He still didn’t know what to call his latest client. In his head, she was the Marble Witch, so named for her absolute stillness and the faint veins that traced her otherwise classically perfect face.
“Ma’am,” he tried. “I’m in the door, but I’m going to need more information about the target. Right now, I don’t know what to look for. And Celia — er, the CEO — didn’t act like she had any idea a pentesting team will be coming.”
A perfect lip quirked and froze into place. Her voice was smooth, exactly as you might expect marble to sound, if you were inclined to wonder about such things. “That’s the point of a penetration test, Mr. Ethonsen. Dragons’ arrogance is legendary.”
Dragons? He chose to ignore her exaggeration.
“Is this about Celia or her company?” He had a strict policy against divulging corporate proprietary information. Not after Tulsa.
“My investment must be secure.” The words were cool and polished.
It was the exact phrase she’d used when she’d hired him for what had seemed like a normal job. Then, he’d thought she was legitimate, easy money. She’d even had paperwork, although Hayes could never quite remember the name on the forms, and his scanned copies were blurred in exactly the wrong parts. He’d been convinced she was a board member.
Until she’d frozen him in place and wrapped a spiral of gleaming light-ribbons around his torso that no one else could see, then told him he wouldn’t be working alone on this case.
“You absolute slug.” The frog slammed the door open, wood banging against the wall and his tongue flickering in rage. “Do you think it’s as easy for frogs as it is for humans? You think I can just call up a turtle and get a rideshare home?”
“Geo, I’m sorry,” he began. Hayes had developed a begrudging fondness for his new boss’ angry minion over the past few days. He kept wondering what the Marble Witch used as leverage against the amphibian. “I didn’t think.”
“No, you didn’t,” Geo snapped. “Any idea how windblown I am after clinging to a minivan for fifteen miles? Chapped skin means something to my kind. Why didn’t you wait for me?”
“I didn’t know how long you’d be,” he protested. “Getting the badge didn’t take very long.”
“The mighty physical penetration tester couldn’t get lost on his way out?”
“The pentester was walked out by security!” Hayes raked his hands through his hair in frustration and slumped back into his chair. “And has been reduced to talking about himself in the third person. Look, I guess I thought I’d pick you up tomorrow.”
“I’m going to soak in a water bath,” Geo snarled, and turned to storm out.
The witch stirred from her statuesque pose. “Did you find anything?”
Hayes held his breath and tried not to move. He needed to know. Desperate, insatiable curiosity was what had gotten him into this field. If he’d asked, Geo would have slapped him with that long tongue.
Geo held one webbed hand on the door, but turned to face his mistress. “Three ways into the building that have no physical guard. Another that only I could pass. Easy pickings.”
“Go.”
The door closed silently, although a fresh wood chip on the back fell to the ground from the impact.
“There’s one more thing.” Hayes spoke into the silence, staring at the wood chip on the floor. If a magical, talking frog had that much strength…
“You need a daughter,” the Marble Witch replied. “Foolish, that.”
“It was.” He swallowed. “Children get sick easily. I can say she came down with a bug.”
“I expect better choices given your level of claimed expertise, Mr. Ethonsen. Not rash lies.”
Her voice froze him into unnatural stillness. He hadn’t felt this small since Kaylie Miller had laughed in his face when he’d asked her to the seventh-grade homecoming dance.
The Marble Witch lifted her head and caught his gaze with glacial ice-blue eyes, a hunter about to pounce on her prey. A cold sweat made his hairline itch.
“Bring me the snow that falls in sunlight, and I will make you a daughter for a day before she falls into detritus.”
***
This week’s prompt was inspired by a springtime shower of white petals and a twisted form of Leigh Kimmel’s prompt: The sun was shining, yet white flakes of snow whirled through the air.
My prompt went to Becky Jones: Dear ____, the email read. It’s been a while since I darkened your monitor.
Find these, and more, over at MOTE!
Oh I am really liking where this story is going.