4 Terramezic Energy (29 page)

When they stopped for a break, Josephine met Maggie’s gaze with a gentle smile. “You’re having trouble with this, aren’t you?”

“I’m fine.” Maggie’s tone was brusque.

“Practicing black magic temporarily diminishes your ability to work with mainstream magic,” Josephine advised.

“I was wondering if you would ever get around to saying anything.” A moody frown spread across Maggie’s face. “There’s nothing wrong with using dark energy. My intentions are honorable.”

“What exactly do you plan to do?” Josephine asked.

Maggie’s eyes gleamed with resolve. “I’m going to destroy APU 81 so it can never harm anyone else.”

“It’s revenge.”

“That’s part of it,” Maggie acknowledged. “But it doesn’t change the fact that APU 81 has murdered thousands of innocent people.”

“Thousands?” Josephine regarded her with a growing sense of horror.

“During the war and while it waited for human civilization to develop technology that would allow it to create and restore terramezic generators,” Maggie explained. “Don’t you think it deserves to die after everything it’s done?”

“Of course but black magic isn’t the answer,” Josephine said.

“You’re wrong. It’s exactly what I need to finally put an end to APU 81.”

Fear slithered through Josephine as she became aware of the presence of dark energy. At first she thought it was coming from Maggie but she soon realized it was surrounding the house and yard.

Josephine jumped to her feet. “We’re under attack!”

Maggie’s eyes widened with surprise and she stood up with eager anticipation. Josephine ventured in the living room where Alice and Charlotte were reclined on two of the couches, deep in a claro mentis spell. The light from the morning sun dimmed as swirling black smoke circled the house and thickened. Josephine reached out with her mind and detected ten individuals harboring dark energy containment vessels.

“Alice, if you can hear me. You need to end the claro mentis,” Josephine murmured so she wouldn’t startle her friend as it could be dangerous to interrupt this spell.

She didn’t stick around to wait for Alice’s reaction. There simply wasn’t any time. Perry, Mark, and Helen joined them in the room.

“Maggie and I will go outside to confront APU 81,” Josephine said.

“We’re going with you,” Mark said.

“It’s too dangerous. You’re staying inside.”

Maggie and Josephine made their way down the stairs with Mark, Perry, and Helen following them.

Josephine reached the entryway and whirled around to confront them. “This is too dangerous for White Knights. Your magic falls apart in the face of dark energy.”

“The three of us together can help you,” Mark said.

“At least turn your damned shields on then,” Josephine snapped with frustration.

A white sphere of energy blazed into existence around the three white magic practitioners. Josephine exchanged a worried look with Maggie before heading out to the front yard. The black smoke was incredibly thick and completely obscured their view beyond the yard. APU 81 kept its host bodies within the dark energy it had released. The light energy wards protecting the property threatened to buckle. Josephine knew they didn’t have much time. She and Maggie activated their protection spells and held their wands ready. They couldn’t fire through the wards without damaging them. Josephine and Maggie could tell exactly where their attackers hid as they continually scanned the area. When the wards failed, they unleashed powerful volleys of telekinetic energy at their first target, a man in his thirties. Thick flames materialized around Josephine and Maggie, squeezing tight against their shields. For now, APU 81 ignored the White Knights.

It only took a moment before Josephine and Maggie had to switch to their backup shields. They wouldn’t last much longer. Josephine could see this wasn’t going to work. Her first target had retreated to safety and a new host had come to replace him. Josephine extended her scan to search for more reinforcements. She couldn’t detect anyone except for the neighbors. Even the attacker who’d just retreated was gone which meant APU 81 had a bunch of privacy fields. There could be an army out there and Josephine would never know it.

“We need to retreat,” Josephine said.

She turned and moved toward the front door. She glanced behind her to see Maggie approaching the black smoke.

“Maggie! We have to go! Your shield is about to fail!” Josephine shouted.

Maggie turned to throw her a reassuring look which revealed black eyes as dark as night. “I’ve got everything under control.”

Josephine gasped in shock but Maggie turned back to face the writhing dark energy and extended her hands toward it. Tendrils of twisting black smoke funneled into Maggie’s palms. Josephine, Mark, Helen, and Perry hovered near the front door gazing at her with undisguised horror and astonishment. APU 81’s hosts appeared as the black smoke thinned. Maggie extracted the dark energy at an alarming rate. Fire continued to bombard her shields which wavered under the impact. She stopped collecting the dark energy and focused her attention on a short, slender man in his twenties with acne-ridden skin and blond hair. His fist was aimed at her as he continued to use terramezic energy to create the flames that beat at her. The other attackers were doing the same thing. They had stopped their assault on Josephine when Maggie had made herself their prime target.

Maggie extended her right hand with the palm facing out and a thick, black, oily tendril shot out from it. The dark, sickly appendage tore through the shield in an instant and wrapped itself around the neck of the blond man. It lifted him several feet into the air then jerked savagely from side to side until it broke his neck. Maggie dropped the dead body and the tentacle evaporated into nothingness. The fire raging against her halted as the other men and women inhabited by APU 81 lost consciousness at the same time.

“Of course.” Josephine watched the horrible sight with a combination of dread and relief. “When Maggie killed one of the host bodies, it sent a destructive feedback surge to the crystal skull.”

Maggie turned to face her friends with midnight black eyes and a savage smile. “You see what black magic can do? I just saved all of your lives and all the other victims APU 81 would have killed in the future.”

She took a couple of steps towards them then abruptly halted and clutched her stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut with an expression of anguish and pain as her knees hit the pavement. Josephine and Mark rushed over to help her.

“Maggie, are you all right?” Josephine asked.

Maggie lifted her head and opened her eyes which were now normal. “That was terrible. It was like I was myself and not myself. It was like I was possessed.”

“When you channel dark energy, it becomes a guest in your mind,” Mark said.

“For a moment, I just felt like killing everything in sight,” Maggie confessed.

Fear slid through Josephine as she watched Maggie and hoped that this was the very last time she worked with black magic. The poor young man who’d died was completely innocent of APU 81’s crimes and Josephine couldn’t help but grieve for him and wish there had been a way to save his life.

Chapter 35

Josephine was forced to shape the energy matrices for the long-range terramezic scanners by herself the following day after the confrontation with APU 81. Maggie’s ability to channel mainstream magic had diminished to the point that she couldn’t weave enchantments at all. It would probably be several days before she recovered. Even though APU 81 was most likely dead, they wanted to be sure and so did the government. Their assignment to locate the crystal skull hadn’t changed and there was still the matter of the mind control spells inside Yvonne and Charlotte. Josephine stopped working to take a break. She leaned back in her chair and inspected the intricate design of the enchantments attached to the quartz clusters lying on the polished oak surface of the table. She had followed the design as Maggie had laid out with fine-tuned precision. It was going well but by her estimation wouldn’t be completed until about a week.

Mark, Helen, and Perry entered the rooms with exuberant smiles on their faces.

Helen wielded one wooden wand in each hand. “We’ve finished creating two claro mentis enchantments.”

“That’s great news!” Josephine was thrilled that perhaps very soon they could cure Yvonne’s and Charlotte’s condition.

They gathered in the living room where Alice and Charlotte were talking.

“You did it?” Alice’s gaze zeroed in on the wands in Helen’s hand.

“We’re ready to try this out,” Helen said.

Alice shot her a warning look. “Be careful. This is very advanced stuff.”

“This is a modified claro mentis. It should be completely safe to use.”

“Hmm.” Alice’s lips formed a slight frown of foreboding.

“You’ll want to lie down,” Helen instructed.

“All right.” Charlotte removed her shoes, shuffled over to the middle of the couch then reclined on her back.

She closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths because Alice had trained her on this relaxation technique to precede all claro mentis sessions.

Alice leveled a pointed look at Helen. “You’ll need to lay down, too, once you’ve activated the spell.”

Helen nodded as she perched onto the middle of the couch facing Charlotte. Alice, March, Josephine and Perry stood off to the side. Helen tucked away her second wand and pointed the other at Charlotte. Helen’s expression grew thoughtful and pensive as she prepared herself to perform the spell. Josephine tried to quell the anxiety that fluttered through her. She wondered if perhaps she should have asked Perry to perform this difficult enchantment. Too bad Alice couldn’t channel light energy. The tip of Helen’s wand emitted a steady white glow as she activated the spell. She watched Charlotte with a look of deep concentration for several moments then lay down with the wand loosely-gripped in her right hand. Josephine glanced at Perry who was more likely to detect something wrong and relaxed a little when she saw a pleasant smile on his face and no trace of worry. After several moments, both Helen’s and Charlotte’s foreheads radiated the same steady glow as the wand. A sense of peace and tranquility descended over the room as light energy currents drifted and swirled around them, invisible to the naked eye.

The spell gave an impression of timelessness as moments passed and blended together like a gentle wave. Josephine was jarred out of her deep relaxation when the enchantment halted without warning. Helen and Charlotte both sat up with dreamy expressions on their faces.

“That was nice,” Charlotte said. “I think that’s my favorite medical treatment ever.”

Alice eyed her with a dubious frown. “I’m glad you’re feeling well but are you cured?”

“I think so.” Charlotte turned to Helen for confirmation.

“Yes, the enchantment worked perfectly!” Helen beamed with exuberance.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Josephine didn’t want to report this news to Director Hamilton only to find out later that the mind control spell lurked in the shadows of Charlotte’s subconscious. “I’m going to double check.”

She settled on the couch beside Helen so she could face Charlotte and perform a deep scan. She knew exactly what to look for and after several moments was relieved to confirm Helen had indeed wiped away the mind control spell. Josephine excused herself and placed a call to Virginia from the privacy of her bedroom.

“You’ll never guess what just happened,” Josephine said.

“Talk to me, Josephine,” Virginia said in an effervescent tone.

“Helen cured Charlotte! The mind control spell is gone!”

“You are absolutely wonderful!” Virginia gushed. “I knew you’d solve this case. I’m with Colonel Mills right now. We’ll have Captain Gallagher bring Yvonne right over to you.”

Josephine returned to the living room and shared the news.

“I’m glad this nightmare is finally over,” Charlotte said.

“Your powers will still need to be controlled. I can help with that,” Josephine said.

“Whatever Helen did solved that problem, too. I feel completely normal.” Charlotte smiled with relief. “My family will send me another enchantment to keep my powers bound to a category five.”

The doorbell rang and Josephine went to answer it. Instead of Arthur and Yvonne, she was surprised to find Jake and Alex standing on her doorstep.

“We were in the neighborhood and thought we’d check in with our former partner,” Alex teased.

“It’s good to see you.” Josephine gave them each a quick hug. “Come inside. I’ve got company.” She explained the situation with Charlotte.

“That’s great.” Jake regarded her with affection. “I knew you’d wrap up the case quickly. You always do.”

The three of them joined everyone in the living room.

“We wanted to let you know that we released everyone from holding who attacked you yesterday. There was no sign of APU 81 in any of them,” Alex announced.

“That’s confirmation that it’s dead. It wouldn’t be able to voluntarily leave their bodies because it was fully integrated in their minds,” Josephine said.

“I won’t rest until its crystal skull is found,” Alice remarked.

“We’ll find it once we finish our terramezic scanner,” Josephine said.

Maggie leveled a musing gaze at her. “Unless it shattered from the power surge.”

“It sure is taking Captain Gallagher a long time to get here.” Charlotte straightened in her seat with a look of concern.

“You’re right. Maybe I should check in with Virginia.” Josephine pulled out her cell phone as she expanded her awareness.

The distant sound of thunder rumbling and the gathering concentration of magic nearby caught her attention. She focused on the source of the disturbance and followed it to the very edge of her limits which was the power vortex at the Siesta Key beach. Her cell phone rang and she flinched.

She brought her cell phone to her ear. “This is Josephine.”

“It’s Colonel Mills. I’m not able to reach Captain Gallagher or anyone on the team. I need you to check on their status.” He gave her their address before she could respond.

“I think Yvonne knocked them all out,” Josephine said as soon as he’d stopped talking.

“You’re probably right which is why I need you to get down there ASAP.”

“Yvonne is at the Siesta Key beach. I can feel her. She’s doing a major enchantment.” Josephine disconnected the call before Colonel Pill could irritate her further. “Maggie, we need to hurry.”

Everyone else rose to their feet and followed. Josephine halted and narrowed her eyes at them as a group. She opened her mouth to order them to stay put but changed her mind. She wasn’t going to waste valuable time lecturing her friends when they would ignore her anyway. Josephine rushed out of the house and to her car. There wasn’t enough room for everyone to fit in her vehicle so Mark took Perry and Helen in his SUV. A thick layer of storm clouds stretched across the sky and random stabs of lightning hit the ground and buildings. Josephine could sense the angry writhing energy stirring above, a side-effect of whatever Yvonne was doing at the beach. When Josephine arrived at the parking lot, rain poured down in sheets. She didn’t wait for the others as time was of the essence. Josephine stumbled through the deluge of rain and her drenched clothes clung to her body like a second skin. Most of the beachgoers had already vacated the area but a few stragglers were hastily making their way to the parking lot.

Josephine’s feet sank in the white sand as she made her way towards Yvonne as quickly as possible. Maggie caught up with her while the others lagged behind. Mark activated his protection and a sparkling white field of protection formed around him, Charlotte, Jake, Alex, Helen, and Perry. He couldn’t extend it to encompass Josephine and Maggie because it would block their mainstream magic which was needed to knockout Yvonne. Josephine and Maggie weren’t fatigued from their walk because they were tapped into the vortex but the others were losing their strength and falling farther behind. The two wizards finally reached Yvonne who was drenched and her attention centered completely on the vortex which was visible and churning with angry crimson energy. Josephine and Maggie aimed their wands and fired telekinetic blasts but the distortion field surrounding Yvonne deflected the spells.

Helen pointed her wand containing the claro mentis and the tip emitted a steady white luminescence. She wore a look of intense concentration and determination. Mark and Perry pressed their hands on her shoulder and flowed source energy to her to help with the spell. Josephine and Maggie fired another shot but again, the distortion field around Yvonne blocked them. Josephine studied the chaotic mass of energy encompassing the young woman and saw that it was too thick to penetrate with magic. She examined Yvonne’s connection to the vortex but the distortion field had extended around it as well. There was no way she could stop Yvonne from completing the devastating enchantment.

Josephine turned to face Helen when Yvonne remained awake and lucid. “What’s wrong?”

“I can only create a partial link with her. The spell won’t go any farther than that,” Helen explained.

“You might be able to talk to her and persuade her to open her mind or stop what she’s doing,” Mark suggested.

Josephine stepped closer to Yvonne. “You have to stop what you’re doing. You’re going to hurt a lot of people.” When the young woman failed to respond, she moved forward and halted at the edge of the distortion field which would knock her out if she touched it.

“Yvonne, look at me! You’re going to kill Charlotte! Is that what you want?” Josephine demanded.

Yvonne pivoted on her right foot and her crazed eyes bore into Josephine’s. “I serve the greater good.”

The words resonated in Josephine’s mind as if she’d heard them somewhere before and filled her with dread.

“You’re going to murder your own sister! You have to stop this madness!” Josephine shouted as the torrential rain continued to sluice over her.

“I serve the greater good. This world must be fixed.” Yvonne spun back around to face the vortex and raised her arms.

Her hands radiated a crimson glow that stained the falling rain around her reminiscent of blood. Helen’s wand continued to emit a soft white glow as she struggled to coalesce the partial link between herself and Yvonne. Purple streams of color appeared within the crimson vortex as Yvonne prepared to unleash the enchantment. A surge of power that took the form of purple lightning unleashed from the palms of Yvonne’s hands, activating the mysterious spell. The vortex blazed with an intense purple light then winked back into invisibility. Josephine’s shoulders went limp with relief. Yvonne crumpled to the ground. The gathered energy from the vortex had turned inward and channeled somewhere else. Josephine and Maggie rushed over to Yvonne now that her distortion field had dissipated. The rain abruptly halted and the storm clouds stopped spitting lightning bolts.

Charlotte knelt beside her sister with unshed tears in her eyes. “Yvonne, you have to be all right.”

“She is.” Josephine rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “She’s alive and well. She’ll wake up soon.”

The rest of the group gathered around the four wizards as they waited for Yvonne to awaken. Josephine worried about what the enchantment had done. It had been massive and Yvonne had released it.

Yvonne awakened and pushed herself into a sitting position. “What’s going on?” Her eyes widened in alarm as she remembered what had just occurred.

“Yvonne, tell us what the enchantment did.” Josephine knelt down in the wet sand so she was eye-level with the young woman.

“I’m not sure. I kept thinking this would fix the world.” Yvonne’s brows furrowed with concentration then she gasped. “I remember! The enchantment reactivated the dormant vortices.”