Wicked Magic

by Margot de Klerk

  “Come on, Dad.” Nathan scuffed his feet against the footwell. “You never tell me anything.”

  “If every hunter broke the rules for their children, we would have no discipline whatsoever.”

  They drove in silence for a while. Nathan stared out the window. Oxford had turned cold and grey; it was raining. Even the thought that Cynthia was coming over later didn’t lift his low mood.

  “Anna said you’re having a friend over,” Dad said suddenly.

  Uh oh. “I am.”

  “Who is this friend?”

  “Her name is Cynthia Rymes. She goes to Headington school.”

  “Is this the girl we spoke about the last time I was here?” Dad slowed the car to turn onto their street.

  “Yeah.”

  “I thought you said you weren’t involved with her.”

  “I wasn’t last time you were here.”

  Dad sighed. “Nathan, you’re meant to be sorting your priorities out, not muddling them with some girl.”

  “She’s not some girl!” Nathan scowled. “All hunters have lives outside of hunting. Why am I not allowed to?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying. You need to learn to only take on what you can manage.”

  “I don’t decide what I take on! You’re the one who pushed all this stupid training on me that I’m probably never going to need!”

  “That’s enough, Nathan.” Dad turned into the driveway a bit more forcefully than necessary and braked sharply. The moment he cut the engine, Nathan jumped out and stomped inside.

  “Nathan?” Aunt Anna called.

  “Not now, I have homework!”

  But despite the fact that that was true, he didn’t get much done. When Cynthia texted him that she was on her way over, he pulled on a hoodie and jogged down to the bus stop to meet her.

  “I am so glad to see you.” Nathan kissed her firmly. When Cynthia pulled away, her cheeks were red.

  “What was that for?”

  “My parents are so…” Nathan shook his head. “You’ll see.”

  “Are you sure they don’t mind?” Cynthia slid her hand into his. “I really don’t want to intrude.”

  “They hate everything I do.” Nathan swallowed his anger. Cynthia was looking more and more worried. “Look, don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll be nice to you.” He tugged her in the direction of his house.

  “What did they come for?” Cynthia asked.

  “Council business. They’ve been asked to look in on something. It happens occasionally.”

  “How long are they here for?”

  “However long it takes.” Nathan squeezed her fingers. “It’s okay, I guess. They’re not staying with us, but they’ll be in and out at random times. And they like to get involved in everything.”

  “And you’re not used to that. I get it.” Cynthia laced their fingers together. “You could always come to mine sometimes. Deal with my mum, instead of yours.”

  “What’s up with her, then?” Nathan asked.

  “She wants to leave town.” Cynthia sighed gustily. “Like we didn’t just get here. And find a nice place to live. And make friends. It’s just—this is what we always do. It’s not fair.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Nathan promised. I hope.

  They reached his house a short while later. Everyone else was already in the kitchen. Nathan and Cynthia joined them, Cynthia looking distinctly uncomfortable.

  “So, this is the girl?” Dad asked.

  Cynthia steeled her shoulders.

  “Hello, Mr Delacroix,” she said. “Nathan’s told me all about you.”

  Dad looked at her, weighing her with his eyes. Cynthia stared right back at him.

  “Interesting,” Dad said. “Usually he tries to pretend he doesn’t have parents.”

  “Really?” Cynthia asked. “I get the feeling he wishes his parents were more involved in his life.”

  Oh no.

  “He’s right here,” Nathan said, before they could get any further into their battle of wills. “Dad, this is Cynthia Rymes. Cynthia, my parents—Benjamin and Kathleen.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Cynthia said haughtily, as though she had proven some kind of point against them.

  “Well, at least she doesn’t back down from a fight,” Dad said.

  Cynthia made a face. She didn’t come from a family where not backing down from a fight was a trait to be admired.

  Nathan gave her a sheepish grin and gestured to a chair.

  “Have a seat,” he said and slid in beside her.

  They served themselves and began eating, accompanied by an awkward silence. At length, Aunt Anna broke it.

  “Cynthia… what does your mother do?”

  “Um, she’s a digital assistant. She does PA work for people online.”

  “Sounds useful,” Mum said.

  “I guess. It’s flexible.” Under the table, Nathan caught Cynthia’s hand and squeezed it.

  “Nathan said you might be in town for a while,” Cynthia continued tentatively.

  Dad frowned in Nathan’s direction.

  “Nathan, you know you shouldn’t be talking about these things,” Mum chided.

  “What was I supposed to do, not tell people you were here?”

  “A few weeks,” Dad said, cutting across them. “We’ve business for the Council. It’s not the sort of thing to discuss over dinner, though.”

  Silence fell again. Cynthia was frowning. Nathan cast about for something to say to reassure her, but nothing came to mind. In the end, Dad broke the silence.

  “I saw Jason this afternoon,” he said. Jason was Nathan’s cousin, Anna and Jeff’s son.

  “Yes, he said he was in town,” Jeff said. “He’s hoping to transfer to the local division.”

  “He’s getting married in April,” Aunt Anna said proudly.

  “To the Gainer girl?” Mum asked. “What was her name—Ella?”

  “Elladora,” said Aunt Anna. “That’s the one. She’s affiliated with the southwest division, so Jason’s hoping to transfer either here or Bristol.”

  “To be honest, we need the labour here,” Uncle Jeff said. “The Council runs us ragged. Did you hear about the murders last year? A journalist and a professor. Wiped under the carpet of compulsion, of course. The vamps call it ‘taking care of the secrecy statute’.” He glared at his plate as though his peas were personally responsible for vampire corruption.

  “It’s a sin,” Dad agreed. “Running the Council out of such a small city. We’ve tried a dozen and one times to get them to move to London. Or, hell, Brussels, Frankfurt, anywhere with a decent population where they could blend in. There’s just too much risk of discovery here.”

  “And of course,” Uncle Jeff said, “The civilians find out, and the vampires take it as a carte blanche to hunt.”

  Nathan sat very quietly, chewing his food.

  “What’s the new replacement like?” Dad asked. “That—Christian? He was always a problem. Savaged a few hunters for doing their jobs.”

  “He got what was coming to him,” said Uncle Jeff. “Hope the new guy does, too. Although they say it was a human who got Christian—but no one can prove it, thank God, last thing we need is the Vampire Council coming down on the hunters for breaching the treaty.”

  “An untrained human?” Mum asked. “That’s unheard of.”

  “Must have had some training,” Uncle Jeff said. “But then, it would have to be one of ours who did the training, and that would be treaty breach, as well.”

  “It’s a bad situation all round,” Dad said.

  “Isn’t it always, with vampires?” Mum asked. She looked at Nathan and Cynthia. “I hope that’s a lesson to you two,” she added. “Don’t you go getting involved with vampires. It never ends well.”

  “Yes, Mum,” Nathan mumbled.

  “Are they all that bad?” Cynthia asked.

  “Yes,” Uncle Jeff said firmly. “Don’t trust them for a second. The moment you turn your back, they’ll si
nk their fangs into your neck.”

  Nathan glanced at Cynthia. She met his eyes, confused. He caught her hand under the table and squeezed it, trying to convey that he didn’t believe what his parents believed.

  Some vampires were different. They had to be.

  Nathan walked Cynthia to the bus stop again after dinner.

  “Sorry,” he said. “That probably wasn’t the relaxing evening you were hoping for.”

  “Are your parents always like that?” Cynthia asked nervously.

  “More or less.” Nathan scuffed his toe against the floor. “They care,” he said finally. “They just don’t show it very well.”

  “You’re not like them at all.” Then Cynthia smiled. “I like your aunt.”

  “Aunt Anna’s great.” Nathan grinned. “But don’t get on her bad side. She can be brutal, too.”

  Cynthia laughed.

  Once he’d seen her onto the bus, Nathan dragged his feet back to the house. Predictably, Dad was waiting for him, stern look firmly in place.

  “We need to talk.”

  Nothing good ever followed those words, in Nathan’s opinion. Grimacing, he joined the adults in the lounge.

  “I know what it looks like, Dad, but—”

  “You are lucky Anna thought to warn us that your girlfriend wasn’t human,” Dad snapped. “Nathan, what are you thinking?”

  Oh shit.

  “It’s not like—she’s not a vampire,” Nathan said. “I’m friends with Monica. Come on, Cynthia’s one of the most normal people I know!”

  “We are hunters. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

  Nathan felt his temper flaring up again. “Well, I’m not. Thanks to you.”

  “So that’s an excuse to go kissing a shapeshifter? Don’t be ridiculous. We have values, Nathan!”

  “Maybe our values are wrong!”

  His father stared at him. Nathan watched the emotions play over his face. Confusion, anger, sadness, more anger.

  “You bring supernaturals into the house, you spend time kissing and holding hands with them.” His father shook his head. “I can’t help but feel this is my fault.”

  “What?” Nathan asked, confused at the change in tack.

  “If I had been more present when you were growing up, you wouldn’t have entertained so many doubts. If I had been firmer with you when I caught you spending time with Adrian—”

  “Dad, can’t you let the thing with Adrian go? I was seven and I didn’t know he was a vampire!”

  “I know,” said Nathan’s father. “I can’t help but feel that I’ve failed you.”

  “You haven’t failed me,” Nathan said. “Maybe I just want to… explore different options.”

  “What other options are there?” his father asked. “You’re a hunter. We are hunters. What could possibly be more important than keeping humanity safe?”

  Looking his father in the eye, Nathan was afraid. He was terrified. He steeled his shoulders. “It’s not protecting humanity that’s the problem, Dad,” he said. “It’s the way we do it.”

  The room exploded. Everyone was talking at once, Nathan caught snatches of anger from most everyone. Only Aunt Anna was calm. She crossed her arms.

  “This is completely unreasonable,” Dad snarled.

  “Don’t call your son unreasonable,” Aunt Anna replied. She got right up in Dad’s face, even though she was more than half a foot shorter than him, and glared Nathan’s father down like he was an errant teenager. “He’s eighteen. This is natural.”

  “This is not the way we work! He wants to protect this—this creature—for what? Because she’s his girlfriend? Because he’d rather hold her hand and kiss her than protect humans from vampires?”

  “It’s not because she’s my girlfriend,” Nathan said clearly. His heart raced in his chest. Everyone turned to look at him.

  “It’s not because she’s my girlfriend,” he repeated. “It’s because this is the right thing to do.”

  “Nathan!” Mum hissed, but Nathan was finished. He jumped up and headed for the door.

  “We’re not done here,” Dad called.

  “I’m done,” Nathan replied, heading for the stairs.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  NATHAN CLOSED THE FRONT door gingerly, shivering in the brisk wind which had come up. Silently, he crept around the side of the house and let himself into the garage.

  It wasn’t that excursions to the garage needed to be kept secret; it was that his parents were still around, and that after their argument four days ago, they were sticking their noses into his business more than ever.

  The garage was cold. Nathan flicked on the lights and the electric heater and settled himself at Uncle Jeff’s workbench. His latest amulet was still where he’d left it, almost complete. He only had one rune left to add, and then it would be finished and ready for testing.

  Not one of them had worked yet, but seeing as hunting was becoming an increasingly distant career option, Nathan was determined not to give up on warding.

  Flicking on the lighter, he lit the seven candles arranged around the workspace and carefully checked the chalk circle which Aunt Anna had helped him design. It channelled magic from the environment and the elements into the amulet, which Nathan placed in the centre of the circle. Seven runes, each on their own little tablet, made up his protective sequence. Of those, he’d finished six. Now, clearing the others from his workspace, Nathan set into carving the seventh. This one was brindaz, to burn. Aunt Anna thought he might have better luck with fire amulets.

  Once the rune was carved, Nathan sanded the wood and set the tablet in the middle of the circle. Picking up a piece of chalk, he closed the front edge of the circle, and then he focused his energy.

  There wasn’t really a formula for this part. All Nathan had to do was concentrate on his intention and soak the tablet in a mixture designed to allow it to absorb magic. Simple in theory; in practice, he was soon sweating and his mind kept wandering.

  Would it work?

  Probably not.

  Was this really worth the amount of time he was putting into it?

  What would Dad think of this hobby?

  Was the amulet starting to glow? Please let it be starting to glow.

  SLAM!

  Nathan’s focus shattered as the house door fell shut. That was Dad; he couldn’t seem to come and go quietly. Voices filtered down to him a moment later.

  “…seems to get more complicated by the day,” Dad complained.

  “Antonius was hinting that he thinks it’s one of us,” Uncle Jeff replied.

  Nathan froze, hardly daring to breathe.

  “I certainly hope not,” Dad said. “That’ll be a mess.”

  “If it gets back to the witches…”

  “Dark magic is dark magic,” Dad said. “The kill was probably justified.”

  “If every one of our hunters went off on their own whenever they saw a dark mage, half the witches in town would be dead and we’d have anarchy on our hands,” Uncle Jeff complained. “The treaty only works because we all keep our people in line.”

  “I know. What’s their evidence?”

  “Looks like it was done with a spirit knife.”

  A chill ran down Nathan’s spine. Outside, his father made a noise of surprise. “A spirit knife? Haven’t run across one of those in a few years.”

  “Almost unheard of these days.”

  “Can’t even think what would have happened to ours.”

  “Adrian had it.” Uncle Jeff’s tone was grim. They’d stopped moving only metres from where Nathan sat. A car door opened.

  “Can’t have been him,” Dad said. “Lore says they can only be wielded by marked hunters.”

  “That’s what I’ve heard.”

  “So we’re looking for, what? Old family. Head of a family, if they’ve got the spirit knife.”

  “Maybe. I’m not sure how many families even hold to those traditions, anymore.”

  Both men were silent for a mome
nt, contemplating.

  “Can they be sure?” Dad asked.

  “No, never sure. Especially with the bodies being mishandled. But you know vampires. They’re not going to miss a chance to pin an Abuse of Power charge on us.”

  “Messy,” Dad said. “We might have to pull in more resources. Well, we’ll discuss it tomorrow. Nine o’clock?”

  “See you then.”

  The car door slammed and the engine started. A moment later, the front door shut as well, and Dad’s car pulled away. Nathan sat where he was, not moving, staring at the faintly glowing amulet.

  Oh shit. Oh shit.

  After a few moments, he forced himself to snap out of it. This was bad. This was epically bad. He fumbled his phone out of his pocket.

  Nathan: Bad news, we need to meet NOW

  Adrian: Crap. Where?

  Nathan: Do you know how to get onto the Mound from the back? Without paying?

  Adrian: I’m a vampire. I do not pay

  Nathan: Meet me on top

  Adrian was already waiting when Nathan scrambled up the muddy bank. The first thing he did was pass Nathan a bottle of Jack Daniels.

  “I thought we might need a bit of liquid courage.”

  “We might.” Nathan sagged onto the bench and opened the bottle, taking a swig from it. It tasted foul without any mixers, but it burnt, and he was screwed, and alcohol did not judge.

  “Spit it out then.”

  “Dad’s onto us.” Nathan relayed the conversation he’d just overheard. When he finished, Adrian was silent for a moment.

  “Shit,” he said finally. “Jeremiah’s not let anything on; I’ve been working with him.”

  “Jeff mentioned Antonius. He’s the new Vamp Council member, right?”

  “Christian’s replacement.” They both stared pensively off into the darkness. After a moment, Adrian added, “It was self-defence. The law is definitely on your side.”

  “Think that’s going to fly with Dad? I didn’t report it.”

  “Can you report it now?”

  They exchanged grimaces.

  “Dad won’t like it,” Nathan said. “And I’m not sure it will help.”

  “Jeremiah will advocate for you, probably. He doesn’t want dark witches around town either.” Adrian paused and held his hand out. Nathan passed him the bottle. He drank long and hard. Vampires healed too fast to get drunk, which meant they had to drink too fast to heal. Or something. “I’ve been hearing whispers.”