The story you are about to read is true. Names have been changed to protect the innocent from hostile spells.
Working with magic is dangerous. Any force that has the power to alter reality, split dimensions, and bend space ought to be handled with a healthy level of respect. Almost every mage alive knows—well, knew—someone who carelessly misaligned a candle or formed an oblong Circle. The Laws of Magic exist to define best practices and prevent mages from inadvertently causing the Fourth Great Catastrophe.
There are always a few folks who cut corners to meet deadlines. The lucky ones live to learn from their mistakes. The really lucky ones come away with close to the same number of limbs as when they started. Then there are the true rogue mages, the ones who think they’re above the Laws. Someone has to bring them to justice and clean up the mess.
That’s where I come in. My name’s Friday. I carry a Wand.
I was working the graveyard shift in the Salem Tower with my partner, Kristine Lake. It was the last week before the Vernal Equinox, and there was a chill in the air that reminded us all who was still in charge, at least for the next few days.
“Feels like Winter’s not ready to quit, just yet,” said Kris. “How about throwing another lump in the stove?”
I waved my hand and a few pieces of coal floated out of the bucket and into the firebox. The door closed with a squeak and a click. “Better?”
Kris rolled her eyes. “Show-off.”
I gave her a wink. “You’d rather I get black fingerprints on everything I touch?”
She blushed just a little and looked down at her white blouse. “No, I suppose not.”
The Council had recently determined that the rapport between lovers enhanced our ability to Meld, an essential skill for Hunters, so they had lifted an ages-old ban on intimacy between partners. There were still a good number of traditionalists of the Council, so we were expected to maintain decorum in the Tower. One reason we liked working the night shift was that we were far less likely to be visited by Councilmembers. The stove wasn’t our only means of keeping warm.
Around midnight—we always seemed to be busiest around midnight—the first call came in. A couple of teenagers had been spotted setting off Pranks in Salem, spooking a group of tourists.
Everyone’s heard about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Every day, hundreds of would-be occultists flock to the town to see if they can feel the “psychic energies,” like we’re the Underworld Disneyland or something.
Salem—like a host of other witch hunts in the past—serves as a reminder of the dangers of spooking Mundanes. It didn’t matter to them whether folks were using their Gifts for good or for ill. Anyone even suspected of using Magic was tried and hanged. By the time the panic in Salem had subsided, twenty or so people had died, and dozens more were disgraced and shunned by the Mundanes.
After the trials, the Mages in the area decided that it would be a good idea to build a refuge and weave powerful Cloaks to keep it hidden from the uninitiated. There’s an entire village in Lynne Woods—a municipal park just outside of Salem—that doesn’t appear on any map. At the center is the Salem Tower, the local headquarters for the Council of Hunters, Mages who protect Mundanes from the Lawless.
Kris sighed. “Why do Mundanes like touring Salem at night, anyway? They ought to know better than to go looking for things they’d really rather not know exist.”
“If they knew better, they’d be Mages,” I said. “What do you See?”
She closed her eyes. “It’s just the Adams boys again. They’re using a few S&M Spells. Almost not worth the effort.”
There were a lot—a lot—of teens who liked pranking tourists with “Smoke and Mirror” variety Spells, the kind that skeptics had no problem explaining away with logic, even if someone managed to snap blurry pictures to post on their favorite social media sites. While the Council discouraged the practice, the Tower wasn’t usually called in unless the Pranks truly endangered Mundanes.
“Who made the call?”
“Who do you think? It was Councilwoman Zelda. I swear that woman forgets that she was ever a youngster.”
I laughed. “Not surprising. It was so very long ago. She was already old when my father became a Hunter. What do you think, a little sabotage to teach the boys a lesson?”
Kris gave me a mischievous grin. “I love you.”
Through Kris’s Sight, I locked onto the boys and ensured that their next Prank was going to backfire. The elder brother, Tyler, raised his wand to cast a shoulder-tap spell. I reversed the spell and added my most ominous Voice.
“What do you think you’re doing, Mr. Adams?”
The boys both yelped and took off for home.
We released the Meld and fell back in our seats, laughing.
“Do you think that’ll stop them for good?” asked Kris.
I shrugged. “It’ll probably spook them enough to cut it out for tonight. They’re good kids, but they’ve got a few years yet before they finally outgrow their immaturity. Honestly, I wasn’t much better when I was that age. I practiced my Gift pulling ponytails and untying shoelaces.”
“And lifting skirts?”
I smiled. “Never without a girl’s permission. My dad would have flipped if I ever crossed that line. But even with permission, some things are better done by hand.”
“You certainly know how to use them,” said Kris. “I think I would have liked your dad.”
“He was a good man. He’s why I became a Hunter. Well, him and the other eleven generations of Hunters in my family.”
“You really are Friday the thirteenth! Hope that doesn’t bring you bad luck.”
“Not as long as I’ve got the best Seer in the world watching my back. And the prettiest.”
Kris blushed. “I’m not that pretty.”
“You are to me, love.” I kissed her. “I’ve told you about my juvenile delinquency. So what was your childhood like? I mean, if you don’t mind talking about it.”
“No, it’s okay.” Kris took a deep breath. “You know that my father’s Mundane, right? Well, when my Gift manifested, he just thought they were nightmares because of my Mom dying. But I’d See things while I was sleeping, things that I just knew were actually going on in my neighborhood.” She shuddered. “It wasn’t a very good neighborhood. The worst was when I Saw a woman being assaulted. I woke up screaming. I wouldn’t go back to sleep until my father agreed to call the police. They found her and took her to the hospital. They said she might have died, otherwise. The worst part was that I recognized the man who did it. He was a neighbor. No one believed me. Not the police, and not my father. I finally convinced them when I started describing the crime scene in detail. When they finally searched his apartment, they found evidence linking him to a number of other crimes, too.”
“Sounds like you did good.”
“Yeah, but after that everyone started acting strangely around me, like they didn’t trust me not to spy on their private lives. I was twelve, and home didn’t feel like home anymore. When my grandmother offered to take me off my father’s hands, he seemed glad to be rid of me. I was afraid of her, at first, until I realized that she understood me. She was a Seer, too. So was my mom, I found out. She’d hid that from my father.” Kris sighed. “Going to live with Grandma was the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t feel like a freak anymore.”
I laughed. “We’re all freaks, in one way or another.”
“True, but when the folks around you are the same kind of weird, it’s a lot more pleasant, you know?” She grasped my hand. “I’m glad I’ve got you, Joe.”
I squeezed hers. “You and me, both.”
We spent most of the shift answering nuisance calls like the Adams boys, but around three o’clock, Kris started shaking.
“What’s wrong?”
“Something big’s going down,” she said, rubbing her temples. “I Saw something out on Winter Island before someone threw up a massive Shield.”
“You alright?”
“I’m going to have a serious headache tomorrow for sure.”
“I’ll nurse you through it. What else?”
She shook her head. “I can’t break through. The Shield’s too dense.”
I shrugged. “That means we’re going to have to go out there. Call in Duke and Starr.”
She nodded. “They’ll meet us at the park entrance.”
It took us about half an hour to reach Winter Island Park. Duke and Starr and a few Mundane police officers had cordoned off the road. The only other way on or off the island would be by boat. Or by Porting, but I doubted that anyone expending that much power on shielding was going to be in any condition to create a Portal.
Assuming he was working alone, anyway.
I glanced at Kris. “It must be pretty big if it got the attention of the Mundane LEOs. I hope they’re all read into the Magic Act, or this is going to get tense.”
Kris frowned. “I hope so, too. I hate manipulating folks’ memories.”
We climbed out of my car and Duke introduced us to the locals. “This is Sergeant Morton of the Salem PD. Says he got a call about a person gone missing out here.”
Morton shook my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
I started at his touch. “You’re a mage.”
He nodded. “I’m the department’s resident Seer, Journeyman Class.”
Kris raised an eyebrow. “Since when do Mundane police forces employ mages?”
“You’d be surprised,” said Morton. “To be honest, not many higher-ups believe I’m a Seer. To them, I’m just a simple profiler who happens to be extremely accurate most of the time. That’s how I got promoted to Sergeant so quickly.”
“So what can you tell us about your case?” I said. “Are you sure it overlaps with ours?”
“I’d bet you lunch on it, Hunter.” He rubbed his temples. “As soon as I got here, I started Scanning. The shielding almost sent me into convulsions. I’m afraid I’m not going to be much help, but my men here will do what they can to back you up.”
I cleared my throat. “I trust they have clearance?”
“Oh, yes. Some may be skeptical about Magic, but I’ve personally warned them about what they might see, and who they can and can’t talk to about it afterward.”
“That’ll have to do.”
Duke and Starr began combing the west side of the island while Kris and I took the east. We each took a handful of officers with us. “How’re you doing, Kris?”
“Morton wasn’t kidding about the shields. When we’re done here, I’m going to need a lot of chocolate and a nap.” Kris pointed toward a copse of trees. “I think what we’re looking for is that way. The lighthouse, or part of the old fort. I See stairs leading underground.” “The fort, then,” said one of the officers. “There’s a couple of ammo bunkers, and an old barracks built into mounds.”
When we got to the bunker, the officers drew their sidearms. The padlocked iron door that normally sealed the bunker had been torn off its rusty hinges and lay at least twenty feet away.
“I guess we can rule out the Fey,” said Kris. “They couldn’t have done that to iron.”
One of the officers raised an eyebrow. “What the hell can do that to iron?”
“I wouldn’t even want to speculate,” I said, “but I doubt bullets would have much of an effect on it. You should put your gun away, I think.”
The man shivered a bit, then followed my suggestion. “Do this a lot, do you?”
“More than I care to think about,” I said. “Kris?”
“I already Called Duke and Starr. They’re high-tailing it.”
Once our backup arrived, we crossed the threshold into the bunker.
“This is not how I remember this place,” said one of the officers.
I nodded. “We’re not in Salem anymore, I think. Well, we’re in Salem, but we’ve entered a Pocket. Looks like a pretty big one, too.”
“How much Power does it take to make a place like this?”
“Enough to make me a little nervous. We’re dealing with an L4 Adept, at least.”
“Uh, what level are you, sir?”
“He’s L6,” said Kris. “He doesn’t like to boast about it.”
“There’s more to a Mage than Power,” I said. “The strongest don’t always win in a contest of wits. I’ve seen clever Novices put even high-level Adepts in their places. I think it would be best if we stay together.”
Around a bend, the passage divided into two.
“So much for staying together,” said Duke. “If we only go down one path, our target might be able to get behind us and escape. Or set up an ambush. Should we split up?”
I swore under my breath. “I don’t like it, but I guess we must. You and your team go right. We’ll go left.”
“What if the tunnels split again?” said Starr.
“We can probably count on it,” I said. “Don’t spread too thin. If you come to another divide, leave a guard there and continue on. If you do find a dead-end, you can double back and take a different route.”
“Unless the paths change,” said Duke. “This maze could be designed to entrap wanderers.”
I nodded. “We’re not wanderers. We’re searchers. As long as we keep our goal in mind, we won’t be trapped.”
“Sir?” said one of the officers. “What exactly is our goal?”
Kris gave him a startled look. “Don’t you remember? The girl? You’re looking for a missing girl!”
The Mundane officers just looked at us blankly.
“Oh, Hell,” said Starr. “They’re under a Lethe enchantment.”
“It’s probably built into the maze,” I said. “No wonder the girl went missing. You two take these men back outside.”
“And leave you without backup?”
“These Mundanes are in far more danger than we are.”
“Can’t argue there. We’ll be right back.” Duke gave Starr a nod and they guided the confused officers back toward the exit.
Once they were all out of sight, Kris knelt down and touched the ground. “I can See the girl, now that there are fewer people here. She passed this way barely three hours ago. She wasn’t coerced. She was looking for someone. A boy she met at school. He was going to show her something.” She stood up and pointed. “She took the left passage.”
“Right. I’ll leave a Mark for the others to follow.” I traced a figure on the ground with my wand. “It’ll also help us find our way out later. I hope.”
We came to several similar splits. At each juncture, Kris used her Talent to determine which path the girl had taken, and I placed a Mark.
“She was getting frightened,” said Kris. “She thought she might have been going around in circles. I can’t say I blame her. How would the Mage who created this be able to find his own way around?”
“He wouldn’t have to,” I said. “He probably has a Back Door that leads him right to the center. This Pocket was created to keep outsiders from accidentally stumbling in on whatever he was working on, while causing his intended victim to eventually find her way in. He probably wanted her good and terrified by the time she found him.”
“That’s bad,” said Kris. “You think he’s after a sacrifice?”
“It is the Ides of March,” I said. “Summer and Winter are in balance for the next week or so. A blood sacrifice could be made without having to share the power.”
Kris shuddered. “We need to find the girl before it’s too late.”
“And whoever is behind this,” I said. “This kind of planning doesn’t go into a thing one only intends to do once.”
“How have we never discovered this before? I thought we Hunters were supposed to be on top of things.”
“Maybe this Mage travels,” I said. “Not every region has a Tower, or even Hunters. And there are some places where the Laws of Magic aren’t enforced.”
“Or even acknowledged,” said Kris. “I know, but still.”
I took her by the hand. “Stay sharp. We’ll get this guy. And we won’t let him get the girl.”
We followed the girl’s trail for what felt like hours. Kris finally let out an exasperated breath. “Where the Hell are Duke and Starr? They should have caught up to us by now.”
“We’re in a Pocket,” I said. “We’ve no idea how quickly time passes in here in relation to out there. By their reckoning, they may have only just left.”
“I hate these things, Joe.”
“They’re not all that bad. We’ve made good use of one in the past.”
Kris smiled in spite of herself. “Okay, that’s true. But I hate this one.”
“I won’t argue with you. This one seems to have been formed out of malevolence, and for an ill purpose.”
“We’re getting close. The girl’s terrified, Joe. She’s hurt, too, but I can’t tell how badly.”
“Any sign of her tormentor?”
“No, not yet. If he’s here, he’s well-shielded.”
The passageway opened up into a chamber so vast that the light from my Illuminator couldn’t reach the far walls or ceiling, only the floor, and that only for thirty yards or so in any direction. I increased the potency of the spell, to not much avail.
At the sight of our light, the girl began to call and weep. “Help me, please!” The sound of her voice echoed around the chamber, making it hard for me to pinpoint her location.
Kris locked onto her almost immediately. “We’re coming to help! Stay where you are. That way, Joe.”
We found the girl lying curled up on the ground, weeping and shaking. Her jeans were torn, and she was bleeding from several scrapes and cuts she must have received stumbling and falling in the darkness. Kris hugged her gently. “It’s alright, dear. It’s almost over.”
“Who are you? Are you the police?”
“We work with the police. My name is Kristine. This is Joe. What’s your name?”
“J-Jana.” The girl’s eyes widened when she realized where the light was coming from. “Are you… wizards?”
I smiled. “We prefer to use the term ‘Mage,’ but yes. I’m a Caster, and Kris is a Seer. Are you hurt? Can you walk?”
“I-I think so. I twisted my ankle, and scraped my hands and knees when I fell, but I don’t think anything’s broken.”
Kris helped Jana to her feet. “You can lean on me if you need to.”
The sound of laughter filled the chamber, echoing around us. Jana buried her face in Kris’s chest and sobbed.
“I just knew a Friday would come to save the day,” said the voice of a boy whose voice had apparently just begun deepening. “Father always said that the Fridays were a meddlesome line, even among Hunters.”
Jana lifted her head. “Is that you, Lyle? Why are you doing this? I thought you liked me!”
“Ah, but I do, Jana. I was going to have so much fun with you. Your fear is so delightful. Your pain would have been more so. I would have made it last for hours.”
“You’re not going to lay a hand on this girl,” I said. “You’re going to have to go through me, Lyle.”
“Oh, you are a meddler, aren’t you?” A mage-light appeared about ten yards away. A hooded figure stepped into the light. His mouth, the only part of his face I could see, was set in a hideous grin. “You are mistaken. I’ll go through Jana to get to you.”
“Me? What have I ever done to you?”
“You’re the great Hunter, Joe Friday. Your father was a Hunter, and his before him, and so on, all the way back to the Witch Trials. Thirteen generations of meddlers.”
“Who are you, Lyle? Why do you know my family so well?”
“Our families have crossed paths before. My father fought your grandfather to the death. It was six against one, and still he managed to kill all of them before he fell.”
“That battle was at least fifty years ago. If the Pathophage was your father, you’re a lot older than you seem. You should be collecting Social Security, not tormenting teenagers.”
“I’d think your voice would have changed by now,” said Kris.
Lyle spat. “Silence! How dare you mock me? I have sculpted this appearance to best lure sweet young things like Jana to my playground. It has served me well for six decades. I’ve traveled the world over, feeding off the terror and pain of young men and women. And the Hunters who have tried to stop me.” His foul grin returned. “Including your father.”
My face grew hot as I began drawing in Power.
“Joe, don’t,” pleaded Kris. “Can’t you see he’s baiting you? He wants you to attack him.”
I drew in a deep breath. “You’re right.” I kept my reserves ready, but I resolved not to strike first. “Hunting is a dangerous job, Lyle. Don’t think you’re special just because you’re one of hundreds of monsters who have succeeded in killing a few of us. You’re nothing.”
“We’ll just see about that. Take them!”
Four wolf-like beasts bounded out of the darkness and exploded into sparks and fire as they came into contact with the shields, which I had barely had time to raise. Jana screamed and squeezed Kris even tighter.
Lyle howled with rage that his ambush had failed and launched a series of deadly curses at us. “Fools! Meddlers! Cowards! Fight me!”
“You think he’s going to run out of Power any time soon?” said Kris as we huddled together inside the shield.
“By the Tower, I hope so,” I said. “I can’t keep this shield up forever.”
“Meld with me. I’ll help you.”
I nodded and felt Kris’s mind touch mine. I took her Power and combined it with my own. With our minds linked, I Saw everything she Saw. I Saw the entire Pocket Lyle had created, and the pools of energy he was tapping, animals writhing in pain.
“The poor creatures,” whispered Kris. “He must have set snares all over the park.”
Lyle’s largest source of power was Jana herself. He had even begun to feed on my own anger. “That bastard!”
“Stay calm, Joe. Getting angry just makes him stronger. Can you break them?”
Tendrils of power connected Lyle to the Pocket and to his power sources. If I could interrupt the flow of Power, snapping the tendrils, the backlash of energy would collapse the pocket and burn him up, but it would likely burn us up right along with him. I could probably shield Jana, but I knew I couldn’t shield all three of us. “Yeah, but…”
Kris squeezed my hand. “I know. I love you, Joe. I’m ready to die with you.”
I knew I’d have to cut all the tendrils at once, before he’d have time to counter my spells. I worked quickly, placing the magic equivalent of shaped explosive charges on each of the tendrils. Once they were all set, I’d activate the lot. I only hoped that Lyle wouldn’t catch on.
Lyle’s attacks continued. “You can’t shield forever, Friday!”
“Neither can you keep attacking, Lyle. Offensive spells take more Power than Shields. You ought to know that.”
“I have all the Power I need all around us. You will all feed me before I destroy you.”
“If you want me, you can have me. Just let the women go.”
“Now where’s the fun in that? If I gave you what you want, you wouldn’t suffer nearly as much as you will when you watch how slowly your lady friend dies. Your anger is going to be exquisite.”
Kris rolled her eyes. “Oh, good Lord, he’s monologuing.”
Lyle cast a fireball directly at her, which the Shield just barely absorbed. “You think this is a game? I will destroy you all!”
I strengthened the Shield around Jana. “Close your eyes, kid! I don’t want what you might see giving you nightmares for the rest of your life. I hope it’s a long one.”
She did. “What are you going to do?”
“End this… I hope.” Lyle drew more Power from his conduits, and I saw my chance. I cast the Trigger Spell, severing every last tendril of Power. He let out an almost inhuman howl as the Pocket collapsed.
I no longer felt Kris’s presence; our Meld had collapsed along with the Pocket. Perhaps she was already dead. I hoped she hadn’t suffered. I began to feel my Power wane, but another Source I couldn’t identify augmented my spell. Maybe Duke and Starr had found us, after all. The last thing I remembered was the sound of Jana screaming and rushing air. Too exhausted to even cry out in pain, I closed my eyes and waited for oblivion to take me.
I awoke in a hospital room. Duke sat in a chair next to my bed. “Welcome back, Friday. It’s about time you came around. How do you feel?”
“Like my head’s going to explode. Please tell me we got the bastard.”
Duke nodded. “Oh, yeah, you got him, alright. When the Pocket collapsed, the shock wave threw Starr and me about twenty feet. By the time we came to and made our way back to the bunker, his corpse was still smoldering. The girl was the only one who walked out of there unscathed. Did you know that she’s Talented?”
“Are you sure?”
“Kristine told us to test her. Said she Felt something when they first touched. That’s probably why the rogue mage wanted her so badly.”
“Kris is alive?” I felt a wave of relief flood over me. “Thank the gods. I was pretty sure we were going to die. Can I see her?”
“Starr went to get her. Joe, there’s something you need to know about Kris. She’s lost her Sight. The Tower Healers couldn’t find even a trace of her Talent.”
I closed my eyes. “It’s my fault. I tried to shield us all, but the collapse of the Pocket severed our Meld. He wasn’t just any rogue, Duke. Lyle was the son of the Pathophage.”
“No kidding? That explains all the dead animals we found mopping up the crime scene. Good thing you took him out.”
“But at what cost? Kris is never going to forgive me.”
“Like hell I won’t.” Kris entered the room in a wheelchair pushed by Starr. Her head and arms were wrapped in gauze bandages. “Our first priority was protecting Jana. Our second was stopping Lyle. We succeeded in doing both. My burns will heal, and I’m pretty sure my hair will grow back.”
“But, Kris, your Sight.”
“It’s not your fault, Joe. You hear me? You saved all our lives.” Kris shakily got out of the wheelchair and bent over to kiss me. “You look like Hell.”
I laughed, in spite of myself. “So do you. But you’re still beautiful to me. You sure you’re okay?”
“I will be. Don’t forget, I never really wanted my Talent in the first place.” She eased herself back into the wheelchair. “What about your Talent? Does it still work?”
“I haven’t tried using it.” I looked around and saw a vase of flowers in the corner. As I concentrated, a red carnation lifted from the vase and floated toward Kris.
She smiled and picked it out of the air with a bandaged hand. “You’re such a romantic.”
Duke glanced at Starr, who smiled and nodded. “We’re heading down to the commissary. We’ll be back in twenty minutes or so.” Hand in hand, they left us alone in my room.
Kris held my hand. “I’m sorry I can’t be your partner anymore. That’s the only thing I regret about losing my Sight.”
I sighed. “I’d rather resign than partner with anyone else.”
“You can’t quit. What about the Friday family legacy? It’d be bad luck to end it on the thirteenth generation.”
“I don’t believe in luck. I believe in you. You kept me from losing my temper with Lyle. If I’d wasted Power on an offensive spell, I wouldn’t have been able to hold the Shield, even with Jana’s Power augmenting me. That’s probably how my father died. No one else but you could have kept me reined in. No one else ever will.”
“Even the best Hunters have limits,” said Kris. “I’m glad you know yours. Marry me.”
“What?”
“Marry, me, Joe. I love you. I know you love me.”
“You’d better believe I do. But aren’t I supposed to be the one to propose?”
Kris scoffed. “Says who? Since when have either of us adhered to tradition or the ‘Rules,’ anyway? Do you want to marry me, or not?”
I smiled. “I love you. Of course I’ll marry you.”
“Great! We’ll call the chaplain as soon as Duke and Starr come back. They can be our witnesses.”
“What, today? Have you thought about this? I can be a pain, you know.”
Kris gave me a wink. “Joe, I was ready to die with you. Don’t you think I’m ready to live with you?”
Councilwoman Zelda reluctantly accepted my resignation. “There has never been a Hunter as strong as you, Friday. Are you sure you won’t reconsider? It would be a shame to not have a Friday among our ranks.”
I smiled and held my wife’s hand. “I was only a strong Hunter because of Kris, Ma’am. You know how the Meld works. Besides, I’ve learned that there is more to life than my career. I want something that neither my father or grandfather had: a chance to grow old with the woman I love.”
“That is indeed a worthy goal,” said the Councilwoman. “It’s one I never achieved for myself. I have a proposition for the both of you. You know that since the death of Chancellor Copperfield, the Lynne Woods Academy of the Magical Arts has been without proper leadership. I would like for you to consider the position.”
I shrugged. “I’ve never taught before.”
“You have stayed alive longer than any other Hunter in recent memory,” said Zelda. “You couldn’t possibly have done so without the ability to adapt. It is our hope that you can instill that in our youths. You might have something to teach us, as well.”
I looked at Kris, who smiled and nodded. “I’m beside you all the way.”
“Excellent,” said Zelda. “Stand before the Council tomorrow morning, and we will make your appointment official.”
Jana met us as we left the Councilwoman’s office. “I hoped I’d get a chance to see you. I wanted to thank you for saving my life. I’m sorry it cost you your Talent, Kris.”
“I blame no one,” said Kris, “except maybe Lyle.”
Jana wrinkled her nose. “I still can’t believe he was 60. I mean, yuck! I could have made out with someone’s grandpa!”
I laughed. “What brings you to the Tower?”
“Well, the Council offered me a scholarship to Lynne Woods Academy. They said I have pretty strong potential.”
“I’ll say. You augmented my Shield without a spot of training.”
“I still don’t know how I did it. I just didn’t want any of us to die.”
Kris hugged Jana. “How are your parents handling your newfound abilities?”
“Dad’s taking it a lot better than my Mom. He sees it as a confirmation of his belief in magic, while she thinks I need to go to church so they can ‘exorcise my demons.’ Sometimes, I kind of wish she didn’t have to know.”
I grinned. “There’s always the Lethe Spell.”
Jana shrugged. “I still think it’s best that she knows, even if she never approves. It’s a part of who I am, and I need her to deal with it. I always want to know where I stand with her.”
“That sounds like a really mature attitude,” said Kris. “If you ever need to talk, you know how to find us.”
Hunting is still one of the most dangerous careers out there, but I think Kris and I are making a difference. When I first joined the force, only about fifty percent of new recruits lasted longer than a year. In the five years since we’ve been in charge of the Academy, that number’s closer to seventy-five percent. This year’s graduates are promising. At the top of the class are Tyler Adams and his new bride, Jana.
I’m proud of them both.
This story first appeared in the anthology Hex Support
Featured Image: Fort Pickering Bunker Entrance, By Michelle A Leppert – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
