Used to blend in (2)

After talking with Vera, the General did the same with Sara. However, the latter called him daddy all the way, all happy to be arm in arm with her boss.

Vera observed how the two went along, walking back and forth and talking business.

She sat on a bench and waited for her heart to return to beat unemotionally. She had been fooled, and her body needed time to recover. Was that how paternal care felt?

She observed the tips of her shoes, wondering whether it would have been the same with her real father. If he hadn't died many years before, maybe he would have done the same.

She shook her head and gritted her teeth. Those thoughts were useless. Useless!

There was no way she would know how it felt. She had no father, period. And whatever game the General wanted to play, he was late. She had lived twenty years without her parents. She had accepted it.

It didn't even hurt anymore. She barely remembered them... They were just ghosts from the past.

She had survived just fine: she could continue like that. Whatever the General wanted to do was going to fail. Especially because she had read through him.

He was smooth in his role, and he had used his naturalness to trick her. However, he had also given away a detail she wanted to know.

For sure, the family in trouble expected two women from the agency. That was what he had said. But the sentence wasn't complete. It lacked something.

They were expecting two witches. That was why they sent them soon after the mission with Gamayun. They didn't have even an hour to rest because they were the only two witches in the office in Milan. There were others but in other branches.

As such, Vera had no choice but to finish that mission with Sara. Then, once back, she would have made sure it never happened again.

But what kind of family would ask for witches to free their home from ghosts? And why now? This is what bugged her the most: the timing.

Even more, how could that family know there were two witches in the agency? Was that the reason why the General urged them to go? Because they were involved?

She returned to the real world when the General and Sara stopped in front of her. She raised her eyes and noticed the triumphal light in Sara's gaze. She seemed very, very satisfied.

«Are they humans?» Vera inquired. «The family. Is it a human family?»

«A hundred per cent. Don't reveal anything to them; they're not ready to hear about it. Just be vague once you're done with the house.»

Vera sighed. Being vague? So, they didn't ask for witches. She had been wrong, or the General was an even better liar than she could imagine.

They announced the train, first in Italian and then in English, and the women collected their bags. Vera had her backpack, while Sara would travel with a small, pink suitcase and a purse. They were different in any aspect. So much so that the General's attempt to look like a father saying hi to his daughters felt hilarious. Who could believe they were sisters?

They waved to General Blasi before getting on their wagon. They found their seats soon after, and Sara waved from the window as well, while Vera rolled her eyes, annoyed.

She slipped the bag in between two rows of seats while Sara stood still for a few seconds. When she saw someone passing by them, she raised the suitcase and puffed.

The young man stopped and helped her put it away. Sara smiled as a sign of thanks and blinked seductively. All while collecting some of that man's energy.

Kind gestures would always make her feel energised. The man was so taken by her angelic beauty that he didn't notice how his muscles felt tired for a moment. He turned his back and left, barely glancing at the other girl with the blondie.

If he had looked at her, the enchantment Sara used would have been broken by a pair of amber eyes.

«You shouldn't do that,» Vera said once the other was sitting.

«Who are you to tell me? You use your body for your magic. Isn't there something grosser?»

«I pay the price for myself and don't take advantage of others,» Vera pointed out. «Unless you were, once again, trying to say I use sex to perform magic. You know well enough that I don't.»

«Well, you should. It would be easier. And it's not like you lose anything.»

«I don't want to,» Vera repeated.

She liked to think she could survive without that kind of help. Sure, sex was a fast way to collect energy and perform magic, but she had enough power to avoid it.

«By the way, you have the amulet.»

«What? No!» Sara said, widening her eyes.

Vera sighed, annoyed once again. Why was she always saying the opposite of what was true? Sara would pretend to have the amulet when it was with the General, while she would deny having it when her face showed too much confidence. The General must have given her because he knew things could get out of control.

But, since he was trying another tactic with Vera, he had told her to keep quiet about it. It was a trick for kids, and Sara could be transparent.

«You know what? It doesn't matter. You don't have permission to use it without the need. So, it's okay,» she sighed.

Using the amulet would have meant failure. However, Vera wasn't a hundred per cent certain that was enough to stop Sara. She had to be careful on both fronts: not to reveal too much to the human family and, at the same time, keep Sara under control.