Magic Ain't a Game Read online

“Because day and night are the same length.”

  “That is one of the measurements we use. But other things come into balance during that time too. Light and dark, good and evil. A sense of peace and security.”

  “Seems sort of strange to have a competition in the middle of all of that. Doesn’t it sort of contradict the whole ‘peace and balance’ thing?”

  “There are those who believe so,” Jessup admitted. “One thing that the police force will be doing is trying to keep any protests under control and make sure they don’t interfere with the games or people’s private ceremonies.”

  “There are protests?”

  “There are protests in connection with any big event.”

  “They are protesting... what? Spring?”

  Jessup laughed. “They’re protesting the Spring Games being held over equinox, like you said. That it’s supposed to be about balance and cooperation and peace, and the Spring Games are about competition and singling people out for awards. But I don’t see why you can’t do both. The games are fun. It isn’t like they take over our lives. We enjoy watching them, seeing people show off what they can do; no one gets really hard-core competitive about it.”

  Reg wondered if that were true. She’d seen the real Olympics, and things got pretty competitive there—athlete against athlete and country against country.

  “How are they run? The games? Do they split people up by country?”

  “Countries are an artificial construct that doesn’t follow magical traditions. The teams or competitors tend to be split more by kinship than by geographical location.”

  “So… fairies against fairies, or fairies against pixies?”

  “There aren’t a lot of different magical species participating. There will be some fairies, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the pixies take part. But more along the lines of… covens that follow certain traditions banding together and competing against covens that follow other traditions, or that trace their ancestry or heritage back to a particular witch or warlock or family.”

  “It’s mostly witches and warlocks?”

  “Yes.”

  “But no one we know? Sarah isn’t in it?”

  “I don’t know who is or isn’t in it, really. Not Sarah. Not as far as I know. She’s not interested in competing, just in enjoying the celebrations.”

  Sarah was retired. Sort of. She still used magic, but she didn’t seem to sell a particular service or kind of magical assistance. She helped Reg set wards that would keep Corvin and other dangerous practitioners away. She gave Reg tea or helped to treat her when she wasn’t feeling well. Brought her soup and other food, knowing that Reg tended to just forget about meals and constantly graze on junk food.

  “And making cookies.”

  “She makes good cookies.”

  “I know Letticia does. I’ve had hers before.”

  “Yes, she’s a good baker.”

  “I can’t believe she can do that in her little wood-burning oven. It must be really hard to keep it a constant temperature.”

  “A little bit of magic probably helps.”

  Chapter Three

  Despite Jessup’s reassurances, Reg changed her outfit several times, trying to find something that would be just right. She’d never been at a spring equinox event before and had no idea what everyone else would be wearing. She considered going to the clothing shop by Marian’s psychic storefront. She’d only been there once before. They were expensive, but she loved the dress she had gotten there. Maybe that was what she should wear.

  She stripped off her latest outfit and tried on the dress with the lace-up bodice.

  It looked great, but she didn’t know if it were too formal or not formal enough. Reg sighed, looking at herself in the mirror. It wasn’t like she had a lot of clothes. She had basically tried on everything in the closet at least once. But many of them could be worn in different combinations. Maybe there were a few more she should try until she was sure she had just the right ensemble.

  When the knock sounded at her door, she still had not decided. She pulled the dress back on again and hurried to the door to let Jessup know she would only be a minute or two longer. It was down to the wire now. She needed to lace up and find some shoes or switch to the outfit she was going to go with.

  Reg opened the door without checking the peephole first, which she knew better than to do. Luckily, it wasn’t Corvin this time, or Wilson, or some dark creature who wanted to harm her. But she didn’t recognize the man who stood at her threshold. She frowned, looking at him and trying to remember if she knew him from somewhere. He looked vaguely familiar; she should know him from somewhere, but it was just beyond her reach. Who was he? Someone she had seen at the grocery store? Maybe the bag boy or someone she usually did not look at carefully? She was pretty sure he hadn’t been a client at any time. Who, then? Her circle in Black Sands was fairly small.

  He was a slim man around her age, late twenties. Taller than Reg. White hair cropped short. His eyes were colorless. His gaze was disconcerting, as if he were looking down into her soul instead of just at her face. He knew her. Even if she didn’t know him, he knew her from somewhere. He had to, for him to be able to look into her soul like that.

  “Reg Rawlins?” he asked politely.

  Reg gave a brief nod, looking him over, still trying to put a name to the face.

  “Julian Sabat.”

  The name was familiar. But Reg hadn’t heard it in a long time. She shook her head, trying to remember.

  “Julian… Sabat…”

  “I am here in an official capacity.” He reached a couple of fingers into the pocket of his crisp white shirt and held it up so that she could see it.

  Julian Sabat

  Magical Investigations

  Endangered Species Division

  Reg blinked at it. She reread it, making sure that she had it right. Reading wasn’t her strong suit and she frequently confused long words. Magical Investigations. Endangered Species.

  “Who are you again?” Reg asked, sure she had missed something.

  “I’m here as part of an active investigation. Into some recent activities in the Everglades National Park.”

  “Oh. The Everglades.”

  What could he be investigating in the Everglades?

  Just about everything had gone wrong in the Everglades. There was probably plenty to investigate. Who knew how many lines she had crossed in trying to find Wilson and to stay alive? She hadn’t understood before she went just how dangerous it would be. Corvin was right; she had dashed into it headlong without knowing anything about what she was facing. Thinking that she would be able to just walk in and out without coming to any harm. Like going to the zoo or the playground.

  What could happen?

  Now she knew.

  “Well, I don’t know what this is about, but I’m getting ready to go out.” Reg gestured to her dress. “Now is not a good time.”

  “We can set up a time to meet tomorrow,” Sabat offered, a notebook and pencil appearing in his hand. Reg blinked, unsure whether it was sleight of hand or some kind of telekinesis or reveal spell. Or something else she had never heard of.

  “I don’t know my schedule tomorrow. Things are… pretty busy right now with it being the Spring Games. We have a lot to do.”

  “I’m sure we can find an hour somewhere to talk.”

  Reg hesitated. Her appointment book was on the island in the kitchen, but she didn’t want to commit to anything. She wanted to know about who this Sabat was first. Was he legit? And if he were, did she have to answer his questions? If he decided she was guilty of something, could she be charged? Could she be bound or disciplined for something innocent that had happened while she was in the Everglades?

  Sabat raised an eyebrow at Reg. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

  Reg shook her head, baffled. She hadn’t met him in the Everglades; she was pretty sure about that. And if she hadn’t met him there, then what could he know about what had happe
ned there?

  There was a small smile on Sabat’s face. A secret, superior expression.

  “I always thought you had powers.”

  Chapter Four

  Reg stared at him. “You thought… who are you? You know me? Where do I know you from?”

  He chuckled. Reg felt cold. She didn’t know who he was, but she knew she didn’t like that laugh. It sent waves of goosebumps all over her.

  “Who are you?” she demanded again.

  “You have to think way back. Way, way back.”

  Reg thought back to when she had first arrived in Black Sands. Had she seen him the first day there? On the street or in The Crystal Bowl, the restaurant she had ended up in? That was where she had first met Sarah. And several of the other residents of Black Sands. She didn’t remember talking to anyone else outside, other than an old homeless man who had called her a witch. Could that have been Julian Sabat? Disguised somehow?

  “Back farther than that,” Sabat told her, as if he knew what she was thinking.

  Back before she had arrived in Black Sands? Had she known him in her old life? Before she even knew that she had any powers? It fit with what he had said, that he had thought that she had powers when apparently Reg or others did not. But that would mean…

  Where? Had she scammed him? Or had she done a reading for him that had been unexpectedly accurate when he had been expecting her to con him? Maybe that was how he had known that she had powers. Somehow, she had inadvertently revealed herself to him at some point.

  “Do you remember Mrs. Newburg?” Sabat asked.

  Mrs. Newburg.

  She had been one of Reg’s foster mothers. It had been a long time. She hadn’t even been a teenager then. How old? Eleven? Twelve?

  And who had he been? He was close to her in age. So a child in the neighborhood or someone she went to school with? Or was he another foster child?

  Then she finally placed him. Julian. She had probably not even known his last name. It was hard to keep track of foster children’s last names when they were all different from the foster parents’ and each other’s.

  She remembered a tall boy. A year or two older than she was. Blond. Someone who had tormented her.

  Reg had often been targeted by the older foster kids, or even those her own age or younger than she was. Reg had never been one to take it, though. She had not been the shy, scared little girl that they expected her to be. She fought back and she gave as good as she got. At least, she did her best to.

  “Julian.”

  He nodded at the tone of recognition in her voice, apparently satisfied that she had placed him. “It’s been a long time.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I already told you. I’m an investigator. I’m looking into some complaints in the Everglades. It sounds like you stirred things up pretty good on your recent excursion.”

  “No… we were just looking for a missing wizard. We didn’t cause any trouble.”

  “That’s what I will be determining.”

  Reg didn’t like the sound of that. She hadn’t liked Julian when she had lived with him back at Mrs. Newburg’s house, and she was equally certain that she wasn’t going to like him now.

  “So you’re… you’re a practitioner.”

  He nodded. “Yes. Of course. I always was. You don’t remember?”

  “No.”

  He shook his head. “Non-practitioners. Always rewriting memories. Pretending that they didn’t see what they cannot explain. I didn’t think that you would because you were magical too. But maybe since you didn’t know… you learned to deny it.”

  Reg nodded slowly. She had denied a lot of things about herself. It shouldn’t be any surprise that she would suppress information about others’ paranormal powers as well. They were taught in foster care to be normal. Not to let on that anything unusual was going on. They had been trained at secret-keeping both at home and in care. Taught not to speak about the things that they saw. To suppress them, pretend that they hadn’t even happened. That was life in foster care. Keep your head down—your eyes on your own page. Keep out of everyone else’s business.

  “And you… you knew that you had powers back then?”

  “Sure,” Sabat agreed readily. “I came from a family of practitioners, so I knew from the time I was born. It was hard being shoehorned into non-magical homes… I think it might have been a bit traumatic for me. Having to pretend all of a sudden that I wasn’t what I knew I was… to have to suppress my powers, not let anyone see them. But you… I always thought that you were like me.”

  Reg shook her head. “I don’t remember you talking to me about it.”

  He considered her. He motioned into the cottage. “Maybe we could sit down for a few minutes. I can tell you what I remember…”

  “No.” Reg looked behind her, suddenly aware of the time. Jessup and the others were going to be there any time, and she needed to finish getting ready. “No, this is a bad time. I’m just getting ready to go out.”

  “I could help you to tie that up,” he indicated the lace-up bodice.

  “No. I can do it. You need to leave. I don’t want you to be here when the others arrive.”

  “They’re going to find out about my investigation anyway. There is no point in trying to hide it. This kind of thing is not kept quiet.”

  “I don’t know what kind of thing you’re talking about. But I need to get ready. So, we’ll have to meet some other time.” Reg bit her lip, realizing that she had just told him that she would meet with him when she had no intention of doing so. She didn’t want anything to do with Julian Sabat, investigation or no investigation.

  He gave a small, superior smile. He liked the way he could manipulate her. He enjoyed the power he had over her as some kind of magical law enforcement officer. She had seen that trait in ordinary cops in the past. Part of the reason that they gravitated toward law enforcement was that they liked the power and prestige it brought them. They wanted to be in control.

  “You need to leave now,” Reg told him firmly. She started to close the door.

  He pressed his toe against the bottom to keep it from closing. “Take this,” he ordered, reaching toward her with the business card in his hand.

  Reg shook her head. She wasn’t taking anything of his. She wouldn’t have anything of his in her house. She had learned enough about magic in the months since she had arrived in Black Sands to know that there were ways to sneak past the magical wards that Sarah had helped her to set against strangers and those who might wish her harm. It was possible that if she had something of his, he would be able to enter her house to retrieve it. Or maybe there was a spell of some kind associated with the card, something that would give him power over her or the ability to transport himself to it.

  “You’ll need to call me to set up an interview for a more convenient time. And I assume you’ll want to know my phone number so that you recognize it if I call you. I’m sure you would rather that I called you first rather than just showed up on your doorstep.”

  Reg shook her head. “I don’t think… I’m not interested in talking to you. Am I being charged with something?”

  “Magical investigations are not the same as the ones in the conventional world. You are required to talk to someone. There is no ‘right to remain silent.’” He rolled his eyes. “Non-practitioners come up with such ridiculous notions. Why would you build such a thing into your justice system? Someone really goofed up on that one, and then no one has bothered to fix it.”

  “I don’t have to talk to you,” Reg asserted.

  “Yes, you do.” He held her gaze steadily. If he were lying or trying to mislead her, he was very good at what he did.

  “I don’t even know that you’re really who you say you are,” Reg asserted. “Any joker off the street could come knocking on my door claiming to be magical law enforcement. Or someone from my past. There’s no proof.”

  He fluttered the card in front of her. “It’s right here in b
lack and white.”

  “Anyone can have business cards printed. Or even print them on their own printer at home. Having a business card that says something like that doesn’t mean anything. It’s not real identification.”

  “I’ll prove who I am when we meet to discuss the charges.”

  Reg couldn’t suppress the goosebumps and shudder that accompanied his words. She tried to keep her body under control, but wasn’t able to shake the feeling of coldness and dread that worked its way into her stomach and into her bones.

  She focused instead on getting rid of him. He didn’t have any control over her. He couldn’t exercise whatever powers he had over her in her own house. She had wards and protections. Just to be sure, she wrapped a protective barrier around herself. She gave the door a shove, dislodging his toe.

  “Goodbye.” She pushed it shut. Julian didn’t try to talk to her through the door. He did stand there for a minute longer, silent, and Reg looked through the peephole, trying to figure out what he was doing and why he was still there. He pressed his hand against the door as if he was dizzy and steadying himself. She wondered if her protection spell had affected him somehow. Then he finally turned and walked away.

  Chapter Five

  Luckily, Jessup was a little late getting there to pick Reg up. Reg had time to have a steadying drink, lace up her bodice, and add a few accessories to her outfit. Starlight stalked around the cottage, sniffing the windows and doors, turning to glare at Reg every now and then.

  Reg shrugged at him. “I didn’t ask Julian Sabat to come here,” she pointed out. “I got rid of him as soon as I could. Sorry if you don’t like him. I don’t either.”

  Starlight gave her another look, but not so accusing this time. He continued his tour of inspection.

  There was a knock at Reg’s door, and this time she checked through the peephole, even though she was pretty sure that it would be Jessup. She could hear voices and figured that Sarah must have joined Jessup. She hadn’t been sure earlier whether she would go out with Reg and Jessup but had apparently made up her mind.