2 Corruption

by John O'Riley

  “I’m going to have to object to all these unfounded accusations if you continue to harass me,” Josephine interrupted him.

  “Your honor, she’s trying to avoid my question.”

  Josephine forced her expression to remain confident as she didn’t say another word. Watson glanced at her then turned to Lorcan.

  “She was stating a fact. Ask your question while you still have time left. The clock’s ticking,” Watson ordered.

  “Josephine, is it try true you tapped into the vortex before you received your legal waiver to do so?” Lorcan demanded.

  “That’s true. I was coerced by you and the Valituras to make magical devices that you claimed were batteries. You threatened to murder my friends and family if I didn’t cooperate. It was a very complex and potent enchantment which required me to connect with the vortex in order to complete by the deadline you gave me.” Josephine had managed to speak the truth and at the same time she made it sound like the only reason she’d broken the law was to protect her friends and family.

  Lorcan blanched at her words and furious whispers broke out in the courtroom again.

  “I’ve had enough of this foolishness. You’ve asked your questions and your time is up,” Watson said to Lorcan.

  “But I have more!” Lorcan protested.

  Ben called Melodie to the stand and she incriminated herself by answering the questions posed. She didn’t take up the offer to make inquiries once finished. Josephine, Alice, and Helen were called as witnesses and Ben asked them questions which provided further testimony against the Valituras. The entire trial lasted less than a couple of hours. The jury declared the Valituras a real and imminent terrorist threat and found both Melodie and Lorcan guilty. The two Valituras agents were escorted out of the room and sent to a maximum security prison. They would be given the opportunity for another trial later with lawyers. Josephine and the rest of Ben’s group gathered outside the courthouse with reporters swarming around them asking more questions. Ben provided a heartfelt speech about how Josephine O’Connor was a hero and the very first law enforcement individual to expose the Valituras who’ve been secretly infiltrating the government, engaging in illegal activities, terrorizing citizens, and amassing power for years.

  Ben gave Josephine the rest of the week off in light of the circumstances with the trial and her grandson’s fatal illness. When Josephine was dropped off at her house, she turned on her cell phone and received a message from the hospital. She called them back and the receptionist placed her on hold so they could get Dr. Levy on the line. It took forever and Josephine disconnected the call. She drove over to the hospital so she could talk to him in person. Josephine realized the folly of her reasoning after she endured almost an hour of waiting in the lobby for the doctor to show up. He approached her with a guarded expression on his face which wasn’t a good sign. Of course, Josephine already knew the hopelessness of the situation. She stood up and faced Levy.

  “Ms. O’Connor, I regret to inform you that we conducted a series of general advanced antidotes on Jake without success. The curse he’s inflicted with is called contabesco letum and there’s no cure for it. There’s nothing else we can do. I’m very sorry.”

  Josephine’s throat constricted with grief. Even though she already knew this, it hurt and somehow made the situation more real to hear the words. It took her several seconds to recover her voice.

  “How much time does he have left?” she asked.

  “There’s no way to know for sure. We’ll keep him alive as long as possible and of course you’re welcome to bring in a specialist.”

  “Thank you, doctor,” Josephine murmured.

  Her vision blurred as unshed tears gathered in her eyes. Levy turned and left her. Josephine went to see Helen and Alice who were at Helen’s place. The three women gathered in the living room with mugs of coffee. Josephine told them about her hospital visit.

  “I’m so sorry.” Helen cast a sympathetic gaze at her friend. “I’m confident we’ll cure Jake though.”

  “There’s only a slim chance that one of the general antidotes will be effective. I’ll probably have to use the praesentia infinitus on him and once that happens, he’s got one foot out the door for the rest of his life,” Josephine said. “I hope I didn’t make a serious mistake by choosing white magic over the immortality curse.”

  “I think you made the best decision you could possibly make,” Helen advised.

  “Thanks,” Josephine murmured and sipped more of her coffee.

  Alice refrained from voicing her own opinion but she’d already expressed herself earlier and had voted for the immortality curse. She was too good a friend to reiterate her position now that it was too late.

  “At least you have some relief with the Valituras now,” Helen said.

  “Not necessarily. After what just happened at court, I might be even more of a target,” Josephine said.

  “It’s all over the news. Every channel I turn to, they’re talking about the case and showing parts of the trial. You’ve been labeled a hero.” Alice’s eyes lit up with adoration and excitement. “And legislation is already underway to reverse all laws restricting category sixes. They’ll have the same rights as everyone else in regards to using magic.”

  “It does feel good to have accomplished something like this.”

  “You’ve exposed the Valituras to the public and the police have arrested more of them,” Alice informed her. “They’re on the run and they’ll have to go into hiding like the Phoenix Community. They aren’t going to be in a position to bother you anymore.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Josephine took another sip of her coffee as doubts assailed her.

  She couldn’t help but remain skeptical and on guard in spite of this major victory. It would help if Jake was safe and well.

  Chapter 16

  Mark was seated at the other side of the dining room table watching Josephine and Helen work. It was the third day since Jake was struck with the curse and the pressure of the time constraint to cure him loomed over their heads. The wand containing the praesentia infinitus rested between Josephine and Helen. The two women opened their magical senses and prepared to energize and shape the energy matrix of the enchantment. After a moment, they began the arduous process. Their link to the power vortex helped speed along the development of the spell. The wand radiated with an intense sparkling, gold light. Josephine marveled at how well she worked with Helen. Hours later, the two women withdrew their minds and energy from the enchantment as it snapped into place. Josephine and Helen smiled at each other with excitement.

  “We did it! It’s finished!” Josephine exclaimed.

  Mark jumped to his feet and ogled the wand which was no longer glowing.

  “That’s incredible,” he said with fascination. “Do you realize that it normally takes months and usually three or four tries before someone successfully creates one of these? And that’s an experienced practitioner of advanced magic.”

  “It’s one of the perks of being a six,” Helen said.

  Josephine checked the time and gasped in astonishment. It was well after midnight. They took a short break then moved on to the next wand. Josephine could tell the energy structure was shaky and unstable. A few moments after she and Helen started working on it, the enchantment collapsed and dissipated.

  “Damn.” Josephine shot a dark look at the wand. “This isn’t good.”

  “You’ve got one for sure though,” Helen pointed out.

  “It’s not the one I want to work. It’s my last resort.”

  Unfortunately, the other two enchantments collapsed as well.

  “This is very disappointing,” Josephine grumbled. “I almost feel like I’m going to start losing Jake the moment I cast the praesentia infinitus on him.”

  “In a way, that’s true,” Mark said. “But that’s the way life is. As soon as we’re born, the clock starts ticking.”

  “It’s still not what I want,” Josephine said. “But I’l
l take it over losing Jake to that curse.”

  “We should go to the hospital now that you’ve got the antidote,” Mark advised.

  “Maybe Helen and I could make another enchantment in three more days,” Josephine said.

  “Jake was put on a respirator this morning because he stopped breathing. We’re not going to get another three days,” Helen reminded her.

  “You’re right.”

  The doorbell rang and Josephine frowned with bemusement. “Who in the world would visit at such an ungodly hour.”

  “Don’t lower your wards until you know it’s safe,” Helen warned.

  “I’ll be careful.”

  Josephine strolled over to the door and peered through the peephole. She could see Brad waiting for her.

  “It’s Brad,” she whispered.

  “I didn’t think he’d ever show up,” Helen whispered back.

  Mark had followed the two women to the door.

  “We might as well talk to him,” he suggested.

  Josephine unlocked and opened the door. “What do you want?”

  “Josephine, I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner but the Valituras were monitoring you closely and my people have to be careful of traps.” Brad’s expression was amiable. “Can I come in so we can talk?”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t just let yourself in like before.” Josephine cast a scornful gaze at him.

  “I didn’t want to be rude.”

  Josephine snorted with derision. “Yeah, right.”

  “To be honest, your wards here are stronger than your condo. I couldn’t get in.”

  “I don’t see any reason we can’t talk right here.”

  “Part of the reason I came here was to help you with Jake. I’m not going to carry on a conversation and remain exposed like this,” Brad said with regret. “I’ll leave you alone.”

  He turned to go but Josephine stopped him.

  “All right. You may enter,” she said with exaggerated graciousness.

  Josephine opened the door and stepped aside as she deactivated the wards. When Brad stepped over the threshold, she brought the protection back up again. The four of them gathered in Josephine’s living room on two couches facing each other. Josephine briefly introduced Brad and Mark to each other even though she suspected Brad already knew him since he approached his family for membership on a regular basis.

  “I wanted to congratulate you on your victory against the Valituras and to warn you not to let your guard down. They are still a threat and will probably take action against you at some point either to make you one of them or to kill you,” Brad said.

  His words chilled Josephine. “I’m already aware of that.”

  “You should limit your trips in public where you’re vulnerable and make your behavior less predictable. For example, your beach jogs are a perfect spot to ambush you.”

  “I hate to give that up but I suppose you’re right.”

  “The Valituras are still monitoring the beach even though you’ve got them on the run,” Brad warned.

  “What about me? I like to go just about every night with Nathan,” Helen interjected.

  “The Valituras know you’re close to Josephine so it isn’t safe anymore.”

  “Nathan and I think we may have discovered a secret about the vortex and I’m not sure we can give it up.”

  “What secret?” Brad eyed her with a dubious frown.

  Josephine and Mark gazed at Helen with expectation and she hesitated.

  “Well, we’ve discovered that we don’t need to feed anymore since we started connecting to the vortex every night.” Helen spoke slowly as if unsure she wanted to let them know about this.

  “That’s great news!” Josephine exclaimed and hugged her friend with delight. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “We didn’t figure it out until yesterday. We were talking and realized that normally we had to feed once every day or two but it’s been over a week. Alice is still drinking blood but she hasn’t tapped into the Siesta Key vortex.”

  “I’m surprised all succubi and vampires don’t know about this,” Josephine said.

  “You have to realize that fives and sixes are only thirty percent of the population and sixes are outlawed from accessing the vortexes,” Brad pointed out.

  “That’s true but there are enough fives that should have figured it out.”

  “But those cursed with immortality are isolated because the Valituras compel them to never reveal their condition. The few people who might learn about it wouldn’t have anyone to share the secret with.”

  “What a terrible burden to bear,” Josephine said.

  “If too many members of the Valituras are arrested and their numbers dwindle, the vampires and succubi won’t be forced to live in secret anymore,” Brad said. He leaned forward and an earnest expression transformed his face. “I want you to know the Phoenix Community is sympathetic towards your dire situation with Jake. I’ve brought two potent enchantments that you can use on him.”

  “Are there any side-effects or prices to pay like the immortality curse?” Josephine asked.

  “They’re advanced but constructed with mainstream magic so there are no negative side-effects.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. The praesentia infinitus has a big drawback as far as I’m concerned.”

  “You know about that?” Brad was clearly taken aback but then he glanced at Mark and his eyes registered understanding. “Of course, the Freemans have that spell in their archives.”

  Brad had to stand up so he could remove two wands concealed in his jeans. They were white medical wands and brimming with powerful magic. Josephine accepted them with heartfelt gratitude.

  “These are advanced antidotes and there are three different ones in each wand that are programmed to work together to make a huge impact against a variety of curses,” Brad explained. “Try each wand separately for the best results.”

  “Why are you helping me? Potent magic like this doesn’t grow on trees,” Josephine said.

  “We’d like to keep you as a friend and maybe someday you’ll decide to join us.”

  The last thing she wanted to do was live in seclusion with a bunch of extremists. However, it wouldn’t hurt to have an ally.

  “Thank you for your generosity,” Josephine said with heartfelt appreciation.

  “You’re welcome.” Brad leveled a warm smile at her then turned to address Mark. “Your great-grandmother, Emily Freeman, says hi. She misses you but wants you to know she’s doing well and loves you.”

  “Thanks,” Mark murmured with surprise.

  When Brad left, they stood at the front doorway watching him leave until he vanished.

  “Was that a teleportation spell or invisibility?” Josephine wondered.

  “There’s no way to tell when they use subtle magic,” Helen responded. Her attention shifted to Mark. “Did your grandmother join the Phoenix Community recently?”

  “A few months ago. We never hear from them directly once they join because only the senior members can ever leave their cities for safety reasons and they can’t call or write either. I’m glad he passed the message along.”

  “It sounds disturbing,” Helen remarked.

  “My family considers it the greatest honor to be asked into their organization,” Mark said.

  The entire issue of secrecy and isolation bothered Josephine although she could understand their reasons. Now that Josephine had three possible cures in her possession, a sense of dread and anticipation spurred her to action. Mark drove them to the hospital in his black SUV which Josephine was grateful for. By the time she reached Jake’s room, her stomach was clenched in a tight knot and adrenaline surged through her veins. Her grandson was so pallid in his hospital gown as he lay in the bed unconscious that he looked dead. Breathing tubes were stuck down Jake’s throat and IV needles were attached to his left arm. The heart monitor beeped at his side. Mark and Helen stood on either side of Josephine in silent support as she pul
led out the first wand Brad Lyons had given her.

  Josephine checked the handle on the wand to be sure it wasn’t the one she’d made. The thought of healing her grandson with the praesentia infinitus by mistake terrified her. She took a deep breath as she pointed the first wand at Jake and activated it. A radiant gold luminescence shone from the tip of the wand for several seconds before a stream of sparkling gold energy emerged from it. The energy from the three enchantments in the wand worked in unison and gushed over Jake’s body. Josephine’s magical senses were wide open so she could perceive the effectiveness of the spells. The curse remained unmoved for a long moment then it began to vibrate as the magic from the enchantment continued to bombard it. All too soon, the enchantment of the wand began to falter and the curse was still holding strong. When the energy reserves in the wand were depleted, the curse still resided in Jake.

  Josephine was so disappointed and frustrated she wanted to hurl the wand across the room or snap it in half. Instead, she set it in her belt and withdraw the next wand. Mark and Helen watched her with sympathy but didn’t speak as they knew time was of the essence. Josephine activated the next enchantment and watched the beautiful stream of energy cascade into her grandson. The dark energy of the curse held steady against the bombardment of the enchantment. Josephine chewed savagely on her lower lip as she willed Jake to recover. Several long moments passed before the curse began to vibrate in reaction to the healing enchantments. Unfortunately, the energy reserves in the wand were almost gone. Grief and anguish tore through Josephine as she could see this was the same reaction the curse had with the first enchantment. With determined resolve, she forced herself to continue even though the healing spell would end in mere seconds.

  The curse began to destabilize and new hope flared within Josephine. In the next instant, the bright luminescence of the wand flickered then winked out of existence as the spell died. Mark turned to gaze at Josephine but she and Helen continued to watch Jake. The remaining energy from the healing enchantment still swirled within Jake’s body, melting into the weakened curse. Josephine held her breath as she watched with fervent anticipation. Finally, the curse dissipated completely.