by John O'Riley
Josephine hesitated with indecision. She glanced at Mark then returned her attention back to Cyril. She didn’t want to leave herself open for any surprise attacks. She debated silently with herself then finally turned to address Mark.
“I’ll support whatever decision you make.”
“I think you should accept their offer,” Mark advised.
Josephine returned her attention back to Cyril. “All right. I’ll do it.”
“Excellent!” Elizabeth smiled with approval and removed a large blue opal. “This contains the secrecy enchantment.”
“Do you always carry one of those with you?” Alice asked.
Elizabeth threw her a surprised look. “Of course. Keeping the family legacy a secret is of the utmost importance.” She fixed her attention back to Josephine. “Just place your hand on top of the stone and activate the enchantment.”
Josephine scanned the spell embedded in the stone to confirm it wasn’t a memory suppression spell or something else. When she was satisfied this wasn’t a trap, she rested her hand on the stone and activated the enchantment. The opal flared briefly with a shimmering blue radiance and the spell snapped into place. Alice and Helen took the secrecy enchantment as well.
“I didn’t get the chance to finish telling you everything,” Josephine advised.
“There’s more?” Alice’s eyes shone with eagerness.
“Mark’s spell somehow prevented anyone from using the family enchantments. No one has access anymore,” Josephine said.
Cyril’s brown eyes registered ire. “That’s correct. No one is able to use any of the spells – not even the mirrors.”
“You flew down here on a plane then,” Mark said. “That’s why you called Nathan. You were checking to see if I’d talked to him about our fight and if I’d restricted access to the family on purpose.”
“Did you?” Cyril asked with forced calm.
“No.”
“Would you please remove the spell, Mark?” Elizabeth asked.
“All right. And after that, I don’t want to hear from any of you again. You’re the ones who wanted to shun me so I’m just making you see it through. The only thing you bring me is pain and misery and I don’t see any reason to put up with that. I’ll have my mirror shipped to you right away.”
“Please don’t do anything rash. I do realize your father loses his temper sometimes but family is important.”
“If it’s so important, why would you be willing to shun me?”
“It’s the Freeman temper, I’m afraid.” Elizabeth’s tone was regretful and apologetic. “We’re so sorry about that outburst. Furthermore, we discussed you in great detail and decided that we should allow you to continue your work with white magic. If it’s that important to you, we don’t want to stand in your way.”
“You’re lying,” Josephine murmured.
“I know she is,” Mark confirmed. “There’s no way that my parents could feel this way. There must be some financial repercussions at work or some strategy involved.”
“We’re not heartless. We do love you,” Elizabeth said.
“All right. As long as you stop trying to interfere with my life, I accept your apology,” Mark said.
“Thank you,” Elizabeth said.
“Thank you, Mark,” Cyril said in a gruff tone.
“All right. I’ll try to undo the spell that’s restricting access to the family. You didn’t happen to bring your scepter with you?” Mark asked.
“It’s in the trunk of the car,” Cyril said.
“Of course it is.” Mark’s lips twitched in an amused smile.
Cyril was quick to return with the scepter.
“Wow! That’s a beauty!” Alice exclaimed.
“We have a large inventory of similar treasures,” Cyril boasted.
“I wish I could have something like that.” Alice eyed the scepter with envy.
Cyril handed it to Mark. Josephine watched her boyfriend work his magic. The red ruby on top of the scepter glowed with a bright red luminescence. Cyril and Elizabeth both watched their son with obvious hope and anxiety. It was clear that they feared Mark’s spell may prove impossible to reverse. Josephine scanned the enchantment and marveled at the complexity. After a moment, a wave of light energy surged out from the scepter. As it passed over everyone in the room, a sense of joy and tranquility surged through them. The ruby abruptly stopped glowing and Mark handed the scepter back to his father.
“It is done,” he said.
Cyril’s face reflected his great relief. “Thank you, son.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I hope this shows you that white magic definitely has its uses and that it’s not a waste of time,” Josephine said.
Cyril and Elizabeth exchanged meaningful looks.
“We do recognize that now,” Elizabeth said.
Cyril gazed at Josephine with admiration. “Your psychometric ability is remarkable. I can’t believe you discovered so much about us when we’ve got our privacy fields active.”
“It’s hard to keep a secret from me. If you hadn’t been so upset, I never would have been able to read anything though.”
“Still, it’s quite an accomplishment. You must be an amazing detective,” Cyril said.
“She’s a legend,” Mark advised.
After Cyril and Elizabeth left, Josephine returned to the dining room and glanced at her watch.
“I’m running late,” Josephine said.
“We’d better go.” Alice shot to her feet.
Josephine glanced at the window across the room where a white dove was perched outside on the ledge with its ear pressed to the glass.
She gestured at the window with annoyance. “Just look at that! He probably listened to our entire conversation!”
They all turned to watch the white dove and Helen’s face lit up with joy.
“What a pretty bird!” Helen exclaimed. “I don’t think I’ve ever see one of those in Florida.”
“It’s Perry White,” Josephine explained with disgust.
“From the Daily Planet?” Helen asked with confusion.
“I’m talking about the real Perry White. You know – the one who used to be a curse.”
Helen’s eyes lit with sudden comprehension. “Of course!” She frowned at the bird with suspicion. “You’re right. He does look like he got quite an earful.”
“It gives you leverage to use against my parents if you ever need it,” Mark commented.
“What do you mean?” Josephine asked.
“You’re not allowed to talk to anyone who doesn’t already know the family secret but Perry already knows and he didn’t take the enchantment,” Mark pointed out.
“That’s right. Very clever that you noticed that,” Josephine said. “But why would we need leverage?”
“You never know with those two,” Mark said.
“It sounds like there’s a lot of intrigue and drama in your family,” Josephine remarked.
“Oh, yeah. That’s why some of us choose to live clear across the country to get away from it.”
“I’m surprised you forgave them so easily. I certainly wouldn’t,” Alice said.
“They’re my family. Besides, I’ve learned it takes a lot of energy to hold a grudge,” Mark responded.
“You surprise me, young man.” Alice gazed at him with renewed respect and admiration. “It takes many years to learn that kind of wisdom. It’s something I still struggle with myself.”
Chapter 8
Josephine and Mark were seated side-by-side at her dining room table with a standard wand resting in front of them. There were three wands off to the side to be worked as well. Josephine and Mark had learned it was possible to combine mainstream magic and white magic after discovering a hidden book owned by the previous owners of the house but they had developed their own technique that worked even better. Josephine knew something was wrong as soon as she and Mark started their work on the first wand. She stopped and leveled a concerned
look at her boyfriend.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
Mark’s expression was pained. “I can’t help you tonight. It’s burnout.”
Josephine was stunned and a mixture of emotions raged inside her. She ached with sympathy for Mark as she’d known how badly he wanted this to work out and at the same time disappointment that they could no longer do this together. She would never admit it but there was a small measure of relief as well because she’d known that within a year or two Mark would have to turn back to mainstream magic. It was inevitable. She had wanted to support him in his endeavor but in reality, white magic was just a temporary condition.
“Are you sure?” Josephine finally asked.
“I’m positive. I started having trouble using my power yesterday. My abilities haven’t been working quite right and it’s gotten worse. Earlier tonight, it was extremely difficult to fix my family’s magic back to the way it was. And now, it’s so hard to produce light energy that it causes me pain.”
Josephine embraced Mark as she grieved for his loss. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
The two of them held each other for several long moments until the sound of a persistent tapping from the window caught their attention. Josephine pulled away and turned to see a white dove pecking its beak against the window.
“For heaven’s sakes,” Josephine muttered.
“I think he wants inside.” Mark crossed the room.
“I don’t care what he wants.”
Mark paused and leveled a pleading look at his girlfriend. “I’d like to talk to him. Maybe he can help me with the burnout.”
Josephine nodded with reluctant assent. Mark opened the window and Perry flew into the room. He exploded in a sparkling white cloud before transforming into his human form. Mark closed the window and stood beside Josephine.
“I’m a being of light so I think there are a few things I know about the properties of light energy that may help you,” Perry said.
“All right. We’re listening.” Mark crossed his arms across his chest in a defensive posture.
Perry began pacing back and forth. “The garden in the backyard contains a complex series of enchantments. They’re designed for both protection and to serve as a power center for white magic practitioners. Obviously, Arabella is the one who created it and she spent most of her waking hours there. That is how she made it for so many years. Almost every day, she spent virtually every waking hour in the garden. That is the secret to her success.”
“I can’t spend all my time out there,” Mark said.
“You’ve been spending about an hour a day puttering in the yard,” Josephine pointed out. “You must have intuitively realized it was beneficial.”
Perry cast a concerned gaze at Mark. “You’ve reached the point where your body needs a constant stream of light energy to sustain the extra energy nodes it has created. These nodes provide you with the ability to generate larger amounts of source energy. It’s just part of the process.”
“Why does white magic work that way? It’s doomed to failure.”
“That’s only because no one understands it well enough.” Perry stopped pacing and pinned Mark with an earnest look. “You need to start sleeping in the garden every night. I’m certain it will sustain you.”
“I can’t just camp out in Josephine’s backyard. It’s ridiculous,” Mark protested.
“If you listen to your intuition, you’ll know I’m right.”
“Maybe you should listen to him,” Josephine suggested. “I wouldn’t mind having you in the backyard.”
“I have a tent and a sleeping bag at home,” Mark said.
“Great! You’ll feel like a new man tomorrow! I promise!” Perry exclaimed.
Mark and Josephine regarded him with doubtful expressions on their faces.
“If you want, I can create a power center in your backyard,” Perry offered Mark. “It will take about two weeks for me to do it.”
“Does it have to be in the yard?” Mark asked.
Perry started pacing again as his brows furrowed in thought. “I suppose I could do it to include the house. I would need to plant more things in the front yard so that I could make a link between the front and back. We would probably need to have some potted plants inside the house to help bridge the gap.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you did that to my house,” Josephine offered.
“No, it’s not possible to do that here because your house is cursed with dark energy.”
“I thought light is stronger than dark.”
“That’s true. Light always trumps dark. However, light energy shies from dark and vice-versa. It would take me longer because I’d have to coax the lighter energy through the house. It would involve creating a power center in the front yard separately and once it was strong enough, link the front and back. This would take a couple of months at least. My other concern is that you have strong wards set up and the light energy could have several possible effects on the curses,” Perry explained.
“You’re saying the curse would be destroyed,” Josephine said with dismay. She hadn’t created the curses that infused the house but she’d gotten used to them and she shared a bond with the house which possessed a self-awareness.
“That’s one possibility. Another is that the light energy would find a way to weave itself into the house in such a way that it avoids touching the curse. This would most likely result in some of the rooms becoming white power centers and other rooms remaining ordinary.”
“What about the third possibility?” Josephine asked.
“The curse may transform into a light energy enchantment,” Perry advised.
“I would hate to lose the powerful wards here.” Josephine’s expression was torn with indecision. “On the other hand, it would be nice to lose the curse.”
“It’s a big decision. In the meantime, I’ll start working on Mark’s house. I’ll need some potted plants. Preferably larger ones. We’ll have to go shopping and I can help you pick out ones that will work better,” Perry said.
“Thanks, Perry.”
“You’re welcome.”
Perry opened the dining room window then exploded into a sparkling white cloud as he transformed into a white dove that glided outside. Mark closed the window and locked it.
“You’d better go to your house and get your camping gear.” Josephine’s lips curved in a teasing smile.
The next morning, Mark was still sleeping in the yard when Josephine, Helen, and Alice gathered in the dining room to enjoy their coffee. Josephine had surprised her two friends with lemon poppy seed muffins for breakfast. Helen slathered hers with plenty of butter while Josephine and Alice ate theirs with leftover cream cheese spread from the other morning when they’d had carrot pancakes.
“This is heaven,” Helen said.
“Thanks. I’m anxious about Mark and baking helps me relax,” Josephine said.
“What’s wrong?” Helen’s vibrant green eyes reflected her concern.
“He’s suffering from burnout,” Josephine explained.
“That’s terrible!” Helen said with dismay.
“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Alice said.
Helen shot her a reprimanding look. “You haven’t been exactly supportive through this process.”
Alice shrugged. “I’m a realist.”
Helen’s attention returned to Josephine. “I’m so sorry to hear about this.”
“Perry may have actually helped to reverse the burnout before it completed,” Josephine said. She briefly explained what had transpired the previous night.
“Interesting.” Alice’s expression was skeptical. She turned and covered her mouth with her hands as an unexpected sneeze struck.
“Bless you,” Josephine said.
“Thanks.” Alice turned and sneezed again.
“I think it’s strange but if Perry’s plan works then it’s a great solution,” Helen said.
“I agree. It feels weird having my b
oyfriend sleeping in the backyard instead of with me,” Josephine said.
“Maybe you could join him,” Helen suggested.
Josephine grimaced at the idea. “I’ve never been fond of camping.”
“That’s true.”
“If Perry’s right and this prevents burnout then I’m going to suggest to Mark that he move in with me here and to have Perry create a power center inside my house,” Josephine said.
“You’ll lose your wards!” Alice exclaimed with horror.
“Their dark wards and I’d rather not have a curse. Hopefully, they’ll convert to light energy but I’ve been thinking about it all night and I’ve come to terms with it. I’m powerful and if worse comes to worse I can create my own wards from scratch like I did at my old condo,” Josephine said.
“Have you given any thought to whether you want to sell it or use it as a rental property?” Alice asked.
“I haven’t made up my mind about that.”
Alice regarded her with astonishment and indignation. “Let me get this straight. It takes one night for you to decide you’ll give up your wards here at the house but you’ve had months to think about what to do with your condo and you still haven’t made up your mind?”
“That about sums it up.” Josephine threw her a flippant smile then took another sip of her coffee.
“I completely agree with Josephine. I’m glad she’s finally decided to get rid of the curse here,” Helen said. “It’s always made me uncomfortable.”
“The curse has never bothered us or given us any problems,” Alice said. “It’s a blessing and we’re flushing it down the toilet.”
“Not necessarily,” Helen argued. “It might transform into a ward made of source energy.”
“That’s just what we need – ineffectual and weak shields,” Alice said. She turned and covered her mouth as another sneeze exploded from her.
“White energy is the most powerful magic in the universe,” Helen lectured her.
“Light energy can only be used by white magic practitioners and they always burn out in a year or two and return to mainstream magic. Once that happens, all of Mark’s enchantments he’s made will be useless to him including the new wards at this house if they convert to light energy.”