Sell you a Bridge chapter 274

June 12th 2016 The Nightside 8:00 AM EDT

The  next few days passed by in a blur. The adrenaline dump from leaving the  Arcadia Project had balanced out, and the good memories didn't have the  same bittersweet feeling after a few days with my girls and reminding  myself that the real world had good times to experience too. The  experience in there also helped me take a breath and slow down. I wanted  to help Kit, but rushing wouldn't do that. All I could do was take  things on step at a time.

In the spirit of that sentiment I  tried to relax while Jim scouted Griffin Hall. During this time we  mostly just relaxed and spent time getting to know Sindella better. Zee  was over the moon that her mother was around, and Sindella was gleefully  embracing her role as mother, not just to Zee, but to all of us.  Despite us all having moms we were close to Sindella made it her mission  to get to know us and treated each of us like her own, talking to us,  cooking for us, and just generally showing interest in our lives.

I  could see where Zee got her bubbly nature and natural magnetism.  Sindella was one of the kindest most charismatic people I'd ever met. It  was impossible not to like her or want to be around her. She even  managed to win over John, who had always been kind of aloof and separate  from the group. The slightly older british punk was completely besotted  with the nurturing older woman, and even her couldn't bring himself to  turn his normal snark on the perpetually beaming face of Zee's mother.

This  morning had us all gathered in the kitchen, eating cheese blintzes that  Sindella made from scratch as we listened to Jim reporting on his most  recent venture to Griffin Hall. "So, the good news is that I can get us  in there. The bad news is that it's going to take me a while to actually  crack the defenses. I've been consulting with Mr. Constantine and the  lovely misses Zatara, and the three of them have been quite a help, but  even with plans and countermeasures a certain amount of the spellwork  needs to be handled on site."

We'd expected that. I turned  to Tommy. "That would be where you come in teach. Making sure we get  ignored is right up your alley. Do you think you can help us out while  our magic users play can opener?" My own magical foundations were  entirely in summoning and void magic, so I doubted I'd be much help with  deconstructing defensive wards. All I would be good for was security  and muscle.

The existential detective gave a lasseiz faire  shrug. "Shouldn't be an issue. Things like being ignored aren't too  much trouble. The existential can often be used to conceal. How long do  you all think you're going to need though? Even with a suitable bit of  leverage I can't use my power non stop."

That wasn't  something I could comment on so I looked over to Jim. He gave a helpless  shrug. "I'm not sure. It shouldn't be more than a few hours. We've been  researching methods to crack each ward and we have measures prepared,  but there's no such thing as a perfect plan. Not to mention we're  bypassing the wards without actually tripping them, which is much harder  than just going right in."

Sindella sat down at the  table, a big plate of blintzes in front of her. She was always the last  to eat, making sure everyone else got fed. She took a big bite, closing  her eyes in satisfaction, before opening them with a relaxed sigh. "I  love this recipe." She shook off her reverie. "In any case, yes, the  task of bypassing the wards has been difficult. I've been studying magic  for my whole life, and I still wouldn't have been able to make much  progress with Mr. Craddock's expert counsel."

She shot Jim  a beaming smile, and I was pretty sure if I could see my mentor's face  right now he would be blushing. Sindella really did have a way with  people. As it was he just coughed lightly. "My dear lady, you are truly  too kind. Your compliments do me proud, but you aren't exactly  untalented yourself. While your grasp on ward principles isn't as firm  as my own, the counterspells have been mainly your work. I am in awe at  your brilliance when it comes to spell construction."

Zee  slammed her hands down on the table and we all turned to her in surprise  as she leveled the most venomous glare I'd ever seen from her at Jim.  "You stop that right now! Don't think I don't know your tricks. My  mother is not joining your harem of mature beauties, and if I so much as  get a whiff of you flirting with her, I'll curse you with impotence for  the next hundred years! She is married." Her tone was fierce, and she  was so clearly serious that Sindella herself blushed bright red at the  insinuation.

Taylor meanwhile, was looking at Jim  suspiciously, Suzie was seemingly interested in the fact that her rival  might end up with the ghostly man, and John surprisingly looked mildly  disturbed by the thought. Jim, who had taken an urbane sip of tea after  his compliment, coughed and sputtered as he choked on the mouthful of  hot liquid. "I say! I'm not some sort of ravenous beast. You speak as if  I've never met a woman I haven't tried to seduce!"

I was  about to speak up for him, thinking Zee was oversensitive because of her  parents marital problems, and maybe she was, but when I stopped to  think about it I gave him a suspicious squint. Talia, Mary, Paula,  Claire, basically every woman over the age of thirty we'd met Jim had  either already slept with or at least flirted with. I shook off the  suspicions, since it wasn't my business, reaching out to Zee through our  bond even as I put a hand on her arm. "Peace, love. I'm sure Jim was  just acknowledging your mother's talents in magic. No need to jump to  conclusions."

Zee, who had been winding up for more,  suddenly deflated. I felt her pain through our connection and my heart  broke for her. She'd been hiding it pretty well, I hadn't even noticed  before just now, but she'd had her worries percolating. Now that her  mother was back she had a shot at a happy family again, but she knew  deep down that her dad wasn't the same man, and that might not happen.  She sighed, giving Jim a sad smile. "I'm sorry Jim. That wasn't fair.  I'm...I'm not feeling hungry right now, I think I'm going to go upstairs  to meditate for a while."

She pushed back her chair and  stood, walking slowly and sadly out of the room. Jim sighed as well.  "Poor girl. The good comes with the bad I suppose." He turned to  Sindella. "Not that your resurrection isn't a joyous occasion. But it's  bringing up a great many issues she hasn't even really dealt with. Curse  that old fool for never getting that girl a therapist. Trust the  meddling busybody to project his own insecurities onto his daughter."

I  cut him off. "That's enough Jim. I'm not exactly a fan either, but this  isn't really our business to talk about." I chucked my chin  meaningfully at a now uncomfortable looking Sindella. I shot her a  smile. "Look, I'm not going to pretend I like your husband. He's a giant  ass. But he loves his daughter more than life itself, which isn't  something everyone can say. Whatever you hear about him, at least know  that much. And whatever you hear it won't be from us. Regardless of our  position on things, it's not ok to bad talk someone's loved ones. I  avoid doing it in front of Zee and I owe you the same respect."

Not  that avoiding it in front of Zee mattered when we had an empathic  connection, but I still tried my best. It hurt her to hear me deride  him, and I'd never do that if I could help it. Sindella gave me a warm  smile, raching out to put her hand on top of mine. "Thank you Morgan.  I'm very glad my daughter has you in her life. You're a wonderful young  man." She stood up with a sigh. "I'll let James fill you in on the  details here in any case. I need to go check on her. I've missed far too  many moments like this in my daughter's life not to support her now  that I'm here."

She headed upstairs and I felt Jim look  over at me. Even without being able to see his face I could feel his  steady regard, and I could sense his guilt. Not through some sort of  magic or metaphysical intuition, but because he was my mentor and my  friend. I knew him, and he was probably feeling like shit right now. I  shot him a comforting smile, and gestured for him to follow me so we  could talk in a more private room. We headed into a nearby study. Julian  really had too much of those. Once we were there I gave him an  apologetic shrug. "This is going to be a bit messy until they sort it  out. Sorry if I cut you off earlier, Sindella was just starting to look  pretty upset."

"It's fine." He  said, waving me off. "I was caught up in what was going on and didn't  consider the situation. Miss. Zatara is a lovely woman. I never met her  when she was alive, that old bastard and I weren't on good terms, and  all our meetings were in combat, but I'd heard about his wife and how  much he loved her. I can see why he adored her so, she's a warm hearted  and compassionate person. She reminds me quite a bit of Zatanna,  actually."

I  smiled fondly. "That she does. She's a lot like Zee. Just lights up the  room around her. Seeing them together is really heartwarming. Of  everything my power has ever accomplished, I think this is probably the  most amazing to me. Being able to give back someone she lost...I've  never been so grateful for what I can do." I shook my head quickly to  clear it. "Anyway, enough sappiness. You never finished giving me the  details on the job. I assume you have some kind of plan besides 'show up  and let Tommy keep us secret?' right?"

"Obviously."  His voice was scathing as he retorted. "Do I look like an amateur to  you boy? I've been casing the target for days, mapping not just the  wards, but their intersection with the natural environment and how they  react to changes in the nearby situation. Without any sunrise here our  time window is a bit less relevant, but there are still external factors  that can have an effect. Not the least of which is guard rotations.  Which I've obviously spent days deducing. Did you forget everything I  taught you?"

I  put both hands up in surrender. "I wasn't suggesting you were. I was  asking what the plan was. I haven't forgotten anything old man. I never  forget anything. You know that." I gave him a smug smirk. Jim had  expressed jealousy at my memory ability in the past, and I didn't blame  him. It was an incredibly useful trick. Maybe someday I'd pick up  something for him just like it, he'd never gotten any abilities from me  so he could still gain one. In the end that was a matter for another  time though. For now I just thumped into a chair and gestured for him to  continue. "So, go ahead and tell me the rest. Somehow I get the feeling  it's going to involve quite a bit of effort on my part, isn't it?"  His  ominous chuckle did not put me at ease.