Written in the Sky* Rise of the Wadjet Witch (18 page)

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Authors: Juliet C. Obodo

BOOK: Written in the Sky* Rise of the Wadjet Witch
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She got out of his bed and quickly dressed. She needed some space to figure out what was going on. No one was in the kitchen when she came out of the room; she ran to the door and down the stone steps. She hailed a cab that luckily was headed south on 36
th
Avenue. She jumped in before the driver could fully stop.
Memphis sank into the leather seat in relief. It was short-lived, because though she didn’t turn around to look back at the house, she knew that Lawrence was standing on the front steps watching her leave.
She couldn’t return to the crime scene that was her apartment, but she would survive as long as she had her credit card and her netbook. She checked into a reasonably priced hotel in Times Square to spend the night. When she opened the door to her room, she approved its cleanliness before setting down her bags. She undressed and headed to the bathroom for a nice, hot shower.
She let the hot water run over her. She’d been through so much in one day; she’d literally been to the moon and back. Her muscles felt so tight that she decided to fill up the tub and switch to a hot bath. She fell asleep. A few hours later, she woke up to a tub filled with lukewarm water. She reluctantly got out; she wished she could have spent the rest of her life in the bathtub even in tepid water.
She dressed and ordered some room service; she was starving. While she waited, she turned on her netbook to e-mail Virgil. She wanted to discuss the events that took place last night. She entered her password and when she opened her inbox, she saw a new e-mail from an unknown recipient,
[email protected]
.
“
Are you kidding me?” She would forward it to Jill so they could track the source. She was surprised and then confused at the message when she opened it.

 

You know who it is. He works underneath the stars.

 

She had to call Jill. She found her cell phone and saw that she had a total of eleven missed calls—two from Jill and the rest were from Lawrence.
She knew what both of them needed. She sent Jill the horoscopes that were due that day and the e-mail from astroboy88 to trace. She marked it urgent. She decided she would call Lawrence; she might be able to tell if he was the one who sent her the e-mail.
He picked up the phone on the first ring. “Memphis, where are you? Why did you leave? Is everything all right?” He sounded so concerned that Memphis felt guilty for just leaving without any notice.
“
I’m sorry; I don’t know why. No, actually, that’s a lie. Yes I do.” She told him about the horoscope she found next her when she awoke. She explained that it was her subconscious warning her.
“
Yes, I know. That’s happened to me before. That’s how I found out about my fiancée cheating on me.”
“
You were engaged?”
“
Yes, I was, but that was two years ago, another life. How could you think that the horoscope was referring to me? I was inside of you; you would have been able to tell if I was a psychotic cult member.”
“
I’m sorry.”
“
When I tapped into you last night, didn’t you feel my energy? You would have received some warning if my thoughts weren’t pure, and I wouldn’t have been able to access your mind. Well, my thoughts were pure of violence, anyway,” he said in a husky voice.
“
Yes, I guess it was a little crazy of me. I just don’t have any idea who’s behind this.” She blushed, thankful he couldn’t see her red cheeks.
“
I can send you the police sketch, or maybe we can try the Transmission over the phone?”
“
I think the police sketch for now. Not sure if I can handle any more action up there today.”
“
I don’t blame you. I just sent it to your e-mail address at the paper.”
While Memphis waited for the e-mail, Lawrence explained the progress they had made.
“
These people are evil and crazy. We’ve figured out how they choose the victims; I really should have noticed the pattern sooner. They have all been featured in news stories: the teacher who stopped a shooting before it actually happened, the stock analyst with amazing market predictions, and the lotto winner who said, and I quote, ‘the numbers just came to me one day.’ Oh, and technically, Memphis, I’ve never been in your bed. You’ve slept in mine.”
He was right. She received his e-mail and opened the attachment. She gaped at the sketch on the screen. She was an idiot; he’d been right in front of her all along. Secrets—a life filled with secrets. He lived in the dark and worked under the stars. She gasped.
“
Did you receive the picture?”
“
Yes.”
“
What’s wrong? Do you recognize him?”
Of course she recognized him. They had worked side by side for an entire year.
The face belonged to Jonathan.
She told Lawrence that the man was her former boss and mentor. She left out his role as her lover. Lawrence instructed her to meet him at Pullman Hall immediately. He would call Gabriella and she would bring backup.
“
Now?” she asked, surprised.
“
Yes, we don’t have much time. The murders take place every ten days; they are following the Egyptian calendar and its decans. Each decan rises above the horizon at dawn for ten days every year. And, according to the medical examiner’s office, they were killed around midnight, but it could have been earlier. It’s eight, so they probably might still be setting up the kill room.”
Kill room? Someone had been watching a bit too much Showtime.
They had to stop the next murder. Memphis’ cab arrived half past eight, and Lawrence was waiting for her outside. They quickly ran into the observatory, but instead of finding a bloody corpse, they found Jonathan wearing a smug expression and a horrible sweater vest.
“
Why, hello, Memy.” He raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”
“
Memy?” Lawrence shot her a confused look..
“
Memy is standing beside you, and I don’t know of any other girl. Who the hell are you?”
“
We know who you really are, Jonathan. I know everything; you’re one of The Seventy-Two.”
Jonathan let out a loud bark of laughter. “My dear, if you think that I’m one of The Seventy-Two, then you don’t know anything. You were always sadly deluded, but I enjoyed having you around. An actual Wadjet as my sexual plaything—ah, such a delight. Who needed a puppy when I had you?”
“
Now, that’s enough. You will not speak to her that way.” Lawrence turned to Memphis. “He’s right. He isn’t one of The Seventy-Two; he is just a follower. He’s
their
puppy.”
“
You watch yourself, young man. This puppy can bite.” He showed them the tattoo on his chest. “I may not be a True Born, but I have been able to procure some powers.” He gave them a Cheshire smile.
“
Now who is the deluded one? Those women were not psionic. I gave the lottery winner the winning numbers.”
“
Come again?” He looked like a little boy who just discovered there wasn’t a Santa Claus. “No, that can’t be right.” He almost began to panic, but then the strange smile returned. “Well, I will just have to make use of what I have. Because Neptune and Pluto have been transitioning in sextile from 1942 to 1997, everyone born during these years has this special link in their charts. They are able to tap into the best of both Neptune and Pluto. As a generation we all have extrasensory perceptions; we just need a spiritual awakening. I’ve had mine and though I’m only human I have psionic energy, even if it is mediocre. I can always use the next girl’s to raise it.”
“
So there is another victim. Where is she?”
“
Where is who?” Jonathan cocked his head coyly.
Lawrence focused on him, asking him questions to force him to recall the image and location of the next victim.
“
Stop it, boy,” he ordered. He shook his head and brought up his tattoo to shield himself from Lawrence’s gaze. Lawrence seemed to struggle to enter his mind. The tattoo actually worked; that was how he must have known that they were coming. Too bad that they didn’t know what was coming to them. Memphis felt tears running down her face. She actually loved this person. How could she not know that he was an insane serial killer?
“
Where is the girl?” Memphis asked this time.
“
Oh, the girl. You actually would like her. You would probably consider her a good friend. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.”
They didn’t think it was possible for Jonathan to sound any crazier, but this last statement proved them wrong.
“
Memphis, try to find her. Focus on the room and try to unveil what is hidden. He might have used a spell to cloak her. I will focus on him.”
Memphis tried to focus on the room, but was distracted by Jonathan’s ramblings.
“
We will be victorious. Come with me, Memphis. You may still become one of my wives. They will take mercy upon you, for you know not what you do.”
“
Who are they?” Lawrence asked.
“
Where is the girl?” Memphis whispered. She felt someone else’s presence behind the partition in the room. “Who is there?” she called out. “Show yourself!”
The person ran down the back stairs.
“
Come back! Return!” she shouted.
Instead of bringing someone forward, Memphis mentally loosened the partition from the floor and it flew toward them. They jumped out of the way.
Jonathan looked at her in wonder. “Oh, my goddess,” he called. He came forward and kneeled down in front of her. “I am your servant. Please forgive me for my transgressions. I will aid you in your search for the Eye of Ra.”
“
I don’t want to find the Eye of Ra.” Memphis backed away from him.
He got up and looked at her in confusion, and then he became angry.
Lawrence started to concentrate on Jonathan’s head again.
“
I told you to stop that, boy.” Jonathan held his tattoo to his forehead. “I’m protected.”
“
By whom?” Lawrence asked, and then he whispered to Memphis. “I can see them
. I’m seeing an image of a man and a woman. That’s odd that it’s only two people”
“
By the most powerful—by the ones who shall show us the Eye of Ra!”
Memphis joined hands with Lawrence. She could almost see them, too. They were getting through to Jonathan. They would save the girl and this would all be over.
“
Everything will be all right,” she whispered, but she spoke too soon.
Suddenly Jonathan’s head exploded. Memphis screamed and she couldn’t stop screaming. She felt arms around her and she was dragged out of the room. Jonathan’s blood and brain matter felt like someone had splashed a bowl of warm soupy oatmeal on her face.
“
Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan,” she mumbled. This had to be a dream. The past two months weren’t real. She would wake up and everything would return to normal.

 

 

 

 

 

Gabriella had arrived with backup and Lawrence explained what had happened. They couldn’t find any trace of another victim, but they did find blood. They would take Memphis’s statement tomorrow morning when she recovered. They kept Lawrence for questioning. A police escort would show her home.
They forgot to tell the police escort to take her to their home in Queens. Instead, he took her to her apartment building. Memphis was still in shock and didn’t care where she was; she just wanted get away from the observatory. She could never go back.
When she got to her door, she saw a notice. Apparently, the water heater in her apartment had exploded. Her building’s super had put up notices for tenants to switch their hot water breakers off or there would be leakage. This request was made every three months or so, and she and Gemma usually complied, but things had been so hectic. She guessed the fine print that a water heater will explode actually had some credence.
They were able to stop the flooding by ripping the water heater out, so she would have no water until tomorrow morning when they replaced it. The super left her a set of keys to the vacant apartment above; he was being super nice, considering that it was her fault. She went to her room and began to pack some things for the night. She was actually looking forward to staying upstairs. Her apartment was still a mess from the robbery, and no one would think to look for her in another apartment.

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