2 Corruption

by John O'Riley

  “Yes. It’s how I have enough time to intern, create enough restoration spells to make a living, and ace all my college courses,” Mark explained.

  “That’s fascinating.”

  Mark leaned over to kiss her but stopped when someone knocked at the driver’s side window. Mark flinched and Josephine gasped with surprise. They turned to see Alice and Helen standing outside the driver’s side door. Mark threw Josephine an amused look.

  “Busted,” he murmured.

  Josephine’s eyes danced with amusement.

  “We were worried about you. You’ve been sitting here for half an hour.” Helen regarded them with a look of reprisal.

  Mark opened the door and leveled a disarming grin at Helen.

  “We were just talking. Josephine’s a lovely, young lady,” he said.

  “She’s a mature, elderly woman,” Helen corrected him. “And it’s late. You have school tomorrow and she has work.”

  “I like to think of her as an experienced and seasoned woman,” Mark said.

  Helen’s disapproving frown deepened. Josephine climbed out of the SUV and joined her friends on the other side. She turned to level a radiant smile at Mark.

  “Thank you so much for a wonderful evening,” she said.

  “You, too.”

  Mark waved a farewell at them before he hopped in his truck and drove away. Josephine waived back at him as she walked with Alice and Helen toward their building.

  “What were you thinking?” Helen peered at her with reprisal. “You don’t want to get pregnant at your age.”

  “Do you realize how ridiculous you sound?” Josephine scoffed. “There’s absolutely no way I can possibly have a baby! For heavens sakes! I’m eighty-four years old!”

  Chapter 7

  Josephine cast a disgruntled glance at Riley as he munched on a frosted cake donut with sprinkles. It irritated her that he could snack on junk food all the time. If she ever tried anything like that, she’d end up looking like the Goodyear blimp. The police department bustled with activity. For security reasons, there were m-detectors positioned throughout the building to prevent any magical attacks. In order to avoid tripping any alarms, Josephine was forced to limit her scans within an eight foot radius of her body. At this rate, it would take her a month or longer to identify any Valituras spies. This week, she was assigned to a different pair of detectives, Scott and Fletcher. Josephine wished she could work with Jake like last week but this gave her the opportunity to work in close proximity with other people so she could safely scan them. Scott was short and slender with blond hair and friendly blue eyes. Fletcher was reserved, average height and medium set with short-cropped brown hair and green eyes.

  After spending the morning working on crime scenes with these two detectives, Josephine ascertained that neither of them were involved with the Valituras. As Josephine typed at her computer, catching up on the paperwork, she wondered how she could cut down on the time it would take to find any spies at the station. Josephine, Scott, and Fletcher were dispatched to a new case towards the end of the day. The murder victim lived in a spacious, white house in an upper-class neighborhood. The lawn was immaculate with well-maintained and breath-taking landscaping. Josephine followed Scott and Fletcher inside the house and was taken aback by the lack of psychometric energy. The telltale signs of an ignotus enchantment were obvious to her as she fully opened her psychic senses. It was difficult to cast an effective spell to remove trace energy from a crime scene but this killer had managed to execute one.

  The victim was a male, lying beside the overturned couch in the living room. He was an average looking guy with straight, brown hair and casually but fashionably dressed. A few faint bruises marred his arms, face, and neck but there was no sign of blood or severe trauma to indicate cause of death. The victim’s glazed eyes stared up at the ceiling. As Josephine continued to reach out with her mind to gather as much of the meager information as possible, a long silence ensued. Fletcher and Scott peered at her with expectation and a hint of concern.

  “Is something wrong?” Fletcher asked.

  “Sorry. I’m still taking it in.” Josephine cast an apologetic gaze at them. “It’s not very often I come upon someone who actually manages to erase most of the valuable psychometric evidence.”

  Fletcher and Scott waited for her to continue and their expressions turned disappointed. They were hoping to outdo Alex and Jake. Josephine stiffened with alarm when she picked up a disturbing word that trickled unbidden into her mind: “Valituras.” It had been a male voice and it belonged to the killer. Josephine focused on that particular energy strand which was degraded like the others. She probed at it with care and hoped there would be more data to glean from it. Yes, the killer had definitely been thinking about the Valituras. In fact, he loathed them. Josephine couldn’t bring this particular evidence to light because she would endanger everyone’s lives. She must find the spies first before she could execute any plan to bring them down. When Josephine finished reading the room, she took a deep cleansing breath.

  “All right. I can’t determine cause of death,” Josephine began.

  “I can,” announced the forensics officer kneeling beside the body. “It was blood loss.”

  “Where’s the blood?” Fletcher watched him with a puzzled expression on his face.

  “I can’t find any. We’ve already searched the house thoroughly and there’s no wound on the body to explain where the blood went.”

  “The killer hungered for the blood and somehow took it from the victim,” Josephine explained. “I’m not sure how but I can feel it. And this isn’t the first time he’s done it. He’s killed many times. This was normal for him.”

  “Do you know if he lives in the area or can you give us a description?” Fletcher asked.

  “He lives in the general area but I can’t pinpoint it. He may live here in Sarasota or just in a nearby city. I do know he generally disposes of the bodies so that his victims end up on our missing persons list. For some reason, he broke his pattern here today. It seems like he did it to spite someone,” Josephine said.

  “To spite someone? Like he takes orders from someone?” Scott asked.

  “That’s exactly it,” Josephine confirmed.

  Scott nodded as he jotted this note down.

  “It sounds like this won’t be an easy one.” Fletcher swept his gaze over the room. “We’ll have to rely on forensics and luck to solve it.”

  “Don’t worry, Fletcher, I’m sure I’ll solve many more today.” Josephine felt a stab of annoyance over her lack of results here. After all, she had a reputation to maintain.

  When Josephine returned to the station to type up her report, Alex and Jake were seated at their own desks. Alex looked up from his computer and peered at her with sardonic glee.

  “I heard you failed to solve your last investigation,” he taunted her.

  “I do sometimes encounter some challenging cases, Detective Whiney.” Josephine threw him a frosty smile before returning her attention back to the computer.

  Josephine was relieved when her shift ended. A sense of foreboding trickled down her spine when she parked her car and saw the large gathering of elderly people with picket signs marching back and forth in front of her condo building. As Josephine approached them, she saw Dale in the swarm of protesters. Dale pointed directly at her and all of the elderly men and women fixed their attention on her.

  “There she is!” A woman who leaned heavily against her walker pointed at Josephine with disdain and outrage.

  An uproar stirred among the crowd and they began chanting. Because they were all uncoordinated, Josephine couldn’t make out what they were saying but knew it wasn’t friendly. She could see some of the signs now which all made derogatory statements about category six wizards taking hard-earned retirement money and benefits from those who truly deserved it.

  “Go where you belong!” the crowd chanted.

  Josephine was close enough that she could actually make
out the words and they also managed to get more on track with each other. Josephine glared back at them and focused on individuals as she knew that the only way to make an impact on a crowd like this was to make people feel singled out. Josephine picked up her pace and created a dampening field around herself which would neutralize any spells cast against her. She wouldn’t put it past Dale to get them to hurl jinxes at her. Josephine swept past the crowd and entered the building. Unshed tears stung her eyes as she stepped into the elevator. Josephine was grateful the crowd hadn’t followed her inside because she was so hurt and angry she may have done something she would regret. The doors closed and the elevator brought her to her floor. Josephine found Alice and Helen waiting for her outside her door.

  “Did you know Dale orchestrated that protest against me?” Josephine asked.

  “I’m so sorry. You have every right to live here just like any other retired citizen.” Helen offered a sympathetic gaze.

  “I’m not taking anything away from them. I’ve contributed to social security my entire life,” Josephine said.

  “Dale is an ass and we’re going to have to jinx him.” Alice’s eyes flashed with ire.

  “No, it’s too risky. He had a bodyguard last time and he’s bound to have raised his security measures even more.”

  “I want to talk to Brad. I think we should leave this hell hole,” Alice said.

  “Excuse me?” Josephine regarded her friend with astonishment. “We can’t join the Phoenix Community. They won’t take Helen in. Besides, I’m not sure I trust this secret group. They’re a bunch of radicals.”

  “We should discuss our situation with Brad. Maybe if we motivate him, he can find someway of getting Helen membership, too.”

  “All right.”

  Josephine, Alice, and Helen gathered in the living room. Josephine picked up the messaging crystal and sent a pulse of energy into it. The crystal flared for several seconds with a beautiful silvery light then went dark again. Josephine set the stone back down on the table.

  “How long do you think it will take for him to answer?” Helen asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Josephine said.

  Someone knocked at the door and she went to answer it. Josephine left the wards active until she saw it was Brad and invited him inside. They all took seats on the couches and Josephine asked if he’d like tea or coffee.

  “No, thanks. I can’t stay long. I don’t want to take the chance of leaving any psychometric energy that gives away my community’s secrets,” he said.

  “Here’s the deal, Brad.” Alice cast a beseeching look at him. “We want to join the Phoenix Community and we would do it in a heart beat if you would let us bring Helen. We just can’t leave her behind. She’s a lifelong friend. Isn’t there something you can do?”

  “I wish there was. I do plan on asking permission for an exception.”

  “There’s not much chance of that, is there?”

  “No,” Brad admitted.

  “You have access to powerful and ancient magic. Isn’t there some kind of enchantment that can transform Helen into a category six or at least make her stronger?”

  “There’s no such thing. Believe me.”

  “I’ve heard rumors that there is an immortality spell,” Alice said. “Sometimes it increases a wizard’s ability.”

  “The only way to make someone immortal is to perform a curse. It’s dark magic and it always comes at a cost.” Brad’s expression reflected the loathing and contempt he felt for such a course of action. “It’s illegal to use dark magic and when you make someone immortal, you enslave them. They must obey all your orders unless it causes them harm.”

  “Is that the price for the curse then?” Josephine asked.

  “That’s part of it. The other consequence is the possibility of becoming a vampire.”

  “I knew it!” Alice exclaimed. “All myths have a basis in reality.”

  “They aren’t like the television shows. You can see their reflection and they can go out during the day like everyone else,” Brad explained. “So did you just call me here to ask for an exception to the rule so Helen could join the Phoenix Community?”

  “Don’t change the subject! I want details! How much blood do you have to drink a day? How many hours of sleep do you need? Are your circadian rhythms screwed up so that you can’t sleep very well at night? Do you get new powers?” Alice’s eyes glimmered with avid interest.

  “I refuse to talk about this anymore.” Brad rose to his feet and scowled at Alice with displeasure. “You will steer clear of anyone offering immortality if you have any shred of intelligence.”

  “Please, wait,” Josephine said in an imploring tone. “Isn’t there any other alternative you can think of for Helen?”

  “I’m afraid – ” Brad halted in the middle of his sentence as his eyes widened with horror.

  “What’s wrong?” Josephine asked.

  “Lorcan has already contacted you. He’s been stalking you and tried to break into your condo several times.”

  “Yes, he has.”

  “I’m afraid this changes everything. I can’t risk coming here anytime in the near future. Don’t try to contact me anytime soon because I won’t answer,” Brad said.

  He made a beeline for the door and Josephine trailed after him.

  “It sounds like you’re cutting me off!” Josephine called after him.

  “That’s exactly what I’m doing.” Brad closed the door behind him.

  Josephine rushed to the door and whipped it open. Brad’s body faded as he cast an invisibility spell. When he vanished from sight, Josephine could no longer sense him at all.

  “That’s a really good enchantment.” Josephine couldn’t help admire his work even as she was insulted by how he’d cast her aside to fend for herself.

  Josephine flopped down on the couch where she’d been sitting to join Alice and Helen where they wore expressions of deep contemplation.

  “This really sucks,” Josephine said.

  “I’d like to jinx his sorry ass for not telling me more about vampires,” Alice seethed. “I suspected they were out roaming the streets. You know what this means? There’s a huge conspiracy and cover-up to hide their existence.”

  “Where did you hear rumors about an immortality curse?” Josephine asked.

  “I didn’t. I just made it up to try to get Brad to start thinking outside the box,” Alice said.

  Josephine chuckled. “You certainly got a rise out of him.”

  “Yes, we did learn something new because of my little trick.” Alice grinned with satisfaction over her cleverness.

  “Have you made much progress at the police station today?” Helen asked.

  “I ruled out two detectives that I’m assigned to work with this week,” Josephine said. “There are m-detectors scattered everywhere in the building so I’m very limited to how far I can scan.”

  “What a bummer,” Alice said.

  “I worked on a very strange case today.”

  Alice and Helen both watched her with rapt attention as Josephine explained how difficult and strange that murder had been.

  “What if it was a vampire?” Alice asked.

  “You’re obsessed with creatures of the night,” Josephine teased.

  “That term is so old-school. The modern lingo is blood-suckers or blood addict,” Alice corrected her.

  Josephine chuckled and shook her head with amusement. She sobered when she thought back to her problems at hand.

  “I won’t be able to finish my scans of the police department before my timeline for the magical batteries is up. I’m pretty sure that stalling won’t work with Lorcan,” she said.

  “Can you think of a way to sabotage them?” Helen asked.

  “I was thinking the same thing but if I mess with the configuration, he’ll detect it.”

  “Even if it’s just a teensy weensy bit? Maybe small enough that they’ll work for just a couple minutes or so?” Alice asked.

  “
I have a feeling they have tools that can measure the specifications of an enchantment.” Josephine’s brows furrowed with thought. “But I have an idea that might work. It’s really risky.”

  “Tell us,” Helen prodded.

  “If I infuse some wild magic in some of the key energy strands and cover it up so that the energy strand looks the same. It would have to be just tiny occasional grooves at key points in the matrix,” Josephine explained.

  “I didn’t think that was even possible.” Alice regarded her friend with admiration. “You’re amazing.”

  “I did it by accident a couple weeks ago and have been experimenting ever since. I can only detect it if I do a deep scan and it’s so subtle that I think only a six could perceive the anomaly. The only problem is I can’t predict the results. Wild magic is what gives manifestations and jinxes the ability to seem self-perceptive and to take on objectives. The way I’m planning on using it, I’ll give instructions to throw off the spell. Unfortunately, this may just change how the batteries work. I can’t risk more than just a few tweaks or it may become detectable or cause the enchantment to mutate before it’s used and to collapse in on itself.”

  “It’s too complicated for a normal wizard to even try. Are you sure it’s not too risky?” Helen asked.

  “I’ll be careful.”

  The next morning, the power vortex at the beach was radiating discordant waves of energy. This was a cycle that occurred to all vortexes and usually only lasted a couple of days or so. Josephine found it unpleasant but still felt compelled to link with it. Power flowed through her and her magical awareness expanded but it was a mixed bag this time. Because of the angry, seething energy of the vortex, a bit of pain mixed in with the usual euphoria. Josephine couldn’t maintain her link while jogging because of the instability. She strolled over toward the center of the vortex and sat down on the soft white sand facing it. Josephine spent all her time just letting her thoughts flow. She occasionally glanced at her watch and left when it was time to move on. Josephine wondered if it was her imagination but the vortex seemed just a little more balanced now.