stronger again. She used a spell like the one we are using now to check ahead for danger and then Traveled several hundred miles in one jump.”
“Unbelievable. I assume she was close by when George Bolander died?”
Whisper nodded. “He was a brave man, with a very strong connection to the Power. What did the other elders have to say about my report?”
“They believe that we should wait and observe. If she does not realize the extent of her abilities, then perhaps she will not be tempted to grow them to a dangerous level. Though she is cursed, she is also innocent of any wrongdoing, and they felt that any preemptive action was unconscionable.”
“And what do you think?”
Jacques looked away. He was a just and decent man, but he alone among the elders knew what they were truly facing. He had spent much of his life studying the Warlock, tracking him down, and eventually destroying him. No one in the Society knew more about the dangers of that awful curse than Jacques. “I voted to eliminate the Spellbound immediately.”
The answer was sad, but expected. “Do not call her that. She is more than her curse. She is a person. She has a name. Faye is a good girl. She is kind, generous, and brave. I am honored to call her my friend.”
The man that raised her shook his head sadly. “So you agree with the elders then? Leave her be as she grows increasingly unstable and dangerous? I do not like it, but I will follow my oath and abide by the decision. I just did not expect you to agree so readily.”
Whisper surprised him. “There is no agreement.”
“I do not understand.”
“If you are prepared to kill someone, you should at least have the courage to call them by name. This choice should not be easy. I do not wish to make my decision lightly. Her name is Faye and she is good.. but she is dangerous. When the natural progression of things was not quick enough, how many people died by Warlock’s greedy hands?”
“There is no definite answer… Hundreds for certain. Perhaps more. India, Persia, Turkey, across North Africa, finally France… We followed him by the corpses left in his wake. How many others did I not see with my own eyes? Who can say?”
“And if you had not tracked him down at the cost of so many of our people,” Whisper said, obviously meaning both her family and the knights that had been under Jacques’ command. “If he had been able to soak up the million slaughtered at Second Somme…”
“He would have been unbeatable.” Jacques was concerned, and he was right to be. “What are you suggesting?”
“How many lives could have been saved if the Society had known about Warlock’s research earlier? What if they had moved against him sooner?”
“We did not know about him until it was too late,” Jacques answered quickly. “I know what you are thinking, but the elders have spoken. Whisper, please-”
“How many orphans will the Society’s inaction create this time?”
“You will do nothing!” Jacques shouted. “The decision has been made. She is not to be harmed.”
Whisper turned away from the mirror. “Very well…”
“Whisper?”
“I will not harm Faye.” She would not look at him. “My observation mission is done here, then. What would you have me do, elder?”
The use of his title stung. “Come home, please. Things are becoming too dangerous in America.”
“Do you doubt my skill as a knight now, as well?”
“Of course not!”
“There is much to be done here, then. I would like to assist until the Society’s name has been cleared of these crimes, and after that, I am convinced that the concern about this Enemy being is legitimate. I think my Power will be of more use here than at home.”
“I…” He hung his head in shame. “You have always been a very headstrong, but brave girl. Very well. Be careful. Anything you need, please let me know.”
“Goodbye, Jacques.”
“I know this is difficult and it seems as if no one understands your loss, but I do,” he said as the spell faded away. “Farewell, Whisper.”
He was gone. Wrong answer, Jacques. What do you know about loss? She had been forced to lie to the man who raised her as his own child. Furious, Whisper tore out the corner of glass and dashed it against the floor. “No more orphans, Jacques. I will allow no more.”
Chapter 16
We can argue all day whether they are one in a thousand or one in a hundred, but what about when they are one in ten? One in five? All the experts agree their numbers are growing. When is it going to be enough? When will they stop? How much is too much? You’ve all heard about the Active supremacists’ plot. They think they’re better than us. They won’t be happy until they overthrow this great democracy and rule us with an iron fist! It is time to take a stand! Join me, brothers, as we converge on Washington. This week we are already ten thousand strong, but we need more. What have you done today to protect your country from them! We need your help to resist magical tyranny. Together, we will make our voices heard!
Washington D.C.
Thirty agents from the Bureau of Investigation had been detailed to this operation by the Director. Extra agents were already in the city to keep an eye on the ever-growing numbers participating in the antimagic protest. They did not know the particulars of the case, only that J. Edgar Hoover insisted that it was of the utmost importance, and he was overseeing the operation personally.
Per Hoover’s orders, an agent had left a large courier envelope under some bushes at a small park on the corner of two busy streets. Ten agents had eyes and telescopes on the package. They were undercover, sitting on nearby park benches, watching from windows or rooftops, or simply out for a stroll. The other agents were waiting in chase cars, ready to swoop in and grab whoever picked up the package.
The agents were in the dark. Was it a ransom payment? A foreign spy? Communist agitators trying to stir up trouble in the antimagic mob? Was it related to the Active Plot? All they knew was that Hoover was taking this case very seriously, and he’d warned them to be ready for anything. The director was pacing nervously in the command center, listening to the constant radio check-ins.
The package had been placed at noon on the dot. It was now just after two o’clock in the afternoon and nobody had so much as sniffed around. A dog entered the area and began exploring the bushes, looking for a place to do its business. The presence of a golden retriever was dutifully reported. Twenty seconds after entering the bushes, the dog reappeared, carrying the courier package in its mouth.
As soon as he heard, Hoover ordered his men to seize the dog.
The agents had not been prepared to chase a dog. The retriever fled up the street and into an alley where it was briefly out of visual contact. The first three agents on the scene grabbed the apparently confused dog, who bit one agent on the hand during the struggle. However, the package was gone.
On the opposite side of the alley, one of the chase cars called in a sighting of a suspicious, two-foot-tall dough creature. It waddled quickly along on two legs, cradling the package in its lumpy arms. Pedestrians screamed at the sight of the tiny Summoned and tried to get out of its way.
Hoover ordered all cars to arrest the demon.
The creature turned and walked through the door of a haberdashery shop. A crowd of agents pursued it
