(May 15th, 1987)

It was with some trepidation that I stared at the door of Superintendent John Reid, Ben’s boss at Scotland Yard. The last time I’d been in his office, it hadn’t been pretty. Not that I hadn’t deserved it. I’d been a mess, and I hadn’t been facing up to it, even with all of the prodding from Athena and Artemis.

Now, thanks to their patience and care - and Ben’s, and that of a few other people - and with a little more than a year of knitting my fractured psyche and self-confidence back together, I was confident that I was whole again.

Mostly.

> Athena nudged me gently. >

> Artemis added. > She pressed up against the back of my legs, forcing me to take a step towards the door.

I have learned, at great length and with enough repetition that it’s finally sunk in, to heed the wisdom of my sisters. I knocked.

“Come in!” Reid’s voice called through the frosted glass door.

I opened it, but didn’t step in. After a moment, Reid looked up and smiled faintly, his iron-colored beard flexing with the motion. “I said ‘come in,’ Mage Kinnear. Have a seat.” He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk.

Well, he used my proper title. That was encouraging. The last time we’d spoken, he’d called me ‘Miss’ instead.

I got nudges from both Artemis and Athena when I hesitated, and a moment later Athena and I were sitting in the chairs, while Artemis settled to her haunches between us.

Reid shuffled some folders and papers on his desk. “I’ve had a very good report about you from Sergeant Brian Chase and Constable Paul Meyers of the York police force.” He opened one of the folders and flipped pages until he found what he was looking for. “Here we are…’very amenable to taking orders, intelligent and clever, and an asset in high-stress situations.’” He looked up at us. “He was including Athena and Artemis in that comment, by the way. You three made a good impression up there. It reflected very well on the training you’ve done with the Yard’s Special Magical Response division.”

He closed the folder again. “I’ve also had a positively glowing report about you from Sergeant Malone of the SMR - “

I snorted. I couldn’t help myself. Athena hid a smile behind her hand.

Reid shrugged and smiled a little again. “All right, what passes for a glowing report from him. Which is to say it’s not overly critical, beyond saying that you have more to learn and are aware of it. Believe me when I say that’s high praise from him. But he has, as he noted here that he informed you, cleared you to work for the Yard again.

“So has Dr. MacMoran,” Reid continued, flipping open another file. “Her report was slightly less glowing, but she says that she feels that, and I quote, ‘Only additional time and experience will finish the work of restoring Alys’s confidence in herself and her decision-making processes.’” He looked up at me. “Would you agree with that assessment?”

I nodded. “Yes, sir. A lot of the uncertainty I was feeling was due to the fragmentation of my psyche that Brenna’s spell caused. Once we finished knitting that back together - with a bit of help from Dr. Absolom at the Albion Central Library - I was able to see how…off…my behavior had been.”

Reid’s smile returned, more amused than ever. “Ah yes, Dr. Absolom. I received a letter from him the other day, informing me that I was several types of fool if I didn’t allow you to resume consulting for the Yard.” His lips twitched. “He was very forceful.”

Athena coughed behind her hand, hiding a smile again.

“I’ve never met the man,” Reid said, “but I got the impression that he’s not…” He hesitated.

“All there?” Athena asked with a gentle smile.

Reid shrugged. “That’ll work. His letter was three pages long, and I swear he wrote the same things four or five times in different ways. What’s he like to talk to?”

“Fascinating,” I said, “but often frustrating. His short-term memory is not the best. But we learned some very useful things about transcribing memories into specially prepared crystals from him.”

“Oh?” Reid looked curious. “You’ll have to tell me more about that later. That skill is very useful for suspect interrogation and court transcription.”

I hadn’t thought of that. “Yes, sir.”

Reid sat back in his chair and drummed the fingers of one hand on the table, watching us. After a minute, he nodded. “All right, Mage Kinnear. Consider yourself reinstated as an official Scotland Yard consultant.” He opened a drawer and pulled out three laminated cards, sliding them across the table to me. “Make sure you wear those prominently when you’re at a crime scene.”

I reached for them, then hesitated.

“Alys,” Reid said firmly, “I would not be giving you those if I didn’t think you were ready for them. Heck, I wouldn’t have given them to you originally if I’d known how wet behind the ears you really were.”

“Then why…?” I tried to frame the question, and couldn’t quite find the right words.

“Well, for one thing,” Reid said with a sigh, “Donovan can be hellishly convincing when he puts his mind to it, and he was certain that you just the thing we needed. Also, frankly, you were - as Ben pointed out - already involved in the situation, and it would be easier keeping an eye on you if you were working for us.”

Athena chuckled. “He’s got you there, sister.”

I nodded ruefully. “And now?”

“Now you’ve earned them, or at least the right to carry them and to work for the Yard when we need specialized aid.” Reid spread his hands. “Of course, if you’re still planning on continuing on to become a fully licensed Wizard, you’ll be getting the equivalent of a private investigator’s license at the same time.”

I nodded again. “I am.”

“Good. You have potential and talent, and I hate seeing both wasted.” He smiled. “Now…are you going to take those?”

I reached out again and scooped up the three laminated cards, handing Athena’s to her. “Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome, Kinnear.” He sat back. “Now, unless there’s anything else…”

“There’s one thing, sir,” I said. “If I may ask…have you heard anything about the investigation in York? Have they found any leads?”

He shook his head grimly. “I’ve been keeping appraised of that one, since you were involved in it. They haven’t found any leads yet, but they’re still working on it. There’ve been rumblings about asking the Yard to send up one of our Special Magical Response teams, and maybe a specialist or two, to help with their investigation. I imagine Mrs. Rein is pretty upset about their lack of progress.”

He smiled faintly. “If they ask for a specialist…if, mind you…I’ll consider sending you and Donovan up to have another look around. You’ve proved you work well together in spite of your growing relationship. Which, by the way, I will be keeping an eye on. I don’t disapprove, I think you two are good for one another, but if it starts to interfere with your work…”

“Understood, sir,” I said.

Athena smiled. “I don’t think you have much to worry about, sir. They’re very professional when they’re working.”

“Mmhm,” Reid said, obviously not quite believing her. “As long as the job gets done and nobody’s put out by their behavior, I won’t say anything. Consultant Mages and Wizards have an unusual standing in the Yard, so we make allowances.” He turned his attention back to me. “I know you think you understand, but let me be perfectly clear. As long as working together isn’t disruptive, I have no problems with it. If your relationship starts to get in the way of either of you getting your jobs done on-scene, then - “

“Then you’ll withdraw these,” I said, holding up the passes.

Reid tipped his head. “No, Kinnear. I won’t withdraw those unless you turn out to be considerably less competent than you appear to be. No, I’d just find you a different liaison with the Yard.” He smiled a little. “That’s all.”

I blinked. “Oh.”

Athena snickered behind her hand. I kicked her ankle. Artemis sighed gustily. >

Reid smiled a bit more. “You don’t think we’d get rid of a valuable asset just because of a relationship, do you? These things can be worked around, believe me.” He sat back in his chair. “Now, unless you have more questions…?”

I shook my head and rose. “No, sir. Thank you very much for this opportunity.”

“You’re welcome, Kinnear,” Reid said. “I have a strong feeling that you’ll live up to expectations now.”