The Salem Concord Book 1: Interview for a Wizard

by J. A. Areces

  ***

  Cindy heard the door close and turned from behind the counter to find Jesse entering the shop with his head hanging low.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, “and where’ve you been?”

  Jesse sat at the counter with barely any strength left in his body. He slumped over, leaning on his elbows gazing at Cindy. For a second he got lost in her blue eyes forgetting his troubles.

  “You look terrible.” She told him. “Are you feeling alright?”

  Jesse thought of telling her everything from beginning to end. He felt he needed to share with someone and relieve himself of all the pressure that he carried. He thought about how he would to tell her and quickly considered a number of possible reactions she might have. He decided against it. She wouldn’t believe him anyway, no one would.

  “I think I’m catching a cold.” He finally answered, and then faked a cough.

  “Oh poor boy,” Cindy leaned over the counter and placed her hand on his forehead causing Jesse’s heart to leap. Her hand gently caressed his face, and she smiled compassionately. “You don’t feel warm.”

  Jesse smiled. “I think I feel better.”

  Cindy, stood on her tippy toes, leaned a little closer and kissed Jesse on the cheek. The warm gesture took Jesse by surprise. He smiled and thanked her, his face turning different shades of red. He stood up, turned away and left, forgetting to say goodbye. Cindy watched him leave and smiled.

  Jesse drove his bike behind Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store and parked it underneath the large oak tree that covered most of the small back area. Once at the front, he turned unconsciously toward the café. Maybe, he thought, the wizard is waiting for me. Jesse’s mind immediately felt congested. The memory of Cindy’s gentle kiss was gone and replaced with an array of different notions that whirled around in his head without any order or purpose -- the store, orders, deliveries, nightmares, Mr. Claw, the wizard Beifar, and now a death.

  As Jesse Alexander neared the café, he looked up, and found the wizard Beifar in the same usual table drinking coffee, wearing his grey, pointy hat, long dark robe and holding his staff in the other hand. Jesse smiled; it was a good smile. He needed to smile more often. And then, he remembered.

  “I felt my fingers!” Jesse announced to the wizard with excitement. He sat placing his helmet on the floor next to him. The waitress immediately brought him a full breakfast as if she already knew he was arriving and had it all prepared for him just in time.

  “WOW!” exclaimed Beifar. He shifted in his seat and faced the young man. “I can’t believe it.” He leaned his staff against the table, and gestured for Jesse to show his hands. Jesse responded proudly. Beifar took his young friend’s hands into his own and held them tightly. He looked into Jesse’s eyes and instructed, “Now feel your elbows.”

  Jesse squinted, confused. He could only feel his hands being squeezed and nothing else. He tried to feel his elbows, but could only feel the pressure around his hands. “I can’t,” he finally said.

  “What were you doing when you felt your fingers?” asked the wizard as he let go of Jesse’s hands. Jesse withdrew them and began to eat.

  “I was just lying in bed.”

  “Good, and what were you thinking?”

  “Nothing, I was just there.”

  “Wonderful!” cheered Beifar. “That’s exactly where your mind needs to be, unoccupied, clear, undistracted – completely in touch with yourself, your energy. A wizard always needs to have a clear head to be in touch with his energy. If a wizard is distracted, then he can’t be in touch with his energy, and he won’t be able to create magic.” Jesse was sitting straight in his seat listening, absorbing every single word. “This is very important in battle,” continued Beifar. “One second of distraction can mean life or death. One second is all it takes for the opponent to think of a spell, the death spell. One second of distraction, in the world of wizards and witches, can be a fatal mistake. Usually, the one who stays focused on his energy is the one who wins.”

  The wizard sat back in his chair, and Jesse did the same. Jesse thought about Beifar’s words. Somehow they always seemed to be entrancing, captivating. Everything about him was bewitching. Jesse took the tall glass of milk, and drank it all down.

  “I suffered another nightmare.” Jesse finally spoke as he put the glass back upon the table. “Last night. I almost died again.”

  The wizard raised an eyebrow.

  “And, I found out that another person was having near death dreams. In fact, she reported having seen strange green lights coming from Mr. Claw’s office the night of my first dream.” Jesse paused, swallowed and continued. “She died last night from a heart attack, in her sleep. She was scared to death.”

  “Yes, I know. I read the Department’s report last night. I’m having everything unusual that occurs in this town sent to me. What about the other two?” asked the wizard, “The pizza guy and the homeless man, did they have another nightmare or did the crystal ball cure them?”

  Jesse shrugged. “Don’t know.”

  “I did some research on the house murders,” continued the wizard, “and I don’t think that the old man was the murderer. I suspect it was a wizard. I suspect it was Raven Fidgewidge.”

  “Raven Fidgewidge? Is that his full name? Raven Fidgewidge?” He thought about it for a moment and for some unknown reason it sent a chill up his spine. “Raven Fidgewidge…Raven Fidgewidge.” He kept repeating the name as he chewed on a piece of bacon. “Fidgewidge! Last night I saw something in the crystal ball, and I heard that name!” Jesse blurted out, and then proceeded to tell the wizard everything that transpired, and how the three witches entered and were determined to buy the crystal ball.

  They sat at the table for quite some time as Jesse recounted in fine detail all the previous night’s events from the time that Beifar left the store. He explained how the three witches were able to enter the store, without setting off the Emunio Concutio, because of the invitation on the store’s website. The wizard found that very interesting, storing that bit of helpful information in his hat. Jesse explained about his visit with Rob; the story about the grandmother that died; and about his own nightmare and how he thought he was going to die last night. Somehow the dream was worse than the ones before. The dream last night was almost real. He wondered why the old woman died from fright, and he didn’t. What was it about her dream that killed her?

  “Maybe the crystal ball can give us some answers,” said the wizard, and they both agreed to return to Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store to examine the crystal ball further.

  The wizard paid the bill as usual, and Jesse invited him back to Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store. Together they hurried down the sidewalk - - a young man carrying his motorcycle helmet, and his companion wearing a large, grey, pointy hat, a long dark cloak, and carrying a long wizard’s staff.

  “Nice promo!” shouted one of the patrons at the café as they passed him by.

  Jesse took the store key and unlocked the front door. The bell that hung on the door swung and made its familiar sound. Before he stepped in, Jesse turned the sign that read CLOSED over to read OPEN. He pulled up one blind and then the other as the wizard walked in behind him. That’s when the wizard Beifar noticed that the crystal ball was missing.

  “What!” Jesse shouted. He placed the helmet on the front counter and stood with his arms over his head in disbelief. “I’ve been robbed!”

  Beifar stood where once the large crystal ball occupied the space. He felt something very familiar. He felt magic.

  “Should I call the police?” asked Jesse nervously. “I don’t think Mr. Claw will like this.”

  “I am the police,” answered the wizard. “I don’t think Folk police can help you in matters of wizardry.” He paced around the room searching for a clue until he discovered a small, gaudy piece of jewelry glittering on the floor. He
held it up and showed it to Jesse.

  Jesse recognized it. It curved and tangled itself into funny knots with tiny bells that made a fairy-like noise. It belonged to one of the three witches. “It belongs to them.” He informed Beifar. “They took it, I’m sure of it.” He looked around the room. Everything was still clean and untouched. “They must have come in while I was gone. They stole the crystal ball. They probably used the website as an invitation to beat the wizard’s alarm.”

  “Tell me again, what was the name of their store?” The wizard slid the evidence into his cloak pocket, as he marched to the front door.

  “This and That!” Jesse called out after him.

  The wizard opened the front door; the bell rang as it swung, and he left without saying another word. Once on the porch, he looked to his left and then his right, tapped the staff on the floor, and FLASH!

  The wizard disappeared.

  Jesse couldn’t believe it. The crystal ball was gone. Impossible! How was he going to explain this to Mr. Claw? He would definitely be fired! He quickly decided that was not going to happen. Nope, he was going to wait for the wizard to return. Hopefully, Beifar would be able to retrieve the crystal ball before Mr. Claw noticed it was gone. When would that be, tonight? Jesse began to panic. He looked around the store. It was empty without the huge crystal ball occupying so much space. Mr. Claw would surely notice it missing. Jesse pushed a small display rack of robes over the empty spot hoping to fill in the area. It didn’t help. There was no way to hide the fact the crystal ball was gone. Jesse bit his nails as he tried to come up with another plan, but it was useless. The crystal ball was missing and there was nothing he could do about it. He didn’t have a clue on how to get it back. Jesse shrugged as he accepted his fate. By tomorrow morning he would be unemployed. The wizard was his only hope. Jesse pushed the rack back and then returned to his desk. He turned on the laptop, waiting patiently for it to boot up. Once all the programs were up, and he entered the necessary passwords, the familiar BEEPS followed.

  Jesse settled comfortably in his chair, leaned over and began to work.

  “It’s twelve o’clock,” announced the computer.

  Jesse was starving. He spent the rest of that morning answering messages, taking orders and packaging items that needed to go out by 1:00 p.m. UPS already made one trip, and the next was within the hour, usually right after the driver’s lunch break. Jesse’s stomach grumbled, requesting food. He considered visiting the Deli and Cindy, but there was too much work to be done. The thought of breaking for lunch was causing him stress. Jesse finally decided to order pizza. He dialed the number to his favorite pizza place, Pizza Palace. A young girl answered the phone and asked Jesse to please hold.

  “BEEP”

  Jesse held on as he returned to his work. He was able to complete an order before the young girl returned.

  “Pizza Palace, how can I help you?”

  “Yes, I would like to order a pizza for delivery, please.”

  “Hold on, please.” The young girl’s voice sounded flustered.

  Jesse continued working.

  Finally, the young girl returned. “Pizza Palace, how can I help you?”

  “Yes, please I would like to order a pizza.”

  “Hold on, please.” Jesse could hear fussing and clattering on the other end, and then the line went silent, soft music played.

  Jesse’s ear was beginning to turn red and hurt. He leaned over and placed the call on speaker. That’s when he remembered the answering machine. It was still in his bike’s storage compartment. He scribbled a reminder note on a sticky pad.

  The young girl finally returned. Her voice was very different. It seemed forced, heavy and tense. “Hello?” she said.

  “Can I please order a pizza?”

  “To pick up?” she asked.

  “No, for delivery.”

  Jesse heard the young girl begin to cry. Her voice broke off, as she sobbed.

  “Hello?” he called to her. “Hello? Are you ok?”

  The girl’s sobbing got worse.

  “Hello?” Jesse shouted concerned. “What’s wrong?”

  “The d-d-delivery boy,” her voice cracked, “is not in today.”

  Intrigued, Jesse asked, “Why not? What happened to him?”

  “He’s…dead!” she bawled. “He was found…dead in his room. Heart at-t-tack - - s-s-cared to death.”

  “Scared to death? Was he murdered?” Jesse’s voice trembled.

  “I’m not sure. He didn’t show up to work this morning, so the boss repeatedly called his phone. When he didn’t answer, the boss felt something was wrong and drove by his apartment. That’s when he found him…”

  “What did he find?”

  “He was dead, wide eyed and open mouthed like if screaming, horrified.”

  “Did anyone see anything suspicious?”

  “No, except for an empty box that he clutched delivered by UPS from Alivan’s Wizard and Witches Corner Store.”

  Jesse dropped the phone.