agent huffed at him and looked as if she were about to breathe fire. “You have no right to talk to me like that, Master White. You are not of this world—you have no idea how the witches and warlocks here do business. At least we bloody well don’t enslave our own kind to get ahead. Furthermore, you don’t know what you’re talking about. We’ve all read the old files on Dallas, and none of us became agents to die for that inferior wimp of a witch. She’s already killed her own mother. She’s not going to get me as well.”
“Oh come on, Heidi, knock it off.” Another female agent stepped forward. “You’re being a bit dramatic for Master White. You know as well as we all know that’s not the case. Mistress Hyde-Redgrave was not murdered by her daughter. She just died attempting to protect her daughter when witch hunters came for her the first time. This was the third time.. Dallas is a menace to our well-being. The Bloodbayne Witch Hunters knew that Bryony Hyde-Redgrave’s time-manipulation power was dim in comparison to her daughter’s and so they went for the shinier witch.
She was lucky she had Mistress Ross-Redgrave there, along with Anya, young as she was, or they would have gotten Dallas for sure. After her mother was killed they altered Dallas’s memory so she would never have to deal with the true reason behind her mother’s death. It’s so tragic. Everyone pities her, while at the same time feeling incredibly afraid of ever helping her because, well, death seems to follow her everywhere she goes and no one wants to be pulled into that hurricane.”
Oliver unclenched his fists. “I see.” Just because he understood their irrational behavior didn’t mean he was going to give them a free pass. They were agents of the Magical Authority and knew that risk to life and limb came with the job.
In fact, when they joined the agency, they took an oath to protect and serve the magical and non-magical community without bias toward any of the individuals. This counted as bias, and when he finally got settled in at his new post he would shake things up a bit and remind everyone why they’d joined the Magical Authority. If they didn’t like it, they could lump it, as in they could resign from the organization or face his terrible wrath.
He cleared his throat. “You may all take your leave now,” he said, flourishing his hand in the air to signal their dismissal.
“Who the hell does he think he is, royalty?” Heidi grumbled as they turned their backs to him and walked away.
“If I was royalty, you’d never turn your back on me,” he snapped, watching her bristle with agitation. He wanted them gone, the sooner the better. They served no purpose now he didn’t require their pitiful excuse for powers to keep Dallas safe. As for the one known as Heidi, how dare she call Dallas a wimp of a witch.
Dallas might not be able to stand up for herself magically the way that other witches and warlocks were able to, but she could bloody well take a beating with the best of them without whining for mercy.
He thought back to what Dallas had said about losing track of the time. Perhaps her loneliness had depressed her, but he now wondered if there was something more to it. Could her brain be fuzzy because of the way they’d altered her memory via magic?
He’d heard of other witches and warlocks essentially going mad from having something similar happen to them. Since they had erased a very traumatic part of her life, she just might be slowly losing herself because of it.
As soon as she started to feel a bit better, he would have to attempt to remove the spell and restore her mind to where it should be. If Anya hadn’t been around her much, maybe she hadn’t noticed the ill effects of the enchantment. Or maybe Anya couldn’t bring herself to remove it and watch her cousin lose her mind when Dallas discovered the truth.
Dallas would only go mad for a little while, as opposed to the alternative. If the spell really was affecting her memory, she would lose her marbles bit by bit until she could no longer function. A witch like her without her wits about her could be a very dangerous thing indeed. He had to get in touch with Anya and ask about the particulars because he