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Charlie felt strange going to ‘The red lady‘ on a Sunday with Vidar and Caine. They were all
in the car with Malcom.
“I have made sure the security is higher than usual. They all know what to watch out for,” Caine said from the front seat. Vidar grunted next to Charlie. She had half expected him to object to her coming along. Not that she would have let him leave her in the apartment. But he had not suggested it. She knew he wasn’t happy about it because of his grumpiness, but he
seemed to have reached the conclusion she was safer where he was. Add Caine to the mix and
Charlie felt safer in the car than she would have done alone in the apartment. The bar was unusually empty, even for being Sunday afternoon. She got the feeling the people occupying the seats were no regular customers. Jenni must have closed the place and the clan must have filled it with their own people. Despite this, they didn’t linger to talk to Jenni or any of the men. Vidar and Caine escorted Charlie straight to the back room. Adisa, Henry and Nasir were all waiting.
“No Jun?” Vidar asked.
LIEDIE
“Not yet, but he is on his way. Min is with him,” Adisa informed them. Around the table were the usual seven chairs. One was now covered with a red cloth, the seat Millard had sat in. There were also two backless chairs placed at the table. One between the chair Charlie sat in and the one Adisa usually used. The other was between Jun and the chair covered in red.
“Tonight, you will need to sit in your chair,” Vidar whispered in Charlie’s ear. She nodded. She understood the two stools, they were for the two guests. One being Min and the other Caine. It got Charlie thinking. Back before she knew she was the maiden, before she and Vidar had sorted out their relationship, she had sat at the table as a dealer. But she had used a regular chair. She wondered if that was because it hadn’t been official business or if it was because she was the maiden. She filed it away as a question she needed to ask Vidar later. They made some small talk, but the mood was anxious. All of them were impatient to get the meeting going. After a while they all were drawn towards the table. Without discussing it, they all took their places. Vidar and Cain stuck close to Charlie and escorted her to her chair. Vidar sitting down on her left and Caine on her right. When the door to the room opened, Charlie jumped. Apparently, she was more affected by the last couple of days than she had thought. Vidar placed an arm around her shoulder and she was relieved to see it was Jun who had opened the door. That was why no one else had reacted. They had heard him approaching. After Jun
came a woman, Min, Charlie presumed. She was nothing like what Charlie thought she would be like. She had expected a young, shy girl. Instead, she got a tall, beautiful woman that moved in a self–confident kind of way. She was what Charlie had expected Daniella to be.
“Min, this is Charlie, our maiden. Charlie, this is Min, she will help us find Millard,” Jun introduced the two. Charlie nodded towards the other woman. They were too far away for a handshake and something in the posture of both Vidar and Caine told her they wouldn’t like her getting up and moving over to Min.
“It’s an honour to meet a maiden. I have only heard the tales,” Min said.
“Thank you,” Charlie replied, as she didn’t know what else to say. Jun escorted Min to their seats. Min paused and looked at the stool and then looked at Charlie. Charlie realised the woman was about to object to Charlie having a chair when she could not. But Jun gave her a nudge towards her seat and Min changed her mind and sat down without a word.
“We have a problem. During last night’s attack, three of my men lost their lives. One of them was Jones, the gargoyle. Caine investigated how they managed to kill him. It was ice magic,” Vidar told the clan. They all looked alarmed and drew in a collective sharp breath. Okay, someone needed to let Charlie know why everyone acted as they did, Charlie thought.
“Ice magic?” Adisa asked. Both Vidar and Caine nodded.
“Why is that so bad?” Charlie asked. She had become used to asking any and all questions she had to the members of the clan. There was no need to filter them.
“You don’t know?” Min huffed. Charlie felt taken aback by the sharp answer.
“N–no. Sorry,” she said. Vidar and Cain both hissed.
“It’s okay, baby,” Vidar reassured her.
“Min, Charlie is a maiden. She only found out about our world a month ago. It is our honour to guide her on her journey to find her place in it. That means answering all questions she has and make sure she is comfortable asking them,” Jun told Min.
“But she has a permanent place at the table. Shouldn’t she have a better understanding of
DY
things before having that honour?” Min insisted. Charlie didn’t like the feeling the
conversation was giving her. She felt like a monkey someone had put people’s clothes on tot amuse tourists with how funny they acted.
“Charlie has two claims to her chair. She has it as our maiden and she has it as Vidar’s imprinted mate,” Adisa said. He didn’t sound happy with the conversation.
“Charlie is more than capable of handling a chair at our table,” Henry said.
“No one is expecting her to know everything, but she has been a quick learner and has always acted with a sound mind and honour,” Nasir added. Charlie felt grateful towards the vampires that all stood up for her. The feeling of being less than the others melted away. Caine leaned
into her.
“No honour,” he muttered low enough for it to stay between the two of them. Charlie nodded. She understood what he had been telling her.
“If you are done insulting Charlie, I would like to know what you have found out about Millard,” Vidar hissed. Charlie took his hand and enclosed it in both of hers. The energy in
the room was hostile, and she wanted to calm everyone down. They wouldn’t achieve anything if they started to turn on each other.
“I have been able to find traces of communication between Millard and a number of witches. From what I have been able to patch together so far, he has been searching for someone to collaborate with. I haven’t been able to find to what purpose. But it has to be something truly unsavoury as all the witches I have found traces of turned him down, and these are not
witches with a high moral standard,” Min told them.
“That would explain the ice magic,” Caine said. Charlie hesitated for a moment. She didn’t want to feel stupid again.
“No one explained why ice magic was so bad,” she pointed out, coming to the conclusion it was better to look foolish but have the answer than to put herself and others in danger by not understanding the situation.
“We did skip over that part, sorry,” Adisa said and gave Charlie a smile.
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“Witches controls magic in one way or another. Some are more adapt at manipulating it than others, like with any skill. The use of ice magic is evidence that a witch is involved in some way. The bad part that has everyone a bit rallied is, as magical beings, we are all vulnerable to magic. A powerful witch can literally remove the magic from us, leaving us no more than human and easy to kill,” Nasir explained. Charlie’s grip on Vidar’s hand tightened. That was bad, really bad.
“The guns,” she whispered as she connected the dots in her head.
“Told you she was a quick learner,” Nasir boasted to Min..
“What is she talking about?” Min asked.
“My warehouse that was hit; I used it to store guns before shipping,” Vidar told her. He was rubbing soothing circles using his thumb on Charlie’s hand.
“They would be worthless against you. But if he has a way to remove your magic,” Charlie said. She couldn’t continue the thought to the end.
“It will be okay,” Vidar told her.
“Yes, now we know and can take precautions,” Adisa agreed.
“You can do that?” Charlie asked.
‘Sure. We can find a witch of our own to make us wards against that kind of attack. It’s not cheap and the wards need to be recharged regularly, which isn’t cheap either. That is why we don’t wear them on a day–to–day basis. But it’s worth it if we see a direct threat,” Jun
answered.
“It sounds too easy,” she pointed out.
“It’s not. It can be tricky to find a witch willing to help who has the right abilities. But it’s
doable,” Min said.
“Then why did he do it?” Charlie asked. Everyone looked at her.
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“Did what, baby?” Vidar wanted to know.
“Why would Millard show you he has someone that can use magic if he knows you can protect yourself against it? Wouldn’t it be smarter for him to hold that card close to his ch*st and take you off guard?” Everyone looked at her again. Most of the men frowned, and Min looked annoyed.
“Maybe he didn’t have a choice, a gargoyle is
easy to get off you if they go into protective mode. Or he is overconfident. Or maybe he didn’t think of it. Who knows?” Min said. Charlie looked up at Vidar, he looked worried.
“I think we need to think about Charlie’s question,” Henry said. There was a murmur of agreement from everyone except from Min.
“Caine will continue his work,” Vidar told them.
“Min will keep digging. She will give any new information to Caine as soon as she gets it and
then to us,” Jun said. Charlie studied Min, and saw she wasn’t happy about what Jun said.
“I will reach out to my contact in the witch community, we can’t be too careful,” Nasir said.
“I will do the same,” Adisa told them.
“I’ll keep feelers out in the human underworld, in case the coward takes cover there,” Henry
offered.
“I think it would be good if you continue,” Vidar said to Caine.
“I agree,” Caine told him.
“Good. It will cover everything.” Vidar added.
“It’s the safest approach,” Caine agreed. Charlie didn’t understand a thing and looked at
Adisa for clarification. He chuckled.
“I understand as much as you do. Don’t even bother to try to figure it out. They have been doing this for centuries,” he told her. It made her smile.