Magical Secrets of Love

The Director

Quinn enters the large mountainside mansion. The foyer is vacant, but there is a gentle light coming from the kitchen area. It is past midnight and the house is eerily quiet except for the sound of furious typing coming from the kitchen. Quinn walks down the lengthy hall knowing his Aunt Kia will be angry about something he hasn’t done.

“Hello Auntie,” he greets her as he comes around the corner. She is in her silk night robe with a bonnet covering her hair, typing on her laptop. She looks like his father, which means Quinn looks like her. He’s identical to his dad’s features down to the intense green eyes. The only feature he inherited from his mom was his thick curly light brown hair, which his Aunt made him keep shaved low, military style.

“Quinn,” she looks up and her green eyes are ice-cold. He never understood how she could be this uptight and angry all the time. “How did this happen?”

“It was an accident. These things happen,” he says, taking a seat at the breakfast bar. He grabs an orange from the fruit bowl and begins to peel it. This assignment was not his favorite, but he didn’t get a choice, so he was going to have to suck it up until Paris left for college. “A girl from school bumped her, and she fell into the water. I was close, and I was able to jump in to save her.”

“You reported about 3 years ago that she doesn’t like water,” she reads from the computer screen, “But today she spontaneously chooses to ride a boat and falls into a lake, gets a concussion, and twists her ankle. This is very out of character for her.”

“I have my suspicions a friend coaxed her onto the boat,” Quinn says, “But she seemed not to be afraid, maybe she’s overcome her fear of water. I think she may have a connection with water if her predicted powers present themselves over the next few days.”

“There was a magical spike multiple times before she fell in the water.” She says, she turns the laptop to show him satellite images of hot takes at the lake house on its screen. The first shot would be her by the willow tree, then in the bathroom, and then finally on the boat. “Did you have eyes on her the entire night?”

“Yes,” he swallows, noticing the image of Paris in the bathroom is the hottest and clearly shows a second body with her. “Only when she first arrived at the willow tree I was not with her. I could see her from the house window.”

“When she was in the bathroom you could see her?” His aunt raised a brow, “that was when her magic sparked the highest.”

“Yes,” he swallows hard but continues trying to remain professional, “Paris ran by me. I thought her eyes looked purple, with her full powers coming in. I waited until she returned from the bathroom, but she didn’t. After some time, I went in after her to make sure she was OK. I stayed with her until the stomach pains were gone.”

“Did she show powers in that bathroom?” Aunt Kia asks, confused by his unclear report.

“No, I didn’t witness any power attributes while in the bathroom.” He answers confidently.

“But she was so hot in there for such a long time.” She remarks on the time signature on each image. “These spikes are consistent with a power surge.”

“Well, possibly she is good at hiding her power from me,” Quinn says, looking away from her. “My secret is still secure, so to her, I was a threat.”

“Threat? The reason we kept you here was because you assured me that by being close to their family she would trust you, and she would divulge her power to you on her own, versus you having to catch her and turn her into the Director like the rest of them.”

“I know, and she does trust me.” Quinn intercedes feeling attacked. “She probably just freaked out like they all do.”

“How many?” She asks, “How many have you caught?”

“Total?” She nods, and Quinn looks her in the eyes, “Since I was 14, I’ve caught 7 magical beings.”

“And how long did it take you?” She says, moving around the counter to stand next to her nephew.

“On average, 6 months to track and obtain them,” he says, standing and backing away from the breakfast bar. He was one catch away from being promoted. If he was able to prove Paris did have magical gifts, he would be done being their foot soldier. He could move to more important tasks in the magical world. His task has been to keep magic secret and remove threats in that way of life, and he’s done a good job in their small town.

“You have been on her tail for 4 years, and your relationship predates that,” she points out, “Why haven’t you determined her power source or, frankly, anything about her magical profile in 8 years?”

“She showed gifts when I first started training, and we hoped her powers would develop by 16 then by 18.” Quinn notes, “She isn’t like other magical beings. I think her power would surpass my previous 7 encounters. She mystifies me.”

Kia turned, detecting his compassionate tone, “Have you developed feelings towards her?”

“No,” Quinn catches the fondness in his voice and corrects back to military-style reporting, “I’ve known her long enough that I do know her, and I have been watching her since I was 11. I have a friendship with her. Is it so bad that I’m fond of her?”

“You know the rules,” She reminds him, Quinn nods. “Romantic relationships are forbidden with magical beings. Has Dallas shown any power?”

“No, he hasn’t, but there could be a chance,” Quinn says, glad they’ve changed the subject. “But boys mature slower. Remember I caught that 21-year-old last year who had just come into his power while he was flipping hamburgers at the boardwalk stand.”

“I remember,” Kia sighed and rubbed her temples, “tomorrow you will have to talk to the Director. With better details.”

“He can talk to me now,” The Director says from the shadows. “My office, Quinn.”

Quinn stands at attention and then files into the library down the hall. The Director opens the door and then shuts it as they enter.

“I heard your report,” he says while Quinn stands completely still. “Do I need to remove you from this detail and send you to your next level of training?”

“No sir,” Quinn answers and stares straight at the large painting on the large wooden desk in the room. The painting depicts a black unicorn and a knight next to it. He used to love that painting when he was first recruited and stood in that office. Now it was torturing his heart and soul to look at it. He had no desire to engage in more capture training. He had proven to be good at it, but he wanted to do more in the scientific sector, and he would only get that if he met the number quota in magical being collections.

“Are you compromised?” He asks, taking a seat across from Quinn.

“No sir,” Quinn says, looking the Director in the eye to indicate he was serious. He notices he’s in a silk robe as well and has on reading glasses.

“You aren’t too close to your mark?” He asks. Quinn responds in the negative. Quinn’s phone begins to ring in his pocket and he ignores it. “Answer your phone, on speaker.”

Quinn does as told and pulls his phone out of his pocket. It’s Paris calling. He looks up then back at the phone and sighs silently, knowing he can’t back out now. He answers and puts it on speaker, then sets his phone on the desk.

“Quinn?” Paris says, and Quinn’s heart flutters just hearing her voice. He wanted to be with her right now.

“I’m here,” he answers, trying to keep all emotion out of his voice. “How are you doing?”

“They say I can go home in the morning. My tests have come back good, the concussion is mild but no brain damage. Dad just went to get some food.” She pauses then sighs. “I was calling to thank you for saving me today.”

“Of course,” Quinn says.

“Well, I also wanted to ask you about what we talked about on the boat.” She started.

“Paris, we don’t have to talk about it again,” Quinn tries to intercede, so she doesn’t reveal their kiss. They had agreed not to discuss it again, and it was not going to happen again. Quinn was going to keep his control around her until she got into the early college program and leaves.

“I know, but I need to know if you felt something too,” Paris said without hesitation. Quinn tried to remain stoic while the Director kicked up a brow at her statement.

“We can talk about it in person later, you should be resting,” Quinn says, reaching for his phone, intending to hang up when the Director grabs the phone first.

“There were sparks,” she says, “You had to feel that current of electricity.”

The Director’s eyes both shoot up as he glares at Quinn. He stares at the Director in disbelief. What’s strange was he had felt the electricity between them. He keeps eye contact, but Quinn tries to stay stoic and clears his throat to be clearer, “Thorney we can talk about it in person. It’s late, and it’s been a long day, so I should get some rest. Good night.”

“Just tell me I’m not crazy,” she pleads, “strange things have happened today and I need to know this is the one thing that makes me not insane.”

With her comment, the Director sits straighter and gives a gesture to Quinn to prompt her to continue speaking. Quinn sighs, then follows suit, “What strange things?”

“Nothing,” she won’t indulge anymore and Quinn knows when Paris is done sharing. “Just answer my question, Quinn. Did you feel the sparks between us when we touched?”

Quinn hangs his head and looks at the Director. He was quite positive his assignment to Paris was soon to be removed, and he would not be getting the promotion he wanted. “Yes Thorney, I felt them too.”