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For the first time since that fateful night, I was able to sit back and relax.
Thanks to our families long lineage and some smart investments, Celia and I did not have to work. Celia chose to work, just to be available to the town if she was needed.
I worked because I had nothing better to do. Our father had a woodshop that he trained me in and my mother always drilled into me the importance of education, so I tried to keep up with both. I worked hard on my English degree and during school breaks, I worked in the shop. When I was working at the college, I had Mr. Lassiter take over for me.
Currently, I was working on a custom set of shelves for Mr. Lassiter’s brother. I let my head go quiet as I worked the familiar job, the smell of wood surrounding me and the sound of my tools overpowering every thought that was running through my head.
Celia and I were pooling our money together to put Artie through college, though it wasn't necessary. Seeing those numbers add up in our bank accounts always made us feel a little better. If we were ever made to run from Glenwood Lock, under extreme circumstances, then it would make our lives just a little bit easier.
Working with my hands as a carpenter always put my mind at ease and I was able to quiet my thoughts and focus on just one thing instead of having to consider the mess we were in.
Until Miss Maricel showed up at my shop.
I had to wonder what it would take to change that serene look on her face. She always seemed so calm, even under the most dire circumstances. It was helpful to those that were panicking and the sense of calm that she surrounded her also put others at ease.
But I had to wonder if there was more to it than that.
"Hello, Miss Maricel. What can I help you with on this fine afternoon?" I asked.
I brushed my hands off on my jeans and grabbed a worn T-shirt from under the front desk and wiped my face with it. Sawdust was a constant in my life.
"I was wondering if I could commission an order from you?" She said.
I stared at her questioningly.
She stared back and for a moment that serene expression lifted from her face and there was something more urgent there. Then the urgency passed and there was nothing but that serene, professional look on her face.
The High Priestess would not be bothered with simple things like commissioning a piece from me. She would have one of her initiates go through my sister and Celia would hand the design off to me. There were very few reasons that Miss Maricel herself would come into my shop.
I looked down at the paper she had passed over to me and instead of design plans, or even a crude drawing that I sometimes received from clients, there were instructions.
People were seen in your shop last night. I would consider it bugged it for now. Be careful what you say here.
I read the lines quickly and nodded. "Sure. This looks like it can be done within a couple of days. What kind of budget are you looking at?" I asked and scribbled something down on the paper.
Thank you for telling me. Is there anything else?
"My budget is fairly open. But is there any way to put a rush on it?" She asked politely.
She scribbled something else down on the paper and pushed it back to me. Dante and Lou are asking if you can come to the house tonight. They are not comfortable in town and might have been threatened this morning. They are also not sure if you should all be seen together.
"A rush is no problem. I can get it to you tomorrow? Around noon?" I said.
I scribbled down a time when we would be over to her house.
She nodded. "That will work beautifully. Please give your sister my regards. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Ortega."
I blinked and she was gone, the only thing marking her exit was the ringing bells above the door.
When she left, I locked the doors and drew the shades. As soon as I was alone, I got to work.
*
"SO, WAS IT BUGGED?” Artie asked that night as we made our way through the woods and to Dante and Lou's house.
I nodded. "I found twelve mics and three cameras. I flushed them all down the toilet."
Celia did not look comforted by the news. "Are you sure that was all?” She asked.
"I tore the place apart. Unless they were able to put things in the drywall, I don't think that they would have been able to hide anything else," I reassured her.
"And our own house? Would they be able to get in?" She asked, looking to both of us.
Artie shook his head. "Not without me knowing. There is no way to get past the protection spells and runes that I have put up over the years."
Celia still seemed troubled. "Why can't we smell them? You should have been able to smell them when you got in this morning," she pointed out.
That also bothered me but I didn't want to add more to her plate as it was. We followed Artie through the woods as I thought about it. He was able to navigate through the woods faster than anyone else I knew.
"I'm not sure. Is there a way for humans to cloak their own smell?" I asked, directing the question to Artie.
“They would have to be working with the spellcaster, maybe a hedge witch, or maybe humans were able to make up some kind of chemical that did hide their smell. Hard to say,” Artie said.
His non-answer did not comfort me at all.
"Do you think they were able to get into Dante and Lou's house too?" Celia asked.
Artie didn't answer right away and when he hesitated, he was always trying to find a delicate way to put bad news. "When we get to their house I will check it over and make sure. I find it highly doubtful that they would be able to get into Miss Maricel's house undetected. Her runes would have alerted her and I'm not sure if I would want to be trapped alone in the house with Dante if they pissed him off."
"Can you add protection to their house?" Celia asked.
"It's impolite to override a High Priestesses own runes."
"I think we are past polite manners here," I said.
"Then if you want to piss Miss Maricel off as well, you go right ahead."
Artie seemed to be in a strange mood tonight. Not angry, at least not yet. He was irritated and he smelled anxious.
"Is there something going on with you?" Celia asked.
Artie didn't answer until we stopped in a clearing. He looked around and the moon bathed everything in a silvery light.
"What I'm thinking is that between Lou and myself, we have the power to take them down. And not just the ones here, but wherever their headquarters are. The two of us, we would be able to take them all out and bring the entire organization to its knees," Artie said.
I open my mouth but there were no words. I wanted to ask Artie what he was thinking but at the same time, the vivid memory of finding all those bodies on our front lawn came back to haunt me. If Lou was more powerful than Artie was at fifteen, who knew what kind of destruction they could cause?
Celia studied Artie's back for a minute but didn't say a word. She seemed to be waiting for him to go on.
"When they find out that the Ascendancy killed their family as well, I won't be able to hold him back. He won't see them as just the enemy. He's going to see them as a reason he and Dante have suffered so much. Even if Azolata and I are able to work together, I'm not sure we would be able to hold him back."
"You wouldn’t want to hold them back," I pointed out.
Artie didn't answer.
"Artie –" Celia started, gently.
"The only thing that's holding me back from going to Lou and telling him is that many murderers would turn us both dark. And Lou going dark would be bad enough. But, both of us?" He shook his head. "You wouldn't stand a chance. The world wouldn't stand a chance. And it's a slippery slope, going down that way. I'm only sixteen and I’ve already thought about all this."
His shoulders slumped and he looked down at his hands.
I looked over at Celia and she looked over at me. The grass brushed our thighs and I wondered why he had brought us this way and what he was trying to tell us.
"I'm only sixteen. I don't know how to teach anyone anything. I don't know how to teach the guy who is supposed to lead the next generation of magic users, the one who is supposed to revive us all. Sometimes I'm awake at night and I ask why. Why did mom and dad have to die? Why did we have to end up in this town? Why did I have to be born with this job? And what happens if I fail? Does that mean that the next generation is deprived of their magic? Sometimes I hate it, all this power that I have locked up inside me. But it's saved us, and it's gotten some revenge for us. I just don't know if it's all worth it."
Celia didn't seem to know what to say. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around our little brother and pressed her cheek to the top of his head. I stepped forward and did the same. Between the two of us, we held him.
"You were worth it. And you show us that every single day that no matter what happens, you were worth it," I said.
"We know it's huge, and honestly we can't answer you. Because we don't know how big this feels. But you don't have to deal with it alone. We're here. We're not going anywhere," Celia answered.
Artie let out a big breath. "I know. And you were the only people that know how to keep me sane. Don't leave me."
"We're here. We're not going anywhere. I promise," I said.
We stayed like that for a moment longer until we started towards Lou and Dante's house once more.