The People v. Eleanor Warwick

“It was a bluff, girl.”

Henry’s words do nothing to halt Eleanor’s furious pacing. She storms back and forth across her study as her mentor attempts to talk her down. Jessie watches the wizard’s march as she pops a few aspirin into her mouth and chases them with a glass of water.

“She just didn’t want you to think she was all talk.”

“How can you be so sure?” Eleanor asks, finally coming to a stop. “Nobody seems to know what happened to them! Why couldn’t the government have scooped them up and thrown them in some super-secret prison or something?”

It takes a few seconds for Henry to abandon any attempt at an alternative theory. With a shake of his head, he relents. “All right, fine. I suppose it’s a possibility, but you can’t afford to get hung up on this, girl. You have a Stone to find.”

Eleanor takes a deep breath and attempts to collect herself. “You’re right.”

“What’s the big fuckin’ deal about this rock?” Jessie asks in her typically profane manner. “And why the hell do they want us to get it for them? Why don’t they just get it themselves?”

“A Tempus Stone is an artifact.” Eleanor begins pacing again. This time her demeanor is more contemplative than angry. “It functions like an arcane battery. It can absorb and store enormous amounts of magic.”

“It’s the favored tool of individuals looking to perform extraordinarily powerful, and therefore extraordinarily dangerous, rituals,” Henry adds.

“As far as why us; I’d be willing to bet Agent Grey has an idea who has the Stone and what they want to do with it. And why should she use her resources and risk her agents when she can extort us into dealing with it?”

“You know they’re just gonna lock us up anyway, right?” Jessie asks.

Henry nods. “Indeed. Not to mention the fact that a Tempus Stone could be very dangerous in the hands of a short-sighted government agency.”

Pacing halting again, Eleanor tousles her hair. “Regardless, we need to find that Stone. Whatever it’s being used for, it’s not going to be good. Plus, Grey should stay off our backs if it appears we’re doing as we’re told. But we need to get some kind of leverage against her.”

With a deep breath, she turns to her mentor. “Henry. I need Penny.”

The elder wizard shrugs. “I can try talking to her.”

“Why her?” Jessie asks with a groan.

“I need to know more about Evelyn Grey and her agency. If anyone can find any of that out, it’s Penny. In the meantime, Jessie, we’re going to talk to Colby Beck.”

“Who the fuck is that?”

“Oh, you are in for a treat,” Henry says with a smirk as he pours himself a drink. “Mr. Beck is one of our fair city’s foremost scumbags.”

“Great. Another fucking wizard.”

“No,” Eleanor corrects. “Although I appreciate the disgust in your voice.”

The hellblood sits forward in her chair. “I’ve met five wizards. One bound me, one locked me in a dungeon, one used me, one is a condescending ass,”

Henry raises his glass, “Cheers.”

“and one tried to kill me. Even the ones I don’t remember dissected me.”

“Fair enough. Beck’s ungifted but certainly not unaware. He’s made a handsome living as an acquirer and smuggler of arcane artifacts. He’d be the guy I’d bet on to have smuggled the Stone in.”

“He’s going to demand a high price for his aid,” Henry points out. “And I’m not talking about money.”

“Then what?” Jessie asks.

“Favors. Usually involving his smuggling operation. They mostly end up having to do something unpleasant. Ready for that, girl?”

“No. Luckily, I’ve got a way around it.”

Mentor and protégé look at one another knowingly, and then simultaneously turn to Jessie. Narrowing her eyes, she glances back and forth suspiciously. “What?”

“Well,” Eleanor begins cautiously, “my way around it is, uh…you.”

“You want me to beat the shit out of him.” The hellblood slaps both hands down on the table as she comes to her feet. “Warwick, for once you and I are on the same page.”

“No, no. Beck is kind of small so people try to muscle him all the time. It never works.”

“Then what?”

Eleanor struggles to find the words to convey what she needs without making Jessie mad. It’s likely impossible. “Well, uh, I need you to...look...pretty.”

Jessie scowls. “Tread real careful here, Warwick.”

“Okay, look. Beck sees himself as a power broker. A player. A big shot. He always tries to show off, especially in front of attractive women.”

“Fuck that!”

“Come on, Jessie. I’m not asking you to give him a lap dance. Just be nice to him. Smile. Bat your eyelashes.”

“You do it!”

“I can’t. He knows I’m a lesbian.”

“Forget it!”

“You’re wasting your time, girl,” Henry suggests.

Jessie concurs. “Listen to him.”

“You need to find someone who is more feminine.”

With a roll of her eyes, Jessie turns to the old man. “Really? What? You think I’m just gonna go do it now because you said I’m not feminine?”

“I don’t care what you do.”

“I’m not doing it!”

“Then don’t.”

“But I could!”

“Then do it.”

“I’m not some piece of meat to dangle in front of people!”

“Then don’t do it.”

“But I am feminine, damn it!”

“Then do it.”

“But I’m not throwing myself at some asshole!”

“Then don’t do it.”

“Oh, I’m gonna fuckin’ do it!” Jessie brushes past him on her way to the stairs. “I’m gonna go change! Then I’ll show your sorry ass who’s not feminine!”

Henry watches her head up the stairs before turning back to his protégé, a superior smile on his face. “Ah, the 20’s. Such an overrated age.”

Eleanor chuckles. “When did I stop being that easily manipulated?”

Her mentor stares at her. The longer he remains silent, the more the smile vanishes from Eleanor’s face. Finally, he speaks. “I’ve got to go see Penelope.”

Eleanor shakes her head as Henry exits, closing the door behind him. “Condescending…ass,” she mutters.