The Salem Concord Book 1: Interview for a Wizard

by J. A. Areces

  ***

  It was another beautiful, sunny and cool October morning in Mount Dora. Jesse drove his motorcycle down Mount Dora Road, taking in the outstanding Lake Dora view. As he approached Downtown Mount Dora, he headed toward Donnelly Park. The Lakeside Inn was nicely decorated for the Halloween event, and many of its guests were walking across the street, heading into the shopping district. Jesse was forced to slow down as he approached Baker Street. He could see the park just ahead and all the preparations taking place. The two war monuments were decorated with large pumpkins surrounding their base, and a band was setting up at the Boards Community Performance Stage. A small stage was built next to Edgerton Fountain with speakers and mikes. Tables and chairs were arranged throughout the grounds. Volunteers helped string up bright lights, and prop up scarecrows and witches on bamboo sticks everywhere. Vendors were busy setting up their makeshift shops under tents, as merchandise was unpacked and sorted. The excitement of the evening event was everywhere.

  As Jesse turned down one of the many narrow streets, he noticed that all the stores were decorated with Halloween items. Pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns abounded. Even the lampposts throughout the city were dressed up with hoisted plastic brooms and banners, strung from one side of the street to the other, announcing tonight’s event. Mount Dora was buzzing. The annual Halloween festival provided a huge source of revenue to the town and its businesses, drawing people from everywhere. The variety of shops, antique stores, art galleries and cozy bed and breakfasts were attractive added features.

  Jesse couldn’t help feel the enthusiasm of the event. It was contagious. Halloween was never more alive for him than here at Mount Dora. Even the air was different -- as if ghouls were settling down upon the tiny, lakeside town to participate in the evening festival.

  Jesse turned onto another street and could see Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store in the center of the block. Outside the store, a small group of customers waited to get in. Jesse drove his motorcycle up to the front of Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store, and stopped to address the anxious customers. He flipped his helmet visor up and called out to them over the rumbling of the motor, “I’ll be opening in just a few minutes. I’m sorry for the wait.” He flipped the visor back down, and drove into the alley.

  Jesse was feeling great. He felt rested and at ease. He felt better than he ever did since he arrived at Mount Dora. Surprisingly, he looked forward to the Halloween festival. Maybe it was because he was going to spend some quality time with Cindy; maybe because he needed to have some fun after working so hard; maybe because it offered him a few hours of distraction from all the weirdness of the last few days; maybe because he completed the Exercises and was aware of his self, his energies and his feelings; or, maybe he was just excited to see his costumes being worn by so many at the festival. Whatever the reason, he was appreciative of his joyful state and smiled at the thought. Jesse felt inexplicably free and exhilarated. He couldn’t wait to speak to the wizard and advise him of the new development.

  What costume was he going to wear? He wondered. Jesse turned into the small backyard to park and came to a shrieking stop. If not for his quick reaction, he would have run right into a woman’s motionless body, lying on the floor. Beifar stood beside her.

  Jesse turned off the engine, kicked the stand of the bike into place and jumped off. He quickly removed his helmet, approached the woman, and leaned over her body. Mily looked up at him with sad eyes, tears falling down the sides of her face, into her ears. Her look was hopeless as she pleaded for help.

  Jesse stood up, faced the wizard, and asked him, annoyed, “What is going on here? Who is this woman?”

  “Mily Breezy.”

  “Mily Breezy? Mily Breezy?” Jesse pulled his hair back tightly over his forehead dumbfounded. “This is Mily Breezy, my customer?”

  “I had no place to take her.” The wizard pushed his large hat back. “I need a place to question her. Your shop is the best place. Claw would never suspect that she’d be hidden here, right under his nose.”

  Jesse stopped and thought. The wizard was correct. Mr. Claw would never suspect that Mily Breezy would be held captive at Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store. “OK, we’ll keep her in the back room.”

  Jesse took his key from his baggy jeans and opened the back door. A few, empty boxes fell out on top of him. Quickly, he moved them out of the way and stacked them up against the outside wall. Then he turned to Beifar and gestured to hurry. The wizard did not move.

  “What?” asked Jesse.

  The wizard smiled, then tilted and gestured his head towards the door.

  “Oh, yeah,” Jesse said impatiently, “you’re invited to come inside.”

  Jesse helped carry the bound woman inside. Locking the door behind him, it occurred to him that someone might have seen them. It concerned him that the police might be alerted.

  Every wonderful feeling Jesse felt just minutes ago evaporated. He was overwhelmed with stress and felt he was in over his head with this new development.

  Jesse and the wizard Beifar pulled Mily onto a small plastic chair making sure that she was as comfortable as possible under the Ligo spell. Out in front, the waiting customers were getting impatient and repeatedly knocked on the door. Jesse felt his body tense up from the stress. He was hiding a kidnapped witch inside his store, and was about to open the store to a growing group of customers. Once Mily was securely propped up, he closed the door behind him and ran to the front.

  “Just one moment.” he called out.

  Jesse turned on the remaining lights, opened up all the blinds and quickly turned on the laptop. Then he ran back to the front door and unlocked it. The door opened and the bell rang as the customers rushed in, almost knocking him over.

  The rest of the morning was busy and stressful, with barely enough time to breath. A constant procession of customers came and went. They tried on hats and robes; threw scarves around their necks, parading up and down the store; they grabbed brooms and pretended to fly around dodging tables and stands. Then there were those that wanted to test the wands. They waved them in the air, reciting made up spells, hoping to see some real magic. It was nonstop.

  Amidst all the commotion, Jesse protected the back door like a guard dog so that no one would accidentally venture through it. The morning flew by. It was now a little after noon and the last customer left with a witch’s robe and wand. Jesse closed for lunch. He placed the sign on the door that read Out to Lunch and pulled all the blinds down. He ran to the back of the store as fast as he could, opened the door to the storage room, only to find an empty chair.

  The wizard Beifar and Mily Breezy were gone. He was thankful that they were gone. Had they left in the normal sense of the word or did they vanish? Jesse was also confused. Where would Beifar take an immobile witch? Jesse just shrugged, he had no clue and it was a waste of time trying to figure it out. Things just kept getting odder and odder. Wizards, he told himself, don’t do things the same way everyone else does. Still, Jesse wanted to be with the wizard. It didn’t make sense but he was beginning to feel left out. So Jesse decided to stay in for lunch just in case Beifar needed to return and required an invitation to enter the store.

  Jesse called the Deli and ordered, for delivery, the usual sandwich from Cindy. She was much more pleasant than yesterday. In fact, Cindy spoke to Jesse for quite some time, and encouraged him to find her at the festival. The conversation was enjoyable and helped Jesse forget about the wizard and his hostage. During his lunch break Jesse processed some online orders, preparing them for overnight delivery.

  When Jesse opened for business again, the rush continued. Local customers and out of town visitors filled the store for the rest of the afternoon. At one point, Jesse was completely out of robes and hats for witches. The low-end, cheaper brooms also sold out at some point during the mid-afternoon, and the wands were
the last to sell out at the end of the day. Jesse was forced to turn away shoppers and closed the shop at 5:00 p.m. He pulled down the blinds, flipped the sign over to read CLOSED, turned off the main lights, except for a couple, and began to clean up the mess left behind.

  That was when Jesse heard a sound from the laptop announcing a new email. He left his chores and returned to his desk. It was from Mr. Claw and it read,

  Hi Jesse,

  I plan to attend the Halloween festival tonight. You can’t miss me; I’ll be dressed up like a wizard, straight out of Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store. I look forward to meeting you face to face at last.

  Signed,

  Mr. Claw

  Jesse couldn’t believe it. At last he was going to meet his boss or, a wizard gone mad.

  Jesse called Beifar on his cell phone. The wizard answered. It was the first time that Jesse ever reached him by phone. He was surprised but even more surprising was noise and music in the background. People could be heard laughing and shouting through the phone.

  “Where are you?” Jesse asked.

  “I’m at the festival,” answered Beifar with certainty. “I’ve been here for some time, and I have Mily Breezy with me.”

  “Why?”

  “I plan to flush Raven Fidgewidge out. I’ve spread the word that I’m holding her hostage, and I’m assuming that he’s going to rescue her.”

  “He is,” shouted Jesse. “He just sent me an email that he was going to be at the festival, and hoped to meet me tonight.”

  “He’s coming to kill her.” Beifar finally said after a few seconds of silence. Jesse could feel the tension in his voice.

  Jesse did not respond.

  “Jesse, get down here as fast as you can. I’m going to need your help.”

  Jesse hung up the cell phone. The rush was back; that overwhelming thrill of a new challenge when the odds are against you. Nervous and excited, Jesse punched the air with his fist, energized. He felt as if he was standing at the top of the largest water slide, ready to take the plunge, not knowing what to expect, but thrilled about the prospect.

  Jesse looked around the store. He knew exactly what to wear. He grabbed a large, pointy, black hat and placed it on his head. He turned the brim downward to deliberately resemble the wizard Beifar. He then took a black, wizard’s cloak off the rack and put it on. It hung down to his ankles, fitting just right. He then went inside the storage room and pulled out a long wooden pole that was, at one point, used as a curtain rod over the front windows. He grabbed some black, masking tape and wrapped it a few times around the rod to give it a design. At one end of the makeshift staff was a hole that used to contain a brass end. Jesse thought for a moment; ran to the front desk; opened the top drawer; and pulled out a pocket flashlight. He forced it into the hole and twisted off the top. The flashlight emitted a slight glow just over the shaft. Cool, thought Jesse, proud of his wizard’s staff. He then went over to the other end of the store and stood in front of a large mirror. He looked just like a wizard, or so he thought. Of course, as far as he knew, he only knew one real wizard.

  The bell rang as Jesse left the store, locking the door behind him. He headed down the street towards Donnelly Park and the Halloween festival. The streets were empty, the movie theater was closed along with most of the retail stores, and only the cafés and restaurants were open.

  Jesse Alexander quickly walked down the sidewalk. As he drew further from Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store, and closer to the festival, his mind wrestled with whether or not he should actually attend. He felt a sense of foreboding and knew that with each step he was most certainly getting closer to unknown and unwanted danger. It was inevitable. The wizard Beifar was at the festival, using as bait, a woman, bound and held captive against her will, in an effort to expose the evil Mr. Claw. He knew that Mr. Claw would be at the festival because of the email he received. A large lump formed in his throat. There was no turning back now. The only positive thing about continuing on course was the fact that he was going to spend time with Cindy.

  Jesse held on to the image of Cindy holding his hand, while strolling through the park, as all Mount Dora celebrated Halloween - - it helped distract him from what most assuredly awaited him. Jesse breathed in deeply and performed the Exercises with staff in hand, tapping the floor with every step he took.

  Jesse turned the last corner and saw Donnelly Park across the street. The decorative pumpkin lights lit the park with a soft festive orange glow. The mayor addressed the crowd from the small stage, welcoming all to the annual event. The crowd cheered and applauded at the end of his short speech. At one end of the park vendors sold all types of items, while at the other end food stands lured the hungry with their bewitching scent of diverse cuisines. Jesse’s stomach grumbled as he walked past the stand that sold grilled ribs and chicken, and next to it was another that sold hot dogs and hamburgers.

  He walked around the park searching for Beifar but it was difficult because, whereas before he stood out with his pointy hat, cloak and staff in hand, tonight everyone was in costume and he blended right in. He wondered how many in attendance were actually Wizardry? More than I care to know, he thought.

  The small light at the top of Jesse’s staff turned out to be very useful. Many times he found himself between tents or underneath large trees, and the light from the flashlight helped show him the way, or avoid tripping over large roots or tossed trash. The sun set quickly leaving behind an uneasy spooky atmosphere where goblins and shrouded figures roamed the park freely.

  The vending section was crowded with people pushing and shoving as they moved from one tent to another. Jesse found himself caught up in the human traffic and, before he knew it, was accidentally pushed inside a tent. He didn’t see the small sign that read, This and That. When Jesse stopped whirling he found himself standing in front of the witch Isabella. She immediately produced her wand and pointed it at his nose. In the corner of the tent stood Clara and Agatha; it was odd that he was the only person inside the tent. Jesse knew he was in trouble and gulped. The tent was crowded with all sorts of strange items for sale. Isabella waved her wand, and Jesse closed his eyes expecting the worst. A strange noise was heard coming from behind him. Jesse turned to find the large tent zipper zipping itself shut -- the two flaps that led out were now closed. Jesse was trapped inside the tent, along with the three witches. He could hear the people outside searching or pushing on the sides as they tried to find an entrance.

  “Well, well, well,” spoke Clara as she approached Jesse. “Look who we have here, the Fidgewidge boy.” She faked a smile.

  Agatha remained in the corner, but Isabella moved in a little closer to Jesse.

  “Are you going to un-invite us now?” asked Isabella. “That was so rude.”

  Jesse swallowed and held tightly to his staff. He wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go.

  “Let me teach him a lesson,” requested Isabella.

  Clara smiled as she thought about it.

  “No, no!” cried Agatha. “Everyone will know! It will be the end of our store. Please!”

  Jesse glanced from one witch to the other waiting for a reaction.

  “Why are you here?” asked Clara suspiciously.

  Jesse stuttered, “I-I’m looking for the wizard Beifar Mahgo.”

  Isabella straightened up when she heard the name. “Is he here?”

  “He needs me,” continued Jesse, “he asked me to come and help him.”

  “Wonderful, wonderful…” Agatha walked to the front of the tent and waved her wand. The zipper unzipped.

  “Wait!” ordered Clara. The zipper stopped moving. “I’ll let you out after you give us the crystal ball. You have no need for it. You don’t even know how to use it. We do, and it could come in very handy.” She smiled stroking her chin.

  “I can’t do that. It doesn’t belong to me.”

  “That is
true,” said Clara. “That crystal ball belongs to the Society until the new wizard is chosen. But you own it now, Fidgewidge. Why?”

  “I’m not Fidgewidge!” Jesse was losing his patience with the witches. “Now, let me go, the wizard needs me!”

  “I want that crystal ball!” shouted Clara. “Now give it to us! If you haven’t learned how to use its power by now, you never will. Give it to me or I’ll…”

  “Don’t be silly, Clara.” Agatha stepped in between. “That crystal ball is of no use to us. Do you want the Society coming around our store looking for it? You don’t want to mess with them, you know that. I guarantee you that as soon as they elect a new sorcerer; he’ll be coming around for it too.”

  Clara stood straight looking down at Jesse very agitated. “They need to be stopped,” she murmured.

  Agatha waved her wand over Jesse’s head and the zipper moved up the tent as the entrance re-appeared. Immediately customers entered. Agatha grabbed Jesse by the shoulders and steered him out. “Go and save the wizard.” She instructed as she twirled him around and tossed him out into the crowd.

  Jesse stood happy to be free from the three witches. He quickly turned and proceeded through the park in search of Beifar. A band played on the stage as people dressed in costumes danced on the dance floor. Jesse recognized many of the outfits from Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store. On the other end of the dance floor was Edgerton Fountain and next to it the small stage from where the mayor gave his welcoming speech. Then Jesse spotted a grey, pointy hat behind the fountain. He raced over to it, his cloak flowing behind him, and found Mily Breezy sitting at a small table with the wizard Beifar.

  “Well, don’t you look impressive,” remarked the wizard. He stood up and walked around to Jesse with a smile. Then he took the lit staff and admired it before removing the flashlight. He handed it back to Jesse, who wondered why he would do such a thing? But then Beifar waved his hand over it.

  “Lumen” he commanded.

  A flash burst from the top of Jesse’s staff, and then settled into a small light that was stronger than the one that came from the flashlight.

  “Here you go. Some things are better with a little help from magic.” Beifar handed the staff back to Jesse. Jesse was amazed. He held the staff over his head and for a second he pretended that he was an actual wizard.

  “I can feel my energy!” Jesse proclaimed proudly. “I did it! I can feel my entire body without touching any part of it at the same time.” Jesse was so excited that it caught the wizard by surprise.

  Mily Breezy just sat in her chair watching everything. Then suddenly her eyebrows rose very high, and her eyes widened. Across the way, close to the stage, she watched a man also dressed like a wizard. He was dressed exactly like Jesse. He moved around the crowd and then she lost him. She tried to speak, but she was still hexed.

  “Excellent!” the wizard was thrilled, and patted Jesse on his shoulder. “Tell me how it happened… Mily?”

  Mily looked panicky.

  “Finio!” commanded the wizard.

  The binding spell was removed. Mily stood up franticly. “He’s here! I saw him! He’s here!”

  Jesse gasped.

  The wizard grabbed her by the shoulders and sat her back down.

  “Calm down, Mily. Calm down.”

  “He’s going to kill me!” She screamed and some of the people near by looked her way.

  “Mily, what is he wearing?” the wizard asked slowly.

  She shook her head refusing to answer.

  “Mily, if we don’t stop him, he’s going to kill you and others. Now, what is he wearing?” Beifar said quietly so that no one else could hear.

  Mily lifted a shaky hand and pointed to Jesse with one trembling finger. “Like him!” she cried. “And he was over there by the band!”

  Jesse stood shocked. He just came through there. Was Mr. Claw following him? If so, then he inadvertently led Claw directly to Mily.

  “Ligo!” Terrified Mily was stiff again, only able to cry.

  The wizard stood up. “You stay here and guard her.” He instructed Jesse.

  Then he quickly turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

  Jesse did not know what to do. A thousand different scenarios raced through his mind. He wanted to call out for help, but that was not a good idea. Who would believe him? He looked down at Mily Breezy; she looked up at him in horror. He could not bear to look at her again. He decided not to look at her any more. He could not take her anguished gaze, her fear, and her pain.

  Jesse removed his hat, pulling his hair back over his forehead.

  “Jesse?” Cindy was coming his way. She was dressed in a short French waitress dress with a small black bow, ruffles and a small black necklace around her neck. Jesse was mesmerized.

  He quickly went out to meet Cindy hoping she wouldn’t find Mily Breezy.

  He smiled as he approached her, making sure he placed his hat back on his head. It looked good, he thought. “Hi!” he said hoping not to sound too eager.

  She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Jesse forgot everything.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Nothing…”

  “Oh, good,” Cindy took his hand. “Let’s go.” She smiled and he followed.

  They walked and talked just how Jesse imagined it. It was perfect. The music was perfect, and the evening was perfect, even the smell of the food was perfect. The festival was full of excitement and merriment. Children ran around in their costumes, playing, while their parents enjoyed the cool night. The music was enchanting, the lighting was intoxicating, and everything appeared magical. Jesse wanted this moment to last forever. He wanted to just forget about… Jesse remembered Mily Breezy. He stopped and let go of Cindy, turned around unable see her from where he stood. The fountain blocked his view.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Cindy.

  “I’ll be right back!”

  Jesse took off running. He rounded the fountain and found Mily still sitting in her chair motionless. He sighed relieved. Beifar was nowhere in sight. Cindy caught up out of breath.

  “Jesse, what happened?”

  Jesse thought fast, “I thought I saw someone take this ladies’ purse.” He pointed to Mily. She sat silent and stiff in her pink nightgown and slippers.

  “She seems all right to me. Come on let’s go get something to eat.”

  “You go ahead. I’ll catch up. I want to look around and make sure she’s ok.”

  Cindy looked at Jesse kind of funny, agreed and walked away.

  Jesse reluctantly remained behind guarding Mily. He watched Cindy walk away toward the food section until she disappeared into the crowd. Jesse couldn’t help but moan. Reality returned and the few blissful minutes he enjoyed with Cindy were nothing but a memory. Jesse went back to Mily’s table, pulled back a chair and sat down to wait for the wizard’s return. There was nothing left for him to do but people watch and grumble.

  The Halloween festival was a success but not for Jesse. Bored, bothered and frustrated, Jesse closed his eyes and performed the Exercises. He felt his fingers, arms, legs, head and torso. He breathed deeply and slowly. He was so focused that he even tuned out the music played by the band.

  The horrific scream came from the food section. Jesse nearly fell off his chair. The band ceased playing and everyone froze in place for a second. Jesse rose to his feet eager to learn what happened. Mily rolled her eyes in that direction as people began to run toward the food court. Jesse drew away leaving Mily behind. He could hear bits and pieces of people’s comments as they passed. He turned to a huge carrot and asked him what was happening.

  “It’s Cindy from the Deli,” he answered, “she was found passed out behind the hot dog tent.”

  Cindy! As fast as Jesse could, he ran across the field toward the food section. The wizard Beifar came from the other direction. Jesse called out to
him.

  “He’s over here!” Beifar advised. “I just saw him in the crowd.”

  Jesse and Beifar only added to the confusion as they pushed people out of their way. The wizard went one way, and Jesse another. Jesse headed to where he saw the lights of an ambulance pull up. He pushed even harder as he drew closer until he finally reached Cindy. She was sitting up on the grass, trembling, breathing from an oxygen mask. He moved forward to reach her.

  “Hold up, son!” A police officer pushed Jesse back into the crowd.

  “She’s with me!”

  “OK, hold up.” The officer tried to calm him down. “She’ll be all right, just let her get a little bit of air.”

  “What happened?” The light from Jesse’s staff lit up the officer’s face and he was able to make out all his features. He recognized him as Chief Fabiano’s driver.

  “Seems she was just scared and passed out. Witnesses say some guy dressed like a wizard played a dirty trick.” Then he stopped and realized that Jesse was dressed as a wizard. He gripped Jesse harder. Jesse struggled to break free only wanting to be with Cindy.

  The next scream was long and petrifying. A chill ran up Jesse’s spine. Everyone turned toward Edgerton Fountain. The police officer released Jesse’s arm and ran in the direction of the scream. Jesse followed. Chaos filled the festival as people ran in different directions fleeing or running toward the scene. Jesse feared the worst. He left Mily Breezy alone. Was it Claw? He ran as fast as he could until he bumped into Rob, who came running from another direction. Rob held Jesse to keep him from falling, and for a second they caught their breath.

  “Were you running too?” asked Rob - - also dressed like a wizard.

  Jesse stepped back for a moment. The outfit was very much like the one he was wearing, and yet he did not remember ever selling Rob anything from Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store. “Are you …”

  “Yeah, a wizard; don’t I look cool?” Rob spun around once so that Jesse could get a better look.

  Someone came running and bumped into Jesse. He looked around and saw the police officer gaining.

  “Gotta go.” Jesse turned and kept running as fast as he could and left Rob behind, confused. When Jesse reached the fountain there was a small group of people standing around. Jesse pushed his way through. The wizard Beifar was kneeling over Mily Breezy. She was lying on the grass, her eyes wide open, frozen and stiff.

  “She’s dead -- scared to death!” Beifar advised Jesse.

  The shock was interrupted by police officers pushing through the crowd. Scared to death was the last thing he wanted to hear. Here was another victim. How long would it be before it would be his turn?

  Beifar wasted no time. He tapped his staff on the ground and,

  FLASH!

  The wizard disappeared.

  A lady yelled. Everyone moved back, but not Jesse. He stood over Mily Breezy overwhelmed with compassion for the stricken witch. He wasn’t sure why, maybe because they shared the same terrifying experience, except Jesse survived his nightmares. He bent down, closed her eyes and then walked away.