The Charm Runner (Broken Throne Book 1)

by Jamie Davis

  “You don’t understand, Winnie. None of you do. That’s what they said when they sent me to the hospital. I was a warning.”

  Confused, Winnie looked at Tris and Cait. “Joey, we’re here for you. We’ve been looking for days, and we finally found you.”

  Joey groaned and put a hand to his head. Winnie thought he was in pain and started to turn to call the nurse, but stopped at his next words.

  “It’s all gone, Winnie. I can’t touch it anymore.”

  “Joey, you’re not making any sense,” Winnie said. “What are you talking about?”

  “They told me if I didn’t cooperate, then the Resolutions allowed them extreme powers in the face of what they called recalcitrance.”

  “Who are they Joey?”

  “That constable and some old man. After I woke up in the Red Leg’s headquarters, the two of them came into the room where I was being held and asked me questions. I didn’t answer them. Swore I was alone. They wanted me to turn on you, Winnie, but I didn’t. They didn’t know. They didn’t understand why I wouldn’t talk or answer their questions.

  “I would never turn on you, Winnie, no matter what they told me about what you were doing and how you were hurting people. Finally, they told me that if I wouldn’t talk and give them the evidence they needed against you, then they’d make sure I wasn’t a problem ever again.”

  Joey looked around at the girls. Winnie saw something in his eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. Fear? No, she soon realized. It was horror at what had happened to him.

  “That’s when they sent me here. I heard them arguing with the doctors before I was taken into surgery. They didn’t want to do it. But the old man with the constable convinced them. Even the doctors were afraid of him. Then they did it. They really did it.”

  Winnie leaned over Joey and reached out to grip his free hand. She was afraid to ask the room’s biggest question. But they had to know the answer, even if it changed everything.

  “Joey, you keep saying ‘they did it.’ What did they do?”

  “Oh, Winnie. They took it all away. I can’t feel it, I can’t touch it. There is nothing.”

  “What did they do?”

  “The magic, Winnie. It’s gone.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Winnie was angry. A week had passed since Joey had been sent home from the hospital, and each day she woke angrier than the last. How dare they do that to Joey? The old man he mentioned from his interrogation and the hospital had to be Director Nils Kane. He was the only one who had the power to scare a doctor into performing surgery. And they couldn’t complain; they were only chanters. No one would believe them, and even if they did, no one wanted to cross Kane.

  Winnie remembered what Danny had told her and the revelation about the Assembly from Artos. They were all hypocrites who wanted the magic all for themselves. It made her want to use it all up before they could take it from her. That would show them.

  The operation at Charmed stepped into high gear. The first thing she and Cait did was search the shop from top to bottom. Somehow, the Red Legs had known to follow Joey. They’d picked him up to catch him running charms, thinking he’d give the rest of them up. After a thorough search, they found the two recording devices. One hidden by the cash register and the other back in her office. They must have come in when the shop was closed, bypassing the alarm in some way. Winnie had reviewed the video logs for signs of movement after the store closed, but found nothing. Sweeping the store for bugs became a daily operation.

  On top of regular foot traffic and referrals, Artos had pickups for them each day. He was thrilled with her crew’s increased production. But Winnie needed more help and didn’t know where to turn for it. Danny was there, and she’d even reached out to Morgan — she agreed to come every day after class, even though the two of them didn’t always get along. Shared blood must be enough for loyalty between the half-sisters. It was enough for Winnie.

  With Joey’s abilities gutted, Winnie had to take care of inverting the flows to hide magic from the Red Legs. While she’d become quite adept at the process, Winnie was only one person, and it was imperative that she complete this step. Red Legs came in almost daily now, always at different times, to search the shop with their WORM cameras. Constable Holmes was most agitated when his men discovered nothing magical beyond the older items sitting on the shelves with their repair tags attached.

  The crew settled into a routine of sorts. Cait would pick up the drops from Artos then bring them to the rear entrance of the shop where Winnie would let her in and they’d take the charms to the basement. Winnie would start to work immediately on inverting the charms to hide them. Once that was settled, delivery of individual items fell to Tris, Danny, and Cait. Winnie stayed in the shop and worked on repairing items from regular customers. They’d set up the customer schedule so most people dropped off items in the mornings and then pickups were always scheduled in the afternoons. Morgan waited on customers after school.

  Joey came in a few days to ask if he could help. Winnie had been reluctant, but he insisted, and she did need the help. He looked pitiful. Whenever he came in the back or down to the basement while Winnie was casting or manipulating flows, he would squint and stare at her, trying to see something that wasn’t there for him.

  This was the new normal and it soaked up all her time. They were making money by the bag and Winnie was having trouble figuring out what to do with it all. She couldn’t take sacks of cash to the bank. She had to be careful showing an income greater than her shop could support. Artos had offered to run it through his businesses to scrub it — of course, for a price. She’d put him off, trying to find another option that didn’t require handing Artos any more of her hard-earned money.

  She’d already divided the revenues between the friends based on their shares. Joey got his — he’d earned it, after all. She was even able to pay Morgan for her time, which she’d never been able to do before. At first, her sister had turned the money down. After the third time Winnie tried to hand her an envelope, she finally agreed. Winnie convinced Morgan to take it by telling her to use it to pay for tuition so their father didn’t have to.

  Danny hung out in the shop more and more, steadily reducing the time he spent at home. He said it had something to do with a run in with his father. It had to be hard for anyone living in the home of a hard-core Temperance type. Today, he found her today back in the office, working on a repair.

  “Hey, Winnie, I have a run to Assembly Hill. Do you have the items ready yet?”

  “They’re in that box over there.” She pointed with an elbow to the corner, not wanting to let go of what she was doing. “Everything’s inverted already, so it’s ready to go when you are.”

  Danny stopped. Winnie looked up from her repair to see him staring.

  “What?”

  “You look like crap.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “I’m not being mean. You’re working too hard. You need a break, a get away from this place, and all the angst.”

  “I can’t. There’s too much to do. You know that.”

  “I’m not talking about going away for a week. Let’s start with a night off. Maybe dinner and a show.”

  “Are you asking me out on a date, Daniel Barber?” Damn his smile.

  “We can call it whatever you want. You need to get out. You said yourself that you haven’t been out at night for fun since the club raid. That was a month ago.” Danny came over and sat in the chair next to the desk where Winnie was working. “We all rely on you. We can’t have you falling apart because you’re stressed and overworked. So, yes, we can call it a date if you want, but whatever we call it, you should go out with me.”

  “When? We have so much work piled up — we can’t make all of Artos’s deliveries as it is.” She gestured to the stack of boxes.

  “Are we going to get these out of here today?”

  “No, we already sent out today’s deliveries. You know that.”

  “Then fi
nish what you’re doing there, then go home and change into something nice.”

  Winnie looked down at her rumpled clothes. She called it her shop outfit. It amounted to a beige button-down blouse with a name tag, worn over an older pair of blue jeans. It wasn’t the most attractive outfit, but it presented a shopkeeper’s image, and that was important. “I look fine.”

  “Sure, for the store. I want to take you somewhere nice. You deserve it. We all need to get our minds off of what’s happening out there.” He pointed to the storefront.

  Winnie had been angry for days, focused only on running charms through the shop. Maybe Danny was right. Perhaps it was time for a break. It would all be waiting for her in the morning, anyway.

  “Alright. I’ll go on this little adventure with you, but it’s not a date.”

  “Gotcha. Not a date.” He smiled again. “I’ll swing by your building and pick you up at six. We’ll have dinner at a little restaurant I know, then catch a show. There’s a traveling musical company in town from New York. They’re just down on the train and the show opens tonight. My parents have a box at the theater, but they never use it. After dinner and a show, you’ll forget all about this.” He gestured around the room.

  “We’ll see. Now get out of here so I can get my work done, or we won’t be going anywhere.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Danny saluted and went over to grab his delivery.

  Winnie followed him with her eyes before returning to work, this time with a smile.

  CHAPTER 29

  A stranger stared back at Winnie from her side of the mirror.

  She had bought the black dress with its low-cut neckline for a friend’s birthday bash a few months before. Circumstance had barred her attendance. Winnie had forgotten that she owned it until the evening found her digging through the closet in search of a perfect outfit for her non-date with Danny.

  Who was she kidding? If it wasn’t a date, she wouldn’t be agonizing over her outfit.

  “You look lovely, Winnie. He’s a lucky boy.”

  Winnie looked over her shoulder to Elaine with a crooked smile. “I don’t know, Mom. He’s out of my league. I’m not sure why he asked me out except that he’s helping me find repair work among his friends’ parents.”

  She was careful with her words. Elaine didn’t know the true nature of Charmed’s new business.

  “Guinevere Marie Durham. No one is out of your league. And I’ll not have you talking that way. I didn’t raise you to think you were anything less than the wonderful young lady you are. Nobody is any better than you just because they live in a bigger house or have more money.”

  Winnie shrank back, embarrassed by the lecture.

  “Are you afraid that this boy will take advantage of his position and hold it over you? You should call off this date right now if so.”

  “No, Mom. It’s nothing like that. I’m just not sure what he sees in me.”

  “Maybe he sees the beautiful woman in that mirror. Maybe a person who doesn’t see him as a means to his money. Am I right?”

  “Well, I certainly don’t let him lord it over me. He seems to get confused when I’m not impressed by his connections or whatever’s in his wallet.”

  “Exactly what I wanted to hear. Keep him guessing, dear, and you’ll be fine.”

  Winnie turned and hugged her mother.

  Elaine Durham had never chased after Winnie’s father for money or recognition after getting pregnant. She’d told him about the child inside her, and had explained her intentions to raise the baby on her own. It was a credit to her taste in men that he’d maintained some contact in Winnie’s life growing up anyway.

  Elaine pushed back. She held Winnie at arm’s length and looked her in the eyes. “You’ll be careful, right? Do you need any condoms?”

  “Mom!”

  “I don’t want you doing anything to derail your life.”

  “So, I derailed your life?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying and you know it. Life throws something in your path you didn’t expect and you deal with it. But, if you can avoid those hurdles with planning … ”

  “You don’t have to worry. I don’t plan on sleeping with Danny tonight. Trust me.”

  “I trust you, dear. I didn’t plan on sleeping with your father either. That’s why I wasn’t prepared and neither was he. Let me go and get you some condoms.”

  Winnie sighed as her mother turned and headed to their shared bathroom.

  Mom had bought Winnie a box of condoms the day after she’d turned fifteen. The conversation and awkward banana demonstration that had followed were etched in her brain like a skull and bones on a bottle of poison. The box had stayed in the medicine cabinet ever since, missing only a single condom, for the banana demo.

  She wondered what mothers in the middle ages had done to embarrass their daughters. There must have been something. It seemed written into the DNA of any mother-daughter relationship.

  Her phone chirped. Danny was on his way. She’d insisted that he pick her up on the corner out front. He was driving down to the Enclave and she didn’t want to make a big deal or have her neighbors see him if he parked and came up to the apartment. Winnie wouldn’t admit to herself that it might have something to do with not letting him see their tiny home.

  “Mom,” she called down the hallway. “I’m going to get going. Danny’s almost here and I don’t want to keep him waiting too long down on the street.”

  Her mother rushed out from the bathroom and pushed a pair of condom wrappers into her hand. “Put these in your clutch. Just in case.”

  Winnie wasn’t getting away without taking them, so she glared at her mom while stuffing condoms into her small purse tucked under one arm. It was barely big enough for her phone, money, and ID. Now it was bulging with condoms, too. She wanted to find a way to lose them later on, except Mom would probably notice them gone and assume the worst.

  “Bye, Mom. I don’t know how late I’ll be, so don’t stay up.”

  “Nonsense. I’m planning to binge on Doctor Odd. I’ll see you when you get home.”

  Winnie rolled her eyes. She couldn’t fault her. Their lives weren’t exciting, at least not as far as Elaine knew. She had to live vicariously through her daughter’s adventures, and those she managed to find on TV.

  “Suit yourself. Bye.”

  Outside, Winnie walked to the corner and spotted Danny immediately. Nobody in the Enclave drove a red Majestic. He had the top down and was standing next to the passenger door, leaning on the roadster’s side, draped in a dark navy sport coat and khaki slacks with a light blue and white striped button-down shirt, looking like he’d just left a catalog shoot. Winnie rushed over, giving him an awkward smile. She didn’t want people seeing them together.

  Danny opened her car door. “You look fantastic, Winnie. You should dress up more often. It becomes you.”

  “I would, but people like you would get the wrong idea about me.” She slid past Danny and sat in the passenger seat.

  He shut the door with a wry chuckle. “Still refusing to call this a date? Alright, I get it. I told you to take a break and offered to take you out on the town for some food and fun. This is just work-related team building.”

  Danny circled to the driver’s side, then started the engine with a roar. “Team building activity one: thrill driving.”

  Winnie laughed and Danny pulled away from the curb, tires squealing as cut into early evening traffic.

  Dinner was at a quiet restaurant in the Fells Point neighborhood, boasting a selection of fresh seafood caught that day and prepared with a Mediterranean flair. Winnie got to select her fish from an ice bed beside a sprawling, open kitchen area. She was blinking around at it all, overwhelmed. The waitress, sensing Winnie’s apprehension, led her to a bevy of oysters and scallops. What seemed slimy at first led into one of the best meals of her life.

  “You seem comfortable eating like this, Danny. I’ve never had anything so fancy.”

  “It’s onl
y fancy because of the setting. The chef here prides herself on creating dishes based on rustic fishermen’s recipes.”

  “Based on the prices, I doubt there are any rustic fishermen here.”

  “That’s the point. They eat like this every night. Why would they want to come here?”

  “I’ve never had my food stare back at me before.”

  Danny laughed. “That took some getting used to.”

  “So, then, you bring girls here often?”

  “No. My parents introduced me to the Black Olive and Chef Renee. I’ve been looking for a good reason to come back. But why do you care? I thought this wasn’t a date.”

  “Right, and don’t you forget it.” Winnie smiled and took a bite of her grilled tomato and garlic monkfish. “So, what’s the schedule? I don’t want to miss that show. A musical, correct?”

  “An adaptation based on a stage play. It’s supposed to be great.” He glanced at his watch. “As long as we wrap dinner in the next fifteen minutes, we should be fine.”

  “I don’t want to be late for my first trip to the theater.” Winnie smiled. “Thank you, Danny.”

  “For what?”

  “For making me pause. You were right. I needed a break from the shop and our, uh, other work. This is perfect.”

  “Perfect, huh? Good thing this isn’t a date. The pressure for the rest of our evening would be terrible.”

  Together, they laughed. And for several moments strung together for the first time in a long while, Winnie wasn’t thinking about the shop, Joey, or Artos Merrilyn.

  They declined dessert and left for the theatre. Danny used a valet in front of the theater and they entered the Arcadia Theater with linked arms. Winnie had never been anywhere like it. She soaked up the intricately-carved paneling and the lobby’s plush, red carpet. It was all so posh; she was glad she’d worn her best.

  They approached a uniformed usher by the elevator. “Welcome, Mr. Barber. It’s a pleasure to see you. I assume you’ll be heading to your family box for the show?”