Brandi, Protector of the Gateway Pt. 05

She looked at him curiously as he did, and again, two of his hearts skipped a beat. Fortunately, she sat down without saying anything, and the counsellor asked her what was wrong.

"Well..." she said, taking a deep breath. "I'm not sure why I'm coming to you..."

"Not at all," the demon replied. "It's what I'm here for."

Without his powers, he needed to be as sympathetic as possible. If he scared her off now, she could be gone for good - or worse, she could work out what he was.

"I know it's not the kind of thing that you normally deal with, but there isn't really anyone else I can talk to about this. Do you...y'know...report what I say?"

"Anything you say in this room," Mr. Foster interrupted, "is completely confidontial, I give you my word."

"Okay. Good. It's...it's about a boy. A boy I've been sort of seeing."

"Of course," he replied, only just stepping himself from adding 'Michael'.

"We've been sort of on-and-off for a few months now, and last night I discovered he's been seeing someone else. Or maybe lots of someone else's, I don't even know."

"I see. Please, go on."

"It's just left me...I don't know, confused? Confused, I suppose. Like, I thought what we had was just him and me, and now I find out he hasn't been exclusive. It's hard to hear, you know?"

"Of course."

"Anyway, I thought I'd come and see what you thought, see if maybe you had any advice. God, that sounds dumb, doesn't it?"

"Not at all," Mr. Foster said in a soothing voice, wishing more than anything he had even a snifter of power left. She was so vulnerable, so exposed...and Michael hadn't even done anything yet! If she'd come in here first thing in the morning, his entire job would have been so much easier.

"Look, in one sense, you're right - it's not technically my job to advise on these sort of matters."

"Oh..."

"But!" the counsellor continued, "Since you really sound like you need some advice, here's what I suggest: go to him. Go to him tonight, and tell him how you feel. If you want to be exclusive, tell him exactly that - if you're hurt that he's been sleeping around, tell him that. Open yourself up to him, lay it all out there.

"It's almost always the best thing to do. Trust me."

Brandi looked up with a smile, and as she stared into Mr. Foster's gentle eyes, thought she caught a glimpse of something slightly off - the red tinge that suggested a demonic presence.

Before she could look too closely, however, Mr. Foster stood up. He'd seen the suspicion starting to form on her face, and decided to end the meeting while he was ahead.

"I'm going to schedule you in for an appointment first thing tomorrow, Brandi...Winters, was it?"

"Winter."

"Excellent. Go, talk to your boy, tell him how you feel, and then first thing in the moaning I want to see you back in my office with a full report. Can you do that for me, Brandi?"

"Of course, sir."

"Good girl."

Brandi stepped into the hallway, surprised by the speed at which Mr. Foster had ushered her out of his office. She glanced at the water dispenser across the hall, and as she leaned over it, she became aware of a strange tingling sensation...

A hex!

With a broad smile, Brandi made a mental note to tell Niles about the witches' hex she'd just found. This would have to be one of the last ones in the school - they still had two sweeps remaining, but they were mostly to confirm that all the hexes were gone.

She felt quite proud - Brandi often struggled with the responsibility that had been placed on her, but it was moments like this that assured her she was the person for the job - her keen observational skills had never let her down.