Stacia Kane - Finding Magic

She couldn’t because she only had time to get herself and Jillian through that door, and if she stopped to help him, too, all three of them would probably die.

So she didn’t. Instead she flung herself through the iron chains, through the doorway, and slammed the door behind her. Hard. Hard enough that the sound of it slamming seemed to go on forever, the sound so final as Chess left Mark there with the ghosts he’d thought he’d be able to control.

The ghosts who would kill him.

Elder Griffin was waiting for her the next morning; he responded to her tentative knock almost the second her knuckles hit the wood, and opened the door wide with a welcoming smile on his face. “Cesaria. Good morrow. Thank you for coming.”

She curtsied in response. “Good morrow, sir.”

He led her into the office proper, gestured to a chair. The same chair she’d sat in several days before. Well, duh, of course it was; there was nothing sinister or coincidental about the fact that he kept certain pieces of furniture in his office. What did she expect, that he’d switch them every day?

For fuck’s sake, was she still that jumpy? She hadn’t slept at all, really; she’d pounded enough Coke and even some coffee that she felt okay, but still. Every time she lay down to close her eyes she saw it again: the City, Mark’s face, the terror in his eyes. Every time, she remembered how she’d managed to get to him, that she’d done it by understanding him and what he was thinking, and what that must say about her.

And every time, she remembered that she’d run out to his van before the Squad came back and taken Mark’s little bag of pills, and that it was in her own bag right at that moment. Close to her. Waiting for Friday night, when she could relax; waiting for a special occasion. She’d be careful with them; she wouldn’t let herself take them too often or when she was working, but she could have them every once in a while, couldn’t she? Just to celebrate.

Yes, she could.

“Cesaria,” Elder Griffin said, tugging her back from her thoughts, “I imagine you’re curious as to why I’m speaking to you, rather than Jillian or one of the Inquisitors.”

She shrugged. “Jillian’s still in the hospital, right?”

“No, she was released this morning. Trent and Vaughn are also home, thankfully. No permanent damage done.”

Mark had set a trap for them; they’d spent the night in a twelve-foot-deep pit he’d dug just inside his front door.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Chess said, because it seemed like what she should say.

He nodded. “Well. We have a few things to discuss. But first, I trust you are … well? Recovered from what happened?”

No . “Yes, sir.”

“Excellent. The Inquisitors were most impressed with your solution, and your manipulation of Mark. They wish to ask if you would like to begin formal training with them once this year is complete, and make the Squad your future home here.”

She bit her lip. Shit. No, she didn’t want to, not really. Didn’t want to work with someone else, didn’t want to have to follow some stupid fucking chain of command that seemed counterintuitive and rewarded plodding brainlessness.

But she had to admit … solving the case had been kind of cool. Knowing that because of her a murderer was no longer out there murdering was more than kind of cool.

Elder Griffin shuffled some papers on his desk. “Are thee unsure as to whether you’d like to join them?”

“I—I’m just surprised, sir.”

“Did you think you’d not be welcome, after the work you did?”

“I just—I don’t know.”

“Mm-hmm.” He tilted his head; his blue eyes pierced her, like he was considering something. “May I speak freely?”

“Of course.”

“Jillian came in to speak with me yesterday regarding you—well, I asked her to. She informed me that you seemed to be having some difficulty working with her, and with Trent. That perhaps working with a team was not the best situation for you.”

Her face burned. Why was he telling her this? Why would he want to—to hurt her like that?

She forced her face to stay still. She wouldn’t show him he’d upset her. Wouldn’t let him see that she even cared.

But after a second he continued. “I say this not to upset you. I say it because … well, let me be frank. I was pleased to hear it. I was hoping to—expecting to—hear something along those lines.”

Was he a lunatic or what? Why would he want her to be difficult to work with?

“You see, I’ve felt for some time, from speaking with your instructors, that I would very much like it if you would come join my department. I think it would be a good use of your particular skills.”

“A Debunker?”

He nodded. “You’d be working alone, of course. In charge of your own investigations—after your training period, but I feel confident you’ll have no trouble with that. Debunkers earn a salary which is admittedly one of the lowest in the Church, but the bonus structure can make it very lucrative indeed.”

A Debunker. She hadn’t really considered that one before; most of them were men. And the job involved dealing with people, having to interview them, spend time in their houses, study them. Not really her thing.

Elder Griffin seemed to see her hesitation. “Of course, it would mean working with me. And you do not know me, so I understand you’re hesitant, especially as I know the Squad provides better benefits, better perks. But Cesaria … I believe Debunking is just as important. I am trying to build our team, and get more women on it. And I believe … I believe we would work well together. I would like to work with you. I think you’d be good at the job, and would enjoy it.”

She’d work alone. She’d work with someone who actually wanted to work with her. Someone who’d heard everything Jillian said about her and still seemed to want her around.

And she wouldn’t have to see Jillian again, or Trent or Vaughn. Wouldn’t have to work for the Squad and wouldn’t have to work in the City.

“I understand if you want time to think about it. Please take all the time you require, or at least until the end of the semester. I can arrange to have you train with a different department first, if you’d like—”

“No,” she said, before she even realized she was saying it. “I mean, yes. No, I don’t need to train somewhere else, and yes, I will come work with you. Um, I’d like to. Yes.”

He smiled. He actually even looked relieved. Had he seriously thought she might not accept, had that seriously bothered him? “Excellent. I shall inform your training Elders.”

She stood up when he did, took his hand when he offered it. “Thank you, sir.”

“Thank you.” He led her to the door and opened it. “I look forward to working with you, Cesaria. Facts are Truth.”

“Facts are Truth, sir,” she replied, and walked through the open doorway into the wide, pale hallway.

What a contrast that hallway made to the street corner in Downside on which she stood two weeks later. She didn’t need to be there, no. It wasn’t like it was necessary or anything.

But she had forty bucks in her pocket that she’d managed to set aside from her living expenses, and she’d managed to borrow a car, so there she was. Standing, just waiting, eyeing the guys standing on the corner who were eyeing her right back.

In a few more minutes one of them would come up and ask her. And she’d answer. Not because she had to. She wasn’t starting anything, wasn’t going to get herself hung up. She just … she hadn’t even bothered with the flask, didn’t need it, when she knew she had something else waiting for her. And that was a good thing. Especially now when she’d be officially entering Debunker training soon and there was so much to learn.