Field notes: When you have to approach an enemy, whose name makes you tremble, or you worry that the slightest slip-up will put you and everyone you know in jeopardy. The best assassins make their move quick and fast, but that won’t work if you need information. To catch the more nefarious foes off guard. You’ve got to make them question their senses. You have to put them on edge and not give them a chance to react.


    BIANCA


    Don’t look outside. Don’t ask questions. Today is not a day for idle gossip. What happened outside doesn’t concern you.


    Bianca’s lips curled into a sneer when she spied several best-selling “self-help” books on a shelf in the store. The bright, cheerful colors felt like needles in her heart, and the smiling models made her loath her day, which had been pelted with stress and indecision. Bianca had started the day worrying about her outfit, whether she could get the reports in on time at work, and if she could get through the afternoon without saying or doing anything stupid. Bianca had avoided the prying eyes of her annoying co-workers, and it had actually amused her to merely imagine what it was like to curse them. Bianca let the daydream play out, and she happily enjoyed a rich, thick cup of hot chocolate.


    When she put her cup down, it rattled across her desk and then she felt it. No, out of any day for something to go wrong, why did it have to be today?


    Bianca heard her coworkers chatting in alarm, but she ignored them and sped out of the office. She spent nearly twenty minutes in her car before she found the brain power to move. She watched the smoke rise into the air and dozens of people, followed shortly by police cars and emergency vehicles. Bianca felt her mouth go dry. The absurdity! Numerous businesses were attacked, people were injured, and explosions. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Not here.


    Conversations flocked the grocery store’s isles and checkout stands like flocks of birds itching to snatch up every speck of birdseed. Bianca thrilled her lips. She tried to recite a poem, but she hadn’t memorized any. She gripped her shopping cart and nervously completed the fifth or was it her sixth lap around the various sections in the grocery store.


    Show I just make a run for it?


    The front door was right there. Everyone was so preoccupied she could probably just waltz right out the front door. Bianca inched the cart to a stop, narrowly avoiding a table overstocked with plastic containers containing cakes, scones, brownies, and cupcakes. Bianca gave in and licked her lips, and she even tapped the tops of the containers, finding a moment''s bliss when she contemplated which one she could easily pick up and put into the cart. Bianca had always had a thing for chocolate. A marbled swirled brownie sat rather lonely on the table’s far corner. She reached for it but then stopped when a flash of purple streaked unceremoniously across her knuckles. This realization made her skin sting as if she had been stung by a bee. Bianca pulled her hand back and hurriedly left the table as the marbled brownie began to bubble then smoke.


    It was not safe to be here. Bianca thought.


    She felt her heart race, and she felt her skin clam up. There were so many people! More than had been five minutes ago. Everyone was talking about it with mixed emotions. Some were excited, while others were terrified. Complete strangers wrangled passersby into their conversations, and Bianca twitched when comments or questions were thrown in her direction.


    “I’m ok,” she muttered if she didn’t just ignore the invitation completely. Despite her avoidance, every comment, opinion, and theory seemed to glue itself into her mind, and it painted a grim picture considering what she knew but couldn’t tell anyone about.


    It didn’t matter. Bianca had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all! All she had to do was get what she wanted and then go home. To do that, though, she needed her mouth to stop watering so she could decide.


    “Grumble,” Bianca huffed in annoyance, but she composed herself to avoid igniting any other treat or an object close to any of the shoppers.


    “Grumble,” Bianca repeated. It was the most decisive curse word she could muster. She strolled past the ice cream in an undignified manner. A few people glanced in her direction and, with displeased expressions, graciously stepped away. Bianca welcomed the solitude as she considered her experience with a different variety of premade cookies and various sets of chocolate-covered nuts. There were many options, but none of the happy packaging seemed to hit the spot. Gloomily, she thought about the bakery, but at this time in the day, nothing would quite do compared to the taste when they put out fresh.


    Bianca thought about her shelves and seemed resigned to digging into her collection. She had a few special treats on hand; several were delicious and decadent. She weighed the option and gently tapped her long red nails against the surface of a few containers. Her nerves began to get the better of her. Surely someone had noticed the charred confection and its molten container. Bianca tried to focus on something else, a favorite color. She ignored the pain in her hand and looked at her nails. They were her favorite shade: licorice red. The application was flawless and smooth, except for the third finger, which was purple with glittering accents. This one had a deeper meaning. It was a small connection that kept her safe.


    Perhaps just one more, I could-


    Bianca froze and jerked her cart onto the shelf. She cursed as the cart crashed and rammed her hand into her hip.


    What in the world? Bianca glimpsed a shoulder peek out from behind the end cap, but a flash of light caused her to blink rapidly. Bianca grabbed her cart to steady herself and her senses reoriented themselves. A sinking indicated a presence. Bianca searched her mind for a response but found her body going rigid, and she gripped her cart''s handle as a red dot appeared above a box of cookies in perfect line of sight to her head. It bounced up and down like a mosquito. It stopped and remained stationary. The dot flashed repeatedly and then disappeared. Magic or no magic, tense and apprehensive. Bianca felt her stomach churn, but she didn''t dare move. The dot was gone, but the threat was present. An announcement came over the store’s speaker system, but the words were ignored. When the manager finished speaking though, Bianca registered soft and precise footfalls. It was a practiced approach. Whoever was coming up behind her had taken precautions, and Bianca would be the first to admit that you can tell when people are casually walking, walking with a purpose, or walking with ulterior motives.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    “Whatever you want, it''s yours.” Bianca lifted her hands and tried to hold back her emotions as she expected a hand to grab her purse and then take off running. Surprisingly, it remained in place, and her visitor said nothing.


    “Relax,” a woman''s voice said. “All I want is information.”


    “Information?” Bianca repeated as her chest began to swell with frustration. “Why me? I’m a nobody.”


    “It’s our experience; it’s the nobody who truly is somebody,” came the reply.


    Bianca flushed. “Well, you’re barking up the wrong tree. If you want information, gossip with someone else. There are plenty of people right here who would be willing to chat with you.”


    “I’m not looking for a sale,” the voice insisted.


    Bianca’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sure you’re not. Well, I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time. I get my news from the internet just like anyone else.”


    Bianca tapped her cart’s handle and considered taking a step, but the dot appeared, so she ignored the temptation.


    “And another thing,” she hissed. “I’m pretty sure sticking someone up in a public grocery store is frowned upon. What would you do if, I don’t know, maybe screamed that I was in trouble.”


    The voice was quick and sharp, and Bianca felt her skin go cold when she heard the ominous cock of a gun. She was no gun expert, but it was sound that terrified her. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t. And, if you could just pretend you''re shopping, and if you answer honestly, we''ll be quick, and you can be on your way.”


    Bianca chewed on her lip, “Fine, but be quick about it. These are not the kind of conversations you want to have out in the open.”


    There was a brief pause, and Bianca heard a hand messing with some of the products on the shelf behind her. She slowly turned at her hip, inching to get a look at her interrogator. The moment she did, the red dot returned and then blinked three times. The three-blinking red dot was a warning. Hunters, agents, and henchmen would set up elaborate traps to disguise their numbers. The irregular pattern and such a quick response told her that the interrogator wasn’t alone. Whoever these people were, they were dangerous. Bianca vividly recalled how sorry she could have made her visitor feel. Bianca closed her eyes and pushed the memories away. This wasn’t going to go south. She wouldn’t let it, not today.


    “What do you know what happened today?”


    “More than I want to,” Bianca replied. “Everyone’s been talking about. Obviously, you think there is more to the event. Otherwise, you wouldn''t be here.”


    Bianca felt a wash over her mind that made the candor in her words feel hostile and cruel. The interrogator didn’t immediately reply, and Bianca found herself wishing for someone to appear in front of her. Unsurprisingly, no one came.


    “Is that it?” Bianca asked.


    “For the last ten minutes, you have been on edge,” This time, Bianca noted some youth to the voice, which started a spiral of questions, and she hadn’t been a secretary for as long as she had and not learned to pick up on vocal tells and cues. It was a gift and one she didn’t need magic for. This realization made her wonder. If someone young and inexperienced was coming after her, how bad had the attacks actually been?


    “Do you have any idea who was behind the attacks?”


    Bianca tapped her fingernails on her shopping cart handle grip. This conversation needed to end. “Do I look like a conspiracy nut job?”


    “No,” Came the reply seconds before Bianca was about to add, "Don''t answer that.


    The interrogator continued with a bit more bite to her words, “You are far from a conspiracy nut job, and I’ll cut to the chase.” I know you''re a dark witch in reform. And I know you would be among the first to know if any other dark witches were running around town.”


    “We don’t exactly hang out,” Binca said with a snort of indignation.


    “True, but I expect the last place you want to be is anywhere an active dark witch is. We both know you’d have your ear to the ground, so let’s not play games.”


    Bianca stiffened at the comment and then felt her entire body go rigid. The word dark witch was not something she wanted to hear every day, and she exercised a lot of mental control to keep it as far back from her mainstream thoughts as she could. These people were serious, but they weren’t stupid.


    Or were they?


    Bianca grabbed her shopping cart and risked taking a step forward and then another, and then another. After about five seconds, she turned her attention back to the products on the shelf. It was time to get back to shopping.


    “I hope you realize the tree you''re barking up or the beehive you decided to poke.”


    Bianca considered risking a glance behind her again, but she kept her attention forward. “I have heard some rumors, but I’m not sure.”


    “Come on,” the interrogator pressed.


    “It''s your funeral,” she replied, “and for the record, you’re correct. There is at least one dark witch in town, but I don’t have a name.”


    “If you had to hazard a guess?”


    Bianca took another step and felt a sensation build in her chest, and after a moment, she found herself smiling. Her worries were gone; her hesitation was a fleeting thought, and she was ready to sink her teeth into some chocolate cake.


    Bianca cackled with delight, then relaxed her grip. “Odds are rather good your culprit would be either Maya Elliot or Elise Meyer. COVEN has been after them both for a while.”


    “You don’t sound convinced.” The interrogator said.


    “True,” Bianca said with a snicker. “If I''m honest, Maya and Elise they are both nasty creatures, but they are dolls compared to Suzanna or Suzy Sourblood.”


    “Suzy Sourblood?”


    Bianca shivered, but it was more about showing than genuine worrying. The simple idea of Suzy Bianca found the idea funny. She then added. “If Suzy is in town, I''d take a vacation or maybe consider relocating. She''s one of a kind in all the wrong ways.”


    Bianca made a selection and then slipped it into her cart. At the same time, Bianca did a slight shuffle as a few hundred dollars fluttered to the floor. A payoff? A bribe? Bianca waved her fingers, and the money rose to her palm. The cackle rose to her throat, and Bianca let it out softly, which felt satisfying.


    “Thanks,” the interrogator said with a note of hesitation. Was she scared of her? Was this whole thing a ploy with a mannequin and a laser pointer?


    “You know,” Bianca said, feeling a little generous. Whoever these people were playing for her treats tonight. “If you want to narrow that down. I’d go visit with Mel Hart.”


    “Who''s that?” the conviction felt forced, and the confidence was wavering.


    “Go watch the check stand. Mel typically has a friend in town who will give her away if you pay attention.”


    Bianca sniffed and then stuck her nose in her air. They had a chance to leave, and they had better not waste it.