The next couple of days flew by in a blurry haze of anxiety and exhaustion. School was okay. I wasn't too far behind in my classes, minus a few yearlong projects I would need to catch up on, and though I was clearly a point of interest among the other students, no one had yet had the courage to approach me, including Amber. Conversations would suddenly stop when I walked by only to be replaced by hushed whispers and side long glances once I passed, but that was it. Not that I truly expected much different. We had a few groups that didn't always get along, but for the most part, everyone was pretty non-confrontational. They'd rather talk behind your back than approach you directly.

I tried to follow Maggie's advice and keep my head down, ignoring what was going on around me, and concentrate on my studies. I did attempt a couple of times to catch Amber's eye in the hall or cafeteria, but she refused even to look my way. By this time, it was obvious it was intentional; there was no way she could have missed that I was back.

It hurt, a lot, but it was probably for the best, or that’s what I kept telling myself. My deal swore me to secrecy about what I'd been doing for the past year, not that I was eager to tell her anyways, and I didn't want to have to lie to her about it, not when the trust already wasn't there. Donovan, the other person I was hoping to see, had been a no show all week. I was curious and worried, but there was no one I felt comfortable asking about him. So other than Amber's apparent indifference and Donovan seemingly missing in action things were going as well as could be expected, at least on the school front.

My time with the Vanguard wasn't going nearly as well and was the reason I felt like I was sleepwalking through my days. Tish worked me until I was ready to drop. We'd stop for a quick bite to eat around six, and that was it. By the time she drove me home, I felt rung out, emotionally and physically, barely making it to my bed before collapsing.

For the most part, I liked practicing with Tish, trying new things, pushing myself. While working for Jason, I had tended to rely on the same few tricks to get me by. I wasn't used to struggling like this, and though I enjoyed the challenge, it got frustrating at times, even more so for Tish. Trying to bring my reading skills up to at least passible levels was proving more difficult than she had expected, and tempers were running high on both sides.

"You're being sloppy with your perimeter again," Tish said, for what felt like the millionth time.

Frustrated, I dropped the entire weave. "I'm sorry, but I'm tired." I could hear the wine in my voice as I sank back down into the chair. Crossing my arms on the table, I laid my head down between them, grateful for the cool wood against my forehead.

Tomorrow was the banquet, so tonight was our last practice, and Tish had suddenly decided that we needed to take a different approach. I pretty much had the individual weaves down with above ninety percent accuracy in my identifications, of course, by this point, I had read every one of them a couple of dozen times, so it was no great achievement, but I was still having trouble regulating the use of my awen. At the rate I was burning through it, I'd be spent before reading all the guests.

She had decided to try a broader weaving; one that was meant to quickly assess a crowd so that you could narrow down your search. The thought was that most of the guests would be Tuathan so it would help me eliminate them quickly and focus my efforts on the Faye guests. It wasn't a bad idea, the weave was much less complex and would cover a greater number of people, but the last minute change wasn't going smoothly. The problem was it was just too large and I was having trouble holding it together.

"You shouldn't be having this much trouble at this point." Tish griped, rubbing her eyes as she paced next to the table. "Remember you don't need to devote that much awen to this, it's just a light touch," she said, stopping to sit in the chair next to me. Quickly she spun the weave to show me again.

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"I know," I said, raising my head from the table, glaring at the perfect weave that now hung in the air between us. "It's not the weave. I have the weave; you don't have to show it to me every single time," I snapped, unable to keep the frustration out of my voice. I liked Tish, I really did. She was fun and personable, unlike Emily or her partner who usually spent the entire session sitting silently in his chair, but she wasn't much of a teacher.

With a huff Tish stood up, her chair scraping across the floor and almost toppling, as she stormed from the room.

"She's doing her best," Eurie said, from the corner, once the office door slammed shut. "She not used to having to teach the basics like this."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm just hot and tired." Eurie was right, anyone coming into the Vanguard would already know how to do basic weaves like this, it wasn't her fault that she was working with an amateur.

"This is no more pleasant for her than it is for you, so when she comes back, watch your tone."

"Yes, Sir," I mumbled, shifting in my chair. He hadn't yelled or even really sounded angry but there was just enough menace in his voice to cause a shiver to run down my spine.

We sat in silence, tension building until it seemed to blanket the room. I could feel his eyes on me. Refusing to look at him, I kept glancing at the door, hopping Tish would come back soon, but she didn't.

"So, do you have any tips or pointers?" I finally asked, after a couple of minutes, when I couldn't take it any longer. It was a stupid question, but I couldn't think of anything else, and anything was better than the silence.

"No," he said curtly. "This isn't my field."

"What is your field?" I asked before I could stop myself, I really didn't want to know more about this man.

He stared at me for a moment before answering. "Enforcement," he finally said, his eyes never leaving my face.

My mouth suddenly felt dry. I tried to swallow, but I started to cough instead, as a lump caught in my throat. Hastily I grabbed a glass of water from the table and drank it down. It shouldn't have been a surprise. He had the look, strong, cold, menacing. I had just thought I would never meet one. Hoped I would never meet one. It was a hope that most Tuatha had, but for me, after I started working with Jason, it had been an all too imaginable possibility.

The primary purpose of the Vanguard was to enforce the laws surrounding how we used our awen, including keeping rogue Tuatha in check, but most of them worked behind the scenes, tracking and analyzing, it was the Enforcers who actually went in and took care of the situation. How they took care of it was almost entirely up to the individual Enforcer and what they found once they were there. If they had ever caught me smuggling, I would have been dealing with someone like him. The mere thought made my blood run cold. He must have gotten the reaction he was hoping for because a small smile twitched at the corner of his lips.

"Have you had to do much...enforcing?" I stumbled over the word because I didn't know what else to call it. I don't know why I asked, morbid curiosity?

"Last one was almost two years ago, up in Canada," he said, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "A tracker was passing through and got a hit. I was sent in to investigate, found a small grove, four adults and a couple of teenagers. They weren't doing much yet, but they were starting to draw attention; couldn't let it go unchecked. They tried to put up a fight, but it didn't go so well for them," he said, the last part with a soft chuckle.

The term grove came from a time when we mostly used our magic to interact with nature. Our ancestors used their awen to influence the weather, grow their crops, and orchards. Groves now referred to groups of Tuatha who tried to live outside the central community. They were usually small, consisting of family members. There was nothing illegal about them as long as everyone adhered to the Tuathan laws.

This group clearly hadn't been, or a tracker would never have felt them. I didn't know what they had done, and I wasn't going to ask. Maybe it was something that warranted punishment, perhaps it had been necessary for our continued safety, but he didn't have to look like he had enjoyed it so much. Two years ago, at least he hadn't been involved with whatever happened with my mother. The thought of him being anywhere near her was nauseating.

Dropping my eyes, I turned my attention to picking at my fingernails, it was a bad habit I'd broken years ago, but I needed something to occupy my mind. The uncomfortable silence returned as I tried my hardest to ignore Eurie. More than once I glanced up to find him still staring at me his hands folded in front of his chest and that same grin still tugging at the corner of his lips. When Tish finally returned, I couldn't hold back a sigh of relief. I was ready to do anything and everything she asked as long as it meant she wouldn't leave me alone with him again.