by Crystal Dawn
“Probably off somewhere licking each other’s balls.”
“Yuck.” Fred whispered.
Daryl chuckled. “Maybe we’ll get promoted now. They’ll need someone to step into their jobs.”
“Not sure I want to recruit more losers. That’s the only thing they did that paid extra.” Fred said.
“All you have to do is lie, lie, and lie.” Daryl admitted. “You can do that.”
“Let’s go get lunch and leave the worries behind for now. Those two assholes will show up later.“ Fred directed.
The two guys walked off. At least they didn’t suspect anything yet. “Should we look for more prisoners?” Pru wondered.
“We could go back home. All their activity has been noted. Should we go above and beyond? Can we figure out what they are up to? The only way to figure out more is to go in their bar.” Janel said.
“I’m sure we could blend in. Either look older or younger to explain why we’d go in that place.”
“Mother and daughter maybe?” Pru asked.
“Yeah, and we’ll go with black leather. Wear it tight and over the top. Too much makeup, and I’ll laugh too much. You look young and scared. It would work.” Janel explained.
They got up and walked around the back of the hotel. Pru went for the sixteen year old look while Janel looked forty something. She went for the rough look with wrinkles on top of wrinkles. Her makeup was over the top with a bright red lipstick, heavy mascara, and too much foundation that was too dark for her. It made her neck look pale. Her eyeshadow was dark blue and smeared a bit. She had a bit of a belly with her pants too tight so it called attention to it.
Pru looked young and innocent in comparison. She also looked terrified as they walked into the bar. There were few females so they had a lot of attention. “Hey, big guy.” Janel said drawing the attention of the boss that had spoken to the guys at the pool.
“What are you two ladies looking for?” Boss asked.
“I’m Beatrice and this is my daughter Fiona. We’re looking for a good time with a nice guy like you and a friend.”
“Your daughter is a bit young, ain’t she?” Boss asked.
“She’s older than she looks, but if it worries you get one of your younger friends for her.”
“Hey, if you say she’s old enough, she is. Hey, Weasel.”
“Yeah, Boss?” Weasel asked. He stood there looking around shifty as hell. That was where his name probably came from.
“We got two lovely ladies looking for some company.”
“Which one do you want Boss?”
“I’ll take the young lady. You can take the sexy experienced one.”
“Sure, Boss. Whatever you say.” Weasel took a seat next to Janel while Boss sat next to Pru.
It was weird sitting by these guys and trying to make small talk while they all drank some beer. “So would you ladies like to go home with us?” Boss asked.
“We want to stay together.” Janel insisted.
“That’s fine. Let’s go to my house.” Boss said.
It was weird because neither male tried to do anything sexual yet. Pru had expected Boss to be all over her. She was still nervous about them accompanying them to Boss’ house. At least Weasel didn’t look tough, but Boss sure did. A spell would have to be cast quickly once they were alone. Her eyes met Janel’s and she was sure they were on the same page.
They walked to the place Boss lived at because it wasn’t far. The surprise was the place was nice. Weasel took Janel into the spare room while she had Boss in the living room. “So Fiona, you’re too young to be doing stuff like this. Here’s a card for a group that helps young girls like you. Don’t be afraid and don’t let your mom push you into this.”
“How about you? You seem too nice to be hanging out with a group like this. How did that happen?” Pru asked.
“I got a family I have to watch out for. Don’t worry about me. I’ll get out of this soon. Look out for yourself and don’t get dragged into this life. Your mom shouldn’t do this to you.”
“Don’t worry about me. She’s right when she said I’m older than I look.”
“Okay, but remember there is help if you ever need it.” Boss said. They sat around waiting until her mother made her way back out with Weasel following her.
“We’ve got to be going. Catch you all later.” Janel said as she pulled Pru behind her.
Once they were outside, she turned to Pru. “Things aren’t as they seem.”
“No, I got that too. These guys are being forced, but they intend to fight back. Maybe a little help for them would go a long way?”
“Maybe we should return home and discuss this with your mom? People forced to help the enemy that wish to fight them instead will help us.” Janel declared.
“I can only agree. Lying around by the pool all day doing nothing is tiring anyway.”
“You are the biggest workaholic I know. No one else would complain about relaxing by a pool.” Janel snickered.
“Let’s check out and go.” Pru advised.
Their checkout was accomplished quickly. They wheeled their luggage out the door and around the corner where they flashed to Pru’s family home. Her mom was in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea. She startled when they popped in.
“Dear goddess, you girls gave me a fright. When you sent the males, I thought you planned to stay a day or two longer.”
“And so we did until we made contact with their Boss. He and some of the others, are unwilling participants. They take part to secure the safety of their families.” Pru explained.
Her mother’s eyes gleamed. “That’s interesting but also not true of the two you sent. Those two are for whoever pays the most. There is no loyalty in them. They are neither good nor bad, just greedy.”
“That was our take on them as well. Boss and Weasel are having pressure applied. He suggested they had a plan to free their families and escape the life they were forced into.” Pru explained.
“I would need to meet these two in person. There is a great risk in going to meet them.”
“I know, but can’t you just appoint someone else to do it? It’s not good to risk leaders.” Pru asked.
“Only a leader can offer a deal or this kind of help. You had to know that, Sweetie.”
“I guess I did. It just seems like since you took over the position carries nothing but risk with no immediate reward.” Pru admitted.
“Leading is always an honor and taking risks for our people is the highest honor. We can only do our best and always lead from the front, never behind. You understand because you have those leadership qualities too.”
“That’s true for my leader, not my mom. It’s hard when you’re both.” Pru noted.
“It’s also hard when you send your daughters into danger.” Her mom said.
Pru could see the truth in that too. All her life she’d worked for her family’s business and while she’d trained and worked missions sometimes, the danger level that they currently had never existed before. The danger on the horizon was only increasing. Herk was out there in the danger zone too. Everyone she loved was neck deep in this thing.
“When are you going?” Pru asked.
“Tomorrow.”
“Let us go with you to protect you.” Pru asked.
“You know I have a team. They would think I didn’t trust them.”
“I know, I just hoped there was a way to work it out.” Pru explained.
“You know I would if I could. Now you two get out of here. Go rest and relax until you get called again.” Her mom directed.
“In the morning I’ll be back at work.” Pru replied.
“I’m sure they missed you since you never take off.’ Her mom teased.
“I take off when I have to. How is Herk’s mission going?”
“Haven’t heard a thing yet. I’m sure he’s fine.”
That didn’t reassure Pru one bit. Herk was new on these missions and she thought he’d been sent on a tough one for a
newbie. Even his partner was new. Being old didn’t necessarily mean you had spy or soldier skills. That was too much to assume.
Pru and Janel left because her mom seemed to want to be alone. Although Pru stilled lived at home, she had a small suite at the company. All the top management did. Position after all has its privileges. They headed there first sticking together. The two of them flashed there in an instant.
“So why was she trying so hard to get rid of us?” Janel asked.
“You noticed that too?”
“It was hard to miss. If it was anyone else, I’d think she had a hook up.”
“Maybe with my dad, but why not just say so?”
“That’s what I was wondering.” Janel said as she pulled out a bottle of wine and a cork screw.
Pru got two wine glasses setting them on the table then dug around for crackers, cheese, and meat. Some chocolates were in the cabinet too. They deserved to celebrate a successful mission. This wasn’t bad for a thrown together affair. Searching through the fridge, she found some olives and peppers to add to the tray. Not bad for on the fly.
Janel moved to her handing her a full wine glass. She grabbed a couple of olives popping them in her mouth. “Maybe she was expecting another operative? Sometimes they are incredibly secretive.”
“That’s true. It might be one we don’t know about. Maybe they turned someone? Or maybe they’re getting information from someone who fears for their life?” Pru conjectured.
“Look at us? We are so super spy. Like that British guy.”
“We’re not quite as high tech as he is. I wouldn’t mind some of his toys.”
“Naw, magic beats it all.” Janel claimed.
Since they were both witches, what else was there to say? They feasted and drank too much wine. In the end, they each crawled to their rooms and somehow managed to get into their beds. Pru couldn’t even remember doing it much less how, later.
She woke later than usual with her mouth dry as the desert while her head pounded like a drum. Work damn it! Pru had planned on going in to work like usual today. Forcing an eye open, she glanced at the clock. It looked like it would be a half day instead. That was alright since she was the boss.
Pru got up noticing she’d gone to bed in her clothes. That was something she didn’t do. Stripping off, she hurried to the bathroom taking a shower, drying, and dressing. Next she checked to see if Janel was hanging around still. She was still in bed asleep. No more of that wine because it had a strong kick or maybe just less wine.
Since she was near her office, she just moved down the hall straight to it. The aroma of coffee tickled her nose as she drew closer. Clive made the best damn coffee ever. The door was open so she entered going right to the coffee pot. Filling her favorite mug, the one that said spell me, she added cream and sugar.
The first deep drink where the hot coffee burned her throat going all the way to her belly, woke her up completely. Now she turned to greet Clive, but he wasn’t in the office. He must have taken an early lunch. The mail delivery came in carried by a young male.
“Good morning! Are you Clive’s assistant?” He asked.
An understandable mistake since she was rarely in this office. “No.”
“Okay. If you see him, tell him I got the letter sent for him. I also have something for Prudence Elmsworth.”
“I’ll see that she gets it.” She answered then watched as he handed her a package and cutie hurried away. He was too young for her and besides, she was mated. Mated. Wow, that made her feel strange. Now her attention was on the package. Hadn’t a horoscope a week ago or so said something important was coming in the mail?
It was from her great great aunt Lucinda. Dear goddess, her breath caught in her throat as she shook the object out of the envelope. It was a spell caster which could be worn as a ring, necklace, bracelet or pin. It magnified a witch’s magic. Maybe the horoscopes weren’t so far off after all. Placing it on her wrist, she liked the way it looked there.
Pru moved on with her mug in one hand and her thoughts flying around her head. Once she was in her own office, she sat at her desk and tried to clear her head. It would take a while to get her head wrapped around her change in status and her gift. Not that she’d been a wild child. No, that was Gertie. Pru had been toned down and responsible. Being mated was still so big and getting a spell caster was unbelievable because they were hard to make and there were a limited number of them around. She’d send a thank you note later.
Dependable, that’s the way executives were supposed to be. Gertie was an executive too, a lower level one. She supervised marketing and the mail department. Her sister didn’t want to work all the time. That would interfere with her fun. She would mature eventually. Not everyone had to be responsible at a young age.
Now that Annie was mated, and Pru had found her mate, would Gertie be expected to bond with hers? Pru felt sorry for her sister if she did. Her mate was a man whore of the highest caliber. Annie was clearly lucky and Pru’s mate was still up in the air. He might be perfect or less than, but Gertie’s male was bad, all bad. All the thoughts of mates was making her feel lucky once she thought of some friends and relatives that had bad mates.
All this thinking made her miss Herk. She’d been expecting hot sex but instead had gotten sent on a spy mission. Now she was back, but he was still far away. Pru was surprised she missed him. It made her wonder what they would do. Did he miss her as well? Would they get a house and live together. Did he want children and would they be pegasus if they had some?
So many questions and few if any answers until he came back. He was old enough he might have all the answers. Sounds came from the outer office. Clive was back from lunch and not alone. She listened in shamelessly.
“So you make all the decisions here?” A female asked.
“My boss trusts me completely. That’s why she took off for a week without any notice and left me in charge.” Clive said. Yeah, he knew she was here and that she could hear everything he said.
“I wish my boss valued me that way.” The breathy voice admitted.
“Aw, Sugar. If I was your boss, I’d value you.” Clive promised. Yeah, he’d value something about her anyway. Pru snorted accidently.
“What was that sound?” The female asked.
“The coffee pot makes noises like that when it gets hot.”
“Oh, alright.” What? She believed that? What a maroon! Ha ha. She must be a blonde with a brain to match.
“Why don’t you give me a kiss, Sugar? Then I have to get to work.”
“I thought you’d have more time for me.” She whined.
Poor Clive could really pick them. “If I don’t do my work, my boss won’t trust me anymore.”
“I guess you’re right, but I wanted to see the big office. Maybe we could get frisky on her desk?”
“She has the desk spelled. You wouldn’t want to turn into slime mold, would you?” Clive asked.
“Can she really do that?”
“She most certainly can.”
“Okay, if you’re sure?”
“I’m sure, Sugar. You go on.” Clive directed. She heard footsteps going away. “Now that you ruined my love life, you can come out.”
“Sex on my desk? You better never have done that.” Pru said as she stepped out of her office.
“Of course not.” Clive answered with a grin and a wink.
“I’m not sure I believe you.”
“That’s alright. You shouldn’t believe everything you’re told.” Clive suggested.
“I like the suggestion of slime mold. I did it once you know?”
“So I heard. That was why I told her that. The girl has some serious issues with you. She wants to be like you.” Clive said.
“Who is she?” Pru asked.
“She’s in the secretary pool. The girl claims to be a distant relative of yours.”
“I have no idea. It’s possible. Big family and all.”
“If she knows, shouldn’t you?” Cliv
e asked.
“My family is the first family among witches and owns the business most of our kind and other close kinds work at. Maybe she wants to be connected and searched until she found a connection. They teach us that all witches came from a dozen families that came here from beyond. We are all related if you go back far enough.”
“I see your point. Maybe I’ll ask her for more details. I’d be interested to see how far back she traced her roots. Sugar is a good secretary, but she’s not the sharpest pencil in the drawer.”
“Sugar?”
“That’s her real name. Her mother thought she was a sweet baby.” Clive chuckled.
“Poor baby is more like it.”
“She has two parents that love her. The girl still lives at home and doesn’t pay for a thing. Nothing poor about her if you asked me.”
“I guess you’re right. You can always change your name if you don’t like it.” Pru observed.
“So how is the horse doing?”
“Herk was sent out. I’ve not heard a thing.”
“He can take care of himself. I bet he’ll be back before too much longer. Those kinds are tough as hell. His second is a unicorn and everyone knows about them.”
“Knows what?”
“I guess not everyone knows after all. They can grant wishes. If they get in a mess, Herk can wish them out of it.” Clive explained.
“Then why don’t we make a wish to get rid of our enemy?”
“That’s against the rules. A minor problem can be wished away, but the fate of the world can’t be changed completely. This war was forecast centuries ago. It’s going to happen. We need every bit of luck we can get. Your pegasus and his unicorn are part of it.”
“I feel better knowing he can do that in an emergency.”
“It’s all about circumstances and on a minor mission it will work. The thing is he can’t grant his partner unlimited wishes. He’ll have to use them carefully.”
“As long as he knows, I’m sure he will. I’ll still be glad when they make it back.”
“I bet.” Clive snorted. “You just want to ride a horse.” He broke out in laughter.
“Very funny. There’s nothing wrong with wanting your mate.”
“No, Baby, there’s not. You just keep right on wanting him. Anders and I will find a girl like you eventually. Meanwhile, we’ll just enjoy your happiness with you.”
