by Martha Carr
She tried to find the owner of that cold gaze tingling along the back of her neck. There were too many people on campus—too many of them wearing VCU hats—to pretend she had a chance in hell of finding the guy. Cheyenne stared a little too long at a group of football players joking around on the quad. One of them noticed her eyeballing them and thought it would be funny to raise his arm and throw horns at the Goth chick passing on the sidewalk.
She gave him a deadpan stare until she couldn’t anymore without turning her head. Readjusting her grip on the straps of her backpack, the drow halfling scanned the milling college students heading in every direction, but finally had to give it up. Whoever you are, I’ll find you.
She only had two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which meant she could head directly to her next class, ignore the lesson she could’ve given instead without even looking at her professor’s notes first, and call it a day. Which was exactly what happened, and when that class ended at 12:30, she was the first person out of the room.
“The things I put up with just for a piece of paper that proves I know how.” She thought she’d muttered it quietly, but the guy standing in the hall—around her age despite the premature balding—looked up from his iPad with wide eyes and frowned. Cheyenne almost lunged at him and told him he’d been found out, she’d caught him spying on her, and he better have a good explanation for being such a creep, but he looked away when he saw her glaring at him, his face turning lobster-red.
So this guy wasn’t the creepy mystery stalker. Cheyenne threw him a casual nod and kept walking. Pull it together and go talk to Mattie.
It took her twenty minutes to weave through the massive crowd of students heading to or from lunch in the middle of the day. None of them paid her any attention, and she did her best to ignore them right back. That had been a lot easier to do a week ago before everything got complicated.
She still got to Mattie’s office in the Computer Sciences building almost ten minutes before 1:00. Cheyenne hadn’t shown up here this early before, and the thought of standing outside the woman’s door until Mattie arrived made the halfling shuffle back and forth before she gave up. Instead, she slipped around the corner at the other end of the hall and figured the element of surprise was the best way to go.
The minutes moved way too slowly, and Cheyenne leaned her forehead against the wall with closed eyes. Even a drow halfling was really good at listening intently, but it certainly couldn’t hurt to have a little extra support. Using this kind of second sight, for lack of a better term, made her think of the last time she’d spied on someone like this. That was right before she’d crashed the FRoE sting operation at that event center.
The hallway in the Computer Sciences building, though, was empty.
You’re pushing it on time, Mattie. If nothing else, you said I could count on you being here at this time every day.
The sticky, peeling whisper of rubber-soled sandals came from the far end of the hall, matched in pace by the roll and click of Professor Bergmann’s wheeled briefcase passing over the thin gridlines in the linoleum floor. Cheyenne almost stepped out from around the corner right then, but she got a view in her mind of Mattie’s outline and that color-by-race aura. The woman’s figure was outlined in muted, shimmering silver, which was apparently the color for Nightstalkers.
“…need to wait it out. That’s all.”
The whisper would have been barely audible to anyone else walking down the hall if there had been anyone else. The half-drow’s hearing picked up on it loud and clear, without any other background interference to confuse it.
“They can’t know. There’s no way. This is paranoia, Maleshi. Just let it go and focus.”
The silver figure in Cheyenne’s mind stopped, Mattie’s keys jingled, and the knob on her office door squeaked before the woman disappeared inside. She could still see her professor’s aura through the half-dozen walls of offices between her and Mattie, but she didn’t need to keep watching.
Her black Vans moved silently down the hall, and although Cheyenne normally would’ve knocked, she didn’t bother. She didn’t even stop outside the open office before slipping in and closing the door swiftly behind her. The firm bang was louder than she’d intended, but she wasn’t trying to be quiet anymore.
Mattie let out a little shriek and jolted where she’d stopped beside her desk. She whirled to face her grad student. The woman didn’t look all that surprised to see Cheyenne standing there, but that was probably because she’d just been startled by the slamming door.
“Okay.” Cheyenne spread her arms and gave the woman a second to catch her breath. Instead, Mattie kept holding it. “I get that right after class wasn’t a good time, so I’m here now. Ready to tell me what the hell happened this morning?”
The air finally hissed out between Mattie’s tightly closed lips and ended in a wheeze. She blinked furiously and turned toward her desk again, trying to act like she had it together. Like something hadn’t snapped in her the last time she’d spoken to her half-drow student. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, kid.”
“Nice try. I can only play along with that one for a limited time.” Cheyenne slipped her backpack off her shoulders, set it on the floor by the bookshelf against the wall, and headed toward her professor. “But it’s office hours now, right? This is where you train me and my drow magic that neither of us knows that much about. Where we talk about all the stuff we wouldn’t be caught dead saying in public. Remember?”
“Cheyenne, if you have a specific question you’d like to ask about your abilities or how I can help you bring them under control, you know that’s what I’m here for.” Mattie rummaged hastily through her briefcase and tossed a stack of scattered papers onto her desk. She didn’t turn around, and she wasn’t really focused on anything in her briefcase or on the desk.
Her pulse was racing again, and that moldy, sweaty-orange smell was starting to reappear too. The halfling didn’t doubt her senses when it came to whatever her professor was trying to hide, which was apparently quite a bit.
“Drop the act, Mattie. Come on.” Cheyenne slowed when she saw the woman stiffen beside the desk, her back still turned. “We both know what almost happened in your class. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if I didn’t have to yell at you to get your attention. Honestly, I can’t even begin to guess why that happened or what’s going on with you. Maybe you’re as clueless as I am—”
“Careful.” Mattie’s warning came out as close to a low growl as Cheyenne had heard the woman’s voice go. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Stopping just behind her professor and calling that the safest bet, the halfling folded her arms and cocked her head. “Okay, so which one is it? You have no idea what I’m talking about, or I have no idea? ‘Cause one of those is a weak excuse, and the other one sounds like a warning. I hope you know by now that I don’t do well with warnings.”
For a moment, Cheyenne held a boring staring contest with the back of her professor’s head.
Mattie finally let out a long, heavy sigh and turned to face her student. The woman’s naturally tanned skin had a grayish tint to it now, and her usually glinting green eyes were a lot more glassy—the kind of glassy that came with so much fear that it turned into numbness. She swallowed and pressed her hand on the top of the desk. It looked like an attempted power stance, but Mattie’s grotesquely neon skirt didn’t completely hide the woman’s trembling legs. “The last time you were in my office, Cheyenne—”
“You mean, yesterday?” The halfling lifted an eyebrow. “It wasn’t that long ago. That makes it even weirder that you thought I wouldn’t notice.”
Mattie closed her eyes to collect her thoughts and gather her self-control again. “When you stopped by here yesterday, things changed. As I told you before, I’m happy to help with your training with drow magic. That’s as far as I can go. Anything beyond that, I’m not equipped to handle.”
“Not equipped?” Cheyenne gave her pr
ofessor what felt like plenty of time to go into more detail, but it was probably only seconds. It was enough for Mattie to clam up again, at least. “Okay, I’m calling bullshit.”
“I’m serious, Cheyenne. Improving and developing magic is one thing, but—”
“No, we’re past that. I was already planning on being here today to ask you more questions, but my priorities got rearranged when you zoned out in front of a bunch of human grad students and started casting…whatever spell that was. Did you even know that was happening?”
“We’re not gonna have this conversa—”
“Yeah, we are.” The halfling stepped forward one more time, and while Mattie still held her ground with one hand on the desk, she leaned back a little. “You can’t seriously expect me to believe that you’re ‘not equipped’ to talk about this. Not after the whole, ‘Trust me. If I trained hundreds of orcs to defend against magic, I can train a drow halfling, no problem’ bit. You were equipped enough to handle my spells and keep them from smashing your face in. You’re equipped enough to keep up this whole illusion spell.”
Cheyenne circled a finger pointed at Mattie’s face, and the professor just blinked, almost expressionless. Her lips twitched briefly in an unformed grimace. “It’s not the same thing.”
“No shit. You look like Lady Gaga dressed you this morning, you had no idea what your class was supposed to be about, and you couldn’t control your magic. And now you’re avoiding me, of all people. I mean, I’m used to getting that from everyone else, but I figured we’ve both seen each other without the masks, so why does it matter so much all of a sudden?”
Mattie sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth. “That’s exactly why it matters. You’ve seen me. I’ve worked too hard for too long to let one poor decision on my part bring everything down around me.”
The drow halfling blinked. “You think it was a bad idea to show me what you are?”
“Well, in retrospect, yes.” The woman wouldn’t meet Cheyenne’s gaze.
“You do realize that I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near as good at controlling the way I look if you hadn’t shown me it was possible, right? You helped me figure this stuff out, Mattie. I owe you that.”
“I was happy to help. Really. But you don’t owe me a thing.” The professor’s attempted smile looked more like she’d bitten into that moldy orange, and that scent was getting stronger, the longer they stood here butting heads like this.
“At least let me help.” Cheyenne shrugged and waited for a response. “Seriously, I’m not useless. I’m good at finding information if you’re trying to figure something out. I’ve gotten pretty good at using my magic the way I actually want it to work. For the most part. And it wouldn’t be the first time I helped another magical with a problem of their own. If you need—”
“I don’t need anything from a goddamn halfling who can’t leave well enough alone.” Mattie’s voice cracked through the office, and she let out another heavy exhale.
Now we’re getting somewhere. It was all Cheyenne could do not to break out in a smirk and gesture for the other woman to keep it coming.
Mattie lifted a finger and pointed it slowly at the drow halfling. “I warned you of the dangers, Cheyenne. I was very clear, and I really thought you were smart enough to take a warning like that at its full value. But apparently, I misjudged you. Either you thought I was lying or exaggerating about something I know personally—very well—or you’ve convinced yourself that the structures put in place for magicals on this side of the Border don’t apply to you. Whatever your reasoning, it’s reckless and inconsiderate of the consequences, and I refuse to paint a giant target on my back by letting it continue. No, I know I can’t stop you, but I can stop myself from getting dragged into this any further. You’re on your own with everything else, and we both know you’ll be just fine.”
“Wait!” Despite how hard she tried to keep it in, a small, strangled hiss of disbelieving laughter escaped Cheyenne. She shook her head and forced it back down. “This is just the same stuff as yesterday, isn’t it? Because I let it slip that I made contact with the FRoE?”
“There’s a big difference between ‘making contact’ and seeing who’s on their payroll. And I’m smart enough to put two and two together and say you had plenty of time to take a good look around.”
“Yeah, four days, actually. Four and a half.”
With an indignant huff, Mattie rolled her eyes.
“Hey, trust me, that was way too long for me, too. And I’m done with those—”
“You’re not done with the FRoE until they’re done with you, Cheyenne. That’s what you don’t understand. And those people being done with you means you’re dead, locked up, or sent back across the Border. In your case, shipped out for the first and last time, because you wouldn’t make it past the first night when you look like a human in your sleep, and some O’gúleesh gets fired up for a hate crime. Which isn’t considered a crime over there, by the way.” Mattie’s nostrils flared, and that sweaty-moldy-orange smell turned even more sour.
“Well, I’m done, okay?” The halfling spread her arms again, the chains on her wrists clinking. “And look. I’m still here.”
“Sure, for now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that’s the case, but I will not let anyone else’s mistakes send me back there. Not even yours, halfling.” A dry, bitter chuckle escaped the woman. “Not after what I’ve seen and all the mistakes I’ve already made without anyone else’s help.”
Cheyenne cocked her head, frowning. “You think I’m a rat.”
Chapter Seventy-One
Mattie’s lashes fluttered in sporadic jerks, and a quickly pulsing vein was starting to stand out at her temple, mostly hidden by the loose curls of her black hair spilling over the ridiculous wrap she’d made of that bandana. “I think people do what’s necessary to survive. And that can change in an instant.”
The halfling nodded slowly and figured she might be able to squeeze a little more out of her professor before showing all her cards. “Was that what you did? Give someone up so you could make your way to this side without anyone else knowing?”
“That’s—” Professor Bergmann’s gaze darted across the old, trampled, stained carpet in her office before rising to meet Cheyenne’s eyes with the first ounce of conviction she’d shown all day. “I gave up a lot to be here. None of it included another magical or another life.”
“Good.” A small smile crept across the halfling’s lips. “Now we can go back to square one, where you and I are on the same side. I didn’t give up anyone.”
“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t take your word on that.”
Man, those magicals on the other side must be seriously ruthless assholes if this is the first conclusion she jumps to.
“Fine. You can believe whatever you want.” The half-drow ruffled her black-dyed hair and slapped her hand on her thigh. “Guess I misjudged you too.”
“How’s that?” Mattie’s voice was a lot lower this time, and softer.
Sliding her hands into her pockets, Cheyenne turned halfway toward the door. If I’m wrong about this, it might be the last time we ever talk. “You need to relax, Mattie. They don’t have any records in their system of a Nightstalker anywhere near Richmond. You’re not even on their radar.”
Mattie’s knees buckled, although the hand she’d been pressing on the desk this whole time kept her from crumpling to the ground right there. Her sharp breath sounded more like a hiccup as she turned just enough to lean back against the edge of the desk and prop herself up. “How did you—”
“Figure out what you are?” Cheyenne nodded. “I told you I was good at finding information. And I know they weren’t just making shit up about their system, either. They only brought it up when they thought I wasn’t listening.”
“You… I’m not sure I follow.”
“It’s hard when you don’t have all the pieces. I can tell you what happened if you want. What I was doing with those people in the firs
t place.”
“Please don’t.” Mattie swallowed heavily, and her next exhale ended in another wheeze. “I don’t want the details, and I’m sure you don’t really want to share them with me. I’m more confused now than anything else.”
“Uh-huh.” Cheyenne eyed the woman. Mattie was still trembling, and her perch on the edge of her desk didn’t seem all that stable, so the halfling nodded toward the armchairs on the other side of the office. “Maybe we should sit.”
“Maybe.” In a daze, Mattie slowly pushed herself away from the desk and took two hesitant steps forward. Cheyenne considered offering her arm, but then her professor blinked, straightened, and spun a smart ninety degrees before booking it toward the closest armchair. She dropped onto the frayed, slightly charred upholstery before Cheyenne’s hand closed around the strap of her backpack to bring it with her. Then both confused magicals were sitting down, facing each other, trying to figure out where to go from there.
Silence was likely to piss off the half-drow faster than anything else, so Cheyenne folded her arms and dove in. “We should probably make sure we’re on the same page again first, right?”
Mattie cocked her head in apathetic acknowledgment, staring blankly at nothing a foot or so to Cheyenne’s right.
“Okay. So, full transparency, I guess. I heard you talking to yourself in the hall on your way here.” Still no real response from Mattie. “Something about ‘they can’t possibly know’ and that you’re just being paranoid.”
“Hmm.”
“Who’s Maleshi?”
That snapped Professor Bergmann out of her funk, just like yelling her name in the classroom had that morning. Mattie took a sharp breath, centered her renewed focus on Cheyenne, and slowly licked her lips. “That name is not for you. Don’t use it again.”
“Sure.”
“So, despite clearly misinterpreting the signs, I’m not getting into my background with you, Cheyenne.” Now she looked and sounded like the Mattie Bergmann the halfling had been calling her trainer for the last week, just like that. “I will say I’m ridiculously relieved to know I was wrong. Thanks for setting me straight on that one.”
