by Ava Day
“We're going to go grab a bite to eat. You're welcome to join us,” I offer.
Beth shakes her head no so Joy and I shuffle past her and make our way to the metal spiral staircase for a hasty exit.
When we get up into the privacy of the lobby, Joy turns to speak. “That was strange.” She keeps her voice low.
“A little bit. Did it seem like she wanted to get rid of us?” I ask.
“I'm not sure, I don't know her that well,” Joy replies.
“She's Verne's sister. Besides do you want to spend any time with her?” I say raising my eyebrow in Joy's direction.
“Yeah, good point,” Joy retorts.
We continue upstairs for some peace and quiet. I thought once we discovered how Verne died we'd be done with all of the running around. Things have only become more hectic since. Rain batters the glass of the windows as the wind causes them to rattle in their frames.
“I'd better go check on the auditorium to make sure it's not flooding from that hole in the roof,” I tell Joy.
“I'll come with,” she replies.
As we enter the auditorium I hear the sound of splashing water. Verne is standing next to the first row of shelves with her arms crossed, watching the water pour into the theater. The tarp covering the hole must have blown away. A small river is running through the center of the auditorium, causing the already swampy water in the orchestra pit to rise.
“Don't just stand there, seal that hole,” Verne barks.
“How?” Joy asks.
“How do you think? Magic!”
“Do you have something specific in mind?” I add.
“There is a wand of physical warding in that blue box,” Verne points down the aisle behind her.
I jump into action and fetch the wand. “Now what?”
“Point it at the hole and focus your magic into the wand. The spell stored inside will do the work,” Verne replies.
I raise my arm and clear my mind, letting the magic flow through me and into the wand. It begins buzzing with energy. The vibrations begin to coalesce at the end of the rod before shooting from the tip towards the ceiling. The ball of energy hits one side of the hole and quickly spreads to cover almost the entire opening with a transparent shield. I can see the drops of rain drumming against it and running off to the side. Water is still getting through so I prepare to use the wand again.
“Let me try,” Joy says.
“Sure, it's really simple,” I reply as I hand her the magical rod.
Without hesitation, Joy lifts the wand and a much larger glob of energy ejects from the end of it. The bundle of magic hits directly in the center of the opening, causing the other shield to flex and wobble. In moments the two shields are merging into one massive warding against the rain.
“You two learn quickly.” Verne smiles at us. “It took me a few months to figure out how to activate imbued objects. I was stuck with basic spell casting.”
“We've had a lot of practice in a short amount of time,” I say.
“Have you seen Beth yet?” Joy asks. “You should go talk with her.”
“I looked for my sister but couldn't find her. She's knows the best places to find solitude in the Beacon. We'll see each other when she's ready,” Verne replies.
“In the meantime do you want to hang out with us?” I ask. “We're making dinner, which was originally supposed to be lunch but more important things needed our attention.”
“I would like that very much, thank you for the offer,” Verne says. I follow Joy back to the apartment.
Chapter 23
Dinner took longer to prepare than I would have liked, but it turned out excellent. Verne is an fantastic chef even as a ghost. Her recommendations for a spice blend were perfect.
“I have a question for you, Verne,” I say as I remember something odd that stuck out to me when we fought the wraith in Beth's cabin the other day.
“I've already given up my secret spice blend. There's not much else I'm willing to part with,” Verne jokes.
“So most of the spells we've been casting use plain English simple verse spells. The other day when we were visiting Beth, she showed us a spell that looked like something derived from Latin.”
“That must have been a very old spell then. That's how you can tell when a spell was invented. We could update the older spells to use modern language but why bother,” Verne replies, “What spell did she show you?”
“A banishment type spell,” Joy chimes in.
“Oh, those are dangerous things. If you aren't careful with those spells you could banish yourself. I hope you didn't try to cast it,” Verne says.
“Oh, no. Why would we need to do that?” Joy lies.
“Good,” Verne says, satisfied. Suddenly her image flickers like a weak candle flame. She looks down at her fading visage. “Something has come for us,” she manages to say before blinking out of sight.
“What do we do?” Joy asks.
“I don't know. I've only ever been attacked once in my life,” I reply as a rumble rolls through the building, causing the walls to shake and the dishes on the table to dance.
“Let's find Beth. Hopefully she'll know what to do,” Joy suggests.
“It's the only plan we have,” I say in agreement.
I rush downstairs with Joy on my heels as the entire theater twists, causing the stairs to toss us. My arms windmill uselessly as I fall towards the bottom of the steps, landing in a heap with Joy on top of me. We untangle ourselves and Joy pulls her phone from her pocket to make sure she didn't crack the screen.
“Come on. Is this really the time?” I say.
“Yes, we need evidence, Penny. I'm not going to die like Verne and have no one know what happened to me,” Joy explains as she opens the sound recording app on her phone and starts recording. With a smile aimed at me, she gingerly slides the phone into her pocket.
“It is a good idea,” I admit.
“Of course it is! I thought of it,” Joy laughs, but it doesn't cut the air of seriousness that has settled over both of us.
The floor wavers underneath our feet once again and we clutch each other to stay upright. Bursting into the lobby, we expect to be attacked as soon as we appear. Nothing sinister is waiting to greet us though. Joy and I cautiously step through the lobby in the direction of the auditorium. As we approach the door, I hear a woman's voice chanting.
“Someone is in there,” I whisper to Joy.
“Beth?” she asks.
“I don't know,” I reply, straining to understand the words being spoken. We continue forward until we can peak around the door. Joy pokes her head out, pulling herself back quickly.
Chapter 24
“Uh, Penny? I think Beth might be the necromancer,” Joy says with dread.
“What? Why?”
“Girls!” Beth calls to us. “Oh I saw you Joy. You can come out, I won't bite.”
We exchange worried glances before standing up and striding into the auditorium confidently. “So you could talk this whole time?” Joy says.
“No, but thanks to you two helpful little witches I was able to get my voice back,” Beth cackles.
“You’re responsible for Verne's death, aren’t you?” I accuse her. “How could you kill your own sister?”
“I was trying to get her to leave. Who would have thought that goody goody would have sacrificed herself? Verne was smart though, her counter spell took my voice and locked me out of the Beacon permanently. That is until you showed up at my cabin,” Beth replies.
Turning her attention from us she finishes chanting over the cauldron in front of her. Now certainly isn’t the time, but I’m still a little upset that I wasn’t able to find that thing and realize that we do indeed look ridiculous casting over the mixing bowl. Beth’s last few words hang in the air as the building stops rumbling and rolling, leaving the room eerily silent.
“You won't get away with this!” Joy shouts into the silence.
“I already have. It's over. You can join me if you
'd like,” Beth replies as she pulls a wand from a fold in her skirt. “No? Then you should probably start running away.”
She points the wand in our direction and a bolt of lightening blasts the wall next to us. I dive for cover behind some of the shelves. Joy takes refuge behind one of the pillars holding up the balcony.
“You were the one that murdered all of those people!” I accuse Beth from the safety of the pillar.
“How astute of you, Penny. They were part of some failed experiments,” Beth replies as she approaches Joy with her wand at the ready.
I focus my mind and ready my magic, pushing my hands towards a row of shelves. They should have toppled over onto Beth, but she must have a shield protecting her. The shelves stop above her and slide off to either side, sending books and reagents flying everywhere. It achieves the desired results of saving Joy, but Beth turns her attention towards me and shoots a bolt of lightening over my head. It explodes against the shelves behind me, sending motes of embers raining down.
“Penny, how adorable that you thought you could hurt me,” Beth chides me as she sends another bolt crashing in my direction.
I scramble over the ruins of decimated shelves to escape. While I'm laying prone between a stack of smoldering books and a precariously balanced shelf, I get an idea. “Joy, retreat!” I yell while running for the stairs to the balcony.
Beth seems uninterested in pursuing, like a cat tired of chasing the same mouse. Joy slips out from behind the pillar, dashing for the stairs as Beth strolls over to the cauldron in the middle of the room. Bending over, she whispers something to the cast iron pot. Thick black smoke billows forth from the mouth of the cauldron. Forming a tight cloud, it swirls clockwise as another black cloud shoots out. Humanoid shapes start to coalesce from the smoke.
“Wraiths!” I shout, following Joy up into the balcony. The monsters come for us as we crouch inside the projectionist booth.
“Come on, let's get out of here,” Joy says, pointing to the ladder that leads into the basement.
“No, we have to fight her,” I reply. “And I know how to do it.”
“I'm open to suggestions,” Joy says.
“The book we found with the spell that unlocked our powers,” I begin. “There was a spell to lock away magical powers, too. All we need to do is get the spellbook and gather the reagents.”
“There's no way we will be able to do that with wraiths attacking us,” Joy responds.
“We have to. It's the only idea we have,” I tell her.
“Alright, you find that book and I'll keep the wraiths busy,” Joy agrees.
Putting her hand on the door knob, she gives one last look at the ladder before ripping the door wide open. I watch her run out in a crouch. A wraith flies up from below and threatens her from the railing. She raises her hand and an enormous bolt of electricity shoots forth from her palm. The recoiling force knocks Joy off her feet. The wraith falls out of the sky, still sizzling. I decide that I need to make my move. The chaos hasn't reached the book shelves up here, so they are easy to search through. Another wraith appears next to me and I scream.
“Duck!” Joy warns. I hit the floor just in time to see the wraith blasted back into the auditorium. I scan the books as quickly as possible, but have no luck finding the one I need. I try to not let the fact that Joy is shooting lightening from her fingertips distract me. She is now fighting three wraiths at once.
“Found it!” I proclaim, sliding the A Beginners Guide to the World of Magiks from the shelf. I flip it open to the spell I need. It only requires three reagents.
“That's great, but I'm getting a little worn out over here,” Joy replies.
I sneak to the railing and look down into the auditorium. Beth is standing menacingly over her cauldron. Or should I say, my cauldron. All of these reagents should be in the same area, as long as they haven't been destroyed already. I wave for Joy to cover me as I make a run for the steps.
Electricity crackles around me as Joy zaps another wraith from our path. Beth returns fire with a few of her own blasts in our direction. I stumble over debris, but Joy grabs my arm to steady me. We continue over to the intact shelving where I immediately begin searching. I'm so glad that I asked Verne about the organizational system earlier, that information might be what saves our life. All of the reagents should be here in the enchantments section. Grabbing the first vial I need, I spot the next ingredient on the shelf below.
“You can't hide forever!” Beth shouts menacingly.
Snatching the jar of morning dew drops, I jump backwards as a bolt of energy flies past my face. A bright streak of light is left burning across my vision. Shaking my head, I check to make sure the vials clutched tightly in my fist haven’t cracked. Joy is busy having a shootout with Beth, so I have some breathing room to continue my search for the last reagent.
I find a jar with the ingredient I'm looking for. What the heck is ghost breath? Curious, I pop the lid on the jar and am surprised to see a black sand substance. I resist the urge to poke my finger in it.
“Ok, we have everything. Let's make this count,” I say to Joy.
Using the element of surprise, I sprint out from my hiding spot and use my telekinetic powers to toss Beth into the air. Her eyes go wide with surprise as she lands with a splash in the water filled orchestra pit. Joy zaps two more wraiths as she come to stand next to me. Hastily, I toss the three reagents into the cauldron. Beth starts to climb out of the water, so I push her back in. Joy and I hold the book together as we recite the spell in unison.
“Locked away your magic will be. All will be taken from thee. Magic is only for the worthy.”
The wraiths screech as they begin to shrivel in on themselves. One by one they disappear with a loud pop.
“Do you think it worked?” Joy asks me. Beth stands on the edge of the orchestra pit dripping from head to toe. She points her wand at us, but nothing happens.
“I think we're safe now,” I reply.
“This is impossible! You can't defeat me. I'll get my magic back and then you'll pay,” Beth threatens us.
“Calm down or I'll send you back into the pond you just crawled out of,” I say as I notice a stray leaf in Beth's hair. Joy pulls her phone from her pocket with a satisfied look on her face.
“You confessed to murder. You're going to jail,” Joy gloats. Verne shimmers into existence near her sister. Beth doesn't see Verne because she's lost her magic but she can hear her through my pendant.
“How could you betray me?” Verne asks.
“You left me no choice. You were too goodhearted to depend on. I never expected you to sacrifice yourself,” Beth replies remorsefully.
“Disgraceful,” Verne says before disappearing once again. Joy keeps Beth at bay with the threat of being zapped while I go find something to tie her up with. When I return with a piece of rope, Joy is on the phone with the police.
“That's correct officer, she broke in and is mentally unwell,” Joy explains to the person she's speaking with.
“I'm not unwell, my mind is flawless. Once I get my magic back you'll see!” Beth exclaims.
“Yep, that's her talking about her magic now. Could you please just send someone to take her away,” Joy says politely. I finish tying Beth's wrists together and lead her into the lobby to wait for the cops. Joy hangs up the phone, laughing as she approaches Beth. “If for some reason you ever find your way back here, I won't be so easy on you,” Joy says.
“You have no idea how many years of training in the dark arts I have. Your little spell can't stop me forever,” Beth spits back. The sound of sirens approaching causes everyone to stop talking. I go outside to greet the Detective Sheffield as Joy pushes Beth out onto the sidewalk.
“Hello, Detective,” I say, waving.
“We got a call about a breaking and entering?” he says briskly.
“Yes, we caught this woman inside our building. She threatened and attacked us,” I explain. Joy pulls her phone out of her pocket and plays some o
f the recording for the man.
“It's good enough to open an investigation. I can't say where it will go,” he agrees and then turns to Beth, “I'm placing you under arrest for breaking and entering, assault. You are also now a suspect in a series of murders that happened 25 years ago. Do you understand?”
“My failed experiment, yes. Those people were volunteers. At least they were when I was done with them,” Beth laughs.
“Ma'am, I'm going to untie you so I can put the cuffs on you, alright?”
“Soon, I'll be free again!” Beth shouts as the detective slaps the handcuffs on her. He pushes her head down while he guides her into the backseat of the squad car.