Witchlight

by Sonya Clark

  “You really are a supercilious asshole,” she murmured.

  His face reddened with anger. He took another drink, visibly calming himself. “It doesn’t have to be this way.” He transferred the glass to his other hand and stroked the outside of her bare upper arm. His fingers were cold and clammy from holding the drink. “We can find a way to get along and work together.”

  Lizzie gave him a look of such utter disdain, words were unnecessary. He dropped his hand. She stepped around him to walk away.

  “The meeting’s in twenty minutes,” he said behind her.

  She said nothing. Her presence would be answer enough. Playing along would probably be the smarter thing to do but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Even if she did have to go through with voting for that damned ordinance, she would not pretend to like it or agree with it.

  Twenty minutes later she boarded a private elevator with a handful of others. A conference room had been prepared with drinks and a multisided monitor in the center of the oval table. Lizzie took a seat near a screen, alarmed by what she saw. News footage showed witchlight outside the bazaar, an enchanted image of a motorcycle careening through holiday shoppers. The sound was off so if the news readers were speaking in their usual alarmist tones about magic outside the zone, she didn’t have to hear it this time. The camera zoomed in on faces in the crowd, kids cheering and laughing. Quickly, it cut back to the faux concern of talking heads in a studio just three blocks from the party.

  Brice Jennings entered the conference room, gesturing at the monitor. “As you can see, the problem is escalating. One Abnormal may have been willing to turn himself in and take responsibility for his actions, but it’s clear he’s the exception.”

  The lack of a preamble and the body language of the attendees made it clear this was far from the first such meeting. Lizzie hadn’t known what to expect. She sat back and watched, hoping she would be ignored.

  A GSS executive spoke. “This is rapidly becoming an untenable situation. Too many believe these displays to be harmless. It’s like they’ve forgotten what these people are capable of.”

  Jennings said, “If this continues much longer, they won’t have to remember. They’ll see it for themselves.” He tapped the touch screen embedded in the surface at the head of the table. The newscast disappeared from the monitor, replaced by what appeared to be surveillance video of people moving small boxes out of a shipping container. “There have been rumors for years of a thriving black-market underground used by Abnormals. While it’s true much of it may be harmless, things like food and clothing, we don’t know that’s all that’s being moved through this underground. We also don’t know what kind of Normal sympathizers they may have working with them, or what those people might have access to.”

  A murmur went through the gathering. Lizzie scanned the room, seeing fear everywhere she looked.

  “We have our own allies, of course,” Jennings continued. “I have it on good authority that a well-known police detective had some sort of commitment ceremony with his Abnormal lover in recent days. I’ve expressed my concerns with Chief Decker and while he assures me the situation is being dealt with, I’ll be much more comfortable when Decker’s retirement takes effect. Having spent some time with the incoming police chief, I can assure you he shares our values. But how much damage has this detective done in the meantime? Has he shared sensitive information with the Magic Born? Does his allegiance extend beyond this woman and to all of the Abnormals? Administrator Lewis has informed me this man Perez is also friends with a known criminal and deviant who wields considerable influence inside the zone. We can keep this off the news but what if it gets out through word of mouth? How many would consider a similar drastic betrayal of the law?”

  Lizzie wanted to laugh, or perhaps vomit. Vadim would love being called a deviant by these people. She had to give it to Jennings, he was good at stoking fear and paranoia. He certainly had this crowd of sheltered, privileged idiots eating out of his hand.

  “We have to make this ordinance a priority,” he continued. “And we have to do it before we see a return of the Magic Born terrorism of years past.”

  Half the room started talking at once, shouts and whispers and even a few banging fists on the table. Lizzie tried to keep from cringing but it was impossible. She’d never seen such naked panic, not even in the mirror in her worst moments. It filled her with a deep foreboding. These people would be scared of her if they knew the truth, but she was almost as scared of them.

  The older gentleman seated next to her patted her hand. “It’s overwhelming, I know. But it’s why we’re here.”

  “Oh?” She was unsure of what to say or how to prompt him into revealing anything.

  “You’re too young, you don’t know what it was like. The bombings. The poisoned charms left at city hall, hexes thrown at police officers. I’m sure you’re concerned for your safety—being on the council does make you a target. But we’ve resolved to never let that happen again.”

  Lizzie said nothing. What could she possibly say? These people believed in what they were doing. There would be no dissuading them. The only thing to do was stop them, and she had no idea how to do that.

  “These people are a threat to our city,” Jennings said. “Their existence is a threat to the very survival of our nation. We have been tolerant. Forgiving, even. But they insist on throwing their unnatural magic in our faces. They tempt our youth, lull them into a false sense of security. But we know better, and we will stop this rising tide of pro-magic sentiment.”

  Jennings leaned forward, fingers steepled on the table. “At all costs.”

  Lizzie couldn’t suppress the shudder that rippled through her body, or the revulsion. She stared at the shiny black surface of the conference table, nails digging into her palms in a desperate bid to ground.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lizzie found her target passing out champagne in the middle of the ballroom. She locked eyes with him, her intent obvious. The young waiter smiled. Tall, rangy, with shaggy blond hair barely tamed into an acceptable style for the job, he looked like a university student. From Midtown at least, perhaps even Sheridan Village. His eyes were Vadim’s.

  She spoke to a discreet concierge, who gave her a keycard and directions. The keycard held casually in one hand, she approached the waiter. “I’d like some champagne.”

  He raised the empty tray. “I’ll have to get more.”

  “You do that. I’ll be waiting by the elevator.” She turned and left, hearing laughter from surrounding partygoers. Well, she had a reputation. Might as well use it.

  Once in the private room, he left the champagne on a small occasional table and reached for her. She placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away. “Not with that face.”

  He reached under the sleeve of his white uniform jacket and removed the glamour charm bracelet. Vadim looked like himself, concern on his darkly handsome face. “What’s wrong?”

  The room resembled hotel accommodations. Several of the city’s larger corporations had floors like this. She’d been told it was to make business meetings with visitors easier, but now she had to wonder if controlling those visitors was the true purpose.

  “The meeting Carger wanted me to attend.” She stopped, hand at her throat. “Jennings is doing everything he can to stir up panic.”

  “It makes sense. If people are scared, it’ll help him get his pet law passed.”

  “They’re all so ready to assume the worst. They think the terrorism will start again.”

  He guided her to sit on the edge of the bed. “You know that’s not what I’m involved in, right? That’s not what the underground is about.”

  “I know but none of them would ever believe that.”

  “The Magic Born were damn near wiped out of existence in this country because of that shit.” He knelt in front o
f her, her hands in his. “Nobody thinks we’d fare any better now. I get people out, Lizzie. That’s what I do.”

  “I know.” She stroked his face, fighting back tears. “I’m scared. Oh, God, I’m so scared.” Her gorge rose as her senses flattened. The lights flickered. She shut her eyes against the surging magical energy. It was coming on too much, too fast, spiraling out of control before she could attempt to get a handle on it.

  She wasn’t aware of her actions until the sound of a slap jerked her into awareness. A stinging pain exploded across her cheek.

  “No!” Vadim grabbed her hands. “Don’t do this, sweetheart.” He kissed her, a quick, hard press of his lips to hers. “Think about what’s happening. Focus on your breathing.”

  A strangled, hitched breath was all she could manage. “I can’t do this.”

  “You can do this. Just focus on grounding. Don’t worry about anything else right now, just concentrate on getting this under control.”

  “Control,” she sneered. “You know that’s what this is about, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I know.” He moved to the bed and pulled her into his lap, arms tight around her.

  “My parents thought they were helping me, sending me to that monster. He fixed the cutting scars but he’s the one who got me started hitting myself. He said I should find a way that wouldn’t leave evidence.”

  “Lizzie.”

  “Get control of your behavior, control of your magic. Stop being such a slut. Stop being such a frigid bitch.” Bitter laughter erupted, its hard edges scraping her throat as she swallowed more tears. “Now Carger wants to control me. That bunch of paranoid sociopaths want to control the Magic Born. But they can’t, not really, because they can’t control magic. It’s in our blood, not theirs, and that scares the hell out of them.”

  “People don’t like what they can’t understand,” he said, lips close to her ear. “Or what they misunderstand.”

  “The people in that meeting.” She straightened, wiping the tears from her face. “They have the power to make the law pass.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t know how to stop them.”

  Vadim sighed. “I don’t either. But right now, I gotta get those badges. It may not seem like much but it’ll help.”

  Somewhere in all that outpouring of emotion, she’d managed to ground. Whether it was his touch, or a subtle shift inside her she didn’t yet recognize, she didn’t know. Whatever had done it, she was grateful. “Go. I’m better now.”

  “Are you sure?” Indecision clouded his face.

  She knew he would blow his chance at those ID badges if she needed him. All she had to do was say the word. That’s not who she wanted to be though, and knowing that felt oddly triumphant. “You should hurry. This kid doesn’t look the type to make it worth spending too long in here.”

  Vadim grinned, obviously relieved. “Yeah, he’s a real lightweight. My accomplice could tell the potion she slipped him would hit hard. He’s going to wake up tomorrow with vague memories of working the party, but very sharp memories of the best blow job of his life, courtesy of my favorite city councilwoman.” He slipped the glamoured bracelet back on, his visage shimmering between faces for a moment before settling on the poor, unsuspecting blond.

  Lizzie threw her clutch at him. “Get out! Pervert.”

  He caught her hand, stroking the tops of her fingers with his thumb. “See you soon.” He uttered an incantation she couldn’t decipher. The air rippled in front of him, then he disappeared.

  “Be careful,” she said as the door closed behind him. She lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to stay calm.

  * * *

  The spell-check override did its job. The watch face glowed a nice, reassuring green as Vadim removed the plastic box full of blank ID badges from the most secure vault inside Galvan Security Systems. He again passed through the doorway that was the most likely place for any glamour-detecting magic tech, but this time he didn’t hold his breath. A quick bit of trancehacking into the panel on the wall sealed the room up tight. It would be a fast trip to the roof and the exchange with Tuyet, but he didn’t want to risk leaving anything unsecure in case a guard came by on their rounds.

  By the time he met Tuyet, his breath was coming in painful gasps and his lungs and calves burned. He wheezed out the incantation to drop the glamour. A whispery veil of magic fell from his skin. No longer cocooned, he took a few seconds to acclimate to the world at full volume again. Wind tore at his hair and chilled his ears. The city lights blazed hard in the dark sky.

  “You okay?”

  “Ran up the stairs. Just a little out of breath.” He handed her the box of blanks and took the matching container of fakes from her. Security was so tight for the party, even for catering staff, that they hadn’t wanted to risk him bringing in the fakes. That had been part of Tuyet’s job, in whatever insane manner she got herself to the roof.

  “I know you like to box but maybe you should add some legwork to your workout. Take up jogging.”

  He gave her the finger. “Go take a flying leap.”

  Her laughter was swallowed by a gust of wind. She ran to the edge and disappeared in a blur of glamour and some unholy thing she’d called BASE jumping. Vadim refused to approach the parapet. If she was crazy enough to jump off a skyscraper in the first place, it was her job to make sure she could do it. Even thinking about it made his stomach pitch with vertigo.

  He gave himself another minute of respite, then clutched the box of fakes tighter and hit the stairs. The office labeled Badge Control was still dark, thankfully. He checked the watch face for green then held his hand in front of the wall panel. With a push of will he entered the system, skirting passwords and other security measures to go straight for the programming. A nudge here, a shove there, and the door opened.

  In too much of a hurry, he stumbled as he walked through it. Realspace and trance overlapped in a dizzying kaleidoscope of watery color. He righted himself with a hand on the wall. Electricity sizzled under his fingertips from the various wires and cables on the other side of the surface. Shaking his head, he wiped the area he’d touched with his sleeve.

  It took longer than it should have to place the fakes in the vault as he took extra care with every step. The watch forced him to speed up, its green glow melting into yellow. Everything once again locked up tight, he hurried from the room, the last vestiges of trance falling away as he reached the exit.

  Thankfully the glamour rendering him invisible was still intact as he barreled into a security guard on the other side of the door.

  Vadim bounced off the doorframe, biting off a curse at the last second. The guard was nearly twice his size and providing his own litany of curses as he slapped at the air in front of him.

  “Who’s there? I know somebody’s there.” A meaty hand barely missed the side of Vadim’s face.

  He ducked and swiveled away from the wall. The guard brought his hand up to his earpiece, mouth open to speak. Vadim didn’t give him the chance to summon backup. He swept his leg out, bringing the larger man down in a noisy crash against the door. The guard’s head bounced off the hard surface and he slumped, dazed but still conscious. Vadim ripped the earpiece out and wrestled the guard into a headlock, easing him into unconsciousness.

  There was nowhere to hide the guard. Vadim took his anger out on the earpiece, smashing it under his heel, then took off at a run for the elevator at the end of the long hallway. As soon as the guard woke, or another came looking for him, they would know a Magic Born had made it this far through their security. Seconds after that realization would come the order to lock down the building. Tuyet hadn’t spoken of handheld magic tech devices that could render his glamour useless but he wasn’t willing to chance it. He had to get himself and Lizzie out, fast. The risk of taking the elevator versus the stairs was the lea
st of his problems.

  The Goddess or just plain good luck got him back to the room without interference. Once inside he dropped the invisibility glamour. “Come on, we have to go.”

  Lizzie had her shoes off and her hair down, and she was reclined on the bed. “What happened?”

  Vadim windmilled his hands. “Flee now, talk later. Move it.”

  She hurried into her heels and grabbed her clutch bag from the side table. “I don’t like you in this face. I can’t read you.”

  “Right now my real face is a book that says haul ass before they close up the building and keep people from leaving.” He led her down the hall toward a service elevator.

  “That bad?”

  “Minor hiccup,” he lied. “That’s all.” Except for the part about how now GSS would go through the Badge Office and the vault looking for anything out of the ordinary. They would find five hundred things out of the ordinary when they checked the badges.

  “If you have to leave, do it. I should go back to the party so I’m seen.”

  He pressed the touch screen on the wall to summon the elevator. “I don’t know what kind of magic tech they have here. It might not be safe for you to stay.”

  “You know I’m not the only one with a fake DNA test. The kind of people who can afford that, they’re here, at this party.”

  The elevator arrived, the door silent as it opened.

  “I’ll be fine, Vadya.” She squeezed his hands. “Go.”

  He looked at the watch face. The spell-check override app had red creeping into the yellow now. “This thing craps out on me, I’m made.”

  “Then hurry.” The elevator beeped. Lizzie blocked it from closing with her hand.

  “I don’t want to leave you here.”

  “Everyone in the city who’s rich, powerful and connected is here for this party. There’s no way I’m the only hidden Magic Born in a crowd like that. Even if they keep people from leaving and search the building, I don’t think GSS will do anything to risk exposing the wrong person.”