Of Ginger & Spice

HM2V: Seeing Red

6: HM2V: Seeing Red

1 am, Dumpster Fire, Outskirts of Seattle, Washington

Abigael watched, transfixed, as the flickering orange, amber, and ruby-colored flames licked the shiny, oil-laden fumes, greedily devouring what was left of the dark-hooded figure's body. On a personal level, she had no qualms about letting villains survive—to spare such lives meant death, whether such doom would arrive the next day, the next decade, or even the next century. Abigael was used to the disposability of evil lives, but having spent time around Mel, she had since honed this pathological need to harm into a finessed, highly-targeted art form. Abigael didn't necessarily annihilate less, per se, contrary to whatever Mel or anyone else believed. She was simply more strategic in her methods, for better or for worse, with an innate moral compass, in which she silently vowed to never purposefully harm a child or a zoological animal of any species, if she could possibly help it.

Noon, Next Day, Vera Manor Garden

The she-shed hole was speedily patched up and magical protections were, yet again, applied to the compact structure. After Maya fell asleep, Macy had had a lengthy discussion with Harry in the living room that lasted long into the night; this mainly covered what direction her business would take. For now, given the potential risk of intaking pseudonymous client samples, she'd been forced to tailor her website and had sent automatic emails to her subscribers, announcing that she was only available for editing documents, or for publication collaborations. Macy sighed. All she ever wanted to do was pursue science to her heart's content—why was this so difficult?

At the same time, Harry did point out that Maya was an extremely powerful witch and Whitelighter for such a young age, and had enough power to protect herself should the need arise. Macy's sequencing machine was fully intact, and the second floor portal still worked and was as secure as ever. As long as the hooded figure wouldn't return, Macy and the rest of her family were safe.

12:05 pm, Vera Manor Garden

"Ahem," a silky voice interrupted Macy's silent musing. "It's been resolved." Macy turned around from the front of the she-shed, spotting Abigael emerging from a corner of a begonia bush.

"Good...I think?" Macy hesitated, unwilling to fully acknowledge Abigael's efforts.

"Yes," Abigael grinned, in a most unsettling Cheshire cat style. "Quite. You won't be having any more trouble, I can assure you." With that, she vanished.

12:10 pm, Vera Manor Garden

A most unsettling thought entered Macy's brain at that moment. "HARRY!" she yelled into the open sky, startling the sparrows that had crouched overhead in the oak tree branches, now scuttling this way and that.

"Yes, love?" Macy heard his voice just inches behind her.

"You told Abigael, "do what you need to do" and something about being left in peace," Macy spoke in a disquieting, dangerously low tone of voice. "Just what exactly is that code for?"

Harry fidgeted, looking extremely uncomfortable upon hearing Macy's words. "It—err—means exactly what it's supposed to. Nobody from the rogue faction will be bothering us, because the one person that knew where we were, is gone."

"Gone, Harry? Gone? Where?" Macy whispered. "Gone to—the Underworld? Gone to—a magical prison?" She had a terrible, awful feeling about this whole situation. "Please, please tell me she didn't—"

"Well, as a matter of fact..." Harry stared at the grass beneath his feet for a few seconds before responding. "Gone...as in, burned to smithereens in a dumpster fire, at approximately 1 am in the morning. Courtesy of Abigael."

Macy's jaw dropped open in abject horror. "How—HOW COULD YOU?" She was screaming now, but couldn't care less, as Morgana had volunteered to babysit Maya for the day. "You literally—you LITERALLY—made a deal with the overlord." Macy realized that Maggie was watching them from her bedroom window, so she lowered her voice a few notches. "Do you realize we've put ourselves in her debt?" Macy hissed.

Harry grabbed her elbow, and they orbed several feet, landing squarely within the repaired, fully sound-proof she-shed. "Look Macy. We had no other option. And for the record, it was an official, legitimate, magically-recognized legislative truce, not a shady deal."

"As if there's any difference. Are you seriously siding with her?!" Macy uttered in disbelief.

"There's no sides, Macy. Just a matter of life and death and taking into consideration the best interests of our family. I would do anything to protect you and Maya, and your extended family," Harry was pacing around the insides of the she-shed, as he often tended to do while clarifying his innermost thoughts aloud.

"Macy, the rebel would have brought word back to however many henchmen, and we would've had to deal with twenty—fifty—maybe even more, infiltrating our defenses. As it stands, making a tacit agreement through a trained magical defense attorney-assassin such as Abigael means that the Sarcana will remain silent, Maya will be safe, any future children we have won't be targets, and Jordan, Mel, and Maggie would be shielded too. As overlord, Abigael's rule stands, such that those under her protection will suffer no harm. Like I said, love, what we have is an iron-clad truce."

Macy was about to protest, but reluctantly realized that Harry was right. For now, magical legislation was the best chance at protection. She had experienced the fear and horror of villainy breaking into the Vera Manor attic; even with tripartite powers, vanquishing took quite a lot out a person, and there was something to be said about strength in numbers. Macy was determined to avoid repeating history—dividing up a family due to magical conflict, and all that. "But Harry," she wondered aloud, "what's to say Abigael won't renege on her promise to keep us safe?"

"I wouldn't worry," Harry responded. "You know very well that she and Mel are dating. Mel's changed her—made her more compassionate and so forth, so Mel's told me. Less Carrie, more Elsa-meets-Lisbeth Salander. It's in Abigael's best interests to be within our good graces, should their relationship have any staying power; she has to prove herself worthy of Mel, after all."

"True," Macy mulled this over. It was difficult disentangling from her subconscious, the image of Abigael and Harry in the hidden corner of the Command Center. And now, Abigael could end up being part of the Vera family, should she and Mel decide to get married. Picturing Abigael as a sister-in-law gave herself the shivers, and not the especially good kind, Macy thought to herself.

Another thought suddenly struck Macy. "What should we do about Maya's powers? My mother bound our powers, and we didn't find out till decades later. I want to make sure our family remains secret-free and happy."

"I think we should keep Maya's powers as-is, since she has taken it upon herself to use them to defend herself and you," Harry replied, "and, like her mother, I think she's doing quite an admirable job." He kissed Macy's forehead softly. "I can start by giving her magic lessons, assess where she is, et cetera. How does that sound?"

"That sounds like a step in the right direction," Macy shakily replied.

"I thought you'd agree," Harry said, smiling. "I'll set everything up so Maya and I can get started tomorrow morning—right here, in Vera Manor Garden."