Campbell nodded for Tia to begin.
“A little extra protection never hurt anything,” Cassidy said with a smug chuckle.
I tsked. Paranoid much.
The moment Tia finished signing the spell, a burst of energy knocked my mind from the room. It hit with such force that my telepathic projection hovered outside the goddamn Cerberus building.
Whatever, I had work to complete anyway.
Carter’s anxiety pulled me through the sea of minds. At first, I worried that the horrors of his trauma, the trauma of my near death that he’d averted, were resurfacing. I could only imagine someone of Gladiatrix’s level had dragged her interns onto harsh missions they weren’t ready for. But much to my surprise,Carter’s anxiety came in the form of a makeup artist telling him her life story while she applied products he normally avoided.
On either side of him sat Zoya and Vik, who also remained statuesque as a professional applied makeup.
“Now that we’re almost done with the makeup test, we can hopefully move on to your casework for the day,” a member of Gladiatrix’s entourage said. “Ideally, we’ll finish early so we can examine and reevaluate where your team needs improvement.”
Technically speaking, they were assigned specially to Carter, Vik, and Zoya’s entourage. Sort of a starter pack of success for the young interns and for this up-and-coming personal assistant who craved working for the elite enchanters so they could bask in that radiant secondhand fame.
“Can you stop calling this a case?” Carter huffed.
It wasn’t an actual case that had Carter’s mind whirling with anxiety. Nope. It was the practice questions for an upcoming interview he had. Gladiatrix’s entourage of industry experts went to work preparing a social media rollout for Carter, Vik, and Zoya. Each would do some test posts, audience engagement, and a few live videos to gauge where their strengths and weaknesses were.
While Carter loved the spotlight and dreamed big for most of his life, actually living it as a reality scared the ever-living fuck out of him.
He’d much rather be slaying demons alongside Gladiatrix, instead of handling all the PR she navigated with finesse.
“Why couldn’t we join Gladiatrix?” Carter asked, keeping his eyes rolled up to the ceiling as the makeup artist drew subtle liner under his blue eyes.
“Yeah,” Vik said, concurring purely out of their fear of public speaking—which included talking on camera alone in a room. “Shouldn’t we prioritize actually working on cases?”
“Interviews, press, and the spotlight are as important,” Zoya commented, fluffing her dark brown hair to enhance the bounce of the curls the stylist had added. “If not more important, since saving lives only matters if people know about it.”
Carter and Vik made uncomfortable expressions.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Zoya puckered her lips, double-checking the shade to her complexion. “You only want to be professional enchanters because they’re in the spotlight, making it look heroic. They do this because they prioritize their public image. And if you want to make changes in the industry, you have to be in the industry. Loved by the industry.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Carter shrugged. “Can’t win the game if you don’t play.”
“Of course I’m right.” Zoya zipped to the other side of the room and smiled. “I’m always right. Except when I vote. Then I’m left.”
“I still think we’d gain more experience working on a case than talking to a camera about the case we aren’t even on.” Vik sank into their chair, making it difficult for their makeup artist to continue.
Gladiatrix had abandoned her interns with her entourage while she fought a demon overseas. Apparently, a massive hydra with more than a hundred heads and nearly the size of the Eiffel Tower had washed up on the shores of France and began attacking with unfathomable demonic energy.
It didn’t take long to scroll through my phone and find articles on the incident. According to some reports, this was a world-ending assault, while more reputable sources claimedthe threat had been highly exaggerated, hardly requiring Global Guild intervention.
Even without a manifestation attached, I knew the reason she’d gone there. She was a mere short flight from King Liberty’s base of operations, and despite her best efforts to hide it from others and herself, the attraction she had for the masked vigilante was palpable when in his presence. I wagered she’d decided to handle this so-called global threat more so for an opportunity to flirt with her international crush than she had to bolster her international acclaim, despite what her entourage suggested.
“All right.” Carter clapped his hands, drawing my attention from myself momentarily and back to my telepathy, which observed him. “Let’s get this show started.”
“Do we have to?” Vik cringed, already dreading a camera on their face.
“Relax,” Zoya said, fluffing her dark brown curls. “If you get overwhelmed, just follow my lead.”
With that, Zoya zipped ahead with her super speed and practiced poses in the staged room the entourage had acquired.
Multitasking had taken on a whole new level thanks to the upgrade in my branch. I did my best to continue searching through Winston’s memories while putting away my phone and also placing Carter on the back burner of my thoughts.
As I tiptoed through Winston’s mind, I found the grayscale of his thoughts alarming. Familiar to another mind I’d delved into before. Only, Winston didn’t see the world in black and white.There weren’t absolutes clawing at his developing psyche to hide away childhood traumas. No. It was more like the color, the depth, the emotion in his mind had been drained away. Perhaps a failsafe of the Celestial Coven or an illusion meant to lure psychics into a trap.
