Grumpy Old Wizards

by John O'Riley

  “If you don’t stop what you’re doing, I’ll kill you,” Josephine’s powerful voice erupted loudly from various angles of the room.

  Morgan was once again tossed back against the wall. He managed to keep his grip on his wand and the enchantment remained active. His feet dangled helplessly above the floor but his dampening field had strengthened a bit more and he was slowly lowering. Josephine could see with her second sight that Morgan had finally succeeded in connecting their minds. Josephine abruptly found herself back in her body and slumped against the bed. Dizziness and chaos danced across her mind as memories flashed randomly. Abruptly, the uncomfortable sensations vanished and Josephine pushed herself back up to her feet. She sensed a distinct absence in her mind and realized that her connection with Gary had been severed. The gold light in Morgan’s wand and eyes winked out of existence as a superior smile curved his lips.

  “I was successful in removing the link,” he said.

  “Good for you,” Josephine bit out.

  “You should be grateful. Your subconscious was blended with Gary’s via the link so it may not have been making you behave in your best interests,” Morgan said.

  “What gives you the right to barge into my bedroom like that? The last time I checked, this was a free country.”

  “These are extraordinary circumstances. Your mind was being damaged by the link. I had to fix it,” Morgan said coolly.

  “Now that you’ve done your work, you can get the hell out of my room, jackass,” Josephine snapped.

  “All right,” Morgan said with a trace of irritation. “But I’m leaving because I choose to do so.”

  He walked out of the room and Josephine unleashed a burst of telekinetic energy which slammed the door shut behind him. She paced in her room for several moments, wishing she didn’t have to come out and face the world. She didn’t want Morgan in her life anymore. He didn’t feel like he offered any sort of protection against the serial killer. He was a bully and ineffectual even if he had managed to sever the link between herself and Gary. Josephine forced herself to leave her room and start a pot of coffee. Morgan was sitting on her couch talking on his cell phone. He pointedly ignored her as she passed him by. Josephine took a long, hot shower then dressed. Helen arrived a short while later. She seemed taken aback to find Morgan there. Gary joined them for coffee a short while later.

  “What are you doing here?” Helen asked.

  “Gary and I have to stay together. Jennifer and Morgan will be watching over us and protecting us from the serial killer,” Josephine said with scalding sarcasm.

  “Where’s Jennifer?”

  “She’s in the other guest room. Morgan spent the night on the couch where he belongs,” Josephine said dryly.

  She noticed that Morgan was speaking in hushed tones now over his cell and that he vacated the room for more privacy. As if anyone cared about whatever he was saying.

  “What an intrusion on your privacy,” Helen said. “I don’t know how you can stand it.”

  “I don’t either,” Josephine said.

  “I felt it when he severed our link,” Gary said.

  “I knew you would,” Josephine said.

  “What happened?” Helen asked.

  Josephine glanced at the living room to be sure Morgan was still out of ear shot then quickly relayed last night’s events.

  “That’s terrible!” Helen exclaimed. “What a terrible violation! He should be punished! I’m sure it can’t be legal.”

  “I’m afraid it is,” Gary said sadly.

  “The laws need to be changed. Enforcers shouldn’t be able to take such actions without worrying about consequences,” Helen said passionately.

  They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Josephine pondered her situation and wondered why she was so unlucky. Abruptly, she realized Alice was extremely late and commented on this observation.

  “How strange,” Helen said. “It’s really unlike her.”

  “Maybe we should call her condo and see what’s wrong,” Josephine said.

  She dialed Alice’s number and she didn’t answer. Josephine replaced the receiver with a concerned frown.

  “What is it?” Morgan entered the kitchen with an intense, troubled look on his face.

  “Alice is late and she’s not answering her phone,” Josephine said.

  “We should make sure she’s all right,” Morgan said sharply.

  “The serial killer is still in Seattle, isn’t he?” Josephine asked.

  “Yes, he is.” Morgan relaxed a little at this reminder but an underlying tension remained.

  The doorbell rang and Josephine was relieved to find Alice had arrived.

  “Come in. We were worried about you,” Josephine said.

  “I’m sorry about that. I was watching the news and I wanted to catch all the important details. You and Helen will want to know about this,” Alice said.

  Morgan stiffened visibly and his jaw clenched.

  “You’re probably worried about the latest developments,” Alice taunted him.

  “The MEA is working on the problem,” he said tersely.

  “What’s going on?” Josephine asked.

  She shut the door when Alice stepped into the room and followed her to the kitchen.

  “The killer tapped into the vortex in Seattle, Washington three times yesterday,” Alice said as she poured herself a mug of coffee.

  “Really?” Josephine was surprised to hear this. She would expect that the serial killer would start to become more cautious now that he was closer to home.

  “Yes, and knocked out practically everyone in the entire county each of the three times. The last time, eighty-nine people were killed because the knock-out spell was much stronger and disrupted the body’s autonomic nervous system. Six enforcers guarding the vortex in Seattle were attacked and murdered,” Alice said.

  “He caught them by surprise. It won’t happen again,” Morgan said.

  Jennifer approached them from the living room. Her intense blue eyes gauged the situation but she refrained from taking part in the conversation. She wordlessly stepped over to the coffee pot and took the last of the coffee.

  “I should make some more,” Josephine said in spite of the shocking news that her friend had just imparted.

  “There is nothing to worry about,” Morgan said.

  “Why are you so tense then?” Alice asked shrewdly.

  “Because the serial killer is still loose. I’m sure his days are numbered though.”

  “I thought you already figured out who it was,” Alice said. “Wasn’t it Frank? Why haven’t you locked him up yet?”

  “He already did,” Jennifer cut in.

  “What?” Josephine asked with surprise.

  “Frank was put in jail yesterday afternoon. The serial killer connected with the vortex two additional times afterward which exonerated him,” Jennifer said. “We have no idea who the killer is.”

  “Sure we do.” Morgan pinned Gary with a disapproving look. “We just need to get more cooperation from Gary. Obviously, you didn’t tell me all of your friends that you keep in contact with. One of them is the killer. Your subconscious knows it. That’s why your mind is so stressed. One of your friends has been controlling your mind periodically throughout your life. You’ve been used.”

  Gary’s eyes shifted so that he was no longer focused on anything. The temperature in the room plummeted. Morgan shifted nervously and stepped closer to Gary.

  “What are you doing?” Morgan demanded.

  Gary was no longer aware of anyone in the room. Josephine could tell he’d fallen into a fugue state. Morgan quickly brought up a dampening field to protect himself from magical attacks. Josephine shivered as a frigid breeze wafted over her. It was so cold now. Gary abruptly snapped out of his trance and his eyes roved through the room with disorientation.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “You were in a fugue state,” Josephine said.

  “What did I do?” Gary
asked.

  “Nothing,” Josephine said.

  “You made it really cold in here,” Alice interjected.

  “This is exactly why it was necessary to sever the link between you and Gary,” Morgan said to Josephine. “There’s no predicting what can happen when you have a splintered subconscious.”

  “You certainly know how to toss around buzz words and psychobabble,” Alice said.

  “I do have a general education in the psychology field as do all enforcers,” Morgan said stoically.

  “Why are you still in charge of this investigation when the killer lives in Seattle?” Alice asked.

  “It hasn’t been proven that Seattle is his home,” Morgan argued. “That was based on deduction from clues that Josephine picked up at the police station and at crime scenes. It’s certainly possible that the killer is trying to throw us off track by spending time in Seattle.”

  “Why would he do that?” Alice said.

  “One reason could be to cause the MEA to relocate its enforcers. Maybe he’s hoping that Josephine and Gary will no longer be guarded and thus become easy prey.”

  “That sounds very far fetched,” Alice said in a challenging tone.

  Josephine had to disagree with her friend. The serial killer possessed a cold and calculating mind. This scenario was certainly a plan that he might come up with if he wanted Josephine and Gary eliminated as threats. She wasn’t about to credit Morgan verbally though.

  “Maybe we should just relax and talk about something else,” Helen said shakily. “I’m tired of thinking about murders.”

  “All right.” Alice smiled tightly at her friend.

  After finishing their coffee, Alice and Helen left rather than play cards. They didn’t really enjoy it when Morgan was around which was another reason why Josephine wanted to kick his sorry ass out of her condo. Gary and Josephine were still seated at the table with half empty mugs of coffee. Morgan was standing nearby leaning against the kitchen counter. Jennifer was seated by herself and working on her notebook computer. Gary looked stressed and his expression guarded. He obviously wasn’t in the mood to be sociable so Josephine just let the time pass.

  “Whenever you two are finished, we need to report to the police station and read crime scene evidence again,” Morgan said.

  “It’s such a waste of time. Why do you insist on making us do that?” Josephine asked.

  “You learned something new the last time we went.”

  “That was when I was in a fugue state because my subconscious was linked with Gary’s. I no longer have that advantage. If you’ll think back to this morning, you removed that advantage. I don’t see why we should continue to waste our efforts,” she said.

  “We need to keep trying,” Morgan said obstinately.

  “Isn’t there something else we could do instead?” Josephine asked.

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then it’s the police station,” Morgan said.

  “At least let Gary finish his coffee,” Josephine said.

  “I’m just about done,” Gary said.

  The doorbell rang and she went to answer it. Morgan was trailing close behind her. She checked the peephole first and was surprised to see Vickie Richardson. She opened the door and opened her mouth to tell her that now wasn’t the time but Vickie was faster.

  “I’m sorry to come in unannounced like this but I really need your help,” Vickie blurted.

  “Now isn’t a good time,” Josephine said.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt. It looks like you have company. Would it be all right if we talked privately for a moment?” Vickie said.

  “I recognize you from the crime photo,” Morgan said abruptly. “You’re Vickie Richardson.”

  Vickie’s brown eyes locked with his. “Crime scene photo?”

  “Yes, you’re one of the victims of the serial killer I’m trying to catch,” Morgan said. “I need you to come inside.”

  “You do?” Vickie asked.

  “Yes, please enter.”

  “Can I see some I.D. first?” Vickie said politely.

  Morgan impatiently whipped out his badge and showed it to her. Vickie inspected it closely before nodding.

  “Okay, I’ll come inside,” Vickie said.

  “It’s actually good to see you,” Morgan said. “You may be some help to us. Josephine and Gary have been reading crime scene evidence for the police in order to track down the serial killer. You’re one of his victims. You may have trace energy that could be read.”

  “You really think so? After all this time?” Vickie asked.

  “You’re a category six now so you won’t generate much trace energy of your own. That means you’ll have less junk for Josephine and Gary to weed through. Yes, this is a great idea.”

  “I don’t know about this,” Josephine said. “The trace energy is probably degraded by now. It dissipates quickly on people.”

  “Not with category six wizards and sometimes traumatic events like this can create more substantial trace energies,” Morgan said.

  “What did you need me to do?” Vickie asked.

  “Just sit down on the couch and try to relax. Josephine and Gary will try to read your energy,” Morgan said.

  Gary and Josephine sat down on the couch facing her. Josephine carefully scrutinized the subtle energies that drifted around Vickie. It didn’t surprise her to find hardly anything there. She reached out with her mind and brushed the surface of the different strands to determine if any related to the attack that had almost killed her. It didn’t take long to find the appropriate one but she wasn’t sure there was enough left to read. A series of faint impressions flashed through her mind in a meaningless jumble. She focused harder and could feel the killer’s general mood. He was hopeful and anticipating something. No further impressions came to her but Josephine didn’t give up. She kept focused on the energy strand and went deeper. Hopefully, more information would surface.

  She shivered and realized the room had grown cold. She lost her focus on the energy strand and realized Gary’s mind was exploding with energy. She sensed his focus on reading Vickie but something was wrong. There were opposing forces at work in his mind; as if it was splintered and the different parts were working against each other.

  “It hurts,” Gary said quietly.

  His brows furrowed in concentration and he squeezed his eyes shut.

  “What are you seeing?” Morgan asked eagerly.

  “The killer has been working hard for something,” Gary said in a tight voice.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s like he has a goal. It’s like he’s been experimenting or something.” Gary groaned softly and clutched his head with both hands. A thin trail of blood trickled from his nose. One of Josephine’s lamps toppled over and crashed to the floor. Jennifer and Morgan flinched but their gaze intensified on Gary.

  “Keep trying,” Jennifer said. “Tell us what you see.”

  “I see Vickie lying on the floor. The killer presses his fingers against her wrist. He’s checking for a pulse and he’s disappointed that she’s dead. He thought she would be alive.”

  One of the walls pounded as though a fist had slammed into it. The front door burst open on its own and the lights overhead intensified then returned to normal.

  “Focus on the energy strand! Keep the vision in your mind,” Morgan said intently. “Don’t let go of it.”

  “I have to,” Gary said.

  “You need to keep focused. Don’t let the vision leave. You must hang onto it,” Morgan said.

  “The killer is so disappointed. He’d thought he’d fixed the problem,” Gary said.

  “What problem? Do you know what the purpose of these murders are?”

  “There’s some sort of book that he found a long time ago. It gave him the idea,” Gary said. “He’s been trying to create the perfect enchantment.”

  “What will the spell do?” Morgan said.

  “I don’
t know,” Gary said tightly.

  He breathed heavily and the wall pounded loudly once again. The cushion between Gary and Josephine exploded and stuffing burst into the air. Josephine screamed with surprise but Morgan and Jennifer kept their attention fixed squarely on Gary.

  “Keep your focus. Hold onto the vision,” Morgan said intently.

  She realized that he held a metallic object in his right fist which was emitting a red luminescence. Jennifer also had one. An enchantment was enveloping Gary’s mind and Josephine suspected it was some sort of mind control. The enforcers were making him keep hold of a vision that was hurting him.

  “Stop it!” Vickie exclaimed and abruptly stood up from the couch.

  “Sit down,” Morgan shouted but he kept his gaze glued to Gary.

  “What in the hell are you doing to him?” Vickie demanded.

  “We’re helping him to read the trace energy left by the killer. Don’t impede with this process,” Morgan said coldly. “If Gary loses the vision because of your actions, you will suffer the consequences.”

  Vickie blanched at the threat and reluctantly sat down. The cushion beside her exploded and more white stuffing blew into the air. Vickie screamed shrilly but Gary still seemed focused on the vision.

  “I have to stop,” Gary said.

  “You can’t stop. You have to go on,” Morgan said forcefully. “Tell us what you see.”

  “The book is very important. It has lots of information. It’s a diary of some sort.”

  “Can you see a name in the diary?” Morgan asked loudly.

  “No, I can’t.”

  “Try harder!”

  “I can’t see any details. It’s just very important. The killer has read about the life of a wizard. I think it has something to do with the Disaster,” Gary said pensively.

  He shouted loudly and his body jerked as though terrible pain wracked it. He abruptly passed out. His body collapsed in an untidy heap on the floor. Vickie shot to her feet and backed away from him.

  “I can’t believe you couldn’t sit still for a few lousy minutes,” Morgan said heatedly.

  The unnatural chill that permeated the room was swiftly dissipating. Josephine knelt over Gary and could see that wild energy danced across his body. It was disrupting his autonomic nervous system. She pressed her finger against his neck and could determine the pulse was weak and thready.