Hired Luck

by Mel Todd

  Whoever had written the Magic Of books knew their stuff and had managed to write in the world’s most boring manner. But I persevered until ten. Then I started getting ready for bed. Jo had given up an hour earlier and was watching a TV show on her laptop with headphones.

  My text alert went off with a jangle and I frowned at it. Usually Jo was the only person to text me. I picked up the phone not sure who it could be, probably spam.

  *You do not need to come in tomorrow. A package will be delivered to you in the morning. Read it and study what is in there. Be here Monday morning by 7.*

  I suspected I knew who it was, but that had nothing to do with not wanting to pull his chain.

  *Who is this?* I texted back, waiting.

  *Steven Alixant. Don't be late. Dress professionally.*

  How in the world did he get my number?

  I managed outrage for a whole thirty seconds, before remembering all the interminable forms I'd filled out which included my address and phone number. I wrinkled my nose in a glare at my phone, even though it hadn't annoyed me. I refused to respond, instead I threw a pillow at Jo to get her attention. "Jo, you have any plans tomorrow?"

  She tossed it back to me as she pulled off her headphones. "Nah. I'd like to get out of the apartment for a while. I'm getting a bit stir-crazy."

  She did seem a bit wired. "School not going well?"

  "Just boring and too much sitting. At least at high school I had sports to distract me," she said, shutting down her computer, and not looking at me.

  "So join one of the sports teams. You were incredible in high school." It wasn't a lie, she had been. Soccer, lacrosse, and basketball had been her sports, and she'd usually been one of the most valuable players.

  That got a smile from her as she stretched, doing that silly pose again." That would be nice, but mages aren't allowed to play. Risk of your magic helping even unconsciously is too great."

  "Ah, I guess I could see that. But hey, I know I need to join a gym; want to do that with me? As well as find a coat? Or something. The FBI jerk says I need to look more professional. And I really need to exercise more."

  "Oh, that would be great. I might not get fat with the magic stuff, but that doesn't mean I'm staying in shape and already I'm missing the work at the shop. I didn't realize it was almost a full body workout each day."

  "Good. I'm off tomorrow and except for reading a book the jerk is sending me, I just need to shop, and we can join a gym."

  Jo tilted her head at me. "What about money?"

  I froze, then sighed. "I hadn't thought about that. Dang it. I'd just gotten used to having a regular paycheck."

  With extreme reluctance, I picked up my phone and texted him. *What about a paycheck? Otherwise I'm going back to work. I have bills to pay.* I didn't need to be nice, cause he wasn't. At least that was the excuse I would use.

  *Paperwork Monday. Already have full rent waived for your housing. Salary to be determined.*

  I looked and shrugged. "Well apparently we don't need to pay rent anymore. So unless we join a super fancy gym, I think I can handle it."

  "Yay. I'm going to get you in the best shape of your life now that we don't need to worry about treadmills exploding when you walk by."

  A feeling of dread settled into my soul and I suddenly regretted this idea very much.

  We headed to our beds and I set an alarm for nine. I might as well enjoy sleeping in. Who knew when I'd get to do it again.

  My dreams that night were distracted by someone's cat crying, a soft plaintive mew. It was loud enough it that almost woke me up, but not quite and just enough that I muttered about people and crying cats that morning in the shower. We headed out and Jo was bright and cheerful. We found a suit jacket for me, signed up at a gym a block from our apartment, and had lunch out. I'd also, much to Jo's amusement, found a floppy fedora-like hat. It was a burgundy color I loved and flopped enough that with my hair brushed forward most of the merlin symbol was obscured. It made me feel better to not have it on display. I'd have to get used to the tattoos and the attention they attracted, but for right now, I could avoid.

  Part of me hated every minute out in public, people glancing at our temples. I was so used to dismissal that the double take and the wary step back caught me off guard every time. Going back to the FBI office seemed like an escape by the time we got back to the apartment. I was exhausted and just wanted to hide from everyone and everything. A package waited at the doorstep.

  "What's that?"

  "Oh, this must be what the jerk said he was sending to me." I picked it up and frowned. It wasn't the normal sender—I mean, who didn't get things from Amazing? They had everything from books to food to familiar supplies. Instead the package was from Quantico. The desire to set it back down and back away slowly washed through me. Instead, I picked it up and started to unlock the door.

  "Well, hello neighbors." We both turned to see Nathan leaning against the door jam. I'd turned in a such a way my left side faced him, not the side with the tattoos.

  I'd seen him a few times, each time I was rushing somewhere, so other than a "Hi," I'd been too busy to worry. But from the sigh Jo heaved and the way she stiffened, I guess she hadn't been so lucky.

  "Hey, Nathan."

  "I don't understand why two good-looking women aren't having guys beat down their door every day. You should let me take you out and show you the best places in Atlanta." While his words were friendly, the leer made me wrinkle my nose. He didn't scare me but there was nothing about his invitation that made me even interested in knowing him as a friend.

  "Again, I'm a lesbian. Your dangly bits don't interest me at all," Jo said, boredom obvious.

  "How would you know that? You haven't' seen what I'm packing or experienced how I could make you feel." His response was instant, and I looked at him, stunned. While in high school Jo had dated the occasional guy, but after her first kiss with a girl, she'd spent weeks in rapture over it. How great the kiss had been, the softness, the full breasts, all the things she'd never cared much about in a guy she loved on a girl: stomach, ass, shoulders, back. You'd have thought she'd discovered a new chocolate.

  "Are you really that much of an idiot?" The words slipped out without conscious thought. Me and my stupid smart mouth.

  He bristled, straightening from the slouch he'd held just a minute before. Jo stiffened and I wondered what else he'd said to her.

  "Are you calling me stupid?" he demanded, looming suddenly.

  "Well, you just implied that by looking at your genitals Jo would suddenly become delirious and decide, after almost a decade"—I might have added a few years to get that, but it sounded better than six years—"she would decide that women didn't do it for her anymore and become hetero or at least bi. I would think anyone getting a college degree would have more than enough intelligence to know it doesn't work like that. You can't turn on or off what you like, what makes you happy."

  He sputtered and his face flushed.

  "Though maybe that's why you’re still here. You haven't figured out how the world works yet. Much less how to interact with people. What is this, year five, or six?" I tapped my chin thoughtfully to make it look like I was pondering. He was one of the mage students, but from his reaction I figured I was right, though it had been a complete shot in the dark. He just seemed like the type to always stay a student and avoid having to work.

  "You know nothing. You're just a hanger-on riding your friend’s coattails while you get cheap rent. Does she know you're using her for her mage benies? Or did I misunderstand and you're paying on your back?" The cruelty in his voice slapped me.

  I was stunned to realize a week ago I might have flinched at that and worried it was true. But now, a feeling of cold dread at this is how power abuse started flashed through me. It didn't prevent me from turning and looking at him fully, my merlin tattoo bright in the sun.

  His eyes went wide, and he paled. "Wow, um, sorry. I didn't realize. I was just being friendly, you know. I won
't bother you. Please ask if you need something." He was backing up as he spoke. "Sorry to bug you." And he slammed the door shut. You could hear the lock sliding home from the other side.

  "What in the four planes was that?" Jo sounded bewildered. Me, I wanted to be sick. Disgust coated my tongue and I needed to brush my teeth, badly.

  "That was power abuse," I muttered as we headed in. I dropped the book on the table and all but ran to the restroom. A few minutes later, the bile had mostly ebbed but I still felt raw, somehow dirty. I'd just threatened him. And I hadn't needed to say a word.

  "Explain." Jo had her arms crossed glaring at me. I sighed.

  "What have you done outside of college since we got here?"

  The question threw her off-balance and she dropped into her desk chair, turning it to look at me. "Not much. Lunch out, shopping with you. That week off we had at Six Flags, but everything else has been school."

  "School, where most everyone is a mage. Or with me. A normie?" The decision was still out if that was an insult or not, but it fit, or at least it had.

  Jo frowned at me. "You know I don't care…" She trailed off and looked at the closed door. "Oh."

  "Yeah. That was me abusing power because everyone fears a merlin. That was something I didn't know until lately. And I don't like it."

  Jo sighed and pulled me into a hug. I almost resisted. I felt dirty, like a million showers could never get me clean. It sunk in, just how most people viewed mages. We were dangerous, and if you were a merlin, then you were the most dangerous one around. But I sank into her hug for a few minutes as I mourned one more thing this unwelcome event had cost me. Another chip in my rose-colored glasses.

  After a muted dinner, I opened the package sent from the FBI office in Quantico. Getting something from there was strangely cool, but I couldn't get up energy to be excited. But the book interested me. Magical Rituals. It was a slim volume, especially compared to what Marisol had gotten me. Suspecting he'd probably quiz me in the morning, I opened it and started reading. In a few minutes, reality disappeared and I was deep in the magic of ritual making.

  Chapter 23

  By controlling knowledge, you control people. When you are dealing with people capable of destroying lives, buildings, governments with a flick of a finger, control becomes very important. ~ Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov

  Getting up Monday wasn't any different than any other day, but once again I was on the morning shift. Figured. The bonus to the day was the email from Ruby EMS terminating my employee status and saying they would deposit my final check that afternoon. It didn't make me feel better, but at least I still had a bit of money. I dug through what I'd brought from my apartment and found a French press and some decent coffee. If I had to do this, it would not be in an under-caffeinated state. They slipped in my small backpack and I headed out the door as I heard Jo start her shower.

  I walked to the bus stop, having made a note of where I needed to go, and caught the bus there. This time I wore my hat, and I didn't care that it probably looked ridiculous. With my hair brushed forward, while you might see the edge of one of my marks, you didn't see all of them. I felt better but had already decided on hoodies as soon as it cooled down at all.

  I spent the ride reviewing what I'd learned, which I figured everyone else already knew, so it would just help me not ask the obvious. But I couldn't figure out how learning about ritual magic would help. From everything I read, it was personal; no two mages would do the same thing to achieve the same result. So while we might suspect they were using ritual magic, we wouldn't be able to replicate it because we weren't focusing on the same thing. And even if we were, the symbols used wouldn't mean the same thing to us.

  Then you add in the fact that the author had referenced a study saying the current breakdown of magic was wrong, and everyone had access to at least 1%, figure a weak hedgemage. It was something so small no machine could test it. But that meant even the most magic free-human could use ritual magic if they focused and were very specific and careful. It made it scary, yet also rare that it succeeded.

  Then why is this person even trying?

  I thought about it as I headed in, trying to figure out what they wanted badly enough to do that. Or, maybe it wasn't that. Why did I do things? Fear, Need, Desire. I couldn't come up with any other primal reasons.

  This is stupid, this isn't my job. I have no training for this.

  At this point I hadn't even thought about what I might like to study for. That was yet another stack of paperwork I was waiting to get. All the suggestions and ways various skills could be used. I'd think about that later. I had some time, and I wanted to make the right choice, though the idea of testing out a few classes ripped across my head. I stopped mid step. I had my degrees, I should be able to start as a junior or at least a sophomore, maybe higher.

  That realization buoyed me until I got to the door. The card key access door. I peered through the window, but there was no helpful security guard to let me in. Reluctantly, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my text messages.

  *I can't get in.*

  I stared at the phone. Five minutes, I was leaving.

  *Siab will be there shortly.*

  I started counting in my head but it being the lone other woman made me reluctant to just walk away. Either way it didn't matter. Before I reached ninety, which would have been a minute and a half, the door pushed open and her smiling face greeted me. "Morning, Cori. Come on in. Chris has been here since six. He says he thinks he has something."

  I followed her in, wondering how anyone could be so cheerful at not even seven in the morning. It was unnatural.

  "I researched more this weekend,” she said, “but I don't see anything that points to what they are doing using ritual magic. It doesn't make much sense."

  "Yeah. I read some this weekend too but I'm not sure looking at ritual is the way to go."

  And why am I talking? My plan was to nod and not say anything.

  I stifled a groan as she shot me a glance, unlocking the last door.

  "That sounds interesting. What do you mean?"

  I shrugged as we went through the door, not sure I wanted to voice the weird ideas I had in my head.

  "Everyone gather at the table. Cori, sit there." Alixant pointed at a chair with a pile of papers, badge, and a laptop in front of it. "Chris, show us what you have."

  "It took me a bit. I started the queries Saturday, worked on cleaning up and validating the data yesterday, and today I got a hit." He had been typing furiously on his laptop as he spoke, and the wall screen sprang to life. "Valdosta, three dead. Signs of incisions in the stomach and traces of candles found at the scene."

  "Why weren't we called?" Alixant’s voice was a growl and I couldn’t help scooting my chair further away. I had no desire to be the focus of his anger.

  "Because until I worked through the ME's report, it had been reported as either arson, suicide pact, or kids playing with magic. The official cause of these was smoke inhalation and most of them were covered in third degree burns which means they still haven't been identified. I've sent a note to the coroners to run them through the OMO first. They keep the DNA on file forever as far as I can tell."

  Instinctively I ran my tongue around the inside of my cheek, remembering the swab. Knowing I was in the system, that every mage was, created an odd dichotomy of support and revulsion, but it was one I didn't really have time to explore.

  "We think this mage did it?" Alixant didn't take his eyes off the information on the screen as Chris typed.

  "I think it matches the MO we are looking for, and it matches the next number I found," Chris replied evenly. It impressed me he didn't respond to the aggression in Alixant's question, but then that man rubbed me wrong. It was becoming a pattern. First Chief Amosen, now this guy. Maybe eventually I'd learn to like him too. Miracles could happen.

  It took me a second to translate MO to modus operandi. All those crime shows were coming in handy.

  "Very well
then," Alixant all but growled, glaring at Chris. I almost felt sorry for the man, but he didn't seem to even notice the grouch glaring at him.

  "The next was only found two days ago, which is why it didn't show up earlier and the location is Savannah. The victims were all found on a boat that had been docked at the end of the marina. It wasn't until scavengers started landing on the boat in large numbers that anyone noticed anything."

  My mind instantly conjured the image of birds pecking at a body taking out eyes and soft bellies. I swallowed and took another sip of my coffee. Almost out. I'd need to make some in a few minutes. Anything to distract me.

  "The only thing I have is that the owner of the boat was a known hedge and there were nine bodies found. There are no signs of a struggle. One of the windows and a door was left open so the damage to the bodies by local scavengers is severe. Until the autopsies are finished, we won't know for sure if they have similar wounds but best guess it went from one victim to three to nine to twenty-seven. It follows a logical progression."

  Alixant nodded, settling back in his chair. Today he looked much more sartorial, his jacket neat, his shirt and tie in place, the black matching his hair. "When do they expect the results?"

  "Right now their preliminary guess is the end of next week."

  "That is not acceptable. Tell them I want it tomorrow," Alixant snapped, sitting up straight in his chair. I just watched, a bit amazed. If this was how most merlins acted no wonder everyone thought that we were assholes.

  "Yeah, we can tell them that all we want. This what they are dealing with." He clicked something on his keyboard and a picture popped up. I hadn't thought I was squeamish. I'd seen a lot, after all. I got the impression of crabs, bugs, birds and what might have been a human body. I slammed my eyes shut and stood. I didn't open my eyes until my back was to the screen and I was headed to the small kitchen area.

  "Where are you going?"

  I didn't care about the demand in his voice, the annoyance or anything. I kept walking, but I did speak.