by John O'Riley
Lucius seated himself at the table and grabbed the paper and pen that was lying in wait. Josephine peered over his shoulder as he began his translation.
“What did he discover?” Jake asked from the other side of the table.
“It’s an explanation of the enchantments from before. I think it will tell us what they’re supposed to do. He’s mentioning terramezic energy! I think we’ve hit the jack pot with this one!” Josephine said.
A prickle of unease made Josephine clench her jaw. Something was terribly wrong. She reached out and grabbed Lucius’s left shoulder with her right hand. At the same time, she activated her protection amulets she wore. An instant later, fire exploded all around the two of them. Alex cried out in pain as he was the closest to them but he wasn’t seriously injured. He retreated to a safe distance as flames continued to swirl around Josephine and Lucius. Some of the scorching heat seeped through the shield but not enough to damage the two wizards inside. Perry grabbed Helen’s and Alice’s hand and activated Helen’s protection. A protective bubble of white energy materialized around the three of them.
“Alex, come over here,” Helen said.
Alex walked towards them and the bubble extended to encompass him. Jake’s intent gaze was glued to Josephine and Lucius as the flames finally died away. The table and part of the carpeting was scorched but nothing had caught fire.
“APU 81.” Josephine peered at her grandson with displeasure as a cold terror settled in the pit of her stomach. She was horrified to discover that this brutal entity had somehow hijacked him.
“How did you know?” Jake asked.
“I always detect faint traces of psychometric energy from everyone. A little bit ago, you stopped transmitting them. I figured since you lost Maggie, you may have moved to another host,” Josephine said.
Jake’s expression was cold and calculating. “I always have a backup plan. You’ll never be able to stop me. Humans are too small and stupid to be allowed to roam free. I won’t rest until every last one of you is under my control or dead.”
“I’m going to find your crystal skull and shatter it into a thousand pieces!” Josephine snapped. “How dare you take my grandson!”
Jake pointed his hand at her and another raging fire exploded over her and Lucius. She activated her backup protection because she could sense her shield failing. She didn’t have much left because she’d spent most of them on her earlier encounter with the two construo letalis curses.
“Lucius, activate your protection,” Josephine said.
Lucius complied with her request and she pulled out one of her power wands.
Jake leveled a chilling smile at her. “Are you going to kill your own grandson in cold blood?”
“Of course, she won’t.” Helen had one of her wands aimed at Jake and unleashed a stream of gold and white energy.
The enchantment embraced Jake and soaked into his body, making it radiate with bright golden light. He stumbled and fell flat on his back. His eyes widened as he stared up at the ceiling in a panic. He made choking sounds for several seconds before he lost consciousness. His body continued to glow as everyone rushed over to him. Josephine knelt down beside her grandson and clutched his hand in hers.
“Please be all right, Jake,” Josephine whispered as fear assailed her senses.
The sparkling luminescence that shone from Jake’s skin went dark and he looked normal again.
“Jake! Wake up!” Josephine said.
Jake groaned and opened his eyes. “I’ve got a killer headache. What just happened?”
“Your body was hijacked by APU 81,” Josephine explained.
“I hope that doesn’t happen again.” Jake groaned softly and clutched his head.
Josephine’s heart thudded as she wondered if even now the artificial life form was taking over her grandson again. She forced herself to calm down as she scanned him and could detect normal levels of psychometric energy. Josephine would definitely keep a close eye on him.
She turned to address Lucius. “You have more decoding to do, right?”
“Yes! I’m not finished yet!” Lucius’s face brightened with anticipation and he seated himself back at the table again. He began jotting down more notes. Josephine and the others gathered around him to watch. Josephine couldn’t help but read every single word as he jotted them down. Tension made her ache as she kept her psychic receptors fully active and aware of her surroundings at all times. She didn’t want any more sneak attacks.
“Josephine, are you all right?” Mark’s voice drifted into her mind.
She flinched with surprise and Alex noticed. She flashed a reassuring smile at him and he returned his attention to the notes Lucius was writing down.
“I’m fine. APU 81 possessed Jake’s body but Helen used white magic to banish it. I can’t help but worry though. APU 81 could come back and steal Jake’s mind away from me at any time. I’m terrified that I’m going to lose everyone in some kind of surprise attack and that it will be by my grandson’s hand,” Josephine said telepathically.
“We’ll find a way to keep everyone safe.”
“I hope so.”
“I love you, Josephine.”
Mark’s presence slipped away and Josephine wondered how he managed to use their link so well. She could never seem to initiate contact on her own. She tensed when she realized she’d stopped paying attention to the psychometric energy of the room. She checked to make sure Jake was still occupying his own mind and relaxed just a bit when she confirmed he was safe. Josephine’s gaze returned to Lucius’s notes and she realized he was writing down the potion for curing the DV-2 virus. As soon as Lucius finished outlining the enchantment, Josephine placed a call to Ben. She read the enchantment to the chief of police and he wrote it down. They didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
“Excellent work, Josephine! I’m going to call this in to the CDC. I’ll need you to come down to the station and write up a report on all this,” Ben said.
“I’m on my way.”
Josephine disconnected the call. She, Jake, and Alex hopped into her car and headed for the police station with the notes Lucius had jotted down. Josephine’s fingers clutched the steering wheel tight as she drove, wondering if APU 81 would have any further surprises up his sleeve. So far, he had left Jake alone which she was grateful for. Unfortunately, she had no idea how long this would last. Josephine couldn’t help but feel that Jake could be stolen at any moment and the thought of him dying filled her with despair.
“Josephine, you need to relax.” Alex watched her with concern.
“None of us can relax. We all need to stay focused and vigilant. APU 81 can attack us at any time and we have no way of seeing it coming,” Josephine said.
Alex opened his mouth to argue but must have changed his mind. His mouth snapped shut but his worried gaze remained glued to Josephine. She could feel it boring into her and a tinge of guilt stabbed at her. Alex had been very supportive ever since she’d left retirement and began her career as an enforcer. Before that, she’d given him a lot of trouble while working for the police as a consultant.
“I’m sorry, Alex. I’m just very upset right now. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel safe again,” Josephine said.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” Alex said.
Josephine glanced at her grandson’s handsome face through the rearview mirror. “Jake, do you remember Maggie attacking you or someone making you hold a crystal skull?”
“No.” He frowned in contemplation. “I don’t remember anything like that happening.”
“I wish I knew more about APU 81 and how this possession thing works,” Josephine said grimly.
“Wait a minute.” Alex wore a puzzled expression on his face. “How did APU 81 take control of Jake? He’s not a six.”
Josephine swallowed as dread snaked up her spine. “That’s because he’s a latent six.”
“I am?” Jake shot her a quizzical look. “How do you know that?”
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p; “It tends to run in families. Brad told me you were a latent six. He has a way of detecting it and so does APU 81.”
“Are you talking about Brad Lyons from the Phoenix Community?” Jake asked.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Jake regarded her with puzzlement.
“I was worried you might want to join him,” Josephine admitted.
“Well you can stop worrying about THAT,” Jake said emphatically. “I would never join that group of wackos.”
Josephine felt a small portion of the tension in her shoulders melt away at her grandson’s reassuring words.
“Am I a latent six?” Alex asked.
Josephine snorted with amusement. “Not at all.”
“And what makes you so sure?” he demanded with outrage.
“Because latent sixes don’t give off very much psychometric energy while YOU broadcast the stuff like a radio tower,” Josephine said. “Besides, you’re not a wizard. The most you will ever do is activate spells that are already contained in wands. You’ll never be able to make your own enchantments.”
“I wouldn’t want to,” Alex said. “As far as I’m concerned, magic is nothing but trouble.”
Josephine was relieved and surprised to arrive at the police station safely and without any additional attacks from APU 81. Josephine typed the report with all the details of the intel Lucius had provided and submitted it in record time. Alex left the room for a donut and coffee. He returned with a beige mug filled with the steaming beverage and an old-fashioned maple-glazed donut. It looked good so Josephine got one for herself. Alex and Jake gazed at her with surprise as she sat back down behind her desk and took a bite of her donut.
“What are you two staring at?” she asked.
“You never have a donut,” Alex said.
“Sure I do.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever had one.” Alex threw Jake a quizzical look. “Has she?”
“No, never,” Jake confirmed.
“I’ve always been very careful to watch what I eat because of my metabolism,” Josephine explained. “But now that everyone’s always trying kill me, I thought I might as well enjoy myself once in awhile.”
“Makes sense to me,” Jake said.
“Can’t argue with that.” Alex tossed his shoulders in a casual shrug of dismissal.
Ben strode over to them with a grin on his face. “Great news! That new potion Lucius discovered worked! We’ve got an antidote for the DV-2 virus.”
Relief swamped through Josephine’s body while Alex and Jake exchanged high-fives.
“Great work, everyone,” Ben said. “We’ve got all the medical facilities and hospitals creating the antidote as we speak. And I also received a report from Director Hamilton. The facility at American Stonehenge automatically takes scans of everyone who enters the building. APU 4093 identified the brain patterns needed for APU 81 to take control. Maggie Freeman’s condition was completely cured and her brainwaves are normal now. White magic reverses the process that makes them vulnerable to possession. So that means Jake is safe, too.” His gaze met Josephine’s. “I know you had to be worried.”
“I was.” Josephine leveled a warm smile at the chief of police. “Thank you for sharing the news.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ben returned to his office and Josephine was giddy with relief. It looked like virtually all of her problems were at bay except for the murderous artificial intelligence running loose but she doubted it would be bothering her any time soon when she had a White Knight living with her.
Epilogue
The mouth-watering aroma of freshly-baked lasagna permeated the air and the sound of amiable chatter and occasional laughter dominated Josephine’s dining room as Alex, Jake, Josephine, Helen, Alice, Maggie, and Perry enjoyed their meals. Lucius had moved back to Arizona to be with his family and friends who were still alive and doing well. It had been over two weeks since APU 81 had fled from the facilities at American Stonehenge and no one had heard a peep from it. APU 4093 wouldn’t reveal any of its technology but offered its assistance if APU 81 ever showed up again and allowed the team of scientists to study its architecture as long as they didn’t try to take it apart. APU 4093 explained that if they could figure out how to make any enchantments based on visual observations and magical scans, it didn’t have a problem with it for some reason. The government accepted this limited cooperation from the artificial intelligence with reservations. Maggie had retained memories of the identities of Valituras administrators and executive leaders that APU 81 had known. Combat enforcers had coordinated a swift tactical strike and captured three-quarters of all the administrators and leaders of the Valituras organization followed by many of its members. Only a smattering of Valituras agents remained free and in hiding with their false identities. Their dependence on secrecy had been their undoing and now the remaining members had no way of coordinating their efforts or communicating with each other.
Maggie was now taking some time off and residing in her vacation home in Saint Petersburg to be closer to Mark. The two of them had a lot of catching up to do. Everyone was cured of the DV-2 virus at this point. Josephine could hardly believe that just two weeks ago, her situation had been so dire and hopeless. Sometimes she regretted leaving her comfortable retirement life but now she could see that it had been the right thing to do. Mark reached over and gently grasped her hand. A surge of love and affection swelled in Josephine’s heart. Life was just about perfect right now.
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Another installment of Grumpy Old Wizards is on its way!
The following pages are a preview of the first book in an exciting new series, Transformation:
Chapter 1
Emily Winters paced back and forth in her small, barren living quarters which had served as her prison for twelve long years. Her plan for freedom was tenuous at best but finally, her opportunity would arrive and she had to seize it for there would never be another. As a level nine precognitive, she knew this was her only hope. She had been abducted as an adolescent with the ability to foresee the future with uncanny accuracy when discovered by an operative of the Psi-Tech research facility in Seattle. The extent of her powers had been ascertained through a battery of tests. The vast majority of psychics possessed only one strong talent but often one or two weaker abilities. Emily had been classified as a level five precognitive with no secondary abilities; however, she had intentionally failed their testing for telepathy. The researchers had been ecstatic to discover a naturally-occurring psychic with such a high rating. They had immediately forced her to undergo the psi-enhancement procedure which comprised of a combination of drugs and electrical stimulation to the brain. This technique only worked on a third of the population and no one knew ahead of time who it would help. After a painful recovery of several days, Emily was reclassified as a level nine precognitive which was the highest rating that researchers could currently measure.
At first, Emily refused to cooperate with her captors but after enduring days of torture, she’d capitulated with their instructions. For years, she made daily predictions that benefited the facility’s ability to generate profit through economic forecasting as well as strengthen its political power base. Several key government officials and a small, wealthy, influential group of individuals secretly reaped the rewards of work performed by both prisoners as well as employees of this organization. As the co
mpany’s most valuable tool, Emily had been instructed to foresee and report a variety of major events. As a result of her work, she knew a great deal about this corrupt and greedy organization. She couldn’t stand the thought of furthering their agenda and supporting their power base any longer. Not when an opportunity had finally arrived which would allow her to escape this place.
Emily’s body filled with nervous anticipation as she continued pacing the main room of her living quarters. It was furnished with a small desk and laptop computer to allow her to record any unexpected visions she may receive, a plush gray armchair, and a small bookcase brimming with a collection of popular novels. The white walls were devoid of any decoration while the floor was covered by green, commercial-grade carpeting. The spartan bedroom offered only a twin-sized bed with a small nightstand that sported a cheap, digital alarm clock. The entrance to the private bathroom was situated on one end of the main room. Of course, there were no windows in the living quarters which would have allowed for possible escape.
Her head spun toward the front door as the lock clicked loudly and an instant later, Steve emerged inside the room. Steve was a research manager and a level five psychometrist. He was tall with soulless brown eyes and had thinning, blond hair. He wore a gray dress shirt and black tie and brown pants. He gripped a taser in his right hand and nodded toward the open doorway as he stepped away from it so she could move past him. Emily had been expecting this unwelcome visit. She took a deep, fortifying breath and traversed down the hallway. Steve escorted her to the elevator and they rode in tense silence until they’d risen several floors. Emily’s anxiety mounted as they continued down another long corridor until finally reaching Sharon’s office. Sharon smiled chillingly from behind her massive, polished oak desk. She was the director of this facility and had taken a very personal interest in Emily as she had proven to be an invaluable asset to the company. Like Steve, she had started her work here with no psychic abilities whatsoever until she’d participated in the psi-enhancement procedure which had fashioned her into a level four intuitive. Psychometrists received impressions, information, and emotions that individuals unknowingly left behind on inanimate objects while intuitives could obtain information from some unknown source. The most common theory for intuitives was that they possessed a conglomerate of incomplete psychic abilities that gave them glimpses of information and insight from seemingly nowhere.