for unwillingness to answer. “I ask that because the rest of the fight only took about thirty seconds before you exploded her head.”
I kept quiet.
“What was it you did to her head?” Mazar asked.
“I, ah, removed all the heat from it—all at once,” I said, swallowing.
“Is that a common spell?” Krupp asked.
“I don’t know. I was running low on power and time. She was blinded, but that didn’t make her less dangerous, just disoriented. Removing the small amount of heat in a head is easier than, say, adding enough to incinerate it,” I said, immediately cursing myself for answering too much.
The agents exchanged glances.
“You were attacked and kidnapped as a child, correct?” Krupp asked.
“Not sure what that has to do with today?” I asked.
“Another attack, another dead attacker,” Krupp said.
“He got electrocuted,” I said.
“Yes, fascinating coincidence. The man, an accomplished serial rapist and murderer, kidnaps a young witch and somehow electrocutes himself,” Krupp said.
“What’s your point?” I asked.
“Tell us, what did you think of the last few days’ presentations?” Mazar asked out of left field. I think I got a little whiplashed trying to stay with the change in direction.
“They were okay.”
“Just okay?” Krupp asked.
“Some were pretty interesting. The stuff about the religious groups, the proposed laws, and the terrorist group that got ripped up by a werewolf was cool.”
“Which ones didn’t you like?” Mazar asked.
“Well, it’s not like I hated any of them. But the population assessments on weres and vampires were pretty funny.”
“Funny? How were they funny?” Krupp asked.
“They overestimated numbers and locations all over the place. Nowhere near that many of either type,” I said.
“And you know this how?” Mazar asked.
“Ah, I go to school with them. We, like, talk and stuff.”
“What about witches?” Krupp asked.
“What about them? They didn’t mention them,” I said.
“Oh that’s right. Must be because they didn’t know about them. Oracle never said anything about them,” Krupp said, looking at Gina.
“Hey, don’t look at me. I don’t work for Oracle. I run Arcane, which is co-sponsored by Demidova Corp and Oracle. Nobody ever asked me about witches,” Gina said with a shrug.
“Are witches numerous or scarce?” Mazar asked.
My turn to shrug. “I don’t know. I would say definitely more than weres and vampires combined, but they vary greatly. I would guess that most are fairly weak. The strong ones tend to be born into circles. Then there are the non-magical kind that just practice it as a religion.”
“Your aunt might know more?” Mazar asked.
“Maybe. She knows more than me, that’s for sure.”
“Did you know that we can’t find a clear trail of your aunt’s citizenship? The paper trail is rather murky. Leaves us with questions as to whether she’s actually a citizen or here illegally,” Krupp said.
I felt myself go still as the threat settled over me.
Brennen! Sorrow suggested. I remembered that one. Burn them.
“You’re playing with fire, agents,” Gina interjected, her eyes on me briefly, before flicking to the feds. “Should you execute on that threat, the Demidova Corp will just tie you up in court.”
“We can still deport her,” Krupp said.
“Yes, and instantly alienate the most valuable resource you could ever hope to gain. Face it, with the exception of DOAA and Oracle, the entire U.S. law enforcement and intelligence apparatus is reeling from the exposure of vampires, lycanthropes, and now witches and psy-enabled individuals. You have no idea who they are, how to detect if they were involved in a crime, or how to apprehend them if you could prove it. Which is why you two are here on a fishing expedition. Congratulations, you’ve found a big fish, big fishes actually. But you’re just about to scare them off completely,” Gina said. “Did you watch the video? Did you understand what you were seeing? Because I’ve been following this stuff for most of my career and I didn’t follow all of it. I did follow the self-defense part, though. That was pretty clear. But this part where you to try to threat leverage a kid who is sponsored by the fastest growing corporation on earth and is a clear favorite of the Hammer of God, well this part seems to be poorly thought out. A kid that just defeated another witch who most likely murdered eleven others and evaded law enforcement for weeks.”
The two agents stared at her, then Mazar glanced at Krupp, who seemed locked up. Looking at me and finally back at Gina, Mazar nodded. “You are right. The world’s police forces have no idea how to do