by John O'Riley
“I reluctantly left retirement,” Josephine said. “I’m too old to work 40 hours a week.”
“So how did you handle being cursed?” Helen asked.
“I reported what happened to me to the Council but I couldn’t say who did it or prove it was done to me. So they made me quit the police force since no one can work in the government who may have worked with dark magic. The mortals were really puzzled about why I left. It was hard.”
“That’s terrible!” Helen leveled a commiserating look at him. “Do you think it might have been better to hide your condition?”
“No because they would have found out eventually due to my lack of aging and then I could have ended up in jail. You have thirty days to report if you’ve been cursed or become a six.”
“Why would you mention that? Do you think I’m a six?” Helen had a guilty look on her face.
“You’re not giving off any readable psychometric energy so it was a safe guess to make.” Nathan offered an apologetic smile. “You have some tough decisions to make.”
“I can’t report what’s happened yet. I want to catch the guy who did this to me.”
“Do you know who he is?” Nathan asked.
“Kind of. The problem is finding him and his real name since he probably goes by an alias,” Helen said. “Not only that but I can’t betray him because of our bond so it makes catching him impossible.”
“This music is starting to get on my nerves,” Josephine grumbled.
“I love this music,” Nathan remarked.
“So do I. I love classical, too. That’s the only thing that would be better than this,” Helen said.
“I’m the same way,” Nathan said.
“Do you drink coffee?”
“Yes. For the last month or so I’ve been trying to be healthier and I use almond milk instead of half and half.”
“Me, too!” Helen grinned at him. “Josephine gives me a hard time about it sometimes.”
“I just think it’s a waste of coffee,” Josephine said.
Nathan leveled a warm smile at Helen.
“If you were a guy, you’d be marriage material,” he said.
“I feel the same way about you.” Helen thought about that for a second then shrugged. “You know what I mean.”
“We should stay in touch.”
Nathan, Helen, and Josephine exchanged phone numbers.
“Do you want to stop by for a cup of coffee sometime? We kind of have a morning ritual,” Helen explained.
“That sounds good,” Nathan said. “During the week I’m pressed for time but I’d love to stop by and chat on the weekend sometime.”
Chapter 11
Josephine was assigned to work with Alex and Jake this week. She had already solved two cases this morning and lunch was right around the corner. Josephine decided to take a break from her paperwork so she could continue scanning employees for Valituras agents. Josephine wandered over to Anita’s desk. Anita was typing at her computer with intense focus but she noticed Josephine’s arrival. Anita was positioned at the lobby as she was one of the receptionists. She had warm brown eyes, long silky brown hair confined in a pony tail, and a spattering of freckles on her face.
“Hi, Josephine.” Anita’s expression became sympathetic as she remembered the incident in the newspaper. “I’m sorry about those protesters hounding you.”
“I have to admit that it’s really stressing me out.”
“Are you considering moving somewhere else?” Anita asked.
“I’m not going to be bullied into leaving.” Josephine opened her senses to the psychometric energy surrounding her. Because she was so close to Anita, she could reach out with her mind and read everything she wanted without tripping any of the alarms. A stab of guilt made Josephine hesitate but she shoved aside the feeling. She must make entirely sure that she identified every single Valituras agent no matter what. Even if they happened to be a friend.
“I admire your inner strength. You’re always so successful with everything that you do,” Anita said.
“Thanks.” Josephine cringed inside as her guilt made her want to stop scanning Anita. “How is life treating you? How are the kids?”
“They’re doing well. Lisa really enjoyed those chocolate chip cookies you made for us a couple of weeks ago. I keep forgetting to bring you a card she made. It’s always so hectic in the morning because those two dawdle like crazy and almost miss the school bus every morning,” Anita said.
“She made a card for me? That’s sweet.”
“I’ll be sure to remember to bring it in.”
Josephine sensed something unusual from Anita. There was a slight imbalance in a certain area of her conscious mind. Josephine focused on that area. She realized she must keep Anita talking or she couldn’t do this.
“Do they like the macadamia white-chocolate chip cookies?” Josephine asked.
“They love everything you bring over. The regular chocolate chip is one of their favorites though.”
Josephine paused as she was probing with gentle precision at the area of Anita’s mind which she could tell was a powerful but subtle enchantment.
“Do they have a favorite? I’m thinking about baking again soon,” Josephine advised.
Anita’s answer was lost on Josephine as the details of the enchantment snapped into focus. Josephine recognized it as a mind control spell. It prompted Anita to place a call to a certain number whenever she heard certain key words and then after informing the Valituras agent about what she’d discovered, she would go back to work and completely forget what had occurred. Anita had no clue that she served as a spy for a malevolent organization intent on amassing power and taking over the world.
“What’s wrong?” Anita asked.
Josephine realized that the horror of what she’d just discovered was showing on her face. She forced a friendly smile and composed herself.
“Nothing at all. For a second, I thought I forgot to turn the coffee pot off before I left for work but then I remembered that I took care of it,” Josephine fibbed.
“That happens to me all the time. I hate being so rushed in the morning.”
“I guess I’d better get back to work. It was wonderful talking to you,” Josephine said.
“You, too!”
Josephine went back to her desk and resumed her paperwork. She couldn’t really concentrate because her mind still reeled from the shock of her discovery. Anita was a friend and she’d suffered from a mind control spell all this time. Josephine had never detected it before. Of course, one had to scan deep to see it and only a five or six would be able to find such an anomaly without specialized magical equipment.
“Grandma, are you all right?” Jake asked.
Josephine’s gaze leapt up to meet her grandson’s caring brown eyes.
“I’m fine, dear. I’ve had a rough time lately with the protesters wanting me to leave the retirement complex,” Josephine explained.
That was just the tip of the iceberg in regards to all the stress that plagued her. She was tired of all the secrets she harbored. The laws needed to change and stop restricting sixes. The aequitas enchantment that she’d deactivated had kept her from dabbling in any form of real magic for practically her entire life. She’d always assumed her lack of control over the magic that she could summon so easily was an intrinsic danger of being a six but she’d discovered the truth. The rare ability to connect with a power vortex was essential in balancing Josephine’s abilities. Once she’d started doing that, she’d gained complete control of her talent. Unfortunately, accessing the vortex was illegal for sixes. And only category fives and sixes possessed this skill. Josephine would feel a lot better if these laws were overturned but how could that happen when people like her comprised such a small percentage of the population?
“I wish there was something I could do about those people.” Jake leveled a commiserating look at his grandmother. “It must be hell to have to deal with that every time you go out.”
/> “They aren’t up until sometime after six because when I go jogging there’s no sign of them.”
“That’s something then.” Jake’s lips curved in an amused smile.
“They’ve vandalized my car three times now and they leave notes on my door.”
“Are the notes threatening?” Alex asked.
Josephine hadn’t realized he’d been listening in on the conversation.
“Sometimes they’re kind of threatening.” Josephine pulled out two she’d saved.
“Let me see them,” Alex requested. Josephine handed him the notes and he glanced at them with a frown of concern. “This is bad. I hadn’t realized the situation had escalated to this point.”
“Let me see,” Jake said. He read the notes with a troubled expression on his face. His gaze rose to meet his grandmother’s. “This gives us just cause to start questioning the protesters.”
“That’s the first good news I’ve heard all week,” Josephine said.
“This is only Monday,” Alex pointed out.
Josephine ignored his remark when she normally would have put him in his place after antagonizing her like that. After all, he didn’t annoy her as much as before. Working with him made her see his positive attributes which were meager but they still existed. And she was trying to take Helen’s advice to heart and get along with people. It was best not to make new enemies when she already had so many. Alex filed a report for Josephine and explained to her that police officers and detectives would be assigned at random intervals to question the protesters. People tended to get uncomfortable when the police started showing up on a regular basis and interrogating them. Josephine received an instant message from Ben Nutter and her stomach clenched with anxiety. She hadn’t heard from him since she’d started working here. She wondered if she was in some kind of trouble. Josephine had only taken a few steps from her desk when Alex called out to her.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Ben wants to talk to me,” Josephine explained.
“Really?” Alex’s expression became guarded and he turned back to his computer.
Josephine went over to his desk and towered over him while he tried to ignore her.
“What is it?” she said when it became apparent he didn’t want to talk.
Alex sighed and it was with obvious reluctance that he turned to meet her gaze.
“Mr. Nutter doesn’t normally interact with us directly unless there’s disciplinary action involved. Don’t call him Ben either,” he warned her.
“Thanks for the advice.”
Josephine swallowed as her anxiety climbed over this unwelcome news. She made her way to Ben’s office where the door was open.
“Come in, Josephine. Please close the door behind you.” Ben’s loud, penetrating voice seemed to pound at her ears.
Josephine forced a stoic expression on her face as she complied with his request and took a seat facing her boss. Ben watched her and an uncomfortable quiet hung over the room. Josephine reminded herself to maintain neutral body language and not to squirm even though this was a bad sign.
“You wanted to see me, sir?” Josephine asked.
Brad reached out and rested his hand against the base of a large, brass desk lamp with a green glass shade. The room plunged into silence as a privacy screen spell made the office soundproof. Brad pulled out a quartz crystal from one of his desk drawers and spoke with a trace of regret.
“I hate to do this to you, O’Connor.”
He activated the enchantment in the crystal and a silvery spherical-shaped energy field emerged from it and expanded to encompass the two of them. As the spell took hold, Josephine recognized it as a truth-speak enchantment. She resisted the powerful urge to start blabbing all her secrets which was a side-effect of the spell and most people found impossible to circumvent. One could only speak the truth inside the sphere of energy but that went both ways. Ben wasn’t immune to the enchantment just because he’s the one who cast it. Truth-speak devices were extremely challenging to make like restoration spells and curses so they were extremely expensive to purchase. It was obvious Ben wanted some information very badly to use such a potent and costly magical device.
“Are you here to spy on us at the station?” His gaze bore into Josephine’s.
“I came here to do the very best job I could and to network with important individuals like yourself.” She hadn’t intended to mention the networking but the spell had compelled her to blurt it out before she could stop herself. It was difficult to keep secrets like this.
“Why do you want to network?”
Josephine focused her thoughts before speaking because relaying only part of the truth would be hard.
“Because of my unique situation as a category six, it has come to my attention that it’s best I gain some powerful allies. One example would be those protesters who think I’m not deserving of retirement benefits in spite of the fact that I’ve made the same or more contributions to social security. Does it seem fair that I should be punished for something I have no control over?” Josephine intentionally posed a question at the end of her reply because she knew it would distract Ben from his own questions.
“I don’t think it’s fair at all. I do feel lucky to have you on my team but also suspicious that you may be a Trojan horse.”
“I’m not a Trojan horse. Why would you think that?” Josephine asked.
“Because of the corruption in the government and even here at the station. I need answers. I’m hoping you can give them to me. Have you heard of the Valituras?”
“Yes, I have.” Josephine clamped down on the urge to spill her guts.
She couldn’t tell him absolutely everything because she was in violation of the law herself with the deactivation of the aequitas enchantment she wore and the daily trips to the power vortex. Josephine cleared her throat then outlined her dealings with Lorcan and his threats against her. She also explained how he’d threatened to curse her but it ended up going to Helen by mistake. She described the batteries she’d made under duress and how she’d discovered Anita was a victim of a mind control spell. Ben froze and sat in his chair like a statue during the entire explanation. Josephine’s gut twisted and her body tensed with nervousness. She wondered how he would react as he was still reeling from the shock.
“I hadn’t expected this,” Ben said after a lengthy pause. “I can see that you’re more apprised of the situation than I’d thought possible. The Valituras are so good at covering their tracks that we’ve failed to get our hands on a single one of them. It’s damned frustrating.”
“What’s going to happen to my friend?” Josephine asked.
“You said Lorcan compelled her to keep silent about her condition so she won’t be able to say anything. The curse is too strong. Since you’re a category six, you can place a temporary block that will give her the freedom to report to us. We have to time this just right though. I’m a member of a select group in the government who is aware of the Valituras and trying to expose them. It’s called Operation Corruption. I wanted to call it Operation Snake in the Grass but I didn’t have enough clout so we’re stuck with that stupid name.” Ben paused to collect his thoughts.
Josephine wanted to roll her eyes at the juvenile names of their operation. Ben’s idea wasn’t any better but luckily she had the power to resist the urge to blab her unflattering thoughts in spite of the truth-speak enchantment.
“Anyway, we managed to get some legislation passed through that was intended to help with terrorism. It would allow us to go to court and interrupt whatever is in progress to bring to trial an imminent threat to national security. This will allow us to bring our evidence to light without the Valituras destroying it and eliminating witnesses. Helen will be a key witness. The minimum that we need is one victim and one Valituras agent. A truth-speak enchantment is to be used in this type of trial so you can see how big this is,” Ben said.
“So I should continue looking for Valituras agents here at t
he station and also the rogue vampire who’s running loose. He hasn’t killed for a number of days, I’ve noticed.”
“His last two victims were in Manatee County so it was outside our jurisdiction. The Valituras will catch this guy soon but what we need is Lorcan or another member of his group if they’re working here,” Brad explained.
The truth-speak sphere of energy flickered for several seconds then vanished as the spell wore off.
“I’m sorry you had to squander such a potent spell on me,” Josephine said.
“It wasn’t a waste at all. I know I can implicitly trust you now. I was told to find out if we could recruit you to Operation Corruption and now I can safely say yes. I’m authorized to promote you to an OC enforcer. Furthermore, the requirement for you to go through their intensive training program is waived. Once you accomplish your mission and expose the Valituras to the public, I guarantee you that new legislation will pass that will eliminate all restraints imposed on category sixes,” Brad advised. “Do you accept the promotion? Remember, you can’t tell anyone at all about this until we succeed in capturing one of those spies. I’m the only one you can report any of these findings to.”
“I accept the promotion. Does this mean I’m no longer on probationary status as a new hire?”
“That’s exactly what it means. You’re now a permanent employee of the state,” Brad boomed at her. “Congratulations.”
The background noise of the office came through the walls, indicating the sound-proof field had worn off. Josephine was so pleased about this news she could hardly think straight but her ears were ringing because of the volume of Ben’s booming voice. She wondered what he would sound like if he tried to whisper.
“What should I do if the Valituras demand that I make more magical tools for them?” Josephine asked.
“Comply with their request. Any time Lorcan approaches you, try to find out his alias or where he lives.”
“Will do. There’s one other thing. I’ve learned about yet another secret group called the Phoenix Community.”