Free StrategicSurrender by Elizabeth Lapthorne

door on the world again I’ll just stew and wonder and drive myself crazy.”
    “And?” Ben leered at him from the mirror. Hayden licked his
lips, eyeing his friend.
    He again had second thoughts. Was there some magic going on?
Or was this really his mind’s way of making him explore his feelings?
    Hayden lifted his hand, ran it over the smooth surface of
the mirror, checking for tricks or traps. He whispered an incantation and a hum
of magical energy encircled his palm. To the best of his ability the mirror was
exactly what it appeared to be—a regular, ordinary men’s bathroom mirror. Only Ben’s
shit-eating grin, instead of his own reflection, proved otherwise.
    “It’s just us boys in here,” Ben said cheerily. “Stop
doubting and just spit it out. You’re procrastinating, Foxworth, and we don’t
have forever.”
    “I want to get to know Kiera. I like her, all right?” Hayden
snapped out, furious with himself and Ben.
    His old partner crowed a laugh of success.
    “Finally! Dude, I thought you’d never get to the heart of
the matter. So. What is such a desperate problem with this witch that has you
hallucinating me to help you?”
    It was as if he could suddenly see clearly. Like a fog
lifted or he snapped awake out of a complex, contradictory dream to understand
in the light of day what was really going on.
    “You totally blindsided me, Ben,” Hayden said. His tone was
low, soft, hurt. Hayden stood tall, looking reflection-Ben in the eye. “I
trusted you implicitly. Without thought or question. I’ve been feeling pretty
sorry for myself since I realized the depth of your evil. I guess I’ve held
back since then, unwilling to let anyone or anything get back in and hurt me
like that again.”
    “And Kiera?” Ben asked. Hayden noticed his friend’s image
was a little blurry now around the edges.
    Knowing this was right, but still feeling a tiny tingle of
sadness to see his buddy going, Hayden continued.
    “Whatever I feel for her isn’t ordinary. Or common. It’s
special, maybe even unique. I’m not going to let it go, let this slip out of my
fingers just cos I’m a chicken-shit who’s been hurt in the past.”
    “Good for you, Hay,” Ben grinned.
    Hayden reached out a hand, as if he could pull this
wizard—the old friend he missed terribly, not the crazed madman he’d
become—through the mirror and back into reality.
    “I wish things had been different,” Hayden said to
reflection-Ben. “But I’m not going to be looking back so much I miss where I’m
heading, and what’s in my future. I’m not going to beat myself up for trusting
my partner and believing in what’s right and good anymore.”
    “Then you better finish washing your face and hands and get
the hell out of the men’s room, Hayden,” Ben chuckled. “Otherwise your witch is
going to think you’re either avoiding her, have escaped out the back window or
drowned in the toilet. None of which will be a good impression.”
    Hayden glanced down to switch the faucet back on. He cupped
his hands beneath the cool running water again. About to lift it up and splash
over his face, he caught sight of his reflection once more in the mirror.
    Surprised, but somehow not at the same time, Hayden took a
minute to study his face, then splashed the water.
    He knew most people would instantly seek help—professional
help—if they’d experienced such a discussion as he just had. But Hayden knew
better. The mind was a powerful tool. Tricky, unendingly complicated and vastly
unknown. That hadn’t really been his old partner, more of a reflected memory of
the wizard his friend had been. Hayden had needed an alternate point of view, a
trusted friend and confidante to unburden himself to, and help explain and
clarify his thoughts to.
    Hayden knew he needed to let his guilt go. He needed to
reinforce his inherent trust in the goodness of the majority of people around
him. And he needed to acknowledge not only his growing desire for Kiera