Phoenix and the Dark Star

by Gerald Pruett

  “And you saw something that actually made you blush?” Harris questioned in amazement.

  Ellen shot him a smirk before saying, “He’s in the middle of having sex.”

  “Catching someone in a blushing situation is one of the downsides at having the psychic ability of remote viewing,” Galvin said.

  “So I found out,” Ellen agreed before turning towards Wesley. “How did you know that would work?”

  “On Halloween night, I saw how you did it with that wizard,” Wesley explained. “You tried to remember the details of his face.”

  “You did the same thing with Sadie that night, Ellen,” Harris said while giving Sadie a quick glance. “You tried to remember her face.”

  “Great,” Ellen uttered in an unenthusiastic tone. “I hope I don’t see my mom’s bones when I try to remember her face.”

  “Once you’ve mastered your ability, you’ll be able to control when you’ll have a vision; however, what you see once you have a vision is another matter,” Galvin said.

  “Mmm,” Ellen said with a polite grin.

  “Okay, unless someone has something to say, ask or add, we’re through here,” Harris said.

  “I have a question for Wesley,” Ellen quickly said before facing him. “Is Wanda one of Merlin’s descendants?”

  “I don’t know, Ellen,” Wesley replied. “If it helps, her last name is Greenfield.”

  “Elsabeth married Isaac Greenfield in 1686,” Ellen informed while looking towards Harris.

  “Who are Isaac and Elsabeth Greenfield?” Devon asked.

  “They’re my ancestors who had lived from the second half of the 1600s to the first half of the 1700s,” Ellen began. “Isaac was a cabinet maker in Boston. Elsabeth was the sorceress, and she moved to Boston from London in 1684. Anyway, Wanda could be a distant… distant cousin to me.”

  “Where’s Wanda now?” Allyson asked Wesley.

  “She had moved to Canada after Mandy had turned seventeen,” Wesley said. “Mandy still keeps in touch with her though, so if you’d like, Ellen, I can get Wanda’s contact information.”

  “I would like,” Ellen quickly said. “How old is she? Wanda I mean?”

  “She’s fifty-five,” Wesley said.

  Ellen nodded before looking at Winona and saying, “Oh, and we all should exchange contact information.”

  “I have nothing against that,” Winona assured Ellen.

  “I don’t have my cell phone with me though, to store any numbers,” Ellen said.

  “You can still tell me your number,” Riley said while pulling out his phone. “I’ll call your number.”

  “Okay,” Ellen said before giving Riley her number. Cory and Wesley took out their cell phones and stored Ellen’s number as well.

  “Okay, now I’ll call your phone,” Riley said while proceeding to do so.

  “I’ll do the same, so you’ll have my number as well,” Wesley said before Ellen had a chance to respond.

  “Dido,” Cory added. “So my number will be the third unknown.”

  Ellen gave an acknowledging nod with a grin.

  Harris waited for the three to get done before proceeding to give them his house number.

  Once all the numbers were exchanged, Ellen turned towards Devon and—in an uncertain tone—pitched, “The Tri-Star Confederation should allow the fourth wizard line to join the coven’s alliance, and add a fourth star to the confederation as well.”

  Devon glanced towards Winona before saying, “There are too many inconsistencies among the fourth wizard line, Ellen, to maintain an alliance with them.”

  “What do you mean by inconsistencies?” Ellen quickly asked before Winona could.

  “Winona is a prime example,” Devon began while gesturing towards her. “Magic may course through her family’s veins from way back when, but she had also indicated that the magic within her family sporadically shows itself. And that’s the case with most everyone from the fourth wizard line. Magic may course through their veins, but for many generations, the magic lays dormant until something activates it—in Winona’s case it was a near death experience after being struck by lightning.” As an afterthought, Devon gestured towards Cory. “And it was a near death experience with him that activated his ability as well.”

  “Okay, well, why can’t the Tri-Star Confederation admit them into the coven on individual basis after each shaman is discovered?” Ellen questioned. “You don’t even have to change the name of the coven because the Native American shamans are Dark Stars—the stars that don’t show themselves… or at least they don’t show themselves often.”

  Devon sighed before gesturing to the appropriate person and saying, “Admitting Winona and Cory into the Tri-Star Confederation would have to be voted on by all the Tri-Star members.”

  “Winona and Cory may not even want to join,” Harris pointed out.

  When Ellen faced Winona, Winona shrugged before saying, “I’m not against joining, but it wouldn’t be a big deal if I can’t.”

  “Dido,” Cory said.

  Ellen just made an acknowledging expression.

  “Anyway, before we go our respective ways, I do have a question for Wesley and Melanie,” Winona continued while turning towards them. “Riley, Brad and I had tracked you two to Denise Stanley’s house—we were shooed away by a cop. Why were you two there?”

  Ellen gave Winona a curious look as Melanie replied, “Denise Stanley is my mom. She doesn’t know about me being a vampire, and I hope to keep it that way.”

  Winona just nodded in agreement.

  “Wasn’t it your mom who was hosting the Halloween party?” Ellen asked Melanie.

  “She was,” Melanie said with a nod.

  “Okay, well, we should go,” Harris urged.

  Wesley and Melanie stood up at a human pace. Once everything was gathered, they left the house. Harris carried the crystal ball and the book on incantations.

  Chapter Eighteen

  During the walk towards the vehicles, Ellen had abruptly stopped walking while appearing as though she was in a trance.

  Allyson was directly behind Ellen and she was forced to abruptly stop as well, to keep from running into her.

  “Ellen?” Allyson questioned while grabbing everyone’s attention.

  Wesley gestured for everyone to wait by holding up his hand, and after a short wait, Ellen came out of her trance on her own.

  “Ellen?” Allyson repeated after seeing her move. “Are you okay?”

  Ellen looked towards Allyson before nodding and saying, “I’m good. I was just testing how to activate my remote viewing ability by trying to remember the details of Andie’s face. I saw her. I saw what she was doing, which is reading a book in her room. And I saw where she lives.”

  “How can you be sure that what you had seen wasn’t your imagination?” Riley questioned.

  Before Ellen could respond, Wesley said, “I can confirm what Ellen saw was real.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” Ellen said as the facts dawned on her. “Melanie’s mom lives next door to Andie.”

  “Wait!” Melanie strongly requested. “Andie Cornell is your friend who can see ghosts?”

  “She is,” Ellen said. “Her parents believe that she’s delusional though, and they have her on medication. I want to help her.” She looked towards Harris. “I want to cast the… cast Sadie’s spirit shrouding incantation on a piece of jewelry and take it to her.”

  “Alright,” Harris agreed.

  “Oh, uh, Ellen,” Sadie said in a tone as if it was an afterthought. “I forgot to tell you…”

  “Tell me what?” Ellen quickly asked.

  “Since that spirit shrouding incantation will be for Andie, you will need a few drops of Andie’s blood,” Sadie informed. “It won’t work without it.”

  “Okay, so what will I do with the blood once I get it?” Ellen asked.

  “You will smear the blood on the jewelry, and then cast the incantation,” Sadie explained.

  Ell
en nodded before saying, “So we’ll need Andie for the spell. I wonder if Andie’s mom will let Andie come over to the house.”

  “I can take you to Andie’s house,” Allyson offered. “So you can ask.”

  “Okay,” Ellen agreed.

  “Wesley. Melanie. How did you two get to Skidaway Island State Park?” Harris asked.

  “We drove there in my mom’s car,” Melanie replied.

  “So you’ll need a ride back,” Harris took note of.

  “If we give you two a ride back to the park, will smelling us inside a tight vehicle be too much of a feeding-on-human-temptation for you two?” Riley quickly asked.

  “As long as we’re not hungry, we can control that temptation by not breathing,” Wesley informed.

  “We could give you the key to our rental and allow you to drive it as we all follow inside the other vehicles,” Brad pitched.

  Ellen began to say something, but decided not to before closing her mouth with a slight audible click of her teeth and letting out a hard breath through her nose.

  Wesley looked at Ellen before saying, “That is acceptable as well.”

  “Okay, to play it safe, we’ll do it that way,” Harris said.

  “Here’s the key to the van,” Riley said as he went to pull out the key.

  As Riley was handing over the key, Winona saw that Ellen was staring at her as if she was debating on saying something.

  “What, Ellen?” Winona asked.

  Ellen took a deep breath before asking, “What incantations do you know?”

  “Just the ones that allow me to locate and incapacitate vampires… oh, and I do have an incantation that will heal minor wounds,” Winona said before looking towards Harris. “I would like to learn that ‘Memory Talebearer’ spell, if I could.”

  Harris nodded with a slight grin before saying, “That spell does come in handy. I’ll make a copy of it for you.”

  When Winona nodded, Ellen said, “We probably have other handy spells that will help you with… with your gig.”

  “Okay,” Winona began with a nod. “Before Riley, Brad and I move onto our next city, I’ll take a look at whatever spell you think that will help us.”

  “Okay,” Ellen agreed.

  “We should move on before someone reports suspicious movements at a burnt out building,” Devon urged.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Harris said before they went to their respective vehicles.

  Wesley and Melanie took Winona’s rental van. Ellen, Sadie, Winona and Riley got into the SUV with Allyson. Devon, Galvin and Brad got into the car with Harris. Cory got on his motorcycle.

  Once everyone was set, Harris, Allyson and Cory drove behind Wesley to Denise’s car.

  Wesley and Melanie were going to Melanie’s mother’s house, which was next door to the house that Ellen, Allyson and Sadie were going to; so once they went their respective ways, Allyson followed behind Melanie.

  Harris, Devon and Galvin went back to Harris’s house. Cory followed behind Winona, Riley and Brad as they went back to Winona’s Great Aunt Bonnie’s house.

  Minutes later, Melanie parked in Denise’s driveway. Allyson parked on the street.

  Ellen got out of the SUV and then waited for Allyson and Sadie to catch up.

  “What do Andie’s parents do for a living?” Sadie asked while staring at Andie’s luxurious house. Shade trees filled the yard.

  “They’re both research doctors,” Ellen said before sharing what facility they worked at.

  Ellen, Allyson and Sadie then turned towards Wesley and Melanie as they stepped up.

  “Melanie and I thought that we could help you,” Wesley told them.

  “Okay,” Allyson agreed before gesturing for Ellen to lead. “Let’s go see if anyone’s home.”

  Ellen nodded before walking towards the house. Midway to the house, Ellen received the overwhelming sensations of fear and compulsion. The emotions weren’t coming from her, and as she concentrated on the details of those emotions, her perception of her surroundings shifted to as if she was up in one of the trees and peering down at Allyson, Sadie, Wesley, Melanie and herself.

  Ellen abruptly stopped walking while appearing as though she was in a trance.

  As Allyson tried to abruptly stop as well, she had to grab onto Ellen’s upper arms to keep Ellen from falling as she gently collided into her.

  “Ellen,” Allyson began patiently while letting go of Ellen’s arms. “You really need to stop doing that.”

  “She’s not hearing you,” Sadie informed after looking towards Ellen.

  “I heard her,” Ellen said as she shook off the sensation.

  “Did you get another vision?” Allyson asked as Ellen went to look into the trees above her. “Of something?”

  “Yeah, a view of us, as if I was up in this tree,” Ellen informed while gesturing. Immediately following Ellen’s words, she spotted a nine-month-old American Shorthair kitten up in the tree. The distance between the kitten and her was muting its soft cry. “And in about the same location as that kitten.”

  “What kitten?” Allyson asked.

  “Right there,” Ellen said while pointing. “She… or he wants down. The kitten wants to come to me, but she or he is pretty much afraid to even move.”

  “He’s a boy,” Melanie informed. “He’s my sister’s kitten, and his name is Tigger.”

  “Okay, well…” Ellen was only able to get out.

  “Wait,” Sadie quickly requested. “You saw us through Tigger’s eyes?”

  Ellen shrugged before saying, “I guess so.”

  “Seeing through animal’s eyes isn’t an ability of a beast master,” Sadie pointed out.

  Ellen thought about it before guessing, “Perhaps it’s a combination of me now being a beast master and my remote viewing ability.”

  Sadie thought for a moment before saying, “I guess it’s possible.”

  “Anyway, Tigger wants down, but he’s too afraid to even move,” Ellen repeated.

  “He’s scared of us… of Wesley and me,” Melanie informed. “Most animals are scared of vampires.”

  “I think I can convince Tigger not to be afraid of you two,” Ellen said while glancing at them. “And don’t make me regret doing that.”

  “We won’t,” Wesley and Melanie assured Ellen.

  Ellen nodded, and then began sizing up the tree.

  Allyson saw what Ellen was doing and quickly said, “If you’re thinking about climbing that tree, don’t.”

  “I climb trees all the time… well, I use to anyway,” Ellen informed.

  Before Allyson, Sadie, Wesley or Melanie could respond, the five heard the door to Andie’s house opening. When they turned, they saw a woman in her late thirties stepping out onto the front porch.

  The woman had the same shade of brown skin as Cole’s brown skin, long black hair and facial features that also screamed ‘India’.

  Sadie gawked at the woman as if she had recognized her for a moment before shaking off her thoughts.

  “What’s going on, Melanie?” she asked with a slight southern accent.

  “Dr. Cornell, meet Ellen, Allyson, Sadie and my boyfriend Wesley,” Melanie said while gesturing towards who was who. “Ellen had met Andie at the Halloween party.”

  “Andie had mentioned you, Ellen,” Sunita (Andie and Robin’s mother) informed. “She didn’t want to go to the party, and thanks to you and your friends, she had the best time of her life.”

  “I’m glad,” Ellen said with a pleasant grin before glancing up at the kitten.

  “Is there something in that tree?” Sunita asked.

  “Maria’s kitten is up in the tree,” Melanie informed.

  Ellen looked at Melanie in a curious manner, but before she could ask, Sunita replied, “I see him. And Maria and Robin are out searching the neighborhood for him.”

  “Ellen,” Wesley called quietly to grab her attention.

  When Ellen looked, Wesley answered her unasked ‘is Andie’s brother dating Melani
e’s sister?’ question with a nod. Ellen responded with a grin.

  “I don’t want anyone climbing trees and risk falling,” Sunita continued during Ellen and Wesley’s non-verbal communication. “I’ll call the fire department. You all are welcome to come in.”

  “Okay,” they each said in an uneven chorus before walking towards the house.

  “Is Andie here?” Ellen continued as she moved towards the house.

  “She is,” Sunita replied. “She’s in her room, reading a book for class.”

  “Can I…?” Ellen got out before glancing at Sadie. “Or may I interrupt her?”

  Sadie saw the look that she got from Ellen and grinned while saying, “I’m not as strict with grammar as Aunt Shannon is.”

  “I figure that you might be, since you own a bookstore,” Ellen explained as she and the others were joining Sunita on the porch.

  “Where’s your bookstore, Sadie?” Sunita asked.

  “In London,” Sadie replied. “I’m just here visiting.”

  Sunita nodded before telling Ellen, “Yes, you may interrupt Andie.”

  “Cool,” Ellen said before Sunita gave her directions to Andie’s bedroom.

  As Ellen entered the house, the others followed her in, one after the other. Sunita entered last.

  Ellen examined her surroundings as she walked through the luxurious house. After reaching Andie’s closed bedroom door, she knocked.

  “Come in, Mom,” Ellen heard.

  Ellen opened the door and entered before saying, “I’m not your mom.”

  Andie was lying on her bed while reading, and when she saw Ellen, her eyes lit up. As Andie sat up, she asked delightfully, “Ellen?!”

  Andie greatly resembled her mom in the face, but had auburn-brown hair and was less tan than her mother.

  “You recognized me without my vampire costume and makeup.” Ellen said pleasantly as she was looking over Andie’s features while she wasn’t dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

  “I recognized your voice, actually,” Andie confessed as Ellen went to shut the bedroom door. “So what are you doing here?”

  With a pleasant grin on her face, Ellen faced Andie and said, “I came to see you. Your mom said I could interrupt your reading.”