stay out of it unless asked for help.
“Tonight, I’ll call you tonight, and don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
Asking Hailey not to worry about the proposed laws against the use of magic would have been easier…
* * * * *
“Have you seen this? It’s all over the news. I just can’t believe they’re actually going this far. What do they think we are? Animals?” Gem demanded before Hailey had even walked in through the door, the newspaper clutched tight in the older woman’s hand. “They’re voting on the bill tomorrow. If it goes through we’ll all have to register our magic skills and get permits. What’s next? Are we going to need to get permission to breed?”
“That’s being tabled until next month,” Hailey replied. “You need to look at the next page. I took a look through the paper before I went out this morning.”
“What! Are you joking?” Gem flicked through the paper, tearing one page, until she found the right section and laid it out flat on the table. “Are they out of their minds? They’ll have riots in the streets if they try and push this through.”
Hailey rubbed her temples. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another, but she couldn’t argue with her aunt. The new laws and the possible problems they could cause were enough to make even the calmest of witches lose their control.
“I’ve been expecting it. They’ve been talking about it for months now.” She slid into the chair, taking the paper from her aunt. “See the date on the filing of the original paper? It was done over a year ago; they’ve just managed to keep it buried until about two months ago now. Even then, it was rumor control until the news people got hold of it. You know they don’t trust us, or certain factors within the current government don’t; I just don’t know what we can do about it without making matters worse.”
The look on Gem’s face was priceless, that mix of horror and disgust, but it didn’t surprise her that Gem hadn’t known what was going on. With the hours she spent with her nose buried in a research book, it made sense.
Hailey sucked on the inside of her lip. Somehow she had the feeling the focus of Gem’s studies was about to change.
“They’d have been able to keep it hidden a lot longer if it hadn’t been aimed at us, but no magic user is going to help keep this hidden. No matter what they were offered. I don’t like the situation anymore than you do, but I’m not sure what we can do about it. There isn’t another election due for two more years and by then it will be too late.”
“There are other ways, beyond waiting for the next election. They can’t do this to us. We’re not second-class citizens. Shit, they aren’t even treating us as if we have the right to live, or choose our own mates. I can’t believe they’re pushing things this far.” Gem scrunched the newspaper up, throwing it across the room. “I can’t believe this, after everything we’ve done for them. What about the AIDS cure? If it hadn’t been for magic they’d still be dropping like bloody flies. We saved their damn lives and this is how they repay us?”
The cure. Oh, Hailey and everyone else with the magic in their blood knew only too well that it had been the saving grace for the planet. Even she didn’t know how many had died in order to find a way to end the epidemic, yet now all of that was about to be tossed to one side, and for what?
“They forgot about that as soon as they had the virus under control. If the fact the cure had come from us hadn’t been common knowledge then, we’d have been facing these new laws years ago.” Hailey reached for the teapot, brushing her fingers along the smooth china, a soft mantra slipping from her lips. “Here, have some tea. We’ll find a way to combat this. It’s not over yet. Don’t forget the Mages Rights Movement has a lot of magical energy at their fingertips, and a very loud voice. But also powerless politically, there simply aren’t enough of us to swing an effective vote. Oh, I know what you just said, Gem. But honestly, since when has forming peaceful protests in the street worked? Look back over history and…”
“And you’ll find it’s worked a few times. Not all, I admit that, but if we open up our spell books we run the risk of becoming the very thing they all claim we are in the first place. No, we have to work along side the MRM if we are to get anything accomplished.”
Hailey tried not to sigh as she poured the steaming brew into the two waiting cups.
Tea…what had her Mom said? That it could cure almost anything. Not this time. Somehow she doubted inviting all the politicians around the kitchen table to share a good pot of tea and some fresh cookies would have changed their minds when it came to this bill.
Still grumbling, the paper scrunched into little more than a tight ball, Gem drained the cup and reluctantly poured herself a second one. “I know, I know. I’m old and set in my ways. I can still remember a time when your grandmother taught m
e the best way to deal with a politician was to turn him into a horny toad. A very horny toad if she had her way. She had a wicked sense of humor. She always said Lady Fate needed a helping hand every now and then.”
Helping Lady Fate?
No, it had been more than that. She’d had a dark streak that had run through her a mile wide if even half the stories were to be believed. Not that Hailey had a problem with the darker uses of magic. Some were just called that way, but for Hailey it would take a rare situation to force her down that path. There were prices paid, ones she wasn’t that interested in looking at.
“I can understand you being frustrated, Gem.”
“No, I don’t think you do. This goes well beyond simple frustration. Things have changed over the years and not for the good. Look at the schools; five years ago they started requiring that the schools all report which students showed signs of magical ability. You missed that, just, and I’m forever grateful to the Goddess for that. But now, if this goes through, you’ll be listed and numbered on a file. I just can’t believe we’re going to sit back and let this happen. Something has to be done about this.”
Hailey couldn’t argue with that; she didn’t like the idea of the changes in the law any more than her aunt did. But just what was she supposed to do about it? “We just have to hope that the council will do something about this, or the Mages Rights Movement. Maybe we can work with them after all, if they are willing to do a little more than march through the streets, waving banners?”
“The MRM is still bound by the rules of the council, which effectively prevents them from doing more than forming a few protests. They’ll want to do something but if they aren’t careful they could end up arrested, or power stripped by the council for using magic in ways that are now forbidden to us. I just don’t understand it; our own people have left us virtually powerless.”
“Well, why not have it pushed to a vote? Not with the government, but with the council”
“Have you ever looked at our numbers? Witches make up less than ten percent of the voting population worldwide. The vampires and shifters might not want to wait for a vote and could well start acting out instead. I’ve been around enough vampires to know voting is not normally how they deal with problems. And the shifters, try getting more than two alphas in a room and see what happens. Our ten percent just isn’t enough to make a difference when it comes to getting the council to change their minds.”
“But it’s a start. And if we speak out then others will, not just those with magic in their blood. There have to be mundanes in the world who don’t like this idea any more than we do? And if they exist then they won’t just sit back and let this happen.”
“Maybe, maybe not. It would be nice to think some of them would stand up and say something, protest, but I’m betting that they’ll keeping silent for the most part.” Gem shook her head, the small lines tightening around her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m just so angry about this. You should be able to face a life of freedom, not one bound by strict rules, laws that would have you thrown in jail for wanting a child without filling out some application form…”
“It won’t get that far, trust me.” Hailey tried to smile.
“Take a good long look at your history books sometime; it’s been worse than this before, only it wasn’t against us. There will always be someone who’s willing to use fear and a target to try and cause problems. And this time we’re the target.”
Targets. She couldn’t argue with that. She’d seen far too many mundanes who were willing to strike out at the helpless, or people they were afraid of. Brian did it daily by verbally attacking Karol. And why? Because it gave him a sense of power.
Were the new laws any different?
Just another way of making one or two people feel better about themselves.
“How’s Karol holding up?” Gem changed the topic, though the tight lines at the corners of her mouth didn’t ease.
“Don’t ask.” She scuffed her heels on the floor. The small kitchen had been a comforting, safe place for them to talk for as long as Hailey could recall. She could still hear her mom going over the basics of herbs in spell crafting, while Hailey stood on a stool, barely able to see over the edge of the counter. What would she have made of all this? With the changes in the laws, the woman her mother had looked on as a second daughter was now barely willing to speak without checking to see if her husband could hear, and her blood daughter had been left helpless to do anything about it.
“That bad?”
“Worse. She didn’t say anything but I think he’s come close to hitting her.”
“Bastard. How can she put up with that?” Gem’s eyes hardened. “Men like him deserve every foul piece of luck they can get. He should be strung up by his balls. Or skinned, maybe both.”
“She loves him.” Hailey sighed, rubbing her temples. “Even now she’s still in love with him. It’s the only thing that makes sense or she’d have walked out on him.” No, that wasn’t quite true. Fear was a powerful chain and she’d seen that glittering in Karol’s eyes all too clearly.
“And?”
“That’s all I understand about it, she loves him and that changes everything. Or at least it seems to. Yes, I know it’s partly fear that keeps her there, but the love is still there. Or maybe she loves the person she thinks he can become?” Magic, she understood ‑‑ knowledge, potions ‑‑ but love? How could that force a person into staying in a bad situation? She was grasping at straws in trying to understand the situation. “I admit, I don’t understand how she justifies staying with him. I’ve seen women under compulsion spells with more ability to walk away than she has. I just wish I had the answer.”
“Are you sure she hasn’t been be-spelled?”
“Very sure; I’ve checked.” Magic would have been a simple answer to this, the reason behind a bright woman doing something stupid. No, that wasn’t fair, either. Love was as compelling as any spell from what she had seen; she’d just never been involved with it herself.
“He’s hit her? Are you sure about that?”
“I wish I knew for certain. I think so, but I can’t prove it. I gave Karol a charm ‑‑ well, a ward really, years ago to make sure she would never be trapped by spells, and she was still wearing it earlier today. I know, I know. I shouldn’t have been practicing spells like that before I’d completed my dedication. But it was for a good cause.”
“You never did like to follow the rules, but I guess you come by that naturally.” Gem gave a half smile. “So, why didn’t you use the ward to find out what’s going on?”
“If I had forced her to speak up she’d have known there was more to my gift than just a pretty pendant.” It wouldn’t have been worth the risk, losing her friend, not for a simple question.
“Have you asked her directly?” Gem pushed.
“Sort of.”
“And what does ‘sort of’ mean? You asked or you didn’t.” Gem wasn’t about to let it drop.
“Then no, I haven’t.” Truth be known she hadn’t wanted to hear the answer.
“Are you afraid to, or do you already know?”
Small marks, tiny things really, the way Karol jumped at loud noises, double checked who was near before speaking, and that shadow in her eyes. It wouldn’t have taken much to cover marks unless he had hit Karol’s face, and whatever she thought of Brian he was too smart to do that.
Was it her imagination or had he struck out at her friend? If it had gone that far…
“You could talk to Darrel, he might be able to help you with this.”
“Darrel? Who are you talking about?” There was something familiar about the name but where did she know a Darrel from? Then it hit her, full force and she stared at her aunt, torn between laughing and crying. “You mean Darrel Indigo, the kid from my class? You can’t be serious. How could he help? I don’t think he’s even spoken to me since I turned him down in high school.”
“He might not be a witch but he’s got the sight and a lot more,
besides. If you ask, he’ll see if he can find out without alerting the ward you gave Karol. He’s also one of the best researchers I know. If anyone can come up with a way to help you get Karol out of this mess, he can.”
Help Karol?
She frowned, staring at her aunt. Was Gem trying to suggest that Darrel was gifted? He’d shown no signs of it at school, not in all the years they’d been in the same classroom, and he’d gone out of his way to torment those with any form of magic in their blood at all.
“When did he manifest?”
“Four years ago now. Empathy, of all things. Yes, I know, after how he behaved at school it could be viewed as poetic justice, but he’s well suited to the gift.”
“I’m not about to interfere with her relationship,” she protested. “I can’t do that. She’s a human being, my best friend. She doesn’t deserve me butting in and fixing things for her.”
“You already have, Hailey. You just haven’t accepted it yet.” Gem peered over the rim of her teacup, meeting Hailey’s gaze. “Since you gave her that ward you’ve been stepping in, calling at odd hours, checking up on her, searching for ways to get her to one of the mage protected shelters. Don’t think I haven’t seen you gathering the information together.”
“Still, you want me to go and see Darrel. Snot-nosed, smart-aleck, know-it-all Darrel? The guy who put slugs down my back? Are you out of your mind?” Goddess, the man was a problem when he was a child; what would he be like now? “Just because he’s now got the gift doesn’t mean he can work with me. Besides, he might be one of those empaths who use their power to hurt people. He used to hang around with Brian, for mercy’s sake.”
“He’s changed.”
Where had she heard that one before? “People don’t change that much, Gem. Not unless something forces them to.”
“How would you know if you don’t even give him a chance?” Gem arched one well tended eyebrow at her. “I’ve taught you better than that.”
