by John O'Riley
“Later that night, Grandfather Charles told everyone that he chose my sister as his apprentice. He said I was a disappointment and would need to work hard before I started working at Freeman Enterprises,” Mark said.
“I’m so sorry. Charles is a terrible man. What’s he doing now?” Helen asked.
“He actually died the day he was going to leave with Maggie. He had a heart attack.”
“How is that possible?” Helen asked. “How old was he?”
“He was one hundred thirty-seven.”
“That’s very young for a category six. We usually live over twice that age.” Helen gazed at him with sympathy. “I’m so sorry. What a terrible childhood you had.”
“That’s when Maggie changed.” Mark’s thoughts whirled as he thought about it. “She began to get real serious and focus on Freeman Enterprises right after that. She started helping me with restoration and memory enchantments. At first she spent lots of time with me but she always focused on practicing magic. She told me it was important to do something fun and that she knew I would enjoy those spells. She was right. It took us almost a year before I succeeded for the first time in restoring a broken remote control toy car that I owned. We were both excited and she was very encouraging. The only time she ever spent time with me was practicing magic. For some reason, after I succeeded a few times with those enchantments, she always said she was too busy to help. She was always so serious about the family legacy. She was like a different person. It was grandfather Charles dying that changed her.”
“Death changes everyone. Some people suffer far more than others,” Helen said. “Your sister didn’t adjust very well to it.”
“No, she didn’t,” Mark agreed.
“It’s a shame. It sounds like you two were very close.”
“We were.”
“Helen can be your sister now,” Perry suggested with a child-like expression on his face. “Kind of like a stepsister. She’s a very nice lady.”
Mark smiled with mirth and surprised laughter escaped Helen’s lips. Perry regarded them with puzzlement.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Mark said. “You’re just you and we love you for it, Perry.”
“Thanks,” Perry murmured as his expression turned contemplative. “I can’t help thinking about my own death since I took you to Seattle and tried to save us. I thought the dark wizard destroyed the enchanted garden and when I failed to create a power center in the woods that was strong enough, I thought I would die. I would have if you and Josephine and Helen hadn’t saved me.”
“Everything always turns out for the best,” Mark said.
“I was never meant to be born. I was an accident,” Perry said.
“No, you weren’t,” Mark protested.
“Yes, I was. You never meant to make me. You were trying to save Josephine from a curse. I was a random occurrence made from wild magic. Maybe I’m not meant to exist.” Perry’s hazel eyes reflected the anguish and inner turmoil that tore through him.
Mark’s gut twisted with sympathy. He’d known something was eating at Perry but hadn’t realized the extent of his trauma.
Helen pressed her hand against Perry’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “You’re very important to us. We love you, Perry White. Don’t forget that. In the grand scheme of things, you were meant to be with us. White magic found a way to make it happen.”
A mixture of wonder, love, and fear danced across Perry’s face. Helen leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek. Perry wrapped one arm around her and brought his other hand up to his cheek as his hazel eyes conveyed surprise. Helen slowly pulled back as she smiled at him and his arm slid down her back and to his side again.
“What was that?” Perry asked with confusion and awe.
“You looked like you needed it,” Helen said.
Perry cocked his head to the side with curiosity. “Why didn’t you do that to Mark earlier when he told you about his grandfather?”
“Because Josephine would have kicked our butts,” Mark said.
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Mark said with amusement.
“I’m looking forward to expanding the power center into the house,” Helen announced. “This is such a terrific accomplishment. I never would have thought I could do so much with source energy. We make a great team!”
“Yes, we do,” Mark agreed
They gathered inside the house in the living room so Mark could tell Alice about his recovered memory.
“This makes perfect sense,” Alice said. “Your sister probably suffers from guilt over the fact that she harbored very negative feelings towards your grandfather and he ended up dead. Not only that, but a death in the family can lead to very complicated mental disorders.”
“It sure did change her.” Mark leaned back against the sofa and crossed his arms over his chest. “I wish I could go back and do things different.”
Alice peered at him with curiosity. “What would you do?”
“I’d be more persistent in spending time with her. I wouldn’t have let her shut me out.”
“I don’t think she would have allowed it. She locked away her feelings of guilt and anguish and kept everyone at arm’s distance. She buried herself in work and duty to prevent herself from thinking about the pain she suffered.”
“When she finished helping me try to create a restoration or memory enchantment, I could have insisted that she stay and talk afterwards.”
“That wouldn’t have worked. She would have just avoided you altogether. Besides, I’m sure you tried a few times but you just don’t remember,” Alice said.
Mark thought back to all those times they’d worked together and realized Alice was right. He’d attempted to prolong Maggie’s sessions in a variety of ways but she’d been very firm that she needed to practice her own magic by herself to prepare for her work at Freeman Enterprises. She was officially offered a position when she turned sixteen which was extremely rare. Most family members started as apprentices and weren’t given an official title until they reached their twenties. That was what had stunned Mark about Cyril’s offer of employment to Josephine. It was almost unheard of to start out without toiling as an apprentice first.
“I wonder if I could heal Maggie’s pain and make her into a whole person again,” Mark said. “Maybe that’s what she wants. My dream I had about her asking for help might have been her subconscious reaching out to me.”
“I don’t think so,” Alice said. “It takes severe mental trauma involving repeated brainwashing or invasive spells to cause an imbalance that would disassociate the subconscious mind enough to act on its own. If Charles had worked with her for at least a year or two before he died, I may have suspected he’d forced her to do unethical things and used amnesia spells on her so she wouldn’t remember but that never happened.”
“What about when she started working for Freeman Enterprises? Someone could have done something to her then,” Mark suggested.
“You said she changed before that. It was the death in the family that did it, I’m afraid. We all deal with grief and tragedy in our own way,” Alice said.
“I’d like to try and heal Maggie.”
“White magic isn’t the answer for everything.” Alice leveled an understanding gaze at him. “Sometimes there isn’t a quick fix or an easy answer. Besides, even if you cast such a spell, it will only work if Maggie allows it to.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. She hates white magic,” Mark said.
“You should focus on healing your own inner wounds,” Alice advised.
Chapter 21
Mark performed three successful restorations this morning for clients. He was looking forward to meeting his uncle for lunch at Triple Play Burgers. Alice and Helen insisted on escorting him. Perry was outside in the backyard perched on a frond of a palm tree but he decided to join them as well. Mark was glad to see his discussion earlier had made some impact with Perry and t
hat he was no longer cowering in the backyard. When they arrived at Triple Play Burgers, Nathan was waiting for them in one of the few booths that the restaurant offered. Helen’s face broke out in an exuberant smile when she saw him and Nathan got up and gave her a warm hug in greeting.
“It’s great seeing you again,” Helen said.
“I miss our walks at the beach,” Nathan said.
“It’s a shame that it’s too dangerous for us to go anymore.” Helen’s beautiful green eyes glowed with wistful memories.
“Once the Valituras are neutralized, we’ll be able to enjoy ourselves again,” Nathan said.
“How did you know we were coming?” Alice asked.
“I figured you wouldn’t let my great nephew go out by himself with the Valituras wanting to kill him.”
“You figured right.” Alice shot him a sardonic look. “I’m starved, let’s get our food.”
They went to the front counter, placed their orders, and were soon settled down at the booth again with their meals. Alice had a large chocolate malt with onion rings and a child’s bacon cheeseburger. Helen also had a child’s bacon cheeseburger with a bottled water and a package of apple slices with chocolate fudge dipping sauce. Nathan and Mark both had adult-sized bacon cheeseburgers with soda. Perry didn’t require food and had no interest in eating anything.
“You should try one of these onion rings. They’re to die for,” Alice said.
Perry eyed them with a dubious frown. “I don’t know about this.”
“Come on, man! Live a little!” Alice said.
Perry took an onion ring from her tray and popped it in his mouth. He sat there staring at Alice and she rolled her eyes with disgust.
“You have to chew it.” She made exaggerated chewing motions and Perry copied her.
His eyes widened with surprise and he stilled for several seconds.
“This is remarkable,” he said and accidentally allowed some of the crumbles to dribble from his open mouth.
“Don’t eat with your mouth open, for heavens sakes. Didn’t anyone teach you any manners?” Alice asked.
Perry swallowed the food. “No, what is that?”
“There’s certain behavior that’s considered appropriate and other that is bad manners. When you eat, for instance, you want to keep your mouth shut.”
“I see.” Perry cocked his head at her and looked contemplative.
Helen, Mark, and Nathan watched the two of them with wide grins of amusement. Mark sobered as he remembered his recent experience and shared his recovered memory of Grandfather Charles.
“How disturbing,” Nathan murmured. “I never realized we had sickos like that in the family.”
“Sickos?” Perry echoed with confusion.
“Do you think there was anyone like that who Maggie was forced to work with?” Mark asked.
Nathan considered the question with care for several seconds. “No, I don’t think so. Her father was always nearby and she seldom traveled for more than a week at a time.”
“I wonder what the crystal skull would have done,” Alice said. “Do you think it somehow drains all the energy from someone?”
“That seems like the most likely scenario. It sounds like it would have caused permanent damage because he stopped using it on Mark when he realized Mark was valuable to him in some other way,” Nathan said.
“Do you think it would have killed him?” Helen asked.
“It’s hard to believe he would do that knowing that he’d be caught. I think it would have crippled Mark’s talent but it still seems risky. It would have been obvious to everyone that Charles was the only thing different when Mark was afflicted with a lack of magical ability,” Nathan said.
“But he was only a child at the time,” Alice pointed out. “It might not have been so obvious something was wrong with his powers.”
“That’s true,” Nathan agreed. “It’s really despicable whatever he was doing.”
“If you and Helen haven’t been going to the beach, how are you linking with a vortex?” Alice asked.
“Before I go to work, I park my car within a two mile radius of the Siesta Key beach and tap into it.”
“That’s pretty far. You must really have to concentrate,” Alice said.
“Yes, it’s a stretch but it works and I don’t have to worry about the Valituras so much. Of course, they could still spot me but it’s a lot less likely than if I’m at the beach itself,” Nathan explained.
“You’re right, there’s too much ground to cover so they pretty much just keep tabs on the beach. Josephine says they’ve almost caught them a few times but they’re pretty clever about blending in and avoiding capture,” Alice said.
Mark was chewing on his burger when his body tightened and apprehension flooded his mind. Dark energy surrounded them. He glanced at Helen and Perry and saw similar reactions on their faces. He took stock of his surroundings and saw black swirling smoke outside of the restaurant, encircling it from the ground and working its way up to obscure the windows.
“The Valituras are attacking us,” Mark announced.
They jumped to their feet. The other diners were slower to react but they quickly noticed the darkness that obfuscated the view to the outside. Red smoke billowed inside from the cracks in the front door and formed thick twisting tendrils that snaked out in a dozen different directions. Everyone that the smoke touched lost consciousness. The sound of panicked shouts and screams erupted throughout the restaurant as diners collapsed. One man a couple of tables away passed out as he gazed around the room with confusion with a half eaten burger halfway to his mouth. His head smashed against the plate, smearing ketchup against the side of his face as he slid off the table.
“It’s a knockout spell. I’ve seen them use this before. There’s no protection against it except for white magic,” Mark said. “We need to get off the floor. It will take awhile before it reaches up.”
Mark, Helen, Perry, Alice, and Nathan stepped up onto the table several seconds before one of the red smoke tendrils reached them. Only a handful of the other diners were conscious because they’d been quick enough to take shelter on top of their tables as well. Nathan peered with intensity at the roiling mass of red smoke that spread like wildfire.
“We don’t have much time,” Mark said.
“Activate one of your shields,” Nathan said.
Mark struggled to draw light energy to one of his protection amulets. Several seconds later, white light flickered around them in the shape of a sphere but winked out of existence before it could take hold.
“What’s the problem?” Nathan asked.
“There’s dark energy surrounding the restaurant. It’s like a dampening field against white magic,” Mark explained.
The red smoke had the entire floor covered and was rising steadily now. They only had a moment or two before it reached them.
Nathan threw Alice a pointed look as he gestured at the roiling crimson mass below them. “You’re a category six. Can’t you do something about this?”
“I have no idea how I would go about that.”
“Josephine does this stuff all the time from what I read in the newspapers.”
“I’m not Josephine!” Alice said with exasperation.
Mark furrowed his brows with concentration as he tuned them out. There just wasn’t enough light energy to work with. The red smoke continued to climb higher and had almost reached the top of the table. Mark swallowed as anxiety clouded his thoughts and made it difficult to utilize his talent. A couple of tendrils of red smoke reached out from the mass and snaked across the table. The wizards moved with haste away from them but Mark knew their time was up. Desperation spurred him to do something even if it had no chance of succeeding. It was better than giving up.
“Helen, Perry, grab my hand and send me as much light energy as you can,” Mark said.
Helen and Perry grasped his hands without hesitation. An instant later, the three of them shimmered with a faint luminescence tha
t spread slowly outward, forcing the tendrils of smoke off the table until it formed a protective sphere around the five of them. Alice swept a relieved gaze over the three white magic practitioners before she centered her attention on Mark.
“What made you think of that, young man?” she asked.
“I remembered something Perry told me before. Everyone generates a small amount of light energy. Not enough to use white magic but we all contribute to the currents of source energy around us. When we’re happy and tranquil, we create more. I thought that since we’re connected and we’re stronger now, we might be able to combine our light energy enough to activate the protection,” Mark said.
“That was clever thinking.” Nathan patted him on the shoulder. “That’s my favorite nephew!”
A pleased but sheepish smile curved Mark’s lips. The sphere of shimmering white light showed no signs of weakening as the red smoke continued to rise until it reached the ceiling. The five wizards couldn’t see past the protection spell anymore.
“How long will this thing last?” Alice asked.
“I don’t know. If there isn’t any dark energy around, my protective spells have never worn off. I’ve always just deactivated them when they’re no longer needed,” Mark said.
“Make sure you keep charging that protection amulet.” Alice cast a worried look at him then turned to gaze at the red smoke.
Mark, Helen, and Perry kept their hands joined and continued to channel light energy. Mark thought he saw movement and an instant later, over a dozen enchanted daggers smashed against his shield. Helen cried out with surprise and Perry gasped. Nathan retreated a step from the edge of the table. The daggers disappeared from sight as they fell back into the red smoke and clattered against the floor.
“Try to stay calm. Your fear is driving away the light energy,” Mark advised.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you on that one,” Alice said.