Ben Logan sat behind his desk.
He studied the file in his hand.
It was a sunny afternoon.
Outside the office window, a distant mountain scene unfolded.
The peaks rose majestically.
The rugged slopes were cloaked in shades of green and brown.
They were adorned with patches of vibrant wildflowers, he knew dotted the landscape.
In the foreground, a winding river snaked its way through the valley.
It glinted like a ribbon of silver in the afternoon light. Trees clustered along its banks.
He could imagine the leaves rustled gently in the breeze.
Above, fluffy white clouds drifted lazily across the sky.
They cast shadows that danced across the mountainside.
A bird soared gracefully overhead.
Its wings outstretched as it rode the thermals rising from the valley below.
Papers and folders were scattered across the desk.
He glanced up.
The door swung open.
A young woman entered.
She had a determined look in her eyes.
Zac Smith,.
Ben had decided to interview her himself.
He had heard good things about her from the academy instructors.
He wanted to see for himself if she had what it took to join his team.
“Come on in,” he said.
He gestured to the chair in front of his desk.
“Have a seat.”
Zac nodded.
She crossed the room and settled into the chair.
She had on a khaki uniform shirt, minus the patches, faded blue jeans that highlighted hips and thighs and long lean lines carved by hours of athletic endeavors.
She crossed her legs like she was showing off her tan combat boots, as well worn as the jeans.
Not the typical interview suit, he thought. But it said something about her.
Cocky, on the verge of being over confident.
Eyes that sparkled above a half smirk smile.
Ben leaned forward. He looked into her eyes.
“Why do you want to be a deputy?”
She straightened in her seat.
Her expression was serious.
“I’ve always wanted to make a difference in my community,” she said. “Being a deputy is a way for me to serve and protect the people I care about.”
Ben snorted.
“There are better places to serve than…” he let it go and waved a hand toward the window.
The Main Street of town was lined with old brick buildings that looked worn and forgotten.
Stone fortresses from a time when immigrants were making incursions into sacred territory and the Border of the Reservation was being established.
Main Street was it, except for a few smaller buildings on side streets.
And beyond that a Magical Reservation created by the Federal Government to contain native people.
It wasn’t a fun job.
There wasn’t much to smile about most of the time.
“Do you think you have what it takes?”
She met his gaze and held it.
“I’ve been trained to handle high-pressure situations, and I’m confident in my ability to do the job.”
“You ever fought a magic man before?
She shook her head.
“Not much magic on the East Coast anymore.”
He nodded.
Not much magic anyone could see, but it was there.
Probably better found in the halls of power and where money was being made.
But Zac was right.
Her exposure to it would have been limited, if at all.
“Everyone out here has some level of it,” he told her.
“In town?”
It was his turn to shake his head.
“On the Rez,” he corrected. “The Chairman of the Confederated Nations is one of the most powerful men you’ll ever meet, and there are a few others that could top him.”
“I’m going to meet him,” she smirked. “Does that mean I’ve got the job?”
“It’s not an easy gig,” he said. “Take all the problems you find in a big city, compress it into tiny trailer parks, mix in magic and spread it out over a million acres.”
She leaned across the table and whispered.
“What about vampires? And werewolves? And ghosts and ghouls?”
He couldn’t tell if she was kidding.
“That too,” he said. “And more.”
“Really?”
“The potential for it. We haven’t seen it yet, but like I said, problems. We got teens bored out of their skulls with more power than an Army and no hope for a future. They experiment.”
She gulped.
Eyes still sparkled with mischief though.
Like she had an answer for any out of control teen, vampire or werewolf.
“The pay is lousy,” he said. “Hours suck.”
“Don’t over sell it,” Zac answered.
“I’ve got one deputy now and Lucy runs the whole show. You’d be new, so you get the new car. Except it’s a used new car, so it’s only new to you.”
“Any down sides so far?”
Ben stared at her.
“A lot of folks end you here for two reasons,” he said. “They’re running from something or they’re looking to fix something with magic.”
“Do I look like I’d run from anything,” she said, a serious look in her eye.
He glanced at all five foot four of her as she brushed a strand of hair back from her eyes.
“That’s my default setting,” he joked.
She shook her head.
“I worked as a street cop for four years,” Zac said. “Had a partner been doing it for twenty and he taught me how to read people. Fair warning, Sheriff. Don’t play poker with me.”
“Call me Ben.”
“Ben, when you read people, you pick up on things. Like you. You look like the kind of man that doesn’t back up and doesn’t back down.”
He shook his head.
“And maybe you’re the saddest guy I’ve ever met.”
He snorted, but didn’t answer.
“I’m not out here trying to make magic fix something wrong with me. I don’t know magic, but I don’t think it works like that.”
“It doesn’t.”
She played with a finger for a few moments.
“Does it really matter why I’m here?”
“Not for the job,” said Ben. “The job’s yours if you want it.”
“I know.”
“Cocky,” it was his turn to smirk.
“I read it in your eyes.”
They stared at it each for a few moments in silence, taking measure.
“I followed a guy out here because of his job. His job introduced him to his secretary, and she introduced him to a whole new kind of life.
The kind without me in it.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. So I’m not some bleeding heart feeling sad for the short stick the Indians got and here to make it right. I’m not some sad sack hoping to get some medicine man to make me a love potion to get him back. Or anyone back. I’m just an east coast cop making my way in what’s left of the wild west and I liked being a cop.”
She settled in her seat and sighed.
“A pioneer,” said Ben.
She shrugged.
“Something like that.”
“We’ve had more than a few of those,” he mused. “Like I said, job is yours if you want it.”
“Maybe make a few things run from you.”
Ben nodded. He was satisfied with her response. “Alright, then,” he said. “Let’s see how you handle yourself out in the field. Meet me at the diner down the street in half an hour.”
Zac nodded.
She stood up from her chair.
“Yes, Sheriff,” she said, her voice steady.
As Zac left the office, Ben couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation.
He had a feeling that she was exactly what his team needed.
He listened to her voice as she wished Lucy a good day and clomped her big sand colored combat boots down the flight of stairs to the street level.
Lucy leaned against the doorjamb.
“She your next deputy?”
“Seems like it.”
“She’s gonna be trouble,” she said.
“Don’t I know it,” Ben said.
He stared in the direction where the woman had disappeared and wondered if he could handle any more trouble.
That joke she seemed to hold so secret might be worth it, he decided.
Cast a Spell with Old Magic – a modern western urban fantasy adventure
Chris Lowry Books 