Witch for Hire (14 page)

The guy turned to the mermaid, "When she's done we'll start treating you again. You're going to be fine." They stepped back to give me room to work.
 

I studied the traditional tub and shower combo. The way the shower was constructed, one molded piece, made my job easier. Thrusting energy through the shower I etched runes in the plastic along the lip of the tub and up the walls. Directing with the wand, I spun out a thick blanket of magic. Here, I motioned with the wand, take shape from the runes. I want you to stretch from this side, down along this part, and up this side. I want you to seal so that nothing can fit between you. I want you to hold strong and stay. Slowly, much more slowly than I liked, the barrier took shape. After the barrier was finished, I directed a little bit of power to turn on the water, and changed it to a shower setting. I started it on the warm side, knowing the hot water wouldn't last long, but warm water dissolved salt better than cold. She wouldn't be comfortable in the heat but it wouldn't hurt her.
 

I turned around, and found not only two guys with big bags of salt, but a small ladder. "Could one of you climb up the ladder and slowly pour in the salt with the shower spray?"

"Not a problem."

I moved to give them more space; the bathroom wasn't large enough for everyone. Clark and the two medical practitioners were waiting outside while the salt was added. I motioned the warlock back to the tub, leaving the bathroom so he had space to work.
 

The warlock asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Not well." Her voice sounded strange, but it was audible. The warlock had performed a spell for us to hear her in English.

"Worse than before?"

"I don't like the warm water. I feel strange."
 

Looking around I couldn't find any clothing.

"Michelle," Clark interrupted. "What are you looking for?"

"A shirt, anything she can wear." The poor thing didn't want to be showing off her assets.
 

"I grabbed a spare shirt while I was upstairs. For a while we were a lot more worried about keeping her alive than modesty." He tossed it over the top and the mermaid did her best to put it on as quickly as she could. Luckily it was a thick dark t-shirt. I studied the water flow, realizing that it wasn't filling very fast.
 

"Clark, we need to bring more water down. This isn't filling fast enough." We needed a lot more water in a hurry. Stretching out my power, I flipped the water to cold because it carried more oxygen.
 

"We can haul water down, or put a water hose down here, but I don't have any better ideas, do you?"

"No. Do you have a long term plan?" This wasn't going to work for long.

"I called the aquarium. They're sending equipment they use to transport dolphins and other mermaid-sized creatures. It won't be here for another hour or two."

"Miss?" The warlock was calling me.

"Call me Michelle. How is she?" He was still kneeling next to her. She was looking more comfortable and I thought her color was better.
 

"She's looking better, but could I reach in without hurting the spell?" I wasn't sure why he was asking, he had to know more than just healing.

"Sure, just make sure it stays sealed to your skin and reforms when you remove your hand." He flashed a smile at me, and I realized how attractive he was. He was tall, a bit over six feet, with brown hair and dimples. I pulled a card out of my pocket. "If something goes wrong, yell. This is my number in case I'm outside earshot. I always have my phone on me."

"Thanks," he called out as I walked back over to Clark.

"Let's get started on the water," I didn't want to think about my lack of love life. We started in the kitchen and laundry room, finding five gallon buckets. I started filling those while Clark looked to see if hoses could reach the basement bathroom.
 

Thirty minutes later we stopped when she was fully submerged. She still didn't look comfortable, but that was a distant third to alive and mostly healthy. Clark and I sat on the front steps taking a break.

"You never did tell me what happened. I think you owe me an explanation at this point." I said. Greedily, I chugged fluids. Water had never tasted so good.

"We'd been looking in to this human trafficking ring for a while and had finally gotten the evidence for a warrant. We knocked down the door and a few guys started shooting. One of the guys was shooting from in the basement. Officers returned fire. When it was all said and done, several rounds had gone through the glass and the tank shattered. She fell out, along with all the water. Luckily, she wasn't injured. We cleared the room, moved her to the bath tub, and had the two medics look at her. We still haven't gotten all of her information, but we figured out fairly quickly that she needed salt water and couldn't breathe air. Anyway, I called you and we moved the rest of the captives out. That's it. Will you stay to help move her to the truck?" He dropped his head into his hands, massaging the back of his neck.
 

"I doubt that's the full story, but I'm to tired too care. I'll stay for her. Are the aquarium people going to call or just show up?"

"I don't know. I'm going to sit here until someone makes me move," he said ruefully.
 

Laughing, I agreed. Minutes ticked by as we rested. In the distance a big diesel engine rumbled as it down shifted to make it up the hill. The truck rumbled closer and I perked up. It might be the folks we'd been waiting for. The truck rolled to a halt in front of the house. It wasn't an eighteen wheeler, but it was the little brother of one. It had a big aquarium logo on the side. Two guys jumped out, and headed over.
 

"Hey, we're looking for Matthew Clark. He said ya'll needed help with a mermaid." I wasn't sure what to think about these two. They were about thirty, and looked like the boy next door. Nothing was remarkable, other than the energy they put off. I was guessing they were shifters.
 

Clark stood up. "Nice to meet you." They shook hands. "I'm Clark. We have a mermaid that was being held against her will. Her original habitat was broken and we need to move her to some place more hospitable to marine life."

The same guy, with darker hair, spoke again, "The van is equipped with a large transportation tank and a small crane. We usually carry creatures to the truck in a special net. At the truck we attach them to the crane and then lower them into the tank."

I spoke up. "I'm worried about her going that long without being able to breath. If you can carry her, I can hold a bubble of water around her."

The aquarium guys retrieved the net from the truck and followed us down to the impromptu tank. As soon as we reached the bathroom door, we had a problem. They couldn't fit the net through the door. I could remove the wall, but it would damage the shower and water would flood the room, dropping her to the bottom of the tub.
 

"What are you thinking?" Clark asked, while the guys stood by the door holding the net.

"I think I can make a shield and levitate her to the net."

"Are you crazy? You'll be exhausted after you do that, and for what, to prove you can?" Clark demanded.

I looked him in the eye. "That girl didn't deserve to be in the hands of human traffickers. I can do this. She might be able to survive without breathing for a few minutes, but that's unnecessary. She doesn't deserve to suffer more because I'll be tired. Help me help her."
 

Clark pursed his lips and finally waved me forward.

I looked at the unearthly beautiful girl. "I'm going to move you to a better place. Nod if you understand me." She nodded. "I need to take you out of the tub so we can move you, is that ok?" She nodded again.
 

Concentrating through my wand, I formed a shield right around her, trapping the water in with her. Locking the shield in my mind, I found the magical threads holding the wall of her tank, and told them to allow her bubble through. Clark steadied me and I rotated her on her back before directing her through the magical barrier and out the door.
 

The guys snapped open the net, and I slowly lowered her. They held her, relieving me of her weight. As soon as she settled on the net, I retraced the shield bubble around her until it only surrounded her head and gills. Behind me I could feel Clark open the drain on the tub.
 

I trailed the men, because I needed to be close by to maintain the spell. At the truck, I watched them gently transfer her to the crane basket. One of them moved to the controls, raising her in the air. Before he swung her over the tank, I dropped the shield, not wanting to contaminate their water. The basket slid into the water, allowing her to slip over the side. The men secured the crane and the top of the tank.
 

When my focus wavered, I lost my balance, stumbling back to land on my butt. Crap, I'd been concentrating too hard and hadn't realized how much energy I'd been pushing. Stupid, stupid me.
 

Clark hurried over. "Michelle?"
 

I tried to wave him off. I was fine. Next thing I knew I was being set in a chair on the porch.
 

"Michelle, I need you to drink this." I sipped at the glass held up to my mouth. It wasn't one of my brews, but it was a good energy stabilizer. Something else was slipped around my neck. Clark was hovering over me and the truck was gone.

"I over extended, didn't I?"

"Yes, but I didn't keep an eye on you either."

"Hell, it's dark out now." The sky was an even blue and the sun was nowhere to be seen.
 

"The sun goes down fast this time of year. It was starting to fade when we went back in for the mermaid, who is safely on her way to a better location." His furrowed brow wasn't reassuring.
 

"Could you bring my bag over? I need some food if I'm going to make it home in one piece."

"Are you sure you should drive?"

"I'm sure I shouldn't."

Michelle

Hunger drove me down to an early breakfast. Runes could amplify power but the energy still came from the practitioner. That's why humans had such a hard time being hedge-practitioners, never mind anything more; their bodies couldn't handle those types of energy fluctuations. There were few out of shape witches, and even fewer fat ones, but if you wanted to be able to do powerful magic you needed to be in great shape.

Not only was I hungry, but I was still tired. With only one day off in the past week, the pace was beginning to wear on me. I didn't like it when my life was this crazy.
 

"Good morning, Landa," I went straight to the sideboard, grabbing anything that caught my eye.

"Good morning, child. You're the only one who's going to be down for a while. Do you want to tell me what's been on your mind?" Landa was far more perceptive than I'd like. She set a glass of water next to my plate and sat down across from me.
 

"Where is everyone?" I didn't want to answer her.
 

"Paxton's been out of town for a bit, and Baden's on vacation."
 

Paxton was the resident vampire. I hadn't realized he was away, not surprising considering how seldom I saw him when he was here. Baden was a shifter, a Bengal tiger to be exact. He'd been affiliated with a pack for as long as I'd known him, but wasn't very involved in the pack. Baden was a real estate agent. I thought traveling channeled his need to roam.
 

"Troy, Shelly, and Jack moved out," she continued.

"Why'd they move out?" They'd all been fey of some kind, but it was odd that they'd moved out at the same time.
 

"They wanted to go live in nature for a time. I can't blame them. They're young and don't remember the way it was. I think they'll be back before winter really sets in," she finished with a chuckle.
 

They had picked the worst time of year to strike out on their own and try to live as their ancestors had. If they made it past the third full freeze, I'd be shocked. You wouldn't catch me roughing it outdoors in the winter.
 

 
"Now," Landa said. "I've answered your questions. Will you answer mine?"
 

I'd known she'd circle back around. "I don't want to."

"Darling, I can tell something is bothering you. Not those trolls, either, though they're enough to trouble anyone."
 

Silence drifted over the table as I considered. "I met my dad," I answered.
 

She stared at me. "Your father?" I could tell she was confused by the crinkled brow.
 

"Yes, my long lost father. Imagine my surprise that he was my old teacher, Mr. Richards. I found him staying with my mom," I sounded bitter. Coming to terms with everything was a process and I hadn't left the anger behind.
 

"What did they tell you?" she asked. Landa had known my mother, and probably my father, longer than I'd been alive. I was betting she wanted to know what she could say.
 

"Not that much. They were scared. The big bad clan was out to get them, and it was all for me."
 

"They had reasons, Michelle."
 

"Oh, I know. They had lots of reasons. They told me a few of them, and at this point it sounds like they're trying to justify actions they think were wrong. They want me to understand, but that takes time."

"Child, from someone who knows more than you, trust them. They did the best they could. Many of their friends were afraid to help them. You can't blame them for being scared when you don't know what they were afraid of," she paused, "and, child, it's better if you don't try to find out."

"That's basically what they said." I toyed with a piece of bacon I was eating. "I'm letting Dad into my life. He's helping me teach a class for hedge-practitioners. I'm letting him into my life, trusting him to be there. That's all I can do right now. Everything is going to take time. I need time to understand."