by John O'Riley
“Mark is safe now. We can go inside,” Josephine said.
“Can you?” Frederic’s blue eyes gleamed with amusement.
Josephine, Alice and Helen took several steps back and turned to discover that a thick black wall of dark energy blocked the house. Josephine performed a quick scan and realized it had formed a physical barrier to prevent escape. They wouldn’t be able to retreat to the safety of the house wards. The three women turned back to face Frederic who had two more polished black stones in his right hand. He activated the enchantments and dark energy poured from them like the first two he’d unleashed. Frederic threw them onto the ground where they continued to pump toxic dark energy. Terror made Josephine’s blood run cold as she realized the hopelessness of her situation. She forced herself to focus on the matter at hand and continued neutralizing the daggers. Frederic aimed a new wand at her and released a volley of telekinetic blasts. It didn’t take long for her shields to waver and threaten to collapse. Josephine still had seven more daggers to take care of and she was out of time and options. Helen moved over to her and grasped her arm which extended her shield to Josephine’s. Alice joined them and clutched Helen’s arm to offer her own protection.
“Nice try, ladies but that won’t buy you the time you need,” Frederic goaded.
He unleashed more telekinetic blasts at them which pummeled their shields. Josephine disarmed two more daggers before their protection failed them. Two of the four daggers hurtled into the air towards her chest. They halted several inches from her as she caught them with telekinesis.
“I’ve got the other two,” Helen said.
Josephine knew she couldn’t count on her friend to hold them. She wasn’t even sure she could hold these two once they powered up again. She threw them as far away from her body as possible when Frederic unleashed a telekinetic blast at her. She raised her hand and blocked the attack. One of the knives that Helen was restraining with telekinesis slipped out of her control and darted forward. Josephine issued a wave of telekinetic energy to block the knife but didn’t get a good shot. It would have plunged directly into Helen’s heart but was deflected and slashed her shoulder instead. Helen cried out in pain and clutched her wound. Josephine blinked as the plants in her garden which had almost went completely dark now shone with an intense white light. White magic neutralized all of the daggers which now lay harmlessly on the ground. Frederic aimed his wand at Josephine and the tip exploded with sparks of angry red but no telekinetic energy was released.
Josephine realized that the enchanted garden had finally taken action. The black smoke on the ground was quickly thinning out. She turned to glance behind her and saw that the dark energy wall was gone.
“Let’s go back inside,” Josephine said.
The three women ran for the back door. Frederic realized his wand was rendered powerless at the moment via white magic so he aimed the palm of his hand at the fleeing wizards and shot a telekinetic blast. Helen and Alice made it through the door but Josephine was knocked a dozen feet to the right. She gasped in pain as her body hit the ground. Josephine rolled over and saw Frederic pick up a nearby dagger. She rose to her feet and thrust her hand towards him as she channeled a burst of telekinetic energy. The dagger flew from Frederic’s grasp and landed on the ground a short distance away. An instant later, it floated several feet off the ground then hurtled at Josephine’s chest. She blocked it with another telekinetic blast which caused it to lunge towards Frederic. The blade plunged into his right foot and he cursed savagely. Helen and Alice ventured back outside to help their friend who hadn’t managed to escape with them.
“Get back inside.” Josephine kept her eyes glued to her nemesis.
Seeing the injury she’d accidentally caused Frederic made her sick to her stomach even though she told herself he deserved it. She thrust her hand toward him as she released another telekinetic blast which knocked Frederic off his feet like a rag doll and smashed him into one of the palm trees. He grunted with pain and slid down the trunk to land in a sitting position. He narrowed his piercing blue eyes at Josephine with malice then vanished. Josephine performed a scan of the area and sensed his absence along with the telltale signs of teleportation. This confirmed he’d really left and hadn’t just made himself invisible. She reached out with her mind and probed farther out into the neighborhood.
“He’s gone,” Josephine announced.
“Let’s get inside just in case he comes back,” Helen suggested.
The three women retreated into the house for safety. They went to the bathroom and Josephine fetched her first aid kit and a clean shirt for Helen. When Josephine peeled away Helen’s bloody blouse, she was relieved to find the cut was superficial. She began cleaning and disinfecting the wound.
“That was smart thinking stabbing that bastard in the foot. It’s exactly what I would have done in your position,” Alice complimented her.
“I wish I could say it was intentional but that’s just where the dagger happened to go when I blocked it.”
“It was a lucky accident then.”
“It was a good thing the garden used white magic to help us,” Helen remarked.
“I’m not sure it was helping us. It deactivated his wand to keep him from attacking the garden,” Josephine argued.
“It certainly gave us an advantage.”
“I wish it would have acted sooner.” Josephine wondered how exactly the enchantments in the garden worked. No one really understood it so there was no way to predict its effects. And they certainly couldn’t count on it to protect them. That much was abundantly clear.
Alice’s expression was scornful. “White magic is useless as far as I’m concerned.”
Josephine applied the band-aid to Helen’s shoulder then helped her slip into the clean shirt.
“I have to find Mark.” Josephine’s brown eyes conveyed her urgency. “He probably teleported to his house. I need to get him.”
“We’ll go with you,” Helen said.
“You’re hurt. Alice should drive you to the hospital. I may run into Frederic again and I don’t want to put you in harm’s way,” Josephine said.
“That’s exactly why we can’t let you out of this house by yourself.” Helen’s beautiful green eyes glinted with resolve.
Josephine flashed a weary smile at her friends, grateful for their help and at the same time riddled with guilt. She was so lucky to have these two in her life and her heart warmed as she reflected over all the years they’d known each other and all the experiences they’d shared.
Josephine shook her head. “The reason I asked you to stay here is to keep you safe with the house wards. I must find Mark alone.”
“Poppycock! We’re in this together. End of story,” Alice said. “We’ll take my car so you can try and focus on Mark with your link.”
Alice and Helen prodded her out the front door and to Alice’s car. Josephine sat down in the passenger seat beside Alice and Helen took the back. Josephine had her satchel of power wands but it felt inadequate – especially after the last confrontation.
“Well? Do you sense anything?” Alice shot her an impatient look as she drove.
“Not yet,” Josephine responded.
“Concentrate. He’s a part of you now.”
“What makes you such an expert on this?” Josephine regarded her friend with a sardonic look.
“I’m a retired psychiatrist. Any magic that affects the mind is something I’m knowledgeable on. Although I do have to admit that being linked to someone is such a rare occurrence that I have very little practical experience.”
“What kind of experience do you have in this matter?” Josephine hadn’t expected her friend to know anything about links between wizards.
“Okay, I don’t technically have firsthand experience but I read a lot of articles.”
Helen snorted with amusement from the backseat and Alice ignored her.
“You should be able to feel Mark as an extension of yourself in your mind. It may t
ake some time to become accustomed to it but once you do, you’ll be able to access the link easily,” Alice lectured her friend.
Josephine closed her eyes so she could concentrate better. Unfortunately, she met with a complete lack of success. When Alice arrived at Mark’s house, it was empty and the wards were still up so nobody had forced their way inside. Alice parked in the street and waited for Josephine to pick up on any impressions from her boyfriend. Josephine opened her senses to the subtle energy particles and currents. At first she couldn’t find anything which didn’t surprise her as she had never had much luck reading Mark. He didn’t exude much in the way of psychometric energy. Josephine stilled as something in her mind shifted and she became aware of more. She realized she was now detecting light energy which was something that had always eluded her before. Her link with Mark must have increased her perceptions to this new level.
Josephine’s eyes widened with surprise. “Perry took Mark to Seattle to keep him safe. Perry thinks the enchanted garden is too dangerous to stay at with the dark wizards targeting them.”
“He’s right. It won’t protect them. We saw that ourselves,” Alice said.
“That’s true but I need to find them before the Valituras does. When Frederic was fighting us, I could sense that the Valituras consider Mark and Perry as much of a threat to them as I am. There’s a potential for white magic practitioners that’s been lost but the Valituras know what it is,” Josephine said.
“What about the Phoenix Community? Do you think they might be able to tell us?” Helen suggested.
“That’s a good idea. I’ll put an ad in the paper to get Brad’s attention. Hopefully, he’ll respond,” Josephine said. “I won’t hold my breath though. He stays away when things get dangerous and we’re in a state of war right now.”
“Are you sure you about white magic being a threat?” Alice asked. “I just don’t see it.”
“I definitely read that information from Frederic,” Josephine confirmed.
“That’s so peculiar.” Alice regarded her friend with puzzlement.
“What will you do when you find Mark and Perry?” Helen asked.
“I’ll take them back home with me and they can stay inside the house where they belong,” Josephine said.
“But Mark and Perry will both burnout if you do that,” Helen pointed out. “And you don’t want them to stay in the backyard because the dark wizards have targeted them and there’s no protection back there.”
Josephine let out a sharp sigh of despair. “You’re right. I can’t think straight right now. I hate leaving them unprotected.”
“They can’t be tracked because they’re using white magic. It’s undetectable and untraceable to curses.”
“You’re right. At least we know that much about source energy,” Josephine said. She paused as she mulled over the situation in her mind before turning to Alice. “All right. Let’s go back home. There’s no point in making ourselves sitting ducks right now.”
When the three women returned to Josephine’s house, she struggled to make a decision. She finally decided that as long as she knew for sure that Mark was safe, she’d leave him alone for the moment to recover. In the meantime, she would hire a company to create an extra set of wards surrounding her entire yard to include the enchanted garden. This was an option she’d never considered before due to the expense but she now made enough money that it was feasible. Once the extra protection was established, she could strengthen it on her own. Josephine placed a call to one of the agencies that had been recommended to her and set up an appointment for the following morning. Even though she had the money, the cost still made her stomach clench with surprise and anxiety.
Josephine leveled an appraising look at Alice. “You still have some claro mentis enchantments leftover from the ones I helped you make for Gary, right?”
“Yes.” Alice regarded her with a wary expression on her face. “You don’t want me to use those things on someone, do you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
Alice issued a groan of protest. “I’m too old for that kind of work! I hate, hate, hate using those things!”
“I want you to help me tap into the link I have with Mark,” Josephine said.
“Can’t you sense it at all?”
“I wouldn’t be asking this if I could.”
“All right. I’ll do it.” Alice issued another bereaved groan then sneezed twice.
“Bless you,” Josephine said.
“Thanks.” Alice shot her an annoyed gaze. “You owe me one.”
Josephine’s phone rang and she exchanged a bemused look with Helen and Alice. “I wonder who the jerk is that’s calling me at this hour.”
She glanced at the phone before answering it and her mood soured as she saw Cyril Freeman’s name.
“Hello, Mr. Freeman.”
“Someone used my teleportation mirror at the business manor in Seattle. I just want to take this opportunity to remind you to only use these devices during normal business hours. The guards I have posted didn’t see anyone but he left a note on my desk with instructions to contact you. His handwriting is so sloppy and shaky that I can barely read it. The spelling is atrocious and reminds me of a kindergartener,” Cyril said in a bereaved tone.
Josephine rolled her eyes with annoyance. “And what did the intruder say?”
“He said that he has Mark and they’re safe. He has them cloaked with invisibility and that mainstream and dark magic can’t track them. He’ll return Mark once he’s safe from burnout which should be in a few days.”
“And it’s signed Perry White,” Josephine guessed.
“Yes, who is this idiot?”
“He’s a light being that Mark created by accident several days ago.”
“He created a life form?” Cyril asked with astonishment.
“Yes, it was originally a curse and Mark was trying to save me with white magic. Well, he did save me because the curse was about to kill me.”
“Incredible. I had never seen any benefit to white magic until recently. I’m starting to see possibilities.”
“I don’t see how it can be used for profit,” Josephine said.
“But Mark’s already using it to run his business. I’ve researched his performance and the results are astonishing. Only one person comes close to the level of restoration that Mark achieves and he’s a white magic practitioner as well but is starting to suffer from burnout,” Cyril advised. “Mark has reached the point where he’ll suffer the same fate unless we can figure out a way to prevent it.”
Josephine’s mind reeled with shock over Cyril’s abrupt change in attitude towards white magic. “So you’re onboard with Mark’s decision?”
“I have reservations but there’s huge potential if burnout can be avoided.”
“I can’t trust white magic to keep them safe. I’m going to find Mark with the link we share,” Josephine said.
“You linked with him? This is truly remarkable. That’s advanced magic few individuals ever achieve. How did you do it?” Cyril asked.
“It was mostly Mark using white magic but we didn’t know what was happening at the time. It was very intuitive.”
“We’re practically family. You can be honest.”
“I’m not hiding anything from you. We can discuss this later. Right now, I need to find Mark. I’m warning you ahead of time that I’ll probably use the teleportation mirror to go to Seattle sometime within the next few hours,” Josephine said.
“All right. I’ll let the guards know so they don’t give you any problems. I trust you to keep my son safe.”
Chapter 14
Josephine groped in blind panic for something tangible to hold onto in the inky darkness surrounding her. She couldn’t remember what had happened so she assumed dark magic was to blame. After several moments of taking furtive steps and finding nothing she realized she was no longer in her house.
“Helen! Alice! Can you hear me?” Josephine shouted.
Her voice echoed as though it traveled across a great expanse. She knelt down and her fingers touched the ground which was completely smooth and room temperature. If it was composed of a type of stone, there should be some texture. She frowned and tried to pick up psychometric energy but there was nothing. Josephine reeled in shock at the complete absence of energy. It just wasn’t possible to completely remove everything. She became aware of something approaching her. It was far off in the distance and she couldn’t focus on any details yet. Josephine straightened to her full height and flailed mentally for energy. She was cut off completely from any power source. This just wasn’t possible. As the object came closer, she could see it was a person but the details were still out of focus.
“Stop right there! I’m prepared to kill you if I have to,” Josephine said.
The assailant halted and paused before speaking. Josephine’s heart thudded in her chest as she waited for a response.
“Is that the thanks I get for using that stupid claro mentis enchantment like you asked?” Alice’s voice floated to her ears.
A surprised and relieved laugh escaped Josephine’s lips. Her memories came back to her but they were faded. Alice had instructed her to lie back and relax so she could perform the enchantment to link with her subconscious.
“I forgot what happened. I wasn’t expecting this,” Josephine said.
Alice resumed her walk and her features came into focus.
A burdened frown marred her face. “You won’t believe how long I’ve been stumbling in the dark.”
“Probably as long as I have.”
“The good news is that time moves differently here. What feels like hours to us will only be a few minutes in the waking world,” Alice advised.