Lovespell

Chapter 3

A/N: I'd hoped this story to be a long one, but my muse refuses to give me inspiration, so I think it's almost over. Sorry about the long wait for an update, was busy with school.

Disclaimer: Don't own YW.

And now, without further ado:

Chapter 4: The New Assignment

The name under the wizard-IM message she'd just received read Tom Swale.

Tom? she thought worriedly. He hates the wizard-IM! He or Carl will usually just come over—what happened to make him give up his ban on "technology"? It must be drastic………

Nita knew she was overreacting, and tried to calm herself down. She'd had a bad day, that was all. Kit, Joanne, and then Roshaun. Yeah, that was it. Her nerves were just frazzled…

Stop babbling, Callahan, and read the message, she told herself sternly. She forced her eyes to scan the page of her manual—and her mouth went dry. The message was not a "friendly hello". With every word, her eyes grew larger, and more fear gathered in their brown depths.

Dear Nita,

Sorry I didn't just come over like I usually do, but it is imperative that Kit not find out about this! Considering that he's almost always at your house, this seemed safer. Listen. We have a very important—and very secret—assignment for you and you alone. Come over right away, and do NOT at any costs let Kit find out!

Tom

As soon as Nita finished reading the letter, she bit her lip to keep from screaming. Kit could be in trouble! And….if she'd read Tom's hidden message well enough, he was.

She barely took the time to stuff her manual into her personal claudication before muttering the oh-so-familiar words of the short-distance transport.

Tom Swale and Carl Romeo, local Seniors of New York City, had been enjoying a peaceful afternoon snack.

I say had been, because just at that moment, a teenage, brunette wizard popped into the middle of the kitchen table, landing inches from the ceramic soup pot.

Tom gaped, but Carl acted. He muttered a hovering-spell burned into his brain from many years of usage. The spell "grabbed" Nita's arm and whisked her a foot off the table, just as the pot tipped and a full quarter gallon of steaming chicken noodle spilled across its oaken surface.

Anyone who had stepped into that kitchen at that moment would have wondered if they'd accidentally stumbled into the mental hospital. Nita still hung in the air, as though suspended by her elbow from an invisible pin, her legs flailing beneath her. Carl had grabbed as many towels as he could in one hand, and was mopping at the soup to little avail. Tom was still staring, his mouth open wide.

Things stayed that way for almost a full minute, before a tentative voice finally broke the silence.

"Um……Carl? Could you let me down, please?" Nita ventured, "I….got your message, Tom."

Tom blinked his eyes and finally broke from his stupor. He gave his pointer finger a casual flick, causing the soup Carl was mopping to disappear. Meanwhile, Nita had finally found the counter spell, and came tumbling unceremoniously onto the table.

Once the girl had risen to her feet, she turned to Carl, rubbing her right elbow menacingly. "Carl Jacob Romeo. If you ever, I repeat ever, do something like that again, you will find yourself kicked very hard somewhere where it will hurt," she threatened the Senior wizard.

Carl grimaced. "Dairine's taught you too much for your own good, Neets. Anyhow, would you rather have been scalded with burning hot chicken noodle? That I cooked, might I add."

Tom made choking noises. "Trust me, Juanita, you'd rather spend a week in the same room with an angry Roshaun then taste Carl's soup. Ugh…."

Nita mock-laughed, but both men could tell she wasn't amused. "Okay guys, enough with the funnies. Sorry I transported in such a hurry—I don't know who changed the coordinates on my quick-transport from your backyard to right over your kitchen table…Dairine's gonna die for that prank…..Anyway, what is it? Is Kit in danger? Can I help? Is it the Lone Power? What can I do? Is Kit gonna get hurt? Please, can I do anything to pro…."

Tom cut her off. "Slow down, Neets. Yes, it's a mission; yes, it's dangerous; yes, it's Rodriguez. Yes, you can do something to help. You see, we got a message of sorts from the Powers that Be that there's been reports of recent Lone Power activity in this area. And, it seems this time our old friend is targeting Kit."

"Kit! No! He's in danger…" Nita was on the verge of hysterics, so Carl silenced her.

"We don't know why the Isolate would suddenly take any interest in Rodriguez, but we suspect it might have something to do with his dog being…..well…the Hound of Heaven. Possibly, the Lone Power is scouting around trying to figure out how his "unbeatable" weapon, the Pullulus, was defeated so easily—and by a mere child's dog."

Tom picked up the thread of conversation. "Now, as to what you can do: The Lone Power isn't attacking Kit directly, see. He's lurking in a parallel world similar to the one you first met him in, during your Ordeal. Now, the Powers say that they are able to trap our Enemy inside his self-created universe before he gets to Kit—but they can't do it themselves. They need a wizard to get in his universe, find the kernel—as we know you are adept at doing—and manipulate it so the Lone Power can't escape—and then escape themselves. And, if the wizard in question doesn't complete their task in, oh, the Powers estimate about two weeks, Kit will be corrupted and either become an agent of the Isolate himself….or die. You, Nita, we believe, because of your strong connection with Kit, will be able to do this."

She blanched. Sure, she was probably one of the best wizards the two Seniors knew at kernel manipulation, but—this? This was so incredibly dangerous she couldn't believe the Powers would trust anyone under the rank of Advisory with such a task.

But it's for Kit, she reminded herself. That makes it worth it. Maybe…a tiny thread of hope began to enter her mind. She saw herself barely evading the Lone Power, saving Kit within moments of his expected death. She would return, bruised and battered, and her crush would realize the depths of her devotion through her most amazing act of bravery. "Nita," he'd say, "I'm so sorry I treated you so coldly, when I loved you as deeply as you did me. Can you ever accept my forgiveness?" And she'd reply that of course she could, that she'd perform ten more dangerous missions if it meant seeing him safe…

"Nita? Hello? You with us?" Tom inquired worriedly.

"Oh…yeah," Nita responded automatically, snapping from her daydream back into the present. "I…I'll do it…" she stammered, "I…I'm nervous, but…the Powers have some reason for assigning this to me. W…when do I start?"

"Now," Carl replied gravely. "And we don't want you going through Grand Central either. Too dangerous. We've gotten permission to set up a private transport here." He motioned to a glimmering silver door that hadn't been there last time Nita checked.

She nodded, getting to her feet. "You must under all circumstances work quickly," the Seniors told her in unison. "This particular fragment of the Isolate is incredibly powerful. I have a feeling that it's the one he created in the event that the Powers did succeed in redeeming him, to be nearly a complete copy of his original self. You have little time…good luck." And with that, Carl gestured toward the door. Nita nodded, took a deep breath, and walked through.

She was, as she expected, in New York. But an alternate New York, a dark one such as the one in which she'd first met the Power. This time, she didn't see any giant dragons or fanged cars, but Nita still planned to keep an eye out…

Before she could look any further, she felt fingers of darkness closing around her throat, not tight enough to strangle, just to restrict her breath. A voice akin to the sound of a star splitting across the face of an empty planet echoed both within and without her head.

Thank you for coming here, little wizard-girl. You and I have much to talk about…