nancy werlocks diary s02e15 (3 page)

“I know you aren’t a psion. But your apprentice is. And while I don’t make it a regular habit to get into the business of witches, it is hard for someone in my position
not
to come across certain information. I mean, his mother was a big deal at one time, right? Her name must be worth something leverage-wise.”

I shouldn’t be surprised that Chris would know
who
Vivika was. I am relieved he doesn’t know
what
she was. “But I don’t understand what you expect the College of Psionics to do for you?”

“I just figure a group of witches dedicated to psionic talents probably knows a thing or two about counting said talents.”

“So you want me to do a preliminary evaluation to narrow the field of prospects, and get you a referral to a member of the College of Psionics with the hope that they can…provide some sort of immunity to mind control?”

“Something like that.”

“You know that would probably bite you in the ass at some point, right? Is the Prince even on board with having vampire-hunting humans running around with weapons of vampire destruction and immunity to mind control?”

“I may have neglected to share that part of the plan with him.”

“Great Arachne’s web!”

“I’m aware of the risks. But I have a duty. You’re aware of what happened in Philly. If we had been ten minutes slower in responding, there would have been half a dozen breaches posted on YouTube. There were a hundred ways that could have gone sideways, and it is only dumb luck that prevented any of it. The Veil will
never
be torn on my watch.”

“I think I know someone who could help you. In fact, if he can’t, I’m pretty certain nobody could. Give me a few days to go through the files and work up profiles. And talk to the person I have in mind. I want to make sure he is comfortable with me giving out his information before I share it.”

“That’s all I ask.”

November 13
^th
,

I return from the grocery store to find the Lord Advocate of the Eighth of the Nine in my living room.

He’s standing with his arms crossed near the sofa. Houston is seated on the sofa with his head looking up at the ceiling, a dishcloth held to his nose.

“Nosebleed,” says Joshua Brynwolf as his nods his head toward Houston.

“I…figured that? What happened?”

“I’m good,” says Houston.  He leans forward and shakes the cobwebs out of his head. “
That
hurt like Hell.”

“I told you it would. But you’re stubborn, so…”

Houston tries to stand up but sways for a second before sitting back down. “Can you help Nancy—”

“Just sit, Houston. I’ll help Nancy with the groceries.”

“What did you do to my apprentice?” I ask Joshua as he brings some of my groceries into the kitchen.

“He was trying to poke around in my head to find out why I was here,” he says. “I told him to knock it off or he would get a crash course in Id Whip.”

“Well,
I’m
curious why you are here. I thought you said you were gonna call me back to schedule an appointment at your office?”

“I got your shop number mixed up with your home number. Houston answered. Said you’d be back soon. I figured I’d just swing over as I had time.”

“And then the prodigal son in there tried to show off, and you showed him the error of his ways.”

“Pretty much. I’ll go get the rest of your groceries. It’s the least I can do for temporarily disabling your apprentice.”

“I’m not disabled!” shouts Houston from the living room. I then hear him mutter something about a freight train and Tylenol. By the time I get the groceries put away, he’s able to stand on his own without swaying like a drunkard.

“You need to teach me that,” says Houston as he rubs his temples.

“Lenora Gallant teaches Psionic Combat every third Tuesday at the academy. You can sign up.”

Houston looks at me like a little kid about to ask permission for a sleepover.

“I’m sure whatever time it is, Eric can cover for you,” I say.

Houston goes upstairs to find some headache medicine and lie down. 

“You did a number on him,” I say while leading Joshua into the dining room so we can talk privately.

“I wouldn’t tell him this, but Id Whip
should
have knocked him unconscious.”

“Were you seriously trying to knock him stupid just for failing to pry around your thoughts?”

“I needed to see something for myself. Him being, well, him was just an excuse.” Joshua sighs and sits at the kitchen table. “You remember Houston having a migraine at the Evocation Academy?”

I had all but forgotten about the incident. Back in July, right after Houston had passed his Rank Five exam; he had suffered some sort of a headache that almost knocked him out. Dr. Parker had suggested that it had been a psionic attack, but with everything else that was going on it was a thread that got lost.

“You didn’t need to come here to talk about the Palatine’s request. You came here to see Houston.”

“Houston gave me permission to review his medical history. Dr. Parker is a brilliant necromancer, but there are things he wouldn’t see in a psion’s brain. We’ve suspected that Houston might actually be a hereditary witch. That scarring from his brain scans? He was psionically locked as a child. Vivika didn’t awaken him. She unlocked him.”

“You had mentioned that suspicion before. Psions don’t have a big history of hereditary magic, so I take it proving this is a big deal.”

“In normal circumstances, it would be more of a curiosity. I think it might have been Vivika that attacked Houston at the Academy. Either because she was testing him or maybe trying to re-lock him. But he was too strong even for his mother by that point.”

“You sound concerned.”

“Actually, just the opposite. I’m relieved he never trained under his mother. I hate to imagine how he might have turned out if he had been her apprentice instead of raised by his aunt. And I can only imagine what might have happened if he had been a psionic child of his capabilities with no training. He’s in good hands with you. Evocation training gives him the discipline he might not normally get if he exclusively studied psionics.”

“There is a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”

“The only reason Vivika would have locked away his power would be to hide him from his father. Particularly if she suspected someone was on to her.”

“You know he doesn’t really want to find his father.”

“He says that. But in your professional opinion, do you really believe it?”

“It doesn’t matter what I believe. What matters is that he needs to make that decision for himself. If we make it for him, he won’t respond well to it.”

“I know. I just…wanted to let you know that he’ll have whatever support he needs from me. I feel responsible for him. I am the one who…you know.”

“Fair enough. Can we talk about the Palatine’s request now?”

“Give me the details.”

I explain everything that Palatine Ross told me. I have only done a cursory read-through of the files he gave me to get a feel for what was needed. It will probably take me a week to really finish my review.  If any of the potential candidates would qualify for this task force, the Palatine is looking for some sort of protection against mind control and other vampiric powers.

“He’d have two choices: a talisman or psionic surgery,” says Joshua. “We have artificers that we work with to create talismans that protect against certain psionic powers. We mostly give them to mundane parents of psionic children. I’m sure you can imagine the difficulties those folks face! A lot of us also use them ourselves to supplement our own abilities. You know our powers pull from our own internal energies and it can be draining to constantly have to power wards. So we use the talismans as a general security system. They have the added bonus of also protect against a lot of abilities from the schools of enchantment, which honestly more closely mimic vampire powers than ours. Crafting talismans are pricey, but I get the feeling money isn’t really the issue here. They would provide solid protection against both psionic and enchantment effects.”

“Not sure how I feel about giving out a few dozen talismans that make humans immune to magic. These guys won’t be a threat to the Veil, but they could eventually become a threat to witches.”

“You think like a Justicar. But I understand your point. Though in this case, I don’t think it is much of an issue. The artificers can build in a failsafe to deactivate the talismans if things went sideways. So that isn’t the big concern. The big concern is that such items would not be bound to the wearer. If it is lost, stolen, or given away, anyone could use them. And while it would protect the wearer from mental control, it could still be ripped off the wearer’s neck.”

“And the psionic surgery? Is that what Vivika would have used to lock away Houston’s power?”

“No, no. Psionic locks are rituals. There are a few psionic combat powers that can cause temporary locks, but they aren’t the same thing at all. Psionic surgery is a new field of study. It’s really only something that has been in development the last four or five years. Very dangerous.
Very
invasive. And highly controversial. The Eighth of the Nine hasn’t even authorized theory classes on it yet until we’ve established more protocols. There are only maybe a dozen people who even know the basic mechanics behind it. Fortunately for you, I happen to be one of them.”

“So, is this actual real surgery? Cutting open the skull sort of thing?”

He nods. “It requires both a skilled surgeon and a powerful psion, and at this time we don’t have anyone who is both. This means it also requires incredible coordination between the individuals involved in the procedure. The Eighth of the Nine has many concerns about this line of research. On the one hand, it has incredible potential. The possibility of actually curing diseases of the mind. Alzheimer’s.  Dementia. Bipolar disorders. Particularly if we can get cross-discipline cooperation with necromancers or transmuters or even the technomancers involved in biological sciences. It can do an extraordinary amount of good. On the other, well, you know how this goes.”

“If the Eighth is that concerned, why would he approve its use?”

“I can’t say he even would. I’d need to talk to the Palatine myself first and get a better idea of what he wants. I know what he told you, but these are vampires. They never tell the whole story and always have ulterior motives. I can also talk with Chancellor Vianu and see if he can provide some context to what is going on in Philadelphia. The benefit of having a vampire as the head of the College of Necromancy means we can sometimes get information the vampires don’t want us to have. Then, I can approach the Eighth with the request.  I suspect he would approve it, however, as it would be vampire minions being used as lab rats and not any of our own people. The Nine are more open to experimentation when witches aren’t the ones in danger.”

“That’s…strangely comforting.”

“Go ahead and give the Palatine my contact information and have him call me soon. I do need to get back to the nexus. I’ve already been gone far too long and there are a lot of fires that need to be dealt with.”

I hear Houston coming down the stairs. “You guys done plotting your nefarious plots?” he yells.

“Just sorting out what kind of evil minions we need,” I reply. Houston leans in the doorway. “So, how’s your head?”

“Better. What are we having for dinner?”

“You are definitely better.” I look at Joshua. “Do you want to stay for dinner? I’m making baked ziti.”

“I wish I could, but I have a conference call in an hour with Chancellor Landry and Teresa Magus from the school of telekinesis. It is never wise to keep either of those ladies waiting.”

As soon as the Lord Advocate leaves, I head into the kitchen to start dinner. Houston follows in behind me. “So what was the top secret meeting?”

“Not secret per se. Simply client privilege.”

“This have to do with the vampire?”

“I’m going to have the Lord Advocate teach
me
Id Whip.”

“You can’t learn psionic powers. Psions can learn powers from other colleges, but other colleges can’t learn ours. We’re special.”

“Oh, I see how it is, now. Maybe I should pawn you off on Brynwolf then, Mr. Special. I think he’d make you feed yourself, though.”

“That would suck. I can’t cook. Guess you’re stuck with me. Speaking of feeding me, I talked to Aunt Ruth. They’d be happy to accept your invitation for Thanksgiving dinner, but she insists on making the pies.”

“Laurie was going to make pies, too. We’ll end up with two of everything.”

“Not seeing the problem here, Boss.”

“I’ll ask Laurie if she would make some sides instead. I don’t think she’ll mind either way. Your aunt and uncle going to be cool eating off paper plates?”

“I didn’t mention the paper plates. She would have insisted on bringing dishes.” Houston turns to leave the kitchen but pauses in the doorway. “You think we should invite the Lord Advocate?”

“What?” I almost drop the jar of sauce.

“I’m just saying, you know. Before he tried to give me a brain tumor, I asked him what his plans were for Thanksgiving. He doesn’t have any family.”

“You don’t take in a Lord Advocate like you would a stray puppy, Houston. Besides, he said he has to finish some stuff up and get back to the nexus. He’s the voice of the Eighth of the Nine. He’s got a lot on his plate.”

“Yah, you’re right. I’m gonna go goof off on the Xbox for a bit.” He leaves the kitchen, his shoulders slightly dropped. I sigh and wonder to myself whether or not to inform the Lord Advocate that my apprentice is starting to see him as a surrogate father figure.

Cleaning House

November 15
^th
,

“Finished my homework!” says Eric as he teleports behind me in the storeroom. Despite the number of times he’s done it, it still makes me jump. “What did I say about teleporting into the shop? Anastasia could have been in here.”