by T S Paul
Maine. How I've missed it. Even though this was my first time driving home, it really felt as though I was coming home. The lady in the box, what Fergus liked to call the maps program on my phone had led us the entire way here. Human technology was amazing sometimes.
Along the highways, I kept seeing signs for Briarwood. I could tell the city council was pumping up the Magickal nature of our valley. Purple squirrels and Magickal vegetables. "Fergus, do you think the squirrels will remember me?"
"They should. Didn't your grandmother say your spell changed them?" He stuck his head out of my shirt pocket and watched the signs go by.
"She did. I just wonder that's all." We passed another sign for Marcella's road side fruit. I'd worked in the booth a few times. Having a Magickal Garden made growing things like apples in the middle of winter pretty easy. The valley was protected from most of the worse effects of the weather.
"Does your Grandmother know we're coming?" I glanced at Marvin who was staring at me.
"She doesn't. I thought we would surprise her just in case anyone was tracking my phone." Cat and the rest of the team were unable to, but you never know. Director Mills herself gave me this phone with the claim it was untraceable. Even so, I limited my use of it.
For many reasons, this was going to be a challenge like no other. I've been gone from the area for more than five years. A lot can happen in that amount of time. This was a business trip not personal. Marvin needed to be protected, and there I was running out of places to go. My aunt Camilla was going to be a problem as well as most of the town. I hoped the neutral status of Weres in government service applied to me too. If it doesn't, I could have a big problem.
"Hey, is that Cappy! Hi, Cappy!" Fergus started yelling from my pocket.
Up ahead on the side of the road was a black and white police cruiser. It had its flashers on as well as the disco ball. A hapless looking man was getting patted down by a police officer I didn't recognize. Following state law, I slowed down and tried to not stare as I went by. It's hard to not get noticed when your station wagon has burnt spots all over the hood and looks as though someone tried to melt their way through the roof.
"That's not Cappy, Fergus. Maybe he got an assistant. Just a tiny bit more before we get there, Marvin." The entrance to the valley was just ahead.
As we passed between the Hills of Remembrance, I could feel the boundary wards surge as they interacted with my aura. The town and valley had its own protections. A large house sat atop the hill on the left. That was where Agnes Pickleberry lived. She considered herself the town's first layer of defense against the outside world. She absolutely hated the state highway department and refused to allow them to work on the roads around here. She hexed them every chance she got.
Grandmother's roadside stand was empty so she must be in town. It was Wednesday so I would try her diner. She told me about the place, but I had never seen it. According to her, a friend needed a place to try out recipes without the bother of violence. Whatever that meant. She called it the Badger Hole. I had a t-shirt with the logo back at my lab. Grandmother claimed it was all for the tourists. I wasn't sure I totally believed her. Grandmother did things for a variety of reasons.
"Why is it that in every small town in America all the stores close in the middle of the afternoon?" Marvin could only stare at the small shops and cobblestone streets of Briarwood.
"Middle of the week and not tourist season. Remember it's only the start of Spring. Kids are back in school, and people are saving up for the summer. Winter and summer are the best time to shop here. It barely snows here, so this place is jumping around Christmas. We have a place to stay so don't worry about that." I was driving very slow through town. Grandmother had sort of told me where the diner was, but I hadn't been in town for more than seven years. They didn't care much for me here.
"Is that it over there?" Marvin pointed at a garish building with a large black and white sign on the roof. "Looks like it."
Cars filled the small parking lot of what, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me, was once the Road Kill Cafe. No surprise it closed with a name like that. There was a space open up front, and I angled the car toward it.
"You better hurry, the truck looks like it's not stopping." Marvin pointed to a large pickup that wasn't slowing down.
"Not my space you don't," I muttered a spell under my breath, and the man's engine suddenly died. Whipping into the space, I smiled. Parking Karma can kiss my ass.
Looking over my shoulder, I could see a man pounding on his truck hood trying to open it. He was cursing so loudly they might be able to hear him in the next county.
"Fergus, be good. We haven't been to town in years, and I don't want to start any trouble, please. Marvin keep close and stay away from phones." I gave both of them the evil eye.
"OK." Fergus tucked himself down in my shirt pocket. While Marvin nodded to me, I still worried that he would give us away yet again.
A wide porch surrounded the diner. Stairs, as well as a wheelchair ramp, were off to one side. Everything was painted black and white with a little badger motif decoration. It was cute. Outdoor tables lined the rail. It was a cool afternoon, but not cold. What looked like half the town was here eating. We definitely stuck out. A lot.
"Why is everyone staring at us?" Marvin whispered to me.
"Our car has Vermont plates, so we are from out of town. A few of them can see my badge. We are unusual. Lots of stuff like that. Just ignore them." I tried to put on a tourist allure, but a true glamor here would be spotted. They taught us at the Academy how to blend in with any crowd, but here on what was my home turf, I stuck out as a stranger.
The inside was like every diner I had ever been in. Tables and chairs with a soda pop counter. A food prep area had an attractive man wearing a chef uniform working at a frantic pace. He was aided by several very young prep cooks and a dishwasher. Several waitresses ran about the room taking orders and carrying food. My grandmother was at the counter running the cash register. She didn't see us enter.
"Marvin, head toward the last booth." We sat at the corner booth so I could watch the entire restaurant at the same time. My training wouldn't allow it any other way. It's why most cops sit with their backs toward the wall.
Marvin slid in first, and I followed. A redheaded waitress broke away from a table of six and approached up. She looked vaguely familiar to me.
"Can I get you, folks, some drinks?" Her name tag said, 'Marcia.' I knew a Marcia once.
Smiling, I asked for water. Marvin got a soda of some sort. My eyes marked each person in the room until they rested upon my Grandmother. She looked the same as she did at graduation. As if she felt me watching her, she froze in the act of ringing up a customer and scanned the room herself. Our eyes met, and I smiled at her. She was momentarily shocked but recovered quickly.
Marcia came back and took our order. I told Fergus I would order him a Chef salad to go, to bribe him to stay put. No need to announce my presence so quickly.
Our food had only just arrived when Grandmother started making her rounds checking on tables. She was nearly to us when I triggered a silence spell on our booth.
"That was very well done, Agatha. Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could have gotten someone to cover the diner." She smiled at me but looked at Marvin with questions in her eyes.
"Grandmother, this is Marvin. He's my current assignment. I'm sorry I didn't call. We're being hunted, and this was the only place I could think of to go." I tried to keep my voice low.
"Who?"
"The Strega. Somehow they keep finding us. Marvin here is who they really want. My team is off investigating them while I keep him alive. Can we stay with you? It's only for a week. Then I pass him back to WITSEC again." I smiled at her.
"Child, this is your home too. After you eat, head up to the house. I'll have Minerva prepare your room. Let me get back to work before someone suspects something."
Looking over her shoulder, I grimaced. "Too la
te. Trouble just walked in."
Grandmother turned to see what I saw. My aunt Camilla and her brood walked into the diner.
Chapter 14
Camilla. It was hard for me to even look at the woman that became my nemesis when I was a child. She barred me from school, turned the town against me, and stopped me from seeing my mother. That part hurt the worst. I'm an adult who works for the FBI, and I can't even see my mother in the hospital. Somehow, she convinced the hospital administrators I was a danger to her. Her own daughter!
Marcella, my grandmother, left my table and walked over to greet Camilla. I debated leaving right then and there, but common sense would have me stay. If only for a moment. Besides, half the town was in here.
"Camilla, kind of you and Herman to join us tonight." Marcella smiled at her daughter.
"His name is Peter! Herman is my ex-husband." Camilla scowled at her mother.
"Herman, Harrison, Harold, Hamilton, there have been so many I lost track. Sorry, Peter. How did you miss the joining the H convention?" A few laughs echoed across the dining room. It was a town joke she only married men with H names.
Peter was a young man with long brown hair done up in a ponytail. He looked like a musician. "My last name is Harvey."
"Ah, I see. My daughter is branching out then. Is this all of you?" Marcella asked the group.
"You know it is, Mother. Can we sit down, please? You're making a spectacle!" Camilla's shrill voice took my back to my childhood.
Grandmother sat them at the only four-top open, at the center of the room. Winter and Autumn were looking fit. I wondered if they had pursued their Magick. I could remember Grandmother telling me that Hamilton took them to the human church and forbade them to use Magick in the house. They, like me, were Blackmores.
Camilla was the real danger to me here. I was surprised she didn't recognize me. But, I knew she and Grams didn't get along so she might not have updated Camilla on my progress and status.
I watched one of the younger waitresses give them menus and take their orders. "Marvin, it's time to go."
"But I just started eating! Can't I finish my sandwich?"
"Hurry. I'll get you a doggy bag if I have to. When we get to the house I'll tell Minerva, Grandmother's cook to make you something." Sliding out to the booth I waited for him to choke down his food. I didn't want to be here one second longer than I had to be.
"Come on." I glared at the little man.
"Fine. You're the boss." He slugged down his drink and joined me.
The cash register was near the front door. I carefully walked past Camilla's table giving it as wide a berth as I could.
Three feet from the cashier and salvation Marvin ratted me out. "Agatha, don't forget to get a salad for Fergus. You promised."
I gritted my teeth as I head Camilla say. "Agatha?"
I grabbed my wallet and paid the tab. Screw the extra salad. As I put my money away, I heard her again. "It can't be. She's down south somewhere. You got rid of her Mother."
Might as well get this over then. Why not in front of the town? I turned from the counter and smiled at Marvin. "Marvin, do me a favor and sit by the door. I'll be right with you." I pointed to the bench.
Allowing my jacket to swing loose and display my badge, I stared at the table containing my enemies. "Nice to see you again Aunt Camilla. It's been a long time."
The entire diner ground to a halt as I identified myself. Quite a few people in the crowd made the sign of the cross which amused me to no end.
"You! What are you doing here? You aren't welcome in this town." Camilla's face reflected her shock.
"I'm in the FBI. I go where I want to."
"They let you in the FBI? Why? Were they looking for a Magickal disaster? I'm calling Cappy right now and having you thrown out of my town!" Camilla pulled out her cell phone and started dialing.
"Actually, I graduated with honors. Call whoever you like, but I am a Federal Agent. Local law enforcement can't hold me, and I've committed no crime here. So wonderful to see you and the girls again. I'll give your regards to Fergus. Surely you remember him?" I turned toward the door and took a single step when I felt the surge of Magick.
Everything happened at once. Camilla muttered a curse and a fireball burst into being aimed right at me. My arm came up shielding the entire room while at the same time, I cast a spell with combat efficiency freezing her fire into a frozen ball of ice.
"Breaking the first law of Magick is never a way to reintroduce yourself, Camilla. I've had Russian mercenaries exiled for things such as this." Plucking the chunk of ice from the air, I tossed it onto her table. "Nice try."
"Because you are family, I'm going to let slide the attempted murder of a Federal Agent. Death by a fireball is an automatic death sentence in this country in case you didn't know." There was a commotion at the door.
"Oh look. Your lackeys are here. This should be amusing." Two police officers entered the diner at full charge.
"You need to come with us. You're under arrest for disturbing the peace!" The larger of the two tried to grab my arm.
I whipped out my badge and thrust it in his face. "Not so fast there, Barney! Can you read?"
His partner noticed the gun holstered at my hip and shouted, "Gun."
Both of them drew their weapons as I froze them. "Such a charming town you all have here. I can see it's changed for the good."
"What the hell is going on in here..." Cappy stormed into the diner.
"Hello, Cappy. Nice to see you. I had a small discussion with your officers here."
"She's a killer! Arrest her! She's not supposed to be here!" Camilla shrieked at the man who had protected the town for so long.
Cappy looked at me, Camilla, and his frozen officers. "What did I miss?"
"All you need to know is right here." I held my badge out to him. His eyes grew big as he read the words 'Special Agent in Charge.'
"I will fill out an incident report if you wish. It will implicate Camilla over there, and you'll have to arrest her, but for me, that's a win-win. Let me know if you need it. I'll be at Grandmother's house." I took my badge from his now trembling hand and stepped around the frozen men.
"She can't leave! You need to arrest her, Cappy!" Camilla tried to stand up as her daughters and husband held her down. "This isn't over, Agatha. You aren't allowed in this town anymore."
"You are going to stop me, how exactly? Come on Marvin. Let's go." As I opened the door to leave, I muttered the counter-spell and released the frozen men.
"What was that all about?" Marvin stuttered at me as we stepped out onto the porch and down the stairs.
"Family reunion. They are never fun." The station wagon was still where I left it, but it was blocked in from both sides by police cars. Delightful.
I could hear yelling. Apparently, Camilla was still at it with Cappy and the other officers. I really didn't want to wait.
Telekinesis is one of my powers and one I practice using a lot. A new spin on it, however, is to channel the power through my bracelet. I pointed at the cruiser behind my car and dragged it away sideways. The other blocked the entrance to the parking lot. I pulled it forward and into a parking space. Hearing clapping, I turned to see about a third of the diners watching me. Those clapping were the younger crowd. I smiled at them and got into the car.
"Did she really try to kill you just now?" Marvin put on his seatbelt as I put the car in reverse and backed out.
"She did. Camilla doesn't believe the law counts for her." As the car backed up, I could see even more of the town watching me. Including my grandmother. She even waved.
"That's crazy." Marvin grew quiet as we headed toward the Blackmore Estate.
~~~~~~~~
"You have to arrest her. She can ruin everything!" Camilla grabbed Cappy by the arm. "She's breaking the law!"
"What law? Camilla, she's an FBI agent. If anyone has broken the law, it's you. You tossed a fireball, in a crowded room, at a Federal Agent! She didn't arr
est you, but I should." He shook and bowed his head.
"Me? You want to arrest me?" Camilla's volume kept increasing with each word she spoke. "I'm not the one that froze two police officers and escaped!"
"Two officers that were responding to an incident YOU reported. Falsely, I might add. They tried to arrest her even after she showed her credentials to them. Pulling a weapon on a Federal Officer means they aren't trained well, which is my fault. So yes, I'm seriously thinking of arresting you." Cappy looked over his shoulder at Marcella.
Marcella stood with her arms crossed watching the whole drama play out. She looked Cappy in the eye and shook her head at him. He nodded. Camilla might think herself high and mighty on the Town Council, but Marcella was the leader of the Coven, and that was another ball of wax.
