The office of Fuzzbeat was a frantic mess of high-energy clickbait, energy drinks which had become the recent norm here, well it was either that or alcohol which wouldn't be good for work now would it? Harriet sat behind her desk, staring away from the monitor that refused to yield anything more interesting than "Top 12 Signs Your Familiar is Actually a Raccoon." And at the two in her office.
Magic being gone had really fucked the curve. It turns out, you can't exactly run a subversive, underground news network when the "underground" part relies on encrypted spell-webs that currently have the signal strength of a wet noodle.
'It's hard to do serious investigative journalism when you can't scry into a boardroom anymore, isn't it?' Harriet thought to herself. "And you certainly can't disguise truth-serum spells in the office coffee when the 'serum' is just bitter bean water now.'
Even if she could find a workaround, no one could cast the damn things. The world was full of desperate magicians trying to do 'The Great Work' with the equivalent of a dead battery and a prayer. Harriet had spent weeks exploring every dead end. They'd tried milking magical creatures which mostly just resulted in several hospital visits and a very confused werewolf and for a while, she was convinced the Librarians had just hoarded all the remaining particles for themselves. Those selfish, bureaucratic paper-pushers would happily let the multiverse burn if it meant their filing system remained intact.
Meanwhile, the streets were getting weird. People were doing diabolical shit for a whiff of the "good stuff." There were rumors of "Magic Vampires" and idiots trying to storm rumored battery vaults in the Catskills. None of them were ever heard from again, likely having been turned into decorative lawn ornaments by whatever defenses were still running on reserve power.
The despair of the new reality was overwhelming and would have been if but for the two that had came in here earlier.
She looked up once more, coming out of her personal thoughts to look at Marina, the undisputed queen of the hedge witches, looking as sharp and lethal as a piece of glass. Beside her was a young man who radiated the kind of "shady" that usually came with a history of disregarding the rules and a charming smile.
Kai leaned against the doorframe, his eyes scanning the room with a look of mock pity. He tilted his head, his voice suddenly dropping into a slurred, swaggering cadence and she immediately went on guard with her body tightening up and ready to scream.
"I understand everything, truly I do," Kai said, gesturing broadly at the cluttered office. "And I must say, this looks shady as hell. Downright treacherous, it is. I mean, honestly, love... who would trust this baby-blue-eyed scallywag standing right here?" He pointed a thumb at Marina, his grin widening.
Marina just turned her head slowly to look at him, her face a mask of pure, unadulterated "seriously?"
Kai cleared his throat, instantly dropping the act. "Right. Tough crowd.
Harriet shook her head, her fingers moving in a blur of sharp, precise hand signs. *What do you mean you can "help" with magic? No one has magic. The well is dry, the pipes are rusted, and I'm running a revolution on Wi-Fi and prayers.*
Kai watched her hands with a look of casual interest, as if he were reading a menu. "I understand the dilemma, Harriet. Truly. Your company is doing great, congrats on the quarterly earnings, by the way. You're still making a killing off the mundane news and those 'Which Type of Cheese is Your Soulmate' quizzes. But let's be real: the magical aspect, the part that actually matters to people like us? It's all but dead. You're shouting into a void with no echo."
He stepped closer, his shadow stretching across her desk. "I can fix that. I can give magic back to you. Real, concentrated, high-grade juice to get your network back on the ethereal grid."
Harriet froze, her hands moving slower now, skeptical. *How do I know you're telling the truth? People have been killed for rumors of a spark. And what do you get? Nobody gives away something like this just to be nice.*
Marina let out a sharp, amused exhale, leaning against a filing cabinet. "Oh, believe me, darling, if he says he has it, best believe he's got it." To emphasize the point, Marina didn't even look at her hand as it suddenly erupted into a brilliant, steady roar of blue flames.
Harriet recoiled, her eyes reflecting the flickering azure light. It was the first real magic she had seen in months that didn't look like a flickering lightbulb about to pop.
"See?" Marina purred, extinguishing the flame with a flick of her wrist.
Harriet turned back to Kai, her voice coming out awkward and rusty from disuse. "What... what do you... want from me?"
"For now? Nothing," Kai said, his smile turning soft and deceptively innocent. "But in the near future? Well, let's just say I might need you to talk some sense into a woman for me. A very stubborn, very dangerous woman. You've got a way with words; I've got a way with problems."
Harriet looked skeptical. "Is that... it?"
Kai nodded. "Simple as that. A favor for a favor."
Harriet hesitated for a split second before reaching out, her hand firm. "Fine then. It's a deal."
As Kai grasped her hand, his eyes suddenly lost their playful spark, turning cold and expressionless. "Oh, and one more thing, Harriet. Listen closely and watch my lips well." He leaned in, his voice dropping into a grim, serious tone that sucked the air out of the room. "I support your little crusade for sharing magic. I really do. But there is one thing I disagree with you on and actually side with the Library: there is knowledge in this multiverse that should not be known by just anybody. There are secrets that, if whispered into the wrong ear, would bring a catastrophe down on this world that even I couldn't fix. Don't be so eager to open every door you find."
He withdrew his hand, the heavy atmosphere vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. He gave a sarcastic, theatrical bow. "Fair well, Harriet! Keep the clicks coming!"
"Wait!" Harriet called out. "What about the—"
She stopped, looking down at her palm. Resting right where Kai had shaken her hand was a small, transparent orb. Inside, a swirling vortex of bluish energy danced with an intensity that made her skin tingle. It was more power than she had ever held in her life.
By the time she looked up to ask how she was supposed to use it, Kai and Marina were already out the door,
The cool New York air hit them as they stepped out of the Fuzzbeat offices. Marina didn't even wait for the door to close before she turned on Kai, her eyes narrowed with a mix of suspicion and begrudging respect.
"So, that's why you brought me along," Marina stated, her voice flat.
Kai blinked, the picture of wide-eyed innocence. "I have no idea what you mean, Marina. Truly."
"Cut the crap. You know I know her, she knows me, and she knows I don't back losers. I was the living, breathing 'Verified' checkmark for your little miracle show back there. You knew I'd vouch for you being able to deliver the goods." She crossed her arms, leaning against a streetlamp. "You're using my reputation to buy your way into her good graces."
Kai just smiled, shrugging with a nonchalance that was almost infuriating. "Honestly, Marina, you wound me. I was just taking a stroll with a friend and decided to drop in on a mutual acquaintance. It's called networking." He said it with such convincing sincerity that for a split second, even Marina questioned if she was overthinking it.
Then, his grin turned jagged. "Tell me something... how good are you with medieval music? You know, the kind of stuff that makes you want to storm a castle or sit in a very damp meadow?"
Marina stared at him. "Why the hell are you asking me that?"
"Oh, just a recent interest," Kai said airily. "I heard a rumor that a very specific melody is the key to a magical wonderland. Or a total nightmare. Honestly, the reviews are mixed."
Marina didn't have time to process the cryptic riddle before Kai checked his watch. "Let's go."
"Where?"
"Brakebills, of course. But first..." He pulled out his phone and dialed a number with practiced ease. When the person on the other end picked up, his voice dropped into a smooth, affectionate purr. "Hello, love. Where are you? ... Great. Meet me at the Physical Kids' cottage in a few. Bye."
———
Julia and Fen moved through the shadows of the mansion like ghosts, their breath held tight as they bypassed the sophisticated wards Julia had spent the last hour dismantling.
They slipped into a side room that smelled cloyingly of lavender and iron.
"In here," Julia whispered, sliding a heavy oak door open.
They froze. On a velvet-lined table in the center of the room lay Skye. The fairy was unconscious, her breathing shallow and ragged. But it was the sight of her right leg or where it used to be that made Fen gasp, her hand flying to her mouth. The limb had been crudely removed, leaving a jagged, cauterized stump.
Beside the table, on a silver tray, sat a small white dust like substance and upon a closer look, Julia saw it was powder.
Julia stepped closer, her face turning a pale, ghostly white as she looked from the powder to the fairy. "Oh God," she breathed. "Fen... look."
"What is it?" Fen asked, her voice trembling.
"The batteries. Irene doesn't have a source... she is using the fairies under her control as the source," Julia said, her voice trembling with rage. "They're taking the fairies apart. They're grinding their body parts into dust. That powder? That's Skye's essence."
"That's horrible," Fen whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "They're eating them alive."
A floorboard creaked in the hallway outside. Both women spun around, hands raised instinctively, but when they looked back at the table, it was empty. Skye's body was gone, removed by some automated magical transport or a silent servant.
"Who's there?" a sharp, cold voice called out from the corridor.
"Move!" Julia hissed.
They scrambled toward the servant's entrance, slipping out just as the door to the room swung open. They didn't stop running until they were well past the estate gates. Julia stopped, gasping for air, her eyes burning with a new, dark resolve.
"We aren't just getting Skye out," Julia said, looking back at the darkened mansion. "We're coming back for every single one of them. We're burning that house down."
———