“And how do I know that you’re not luring me and Karla into a trap?” Jessica asked.
“Jess, your grandfather is hurting people,” Ellen pointed out. “I’m not strong enough to stop him, but you and Karla are. Plus…”
“Hold up!” Jessica demanded. “You want me to go up against my grandfather… a person who I love dearly?”
“Your grandfather is hurting people,” Ellen repeated while emphasizing each word.
“How can you be so certain?” Jessica quickly asked.
“I was able to get my hands on Peter Berkeley’s notes and…” Ellen was only able to get out.
“The reporter who my mom had shot and killed?” Jessica interrupted with.
“I strongly believe that your mom was being possessed by your grandfather’s astral projecting spirit at the time of the shooting,” Ellen supplied. “And I got my belief from looking at Peter Berkeley’s notes.”
“How did you get your hands on Peter Berkeley’s notes?” Jessica quickly asked.
“Allyson’s parents live next door to Peter Berkeley’s widow,” Ellen informed. “Jess, if you’ll come to my house, I’ll show you everything. And I’m not luring you into a trap. In fact, I would still like to be friends with you and Karla.”
Jessica chuckled without humor before saying, “You come here, accusing my grandfather of hurting people and you want us to be friends.”
“Your grandfather had used your mother as a puppet and he was the one who had killed Peter Berkeley, and he is currently using other people as puppets at his whim,” Ellen pointed out. “And you’ve seen what I say is true with Karla. And I can show you and Karla my other evidences as well… if not at my house then at a neutral location of your choice.”
Jessica sighed before saying, “Fine. I’ll come to your house when I get off work, but without Karla. And I’m leaving a note that she will get if something would happen to me.”
Ellen rolled her eyes before saying, “I’m not luring you into a trap, Jess, but sure. I have no problems with you taking whatever precautions that you feel are necessary. And there is one other thing that I want to be upfront with you about before you show up at my house.”
“I’m listening,” Jessica prompted.
“I didn’t know this until after the accident that killed Mike and Tanya, but Tanya was a descendant of the Brimstone Coven, and like Mike and me, Tanya was in the Phoenix stage…”
“Phoenix stage?” Jessica echoed in a confused tone. “What’s that?”
“My dad and his twin brother were the first set of twins to be born without the mark of Merlin,” Ellen began. “They, all their children and all their grandchildren would be considered to be in the Phoenix stage. Another set of twins among their great-grandchildren has to be born before the mark of Merlin can die out completely; however, as long as both parents are in the Phoenix stage the mark of Merlin will return within their children.”
“Wait!” Jessica uttered while figuring something out. “If your brother and sister-in-law were both in the Phoenix stage then your niece Sonya would carry the birthmark.”
Ellen’s facial expression confirmed it before she said, “Harris knew what the birthmark had meant and he had filled me in when he saw it on Sonya.”
“You had mentioned Brimstone Coven earlier,” Jessica began. “I’m fairly certain that you were referring to one of the wizard lines, but I was never told that a wizard line was also known as a coven.”
“Boy, your grandfather had really kept you in the dark on this, didn’t he?” Ellen questioned.
“Just tell me what you mean by it,” Jessica ordered.
Ellen rolled her eyes before saying, “You carry the mark of the Raven Coven. Your power is over the Air and Earth. My dad’s dad had carried the mark of the Clover Coven and that coven has the power over the beasts. Harris and Tanya’s great-grandmother was the last one to carry the mark of the Brimstone Coven of their direct relatives, and the Brimstone Coven has the power over the Fire and Water.”
“So which mark does Sonya carry?” Jessica asked.
“The mark from the Clover Coven, and the reason for that is that the stronger line will always give strength to the weaker line, so the child will always be born with a more definable birthmark of the weaker line,” Ellen explained.
“So the wizards from the Clover Coven are weaker than the wizards from the Brimstone Coven,” Jessica assumed aloud.
Ellen sighed before saying, “I’m sad to say that the wizards from the Clover Coven are the weaker wizards of all three covens. The wizards from the Brimstone Coven are the strongest. Which leaves the wizards from the Raven Coven— from your coven—as the second strongest wizards. And everything that I’ve told you is in the Legacy volumes.”
Jessica nodded before saying, “Okay, well, give me your address and the directions to your house.” Ellen nodded before giving Jessica the information. Once Jessica knew where Ellen lived and how to get there, she continued with, “My shift ends at eight, so I’ll be there after that.”
Ellen nodded while saying, “Sounds good.”
Jessica gestured in the direction of the kitchen while saying, “I need to get back to work.”
“See you later,” Ellen said.
“Bye,” Everett and Lance said.
Jessica nodded before turning and walking away.
“Let’s go,” Lance said before he, Ellen and Everett walked towards the exit.
After Ellen, Everett and Lance got into the car, Lance drove back to Claire’s house. A short time after that, everyone left Claire’s house to return to his or her home.
Ellen rode with Allyson and Sonya as Harris followed Allyson in his car. Allyson was barely down the road from Claire’s house when she noticed that Ellen was thinking hard about something.
“What are you thinking about?” Allyson asked while pulling Ellen out of her thought.
Ellen glanced towards Allyson before saying, “If Leon Stone is spying on Sally Harman through astral projection as Claire is guessing then he might be spying on Jessica and Karla as well.”
“Are you worried that he knows more about you than you realize?”
“I’m worried that he will be spying on Jessica when she comes to our house,” Ellen began. “And I think that we need to cast that one incantation on a large mirror… or two. So if Leon Stone is watching, we would know it. It would prove to Jess that we’re on the up-and-up with what we say as well.”
Allyson thought for a second before saying, “Okay, we’ll go by the department store and pick up a few mirrors for the incantation.”
“There are mirrors at the house,” Ellen pointed out.
“I don’t want to freak people out on a regular basis when and if the mirrors would display anything other than normal.” Ellen amusingly grinned as Allyson continued with, “So we’ll buy more mirrors for the incantation and then put them out when we suspect spiritual activity or spiritual possession.”
Ellen held her grin as she said, “Sounds good to me.”
Allyson grinned before saying, “Get my cell phone out of my purse and call Harry with it and let him know that we’re stopping at the store to pick up a few mirrors.”
“Alright,” Ellen said as she went into Allyson’s purse. Once Ellen got out the cell phone from the purse, she called Harris and told him of their plan.
At 8:22 P.M., Jessica rang Harris’s doorbell and then looked behind her towards her car. When she saw Simon upright and visible, she gestured for him to get out of sight. Simon was in the process of ducking down when Jessica heard the sound of the front door opening. She quickly turned back around, and when the door opened wide, she saw Ellen at the door.
“You made it,” Ellen said.
“I made it,” Jessica agreed.
“Come in,” Ellen said while gesturing for her to enter. Jessica stepped in without saying a word. “I got out the Legacy volumes from my room and stacked them up in the dining room.”
“How many are the
re?” Jessica asked while watching Ellen as Ellen shut the front door behind them.
“Around sixty,” Ellen informed. “Twenty of them are from Harris’s family though.”
“Wow! And you read them all?” Jessica questioned incredulously.
“Each one is pretty thick and I’m only in the second chronological volume.”
“Chronological volume?” Jessica echoed in a confused tone.
“Neither set is complete. Random volumes are missing and while ignoring the fact that there are missing volumes, I’m reading them in order,” Ellen explained before gesturing further into the house. “Anyway, follow me.”
Jessica nodded before they began walking. Before entering the next room, Jessica asked, “So is Everett here?”
“No,” Ellen replied. “It’s just you, me, Allyson, Harris and Sonya. Allyson, Harris and Sonya are in the living room.”
Once Ellen led Jessica into the living room she introduced Jessica to everyone. Harris and Allyson stood up as they greeted Jessica with a handshake. The introductions were barely over when the dark red tinted mirror had caught Jessica’s eye.
Jessica gestured towards the mirror before asking, “What’s up with the color of this mirror… and that compact mirror that you carry, Ellen?”
“Harris had cast an incantation on both mirrors and two others so that they would reflect spirits and people’s souls,” Ellen supplied.
Jessica stared curiously at Ellen for a moment before accusing, “You were checking Karla and me out with that compact mirror. You couldn’t have suspected my grandfather of astral projecting a few days ago.”
“No,” Ellen agreed. “The day before you saw me with the compact mirror, I had read in one of my family’s Legacy volumes that one of my ancestors had done the very same incantation to see her twin sister’s soul. Her sister wasn’t acting like herself and when my ancestor saw the reflection, the reflection was of a stranger. A millennium old sorceress was stealing bodies every so often to remain young and I had wanted to make sure that, that sorceress hadn’t found you or Karla.”
“Is that millennium old sorceress still out there?” Jessica quickly questioned.
Ellen shrugged before saying, “There is only one mention of her that I came across and she had gotten away when my ancestor had confronted her.”
“Okay,” Jessica said before having a thought. “But why…? You thought Karla or I was the one who was hurting people.”
“Your grandfather has been bedridden for over a year, and as I said earlier his recovering was coinciding with Simon’s fellow students ending up in the psychiatric ward. I was actually hoping that the clues were wrong, but yes; you and Karla were the prime suspects.”
“And how did you figure out that my grandfather was capable of astral projection?” Jessica asked.
“Things about your mom shooting Peter Berkeley weren’t adding up, so Claire—Peter’s widow—went and talked to your mom today,” Ellen explained. Jessica crossed her arms while staring annoyingly at Ellen. “Your mom wouldn’t talk to Claire, but she did mention Heathcliff’s army…”
“Heathcliff’s army?” Jessica questioned.
“He was a wizard… and a knight four… five centuries ago,” Ellen said.
Harris grinned before repeating himself from earlier, “Heathcliff was a wizard from one of the Raven’s acorn covens.” Jessica shot Harris a confused look. “He lived in the early 1500’s and was a knight in King Henry the Eighth’s army. Other knights had followed him into battle, which was how the phrase ‘Heathcliff’s army’ came about, and his campaigns were successfully high. We learned today from Ellen’s family’s Legacy volumes that his successful campaigns were due to the fact that Heathcliff was astral projecting and taking over someone’s body from the opposing army and causing mayhem among his enemy.”
“And my mom knew about… this Heathcliff?” Jessica quickly questioned.
“She did,” Allyson agreed. “Jessica, your mom had planned to come clean with Peter Berkeley. I believe that your grandfather had found out and possessed your mom’s body, and while possessing her, he had killed Peter.”
“The evidence to that is in Peter’s notes,” Ellen added. “That’s why Claire went to speak to your mom.”
“You honestly believe all of this,” Jessica said almost as a question.
“I do,” Ellen quickly said.
“I do too,” Harris said followed by Allyson.
“So you’re not luring me into a trap,” Jessica said as if to herself.
“Jess, I would like for us to be friends,” Ellen told her.
Jessica nodded before confessing, “I brought Simon with me.” Ellen amusingly grinned. “He’s waiting in the car.”
“Simon is welcome to come in,” Harris told her.
“He needs to do that protection spell too,” Ellen informed.
“He has a cell phone,” Jessica began. “So may I use your phone to call him and tell him to come in?”
“Sure,” Harris said before gesturing towards the living room phone. “There’s a phone right there.”
Jessica nodded before stepping up to the phone and making her call. The call was short, and once Jessica hung up, she faced Harris while asking, “What did you mean earlier about acorn covens?”
“Most covens today—if not all—are acorn covens with only a few family members comprising of the coven, but a few hundred years ago each wizard line would group together while forming a coven with twenty adult individuals or more—a main coven as you will,” Harris explained. “Throughout history, the members of the Raven Coven pride themselves in maintaining the largest coven in the world. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s when the members of the Raven’s main coven began to spread out and forming a large number of acorn covens.”
“Can what you say be found in the Legacy volumes?” Jessica asked.
“Yes,” Harris confirmed. “The Legacy volumes are meant to educate each new generation as well as to inform.”
“May I see your Legacy volumes?” Jessica requested.
“Of course,” Harris said.
Before Harris could show the way, Ellen quickly said, “Your grandfather’s astral projecting spirit may not be here right now, but that could change any given moment.” The doorbell rang as Ellen continued with, “You should do that protection spell first.”
“I’ll go let Simon in,” Allyson said before stepping away.
“Simon doesn’t know about any of this,” Jessica said.
“It’s not fair to him for you to be with him and him not knowing,” Ellen quickly said.
“Yeah, well, if I tell him, he might not want to be around me,” Jessica pointed out.
“There’s always that chance,” Harris began. “However, throughout history, the partisans—the non-magical members of a wizard’s line—have been equally important to the wizard line as the wizards themselves. And surprisingly enough sixty-five percent of the non-magical people who we choose to be upfront with don’t run for the hills.”
Jessica glanced towards Ellen before saying, “Like with Everett.”
“I chose to tell Everett because his speculations were more threatening to us than him knowing the truth,” Ellen said.
Jessica made a facial gesture as if to say, ‘true’ before she actually said, “Well, I hope that Simon isn’t among the thirty-five percent who’ll run for the hills when told.”
“Get told about what?” Simon asked as he and Allyson stepped in. Ellen, Harris and Jessica turned towards Simon.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jessica stared at Simon as if she was too fearful to answer.
When Jessica appeared as though she wasn’t going to answer, Ellen said, “Harris, Jessica and I… and of course Karla and Sonya as well, have a common direct ancestor.”
“Okay,” Simon said in a confused tone. “Why would I or anyone else run for the hills over that?”
“Our common ancestor is the wizard Merlin,” Ellen supplied.
“Merlin?” Simon uttered incredulously. “Merlin’s a fictional character.”
“He’s not a fictional character,” Jessica was the one to say. “I carry his mark. I carry the mark of Merlin and so does Karla.”
“So if Merlin was real and was a wizard, does that make any of you wizards?” Simon questioned.
“I’m… I’m a sorceress,” Jessica said.
“Anyone who carries the birthmark is either a wizard or a sorceress,” Harris added.
“Harris and I don’t carry the mark though,” Ellen said sullenly.
“So you two are not a wizard and a sorceress,” Simon surmised.
“No, but because of our bloodline, witchcraft will come easier for us than the average person,” Harris said. “In fact, to use a previously used analogy, if you would take up witchcraft the caliber of your witchcraft could be compared to a twenty-two caliber pistol. The caliber of my and Ellen’s witchcraft could be compared to a forty-four caliber pistol and Jessica’s witchcraft could be compared to a small military cannon.”
“Wow!” Jessica uttered in an impressed tone. “I didn’t know all of that.”
“Forgive me… everyone,” Simon began. “I simply can’t believe in what you say without seeing proof.”
“Which works out great because Jessica needs to cast a protection incantation on you and herself,” Ellen supplied.
“A protection incantation?” Simon questioned. “Protection against what?”
“We came here because Ellen and her family are telling me that they have proof that my grandfather is hurting people,” Jessica informed.
“How can your grandfather be hurting people when he’s bedridden?” Simon questioned.
“He’s a sorcerer, and I just learned that he has the ability to astral project, and while astral projecting, he is capable of taking over someone’s body,” Jessica said. “I know this to be true because for the past few months, Karla has been acting more like my grandfather than herself at times. So the signs were there… I just didn’t know what I was seeing.”
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