Using her magesight she found the weakest points of the connections and started shredding them by the simple expedient of throwing raw power around. Finally, the connection began to weaken further and break down.
The demon roared. “I WILL DESTROY YOU! YOU ARE NOTHING!”
Zoe laughed hysterically. “Do you think that scares me? I went through grad school! I’m an untenured professor! I know I’m nothing! Tell me something I don’t know!”
As the connection between the demon and the coven began to unravel, Zoe slammed raw force onto the top of the fountain and the demon. What was left of her normally calm demeanor was vainly arguing that there was likely a better way to go about this, but the violence was liberating, and besides, she didn’t know any other way to destroy a demon. She continued to slam the demon with force until it began to crack, like masonry. Demon pieces were flying in a multitude of directions, falling to the ground, and then sinking back into the earth inside the circle created by the coven. A deep concussion, like a small earthquake, resonated around the park every time a piece of demon hit the ground.
Howling screams erupted from Susan Barker standing inside the circle, next to the fountain wall. She was getting pulled into the ground along with Ed, who had fallen near Susan. Zoe froze, not sure what to do, but wanting to at least rescue Ed. Saving Susan was not really near the top of her list of problems right now. Susan had started this, it seemed only fair that she should pay some sort of price. Zoe frantically tried to think of a way to save Ed.
Something rumbled abruptly and the ground around the two heaved. A wave of dirt and gravel thrust up and shoved Susan and Ed outside the circle and onto the grassy surround. George and Rob Andrews stood side by side concentrating on their Earth wave. Ed and Susan both collapsed on the ground seemingly unconscious.
Zoe whirled back to face the demon and threw one final immense blast of power at it and the top of the fountain. It felt like it took everything out of her. With a final, earth-shattering scream, the demon broke fully apart, and the remaining pieces sank into the ground. Miraculously, the fountain, with the exception of the one stone frog, was unharmed. Zoe’s legs gave way and she sat down abruptly on the ground, her head spinning.
A sudden, profound silence surrounded the fountain and the small park. Looking up at the hotel across the street, Zoe was surprised to see that there was no damage. The conflagration and fight at the fountain had been so tremendous, that she figured the hotels and park buildings had been severely damaged, if not destroyed. But there were pedestrians walking up the far side of the parkway as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. What the hell?
Feeling exhausted and jittery she stared around at the fountain and the park. George was staring at her.
“What?” she said faintly.
“You have more power than I’ve seen before,” George sounded weak and tired. “But we will have to work on your finesse.”
Zoe couldn’t help it. She flopped down on her back and started laughing.
“You’re worried about my finesse? We just fought a demon and you’re looking for style points?”
“Yes, I am. If you simply throw power around like that, you could kill yourself or others. So, yes. Style points matter.” George gave her a weak smile.
Zoe stopped laughing and sat up abruptly. Kill herself? Nobody had ever mentioned that possibility before.
Before she could ask George what he meant, footsteps crunched in the gravel and she glanced around. The others were slowly walking over to their side of the fountain. Robyn Harper and one of her students were supporting Declan Jin between them. There was blood running down one side of his face. Jessica, Josh, Annmarie, and Geoff were following them, shoulders drooping and moving carefully but not injured as far as Zoe could tell. Mark and David had subdued Morgan Ammon and were standing on either side of her as she slumped over. Melanie Porter and Meredith Cruickshank were lying on the ground, apparently unconscious. Zoe refused to consider the alternative.
The neighborhood contingent, as Zoe had come to think of them, also came around the fountain looking exhausted and sporting patches of masonry dust where the exploding demon bits had rained down on them, but otherwise unharmed. They herded the remaining coven members in front of them. The body of the woman stepped on by the demon was gone.
“Did it sink into the ground too?” Zoe asked, staring at the spot where she was sure the body had been lying.
George noticed her looking around and said gently, “She consorted with demons. Her soul will pay the price.”
Zoe was stunned. “But…she probably didn’t know…I mean…” her voice trailed off.
Kim shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. She took part in the rituals willingly. If she didn’t figure it out before, she is now.” Her voice was tinged with grief. Some of the remaining coven members overheard the conversation and went pale with shock and fear.
Zoe stared around the park trying to take it all in. Her gaze fell on Kieran who lay unmoving on the edge of the fountain. Her worry over the fate of the dead coven member disappeared. She scrambled up and ran over to him. Thank God, he was breathing. Trying to remember her long-ago first aid training, Zoe rolled him over onto his back; something about clearing an airway floated through her head, but he wasn’t drowning. So, she settled for the Hollywood solution to unconsciousness...she patted his face and hands and called his name. David came over and with a professional air, checked Kieran’s pulse and peeled back an eyelid.
“He should be fine. I can’t tell if he has a concussion, but either way, he’s gonna have one hell of a headache when he wakes up. You can nurse him back to health,” he winked at Zoe who blushed.
“What the hell is going on?” came a faint, but clearly annoyed voice. Meredith was sitting up, under the watchful eyes of Jessica and the three students.
Jessica glared down at her.
“You and your coven raised a demon. We fought you. We won.”
At Jessica’s words and tone, the arrogance and condescension drained from Meredith’s face.
“I-I didn’t think the coven was real. It was a way to make sure the women on campus bonded. I thought it was a team-building thing.” Her voice was limp but still defensive.
Robyn laughed grimly. “Team-building so you could lord it over faculty and administrative staff? You’re a piece of work. Want my advice? You should resign before your career is totally ruined. I really don’t care what you do as long as you don’t do it at Summerfield,” Robyn’s voice was flat and menacing. Zoe was surprised at the venom in Robyn’s tone. Clearly there was one hell of a history between the two women.
A yell from Ed brought everybody around. He was struggling to get up and chase Susan Barker who was running toward the opposite side of the park and across the traffic circle. She disappeared, crossing the small expanse of Sister Cities Park and fading into the darkness.
“Damn it!” George exclaimed. “We should have kept a closer eye on her.”
Ed looked over at him. “You can’t blame me this time,” he said.
“I don’t,” said George. “I blame myself for not thinking she was capable of running.”
He shifted around, favoring his injured leg. “We need to clear out of here before anybody in law enforcement shows up. I don’t know about you all, but I don’t want to try to answer the kind of questions that are going to crop up.”
“Too late,” Kim pointed towards the police cars racing up from 16th Street towards the fountain.
George gestured to the students. “Leave. Now. Wipe his face clean and act like he’s too drunk to walk,” indicating Declan. “Go out that way,” he pointed towards the top end of the parkway.
Zoe turned to Josh and Annmarie.
“Get a ride-share back to wherever you need to go. I’ll pay you back,” she said. Annmarie nodded and took out her phone as the others started moving away, supporting Declan. They did look like they’d just had a very rowdy night.
Ed walked over to Geor
ge. “You still order people around a lot, don’cha?” he said.
George heaved a sigh. “Everybody, I’d like you to meet my brother, Edward.”
Eyebrows went up among the mages standing there.
Ed laughed. “Guess they didn’t expect some hoity-toity professor to have a bum for a little brother!”
George looked directly at him. “Thank you for your help tonight. My offer of a place to live still stands. You are always welcome in my home.”
Ed’s laughter died away as he returned his brother’s gaze. “Guess I should take you up on that,” he responded quietly.
Zoe turned away, slightly embarrassed to be present at what was clearly a painful, and ongoing, family argument. She gazed around at the other mages and what remained of the coven. Zoe gave a slight start. Every member of the coven was also a highly placed member of the senior administration of the college or an administrative assistant in one of the offices. This could be a problem in the future.
Morgan Ammon was still held by Mark and David, but she was upright, and her expression was alert and angry. Zoe walked over to the little group.
She glared at Morgan. “You’re the president of one of the most prestigious colleges on the East Coast. The cops are almost here. You’d better come up with a good story. They’re going to want to talk to you first. Especially after we point out who you are.”
Zoe surprised herself with the implied threat in her voice. Those were some strong words for an untenured faculty member, especially to the person who could, in one stroke, make or break her career, but she was beyond caring. This woman was a power-hungry bully who had used and tossed aside others in pursuit of that power.
“This is not my fault!” Morgan sputtered. “Susan Barker was the leader of the coven, if anybody holds blame, it’s her.”
“Well, you’re out of luck there,” Mark’s voice was tight and angry. “She ran off a few minutes ago. Besides, her job was secretary to the Provost. Do you think the cops are gonna believe that she ordered you, the college president, around? Good luck with that.”
The color drained from the president’s face. “She ran off? But…” her voice trailed off and she stared at her feet. Zoe could not dredge up even the smallest amount of sympathy for her.
The sound of giggling drew her attention. Melanie Porter had recovered consciousness and was sitting up with Jessica and Kim Smith standing over her. She was muttering and talking to herself. Every now and then, she let out a high, shrill laugh and started pointing around the group of mages.
“You, and you, and you. I never would have guessed! Mages!” She cackled again.
Melanie was still ranting about mages as the police made their way across the park. Zoe’s pulse started racing again. Could they hear Melanie? She wasn’t screaming, but it might sound normal. How did cops respond to somebody accusing others of being mages? She had no idea how to deal with police. She’d never had to report anything before, nor had she ever had to call the police for any reason. In her nice secluded academic world, the reality of crime had never intruded, never mind magical crime. Her head ached.
George and Ed had been talking together in low voices and now they moved together to meet the approaching police.
“Hello, officers. I’m sorry for the disturbance,” George said in his best authoritative faculty voice.
Disturbance? Zoe suppressed a snort of laughter. George was a master of understatement.
“My brother called me in a panic. He said he and some others were being harassed by a group of women here at the fountain. I was at a faculty party nearby, so I just came over to see what was going on,” George went on.
The police officer looked over at Ed and sighed.
“Hey, Ed. What now?” he asked.
“Hey, Tony. I dunno. I panicked. I called George. That’s about it.” Ed shuffled his feet and stared at the ground.
The officer turned back to George. “What was all the light and smoke? That’s why we’re here. Somebody called and said there were fireworks at the fountain.”
Ed glanced up quickly, picking at the hem of his tattered jacket. “Wasn’t me, man. It was those damn women. They set off fireworks, that’s when I panicked.”
Officer Tony DiNello sighed again.
“Okay, Ed. I’ll buy it this time. It’s too cold to stand here and argue with you.”
He studied George. “I don’t think I want to know why you brought the entire party with you. Just do me a favor and make sure you can all get home safely. Are you going to accept responsibility for Ed now? I don’t want to leave him out here on the street if possible. Like I said, it’s too cold out here.”
George nodded. “Yes. He’s coming back to my house. Thank you, officer.”
Kieran started to sit up and Zoe ran back over to him. He was just coming around and obviously still somewhat out of it.
“Officer, can you call an ambulance, please? My friend slipped and fell and hit his head on the side of the fountain. I think he has a concussion.” Pleasepleaseplease don’t ask me for any details about how he fell.
“Hell. I really don’t want to know. Okay, I’m calling now.” Officer DiNello got on his radio and requested an ambulance. Then he turned back to the mages and coven members.
“All right. I’m going to accept Ed’s story right now, but I need to get all your names and contact information before you leave. Just in case.”
He gazed thoughtfully over at Melanie who was still giggling and muttering while gesticulating randomly. He spoke again into his radio.
“Dispatch, Four-Seven. We’re gonna need a psych ambulance too.”
Chapter Twenty-two
A couple of days after fighting the demon, Zoe was simultaneously packing for her Christmas visit home, trying to do some prep for her classes for the coming spring semester, and mentally sorting out what exactly had happened over the winter solstice. George had not yet come through with his promised information on how she could kill herself by draining her power, so now she was completely paranoid about using it. According to the cats, the network of squirrels reported that Rowantree had determined the cloud around Shelby Hall was gone, and Darkwing the crow had come by to thank her for avenging his mate.
Kieran did have a concussion but was recovering nicely and Zoe had gone over to his place several times in the last day or so. She told herself his doctor had said to try not to strain his eyes, so texting him was not an option. She got all giggly thinking about him and found excuses for hanging out with him. She thought he was feeling the same way. At least, he wasn’t telling her to go away.
As she sat in front of her computer, staring at it without seeing anything, the incoming email chime sounded. Out of habit, she clicked on her inbox. There were two messages, one from the chair of the Board of Trustees and one from Morgan Ammon. Out of curiosity, Zoe clicked on the one from the Board of Trustees first.
Dear Summerfield Community,
In light of some recent events and allegations, the Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting this morning.
It was agreed that Dr. Morgan Ammon will remain in her position as president. The desire to keep any disruptions for students, faculty and staff to a minimum was our guiding principle.
The members of the Board of Trustees look forward to working with Dr. Ammon as Summerfield College moves forward in the wake of these issues.
Best regards,
William MacLeod, JD
Chair, Board of Trustees, Summerfield College
Zoe gave a snort of laughter. What the hell does Morgan have on him? Must be good! Figuring she knew what was in the second email, she clicked on it anyway.
Dear Summerfield community,
I am sorry to have to announce that Provost Melanie Porter will be taking an indefinite medical leave of absence. I am not at liberty to discuss any details at this moment, but I will endeavor to keep the college community up to date as information is made available. I know that we all send our prayers and best wishes to
Melanie for a speedy recovery.
In Melanie’s absence, Dr. George Wardmaster has graciously agreed to serve as interim provost until such time as a decision regarding a search for a new provost is made. Dr. Wardmaster brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this position and I know he will serve the college well. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Wardmaster to this new position.
Best regards,
Dr. Morgan Ammon
President, Summerfield College
Zoe laughed out loud at the idea of praying for Melanie. Standard administrative language, yes, but highly comedic given the circumstances of Melanie’s “illness.” She was surprised at George’s acceptance of the appointment as interim provost. She had always assumed that he hated administrative positions. And, Morgan Ammon didn’t really like him. Did George just take the appointment so he could keep an eye on her?
Her phone rang.
“Hi, Zoe. Have you looked at your email recently?” came Mark’s voice.
“Yeah, just now. I’m surprised at George,” replied Zoe.
“Well, it makes sense, doesn’t it? If he’s provost, he can keep a closer eye on Morgan. I don’t think we need any more covens on campus, even if Susan Barker is gone. Oh, and I just heard from a student that Meredith is taking a “sabbatical” this coming semester. All her classes have been cancelled or shifted to somebody else,” Mark’s voice took on a slightly gleeful note.
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