The Artist's Alchemy

by Amorette Anderson

  I stared at Gordon in shock. “How did you do that?” I asked. “How did you bend my spell?”

  “I finally got it,” he said with a smirk. “I just focused on the space around the light, just like that painter lady taught us, and then used my willpower. I guess I did learn something this weekend after all.”

  “Great,” I muttered. It seemed that I’d helped an already dangerous man become even more lethal. Go me! Way to help beings become more magical, Marley, I thought to myself sarcastically.

  I watched Gordon pull a gun out from the back waistband of his jeans. He raised it up, and pointed it right at me.

  “You have a gun?” I said. I was just trying to buy myself some time. “Why did you bother stealing a knife, then?” I asked.

  “I don't have a silencer,” Gordon said. “I was afraid of attracting attention if I shot him out in the parking lot.”

  “You’re going to attract some attention now if you fire that thing,” I said. My voice was a little bit shaky, but I tried desperately to appear calm. “Justin has roommates, you know, and neighbors. Someone’s going to call the cops. You’re not going to get away with this.”

  He smiled. It was the creepiest smile I’d ever seen. “That’s why I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “I’ll lock the door and kill you first, then Justin. I’ll put the gun in one of your hands. A murder-suicide between two lovers in a quarrel. I’ll just say I escaped through the window when your argument got heated. I love it when things work out so well.”

  His statement was even creepier due to the fact that I knew he was telling the truth. He really was loving this. He kept his gun aimed at me as he sidled over to the door and twisted the lock. Then he returned to his position by Justin’s stunned body.

  My breathing was shallow and erratic. I felt like my heart might pound right out of my chest. Gordon stepped forward, and I had an even better view down the barrel of his gun.

  “Ready to die?” he asked me.

  Chapter Eighteen

  No, I answered silently. I am not ready to die.

  I knew that Skili was still in the closet, and I hoped that she wouldn’t try to do something heroic like fly out and take the bullet herself. I had no doubt that Gordon would shoot her without hesitation. Yes, her appearance might buy me some time, but it was nowhere near worth it. I wasn’t ready to die, and I didn’t want Skili to, either.

  I watched Gordon’s finger tense against the trigger.

  He was still smiling in that ridiculous manner.

  Suddenly, Justin started to stir on the ground.

  “Unh...” he groaned. “What happened?”

  Gordon turned, just slightly, to look down at him. As Gordon turned, his gun moved right along with his focus.

  I seized my golden opportunity.

  I reached my hand out again. This time as I shouted “Stun Spell!” Gordon wasn’t ready.

  The bolt of pale blue light hit him in the chest. He started seizing as light traveled over his body. Then he dropped his gun as he fell to the floor.

  At the same time, Skili flew out of the closet and landed on Gordon’s chest. She peered down at him with her black eyes. “Well done, child,” she said. “He’s out cold. Now bind his wrists and feet.”

  Justin was just coming around. He rubbed his head as he sat up. I watched his expression change from confusion to concern as his memory came back to him.

  “Mar, are you okay?” he asked, as he got to his feet.

  I hurried over to Gordon and conjured up a thick rope. Skili took one end in her beak, and helped me tie up Gordon’s wrists. “I’ll call the cops,” Justin offered.

  Five minutes later, a cruiser pulled up in front of Justin’s house with sirens blazing. It didn’t take long for us to convince the two officers that Gordon was a criminal. The video on my phone helped. I knew that it would take hours to fill out paperwork, and Justin and I didn’t have that kind of time. It was 11:45—Robert Elgin’s ghost was going to try to get revenge on Asti soon if I didn’t stop him. So, I worked a little magic on the police force. I didn’t mess with justice, I just used a Desire Spell to convince Captain Chris Wagner that it would be best to get statements from Justin and I later that afternoon—after the concert was over. It was 11:50 when Captain Chris Wagner walked Justin and I out to the sidewalk.

  “I’ll see you at the station at 3:00 then,” he said. “Hey—quick question for you before you go. How’d you get him to confess like that?”

  Justin and I shared a knowing look.

  I smiled. I was pretty sure I couldn’t tell the police captain about truth berries. That’d bring up a whole lot of questions that I wasn’t quite ready or willing to answer. I hoped that one day, Chris and I could have a nice chat, being to being, about all of the possibilities of magic, but I also knew that the moment was not right for that discussion.

  “I guess we can be convincing when we want to be,” I told Chris.

  Justin grinned. “Yeah, and giving a guy a beer first doesn’t hurt, either.”

  Chris looked confused, but he nodded. “They didn’t teach us that tactic in police academy, but it worked—I can’t deny that.”

  Justin looped his arm around my shoulders, and we walked hip-to-hip away from the baffled captain. I swiped up my little broom from where it lay on the front lawn, and Justin and I hurried down the sidewalk.

  When we were a block from his apartment, we ducked into a stand of trees, both got onto the broom, and took off into the air. I was banking on the fact that everyone in the neighborhood was too interested in the commotion at Justin’s apartment to pay any attention to the sight of Justin and I flying through the sky overhead. As we flew, I was very aware of the light that surrounded us. It bounced off every tree below, and every cloud above. Justin and I were swimming in light. It bathed us. I thought about the idea that we were light, too.

  When we landed just down the road from my center, I spotted Byron and the other two Hillcrest Funk Collective members, Jaden and Cliff, leaning out of their van’s windows by the entrance to the lot. They were just outside of the magical barrier, but it was clear they couldn’t see it.

  We approached. “You sure this is where the gig is?” Byron called out to Justin. “It’s five ‘til twelve, and the place is totally empty!”

  Justin laughed. “Come on, boys,” he said, as he jogged past them and through the barrier. “No time to waste!” I twitched my finger at the barrier, and it glitched for just long enough for the band’s van to pass through.

  I saw a few beings out on the deck off to the side of the building, including Asti. Whew! I thought. We got here in time. She hasn’t been attacked yet.

  A few other beings were walking across the front yard. A hum of voices emanated from the back yard. Justin and I made our way around the center. I spotted Annie, Penny, Cora, and Azure stationed in various places in the crowd. They were scanning the beings, looking for signs of disruption or violence.

  Justin leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I’m gonna help the boys unload the van. Shouldn’t take long—we’ll be playing in a minute.”

  His kiss felt so nice. I knew that big changes were coming for Justin and I, but for once, I felt at peace with that. The shift in perspective that I’d started to feel at Asti’s painting workshop, and which I’d felt on my broom as well, comforted me. The brief moments of feeling so connected to everything, as though I was a being of light swimming in an ocean of the stuff, made me feel less concerned about Justin’s impending tour.

  Just because he won’t be here in Hillcrest does not mean that I’ll be alone, I realized. I’m a part of something much bigger—this ocean of light. I’m not separate, and neither is Justin.

  “Okay, babe,” I said to him. “Can’t wait to hear you play. I’m going to try to find Robert to tell him that we know who killed him.”

  “Good luck,” Justin said, before hurrying off.

  I located my witch sisters, and we fanned out around the perimeter of the crowd, looking
for signs of a disturbance. While Justin and his bandmates set up their equipment, it happened. A fairy on the edge of the crowd let out a scream. “Eeek! Something cold just passed through me!” she said. “Icy cold! I think it was a ghost!”

  Sure enough, Asti was just a few feet from the fairy. I focused on the space around Asti, and saw the air to her left shimmer. As I focused, Robert’s plaid-panted form came into view. I saw that he was heading straight for Asti. He had something that looked like a taser in his hands.

  I hurried straight for him.

  Beings around the fairy who had screamed were backing up, as if to give her space. Maybe they wanted to avoid the ghost that had passed through her, too. Their retreat helped me out. I was able to make it to Robert’s side quickly.

  “Robert, don’t do it!” I shouted.

  The beings in the area gave me a bunch of strange looks, but I didn’t care. I kept talking to Robert, though I was the only one who could see him. “Robert, don’t use that thing, whatever it is,” I eyed the black box in his hands.

  “A quantum particle combustor,” he said. “I invented it myself, and I’m going to use it to implode Asti because she killed me.”

  “She didn’t!” I said. “She didn’t kill you. Gordon Groover did.”

  “Prove it,” Robert said.

  Unicorn poop. I didn’t have any evidence of my statement. “I—I can’t,” I said.

  “And she doesn’t have to,” Asti said. She looked toward where I was looking. “Is this where he is?” she asked me.

  She couldn’t see Robert, like I could.

  I nodded. “Yeah, his ghost is right there,” I said, gesturing to his form.

  She addressed the space that I gestured to. “Robert, not everything has to be proven, or studied, or examined. It’s time for you to let go of all that. Here I am, standing here and telling you that I didn’t kill you on Friday night. And I’ll tell you something else, too. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hurting you, all those years ago. I’m sorry.”

  I watched Robert’s reaction. His cold, calculating eyes softened and became warmer. He lowered the black box in his hands, until it hung at his side. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ve waited decades to hear that.”

  I could tell that Asti could not hear him, so I passed this message on.

  Then Robert spoke again. “Tell her that I’m sorry, too,” he said. “I guess I made some mistakes back then, as well.”

  I relayed this message to Asti. She smiled and nodded. I saw tears welling up in her eyes. A few others in the crowd were tearing up, too. Though they couldn't see Robert, they could understand what was happening based on my translations.

  My necklace felt warm. I lifted it from beneath my tee and looked at the dreamcatcher charm. The gold was glowing with light.

  I reached out to Skili with my mind. “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I said. “Why does my necklace glow every once in a while?”

  “It is not just a necklace, child,” Skili informed me, as she landed on my shoulder. “Neither is it merely a reminder of your choice.”

  “Then what is it?” I asked.

  “It is a talisman,” Skili transmitted. “And with time, you will learn to use it. For now, just know that it glows when healing occurs. Like right now.”

  I looked to Asti, and the ghost figure of Robert. Both looked peaceful. It was clear to me that the anger between them was gone.

  Skili spoke in my mind again. “Here an ancient hatred has become a present love. Your glowing necklace marks the occasion.”

  I held the warm charm in my hands. It reminded me not only of my choice to stay in the Earth Realm, but also that I had a purpose here: to heal.

  “Well,” Asti said, as she reached up and wiped a tear from her eye. “Looks like this weekend did lead to some healing after all! Marley, perhaps you could teach me how to see the non-physical, just as I taught you to see the spaces between things.”

  “I’d love to,” I said. “That way you could speak to Robert yourself. I’ll give you your first lesson later this afternoon. But for right now, I think we could all use a good dance session. Anyone else with me?”

  A roar of agreement rose up from the little concert-going crowd.

  Relief and happiness flooded me as I realized that the threat that had been hanging over me all weekend was now lifted. Robert’s anger had been diffused. The Groover was headed for a life behind bars. It was time to dance.

  Justin started singing, and I let out a happy whoop. A few other hollers from the crowd soared up into the air, and my friends crowded around me to give me a group hug. All around us, scientists and artists alike were shaking and grooving.

  By the time Justin started belting out the chorus to his new song, we were all really going bananas. I lifted my arms and twirled around in a big circle before jumping up and down. So much energy coursed through me, and I knew it was the happy energy that often lies on the other side of facing a fear.

  My perspective had shifted, and I knew it. I was excited to try focusing on the space between things more often. It felt peaceful and light. It reminded me that everyone in the universe was connected, and that I wasn’t separate. I loved that feeling.

  “Go bananas,” Justin belted out. “Go, go bananas!”

  So I did—I really went bananas.

  Epilogue

  “Here you go, hon,” the postal worker, Diane, said to me as she handed over a brown paper package and a stack of mail.

  I stuffed the stack of mail into my vest pocket as I stepped outside. Then I took a closer look at the package. I knew just what it was, and I was excited about it.

  I recognized the handwriting on it. Justin’s sloping, sprawling script was splashed across the front. He even drew a flower along the side of the package.

  Technically, we hadn't violated Sarin’s rules. Justin was intent on following them, seeing as Sarin was pulling all of the strings that made his tour possible.

  But we hadn't talked directly. That was against the rules. Instead, I’d gone to the Hillcrest Funk Collective website and placed an order for one of their t shirts. I figured I had every right to support the band. I imagined Justin smiled when he saw my order come through. I could even imagine him drawing the flower on the packaging.

  I tore open the top of the brown paper package, and then pulled out the red t shirt that was tucked neatly within. The front had a printed pop-art image of a banana, wearing stylish shades. “Go bananas!” it said on it, along with the letters HFC.

  Over the last two weeks, since Justin had left for California, the song had really taken off. The Hillcrest Funk Collective’s opening act for the Ice Monkeys went viral on the internet, and suddenly Justin and his friends were hitting the mainstream. I was so happy for him. I immediately pulled off my purse and my vest and donned the t shirt.

  I whistled “Go Bananas” as I walked to the OP to meetup with my coven. We’d decided to hold our weekly meeting at the bar again because the floors of Annie’s café had just been waxed and we didn’t want to make scuff marks. Plus, it was line dancing night, so Penny and I wanted to get our groove on after the meeting.

  When I stepped inside, the bartender, Janine, noticed my tee right away. “I want one!” she said.

  We chatted for a minute about the band’s success, and I told her how she could order a shirt online. Then she said, “Hey, did you hear that Gordon Groover got sentenced to life in prison? I can’t believe he was actually here in Hillcrest right before he confessed to his crimes. It must have really been weighing on him. I guess he just snapped.”

  She finished polishing the glass in her hands, and then said, “What can I get you?”

  “I’ll have a piece of pie... and maybe a pot of herbal tea,” I said.

  She laughed. “You know, you and your friends are the only people who come in here for tea and dessert.”

  I looked down the bar and saw a bunch of familiar faces of locals, holding beers.

  I laughed.“Well, we have some
business to take care of, and tea and treats help us get our work done.”

  “You mean knitting business?” she asked.

  I caught sight of my witch sisters, already gathered around a table at the far end of the bar. They all had their knitting out. As usual, they didn’t quite blend in with the surroundings, and that was just fine with me. In fact, it was the way I liked it.

  “Yeah... something like that,” I said.

  Janine retreated to the kitchen to grab my pie. Once she served up the pie and tea, I headed to the back of the bar and took a seat next to Penny. She immediately used her own fork to reach over and snag a bite of my pie. I pretended to try to stop her, and we had a little fork war before I surrendered. We were laughing as Cora pulled a clipboard from her purse.

  “First order of business,” she said primly. “I’ve received a few comment cards from workshop participants. I think it would be wise for us to review them together, so that we know how to improve.”

  “All in favor?” asked Annie.

  We all raised our hands.

  Well, most of us did. Penny raised her fork, and a little splatter of cherry juice rained down on the table.

  Cora used a napkin to wipe it up, and she gave Penny a stern look. Then she returned her focus to the clipboard. “Okay, this first one is from a participant named Stanley Wilmur. It says, ‘In science, some of the greatest discoveries originate from what begins as a mere mistake. I admit that I signed up for your “Alchemy” workshop by mistake. I’m not sure why, but I had the impression that it was to be about the science of alchemy. That’s what the ad I saw led me to believe. I was upset to find out that it was actually about art. But then, as the weekend went on, I started to see that my mistake actually led me to a weekend of self discovery. I learned how to look at the world like an artist, and I feel this new perspective will help me see my pursuits in the laboratory in a new way. So thank you, and well done. Also, I want to say that the crystal cave was particularly relaxing. I’ve never thought of crystals as anything but interesting formations of molecules, but I had an experience in that cave that made me question that.... I will be visiting again, and you can bet I’ll spend some time meditating in that cave! Cheers—Stan.’”