3 Dark Energy

by John O'Riley

  “That’s all right. I’ll just keep an eye on you from above.”

  Josephine opened her mouth to argue further but Perry exploded in a sparkling white mist. An instant later, he coalesced into a white dove that soared into the air. A fluffy white feather drifted down to the pavement at her feet.

  Chapter 7

  Josephine took a sip of her coffee as she enjoyed the company of Alice, Helen, and Mark at the dining room table of her house. She’d just finished recounting her adventures from yesterday with the construo letalis curses and was gratified by her friends’ reactions.

  “You were very clever to lure that thing into your garden,” Helen said.

  “It must be nice to have Perry as a devoted protector,” Alice remarked.

  Josephine snorted with derision. “He’s always skulking around. I’m not sure how much good he would do if I get attacked by another construo letalis.”

  “Surely the Valituras doesn’t have more of them,” Helen said.

  “They probably have a bunch of them stored up and ready to use.” Alice sipped some more of her coffee.

  “I tend to agree. I expect there will be another attack soon. Maybe two or three at the same time,” Josephine said. “I’ll be sure to carry more niveus imperium wands but the police station only has eight. When I used just one, the curse was temporarily immobilized but it only lasted for a moment.”

  “Maybe if you hit them with several it would do the trick,” Alice suggested.

  “It will at least buy me some time. And there are a few other advanced magic antidotes I can use. I put in a requisition for more but you know how the government is. It could take weeks before they approve my request.”

  “Maybe Perry can help defeat these curses. After all, he’s sort of a walking antidote now,” Alice said.

  “How can you trust something that used to be a curse?” Helen’s expression was skeptical.

  “Josephine’s house is cursed and I think things have worked out pretty well for her,” Alice argued.

  Helen scowled with disapproval. “That’s beside the point. Perry could revert back to being an assassin again when you least expect it.”

  “That isn’t even a remote possibility,” Mark advised. “There’s not a trace of dark energy in him anymore.”

  “I’d like to have a man like Perry White,” Alice said. “Do you think you could conjure up a servant for me?”

  “He’s not a servant and it doesn’t work that way. I can’t just manifest a living being. It was an unusual set of circumstances that allowed this to happen.”

  “What if there was a curse after me and I happened to contain it long enough for you to do your thing?” Alice asked.

  “I might be able to convert him to a being of light energy but there’d be no way of knowing if the results would be the same as when Josephine was attacked. Not only that but I have just one niveus imperium left and it took two for me to make Perry.”

  “You’d better make some more then,” Alice said.

  Josephine leveled her boyfriend a considering look. “Could we start working on some more tonight? The ones I make with you pack a stronger punch than the government issued enchantments.”

  “Sure. I look forward to it.”

  “The two of you have been dating for months and you hang out practically every night. Why don’t you move in together?” Alice regarded them with open curiosity.

  Josephine and Mark stilled and their expressions became panicked.

  “I just bought a house. That’s a major investment,” Josephine said.

  “Living together is a huge step. We’re comfortable the way things are,” Mark interjected.

  Josephine nodded with agreement. “That’s it exactly! Why change things when they’re already perfect?”

  “It’s obvious something’s wrong when two people who spend all their time together never move to the next step,” Alice said in a challenging tone.

  “For now, Mark and I are happy with the way things are.” Josephine glared at her friend with ire. “This discussion is over.”

  “You’re very sensitive about this,” Alice said in a sulky tone.

  Mark leveled a troubled gaze at Josephine. “Something disturbing happened yesterday when you were fighting the construo letalis curse. My powers weren’t working right. I tried to teleport beside you but instead, I ended up materializing right behind the curse. I also felt disoriented and dizzy when I used the enchantment.”

  “That’s because you were in a negative situation,” Alice advised.

  “I wasn’t trying to fight the creature though,” Mark argued.

  “It doesn’t matter. If you’re in a hostile or negative environment, your powers will start to fizzle out and eventually you’ll lose your ability to work with source energy.”

  “But a few months ago I used the shielding to protect Josephine from Lorcan when he almost killed her,” Mark pointed out.

  “That’s probably because it was the first time you were in that type of situation while using white magic. Everyone knows that’s why they burn out within a couple of years. It’s completely incompatible with the real world,” Alice said.

  “It’s necessary to have a positive mindset in order to access source energy. I think it takes a lot of practice and discipline to be able to maintain that when you’re under any kind of stress,” Helen remarked.

  “No one becomes an expert because they always burn out,” Alice said. “It’s an exercise in futility. You might want to switch back to mainstream magic so you can recover faster.”

  “I’m determined to see this through,” Mark said.

  Josephine flashed an encouraging smile at him. “Good for you. I admire your courage and resolve.”

  “I’m sorry for giving you a hard time, Mark.” Alice leveled him an apologetic look. “I do realize how difficult it is to make the decision you have. It’s just that I care about you and I’m worried about the very near future when you’ve burned out.”

  “Hopefully, I’ll be the one person who manages to avoid that outcome.”

  “It’s too bad there aren’t any experts to advise you or any instruction books that actually work,” Josephine said.

  “I’ve discovered that the garden is a kind of power center for white magic,” Mark said. “I’ve started one in my backyard but yours packs quite a punch. I’ll have to spend more time recharging today.”

  “I wonder why that is.” Josephine regarded him with curiosity.

  “Plants create minor currents of light energy. When I work with groups of plants in one location, I’ve discovered I can make a sort of network of energy between them which causes more streams of source energy. The more time I spend tending it, the greater the power.”

  “And Arabella was a white magic practitioner and worked in the garden every day. The enchantments she made were so strong and durable that they’re still in effect after years of neglect,” Josephine said.

  “Arabella never burned out,” Helen announced. “We’ve all forgotten about her just because she wasn’t a professional healer. She was a recluse and would only leave the house to go on errands and occasionally she would go on a vacation with her husband.”

  “That’s right.” Mark grinned with elation. “There are probably more that haven’t burned out, too. We just don’t hear about them.”

  “Maybe you could find one or two practitioners and see if they have any tips to share,” Josephine suggested.

  “I’ve been searching for anyone like that online. I wonder if there’s any other way of finding them.”

  “Maybe you could print an ad in the newspaper. You could say that you’re a white magic practitioner looking for an experienced one as a tutor.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Mark said.

  “If they’re a recluse, they’re not going to respond to that,” Alice remarked.

  “I’m still going to give it a shot.” Mark’s expression was determined. His cell phone rang and he answered it. “Hey, U
ncle Nathan.” Mark paused and listened. “That’s strange.” He frowned with puzzlement. “I was going to tell you at lunch that I had a kind of falling out with Dad yesterday. He cut me off and shunned me.” Mark glanced at Josephine with nervousness. “All right. We’ll talk later.” Mark disconnected the call and slipped the phone back in his jeans pocket while Alice, Josephine, and Helen stared at him with open curiosity and shocked disbelief.

  “Your dad cut you off and shunned you!?” Josephine asked with outrage. “What a heartless jerk! Tell me what happened.”

  Mark opened his mouth and his throat constricted painfully. He gagged and choked for several seconds and Josephine felt a surge of panic. She stepped closer to him and peered at him with concern.

  “What’s wrong, Mark?” she asked.

  Mark issued another series of retching sounds then took a deep, cleansing breath.

  “Sorry, ladies. It’s the Freeman secrecy enchantment. If you’re about to reveal anything at all that relates to any family secrets it prevents you from talking,” he finally said. “Basically my Dad was angry about my decision to withdraw from college and he demanded I go back to mainstream magic.”

  “Maybe that’s for the best,” Alice chimed in.

  Helen and Josephine glared at her with annoyance.

  Helen focused a sympathetic gaze at Mark. “Please go on, sweetie. What happened next?”

  “I told him I was sorry but I’ve made my decision to be a white magic practitioner. He cut me off.” Mark made a few choking sounds then took another deep breath. “Sorry. The secrecy enchantment again.” He paused to consider his words. “Let’s just say he cut me off from the family inheritance and the family is shunning me.”

  Josephine embraced Mark and gave him a brief kiss before returning to her chair. “I’m so sorry that your father is such a jerk, sweetheart.”

  “My family is definitely very different than the average.” Mark grimaced with displeasure. “What’s strange though is that Dad called Nathan this morning and chatted him up. He actually carried on a conversation with him for a few minutes without bringing up any business.”

  “And that’s strange to just talk?” Helen asked.

  “Definitely. Dad just doesn’t do that. If there’s no business to conduct, he won’t talk to you.”

  “What a cold and calculating man.” Josephine’s expression was disdainful.

  “Most of the family is like that to one degree or another,” Mark informed her. “What’s also very strange is that he never mentioned to him that I’m shunned.”

  “Maybe he changed his mind.”

  “He wouldn’t do that.”

  “I can’t believe your family would participate in a shunning. It’s very dysfunctional behavior,” Helen remarked.

  “That could be part of the reason your powers were a bit wonky,” Josephine advised. “This must be very disturbing for you. Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I was going to tell you later. I just needed some time for things to settle in my mind first,” Mark said.

  “I understand.”

  They changed the topic of conversation and played rummy. It was almost time for Josephine to leave for work when the doorbell rang. She cocked her brow with bemusement and a touch of annoyance because only a door-to-door solicitor would be visiting her at this hour. When she opened the front door, she was surprised to find Cyril and a tall, slender woman in her forties with dark, curly brown hair secured in a French braid and wearing an elegant blue dress. Cyril wore a sharp blue business suit and offered an amiable smile.

  “Josephine, it’s a pleasure to see you again. This is my wife, Elizabeth.”

  “It’s good to meet you.” Josephine offered her hand and Elizabeth shook it in a businesslike manner.

  “I’ve heard great things about you,” Elizabeth said.

  “Thank you.” Josephine refrained from commenting that she’d heard nothing at all about Elizabeth. She hesitated with indecision because on the one hand, she wanted to support Mark and give these two the cold shoulder if they were shunning him. On the other hand, she didn’t want to make things worse or to interfere with his family business. Josephine forced a friendly smile on her face. “Mark’s here. Please come inside if you’d like to chat.”

  “We certainly would. Thank you,” Cyril said in a prim tone.

  Mark, Helen, and Alice stared at the two newcomers as they emerged in the dining room. Josephine introduced everyone and they all seated.

  “How are you two lovebirds?” Cyril focused his attention on Josephine.

  “We’re doing well,” she responded and was confused why he was talking to her. “Mark’s a wonderful man. I’m so lucky to have found him.”

  Alice focused a disapproving scowl at Cyril. “So what do you have to say for yourself, young man? Shunning one of your own family members? You should be very ashamed.”

  Cyril’s face flushed with anger. “That is none of your business.”

  “It certainly is! I’m one of his closest friends and what you’ve done is completely uncalled for!”

  “I would like to talk to you alone.” Cyril pinned his son with an imperious look.

  “I’m not going to talk to you later.” Mark leveled a cool gaze at him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’ve always told you to be careful what you say to someone because you can never take it back. What you’ve done is cruel and unjust. I’ve decided this will probably be the last time I will communicate with you for a very long time.”

  Cyril and Elizabeth regarded him with shock while Josephine bit her lower lip to keep from laughing. She was glad her boyfriend was sticking up for himself. She completely approved.

  “Don’t be too hasty, Mark,” Elizabeth said in a soothing voice. “Your father lost his temper for sure but he’s decided to completely reverse his decision. Furthermore, he never officially shunned you. None of the family was ever informed of that decision.”

  “Nevertheless, the words were spoken and Dad used magic against his own family.” Mark’s brown eyes reflected his steely resolve.

  “He’s very sorry,” Elizabeth said.

  Mark’s attention centered on his father. “Is that true?”

  Josephine gasped with surprise as information whispered into her mind. She forced open her psychic receptors to pick up more. Cyril and Elizabeth turned in sharp, sudden movements to face her with expressions of alarm and wariness.

  “What did you see?” Cyril asked.

  “You’re scared,” Josephine murmured with surprise as she sifted through the tidbits of information she’d received. “You have a powerful set of interconnected enchantments. It’s very advanced and powerful. Only the clan leader has access to it.”

  Cyril and Elizabeth flinched with anxiety and trepidation. Mark, Helen, and Alice listened with rapt attention.

  “The collection of enchantments is vast and you, Cyril, control who has access. You cut off Mark but he somehow used white magic to gain access so he could return home.” Josephine frowned with puzzlement. “Return home?” Her eyes lit with understanding as more information leaked into her mind. “Yes, of course. The teleportation mirror. You use them to transport between your homes. You were going to leave Mark stranded in Seattle to teach him a lesson. You wanted to show him how worthless white magic is.”

  “You know far too much about the Freemans. I insist that all of you in this room take the secrecy enchantment right now,” Cyril said.

  Josephine shot him a disgusted look. “I don’t think so.”

  “Then I will be forced to remove all of your memories of this conversation.” Cyril withdrew a wand from one of his pants pockets.

  Josephine pulled out two of her own. “I’d like to see you try. Just in case you didn’t know, Helen’s a six and Alice is a five.”

  Alice whipped out her own wand and leapt to her feet with a belligerent expression on her face.

  “That’s right! And I’m in the mood to kick some ass,” sh
e threatened.

  “You don’t need to be crass,” Elizabeth scolded her.

  “This sort of thing has happened before.” Cyril slipped his wand back into his pocket and flashed a placating smile at them. “I’d like to propose a deal. I will allow you to visit us and give you access to some of our libraries that contain ancient books with advanced magic and information that may prove useful to you in the future. Our history goes back for countless generations. All that we ask is that you help us protect our secret.”

  Josephine, Alice and Helen exchanged considering looks.

  “What do you think?” Helen asked with indecision.

  “I’m not willing to keep this stupid secret for some moldy old books,” Alice sneered.

  “They’re extremely valuable,” Cyril explained. “And as a token of our appreciation, we will give each of you one of our teleportation mirrors so you can access my libraries whenever you wish. Most of our family lives near Seattle but we do have a few in California and Oregon. Furthermore, we have office buildings with teleportation mirrors in many locations across the states. We have a few in Canada, France, and Ireland. Think of it! You could take inexpensive vacations in exotic locations without the need for hotel accommodations or plane tickets.”

  “Why do I get the feeling this is kind of rehearsed?” Josephine asked.

  “Because it is.” Elizabeth offered a beautiful smile. “This sort of thing does happen occasionally. Since you’re friends of the family, we’re extending this offer rather than forcibly removing memories.”

  “You really think you could do that?” Josephine still clutched both her wands in each hand.

  “We have ancient magic but you ARE very powerful and have fended off the Valituras on many occasions. We’d like to keep things amicable between us as you may become a Freeman in the near future,” Elizabeth said.

  “I’m curious as to why you didn’t come here when Cyril first visited me a few months ago,” Josephine said. “It seemed like a very important discussion at the time.”

  “It was but you see I’m a critical part of the family business and was otherwise engaged at that time,” Elizabeth said smoothly. “So, do you think you might accept our generous offer?”