Sell you a Bridge chapter 92 (Patreon)

The Clock Tower August 29th 2010 8:00 AM EDT

I  skipped school the next day. Zee stayed in my room with me, but we just  slept and cuddled, I wasn't enough of a bastard to try something when  she was in an emotional state like that. We woke up around the same  time, though I suspected she woke up first and woke me with her  movements. Still it was...nice. Being in bed like this, not for any  sexual reason just the closeness. Judging by aura sense she felt the  same, and she snuggled up against me contentedly. I smiled down at her  "You know we're going to have to get up eventually right?"

She  groaned and pouted, hiding her face in my chest. "No, that's stupid. I  ran away from home to get away from oppressive men. I'll lay in bed all  day and cuddle my boyfriend if I want to. You can't make me get up,  you're not my supervisor." That surprised a laugh out of me, if only  because it seemed my girlfriend was snarkier in the morning. It was a  nice thing to know. I chuckled and started to wiggle away from her. She  could stay in bed but I had to get up, hopefully the french toast I was  about to cook would appease her.

She  kept one eye closed and glared through her tangled rats nest of hair  clearly not really upset but a bit put out at losing her warm pillow.  The sight was so cute I couldn't resist leaning down to kiss her, but  with my reflexes it was easy to dance back out of the way before her  grasping arms pulled me back into bed. "Go back to sleep baby, I'm going  to make breakfast anyway. We're having french toa-" My words were cut  off by a tremor, and a deep shuddering wracked the tower, shaking off a  small puff of dust.

Zee  and I stared at each other with wide eyes and then we both took off for  the main living room behind the clock face. Kit came bolting out after  us, with Artemis and Reggie at school my cousin was the only member of  the team aside from the two of us around. We came streaking into the  room to see Jim and Madame Xanadu standing in front of the clock face  weaving spells to try to repair the cracks in the wards. As we charged  in Jim's hat turned toward us and my mentor let out a despondent groan.

I  looked around frantically. "What the hell is going on? This place is  supposed to be impossible to find, how are we under attack? Is it the  Court? Is it Annabel? I thought it was going to take her a year or more  to get the power to ascend." I was panicking hard, this was a mess, why  had I brought Zee here. If something happened to her because I'd taken  her out of her house I'd never forgive myself. Not to mention it had  only been a single night. How was my luck so terrible that the night  after I brought her here for safety.

Jim  growled so loudly I could hear it from across the room. "Oh yes, we  have wonderful protections in place. Why, it would take a world class  magic user literal hours to breach our concealments. Not to mention they  would need some kind of deeply personal anchor to use to break through.  Something with intrinsic ties to their being, you know, like an item  with strong emotional connotations, some kind of totem they identify  with on a spiritual level, or I don't know, their living breathing  actual daughter sleeping inside!" Oh. Oh shit. I hadn't even considered  that. Using a focus with a strong connection to bypass the scrying  wards.

Madame  Xanadu sighed. "It isn't the boy's fault James. He hasn't had time to  attend his training properly and neither have we. We let her enter for  brief periods before and we should have warned him against her tarrying  too long, but she was always in such a hurry it never occurred to us and  it's far too late for recriminations. Zatara has come, and he is not  alone." She turned to face us. "We can't keep whoever he has with him  out indefinitely, go get your party clothes on children, we're about to  have company."

Nodding  at the directions I bolted out of the room leaving a horrified Zatanna  behind before I slipped back in and grabbed her hand. I dragged her to  my room and started stuffing myself into my costume, talking to her as I  worked. "Don't worry too much Zee, with Madame Xanadu and the boss here  we'll be fine no matter who came with, and I'd be shocked if Blood  doesn't wander in sooner or later, he usually shows up around this time.  We're going to be fine. They aren't taking you anywhere you don't want  to go."

As I finished getting my mask on over my face a deep crack echoed through the tower, and a furious boomed voice rumbled "ZATANNA!"  We both winced at the sound and sprinted back out to the clock face to  see part of it having broken free and fell into the tower, followed soon  after by three figures. First up was of course Zatara, floating slowly  on a seething cloud of furious blue sparks as he lowered himself to the  ground with magic, his eyes scanning the room for Zee even as we came  barreling into the open space.

Next  up was, unsurprisingly, Kent Nelson, looking old and tired but resolute  and none too pleased. His power was golden and shining, a brilliant  force of light that held him aloft as he drifted in after his friend.  The last man was...new. I hadn't seen him before. He wore a green domino  mask and had slicked back hair and a cape sat around his neck with a  peaked collar. Despite not knowing him however I did recognize the ring  on his finger. It looked a bit different than the ones I'd seen in the  news, but it was definitely a green lantern.

His  eyes locked on his daughter with a snarl, then flicked to me, and then  to Jim. "Craddock! You undead snake! How dare you break into my home and  abduct my little girl. I come into her room to find her gone, and a  hole in my wards that reeks of death magic of the highest quality, right  after I ground her for associating with your criminal spawn? Do you  think me an idiot?" I swear the man was almost literally spitting fire,  his eyes burning holes into all of us as he glared around the room.

Before  he could say more though, a hand landed on his shoulder. Kent had come  up behind his friend. "Giovanni. Stop." The furious magician paused and  Kent gestured to Zee and I. "This looks like no kidnapping I have seen. I  admit the presence of death magic of such a high level implied she may  have been in danger, but this clearly is not that. No one here is a  pressing threat to anyone else. You need to calm down, and we can all  talk this through rationally." He turned to Zee and I. "I'm sorry if we  scared you kids, Giovanni has been beside himself all night, would you  mind telling us what's going on?"

I  glared through my mask at the older magician and then pointed right at  him. "He's going on. I went and got Zee last night after not hearing  from her. He was keeping her locked in her room behind the wards,  bringing her food so she wouldn't starve like some kind of prisoner. She  didn't want to be there so I took her with me and we left." I suspected  Zatara hadn't mentioned the conditions he'd been holding his daughter  under. He probably thought it wasn't anyone's business. More fool him.

Kent  turned to look at him in shock, and the defensive magician spat back,  his glare never leaving me. "I was not keeping her prisoner! I grounded  her because she was sneaking out to consort with-" He gestured at me  sharply "Him. I wasn't going to let my fourteen year old daughter get  caught up with a criminal! I was going to let her off restriction once  she calmed down and listened to reason. I tried to talk her into  breaking things off and she screamed at me, and I couldn't get her to  listen to reason."

His eyes turned to Zee. "Please angioletto. Stop  this madness and come home. I thought something terrible had happened  to you. That this...criminal, had his mentor abduct you. These are bad  people, you'll get hurt if you stay here. Already they have consorted  with those despicable owls to steal from our home and harmed one of our  worlds most noble mages. You must see that they are not safe to be  around." His voice was pleading as he stared at her. "I just want whats  best for you."

I  turned to look at Zee, expecting her to be teary eyed at hurting her  beloved daddy, but instead her beautiful face was painted with rage.  "What's BEST for me?" I winced. I'd heard that tone before, Zatara done  goofed. She stepped forward, eyes blazing with fury. "Was it BEST for me  to waste away alone in that house while you ran off to fight villains,  risking the life of the only parent I had left?" Giovanni flinched.  Hard. But Zee didn't stop. "Was it BEST for me to be kept away from  everyone my own age, to be isolated and alone?"

She  was stalking toward him like she was going to attack, and judging by  his face he probably would have preferred it. "You don't want whats BEST  for me! You want what's CONVENIENT for you! Go sit in your room like a  good doll Zatanna, daddy is busy tonight! Don't talk to boys Zatanna,  they might take advantage of a stupid little girl like you! You can't  leave the house Zatanna, I don't approve of your friends so I'm going to  lock you up like a convict until you agree with me!"

Giovanni  was almost cowering under her anger, and his face was a mask of  absolute shock and hurt, but Zee had been keeping this in for quite a  while. She'd had some revelations about how her father treated her since  we started talking, and though they had crept in slowly, clearly  Giovanni had dropped on that final straw and that camel had snapped  right in two, because she wasn't holding anything back. Her face was  flushed and she was literally panting with fury as she stared him down.

She  closed her eyes and took a deep breath, opening them to glare at him  again, but this time speaking in a...well not a level tone but in a quieter register. "I am sick and tired of being a prop that you pull out  of a box to remind you of mom. I am sick of feeling like getting your  attention is some kind of gift, when other girls have dads who actually  want to spend time with them. But most of all I am SICK and tired of  being made to feel guilty for wanting to have an actual father because  wanting time with you takes you away from saving people like you actually want to be doing."

Giovanni  looked...broken. His eyes shone with tears as he stared at his daughter  in horror and sorrow. "I...I can't believe you would talk to me like  this." His eyes looked desperate, like he was grasping at straws. "You  wouldn't. This isn't you. Not my Zatanna." His eyes flicked to me and  his pain and confusion turned to rage. "You did this! You put these  thoughts in her head! Turned her against me!" He turned back to his  daughter, all doubt and hesitation gone from his face. "This boy is  filling your head with lies angioletto but I won't let it  continue. You may hate me for it, but I am your father, and I absolutely  will not allow some criminal to twist my daughters mind. You ARE coming  home with me. Whether you like it or not!" I winced. That...did not  sound like the start of a promising discussion.