The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 12

"There was definitely strangeness going on," Cassie said. "Though, at the time, I was convinced it was a completely different, and more ordinary, kind of strangeness."

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Willow Creek, 2000

Bella was being weird. 

Don't get me wrong, I still thought she was overprotective and hypercritical. She was still disappearing at all hours of the day and night, ostensibly for work. We still argued about almost everything.

However, she was suddenly completely supportive of Gwen coming over to study. Even weirder, she seemed very interested in Gwen - in her background and her family, but also in her thoughts, hopes and worries. I admit I might have been a little jealous, but her sudden interest seemed to extend to me too. 

The next weekend things got even stranger.

It was Edwards' day off and, you might recall, he'd made plans to join Mr. Brown and his friends fishing. Hoping that I had enough good will from Bella, I asked if I could go along.

"Of course," Bella said with a smile. "In fact, if you don't think anyone would mind, Edwards, I'd like to join you as well."

"You... you want to come fishing ma'am?" Edwards managed to sound both shocked and polite with the same breath.

"Well, no," Bella admitted. "I was hoping to catch up a little with Lilian. It's been ages since we got together."

Excited as I was about getting to go over to Gwen's, the idea of my elegant stepmother hanging out with the bohemian artist Mrs. Brown almost made me laugh out loud. Still, neither Edwards nor I were willing to argue with Bella about it.

"Of course, ma'am. You're most welcome, I'm sure," Edwards smiled nervously.

"Bella," Mrs. Brown greeted us with obvious surprise. "I wasn't expecting you. You look... well, amazing."

Honestly, until that day I don't think I'd known she even owned a pair of jeans. (Edwards, always discrete, had managed to run off and join the guys fishing in the canal almost as soon as we arrived.)

"Thank you." Bella was all smiles. "I hope you don't mind me tagging along. It's been so long since you and I just got together and chatted about things."

Gwen gave me an even-more-perplexed-than-usual look. 

I was excited enough about spending the afternoon with her, outside of school, that even Bella's presence wasn't going to bother me.

We made a beeline for Gwen's room, leaving Bella and Mrs. Brown making small talk.

Bella seemed so completely comfortable, dressed in casual clothes I'd never imagined her wearing, hanging out in that little house, chatting amiably about art with Mrs. Brown. I remember thinking to myself - 'who is this woman, and what did she do with my stepmother?' 

Of course, alone with Gwen, I quickly forgot about Bella's weird behavior. Although, searching for something, anything, to talk about, I latched onto Bella's topic, and we started chatting about art. I found myself asking Gwen about her artistic process. What she told me would soon change my life in the most unexpected ways.

"I start by Centering," Gwen said. "It's something Grandmother taught me when I was little. She would say 'Feel the wind, blowing over you. Listen to the water, flowing by. Smell the green grass as it grows. Be warmed by the Sun and touch the memories of the Moon.'"

"That's cool," I said, feeling oddly moved. "So, it's like a meditation."

"Similar," Gwen mused. "For me, meditation is about silence and stillness. Centering is about connecting and moving, creating and changing."

"What do you think?" she asked, showing me her new painting.

"It's different," I said. "It's... warm and... it's about connecting, isn't it."

"I'm glad you like it," Gwen smiled, and I felt warm and connected too.

Yeah, I felt good about my friendship with Gwen and that made me feel good about life in general. I decided that Bella was just being decent, wanting to get to know my friend. Maybe, I thought, she was even trying to make up for her overreaction to me going over to Gwen's that day.

Then, a few days later, came the museum trip. 

Gwen was doing advanced art classes, you see, because of course she was. As a class assignment, she had to visit the local art museum and analyze some paintings. Mrs. Brown was taking her and they asked if I wanted to join them. 

I wasn't even surprised Bella invited herself along again.

I admit, before Gwen, I was all about music. I didn't know much about art, and I'd never been to the museum before (except maybe for some elementary school trip when I was little).

Of course, Willow Creek was all about music and especially about jazz. So, I probably shouldn't have been surprised when Gwen led to me paintings about music.

"You can hear it, can't you," she said, looking at the painting. "Like the music is caught in the brush strokes."

Looking at the painting with her, I almost could.

Even as I looked at the painting, I caught a bit of conversation behind us.

"It's not that she's difficult," Mrs. Brown was saying. "I think I could handle 'difficult.' She does her schoolwork and her chores without complaint. Actually, she's always very quick about her chores. I swear, I'll leave the room and come back moments later to find everything clean and Gwen reading a book. I don't know how she does it."

"But?" Bella promoted.

"Well, she's usually very polite and very quiet," Mrs. Brown said, "but I worry about her, Bella. You know she's been through something terrible, but she won't talk about it. I think she has nightmares... she hardly seems to sleep. I'll hear her up at all hours of the night. Sometimes, she barely eats. She has these... outbursts... startling at nothing, becoming totally panicked, then a moment later she's calm as a lake. Doug says she'll talk when she's ready, but I worry she needs more help than we're giving her. I just wish she'd open up to me."

"You know if you, or Doug, need anything, Mortimer and I are here for you," Bella said.

"We really appreciate that, Bella," Mrs. Brown replied.

"And if you're worried about Gwen, I may know some people who can help," Bella added. "The company I work for has a lot of resources. I'm sure I could get you a recommendation or referral to specialists."

"Oh, I don't know," Mrs. Brown said. "I'm sure Doug's right and we just need to give her time... but I'll keep it in mind."

What was Bella up to, I thought indignantly. OK, Gwen was a little odd and could have a strange turn sometimes, but she wasn't ready for a straitjacket and a rubber room or anything.

As we said out goodbyes outside the museum, I found myself suddenly suspicious.

Was Bella up to something sinister? Did all those questions she asked Gwen, about her past and her feelings, have some hidden agenda? Had she invited herself along, over the weekend and to the museum, just to get closer to Mrs. Brown, and through her to find out more about Gwen? 

Why?

One thing I knew for sure - Gwen was my best friend and if Bella tried to do anything to come between us, she was going to fail!

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 11

"After that, Gwen came over after school almost every day," Cassie said with a smile. "I really was helping her with her homework. Like she's said, she had some odd gaps in her knowledge. It led to some strange conversations..."

"Oh, tell them about Career Day," Gwen said, chuckling at a memory.

"Oh God, I'd forgotten about that," Cassie laughed.

"What happened on Career Day?" Mariah asked.

"Well, it was a pretty strange day," Cassie said.

"OK, what happened on Career Day?!" Miranda insisted, knowing all too well what her family's threshold for "strange" was.

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Buckingham High School, 2000

It started out as an ordinary school day. We spent the morning sitting in class listening to our teacher drone on about... oh, I have no idea what she droned on about (and probably didn't even at the time). 

"Remember students," Ms. Coombes said as she wrapped up her morning lecture, "today is Career Day. After lunch we will be gathering in the gymnasium to learn about some possible future careers for you. We have some very distinguished guest speakers today and I expect you all to be on your best behavior."

Well, at least it was a break from an afternoon of listening to her drone on about something.

The gym at Buckingham was in a separate building. Honestly, it always seemed to me to be just a big room with terrible acoustics and a funky smell where the sweat of generations of teenage athletes had long ago sunk into the wood. 

At least they'd made some effort to decorate it for career day. 

As for distinguished guest speakers... well, that's where things start to get interesting. 

First, we had Jacques Villareal talking to us about... well, he called it Finance and Business Consulting Services.

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"Wait, Jacques Villareal?" Mariah interrupted. "As in Jacques Villareal, the gangster!?"

"That's the one," Cassie nodded.

"Your high school had an organized crime kingpin as a guest speaker at Career Day!?" Mariah gasped.

"Yeah," Cassie nodded.

"You know, when I was in Moonwood Mill, the school had a Career Day," Miranda mused, "I think we had a guy from the lumber mill and the manager of the local Gas n' Gulp." 

"I'm pretty sure he recruited someone that day too," Cassie added, a shadow passing briefly across her eyes. "But that's a different story."

Miranda looked at her mother, puzzled, but Mariah quieted any question she might have asked with a gentle shake of her head. 

"Another day, perhaps," Gwen said softly. 

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Anyway, as if that wasn't weird enough, we had another distinguished speaker, this one from the government.

Director Shantel Bridges spoke at length, and rather eloquently, about the importance and value of government service. Interestingly, as I recall, she didn't actually say anything specific about the nature of the government service.

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"Wait a minute," Mariah said. "Shantel Bridges. I know that name. Where do I know that name?"

Cassie and Gwen just sat there, looking mysterious. 

"Liberty!" Mariah gasped. "Shantel Bridges was... I can't say."

"She was Liberty Lee's boss at the Agency," Gwen supplied.

"So, wait," Miranda said. "You had a crime boss and a spy captain at Career Day, and all I got was the pervy manager from Gas 'n Gulp?"

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Not that we knew it at the time. We just knew we had two distinguished speakers, like Ms. Coombes said. We had no idea neither of them was anything but exactly what they seemed. 

We certainly didn't know that one of them was there with a very specific agenda that would eventually end up directly involving us.

Even not knowing any of that, it was still a weird day. I once again found myself running into the odd blind spots in Gwen's knowledge of the world, and my own blind spots when it came to Gwen.

"So, what's the point of all of this?" Gwen asked me after we'd listened to Director Bridges' presentation.

"Well, for one thing, I'm pretty sure I don't want to work in finance or for the government," I answered. "What about you?"

"No, I mean this whole Career Day thing? What is this about?" Gwen looked genuinely puzzled.

"Oh, you know, trying to teach us about the various jobs we can get," I said. "So, we can decide how to slowly kill our souls."

"Why would anyone do that?" Gwen asked, clearly appalled.

"You know, for money," I said. "I'm going to be a musician. I hope. That is, if I can make it in the music business. I know my family is rich," I added self-consciously, "but I don't want to just live off the family money forever and..."

Gwen just looked confused.

"Oh, come on!" I laughed. "They have money in Windenburg. What did your family do for work?"

"Nothing," Gwen shrugged. "Well, I mean, we served the Council, but I don't think there was money involved."

"So, what did you do for money?" 

It was my turn to be genuinely puzzled. I realized I had thought of Gwen in terms of the Brown family, who were definitely not well to do.

"Grandmother always had some to give us when we needed it, which wasn't often," Gwen said. "I've never really thought about it before."

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"Um, how rich are you? Mariah asked.

"Oh, come on," Miranda laughed. "It's not like your family is struggling. Danielle is a best-selling novelist and Londyn is an award-winning actress."

"Yeah, but I grew up with Janet, the struggling lounge singer, and her parade of petty thief and drug dealing boyfriends," Mariah reminded her. "I have a lot of different life experiences." 

"Gwen has occasionally used the term 'treasure horde' when referring to her money," Cassie put in.

"As much fun as Gwen's relationship with money is," Miranda said, "I think we're getting off track. You had gangsters and spies at Career Day. That's something beyond even our usual strangeness."

"Is it really, though?" Mariah asked wryly. 

"There was definitely strangeness going on," Cassie agreed.

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Author's Note: Some quick links to earlier stories referenced here.

Jacques Villareal: first appearance, learning more.

Mariah likely encountered Shantel Bridges's name when reading Confidential Files of Agent Liberty Lee.

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 10

Glimmerbrook Watch, Present Day

"Alright," Cassie said with a smile, "that's studio business dealt with for now. Though I'll be up all night reading scripts."

"Did you get their guy off OK?" Miranda asked.

"I had the car service wait and drive him back," Cassie said. "Rather than abandoning him on the edge of the forest... unlike some people."

"That happened one time," Gwen rolled her eyes, "and they found him eventually. He was fine."

"OK, much as I'd like to hear that story... I think... I want to know more about you guys as teens," Mariah smiled.

"Right," Cassie laughed. "Where was I?"

"'Fated friends'," Mariah said, amused frustration weighing down each word.

"Oh yeah," Cassie sighed theatrically. "Well..." 

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Ophilia Villa, Willow Creek, 2000 

After Gwen left that night, Bella and I had a huge fight. I believe she said I was irresponsible and disrespectful, and I probably said something about how she was a controlling hypocrite who wasn't my real mother. 

Naturally, I stormed off. 

As usual, it fell to my father to try to make peace.

I'll admit, he managed to come up with a pretty interesting compromise idea... if I could make it work.

Buckingham High School

Have you had ever been perfectly clear on things at night and have them suddenly seem much more confusing the next morning? 

That's how I felt. The night before, the idea that we were destined to be best friends had made sense out of my confusing feelings. Looking at Gwen the next morning, having her smile at me, everything suddenly felt very confusing again.

"I mean, I know I've only known her for a few weeks," I said to Molly later, in the cafeteria, "but it feels like..."

"It feels special," Molly said. "You really like her."

"Well, yeah," I said. "Then I find out that her mom was best friends with my birth mom... it's like..."

"Fate," Molly said with a little gasp.

"Right," I said. "Like we're supposed to be together... to be friends. When I'm with her I feel..."

"Like the whole room lights up," Molly smiled. "Like when she wasn't there, you feel like something's missing..."

"Yeah," I nodded, glad that someone understood (even while I obviously didn't understand). "Like, I hear a song, or read a poem, and I just want to share it with her... you know?"

"Oh yeah," Molly said. "But when you see her, you get totally tongue-tied. Like everything you think to say sounds totally dumb... but then she smiles and it's all OK again."

"Exactly," I sighed. "See, I knew you'd understand."

"Oh yeah," Molly chuckled knowingly. 

Molly got it. I didn't get it, yet, but Molly got it. 

Of course, not everyone in school was as supportive as Molly. I could always count on Elly to be... well, Elly.

"Hey freak," Elly said. "I guess it was only a matter of time."

"Before you got crabs?" I snarked back. "I hear they have a cream for that."

"Before you went full dyke," Elly snarled.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"Oh come on, Cas!" Elly drawled. "Everyone knows you and that weirdo, Gwen, are totally muff diving."

"I... what... you... no!" I stammered.

"You know, I bet Carmilla's been giving you carpet munching lessons this whole time," Elly said. "Did you just watch or was it a threesome thing with her and Tubby?"

"Elly, the peroxide has finally leached into your brain," I snapped, recovering. "Don't you have a football player to blow?"

"Hey, if you want to switch back, I know a guy who'd love to have you on your knees," Elly laughed. "No accounting for taste, I guess."

"You'd be the expert on how it tastes," I snarled, stalking away.

I really hated her.

After my run-in with Elly, lunch was awkward. 

Carmilla was going about something... rumors about them making a movie of the second High Fang novel, probably. I wasn't paying attention. I just kept wondering, did people really think that about me and Gwen? 

Gwen could tell something was bothering me, which bothered her. She didn't say anything though (and, let's be honest, Gwen not saying something uncomfortably insightful in that moment was a pretty clear sign of her own confused feelings).

To make things worse, Molly kept giving me knowing looks. Thinking back, I know she was trying to be supportive, but I found myself wondering what she really thought... or guessed. Not helped by the fact that, of course, she obviously had guessed more about my feelings for Gwen that I was willing to admit, even to myself.

Yeah, all in all, it was a really awkward lunch period.

Still, it was Molly and her knowing looks that got me to take the next, very, very small, step after class.

"Hi, Gwen," I was trying to sound so cool and casual. I was totally failing.

"Hello," she said.

"So... umm... I was thinking," I stumbled. "I mean... we've got that history test coming up and... I was wondering..."

I remember, she didn't say anything. She just gave me that Look of hers. (Yeah, that Look.)

"WouldYouLikeToComeOverToMyPlace?" I blurted out. "To study? If... if you want..."

"That would be great," Gwen replied, adding with a mischievous smile. "Let me just find Doug and ask him if it's OK."

"Great," I said. "Yeah, you... you should... ask."

Of course, that was my father's "compromise" idea. Bella may object to me going to Gwen's house, unannounced, but he said she couldn't object to Gwen coming over to our house. 

I'd been sure she would try to find some reason to forbid it anyway, but she didn't. In fact, she seemed quite interested in getting to know more about Gwen. She kept asking her questions and stuff. It was a little annoying, really. I mean, we were trying to study. 

Still, like Molly said, with Gwen there the whole room seemed to light up.

 

The Raven's Apprentice - First Interlude

Ophilia Villa, Willow Creek, 2000

Bella had overreacted. She could admit that to herself, privately at least.

She and Cassandra had fought after Doug had left with that girl. (Dear God, that girl. The implications were terrifying.) Of course, Cassandra had been incensed about being required to do something as simple as calling home to let them know where she was. God forbid she show Bella the slightest bit of courtesy. 

Still, Bella admitted with a sigh, she could have handled it better.

Mortimer had once again stepped in to play mediator, letting Bella rant until she admitted to herself that she had, in fact, overreacted. Dear, sweet man, he hadn't pushed. He was insightful enough to recognize that Bella's concerns where somehow related to Vickie and Ari's mysterious shared Past, and to Bella's own secret Work, but he never asked for explanations. 

She loved him for that, while at the same time thinking he was an idiot. The man trusted too easily.

Mortimer knew enough to understand her Work... the long hours, strange disappearances and vague lies about what she did during them. He never asked for specifics, simply accepting that his wife would tell him what he needed to know. He hadn't even questioned when she'd taken over the secret room in the house to work from.

In that room, with its secure computer and communication lines, she started doing what she had been trained to do - digging for secrets. As a field agent for the Strategic Intelligence and Multinational Security Agency (commonly just called the Agency), secrets were her stock and trade.

"Nothing," she muttered to herself. "No incident report. No sign of even a cursory investigation. Not even a back page article in the Windenburg press. Just an obituary that tells me less than Doug did. Glimmerbrook could give Operations lessons in cover ups."

With a sigh, Bella dialed a number.

"Control," the distorted voice responded.

"Rose Red," she replied.

"You have 60 seconds," Control stated.

"Message for Command," Bella said, smiling slightly. "Message reads - 'Can she meet for lunch at our usual spot?'"

Magnolia Prominade, 2000

Shantel Bridges, Region One Director of Intelligence.

In a covert community dominated by men, Shantel was smart enough, tough enough and ruthless enough to have seized that position with both hands and held onto it. The men who ran things called her the Dragon Lady and made jokes to cover their insecurities.

Despite them, and sometimes in direct response to them, she had assembled a hand-picked team of agents who were among the best and most dedicated in the Agency - including Agent Bella Goth.

"I assume there's a reason we couldn't meet in the office," Bridges said. "Not that I object to the chance to breathe fresh air."

"I have word from a reliable source that Arianrhod Silveroak and her mother Ceridwen were killed recently," Bella said. "In a home invasion."

"The names ring a bell, but refresh my memory," Bridges replied carefully.

Bella took a deep breath, "Ari was one of the first psychokinetic actives I profiled, back when I was working for Section 6. Ari and..."

"Victoria," Bridges finished for her. "I remember now."

She paused, soberly, before continuing, "I assume the mother was also an Active."

"No first-hand profile, but yes," Bella nodded. "I rated Ari as Alpha or Alpha Plus. Based on what we know about inherited Active potential, and things Ari let slip, Ceridwen was certainly an Alpha Plus."

"Two Alpha Plus Actives, killed in a home invasion?" Bridges looked skeptical. "Did this 'home invasion' involve a Special Forces team, tanks and air support?"

"I can't find any information," Bella admitted. "Just a vague obituary in a Windenburg parish register... but they lived in Glimmerbrook."

"It may as well have happened on the moon," Bridges nodded. "Worse, since we actually know exactly where the moon is."

"I'm sorry for your friend, Bella," she continued, "and I admit I'm curious about the circumstances, but this is a matter for the Windenburg office or Section 6. You could have copied me on the memo. Instead, you asked for a face-to-face where no one is likely to listen in. What haven't you told me?"

"Ari's teenage daughter was in my house last night," Bella said. "She's in Willow Creek... and she's become friends with my daughter."

"Shit... She's an Active," Bridges breathed. It wasn't a question.

"Almost certainly a strong one," Bella agreed. "Given her apparent age, probably Delta or Beta... but it's not impossible for her to be an Alpha herself."

"Bella," Bridges started with a deep breath. "I understand your feelings about Section 6..."

"You mean what they did to me, or the part where they're responsible for Vickie's death?" Bella said bitterly. "I don't want Section 6 anywhere near my daughter, Shantel!"

"Bella, she's not..."

"Don't start," Bella snapped. "I get enough of that from her."

"I was going to say, she's not an Active," Bridges continued calmly in the face of Bella's outburst. "Her profile shows high extra-sensory potential but no psychokinetic ability. You tested her yourself... and no one has any reason to doubt those results. Doctor Key shouldn't have any interest in her."

"Key's funny about what he is and isn't interested in," Bella said, visibly containing herself.

"Bella, we're talking about a traumatized teenage girl with access to potentially catastrophic psychokinetic powers," Bridges said gently. "That makes her dangerous. Section 6 is trained and equipped to deal with situations like this."

"You and I see a traumatized teenage girl," Bella said. "Key will see a weapon of mass destruction wearing a school blazer."

"You could have buried this," Bridges said. "Instead, you brought it to me. That means you know how serious this situation is." 

"I know, I know," Bella sighed. "I'm hoping you can see a way out, for me and for Gwen. That's her name, Shantel. Gwen Silveroak. Maybe she is a WMD, but she's still a seventeen-year-old girl... with skinny knees."

"You're trying to play me," Bridges smiled, "and damn you it if it isn't working."

"Alright," she smiled. "Standard protocol for an unknown Active is observation and profiling. You're Section 6 trained and you already have contact with the subject. I might be able sell that to Key. Besides, he's wanted you back on his team for years. You know the old monster will see this as a chance to lure you in. We have to inform him. No way around that, but if we play it exactly... and I mean exactly... right, we can get you leading the operation. 

"From there, it will be in your hands. I'll back you up as far as I can, but if you fuck this up, and this kid destroys half of Willow Creek, it'll be both our asses."

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Author's Note: The character of Shantel Bridges was created by my fellow SimLit writer DaniRose2143 for her excellent story Under the Tartosan Sun and is used with her permission. - L

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 9

Glimmerbrook Watch, Present Day

"So... oh wow, is that the time?" Cassie laughed.

"Possibly," Gwen replied with a slight smile.

"We've been talking all morning," Cassie said. "I'm sure you didn't expect such a long story, Mariah."

"Really, I don't mind," Mariah answered. "It's fine... I want to hear everything. If you don't mind, that is."

"Yeah, I only ever got the short version before," Miranda said.

"You were much younger the last time we told you this story," Cassie said.

"Well, I definitely want to hear the rest," Miranda smiled.

"Alright, but right now I need to go to Elixers," Cassie smiled. "I'm supposed to be meeting someone from your mother's production company," she added, nodding at Mariah. "She wants me to look over some new scripts."

"That's cool," Mariah chuckled. "We'll just wait in breathless suspense."

"Not for long," Cassie said. "We'll pick this up after lunch."

"How much are you planning to tell them?" Gwen asked with deceptive mildness as she stepped out onto the porch with Cassie.

"Well, I thought I'd leave off some of the more salacious details," Cassie chuckled, "for the sake of Miranda's delicate sensibilities."

"As if that would bother me," Gwen smiled. "I'm the one who talked to her about sex, remember."

"I remember," Cassie rolled her eyes.

Gwen sobered. "Are you going to tell them about Bella?"

"I think I have to," Cassie said. "The things they've gotten involved in. The things that are coming... they need to know."

"Dangerous secrets," Gwen mused.

"We're witches," Cassie sighed. "Dangerous secrets are our business. You taught me that."

"I need to go," Cassie added with a sigh. "I shouldn't keep whatever poor kid Londyn sent out here waiting at Elixers. It's hard enough bringing these studio people all the way out here. Leave them sitting too long in a place with no Wi-Fi and no cell coverage... they just can't cope."

"Go," Gwen smiled. "We'll be here when you get back."

"I won't be long," Cassie said. "Please... don't turn Mariah into anything while I'm gone."

"I like Mariah," Gwen insisted.

"So, it should be easy for you to not turn her into a pumpkin," Cassie said seriously.

"Go," Gwen laughed.

Sobering, Gwen focused for a moment on the flow of the air, the sound of the nearby brook, the harmonies of the world around her. She felt the clean, warm breath of spring, the distant metallic bite of a car and beyond that... 

"By the pricking of my thumb, something wicked this way comes," Gwenivar Silveroak, Elder Guardian of Glimmerbrook, whispered.