by Shaw, J. D.
The lights went out for a moment and she found herself standing beside the baptismal pool inside Our Lady of The Lake.
“I think I’m done cleaning up your mess here, Father.” Seamus Kilpatrick’s voice rang out as a blast of cold air flew into the church. The slamming of the back door echoed off the rows of empty pews leaving Father William alone.
Vivienne detached her viewpoint from inside Father William’s mind. She was beginning to really get the hang of it, feeling like a movie director who moved the camera around to film the action of the actors.
“Why am I not surprised?” He spoke to himself and resumed cleaning with his cloth. He looked around the altar area with pride. “You shine up like a new penny.” He smiled.
The back door opened once more and a figure dressed in a dark hoodie ran inside the church.
“Can I help you?” Father William called out.
The hooded figure sprinted toward him. “He’s going to kill me.”
The back door opened as Seamus Kilpatrick raced inside.
The hoodie fell back revealing the bald man. “Father, you must protect me from this man. He’s possessed.”
“I know you.” Father William stared at the bald man. “You were at the library meeting.”
“You thought this place would save you?” Seamus Kilpatrick bellowed. “How small minded you sorcerers are.”
The bald man grabbed hold of Father William and spun him like a shield. “Please Father, you must believe me. He’s not who he appears to be.”
“Seamus, what’s going on here?” Father William asked.
Seamus stood before him. “This doesn’t concern you, holy man. Stand aside.”
Father William shook his head. “Is this some kind of stunt? Are you really going to sink so low?”
Seamus reached out toward Father William with the open palm of his left hand. He briskly swung it back and forth in a quick sweep motion. “Out of my way, human.”
Father William was suddenly swept off his feet and went rolling off the side, stopping when he struck a pew.
The bald man took advantage of the moment and made his own hand gestures which caused Seamus to stumble backwards and nearly fall into the baptismal pool. He turned to run.
Seamus recovered quickly and lashed out at him by extending both hands forward and lifting them up. The carpeting in the aisle lifted up like a wave and rolled back toward Seamus, striking the bald man and carrying him forward.
“It’s the devil’s work, Father.” The bald man cried out. “We must put a stop to it.”
Father William returned to his feet and gasped in disbelief as the carpet wave dissipated, dropping the bald man in front of Seamus. “This isn’t possible.” He stammered. “What in God’s name is going on?”
Seamus picked the bald man up with one hand and held him effortlessly in his grip. He turned to Father William and snarled. “Your faith has no power over me, holy man.”
Father William made the sign of the cross. “You are a demon.” He said breathlessly. “You have no place in the house of the Lord.”
Seamus shook the bald man furiously back and forth and then threw him to the ground, where he rolled and slammed against Father William, knocking him down into a pew.
“Are you hurt?” Father William asked the bald man.
The bald man reached up with a shaky hand. “Please help me.” He whimpered.
“I will protect you.” Father William helped him up. “We have God on our side.”
The bald man suddenly wrapped his arms around Father William and held him immobile in a strong grip. “I’ll make you a deal.” He called out to Seamus. “You let me live, and I’ll help you with whatever you want.”
Seamus cackled and rubbed his hands together. “A deal? I like deals.”
“I want your word that you will not harm me.” The bald man demanded.
“What are you doing?” Father William struggled against his captor.
“Sorry Father, but this is called ‘negotiating’.” The bald man replied.
“I have a ritual that I’d like performed. It would be easier if there were two of us.” Seamus replied.
“Don’t make a deal with the Devil.” Father William struggled to free himself. “You will only find misery and deceit.”
“Enough talk.” Seamus lashed out at Father William with his left arm.
Father William started to say something in response, but his voice slurred awkwardly.
“You can let him go now.” Seamus grinned.
The bald man released Father William who dropped to the floor, now paralyzed under magical influence. “So we have a deal?”
“Yes.” Seamus nodded. “You started a ritual casting already by setting fire to that business in town, satisfying the requirement for that.” He grinned. “I would very much like to continue this process with you under my supervision. Imagine what ancient spells you could learn. Imagine the power of casting magic that no other being could counter.”
“I’ll help you complete it and then I’ll be free to do as I please. Do you agree to the terms?” The bald man asked.
“Agreed.” Seamus pointed to the baptismal pool. “Shall we continue with water?”
“Yes.” The bald man replied happily. “How can I serve you?”
“Show me how creative you can get.” Seamus cackled.
“I have a way to make a water sacrifice that looks like a natural drowning. It’s worked for me many times before.” The bald man smiled.
“Proceed.”
The bald man grabbed Father William and pulled him effortlessly over to the pool. He lowered him into the water and floated him on his back. “I usually find this works best in a deep bathtub.” He spoke proudly. “You see, the secret is not to leave any marks from a struggle by having to hold their head down.”
Father William suddenly awoke with a start and began to flail about. “What are you doing?”
“Intriguing.” Seamus smiled. “What next?”
“You grab the victim by the heels and yank quickly like this.” He proceeded to demonstrate and the violent motion lowered Father William into the pool, and kept him below the surface. “You see, the water enters the nose and mouth so quickly there is scarcely time to take a breath. You just hold their heels up like so until it’s done.”
Father William’s eyes bulged as his mouth opened and swallowed the water. What little struggle he could put up was easily put down.
“By the power of darkness, I offer a sacrifice of water.” The bald man spoke the incantation. “As his life force ebbs away, so flows the power into this ritual.”
The bald man released him where he remained under the water. “Even if he wasn’t wearing shoes, the only mark would be perhaps an impression on the heels from holding them up.” He said to Seamus. “Accidental drowning 101.”
“Impressive.” Seamus agreed.
The bald man knocked the ladder over with a bump of his elbow. “We’re done here. What’s next?”
As Father William died, the memory came to a jarring halt. Vivienne stirred from the awful experience and felt sick to her stomach.
“Are you okay down there?” Joshua asked.
“I know what happened now.” Vivienne looked up. “Get me out of here.”
Joshua and Hunter lifted her out of the open grave. “How about a defense to help us?”
Vivienne shivered in the cold night. “Our best defense is to find the sorcerer and make him a better deal than the one he has with the Elemental.”
“Good luck with that one.” A voice called out from the darkness. “My part of the bargain is almost finished.” The bald man mocked as he was joined by Seamus Kilpatrick at his side.
“Defiling a corpse? Even I have never stooped that low.” The bald man mocked them.
“He wouldn’t be a corpse if you hadn’t murdered him.” Vivienne shouted back.
“Yes. You do have a rather interesting power for a witch.” The bald man replied.
Jo
shua and Hunter stepped forward, keeping Vivienne behind them.
“You three have been doing some pretty naughty things here.” Seamus cackled. “It almost makes me sad to have to kill you.” He raised his hands in the air as bolts of red energy crackled in the cold night air.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Vivienne awoke with a start, her mouth dry. She coughed and opened her eyes. The room was dark but warm. When she tried to move her legs she found them bound up. In a panic, she reached down only to discover that she could easily free herself as it was only a thin blanket wrapped around them. In fact, as she felt around a bit more, she was surprised to discover she had been sleeping on a simple twin bed and was dressed in one of Joshua’s oversized tee shirts. “Joshua?” Her voice was raspy. Why was her mouth so dry? She coughed a little bit but it didn’t help. “Joshua?” She called out again, her voice no better.
Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness of the room and after a few moments she could see a little crack of light coming from behind what looked like a door. As quietly as she could, she stood up from the mattress which caused the floorboards beneath the bed to creak. She held her breath in response and listened for footfalls to indicate that her captor was now aware of her being awake.
After a few moments, she slowly walked toward the door. She could make out that she was in a small bedroom from the look of things. There was a small dresser, a nightstand with an antique looking glass lamp, and one of those old wall radiator units that was hissing and putting out the heat that she felt. Vivienne’s head was pounding. She felt slightly disoriented, sort of like the morning after one of Kathy’s famous New Year’s Eve parties.
As she reached the door, it was open just enough to allow her to peek out at the living room area waiting beyond the bedroom. There was a small sofa that was covered with a tropical-floral print slipcover, two mismatched styled recliners, a small coffee table that was covered with stacks of what looked like old books and papers, and two large windows against the far wall that revealed what looked to her like the early morning light before dawn. She could see heavy snowfall swirling outside the window glass.
As slowly as she could manage, she pulled the door open just enough to make her escape and find out just what the heck was going on. There was a howling sound as the wind outside picked up and blew some snow crystals against the glass. She was thankful for that, as it provided cover for the noise as she padded barefoot across the floor which was covered with thick-braided area rugs.
She looked around the unfamiliar room for a door that would lead to the outside of wherever she was being held. There was a folding shutter door that was half closed to the galley kitchen area, another door near the windows which looked to lead into another bedroom, and finally a larger wooden door that had a deadbolt lock on it. She hurried to that one and slowly began to twist the lock open. The metal creaked, badly needing a quick spritz of WD-40. As she grabbed hold of the basic metal doorknob and twisted it slowly to open, she considered for a moment the insane idea of running out into a snowstorm wearing only a thin tee shirt. She had no idea where she was, but anywhere had to be better than being held captive in some strange apartment. She would take her chances and hope for the best.
She slowly pulled the door open, keeping an eye on the other bedroom door behind her to make sure some maniac wasn’t coming upon her with an ax or a chainsaw. There was no sound other than her own breathing which was growing a bit more panicked with each new minute.
The door pulled away from her and a dark figure lunged forward. Vivienne somehow found a way to make some sort of a scream sound, but it was more like a squeak and she coughed again as she prepared to fight off her attacker.
“Vivienne.” Octavia’s voice cried out. “Honey, it’s me.”
Vivienne’s vision blurred and then shifted back into focus. It was indeed Miss Octavia and she looked just as frightened as Vivienne felt. “Octavia?” She gasped.
“Child, where are you going?” Octavia set down a basket of folded laundry and stepped into the apartment.
“What happened? How did I get here?” Vivienne felt woozy.
Octavia grabbed hold of her arms and helped her back inside to the sofa. “Easy now. You’re still coming out of the shock from the spell.”
Vivienne eased down onto the sofa and paused for a moment as the dizziness passed. “Spell?”
“The one that I cast to save you all from the Sorcerer and that Elemental masquerading as a human preacher.” Octavia spoke softly. “Do you remember that?”
“No.” Vivienne replied hoarsely.
“Let me get you some tea for that throat.” Octavia hurried over to the entryway, grabbed her basket of laundry, and closed the door to her apartment. She flipped a wall switch that illuminated the kitchen area and retrieved a pitcher of cold tea from the refrigerator. She reached into one of the upper cupboards and grabbed a tall glass, filling it with a dark blue liquid.
“How long?” Vivienne asked.
Octavia rushed over with the drink in hand. “This is some cold blueberry tea.” She pushed the glass into Vivienne’s hand. “It’ll soothe your throat.”
Vivienne put the rim of the glass to her parched lips and drank heartily. She let the cool liquid rest for a moment in her mouth, refreshing her tongue which felt a bit swollen. After a moment, she swallowed hard and almost choked it back up.
“Easy now. Take small sips to start.” Octavia sat down next to her and began to rub her back. “You’ve been through a lot.”
Vivienne felt so much better after getting the tea inside her. She took another sip and this time it went down much smoother. After the third sip, she set the glass down on top of one of the books that covered the coffee table and found her voice again. “The last thing I remember was being in the cemetery with Joshua and Hunter.”
“Memory loss is a common side effect from the dimensional doorway spell.” Octavia replied.
“Where are Joshua and Hunter?” Vivienne asked.
“They’re staying with Nana Mary at her apartment.” Octavia answered.
There was the sound of scratching and a loud meowing from the bedroom door that was closed. Vivienne knew instantly it was her precious cats, Tommy and Sammy. “You brought my cats here too?”
Miss Octavia smiled. “Well, I couldn’t just leave the poor babies to starve while you were out cold. They were a bit rambunctious at first, but I think they’re warming up to their Auntie Octavia.”
“How long was I out?” Vivienne had no concept of how much time had passed. Try as she might, her memory yielded no more clues other than being surprised at the cemetery by Seamus and the bald headed sorcerer.
“It’s Sunday, March 16th. You’ve been in a suspended state for over six days.”
“What?” Vivienne couldn’t believe it. “What about Joshua and Hunter?”
“You all have been dead to the world.” Octavia replied. “It was the only way to hide you all from their scrying spells.”
Vivienne grabbed the glass of blueberry tea and took another long sip. “What happened at the cemetery?”
Miss Octavia sighed. “Well, as you remember, you were discovered at the cemetery by the gruesome twosome.”
Vivienne nodded. “Yes. I had just found out how Father William had died and they just appeared.”
“Your magic called them there.” Octavia continued. “They were waiting for you to use your magic so they could figure out where you were and finish you off so they could complete their ritual.”
“Oh.” Vivienne felt a bit foolish for not thinking about the before she agreed to use her power on Father William’s body.
“Well, lucky for you, the Elder Council gave me their full attention after the message from your Nana Mary arrived. Her update about what was taking place in Cayuga Cove spurred them all into action.” Octavia reached behind and fluffed one of the decorative throw pillows behind her back. “Given the new information, I was able to convince them to send some Devas to help with
this particular problem.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what a Deva is.” Vivienne confessed.
“Yes, the Elder Council told me that you weren’t spending nearly enough time on your magical studies as they hoped you would. You really need to work on that.” Octavia chided her, albeit rather playfully.
“They’re right” Vivienne agreed. “If I had spent more time learning from the grimoire I might have been better prepared for this sorcerer.”
“Don’t beat yourself up too much, child.” Octavia smiled. “It took me years to pick up on all the magic creatures and terminology. Even given that, a novice witch facing a sorcerer is a challenge. When you pair that sorcerer with an Elemental from the plane of chaos, even a seasoned witch would be in hot water during that fight.”
“Thanks.” Vivienne smiled back. “So what exactly is a Deva?”
“Devas are spiritual knowledge or energy given humanoid form. Sort of like pure consciousness that is there to help mortals when they face challenges that seem impossible to beat.” Miss Octavia explained. “Unlike Elementals that are usually confined to the planes they exist on, Devas can freely travel wherever they are needed. They are the champions of order and hopeless causes. Some mortals have called them angels or muses.”
“So these Devas came to Cayuga Cove?” Vivienne asked.
“A split-second after the Elemental and sorcerer found you, they were able to travel through one of the magic portals and follow the source of dark magic they sensed to the cemetery.”
“I don’t remember seeing anything except some sort of spell the Elemental was getting ready to cast at us.”
Octavia’s eyes widened. “That’s because the instant they arrived, the three of you were pulled through a dimensional doorway, existing between this world and the astral plane where the Devas reside. It appeared to them as if the Elemental’s spell had blasted you all into tiny bits. With the three of you out of the picture, they went back to planning the last stage of the ritual to open the gateway and flood Cayuga Cove with hundreds of Elementals.”