by John O'Riley
“It’s okay, Josephine. She’ll understand that we’re trying to help her. If the water turns blue, then we don’t even have to talk about it,” Helen said.
Alice arrived shortly and joined them with a mug of coffee. Jake started shuffling the cards. He passed them out to everyone and they started playing.
“I just wanted to apologize for what I said yesterday.” Alice directed a warm smile at Mark. “I’ve always been very opinionated about white magic but you’re a good person and the perfect match for Josephine. I’m very sorry for insulting you and being such an idiot.”
“I appreciate that. A lot of people share your beliefs so I’ll have to learn to shrug off those types of criticisms. And I accept your apology,” Mark said.
“Thanks, sweetie.” Alice beamed at him then fixed her attention on Helen who was still taking her turn.
Josephine relaxed and was relieved to see Alice behaving like her old self again. She won the first round and it was her turn to shuffle the cards. When Josephine finished handing out the cards and taking a look at what she’d dealt herself, she couldn’t believe her luck. She already had three aces and two kings. Hopefully, whoever had that remaining ace wouldn’t hoard it. As the game progressed, Josephine kept a vigilant eye out for it. Alice focused on Jake as he ended his turn.
“You’re going back to work tomorrow, right?” she asked.
“Yes, I’ve made a full recovery. I’ve enjoyed staying with Josephine though.”
“It’s a shame you can’t take another week off. It makes things more interesting when we have more players,” Alice observed.
“Maybe I’ll have to make a point of coming over on the weekends more often,” Jake said.
Josephine took another sip of her coffee. When she set the mug down, she noticed the water in the glass was swirling gently as though being stirred. She stared at the water and waited for the blue color to take effect. After several seconds, a small red blob appeared near the center. The red cloud slowly grew until it colored all of the water so it resembled blood. Josephine blinked with surprise and a cold dread shivered down her spine. She couldn’t believe her eyes. How was this possible? Alice was behaving like her old self and had even apologized for being rude.
“That makes me thirsty,” Alice announced.
Josephine’s gaze rose to meet Alice’s whose amiable smile was the same as always. After several seconds, Alice’s smile widened and her vibrant green eyes darkened with pleasure.
“That feels so good,” she murmured.
“What does?” Josephine asked.
“The fear that you’re all pumping in the air right now. I think it has something to do with that delicious-looking, blood-colored water,” Alice said.
“You’re right.” Josephine’s body tensed as terror assailed her senses. Alice had pretended to be normal so easily. This morning cup of coffee and playing cards with her two best friends was such a long-standing tradition, it very well might be the only thing that had kept her in line so far. “I was worried about you because of the outburst yesterday so I decided to have this detection spell made.”
“I see.” Alice grinned with amusement. “And what does this little device test me for?”
“There’s a darkness in you. It sometimes happens to people when they transition into a vampire. Something doesn’t take quite right. It’s kind of an additional side-effect of the immortality curse.”
“How interesting.” Alice paused to take a casual sip of her coffee. She placed the mug down with care as her gaze remained locked with Josephine’s. “What’s the antidote for this unfortunate side-effect?”
“We need to cure you of vampirism.”
Alice chuckled with amusement. “But I don’t want to lose my immortality. It’s such a wonderful gift you’ve given me.”
“I didn’t curse you. It was Lorcan.”
“I’m not blaming you for my condition. I let it happen. I wanted it.” Alice leaned back a bit in her chair. “I still do.”
“But you’ll lose all your humanity! You’ll no longer be Alice!” Josephine cried out in alarm.
“Humanity is highly overrated. I’m sure it’s already gone. It feels so liberating. There’s only one thing left that bothers me and that’s the anger that sometimes comes out of nowhere and just takes over.”
“What about the need to drink blood?” Helen demanded.
“I don’t mind that at all. In fact, I enjoy it. It feels better than anything I’ve ever experienced in my entire life!”
“Even better than sex?” Mark asked.
“Much better,” Alice confirmed. “And I get a thrill out of knowing my victim can do nothing to stop me from stealing part of his life-sustaining blood. I’ve drank from Dale so much that he was hospitalized for anemia.”
“That’s awful! How could you do that?” Helen regarded her with outraged disbelief.
“He deserves it. He’s been hounding poor Josephine for years just because she’s a category six and he doesn’t feel she has the right to live in a retirement community. I kind of feel like the hand of justice.”
“I don’t think anyone deserves to be treated that way – not even Dale,” Josephine interjected.
Alice’s expression turned glacial. “I’m sorry you don’t agree. The point is that I finally have the perfect life and I’m not going to let you take it away from me.”
“I still have the praesentia infinitus enchantment.” Josephine rose to her feet and withdrew the wand from her inner belt.
“You’re forgetting one very small but important detail, sweetie.” Alice leveled a malevolent smile at her. “You can’t force that spell on ANYONE. If I don’t accept it, it will have absolutely no effect on me.”
Josephine couldn’t believe she’d forgotten about that. Jake, Mark, and Helen wore stunned expressions on their faces so this hadn’t occurred to them either. Josephine still held the wand so it was pointed at Alice as her thoughts churned wildly. Surely, there was something she could do.
“Put that thing away before someone gets hurt,” Alice said in a threatening tone.
“Do you hear yourself? You would hurt your own friend? Does that sound like someone you want to be?” Josephine cast a pleading look at her, hoping she would finally see reason.
“I would never hurt you or any of my other dear friends here.” Alice’s luscious, red lips curved in a malevolent smile as she slowly rose to her feet. Josephine’s heart hammered wildly in her chest and everyone froze as they watched the vampire with undisguised terror. With supernatural speed, Alice circled the table and grabbed Mark by the throat, hauling him up into the air and pinning him to the wall on the other side of the room. Mark could barely breathe as Alice continued to restrain him easily with just one hand. Alice turned her head to the side so she could watch both him and the other occupants of the room.
“Mark is more of an acquaintance,” Alice said in a husky tone. “We hardly know each other.”
“Please let him go!” Josephine pleaded.
“He’s so young and handsome. I’ll bet he tastes delicious.”
“If you hurt him, our friendship is over,” Josephine warned.
Alice turned her head a bit more so she could meet her friend’s gaze. Josephine flinched when she saw that her eyes had gone completely black. A tense silence plunged in the room as everyone waited for Alice to make a decision. Alice opened her mouth to reveal her fangs then swiveled to face Mark with inhuman speed. Before anyone could react, she sank her teeth into his neck and drank. Mark’s brown eyes widened with panic and he tried to shove her away but she was too strong. Helen and Jake leapt to their feet and moved toward Alice and Mark to help. Josephine activated the praesentia infinitus. A bright white stream of energy spilled from the end of the wand and rushed over to Alice. Instead of sinking into her body, the sparkling white light circled around her. Alice lifted her head from Mark to reveal the puncture wounds. She dropped his body to the floor and turned to fix her black-eyed gaze on J
osephine.
“That was very foolish,” Alice chided her. “You wasted your praesentia infinitus on me for nothing. I told you I would reject it.”
“If there’s any trace of my real Alice left in there, I’m hoping that’s all it takes to accept the spell,” Josephine said heatedly.
The sparkling white light continued to swirl around Alice. Josephine let her arm fall to the side as the power in the wand was all used up. Alice centered her attention on Jake and swept her tongue over the two drops of Mark’s blood that had spilled on her lower lip.
“You’re such a stud, Jake,” Alice said in a husky voice. Jake and Helen both activated their protection enchantments. Alice took a languid step closer to the two of them. “Vampires have abilities you may not know about.”
“Even YOU can’t step through shields,” Helen said.
Without warning, the sparkling white luminescence swirling over Alice began to seep into her body. Alice’s black-eyed gaze widened with surprise and she shrieked as the praesentia infinitus continued to sink into her flesh. After several seconds, it was gone and Alice’s eyes reverted to their normal shade of green but her body remained tense. Her gaze was distant as she stood very still as if frozen to the spot. Her body began to radiate with a soft white luminescence that slowly intensified until the bright glow of the spell was all that remained visible. The energy from the spell permeated every cell of her body and set to work transforming her and reshaping every strand of DNA from the ground up. Josephine’s attention snapped back to Mark who was lying unconscious or dead on the floor nearby.
The puncture holes in his neck had closed up to leave smooth skin and a smear of blood. Josephine knelt beside him and checked for a pulse. Relief washed over her when she discovered he was alive and well. The intense white light was fading now. Josephine turned to look and saw Alice standing in the exact same spot as before. Soon, all traces of the radiant luminescence was gone. Alice took a deep breath and fixed a joyful smile at Helen and Jake who she was still facing.
“It worked.” Alice’s smile dropped away and was replaced with an expression of pained regret. She turned to gaze at Josephine. “I’m so sorry. That wasn’t me. You were right about the darkness. It was like being trapped inside my own mind. I could see and feel everything happening to me but I had no control.”
“I’m glad you’re back.” Josephine offered a weak smile but she couldn’t brush away the horrifying images of her friend’s recent actions. The horror and the desperation still clung to her even though she knew it hadn’t really been Alice.
“I don’t know if I can live with myself after what I’ve done,” Alice whispered.
“Alice, you have to be careful or you could die,” Helen warned her.
“I know.” Alice’s vivid green eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“You’re not responsible for what happened. The dark mind had complete control of you,” Josephine said.
“It seems to me that I should have been able to do something to warn you. I don’t deserve to live.”
Jake and Helen deactivated their shields and approached Alice. Her body began to glow with a sparkling white luminescence once again as the praesentia infinitus initiated the process of ending her corporeal existence so she would pass on.
“Don’t leave us,” Helen pleaded.
Josephine continued to hold Mark against her as she watched Alice. The thought of losing her friend again filled her with a sudden desperation. She was afraid to let go of Mark though and planned on getting him to the hospital.
“Alice, you’ve been my friend forever. I don’t want to lose you,” Josephine said.
Alice turned and peered at her with sadness.
“I should have found a way to get rid of that darkness,” she said.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Josephine said.
“I can’t do it,” Alice said in a grievous tone. “I can’t live with myself after what’s happened.”
“Mark isn’t dead,” Josephine argued.
Alice’s body was obscured by the brilliant, white glow.
“It’s so beautiful on the other side. Don’t grieve for me.” Alice’s voice sounded faraway and echoed slightly.
“Alice, don’t go!” Josephine shouted.
Mark’s eyes fluttered open and his attention swung towards the blazing luminescence nearby. Several seconds later, the intense white light was gone but Alice remained standing there. Josephine gasped with surprise and regarded her friend with puzzlement.
“I’ve never been one to take the easy way out,” Alice said as she brushed her tears away with the back of her hand. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for awhile longer.”
Helen and Jake wrapped their arms around Alice in a welcoming embrace. Josephine and Mark joined them for a group hug.
Chapter 22
Josephine wondered if she would ever get used to meeting with Ben Nutter in his office. Her body was tensed and she was ready for more bad news as the chief of police continued speaking in his booming voice.
“The Florida State AMDS has added you to the contact list so you will be immediately notified if anyone who is armed with dark magic comes within three miles of the Siesta Key power vortex,” the chief of police advised. His expression turned sympathetic and he leaned forward just a bit. “I can see how stressed you are about Lorcan’s threats but you can’t let him get to you. You’re already taking all the necessary precautions and your home is more secure than I’ve ever seen. You’re not an easy target for him and you’re not in this alone.”
“Thank you for the pep talk but I’m just as concerned for Jake, Alice, and Helen as I am for myself.”
“We’ve got undercover OC enforcers watching their homes. The minute Lorcan shows up, we’ll be notified here and we’ll apprehend him.”
“I appreciate your support.” Josephine knew it wasn’t going to be so easy to catch a member of the Valituras. They’d been completely taken by surprise and hadn’t had the chance to use any of their advanced magic. When Lorcan made his move, he would be armed to the teeth. Josephine had sensed his rage and ruthlessness in that threatening letter and he didn’t care anymore about depleting the resources that he’d amassed over the centuries. His single motivation right now was revenge.
“Let me emphasize that right now you are completely safe. The police station is protected by powerful wards. We’ve got enforcers armed with the most sophisticated magic available. There are no Valituras agents spying on us nor do we have anyone under the influence of mind control magic thanks to you. So relax, Josephine. As of this moment, you are completely safe.”
Josephine felt some of the tension in her body ease away as a result of his heartfelt speech.
“You’re right. Lorcan wouldn’t dream of attack me here.” A relieved smile spread across her face.
Suddenly, alarms blared and Josephine flinched with surprise. She leapt to her feet and her gaze flitted around the room with panic. She and Ben left his office to see what had occurred. There was a commotion in the lobby and all of the officers were packed inside or trying to get a view from the next room. Alex and Jake were positioned on the outer edge of the group.
“What’s going on?” Ben barked in an authoritative voice that ripped through the frantic shouting.
“The knockout cloud that was used to break into the prisons is surrounding the station,” Jake explained.
“There’s no way it can get through,” Alex said.
“How did it get into the prisons then?” Josephine asked. “I’m going to try and deactivate it.”
She opened her psychic senses and probed at the complex tapestry of magic woven together to form the writhing red smoke that pressed into the wards. Even as she studied the mind boggling design of the knockout cloud, she could see it somehow integrating itself into the ward. It reminded her of how viruses infected host cells in a body. Almost all layers of the ward were already compromised. Josephine had an idea but there was virtually no time to impleme
nt it. She worked with deft sweeps of power and formed a thin plating of protection over the last layer of the ward. She finished just as the sickly red energy of the spell reached the last protective sheeting of protection. Josephine heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the dark spell slide off the surface of what she’d just crafted. It couldn’t get a firm grip to latch onto just yet but that wouldn’t last because her creation was weak and flimsy. She’d only earned a short delay.
Josephine poured energy into the key components of the knockout cloud, causing the spell to grow exponentially outward. It still pressed against the station but its grip loosened considerably. She didn’t relax her guard though and continued to focus on her work. After a long moment, she realized something was terribly wrong. The complicated weave of energy cords that comprised the knockout cloud continued to hold strong and weren’t showing any signs of deterioration. Josephine stretched her awareness farther out to the edges of the crimson smoke and looked for any sign of an activation point. Her hands balled into tight fists of frustration and anxiety as she sensed the ward around the police station buckle under the pressure. She finally detected dozens of energy points where she suspected the spell had originated. Josephine focused on one of the areas and a circular flat stone materialized in her mind’s eye. It looked like what you would find on a riverbed. There was nothing remarkable about its appearance.
Before she had the chance to start studying the energy composition of this activation point of the spell, the wards failed completely and red smoke billowed into the lobby. Josephine, Ben, Jake, and Alex were the farthest from the knockout spell in the room and they ran towards the back of the station. Everyone in the lobby collapsed into unconscious heaps. The red smoke rushed across the floor and knocked out the others trailing behind Josephine and her three companions. It was much faster than the one at the prison. Josephine suspected that was because Lorcan had used a lot more of the knockout stones than the one who’d rescued him.