by John O'Riley
“It’s been a long time since I’ve read one of these things. I can see why I stopped,” Josephine commented.
“It’s wise to keep up on current events,” Helen advised.
“Why don’t you know about the article then?” Josephine asked.
“I only read the Friday and Saturday paper.”
Josephine’s eyes caught a provocative title that mentioned sixes so she read through it. Her face reddened as outrage and humiliation surged through her. Josephine squealed with anger and was tempted to blow up the newspaper but she didn’t want to freak out her friends.
“What is it?” Alice asked.
“A reporter interviewed Dale and he said I flaunt my youthful good looks and brag about how I steal money from him by taking from retirement. What a liar! I’ve never done that. And he says all kinds of lies. Of course, everything is alleged so it’s okay to accuse me.”
“We need to confront him,” Alice said.
“We need to take the time to think this through and calm down before we do anything,” Helen suggested.
“You’re right. I’m working on your potion first. That will help take my mind off that loathsome, skanky toad.” Josephine folded the newspaper in half and shoved it in the space beside her and Alice so she could start driving. When she reached the condo complex, she was greeted by the angry picketers and another surge of anger flooded through her. I should have joined the Phoenix Community, Josephine thought. The three women gathered in Helen’s condo to prepare the herbal tea. Josephine followed the instructions exactly. She placed ten cups of water in a large pan since none of them had a cauldron and waited for the water to bubble before adding the herbs. The first two ingredients were chamomile and lemongrass. She was careful to measure the precise amounts. A pleasant aroma wafted from the pan.
“That smells good. Maybe this antidote won’t be so bad,” Helen said.
“We’ve only just started,” Alice reminded her.
Helen shrugged and Josephine continued adding the rest of the herbs including the more exotic ones. Helen stirred the tea with a wooden spoon as Josephine read over the potion one more time.
“It doesn’t smell so great anymore.” Helen wrinkled her nose with revulsion. “But I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
“It requires an enchantment to make the herbs work properly and to liquefy them because we aren’t supposed to strain out the herbs,” Josephine explained. “You’ll need to step back for a moment.”
“Okay.” Helen backed away from the stove and positioned herself beside Alice to watch.
Josephine held the palms of her hands out toward the pan and cast the spell with care even though it was simple. She didn’t want to screw anything up for her friend. Josephine paused as she scanned the energy matrix of the spell she’d created to make sure it was done correctly. She nodded her head with satisfaction.
“It’s working. We just need to wait five minutes to make sure it’s finished before you drink any,” Josephine said.
The three women gathered around the tea which had turned black and watched a sickly green mist emerge from it. A horrid stench assaulted their nostrils and they retreated a few steps from the pan.
“That reminds me of a dead skunk,” Helen said.
“I don’t think so. It’s more like a sewer,” Alice said.
“The enchantment isn’t finished. I’m sure it will get better,” Josephine assured her friend.
“I hope so.” Helen eyed the pan with a dubious frown.
The green mist had crept over the sides of the pan and over the top of the stove. If Josephine hadn’t double checked the enchantment after she’d performed it, she would have wondered if she’d messed up on it. Fortunately, a category six wizard like herself had the advantage of being able to scan the energy makeup of spells with quick accuracy as long as they weren’t too complicated like those batteries she’d made for Lorcan. After five minutes, Josephine approached the pan and saw that the liquid had turned beige and lumpy. It reminded her of the consistency of oatmeal or slop. Josephine poured one serving in a mug for Helen and then dumped the rest in a large pitcher which she placed in the refrigerator. Helen picked up the mug of enchanted tea and stared down at it with a brooding frown.
“Maybe I should leave well enough alone,” Helen said.
“You want to keep the curse?” Josephine threw her friend an incredulous look of disbelief.
“I was just thinking I might as well give in to the inevitable. Hardly anyone ever shakes loose of a curse.”
“But you’ve got me. I’m sure I can do this,” Josephine said.
“You just don’t want to drink something that smells like a dead skunk,” Alice said.
“You wouldn’t either.” Helen leveled her a challenging look.
Alice shrugged. “No, but I’m not the one who’s cursed.”
Helen took a sip of the tea and shuddered with displeasure. Josephine and Alice watched her with commiseration as she forced herself to finish the drink.
“That wasn’t quite as horrible as I thought it would be.” Helen turned and placed the mug in her sink.
“We’ve got one unpleasant task accomplished. It’s time to take care of Dale,” Alice said.
“Yes, I’m going to find out what in the hell his problem is,” Josephine said.
“I’m going with you,” Helen said.
“Me, too,” Alice chimed in.
“Really?” Josephine was surprised they were willing to accompany her. “Thank you.”
The three women took the elevator to Dale’s floor and traversed the hallway to his closed door.
“Before you do anything, I think you should read his condo,” Helen advised. Josephine threw her friend a questioning look. “You should find out if he has any special security or if there’s anything specific that’s making him take more drastic action against you.”
Josephine nodded in silent agreement and opened her magical sensed to the psychometric energy around her. The ward kept her from scanning inside the condo itself but there was plenty of residual backflow out here. Josephine allowed information and impressions to flow freely into her mind for several moments. She was surprised to discover Marjorie was Dale’s girlfriend. Dale couldn’t afford to keep paying for private security every day so he no longer had bodyguards but his wards were enhanced. Josephine stiffened with surprise when a vision of Lorcan visiting Dale appeared in her mind. She listened to conversation with growing fury. Josephine turned to face her friends.
“Lorcan came here and pretended he was part of a lobby group concerned about category six wizards bankrupting retirement,” Josephine said.
“That’s outrageous!” Alice exclaimed.
“Lorcan has been here three times, goading Dale to start a group of picketers here. He even left him a stack of flyers to pass out,” Josephine said. “I’ll bet he’s the one that somehow got the article printed in the newspaper.”
“Why would Lorcan do that?” Helen asked.
“I’m not sure,” Josephine said. “He has a privacy shield so I’m never able to get very much from him. Fortunately, Dale spews junk energy like a dog in heat so I picked up a lot here.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk to Dale yet. We might want to just come here every day and read what we can. Lorcan may scan this place when he visits and if you have a confrontation with Dale, it will be easy to pick up on,” Helen said. “You don’t want to tip your hand that you know what he’s up to.”
“That’s a good idea,” Josephine agreed.
Without warning, Dale’s door opened and his ward deactivated to reveal Dale clad in just a green bathrobe. Marjorie stood behind him about short distance away in a blue bathrobe.
“What are you doing here, slut?” Dale asked.
“You’re the slut. It’s obvious what YOU’VE been doing,” Josephine snapped.
“I should have known it was you who was skulking around,” Dale said. “You need to leave our home and never come back.”
&
nbsp; “This is my home, too.” Josephine’s eyes sparked with ire. “I deserve to have a life. I waited to retire until I was seventy-five. You retired when you were sixty-eight. I contributed way more!”
“Leave our home and never come back,” Dale chanted and Marjorie joined in. “Leave our home and never come back. Leave our home and never come back!”
No one noticed Helen’s eyes turn black until she lunged forward and threw herself at Dale. The two of them crashed to the floor. Helen’s lips locked with Dale’s as she kissed him with a breath-taking passion. Dale groaned softly and everyone else watched the two of them in stunned silence. Dale had an arm around her and Helen untied his bathrobe to reveal his whitey tighties and wrinkled, flabby skin. Josephine wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“Get off of my boyfriend!” Marjorie shrieked.
Helen lifted her head and pinned her with a cold hard look. Marjorie froze and after several seconds, her eyes glazed over as she fell under the succubus trance. Helen lifted herself off of Dale and gasped with alarm. Dale gazed up at her with a goofy grin on his face.
“What were you thinking?” Josephine asked.
“I wasn’t.” Helen said as she began wiping her mouth with frantic swipes to remove any of Dale’s cooties off. “I can’t believe I did that!”
“Don’t worry. They won’t remember a thing,” Josephine assured her.
“That’s right. My succubus powers automatically kick in until I learn to control them.”
The three women left the condo and Josephine closed the door behind them. They rushed to the elevator to get away from Dale.
“Don’t you have a boyfriend yet?” Alice asked once they were ensconced in the confines of the elevator.
Helen shook her head. “I can’t bring myself to do it.”
“Unless you want to fight an overpowering urge to kiss every disgusting man in sight, I would suggest you find yourself a nice young man to start dating,” Josephine advised.
“You’re right. Kissing Dale was worse than drinking that awful potion. I guess I should go to a bar or something.”
“Let’s look at the newspaper for a good place to go,” Josephine suggested. “Alice and I can go with you.”
“I appreciate that,” Helen said.
“I’m afraid you two will have to go without me,” Alice advised.
“Why?” Helen asked.
“Look at me.” Alice gestured at herself. “I’m an old lady. You two look like hot, young women. Everyone will think I’m your mother chaperoning you. You won’t be able to find a boyfriend with me hanging around.”
“What poppycock!” Helen exclaimed. “I need your support!”
“I can’t go with you.” Alice’s tone was adamant.
The three women gathered in Josephine’s living room and read through the newspaper until Alice discovered an ad that caught her attention.
“This sounds promising,” Alice announced. She read it aloud: “Looking for a classy and trendy place to date? Ken & Derek’s Classy Bar is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Business casual dress for LGBT only.”
“That sounds perfect,” Josephine gushed. “I’ve never heard of a classy bar but it’s been ages for me.”
“What does the BLT stand for?” Helen asked.
“It’s LGBT,” Alice corrected her. “And hell if I know.”
“Its probably an acronym for the dress code and behavior,” Josephine guessed. “We just need to look nice and be polite.”
“I can do that,” Helen said.
After dinner, Helen started to get cold feet but Josephine gave her the encouragement she needed. Josephine drove Helen to the bar and the two of them stepped inside. It was a fairly small establishment but a good sized crowd occupied most of the tables and bar stools. Josephine and Helen took up a position near the entrance to take stock of their surroundings. Soft jazz music played in the background so it was easy to converse. Men were seated mostly in pairs but some booths had smaller groups and the women also sat in pairs. Everyone dressed business casual as the newspaper ad had indicated.
“The guys are all sitting together. They’re too shy to approach the women,” Helen commented. “This might be a bit of a challenge.”
“I’m sure you won’t have any problems. Let’s sit over there.” Josephine pointed at two empty stools at the bar next to a good-looking man in his early 20’s.
He had thick, silky brown hair that reminded Josephine of Mark. In fact, his handsome face was remarkably similar right down to the sultry brown eyes. She could tell it wasn’t Mark but they could be brothers. Helen positioned herself beside the guy and Josephine sat on her friend’s other side. The bartender approached them with a friendly smile.
“What can I get you ladies?”
“I’ll have a cranberry juice,” Helen said.
“I think you’ll need something stronger to loosen up,” Josephine argued. She turned to address the bartender. “We’ll each have a long island iced tea.”
“Coming right up.”
Helen kept glancing at the hunk beside her while the bartender worked on their drinks. Josephine could tell Helen would need some encouragement. She hoped the alcohol would help. When the drinks were finished and set down in front of the two women, Josephine paid the bartender and nudged Helen. Helen turned and gave Josephine a helpless look. Josephine caught the man’s eye when he happened to glance her way.
“Hey, there. What are you drinking?” Josephine asked.
“It’s a diet coke with rum,” he replied.
“That sounds good.” Josephine leveled a warm smile at him. “My name’s Josephine and this is my friend, Helen.”
“Hi.” Helen threw him a shy smile.
“My name’s Nathan. It’s good to meet you.”
“Do you come here often?” Josephine asked.
“Not really. I don’t like bars.”
“I don’t either,” Helen commented.
Nathan leveled a sympathetic gaze at her.
“Josephine twisted your arm and made you come here, didn’t she?”
“Yes but she’s trying to help.”
“How long have you two been together?” Nathan asked.
“Since we were children.”
“Wow! I’m impressed. That takes commitment.”
“She’s the one constant in my life,” Helen said.
“That’s so romantic.” Nathan had a wistful look in his warm brown eyes.
Helen regarded him with confusion. Josephine could see that she’d have to help her friend out again.
“You and Helen seem to have some common ground,” Josephine interjected.
Nathan’s expression became guarded as he took a sip of his drink and gave the two women an assessing look. His attention lingered on Helen for several seconds then his eyes lit up with recognition.
“Of course! You’re a succubus!” he exclaimed.
“How did you know that?” Helen watched him with surprise.
“I’m an incubus. Our kind have a way of recognizing each other. We have a subtle vibe but you have to be receptive,” Nathan explained. “I don’t know how Josephine could tell unless she’s a six. I heard they can detect the supernatural.”
“Yes, I’m a six,” Josephine confirmed.
“I don’t meet too many of those.”
“So are you here to get a girlfriend?” Helen asked.
“No, I’m here for a boyfriend,” Nathan said.
“I hate to tell you this but you’re barking up the wrong bush. You need to go to a gay bar or something for that,” Helen advised.
“She means barking up the wrong tree,” Josephine explained.
Nathan chuckled. “This IS a gay bar.”
Helen and Josephine exchanged puzzled looks then their gazes swept over the bar again and they realized their error.
“Of course.” Josephine’s face flushed with embarrassment. “How silly. It’s been ages since either one of us has gone to a bar.”
“T
hink nothing of it,” Nathan said.
“Why would someone break up with a nice guy like you?” Helen asked.
“It happens all the time. After a few months or so, they get tired of having a boyfriend who won’t sleep with them.”
“I guess I’m going to have the same problem,” Helen said.
“Why don’t you sleep with your boyfriend?” Josephine asked.
“Josephine! You’re getting kind of personal, don’t you think?” Helen shot her a look of reprisal.
“It’s okay,” Nathan said. “I’m a virgin. I just can’t bear the thought of being so intimate with someone I’m not in love with.”
“I understand completely,” Helen said.
“I think you two are a couple of prudes,” Josephine teased.
“Wait a minute. If you’re an incubus, you’re cursed like me, right? So someone’s controlling you.”
“I used to be a detective. I was a category five wizard and used psychometry to help solve the cases. There was a victim that was killed of blood loss but with no puncture wounds. I discovered the truth about vampires but I was cursed before I could file my report. It happened as I was leaving the crime scene. I guess someone came to clean things up but the police arrived first so they were keeping an eye on the place and recognized me as a five. This was before the Disaster so of course no one at the station knew I was a wizard,” Nathan said.
“How old are you?” Josephine asked.
“I’m eighty-three.”
“A year younger than I am,” Josephine murmured. “You look like someone I know. Have you heard of Mark Freeman?”
“I’m his great uncle.” Nathan blinked with surprise. “Of course! I recognize you from the picture he showed me. You’re my grand nephew’s girlfriend.”
Josephine felt her face flush with embarrassment but she wasn’t sure why.
“Mark’s a great guy.” She forced a casual smile in spite of her discomfort. “So is he studying to be a detective because he’s wanting to follow in your footsteps?”
“I think so. No one else in the family ever worked in the police force.”
“Are you enjoying retirement then?” Helen asked.
“Oh, no. I’m still working. I’m a manager for SR Design. They’re a printing company and they also help with marketing plans,” Nathan explained.