Ex Servitio

Lil let out the smoke she’d been holding in, the buzz warming her brain. “I’ve always tried to do the right thing,” she said.

“I know, I know,” Viv answered before taking a deep drag from the pipe. She continued, her words muffled by the clouds of smoke that carried them, “That’s why I know you’ll do the right thing now.”

Lil ran her fingers over the patch on her sleeve; a seven-pointed star inside a circle, with the letters “CM” in the center. Below that, a patch with two parallel stripes crossing a third that sat at sixty degrees oblique designated her rank as servus inquisitor. Two simple patches that opened doors for her everywhere the Consilio Magorum had jurisdiction, which was to say, almost everywhere. She lay her head on Viv’s lap.

“I wish you could talk about it with me.”

“Me too,” Lil said, “but just like you, I can’t talk about an active case. Even when it should be closed by now.”

“What is your first instinct?” Viv asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, “I’m too high to think about it right now.”

Viv stroked Lil’s slick, red hair, brushing it out of her pale, freckled face. She traced the halfling’s pointed ears, eliciting a sigh. “You know I’m always here for you.”

“I know. That goes both ways.”

Viv chuckled. “I know. One thing you can tell me, though, why do you guys use Latin instead of 10 codes and normal ranks?”

“Same reason spell books are in Latin. Omnia latine altum videtur.” Lil grabbed Viv’s hand, her own pale skin contrasting sharply with the golden-brown of Viv’s. She kissed the hand, easily twice the size of her own. “Carry me to bed?”

#

Lil’s cell phone woke them far too early. Viv answered it, “Detective Sergeant Lilly Miter’s phone.”

The voice on the other end was less than friendly. “Vivian, I suppose. Get Servus Inquisitor Miter on the phone… now.”

She handed the phone to Lil with a look of resignation.

“S.I. Miter.”

“Two things; first, we have a location on the djinn. Second, I’m still waiting on your revised recommendation on the two wizards we have in custody.”

“I already gave you my recommendation. They’re not dangerous, and as they signed the agreement according to the Magic Users Accountability Act of 1963, we have to let them go, legally.” She sighed. “Send the location to my phone, and I’ll head straight there.”

“There’s a team on the way, you’ll meet them there. If you’re there first, you are not to go in alone. You got that?”

“Yeah… yes sir.”

“And if you’re not going to change your recommendation to MUAA them out, I’ll be forced to go over your head. It won’t look good for your record, and you’ll probably face an early retirement.”

Lil didn’t answer but disconnected the call instead. “I’ve got to go.”

“I figured,” Viv said. “Stay safe. I’m due in the office in a couple hours, I’ll head in early. If you get the chance we can have breakfast together, and maybe you can tell me what’s going on.”

“Maybe. You stay safe, too.”

“I’m not a field agent, just a forensic accountant. You’re the one chasing down rogue wizards, magical creatures, and dangerous artifacts.” Viv smiled. “I’ll watch out for violent file cabinets, though.”

#

In her dark blue uniform, Lil climbed the folding ladder that led to the driver’s seat of her issued black SUV. Large enough for an orc to drive, it had pedal extenders, custom rails to move the seat closer to the steering wheel, modified airbags for the close position, and the automatic folding ladder for her to get in and out. At first, she’d felt self-conscious driving the armored and magically warded beast, but she had since got used to it.

The location was close. She learned long ago that even though they didn’t have the same rights as police or federal agents, a black SUV with the Consilio emblem and flashing green lights was generally treated the same as emergency vehicles.

Lil arrived at the motel while the team was reporting they were still ten minutes out. She parked out of sight of the front entrance and walked up to room 217 on the second floor.

She rapped on the door. “Anunit, my name’s Lilly Miter. Karl and Sera sent me.” She used the names of the wizards in custody. They had begged her to find the djinn before the Consilio and get her to safety. After what she’d seen in the past few days, she was more inclined to do so than she would have been just a week prior.

“Please, Anunit. If we don’t get out of here right now there’s a team on the way which will arrest you, and you’ll never see the outside of a cell again.”

The door opened and a slight woman, human, with rich brown, olive-tinged skin, tightly curled black hair, and deep brown eyes stood in front of her holding a small bag. “Sorry, I needed to pack. Shall we go?”

Lil led her to her SUV and pushed the remote to open the passenger door. After climbing into her seat, she started the engine. “I’m in a bind, here.”

“I can see that,” Anunit said. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the halfling. Lil could feel the magic flowing off of her. “I have only seen one other mage of your kind. You are a ‘halfling,’ correct?”

“That’s right. But as far as public records go, I’m the first halfling wizard.”

“This was nearly 3000 years ago, in Babylon.” Anunit frowned. “I understand that your superiors wish to bottle me back up.”

Lil nodded. “They consider you a ‘magical artifact’ rather than a person.”

“How are Sera and Karl? Are they safe?”

“They should be,” Lil said, “but those same superiors are pushing me to declare them dangerous and lock them up.”

“Why?”

“The average time spent studying magic to become a mage or wizard of any talent is twenty to thirty years. When two formerly non-magical people were turned into powerful wizards with a wish, it upset a lot of the old timers.”

“And these ‘old timers’ are after me because I embarrassed them?”

Lil thought about it for a moment. “You may have a point there. I wasn’t sure what they were afraid of, but it may just be their own ego.”

“How did they respond to you, when you became a wizard?”

“They were a little surprised, but they weren’t negative about my ability. It took me longer than most. I studied for twenty-two years before I could bypass my innate magical resistance and do my first minor spell.” She smiled, remembering the past. “I signed the MUAA agreement right away and joined the investigative corps less than a year later. I’m still not sure how much of our ‘innate resistance’ is hereditary and how much is cultural.”

“The other halfling mage I met could not be fooled by a glamour, nor influenced by illusion, nor damaged by magical weapons, even.” Anunit leaned back in the seat. “What are we going to do? I thought you were going to drive me somewhere away from here.”

“This vehicle is tracked with GPS; there’s nowhere I can take you in it that I won’t be found.” Lil sighed.

“What do you recommend, Lilly?”

“Please, call me Lil. At this point, I’m not sure. I always thought the Consilio was doing everything they could to protect magic users… all of them. That’s why I joined.”

“What do you think now?”

“Now I’m beginning to wonder how many of the ‘dangerous’ wizards I’ve apprehended and put in custody actually are.”

“I can vouch for Sera and Karl. Karl is harmless by nature, and they only ended up as wizards because Sera wished for the power and resources to free me. Her wish was selfless.”

“I know. The truth-sayer that ran the interrogation knows as well.” Lil leaned her head on the steering wheel. “My honest opinion is that the Consilio want them marked as dangerous and locked away because they’re both as powerful as many of the Magistrorum Consilio Magorum and didn’t work for it. And you’re far beyond even the most powerful magister.”

“They wish to declare me as a thing rather than a person in order to possess me.” Anunit smiled, but there was sadness evident in her eyes. “Sera was the first in a very long time to consider me a person rather than a possession. Still, I am a human. I was before I was trapped and am again now.”

“They may also be concerned that you could make more wizards.”

“As long I was bound to the bottle, I had no choice in my actions. Now I do have a choice.” Her smile dropped. “Yes, if I wanted, I could make more wizards. That is not an experience I want to relive, however.”

“Why?”

“The amount of energy I channeled for that left me weak and powerless for most of a year. Even when confined to the bottle, I never felt so vulnerable. If Sera hadn’t kept me hidden….”

“The team will be here any minute,” Lil said. “You can leave now, cloak yourself and head through the woods there. There’s a Cerberus bus station in the town about four miles west. I can give you cash if you need it.”

“I am hearing an implied or,” Anunit said.

“Or… you let me take you in to sign the MUAA agreement. Not at the Consilio, but at the FBI field office. It’s my next stop, anyway.”

“They are law enforcement, right?” Anunit asked.

“They are,” Lil said, “which is why I need to go there.”

“What do you wish to do there?”

“No wishing about it, I’m filling a complaint against the Consilio Magorum for holding Sera and Karl. It’s kidnapping, or at least unlawful arrest, and since they were both brought here across state lines, it’s a matter for the feds.”

Anunit’s eyes narrowed as she stared off into the middle distance. Lil could feel the magic swirling around her. “If you wish to do this, I will go along. This will most likely result in the end of your employment.”

“I’m aware, even without scrying. But if they’re going to act like this, they leave me no choice.” Three black SUVs like hers pulled into the front of the motel. Lil keyed her radio. “S.I. Miter to captus dolor. The room is empty, I haven’t gone in. Call in the forensics team and let me know what you find. I’m going to meet my wife for breakfast at the FBI field office. Dispatch, I’m ex servitio for one hour.”

The voice on the radio came back. “Confirmativum. Servus Inquisitor Miter ex servitio until 07:19.”

As she pulled out of the motel’s parking she said, “I’m probably ex servitio forever, after this.”