2 Corruption

by John O'Riley

  “What you say makes a lot of sense,” Josephine said. “I agree to help the Valituras and their noble cause.”

  Lorcan’s thin lips formed a disgusting smile. “Excellent! I’m so glad you understand the good that we can do.”

  Lorcan pulled out a couple of folded pages from the inside of his shorts and handed them to Josephine who held them by the tips of two of her fingers.

  “What’s this?” Josephine eyed the paper with revulsion as she made a fervent prayer that Lorcan wasn’t going commando and that this hadn’t been pressed against his bare skin.

  “It’s your first production job.”

  “You do realize that I’m no longer retired and don’t have a lot of free time on my hands anymore, don’t you?”

  “I understand. You have three weeks to make five of these enchantments,” Lorcan said in a reasonable tone.

  “What kind of spell is this?”

  “It’s a kind of magical battery.”

  “All right. And how do I contact you when I’m finished?”

  “I’ll meet you on your morning jog about once every week for a progress report,” Lorcan said.

  “You can’t just give me your number?” Josephine asked.

  Lorcan stared at her with a stoic expression for several seconds.

  “Whatever,” Josephine muttered with annoyance and turned to resume her jog.

  Lorcan allowed her to pass without attempting to extend their conversation. Josephine tucked the papers in her pocket and jogged at a light pace. She glanced at her watch and realized it was time to head back home. When she and her friends gathered at her dining room table for coffee and to play rummy, Josephine could hardly concentrate on the game even though she hated to lose with a passion.

  “So what happened?” Alice asked.

  “What do you mean?” Josephine feigned ignorance.

  “Come on! Something is on your mind. Even Helen has noticed.”

  Josephine fixed a surprised look at Helen who nodded in agreement. Josephine heaved a grievous sigh.

  “We have another problem,” she said.

  Josephine explained what had occurred at the beach. Alice and Helen listened with rapt attention. When Josephine finished her tale, Alice slammed her hand against the top of the table with triumph.

  “I knew you were holding something back,” Alice crowed.

  “I was just hit with this less than an hour ago. I needed to think everything over first.”

  “We’re your best friends. You should always inform us of what’s happening right away,” Alice lectured her. “Vampires try to protect their love ones by keeping things a secret but in the end, it always comes back to bite them in the rear.”

  “I’m not a vampire.”

  Helen squinted as she peered at Josephine’s mouth. “I think your teeth are getting sharper.”

  “I thought so, too,” Alice agreed.

  Josephine crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive position.

  “Ladies, we need to focus here.”

  “I’m wondering why you didn’t give Lorcan amnesia,” Alice said.

  “I didn’t have the enchantment with me. Besides, he probably has more shields than I could take down,” Josephine said.

  “But if you’re tapped into the vortex, aren’t you able to strip protection away fast?” Helen asked.

  “That’s true.” Josephine wondered why she hadn’t considered this before. “If I attack and fail, I’m in big trouble though.”

  “It sounds to me like the best course of action is to go along with his instructions but the next time you meet with him, to clobber him with everything you’ve got and give him amnesia,” Alice said. “Otherwise, you’re contributing to a secret organization that will eventually rule the world.”

  “You’re right. I should make some new wards for the condo with some nasty traps,” Josephine said.

  “You’ve already got some unpleasant surprises on a few of them,” Helen pointed out. “Maybe it would be best to focus on taking out Lorcan.”

  “Josephine’s right, her condo can’t have too much protection. Lorcan might steal the enchantments he’s having her work on right before they’re ready and just finish them himself.”

  When Josephine made it to work, she found it difficult to concentrate but she still closed out all the cases in record time. Mark asked her out on a date again. Now that Josephine’s life had become dangerous, she felt even more guilty for spending time with him. However, she enjoyed his company immensely. When it was time to go, Josephine invited him over to her place for drinks. She knew Alice and Helen would be waiting for her which was the whole point of bringing Mark over – so he could see her peers. Josephine knew Mark had dismissed her age because of her youthful appearance but seeing Alice and Helen would provide a much needed reality check. Mark held Josephine’s hand as they emerged from the elevator on her floor. Sure enough, Josephine’s best friends were standing in front of the closed door.

  “You must be Mark.” Alice’s lips curved in a wistful smile. “It’s nice to finally meet you, young man. I’m Alice.”

  Alice extended her hand and Mark shook it without hesitation. Mark introduced himself to Helen next. They gathered inside Josephine’s living room and took seats on the two couches. Josephine served everyone some juice since she didn’t feel like making tea and it was too late for coffee.

  “So you’re an intern at the police department,” Helen said.

  “Yes, I’m having a great time there. I’m learning a lot.” Mark’s face reflected the passion of his work.

  “It takes a special and unique person to like that field,” Alice remarked.

  “That’s true,” Mark agreed.

  “You’re friends with Jake, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “What do you think of Detective Whiney?” Alice asked.

  Mark shrugged. “He’s okay. Jake and Josephine are more fun to work with though.”

  Josephine knew she’d sealed her doom by bringing him here. Mark would surely view her as an old biddy now. He could no longer deny the truth. Mark hid his discomfort well and with the friendly way he conversed with everyone, Josephine gave him kudos for the way he carried himself. Josephine knew that letting him go was for the best.

  “It’s getting late, I’d better be going.” Mark rose to his feet and flashed them all a polite, easy-going smile. “I enjoyed talking to you.”

  “We’ll have to do this again,” Alice said.

  Josephine escorted Mark to the door. She deactivated the wards and locks. Just as she grasped the handle to open the door, Mark leaned over and gave her a brief but passionate kiss. Josephine froze with shock even as her body came alive and thrummed with pleasure.

  “Until next time, Josephine,” Mark said.

  Josephine turned the knob and opened the door for him, unable to trust herself to speak. Mark leveled a sexy smile at her as he brushed by her to leave. Josephine closed the door and shivered at the delicious sensations coursing through her body.

  “No wonder you can’t let him go. What a fox,” Alice said.

  “I thought when he met you he would realize how wrong we are for each other,” Josephine said.

  “I’d say he has more class than that. You’ve got yourself a good man there.”

  Helen’s expression reflected her disapproval. “He’s far too young for you and he has no idea of the danger you’re in.”

  “I’m not really in any kind of trouble. In fact, I’d say everything is nearly perfect,” Josephine argued.

  “What about the Phoenix Community and the Valimotrum?”

  “They’re called the Valituras,” Josephine corrected her. “And as long as I do what they want, no harm will come to anyone.”

  “You’re wrong. They’re corrupt and power hungry. Eventually, there will be serious repercussions in aiding them.”

  “All right! I get it. But look at how accepting he is about my life. I think he might be the one. My soul mate,” Jo
sephine said.

  “Your libido has kicked into overdrive so you’re not thinking clearly. You’ve been married five times and the last time you divorced, you told us to remind you never to do it again,” Helen said.

  “Technically, the fifth guy doesn’t count. I got an annulment.”

  “That’s beside the point. You just can’t do it again. I made a promise to you that I would review all the negative qualities that men have in common if you ever thought about marrying again. I’ll have to get the list from my condo though because I don’t have it memorized,” Helen said.

  “Forget it. I’m just dating him. I learned my lesson about marriage.”

  At that moment, Josephine’s eyes widened with horror as she realized she’d forgotten to see Vickie today. When Josephine told her two friends, they insisted on accompanying her. They beat a hasty retreat and Josephine was soon driving along the roads in Siesta Key. The power vortex pulled at her with it’s tempting energy. Josephine went ahead and linked with it since she didn’t see how that could hurt anything. Delicious, potent energy swirled through body and mind. When she turned onto Sandy Cove Avenue, she saw that Vickie’s house was on fire with two fire trucks and two police cars on scene. Josephine pulled her car to the side of the road and watched the flames destroying what had once been such a lovely home. A sense of dread washed over her as she pulled at the thoughts and memories of the tragedy.

  “It looks like Vickie made her decision.” Helen leveled a sympathetic gaze at Josephine.

  “You’re right. She’s part of the Phoenix Community. I hope she’s happy.”

  “I’d be happy as a clam if I could live forever,” Alice chimed in.

  “They’re a bunch of isolationists. There’s always a price to pay in closed communities like that,” Josephine said.

  When the weekend came, Josephine took her first close look at the instructions for the enchantment that Lorcan had given her. She spread the papers out on her dining room table and studied the diagrams with care. After a painstaking hour, she was ready to start her work. Josephine went to the antique desk and pulled out five cluster quartz crystals from the supplies drawer. Even with the inordinate power she could generate, Josephine realized this would take every single damned night for her to finish this project in three weeks. Of course, she didn’t plan on giving these to him anyway. On the other hand, Josephine suspected he would find out if she just didn’t do anything at all. He might have a way of detecting the signature energy of these enchantments from a distance. That was entirely possible and she couldn’t risk the lives of her friends and family.

  Josephine placed the crystals in a backpack with care then drove down to a bank on Beach Road that was only a few blocks from the Siesta Key beach and its vortex. She parked her car, and placed the crystal on the passenger seat. She reached out and tapped into the vortex knowing that no one would suspect what she was doing. Category five wizards had the ability to link with a vortex but had to be within thirty feet. Josephine had discovered weeks ago that she could accomplish this feat from more than two miles away. She took another look at the instructions and then placed her hand over the first crystal and began tuning the energy matrix of the enchantment. It took great precision as these were the most complex magical constructs Josephine had ever worked on. After an hour, Josephine called it quits and with the added boost in energy, estimated that she was two weeks into the project which was more progress than she’d intended.

  Josephine returned to her condo and locked up the crystals in her antique desk. Her cell rang which startled her. Josephine wasn’t used to receiving very many calls from it yet. Flutters of anticipation stirred inside her when she saw it was Mark.

  “Hey, Mark,” Josephine greeted him.

  “Josephine, how are you?”

  “I’m great. I had a good time the other night.”

  “Me, too. I was wondering if you were up for dinner and a movie tomorrow?” Mark asked.

  “Sure. I’d love it,” Josephine said.

  “Great. How about I pick you up at 5?”

  “That’s perfect.”

  They said their goodbye’s and Josephine still had a wide grin on her face when Alice stopped by for an unexpected visit. The two of them seated themselves on the couch in the living room.

  “I was wondering if you got started on that battery thing,” Alice said.

  “Yes, I finished working on just a little while ago. It takes a lot of power and is very complex,” Josephine said.

  “Can you tell more about its function now?”

  “Lorcan is definitely hiding something from me. They are batteries but they are designed to connect with something. It’s possible that twenty or more could be used as the same time and they are designed to hook into something else even more powerful. I’m not exactly sure what. Maybe a stronger battery that he’ll have me make in the future,” Josephine said.

  “You don’t plan on finishing these devices for him though, do you?” Alice asked.

  “Of course not!”

  “Good.” Alice looked relieved. “I was worried you might just go along with his plans thinking it would be safer to just do what he wants.”

  “I could always report this to the police,” Josephine mused.

  “I never considered that.” Alice’s brows furrowed as she mulled this over. “It would bring everything out into the open. Maybe it would take the pressure off you if the law enforcement and government knew about the secret groups.”

  “It seems like an excellent idea but I can’t help thinking that surely someone else would have done this by now so how can it still be a secret,” Josephine said.

  “If the Valituras have members working for different law enforcement groups and government agencies, they would be able to cover it up at the local level. They’re ancient so they probably have an arsenal of magical weapons and memory suppression enchantments.”

  “The only way they could cover it up would be if they have someone at the police station who is keeping tabs on what’s going on,” Josephine said. “Luckily I work there full-time so I’ll just read everyone and found out who it is.”

  Josephine was starting to feel a little better knowing she had some options now. Of course, it wasn’t just a simple matter of reading everyone like a book. Some people kept a privacy shield in place like Lorcan which allowed only pieces of their thoughts and emotions to leak out. This would make it an arduous process but Josephine was confident she could tackle it. Josephine worked on creating an additional ward for Alice’s condo while she waited for Mark to arrive. She had some time to burn and wanted to make it as difficult as possible for the Valituras to attack her or her friends.

  Josephine could feel Mark’s presence when he arrived. Her psychic senses flared and a thrilling exchange of energy passed between the two of them as they strolled toward his vehicle. Mark took her out for dinner at a quaint French restaurant and then to the movie theatre to watch a romantic comedy. In spite of the energy flowing between the two of them, Josephine discovered she could pick up hardly any impressions from Mark. He exuded very little in the way of psychometric energy which puzzled her. She was disappointed when they arrived in the parking lot to her condo even though it was almost midnight.

  “I had a great time.” Josephine leveled a warm smile at Mark as she sat beside him in his black SUV.

  “Me, too.”

  “It’s strange. This car has a new smell and yet based on the style, it has to be at least eleven years old.”

  “It’s my favorite vehicle I’ve ever owned.” Mark’s eyes sparked with desire.

  He leaned closer to Josephine to kiss her but her curiosity was aroused. Something didn’t quite make sense.

  “I can see how you could have just repainted the car but the inside is in mint condition. It’s pristine. There’s no way to restore it like this.” Josephine leaned back a little and regarded him with puzzlement.

  “It’s nothing. I have a knack for making restoration enchantme
nts. I bought this SUV used and it was all roughed up and falling apart. But I used magic to make it new again,” Mark said.

  “That’s remarkable! Restoration spells are very difficult – especially for someone your age. You could actually make a living doing that.”

  “That’s how I make my living but I would also like to work in law enforcement.”

  “I had assumed you got a college loan.”

  “Nope. I make plenty of money to pay all the bills.”

  “It feels like I hardly know you,” Josephine said.

  “We’ve only known each other for about a week.”

  “Yes but I normally pick up things about people because of my psychometry. I sense hardly a peep out of you.”

  “That’s fascinating.”

  Mark leaned forward and his lips locked with Josephine’s. For a moment, she lost herself in the pleasurable sensations. She wanted to get closer to Mark. Josephine couldn’t stop thinking about the mystery that Mark represented though. She pushed him back and he didn’t offer any resistance but his expression was disappointed. Mark’s brown eyes flashed with desire and his lips curved in a confused smile.

  “Did anyone tell you that you’re a tease?” he asked.

  “I just can’t help thinking how unusual you are.”

  “I hope you mean that in a good way.”

  “Yes but I’m just confused by the lack of psychometric energy,” Josephine said.

  “I sense plenty of energy between us,” Mark replied.

  “Do you have a privacy shield?”

  “No.”

  “Can you do other advanced magic besides the restoration enchantments?”

  “Is this interrogation going to end sometime soon?” Mark cocked a bemused brow at Josephine.

  “I need to know what’s going on.”

  “We’re in love. That’s what’s happening.” Mark leveled an imploring look at her and when it became obvious she still wanted answers, he heaved a sigh of disappointment. “I can also create photographic memory enchantments. They last for two to three hours and while I’m under the influence, everything I read and learn is stored in my mind like a computer.”

  “And you can remember it all even when the enchantment is over?”