A/N: Me is back! YAY! huggles readers I'm soooooooooo sorry, I had this major school project (it proves that my L. A. teacher is a bi-atch). Anyway, nice juicy chap w/ lots of plot development. Enjoy, and please review.
"Well, this is the easiest part," Nita said, pacing the gravel walkway of Central Park. "It'll be pretty fun, actually, but I can't stop thinking what will happen after this."
Kit nodded sympathetically. "Yeah," he murmured, flicking through his manual to the pages he had bookmarked.
Nita toyed with a charm on the silvery charm bracelet she wore and gave Kit an exasperated sigh. "I would have made you a matrix so you'd have all your spells right there, but you were convinced that a boy couldn't be seen in a bracelet, and now you've spend half an hour cramming." Her expression softened in a moment however, and she asked, "Did Dairine set up the power feed?"
"She did," said Kit. "About thirty spells' worth of power in it if it holds." He snapped his manual shut. "I see them. Let's do it."
Sure enough, peering around a thick tree trunk, through the descending evening gloom and the last of the blood-red sunset glow, Nita saw a group of about five or six tall, muscular men in flashy black leather motorcycle jackets striped with a blood red setting up a card table for Three-Card Monty.
"You remember the plan?" Kit nodded, and Nita stepped out from behind the trees and hedges that had separated them from the gang. She walked purposefully out to the table, where no one stood but the gang members, because she and Kit had placed a binding spell around the edges of the area to stop people witnessing their wizardry.
"Hello," said Nita, acting as naively cheerful as she could. "Can I have a game?"
The hoods sniggered behind their hands. "Sure kid," said a thickset one with a shiny bald head and a hoop earring. "Whatcha betting?"
Nita shrugged he shoulders. "As much as you want me to."
The men could hardly hide their glee. "All right," said a tall, scraggly one with unruly dark hair. "Let's make it seventy-five bucks, then." He stepped up to the table and produced two black aces and one red one from a deck of cards on the table. "Pick the red card after I shuffle them," he said, setting the cards down and mixing them face-down on the table at lightening speed.
Nita knew that crooks that played Three-Card Monty slipped the red card off the table and replaced it with a hidden black card, but she had suspected something like this would happen, and had a spell ready. She fingered a charm on her charm bracelet of two arrows pointing to each other so that they formed a circle. "My good luck charm," she said to the curious hoods to add to her image of the trusting, idiotic country girl. The charm sent a spell into her head, one that was almost completed, and needed nothing but the right words...
"The middle card."
The man who had shuffled the cards laughed. "Sorry, kiddy, but you're wrong. Gimme the money."
Nita raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure about that? Flip the card."
The man gave another snort of laughter and shook his head, but flipped the card. The group gasped. Thanks to Nita's switching spell, they were all staring down at the ace of diamonds. Nita grinned. "You don't have to pay me," she said, "if you answer some questions." The bald man nodded dumbly, and Nita continued, "Who have you been working with? I know you were involved in a big bunch of thefts recently; who was leading you?"
A short man with bulging biceps and a chin covered in stubble flexed his muscles threateningly. "We don't tell no one nothing 'bout how we operate."
Now, Nita thought to Kit.
He received the thought, and sent back, On my way. A mysterious voice spoke from the shadows behind the trees that Nita recognized as Kit's; "Not even me?"
A man from the back of the group shoved to the front and leered, saying, "No, not even you, smart guy. Who are you and where are you so I can beat the crap outta you?"
"Right here." Kit's voice spoke from a foot away from the man, but he still wasn't visible. "Oh, I suppose you want to see me then." Kit pulled off the cloaking spell and appeared next to Nita, dressed in a billowing blue robe that he had said before made him feel like a monk. Nita again gripped the switch-spell charm on her bracelet, mentally replaced the coordinates, and let it loose. With a small 'pop,' her casual jeans and T-shirt were replaced by a robe of the same sort as Kit's, only of a vivid purple.
"What's the matter?" Nita asked. "You've never seen a wizard before?"
Some of the gang members gasped, but the bald man stood confidently at the front of the group. "Wizard, hah!" he said with a derisive snort. "Prove it!"
"Okay," said Kit coolly. He began to mutter under his breath, beginning the spell that Nita recognized at the one used to levitate objects. One of the park benches was trembling and about to lift off the ground, when Kit suddenly stopped the spell and slumped to the floor. Nita rushed to him and felt his wrist. There was a pulse.
"The feed stopped," he said weakly. "Just zap me home and finish the job."
Nita teleported Kit home with the help of the charm on her bracelet of a car, but she was hidden from the gang's view by a cluster of bushes.
"What are you doing back there?" called the tall, messy-haired man, smirking at them. "Setting up your next special effect?" Several people laughed, and the speaker looked heartened. Nita thought fast. "I had to get rid of my partner. He only slows me down, you know. Now, did you say you wanted to see my – what did you call it – special effects?" There were jeers from the gang, and one stepped forward. He was quite good- looking, his bleached-blonde surfer dude style hair falling casually over one eye. "Okay," he said with a derisive laugh. "Show me, girlie!" "Very well. You look like the kind of person who could beat up a little girl like me. Try to attack me." As she said this, Nita held a charm that looked like an old-fashioned battle shield and recited the nine syllables of the shield spell. The man turned to his comrades, shrugged, and sneered. "You're gonna get pounded to a pulp, you know," he said, advancing and beginning to pummel Nita. He kept this up for about a minute, and satisfied, backed up to his gang, but his laughter died in his throat as he saw Nita standing perfectly normally as if nothing had happened. "Do you want another demonstration?" asked Nita. "Hah!" called the bald man, his earring dancing. "Yeah, I do!" Nita raised her eyebrows, but her hand went again to her bracelet, clutching two charms next to each other; the feather charm and one that looked like a strobe light. In her mind, she recited them, filling in the data required by such spells. The wizardry completed, she began to rise into the air, slowly, majestically, until she hovered two yards off the ground (she didn't dare go higher unless she wanted to risk being spotted by someone). She seemed surrounded by an aura of light, because of her other spell, which also caused little sparks to shoot off her. "Spill," she demanded. "Tell me who you're working for, or I could turn ugly." Finally, the hoods were being intimidated; some even backed up all the way to the edge of the path. "Okay," said the bald man, looking frightened at last. "We've been getting orders from this guy... he's pretty short, always wears this cloak-thing so I've never seen his face. He offered to pay us well. He has this thing of... well, keeping the cops away somehow, and diffusing alarms and stuff. He says he lives on Fire Island or something, but we've never seen his place. That's all I can tell you." "Okay," Nita said slowly. "So, I can't really have you remembering this, can I?" The gripped the eraser charm on her bracelet and completed the spell that came almost fully-formed into her mind; the next minute, the entire gang had their eyes closed and were standing dreamily. Nita gripped her car charm again and teleported home, vanishing with a 'pop.'
"Well, this is the easiest part," Nita said, pacing the gravel walkway of Central Park. "It'll be pretty fun, actually, but I can't stop thinking what will happen after this."
Kit nodded sympathetically. "Yeah," he murmured, flicking through his manual to the pages he had bookmarked.
Nita toyed with a charm on the silvery charm bracelet she wore and gave Kit an exasperated sigh. "I would have made you a matrix so you'd have all your spells right there, but you were convinced that a boy couldn't be seen in a bracelet, and now you've spend half an hour cramming." Her expression softened in a moment however, and she asked, "Did Dairine set up the power feed?"
"She did," said Kit. "About thirty spells' worth of power in it if it holds." He snapped his manual shut. "I see them. Let's do it."
Sure enough, peering around a thick tree trunk, through the descending evening gloom and the last of the blood-red sunset glow, Nita saw a group of about five or six tall, muscular men in flashy black leather motorcycle jackets striped with a blood red setting up a card table for Three-Card Monty.
"You remember the plan?" Kit nodded, and Nita stepped out from behind the trees and hedges that had separated them from the gang. She walked purposefully out to the table, where no one stood but the gang members, because she and Kit had placed a binding spell around the edges of the area to stop people witnessing their wizardry.
"Hello," said Nita, acting as naively cheerful as she could. "Can I have a game?"
The hoods sniggered behind their hands. "Sure kid," said a thickset one with a shiny bald head and a hoop earring. "Whatcha betting?"
Nita shrugged he shoulders. "As much as you want me to."
The men could hardly hide their glee. "All right," said a tall, scraggly one with unruly dark hair. "Let's make it seventy-five bucks, then." He stepped up to the table and produced two black aces and one red one from a deck of cards on the table. "Pick the red card after I shuffle them," he said, setting the cards down and mixing them face-down on the table at lightening speed.
Nita knew that crooks that played Three-Card Monty slipped the red card off the table and replaced it with a hidden black card, but she had suspected something like this would happen, and had a spell ready. She fingered a charm on her charm bracelet of two arrows pointing to each other so that they formed a circle. "My good luck charm," she said to the curious hoods to add to her image of the trusting, idiotic country girl. The charm sent a spell into her head, one that was almost completed, and needed nothing but the right words...
"The middle card."
The man who had shuffled the cards laughed. "Sorry, kiddy, but you're wrong. Gimme the money."
Nita raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure about that? Flip the card."
The man gave another snort of laughter and shook his head, but flipped the card. The group gasped. Thanks to Nita's switching spell, they were all staring down at the ace of diamonds. Nita grinned. "You don't have to pay me," she said, "if you answer some questions." The bald man nodded dumbly, and Nita continued, "Who have you been working with? I know you were involved in a big bunch of thefts recently; who was leading you?"
A short man with bulging biceps and a chin covered in stubble flexed his muscles threateningly. "We don't tell no one nothing 'bout how we operate."
Now, Nita thought to Kit.
He received the thought, and sent back, On my way. A mysterious voice spoke from the shadows behind the trees that Nita recognized as Kit's; "Not even me?"
A man from the back of the group shoved to the front and leered, saying, "No, not even you, smart guy. Who are you and where are you so I can beat the crap outta you?"
"Right here." Kit's voice spoke from a foot away from the man, but he still wasn't visible. "Oh, I suppose you want to see me then." Kit pulled off the cloaking spell and appeared next to Nita, dressed in a billowing blue robe that he had said before made him feel like a monk. Nita again gripped the switch-spell charm on her bracelet, mentally replaced the coordinates, and let it loose. With a small 'pop,' her casual jeans and T-shirt were replaced by a robe of the same sort as Kit's, only of a vivid purple.
"What's the matter?" Nita asked. "You've never seen a wizard before?"
Some of the gang members gasped, but the bald man stood confidently at the front of the group. "Wizard, hah!" he said with a derisive snort. "Prove it!"
"Okay," said Kit coolly. He began to mutter under his breath, beginning the spell that Nita recognized at the one used to levitate objects. One of the park benches was trembling and about to lift off the ground, when Kit suddenly stopped the spell and slumped to the floor. Nita rushed to him and felt his wrist. There was a pulse.
"The feed stopped," he said weakly. "Just zap me home and finish the job."
Nita teleported Kit home with the help of the charm on her bracelet of a car, but she was hidden from the gang's view by a cluster of bushes.
"What are you doing back there?" called the tall, messy-haired man, smirking at them. "Setting up your next special effect?" Several people laughed, and the speaker looked heartened. Nita thought fast. "I had to get rid of my partner. He only slows me down, you know. Now, did you say you wanted to see my – what did you call it – special effects?" There were jeers from the gang, and one stepped forward. He was quite good- looking, his bleached-blonde surfer dude style hair falling casually over one eye. "Okay," he said with a derisive laugh. "Show me, girlie!" "Very well. You look like the kind of person who could beat up a little girl like me. Try to attack me." As she said this, Nita held a charm that looked like an old-fashioned battle shield and recited the nine syllables of the shield spell. The man turned to his comrades, shrugged, and sneered. "You're gonna get pounded to a pulp, you know," he said, advancing and beginning to pummel Nita. He kept this up for about a minute, and satisfied, backed up to his gang, but his laughter died in his throat as he saw Nita standing perfectly normally as if nothing had happened. "Do you want another demonstration?" asked Nita. "Hah!" called the bald man, his earring dancing. "Yeah, I do!" Nita raised her eyebrows, but her hand went again to her bracelet, clutching two charms next to each other; the feather charm and one that looked like a strobe light. In her mind, she recited them, filling in the data required by such spells. The wizardry completed, she began to rise into the air, slowly, majestically, until she hovered two yards off the ground (she didn't dare go higher unless she wanted to risk being spotted by someone). She seemed surrounded by an aura of light, because of her other spell, which also caused little sparks to shoot off her. "Spill," she demanded. "Tell me who you're working for, or I could turn ugly." Finally, the hoods were being intimidated; some even backed up all the way to the edge of the path. "Okay," said the bald man, looking frightened at last. "We've been getting orders from this guy... he's pretty short, always wears this cloak-thing so I've never seen his face. He offered to pay us well. He has this thing of... well, keeping the cops away somehow, and diffusing alarms and stuff. He says he lives on Fire Island or something, but we've never seen his place. That's all I can tell you." "Okay," Nita said slowly. "So, I can't really have you remembering this, can I?" The gripped the eraser charm on her bracelet and completed the spell that came almost fully-formed into her mind; the next minute, the entire gang had their eyes closed and were standing dreamily. Nita gripped her car charm again and teleported home, vanishing with a 'pop.'