Balance - Book one by Marc Dickason
CHAPTER 20
We left the hotel without incident, observing no sign we had been overheard by anyone. I assumed that the loan sharks had cleared out the entire building to keep their murder of us as secret as possible.
The ride home was completed in utter silence, with Benny behind the wheel. Once I heard him stifle another sob, but upon looking his face showed no signs of emotion.
We arrived home and both retired to our respective rooms.
I must have fallen asleep, because next I remember it was late into the night and Benny was knocking on the door.
He entered, dressed in fresh clothes, and I realised that my own were still stained with blood.
“We need to take you in to the Department of Magic,” he said.
For a moment I had no idea what he was talking about, my mind still groggy and swimming with images of violence. I was to be registered as a Class 5 magical hazard, or whatever the specific term was.
I stared at him in puzzled disbelief, amazed that he was choosing not to speak about the massacre that had occurred not a few hours earlier.
I realised, however, that I had no desire to speak of it myself. What was there to say?
“When?” I asked at last.
“Tomorrow.”
I thought about this, becoming aware that I really had no idea what would become of me in the government’s hands. What was done with people who were capable of destroying a city block?
“What will they do with me?” I asked.
He shrugged in response, “Not exactly sure, to tell you the truth. They’ll make you do some tests; write some exams, judge your response to certain situations, that kind of stuff. It won’t take more than a few weeks, maybe a month or two. You’ll have to check in with an Enforcer every few days for a while, I’m afraid.”
“They’ll keep me in custody?”
“Yes. I’m sorry it has to be so soon, Jet, but if I’m to have a decent chance of covering up our shit I need to be seen following the law.”
A thought occurred to me, loud and clear as a bell in my head. I almost cursed myself out loud for not realising it before. Benny could be turning me in, handing me over to take the rap. After all, I was the only one who had committed any murders on this little crime spree of ours. Sure, Benny had been there, but I had no idea of what he was capable, of what connections he had…
Or was that just paranoia?
“How are you going to cover this up?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, “I know people in the Department. People that matter, people that owe me favours. But they’re not miracle workers and it would help if I followed certain rules right now. Like, for example, not being seen to harbour a known danger.”
“What about Selena?”
“It will be a bit difficult, take some work, but you don’t have to worry about her either.”
He seemed to be promising a lot without giving real explanations. The bell in my head began to ring louder.
“How?” I asked, studying his face.
Without really intending it my Spirit extended and a spell was cast. I slipped into his mind, gently eased through barriers of defence and started probing for signs of deceit.
He opened his mouth to speak then paused, sensing the intrusion. I expected his response would be one of protest, but he instead adopted a cautious attitude that was thick with fear.
“There is a network in the Enforcers,” he explained, “A group of people who help each other out. From time to time we do favours for one another.”
I detected no sign of deceit, only caution.
“Ah. Good old government corruption,” I muttered.
He relaxed. “Don’t worry; they won’t make you pay for the tests, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“That’s not what I’m thinking.”
“Then what?”
I sat up in bed. “My mother, remember?”
He nodded. “I remember. What do you want to do?”
“I want you to bring her in, Benny.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. And I want to be there.”
He diverted his gaze to the ceiling. “That’s a bad idea, Jet.”
“I need to speak to her. Please, Benny.”
His gaze drifted back to my face, glimmers of emotion reflecting visibly for the briefest moment; Pain, distress, anxiety.
“Fine,” he muttered with a sigh, “Tomorrow morning. Be ready.”
“Okay.”
But he did not turn to leave. “There’s something I need to know, Jet.”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t you do anything?”
I had no idea what he was referring to, “About what?”
“About Brent. Why didn’t you stop them? You could’ve taken every man in that room apart with your bare hands.” He was watching me, eyes swimming with unexpressed tears.
I swallowed, unable to meet his gaze. “I was scared.”
“Oh.” He nodded.
“I’m sorry. About Brent. About all of it.”
“I know you are. I know you are.” He turned to leave then stopped. “She won’t stop.”
“What?”
“Selena.”
“You just said…”
“I said I can influence the law, Jet. Not her.”
I had not thought about this. With so much going on, so much to think about, I had not fully registered what had occurred the day before. I had betrayed Selena. More than betrayed; I had smashed her in the face hard enough to send her flying. But had there been a choice? There was no doubt in my mind she would have had us both arrested and tried for our crimes, had I not acted the way I did. And wouldn’t that have inevitably led to the death of Brent? What little difference that made at this point.
My heart ached. Oh Selena.
A groan escaped me and I buried my face in my hands.
“Selena the Witch,” he muttered, “I could…”
“You could what?”
“I could let her take the fall for what we’ve done. Get her put away. There’s no better solution that I can think of.”
“Have her put away…?”
“Yes. It makes sense. I wouldn’t be proud of it, Selena is a good person. But things were done that needed to be done and we did them. Now there are consequences to deal with and we must deal with them.”
No, I did not want a person like Selena on the loose and after me. Apology or explanation seemed ridiculous at this point. But having Selena take the fall? How did I feel about that? If she had not been pissed off before, this seemed the best way of ensuring she was frothing at the mouth. But certainly, if she was in a Magical Detention Centre that was the end of it.
“I’m not sure how I feel about that. Isn’t there some other way?” I said at last.
“I’m not sure. She wouldn’t exactly be someone you wanted to hang out with either way, Jet.”
“I know but…”
“Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He exited.
For a long while after he closed the door I lay staring at the ceiling, wondering if I would ever be able to forgive myself for betraying the only woman I have ever associated with the word “love”.
The next thing I remember was being on the verge of consciousness, drifting off to dreamland, when a noise from somewhere in the apartment jolted me back to reality. I sat bolt upright, eyes darting around, my Spirit coming alive with a savage energy so intense it enveloped the entire room.
I climbed from bed, crept over to the door and stood with my back to the wall, waiting for the intruder.
The noise came again; a soft, musical chime from the direction of the kitchen. I realised that it was an extremely familiar sound, though I could not quiet place it.
Then it hit me; the fridge door had been left open and was politely asking to be closed.
I stalked into the kitchen, slammed the door shut and returned to bed.
But with body singing with adrenalin sleep wa
s impossible.
I lay on my back and waited for the sun to rise, wondering if the intruder had been Selena, I would have been capable of putting up a fight.
We left the hotel without incident, observing no sign we had been overheard by anyone. I assumed that the loan sharks had cleared out the entire building to keep their murder of us as secret as possible.
The ride home was completed in utter silence, with Benny behind the wheel. Once I heard him stifle another sob, but upon looking his face showed no signs of emotion.
We arrived home and both retired to our respective rooms.
I must have fallen asleep, because next I remember it was late into the night and Benny was knocking on the door.
He entered, dressed in fresh clothes, and I realised that my own were still stained with blood.
“We need to take you in to the Department of Magic,” he said.
For a moment I had no idea what he was talking about, my mind still groggy and swimming with images of violence. I was to be registered as a Class 5 magical hazard, or whatever the specific term was.
I stared at him in puzzled disbelief, amazed that he was choosing not to speak about the massacre that had occurred not a few hours earlier.
I realised, however, that I had no desire to speak of it myself. What was there to say?
“When?” I asked at last.
“Tomorrow.”
I thought about this, becoming aware that I really had no idea what would become of me in the government’s hands. What was done with people who were capable of destroying a city block?
“What will they do with me?” I asked.
He shrugged in response, “Not exactly sure, to tell you the truth. They’ll make you do some tests; write some exams, judge your response to certain situations, that kind of stuff. It won’t take more than a few weeks, maybe a month or two. You’ll have to check in with an Enforcer every few days for a while, I’m afraid.”
“They’ll keep me in custody?”
“Yes. I’m sorry it has to be so soon, Jet, but if I’m to have a decent chance of covering up our shit I need to be seen following the law.”
A thought occurred to me, loud and clear as a bell in my head. I almost cursed myself out loud for not realising it before. Benny could be turning me in, handing me over to take the rap. After all, I was the only one who had committed any murders on this little crime spree of ours. Sure, Benny had been there, but I had no idea of what he was capable, of what connections he had…
Or was that just paranoia?
“How are you going to cover this up?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, “I know people in the Department. People that matter, people that owe me favours. But they’re not miracle workers and it would help if I followed certain rules right now. Like, for example, not being seen to harbour a known danger.”
“What about Selena?”
“It will be a bit difficult, take some work, but you don’t have to worry about her either.”
He seemed to be promising a lot without giving real explanations. The bell in my head began to ring louder.
“How?” I asked, studying his face.
Without really intending it my Spirit extended and a spell was cast. I slipped into his mind, gently eased through barriers of defence and started probing for signs of deceit.
He opened his mouth to speak then paused, sensing the intrusion. I expected his response would be one of protest, but he instead adopted a cautious attitude that was thick with fear.
“There is a network in the Enforcers,” he explained, “A group of people who help each other out. From time to time we do favours for one another.”
I detected no sign of deceit, only caution.
“Ah. Good old government corruption,” I muttered.
He relaxed. “Don’t worry; they won’t make you pay for the tests, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“That’s not what I’m thinking.”
“Then what?”
I sat up in bed. “My mother, remember?”
He nodded. “I remember. What do you want to do?”
“I want you to bring her in, Benny.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. And I want to be there.”
He diverted his gaze to the ceiling. “That’s a bad idea, Jet.”
“I need to speak to her. Please, Benny.”
His gaze drifted back to my face, glimmers of emotion reflecting visibly for the briefest moment; Pain, distress, anxiety.
“Fine,” he muttered with a sigh, “Tomorrow morning. Be ready.”
“Okay.”
But he did not turn to leave. “There’s something I need to know, Jet.”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t you do anything?”
I had no idea what he was referring to, “About what?”
“About Brent. Why didn’t you stop them? You could’ve taken every man in that room apart with your bare hands.” He was watching me, eyes swimming with unexpressed tears.
I swallowed, unable to meet his gaze. “I was scared.”
“Oh.” He nodded.
“I’m sorry. About Brent. About all of it.”
“I know you are. I know you are.” He turned to leave then stopped. “She won’t stop.”
“What?”
“Selena.”
“You just said…”
“I said I can influence the law, Jet. Not her.”
I had not thought about this. With so much going on, so much to think about, I had not fully registered what had occurred the day before. I had betrayed Selena. More than betrayed; I had smashed her in the face hard enough to send her flying. But had there been a choice? There was no doubt in my mind she would have had us both arrested and tried for our crimes, had I not acted the way I did. And wouldn’t that have inevitably led to the death of Brent? What little difference that made at this point.
My heart ached. Oh Selena.
A groan escaped me and I buried my face in my hands.
“Selena the Witch,” he muttered, “I could…”
“You could what?”
“I could let her take the fall for what we’ve done. Get her put away. There’s no better solution that I can think of.”
“Have her put away…?”
“Yes. It makes sense. I wouldn’t be proud of it, Selena is a good person. But things were done that needed to be done and we did them. Now there are consequences to deal with and we must deal with them.”
No, I did not want a person like Selena on the loose and after me. Apology or explanation seemed ridiculous at this point. But having Selena take the fall? How did I feel about that? If she had not been pissed off before, this seemed the best way of ensuring she was frothing at the mouth. But certainly, if she was in a Magical Detention Centre that was the end of it.
“I’m not sure how I feel about that. Isn’t there some other way?” I said at last.
“I’m not sure. She wouldn’t exactly be someone you wanted to hang out with either way, Jet.”
“I know but…”
“Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He exited.
For a long while after he closed the door I lay staring at the ceiling, wondering if I would ever be able to forgive myself for betraying the only woman I have ever associated with the word “love”.
The next thing I remember was being on the verge of consciousness, drifting off to dreamland, when a noise from somewhere in the apartment jolted me back to reality. I sat bolt upright, eyes darting around, my Spirit coming alive with a savage energy so intense it enveloped the entire room.
I climbed from bed, crept over to the door and stood with my back to the wall, waiting for the intruder.
The noise came again; a soft, musical chime from the direction of the kitchen. I realised that it was an extremely familiar sound, though I could not quiet place it.
Then it hit me; the fridge door had been left open and was politely asking to be closed.
I stalked into the kitchen, slammed the door shut and returned to bed.
But with body singing with adrenalin sleep wa
I lay on my back and waited for the sun to rise, wondering if the intruder had been Selena, I would have been capable of putting up a fight.