Corruption (Grumpy Old Wizards Book 2) (20 page)

“That’s exactly what’s happened. Him and Melodie both. I already gave you the week off but I’m asking that you resume your duties tomorrow and help me with the memory suppression spell. We’ve had experts come in and use advanced antidotes without any success.”

“Of course, sir, you can count on me. I’m wondering about the OC enforcers in the area. They’re all sixes. Have they already tried to break the spell yet?”

“Unfortunately, they couldn’t do it either,” Ben confirmed. “But you’re different. OC enforcers that go through the training have special enchantments on their minds that place limits on their abilities. It was a closely guarded secret that’s leaked out recently and part of the emergency legislation is removing these spells from the OC enforcers.”

“Is that why OC enforcers can’t link with vortexes? They have some kind of mind control spell preventing it?”

“I’m afraid so. And most OC enforcers were given their promotions against their will so there is a lot of resentment.”

“I’ll be at the station first thing in the morning, Ben.”

“Thank you, Josephine.”

Ben abruptly ended the call. Jake was watching his grandmother with admiration.

“You’re on a first name basis with the chief of police?” he asked.

“It’s always been that way with us.”

“He must really like you. He doesn’t let anyone else call him Ben,” Jake observed.

Josephine’s lips curved in a pleased smile. “That’s good to know.”

She explained what the two of them had talked about.

“This is a calamity!” Alice exclaimed. “You see what I mean? The threat of the Valituras isn’t over. Not by a long shot!”

“I don’t think they’re much of a threat anymore,” Helen argued.

Josephine feared Alice was correct. The Valituras had amassed power through accumulation of potent enchantments and curses as well as infiltrating government agencies. It was doubtful they were crippled and wouldn’t retaliate in some way.

Chapter 18

Ben was driving a police cruiser down the freeway with Josephine seated beside him. It was about an hour drive to the Clearwater Corrections Facility where Lorcan and Melodie were being held prisoner. Josephine wore sleek black pants and a cobalt-blue silk shirt. She had a wand satchel secured to the right-hand side of her belt which detracted from her stylish outfit but it was either that or have the wands showing beneath the material of her pants. Being an enforcer was already becoming a nuisance. Of course, she had government grade enchantments now which was a major perk.

“Do you have any idea if the laws restricting the sixes will be overturned?” Josephine asked.

“There’s a good chance but I’ve learned never to try to predict what the government will do,” Ben said.

“I suppose that keeps you from being disappointed by bad decisions.”

“Exactly.” Ben’s expression was dour. “I feel like we may not have much time to interrogate the prisoners.”

“Why is that?”

“The Valituras have ancient and potent magic. I’m sure they have some tricks up their sleeves. Spells we haven’t even heard about. I’m worried they will break the prisoners out of jail.”

“That’s risky. Besides, they have nothing to gain,” Josephine said.

“Memory suppression spells can always be reversed. Depending on how well they’re constructed, they may wear off after time or it could take very powerful magic to undo.”

“I suspect the latter.” Josephine shot him a sardonic look.

“I agree. Especially after so many experts have failed.”

“I want to make it clear I have no experience whatsoever with breaking or constructing memory suppression spells.”

“I know but we have to try everything in our power to break these prisoners,” Ben said.

Josephine’s thoughts went to Mark who she knew was talented with memory spells. Maybe he could offer some expertise in this matter. She decided to speak with him in private later.

“So how do you like your new home?” Ben asked.

“I love it.”

“That’s great. I was a little concerned for you at first but if you were vulnerable to the curses, you would have suffered at least a couple of accidents by now.”

“You know about that?”

“That house has quite a history.”

“The previous owner must have been powerful to create so many curses on the dwelling,” Josephine observed.

“He was a five. His name was Duncan Fleming and his wife was Arabella. She practiced advanced white magic. She created an enchanted garden that had the most exotic flowers and plants that would thrive even if they didn’t do so well in the tropics.”

“Was Arabella a five or a six then?”

“No, she was a four.”

“I see. It was the only way she could do advanced magic then.”

“It’s a shame white magic is limited to healing and protection. Otherwise, a lot more people would devote their time into becoming experts in the craft.” Ben remarked.

“The little white magic I’ve learned is complicated and difficult. I wonder how a category one could do it,” Josephine said.

“From what I hear, once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s a completely different approach to creating enchantments. They can tap into what is termed source energy that lays the foundation for their spells that you or I couldn’t do. Luckily, you’re a six so you don’t have to be a white magic practitioner.”

“I’m curious about Duncan and Arabella. If Duncan was an expert in the dark arts, why would Arabella have anything to do with him?” Josephine asked.

“Duncan didn’t turn to black magic until after his family died in a tragic accident. They were on a cruise and a hurricane struck. Duncan was the only survivor and he said a secret group had murdered his family because he had refused to join them. He said the mysterious group was powerful with vast resources and planned to take over the world. Of course, only conspiracy theory nuts believed him. Everyone thought he was mad with grief. He practiced black magic in secret to protect himself and to plot revenge against these people who I believe are the Valituras.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. What a tragedy.”

“Unfortunately, the time came when one of his curses backfired and he was killed,” Ben explained.

“The house and I have an understanding. It’s not going to hurt me,” Josephine advised.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“How do you know so much about the house anyway?”

“I’ve lived in this area most of my life and it was major news for quite a while.”

Josephine’s thoughts went back to the secret room. Maybe the reason she couldn’t break through the ward stemmed from the fact that it was comprised of white magic. She suspected Mark was a practitioner but he’d never mentioned this to her. It made her wonder.

“Is it possible to use white magic and not know it?” Josephine asked.

“I wouldn’t think so. Why?”

“I had a friend once and our conversation about Arabella made me think of him,” she fibbed.

“That’s interesting. What’s your friend’s name?”

Alarm flooded through Josephine. She should have known better than to talk about her personal life with her boss.

“His name was Tim. I haven’t spoken to him in years,” Josephine lied smoothly. Her heart raced wildly and she hoped he wouldn’t dig further. Revealing Mark’s ability if he was indeed gifted in this area seemed like a betrayal. “Do we have any information about the amnesia spell? Any theories on how it can be countered?”

“There are some detailed reports on site. You can take a look at them once we arrive. There are a lot of theories but you have to be an expert in mental healing magic to understand them.”

“That means it will all be Greek to me,” Josephine said. “What else do we know in general about the Valituras? Why haven’t we captured more of them?”

“Because of the way they’re split up into teams. Each team has between five and twelve members. Only the representative of each group knows who members are outside of their unit and even then their knowledge is extremely limited. They have areas split up into what they call territories that comprise one to three states where there is an administrator in charge. No one knows for sure how many teams there are in each of these territories but I’m guessing a lot. Lorcan knew some of the other representatives and his territory administrator but not where they live and they usually don’t even tell each other their real names.”

“These guys are paranoid,” Josephine remarked.

“It’s really smart, too. It prevented us from uncovering the identity of most of the Valituras agents that Lorcan could contact.”

“How do they communicate?” Josephine asked.

“For the most part, they use prepaid phones. If we could get our hands on an administrator, we would have access to so much more information. The Valituras would be completely exposed to us. Unfortunately, it’s next to impossible. Only a few select representatives can contact their administrator and that’s with a specialized messaging stone that signals they’re requesting a face to face meeting.”

“They’ve really got a complicated system for eluding exposure,” she observed.

“We’ve never known this much about the Valituras before. I want to destroy that organization and place all of their members behind bars before they can go deeper into hiding,” Ben said.

When they arrived at the maximum security corrections facility, Josephine’s anxiety mounted once again. She wasn’t sure she was cut out for this kind of work. A dark, malevolent energy permeated the prison walls and emanated in the atmosphere in a constant choking wave. Of course, Josephine knew the sensation wasn’t real but it felt like her lungs were struggling for air. As she and Ben walked deeper through the corridors, he threw an assessing glance at her.

“Are you okay?” his voice rumbled with concern.

Josephine’s lips twitched in a nervous smile. “This place feels evil. It’s all the residue that’s collected over the years from the prisoners.”

“Will you be able to work effectively?” Ben asked.

“I’m not sure. It’s very distracting,” Josephine admitted. “And it might inhibit my ability.”

The two of them were escorted by a corrections officer named Andrew. He was average height with a short-cropped brown hair and green eyes. A no-nonsense expression dominated his face at all times and he never attempted to engage in idle chit chat. The entire walk through the facility was marked by a tense silence. When they finally reached a third security checkpoint with another guard ensconced in a small but secure room, Josephine wondered how much farther their trek would take them into this prison. The new guard checked their visitor badges with care then buzzed them in. Andrew stepped through the door first. Ben opened the door for Josephine and she smiled her thanks. They took a couple more turns until Andrew stopped in front of a metal door with a sturdy window like most of the other cells.

“This is where we’re keeping Lorcan.” Andrew checked the window to make sure the room was still secure.

Lorcan was sitting on a cot with his back leaning against the wall. He stared off into space with an almost palpable misery. He wore an orange jumpsuit as well as an enchanted bracelet that suppressed all magical ability. A toilet and a small sink were positioned in the far corner of the small room offering no privacy whatsoever. Josephine felt a spark of satisfaction that the man who’d caused her so much grief was suffering for a change. Andrew withdrew a stun gun and kept it ready as he unlocked the door. He positioned himself near the doorway as Ben and Josephine entered the room. Lorcan’s gaze flitted between the two of them without recognition. Josephine and Ben sat beside each other on the other cot facing Lorcan.

“What do you want?” Lorcan watched them with wary anticipation.

“We’re here to reverse the amnesia spell,” Ben replied.

Lorcan snorted with derision. “Good luck with that.”

Josephine didn’t bother to retort as verbal sparring wouldn’t do an ounce of good. She began the scan on him to detect any enchantments. After a while, she found it embedded deep in his mind. It was complex and powerful and began to shift and change its outer appearance so it would fade into the background as soon as it realized it was being studied. Josephine withdrew her mind just a bit and made her scan less invasive. Immediately, the enchantment relaxed as it was under the impression she’d left. It would take longer for her to examine the spell this way but at least it wouldn’t slither out of sight.

Josephine sensed the attention of both Ben and Lorcan combined with the loathsome slimy dark psychometric energy of the prison weighing against her. She ignored the intrusion as best she could but it really did hinder her performance. Time dragged by as Josephine continued to study the components of the amnesia spell. She’d never seen anything like it and couldn’t begin to guess how it operated. She had techniques that she used on other types of enchantments such as wards but suspected they wouldn’t be effective here. Josephine was just about to try her first attempt at weakening it when the alarms blared shrilly, snapping her attention to her immediate surroundings and away from Lorcan.

Ben stood up and pulled out a mini wand. His gaze flitted through the room then landed on Andrew who looked confused by the alarms. Josephine rose to her feet and pulled out one of her uber telekinetic wands.

“What’s going on?” Ben asked.

“I don’t know.” Andrew’s alert gaze took stock of his surroundings as he pulled out his cell phone and sent a text inquiry. His attention swung back to Ben. “There’s some kind of mass knockout spell taking over the entire facility. It’s like red smoke.”

“It’s the Valituras,” Josephine said with panic. “They’re freeing the prisoners.”

“Not if I can help it,” Ben rumbled.

Josephine could detect a powerful spell on the fringe of her awareness. It was about forty feet away. An instant later, she could sense it surrounding them from all sides. It had to be an unknown Valituras weapon which meant she was probably their only hope of neutralizing the threat. Josephine reached out with her mind and began to scan its energy composition. It was approaching fast so there wasn’t much time. Through the small window at the door, the enchantment came into view. Its physical appearance resembled a thick red smoke lit with occasional sparks of angry red luminescence. The red smoke covered the floor as it rushed down the hall then began to rise to fill up the space. Ben and Andrew stared at the window with horrified expressions on their faces while holding their wands out as well as the stun gun as if that would do any good.

Red smoke seeped through the microscopic cracks at the edge of the door. Ben and Andrew retreated to the center of the room as they watched the enchantment force its way inside. The smoke drifted down to the floor and formed a thin layer as it slowly spread out towards them.

“Josephine?” Ben prompted.

“I’m trying to find a weakness.” Josephine backed away to give herself more time.

Andrew and Ben followed her lead. Lorcan stood up to join them but Andrew pointed his stun gun in warning. Lorcan remained at his current position in front of the cot as the red smoke reached farther into the room.

“Don’t let it touch you. It will knock you out on contact. It will slip right through your shields so don’t think you can enter it for any length of time,” Josephine warned.