by John O'Riley
“I’m supposed to be immune to this stuff. Why am I sick?” Alice fixed Mark with a pointed look.
“We should ask Perry to examine you,” Mark replied.
Josephine turned to address Lucius. “What else did you learn from the journal?”
“The administrators for the Valituras are connected magically in two groups. There are only about a dozen council members who control everything. I apparently found out by spying on Frederic when he was visited by other team leaders and administrators. Only the administrators interact directly with the council members. If we were to capture one administrator, it would be a domino effect. The federal enforcers could catch all the leaders if they acted quickly.”
“That’s terrific news. Do you have any of the names in there?” Josephine asked.
“Yes but it’s in a different section.” Lucius leveled an apologetic gaze at her. “There are counter spells to some of the dark magic they have. I wrote them down for you.”
“Thanks.” Josephine accepted the papers from him and her lips curved in an appreciative smile. “I need to take these to the station but first, let’s chat with Perry about Alice.”
They ventured to the backyard where Perry was in the form of a white dove perched on one of the branches of a weeping willow tree. Perry gazed down at Josephine as she approached.
“We need to talk,” she said.
The bird didn’t react to her request. Jake and Alex exchanged bewildered looks.
“Are you sure that’s Perry?” Alex asked.
“I’m sure.”
Ever since his brush with death, he’d been subdued and distant from the others. He never strayed from the enchanted garden except to visit very briefly with them in the house. The dove jumped from the branch and flapped its wings to slow down its fall. It exploded in a bright white luminescent cloud as it changed into humanoid form. Instead of a shaved head, Perry now had curly brown hair and wore white pants with a loose-fitting white shirt. He was still seven feet tall with a solid, muscular frame. He had a blue friendship bracelet secured to his left wrist and a pink one on the right.
“Is something wrong?” His brown-eyed gaze conveyed dismay and fear.
Helen stepped closer and patted his arm in a reassuring gesture. “We’re wondering why Alice isn’t immune to the DVR.”
“Alice needs help programming the cable box?” Perry regarded her with confusion.
“She means the DV-2 virus,” Alice said.
“Oh, I see.” Perry turned to scrutinize her. “I’ll take a quick scan.” His eyes became distant for a moment and they waited for him to finish. His gaze snapped back into focus on Alice’s face. “You’re very similar to a light being now that you’ve been transformed with the praesentia infinitus enchantment. It needs source energy to function properly and you’re not getting an adequate supply.”
“Why not?” Alice asked.
“It’s your mindset. You often have a critical outlook on things and it tends to block out light energy.”
“Are you saying I’m negative?” Alice scowled with displeasure.
“Not exactly.” Perry took a small step away from her. “What you need is a boost. I recommend you start sleeping in the enchanted garden like Mark and Helen are doing.”
“Oh, no! I’m not camping out in Josephine’s backyard. I need modern comforts and a bed.”
“It won’t be forever. Maybe a few nights or so.”
“How long exactly will this take?” Alice demanded.
Perry hedged. “I’m not sure. It shouldn’t take long.”
“I really can’t do this.”
“For heavens sakes, Alice, you’re dying. Camping out in the backyard for a few nights isn’t going to kill you,” Josephine said.
“All right!” Alice exclaimed with exasperation. “I’ll do it!”
“It’ll be a piece of cake,” Josephine said.
“If it’s so easy, why don’t you do it?”
“There’s no reason for me to.”
“Sure there is,” Alice said in an innocent tone. “Don’t you want to spend more time with Mark?”
“I would but he’s asleep anyway so it doesn’t make a difference,” Josephine said smoothly. “Nice try, by the way.”
Alice shrugged and offered a teasing smile. “Well. I thought if I had to suffer, everyone should.”
Jake and Alex chuckled with amusement.
“We need to get to the station,” Josephine announced. “Alex, it’s your turn to stay with Lucius.”
“All right,” Alex agreed.
Josephine received a call from Ben on her cell as she and Jake traversed the garden at the side of her house towards the front.
“Josephine, I hate to tell you this but you’re losing custody of Lucius. The federal enforcers are on their way to your house now. They just left my office,” Ben said without preamble.
“I had hoped I could work with him. I just made a major discovery.”
“What did you find?”
Josephine let him know about the information that was decoded.
“That’s good news but we’ll have to turn that in. The Feds are taking over this case.”
“All right. I’ll stay put and tell Lucius.”
Josephine disconnected the call and let Jake know.
“That’s a shame,” Jake said.
When she broke the news to Lucius, he was clearly disappointed. They all gathered in the dining room to wait.
“Would you like something to eat before you go?” Josephine asked. “I baked some mint-chocolate brownies or there’s some Dutch apple pie leftover from last night.”
“Your baking is superb but I don’t want anything,” Lucius said.
Alice pulled out her cell phone. “This thing works as a video recorder. I’d like to interview you before you leave us. It would be something to remember you by.”
“Okay.” Lucius tossed his shoulders in a defeated shrug.
“Let me see if I can get this thing to work. I’ve never used it this way before,” Alice murmured. She tapped and pressed various buttons for several long moments. “Aha! There we go! I think.” Everyone watched her with faint amusement as she held up the phone on it’s side at an angle and peered intently at it. “Lucius, we’re all going to miss you. If you were to sum up your experience here in one word, what would it be?”
Lucius regarded her with a pensive frown as he thought about how to respond.
“We don’t have all day, you know,” Alice prompted.
“Epic.” He grinned at her with mirth.
“Hmm.” Alice set the camera on the table as she pinned him with an assessing look. “I get the feeling you’re pulling my leg.”
The doorbell rang and Josephine answered the door. Four enforcers dressed in black uniforms stood on her doorstep. The man in charge, Gordon Fischer, had blond hair and green eyes with a solid and muscular frame. He flashed his badge at her as he briefly introduced himself.
“I’m here to take Lucius into protective custody,” he announced.
“All right. Come inside,” Josephine said. “He’ll need to pack up.”
They gathered in the dining room and Lucius peered at them with wariness.
“We’re taking you someplace safe,” Gordon said.
“I’d prefer to stay here,” Lucius said.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.” Gordon’s expression didn’t convey sympathy. “Gather your possessions. It’s time to go.”
Lucius left the room and Alice leveled a hostile glare at the enforcer.
“Josephine was doing just fine before you barged in here and took over,” Alice said.
“She’s very capable but we have a team of experts who can help him regain his memories.” Gordon noticed the papers in Josephine’s hand. “I need all evidence that you have in your possession.”
“All right.” Josephine handed him the papers with reluctance. She hated to give them up because she knew he wouldn’t share any of his findings
with her. “You may discover that you hit a roadblock with the case. Alice is an expert with this type of thing.”
“I’m sure Alice was an excellent psychiatrist but she’s retired now. She’s out of practice and her knowledge is outdated,” Gordon replied.
“Are you infected by the DV-2 virus?” Josephine asked.
“As far as we know, everyone is infected except for those with natural immunity. There’s no chance of quarantine. That’s why it’s so important that we discover the antidote as quickly as possible.”
“We were so close to making a breakthrough with Lucius. Is there any way you could hold off for a few days?” Josephine asked.
“Absolutely not,” Gordon said.
Lucius returned with his suitcase and Josephine threw him a reassuring smile.
“When this is all over, I’ll have you over for dinner. I make a killer lasagna,” she said.
“Everything you make is stellar,” he replied.
Josephine felt a cold knot form in the pit of her stomach as Gordon and the other three enforcers left with Lucius. She closed the door behind them and found that everyone had followed her.
“I’m sorry he couldn’t stay,” Alex said with sympathy.
“I think they’re making a terrible mistake,” Josephine said.
“We’ll solve the case some other way.” Jake leveled a reassuring look at her.
“It’s not our case anymore,” Alex pointed out.
Chapter 20
Mark, Helen, and Perry stood in a circle in the front yard and continued their work on the power center they had created five days ago. Light energy flowed between them and through the energy currents that were permanently entrenched in the yard. After while, a pleasant and buoyant sensation engulfed Mark’s body as was common when using white magic on a continuous basis. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement from the living room window as Alice occasionally peered outside to watch them.
“Okay, we’re ready to connect this new power center with the enchanted garden,” Mark announced.
“Are you sure? Maybe we should give it another week,” Perry suggested.
Helen and Mark exchanged concerned looks. They had both noticed Perry was procrastinating with the extension of the power center. There was no risk involved to the enchanted garden so they suspected Perry didn’t want to lose his sleeping companions. He had never seemed to recover from his brush with death. He refused to leave the enchanted garden except for brief periods of time to be in the house.
“We’re ready,” Mark said.
“All right,” Perry acknowledged.
The three of them directed half a dozen streams of energy from the new power center to the one comprised of the enchanted garden. After several moments, a rush of white magic surged into the front yard as the connection snapped into place like a puzzle piece. Mark, Helen, and Perry beamed with excitement over their accomplishment. Their bodies radiated with a white glow and shimmering blue sparks swirled around them and between them. The energy currents in the front yard became visible as silvery white streams of luminescence that reminded Mark of party banners.
“We should be able to expand the power center into the house now without any problem,” Helen said.
“We’ll wait until this evening for that, Josephine wants to be home because it may affect the curse,” Mark said.
“Do you think it will?” Helen asked.
“I really don’t know what to expect,” Mark said. “I’m never able to predict what’s going to happen with white magic.”
“It makes it kind of scary,” Perry commented.
“Don’t be afraid.” Helen leveled a compassionate look at him. “Everything has always turned out for the best with white magic. Even with the most dire of circumstances, it managed to save you.”
“Thank you for your assistance, Perry. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you,” Mark said.
“I’m glad I could help.” A pleased smile curved his lips.
A pressure began to build in Mark’s temple and he stumbled backward with disorientation. Perry and Helen regarded him with startlement and concern. A memory surfaced in Mark’s mind. His great, great grandfather Charles Freeman had visited the family when Mark was nine years old to see if he and Maggie were ready to start work as apprentices. His sister was several years older than him and the two of them had been close at the time. Both she and Mark had dreaded the visit. Charles Freeman was one of the executive officers of Freeman Enterprises with a rock solid reputation for making sound business decisions and creating groundbreaking inventions. Mark’s parents had insisted that he and his sister both dress in business suits for the entire duration of the visit during the summer. One morning, Mark and Maggie hadn’t yet dressed in their formal attire and were playing a game of Chinese checkers in Maggie’s room on the floor. They were both donned in jeans and a tee shirt. Maggie flicked a lock of her silky, black hair away from her face and adopted a stuffy expression as she mimicked their grandfather.
“You must devote all of your waking hours to the cause. When you’re a zombie like me, that’s when you will make your greatest breakthrough,” Maggie said in a low-timbre voice.
Mark snorted with amusement before the two of them burst into giggles. Maggie’s bedroom door burst open and Cyril stepped into the room. He took in their casual attire with a severe frown of disapproval.
“Why aren’t you dressed yet? It’s nearly six-thirty in the morning and we’re all having breakfast at seven. Mr. Freeman has important business matters to discuss and you need to be there,” he said.
Maggie made a face. “We’ll be ready by then. We’re almost finished.”
“Put that inane game away and get dressed. Don’t forget to fix up your hair, young lady. This is an important opportunity for the two of you.”
Maggie began putting the pieces of the game away with obvious reluctance. When Cyril turned to leave, she stuck out her tongue at him. Mark covered his mouth to stifle surprised laughter. Cyril spun around and Maggie adopted an innocent expression on her face as she continued putting the game pieces away. Cyril narrowed his eyes at her with suspicion for several seconds before leaving.
“What a jerk,” Maggie fumed. “The last thing I want to do is work for Grandfather.”
“I can’t wait to have breakfast with Grandfather Charlie Horse,” Mark teased her.
Maggie giggled as she finished putting the game away.
She adopted a serious look. “I suppose we’d better stop thinking about fun things. We know they don’t like to see us smiling too much.”
After breakfast, Charles advised the family he wanted to work with Mark alone. Cyril and Elizabeth Freeman were beside themselves with excitement that he’d taken interest in their son for work. Cyril wasn’t yet clan leader and had aspirations to one day obtain that position at Freeman Enterprises. With a sense of dread, Mark followed his grandfather to the guestroom.
“Close the door behind you,” Charles ordered.
Mark complied with the request then took a seat in one of the three plush armchairs that occupied the corner of the room. Charles opened one of his suitcases which contained a wooden box that reminded Mark of a mini treasure chest. It was comprised of a leather lining and contained only one object – a crystal skull. Charles picked up the skull and gazed at Mark with a strange look in his eye. Anxiety clawed at Mark’s gut and his instincts told him to run out of the room before it was too late. However, there was no escaping whatever his grandfather had in store for him.
“Not very many people get to work with these.” Charles sank into the armchair facing his grandson. “This is an ancient magical device dating back to a time when there lived an advanced civilization far superior to this current time period. Their technology was better than anyone here can imagine but they were still seriously flawed.”
“How do you know so much about them?” Mark asked.
Charles peered at him with anticipation. “You’re going to be a category
six when you grow up just like me.”
“I am?” Mark mulled this thought over with puzzlement. “But Maggie is so much stronger than me.”
“She’ll be a category six as well but I’ve chosen you.” His grandfather’s eyes conveyed a strange sense of greed. “Put your hands on the skull.”
“Why?” Mark eyed the crystal with a clear lack of enthusiasm.
“Just do it,” Charles ordered with sudden impatience.
Mark reached his hands out toward the object as slowly as possible. As soon as his fingertips landed on the crystal, a terrible cold seeped into his skin. He shivered as something powerful and heavy weighed down on his mind. Mark tried to pull back but his body wouldn’t comply. He was frozen in his current position hunched over the skull like a statue. Mark struggled to move but it was useless. Darkness crept along the edge of his vision as the terrifying cold and a pervasive heaviness invaded his essence. His heart thundered wildly in his chest and his strength gave out. He collapsed to the floor and lay on his side still clutching the skull in his hands. He could see Charles beaming down at him with a smile of glee on his face. Even though Mark could still see, it was like he was watching his grandfather from a great distance. He felt as though he was floating and could barely feel his body anymore. He wondered if this is what it felt to die. He’d never contemplated death much or seen it first-hand.
Surprise registered on his grandfather’s face and then his gaze turned contemplative. Charles reached down and plucked the skull from Mark’s hands. Instantly, Mark’s body began to normalize although he still felt very weak.
“You have the potential for something else. You may prove useful to me in another capacity,” Charles said.
He put the skull back in its box and pulled out a mini wand from one of the satchels in the open suitcase. Mark pushed himself into a sitting position with weak, shaky arms. His body trembled with fatigue as though he’d just run a marathon and didn’t have any spare energy.
“I can’t allow you to remember any of this.” Charles pointed the wand at Mark and unleashed an amnesia spell.
Mark returned to the present and his mind reeled in shock. The white magic that still flowed through him, protected him from feeling the full horror of the recovered memory but he still felt violated. Perry and Helen regarded him with troubled expressions on their faces. Mark explained what had happened and told them about the lost memory.