Amber- Shadow Witch

by D. R. Rosier

  He replied, “I understand, but you still need to come in.”

  I sighed and popped off the enchantment, then grabbed a travel cup of coffee and took a portal to Langley. The guards told me what room they were in, so I walked down and opened the door. On a whim I grabbed hairs from my buddies Smith and Jones. I should have done it sooner, but I’d been distracted by all the death and mayhem.

  A quick scan and I knew they were both assholes, Smith more so than Jones, but they weren’t anti-supernatural races. They just worked for another asshole that was riding them hard. Damn, I needed to stop cursing so much, even in my head. I was getting kind of bitchy, but I knew where it was coming from. A lot of people were dying, and I couldn’t stop it. Little things like that bother the hell out of me for some reason.

  It was either angry bitch or break down and cry, so I chose the former.

  “What’s up gentlemen?”

  Crap, now wasn’t the time to be a wiseass Amber.

  Bill said forcefully, “Sit Amber.”

  Crap, he never used my first name when angry. That means he was either angrier than I’d ever seen him, or he was trying to tell me something.

  “Yes sir,” I replied crisply as I took a seat.

  Jones shook his head, “So you said the dragons died, and the red ran. After that the briefing ended, so what happens next? We need to stop this thing.”

  I nodded, “I agree, after we left we tracked it back to the original camp, but before we could take care of it, someone shot a missile at it.”

  Smith asked, “A missile?”

  I snorted, “Don’t you guys know? It had to have been the military, and I believe it was your asset watching the camp from space. Anyway, after that it took off and it hasn’t stopped. I’m sure you know this, it hasn’t stopped long enough for me to attack it.”

  Jones frowned, “You can’t catch it?”

  I shook my head, “I can’t fly that fast, and it’s flying too unpredictably for me to pop in front of it and set up an ambush. I’ve been keeping track of it the best I could and was waiting for him to take a break and rest. He has to stop sometime, he’ll either need sleep or run out of magic. Although, I don’t know how long that will take.”

  I shrugged, “Obviously I can’t keep track of him while I’m debriefing, hopefully he didn’t pick now to take a power nap.”

  Smith asked, “How are you tracking him?”

  I pondered how to answer, and went with a very basic truth, “His magical aura. Compared to other supernatural races his aura is like a bonfire to a campfire.”

  “Yet, you’re powerful enough to kill them…” Jones trailed off.

  I wasn’t happy with this, one of a witches goals is to downplay their power as much as possible to the normal humans. My recent actions would just make it harder.

  I nodded, “Dragons have much more raw magical power, but Witches have more control.”

  Smith asked, “What do you mean?” just a little too keenly.

  I froze and embraced my magic then went rummaging around in their brain pans. They’d tried to get my sister to talk about her power, and now they were doing it to me, instead of focusing on the psychotic dragon causing deaths out there. At first I’d thought they were merely angry that they had no blue dragon corpse and DNA to study. But now it seemed to me like they were fishing for information on my race, and I wasn’t too keen on sharing it.

  It didn’t take me long to verify it. Apparently I had freaked out some high ups while kicking dragon ass. Never mind that I almost died twice. It didn’t matter, they were scared because they couldn’t take out this last dragon, and they thought I was more powerful. They didn’t believe I had less magic.

  Some government people got paranoid, I know, pot meet kettle, but they thought that the ability to be dangerous was equated with being a national security threat. The whole capacity equals intent theory. I was on thin ice right now, actually all witches were. The government didn’t mind angels and demons so much, even the worst of them could be taken down eventually.

  They were finally discovering that for witches that wasn’t necessarily true. Maybe I’d been doing my job too well at the CIA. This wasn’t anti-supernatural exactly, because it was more anti-anything that they couldn’t control. I packaged up my observations and conclusions and sent them to Cat before releasing my magic and letting time speed back up.

  I frowned, “How is that relevant to catching the monster killing thousands of humans, and causing tens of thousands deaths by inciting fear, looting, and rioting?”

  Jones shrugged, “It’s not really, we’re just trying to understand the capabilities of a U.S. asset.”

  “I see. It’s pretty self evident though. A dragon could easily kill me if I didn’t duck or redirect its power. Is there anything else pertinent to the threat? I need to be watching for the thing to slow down, or stop.”

  Smith shook his head, “No, but we may have more questions when this is settled.”

  Oh, wonderful.

  “Sir?” I asked Bill.

  Bill said evenly, “Get out of here Price.”

  “Yes sir.”

  I didn’t crack a smile until I was out the door. I was back in my apartment in a short time. I took a moment to cast a spell that detected electronic devices, I got many returns.

  Great, my apartment was bugged now. I bet that’s why they called me in the first place, to get me out of my apartment. I honestly had no idea what to do about it. I could burn them out, but did I want to leave them? There were cameras as well. I took the time to figure out the camera angles, and then set up the enchantment where it wouldn’t be seen.

  The dragon was still flying around, leaving havoc in its wake. I hope it stopped soon. I could stay up for six more days, but I wasn’t sure if the world would hold together that long, the riots were spreading…

  Chapter 15

  Cat’s sending had a hint of exasperation, “Come to my island, we need to talk.”

  I picked up the enchantment, and reluctantly opened a portal. Cat wasn’t someone I wanted mad at me, at all really. I wasn’t afraid she’d hurt me exactly, it was more the feeling of being sent to my room without dinner. I felt foolish and childlike when I entered the portal.

  Cat studied me for me minute. The stare heated me more than the bright sun overhead and the warm sand beneath my feet. She was sitting on blanket with her legs crossed.

  “What is the first thing I taught you child, when I entrusted part of the world to you,” her words were soft but her eyes were flinty.

  My mouth felt a little dry, “A witch always works from the shadows. Uses the smallest amount of power in front of others only if absolutely necessary, and otherwise gets the job done unseen.”

  She raised an eyebrow, “Did you forget that? While we guard against the rabid fools from gaining power, we must also understand that almost all would fear us if the extent of our power were known. Humans haven’t changed all that much you know, since the witch hunts.

  “Sure, they pretend to be more evolved, but the truth is their savagery is buried beneath modern convenience. They don’t have to hunt, kill to keep what they have, not when they live in heated houses and can buy meat at the local grocer. But it’s a thin veneer, if you doubt me simply look at the current panic, looting, and riots.”

  She paused a minute, “It is an endless truth. The rabid are our enemies, but all the rest of them are potential enemies, a simple misstep will flick the switch in the back of their hind brains and they will hunt us out of fear. So yes, a shadow witches we must be.”

  I nodded, a ton of excuses on the tip of my tongue. Sure, my mother and grandmother hid their powers well, fighting at the level of angels and demons, even risking their lives to do so. But dragons were different, more powerful, what was I supposed to do?

  She sighed as if she’d read every thought in my head, “What difference does it make if you save them all only to have them turn against us? Always it is us you must protect first. If we
are safe, we can work to ensure humanity’s safety as a whole, not individuals.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She blew out a breath, “You fought the dragon under cover, away from London, this was smart and what you should have done. The fight in D.C. was stupid, everyone saw you and your sister effortlessly kill two dragons. It wasn’t that way, but it appeared so.”

  I shook my head, “What should I have done.”

  She shook her head, “You do not see it? You should have done as you were taught, stay in the shadows. You should have let those dragons destroy the Whitehouse, and then pursued them one at a time from the shadows, killing them unseen. It sounds cold I know, you are young. But no life is worth our race being hunted, and possibly exposing this world to outside attack, not even the President. It would have been terrible of course, and I actually like this one, but I taught you that rule first on purpose. It is inviolate.”

  She smiled, “I love you child, and your heart was in the right place. We are protectors, but there are times stepping aside is the only correct decision,” her look hardened, “Now you need to do damage control, I will watch the last dragon, and call you if it stops. I don’t expect it to do so for another few days at least, it is more injured beast than anything else right now.”

  I handed the enchantment to her and then I must have looked confused because she laughed.

  “Damage control. Find the one driving the investigation, work your way up from Smith and Jones and find the one pushing things. It isn’t the President, but that’s all I’m sure of. Find them and deal with it, be creative and above all, don’t be seen. We are lucky the fight was not caught on film outside of the government.”

  I shivered despite the heat from the sun, the idea of my fight on the news channels was sobering.

  “And if I fail?”

  She shrugged, “Then we will melt into the world, and hide once again until the new scourge passes. They will need to deal on their own for a while until they forget and their fears are buried.”

  I nodded. That sounded bad though. I needed a plan and wasn’t even sure where to start. I didn’t believe for a moment that deal with it meant killing, which would just make it worse. I’d need to find the one at the top as she said, then find a way for that person to flip and step on some necks to prevent this from turning into a full blown witch hunt.

  The idea came to me to create some new spells using illusion as well. It would be better if even satellites couldn’t pick up a battle if I faced the last dragon in a remote area. Some kind of large dome perhaps that would show the area below indicating nothing was there. It was a crude idea, the equivalent of holding a photograph of an empty hallway a security camera was monitoring in front of the lens, but it should work as long as I included the lower frequency spectrum for heat signatures.

  She was right of course, I’d been so focused on the magnitude of the threat that I’d forgotten to hide and work from the shadows. That I was only twenty three and had been doing this a mere two years wasn’t an excuse, and I felt shame at the idea. I needed to fix it.

  I opened a portal back to my apartment and stepped through where there were no cameras. I wanted the bugs gone, but I still wasn’t certain how to go about it. Maybe I could use an electronic bug detector, and just do it openly. I was fairly sure they didn’t have a warrant for this.

  I sat at the table, I was in the camera but I wasn’t actually doing anything visible. I embraced my magic and started rummaging again. Smith and Jones worked directly for Samuel Jackson. Not the real one of course, whoever came up with their aliases was certainly creative. I ran through all the times they’d met with Samuel, almost every time had been in their secured facility.

  But Smith had gone golfing with Samuel once. Samuel in fact, had told Smith he did it every Sunday to get time away from the wife and kids. It was an exclusive club, but I wasn’t all that worried about that.

  I knew I’d have to be careful, they knew all the tricks and enchantments I used for spying, I was sure they’d read my file more than once. That part wasn’t a big deal as far as keeping abilities hidden, they were all low key. It was throwing around lightning and fire storms that had freaked them out.

  Regardless, it meant I’d have to approach this differently. Even to the point of not using one of my usual body types, or any of the clothes in my closet. My paranoia was definitely in full flower. I slipped into my closet and pulled out a stack of twenties, just one of many precautions I would take to avoid leaving a trail.

  Then I stood away from the cameras, darkened my skin just a few shades, changed my hair to a lustrous dark brown, gave myself brown eyes, and shifted my features a bit. Then I opened a portal to Mexico City and stepped through.

  I walked around the corner and down some stairs, and knocked at the door.

  “Who is it?” someone asked.

  I replied, “I’m looking for Juan.”

  A man opened the door and looked at me suspiciously, “What do you want with this… Juan.”

  I grinned, “Hi Juan, like my new look?”

  His eyes went a little wide as he recognized my voice, then he leered up and down my body, “Very nice.”

  I rolled my eyes and walked in. Juan was a demon, and had been known to help people in gaining a new identity. I went back to the new voice I’d picked, it was a little higher in register, but also more sultry at the same time.

  “So, Nina Alvarez. Twenty three, a hundred and nine pounds, five foot four.”

  He looked at me questioningly.

  “I’m not quite done yet, I’m going to tweak things after I go shopping.”

  He nodded in a bemused way, “Why mess with perfection?”

  I grinned, “Why thank you, but I don’t want to stand out so much, I was thinking a B cup, and a little makeup to age me and make it appear I was covering up a bad complexion.”

  He shook his head, “That’s a crime, but you’re the boss. I’ve got plenty in the back if you want to take a look. In the meantime I’ll get your new ID ready?”

  I moved into the back, and he had racks of clothes. I looked at the dresses, I needed something simple but conservative. I found a light blue sundress with white flowers on it. The best part was it was pure cotton, so I could easily tailor it to my new body. I stripped down to my panties and then slid it over my head as I shrunk my salient features to a 34B.

  I found some makeup and a mirror and made the rest happen. It was genetic, I could change my face to almost any race, but it was literally impossible for me to look average. My succubus magic, the hunter in me, wouldn’t allow it. So in this case, a little makeup and I not only looked my age for once, I was also a seven at best.

  When I went back out, Juan gave me a detailed inspection, then shook his head sadly. He handed me a work visa and a license that said I was a U.S. citizen. I thought I might need both. I handed over one of the stacks of twenties I’d grabbed, a thousand, and he smiled.

  “Don’t be a stranger Nina, come back and visit me sometime,” he said a little wistfully.

  He was cute, but it probably wasn’t a good idea, although he would more than do if I was low on energy.

  “Thanks Juan,” I said with a flirty smile.

  Then I almost laughed when it didn’t have the effect I was going for. Being average would be interesting.

  It was almost ten when I got to the country club where Samuel golfed. I scanned the parking lot quickly, I’d gotten his car and plate number from Smith’s memories, and didn’t see it here. This wasn’t somewhere I could casually loiter and wait so I moved into the main building and went right up to the counter.

  I acted a bit shy and respectful, explaining I was here for a job, that my aunt had said this was a good place to find work. I used a little mesmerism, not to force anything, just to make the man behind the counter feel a little empathy and have a good feeling about me. It wasn’t long before I was camped out on the side of the room at a table, filling out paperwork.

  I
t may seem like a lot of work, but there were cameras and security on this place. I wanted nothing to implicate who I actually was, or my true purpose for being here. It was about ten fifteen when Samuel walked in and joined another two men at a table. It took me a mere thought to pull a hair off of his clothes. I checked it quickly, to make sure it wasn’t a family member’s, or a pet hair, but it was his.

  I actually finished filling out the paperwork. I wasn’t worried about them trying to call, I filled it out in such a way that they wouldn’t want to. I also put a weak enchantment on it to give off a bad vibe. I could have just left and not turned it in, but that might have stuck in someone’s mind.

  I avoided using a portal for much the same reasons, I didn’t want anyone associating me with magic or witchcraft. There was a diner about two miles down the road, and I ordered a sandwich and soup and during the wait I dug into his mind.

  I was relieved to find that he too wasn’t prejudiced per say, but that wasn’t to say he was all rainbows and kittens. The guy would probably slit his mother’s throat in the name of national security. The surprising thing was his orders in regards to witches weren’t coming from his superior, who in fact he was hiding his latest project from.

  No, his orders came from his brother, who was General Lenard Stevens. He was doing it as a favor to his brother, since the general was nervous about witches but had no pull in military intelligence. He was an old field officer and now spent his time in committees at the pentagon. The question was if he was at the top of it all or if it went higher, or even laterally in the pentagon.

  I almost snorted a laugh when I realized he was one of the other guys golfing today, but it was too late now, I couldn’t really go back at this point. But I didn’t have to, not only was the Lenard divorced, but his brother had a good mind picture of his master bathroom.

  I slipped out of the booth and went to the ladies room, opened a round portal the size of a serving tray, then simply reached through and plucked a hair off of the sink. For once I was happy single men don’t clean worth a crap.

  When I got back to the table, my food was up so I took the time to eat. On a whim I connected to my necklace as I ate.