by Geof Johnson
She whispered to Jamie, “What do you think just happened?”
“I think we got hexed.”
* * *
On Sunday afternoon, Eric and Terry requested another meeting of everyone who could come, including Carl and John Paul. Because of the size of their crowd, they decided to hold it at the Rivershire School again.
Once they were all seated, Eric leaned back against a desk and crossed his arms loosely over his chest. “As far as we can tell, everybody at the hotel was affected yesterday by the same mental blackout that Terry, Jamie, and I suffered. Staff, guests, visitors, you name it.”
“Was anybody hurt?” Melanie asked.
“Not seriously. All of the dignitaries were fine, but a chef burned his hand in the kitchen, and a maid tripped on the stairs and sprained her shoulder.”
“Some guests were angry when they tried to check in, near the end of the episode,” Terry said. “They complained that the clerks just stood around like they were on drugs or something. But so far, no traces of any drugs or noxious gases have turned up.”
“It was probably a magical powder,” Fred said. “Whoever used it could’ve put it in the ventilation system, but nobody would be able to identify it unless they knew about witch’s magic. Did you get any samples?”
“Couldn’t find any concentrations that were substantial enough. What little we scraped up was mixed with the usual dust and pollen that you’d expect in a hotel of that size.”
“Have you checked the surveillance videos to see if anyone entered the building or was moving about while everyone was dazed?”
“Video won’t be much help. There’s a gap of about fifty-five minutes in the footage from every camera, corresponding to the time of our mental blackouts. It’s like somebody either turned the system off or edited it. And one camera was turned off several hours before the episode.”
“What did it monitor?” Carl asked.
“The entrance in the back, the one for the hotel staff.”
“That must be how Cage came in.”
Bryce sat up in his chair. “Could he have had an accomplice? They could’ve been working in the monitoring room and turned off the cameras.”
“He might’ve corrupted someone in that department, but it doesn’t seem likely. All of them have been thoroughly interrogated, and nothing suspicious has come out, but there was only one on duty at the time. He seems to be as bewildered as the rest of us, and he passed the lie detector test.”
“Fred?” Terry said. “Is there such a thing as a witch’s truth serum?”
“Yes, but we call it a potion, not a serum. Though it wouldn’t be useful if someone thinks they’re telling the truth. Nova wouldn’t be much help, either. I think it’s likely that Cage got to one of the people who works in the monitoring room before they started their shift, and then he hit them with a compulsion spell. Cage could get them to do something as simple as turning off a camera, and they wouldn’t even know they were doing it, and they wouldn’t remember, either.”
“If that’s the case,” Terry said, “he could get someone to do most of his dirty work for him, like the actual hits.”
“I’ll ask Momma Sue about it when I see her,” Fred said. “Me and Nova and Sammi are going over there right after this.”
“I doubt Cage would leave the hit in the hands of someone else,” Eric said. “Too much chance of something going wrong. He’d do it himself.”
“But why did Cage do this if he didn’t hurt anybody this time?” Nova said. “Did he steal something, instead?”
“There were no reported thefts in the entire hotel during that time,” Eric said. “Those oil ministers have watches that cost more than my house, and they weren’t stolen. Neither was any of their jewelry. No wallets, rings, nothing. It’s a puzzle.”
Rollie scratched his head and stared at the top of the desk where he sat. “Maybe Cage needed the time to do something…something no one would notice.”
“Like copy the oil ministers’ cellphone data,” Melanie said.
Eric stoked his chin and nodded slowly. “So maybe none of the people there were his real target. Maybe he needs to get to someone they know.”
“Four cellphones of important officials can have a lot of contact data and schedules,” Carl said. “Eric, how are you going to get access to those to find out who or what his potential target might be?”
“It would have to go through diplomatic channels, and that could take months. I doubt we have that long before Cage strikes again.”
“So, we’re gonna do nothing?” Rollie asked. “Somebody could die or have their brain wiped clean, and we’re going to wait around for it to happen?”
“You got a better idea?” Eric said.
Rollie grunted and looked away, because he didn’t have one.
* * *
At Momma Sue’s house, Fred and Nova related the details of the meeting with the two agents while Sammi sat quietly nearby. Momma Sue, who was never shy about showing her anger, looked like she was ready to boil, and the normally pleasant and good-natured Mrs. Malley seemed like she was heating up some steam of her own.
“Those witches must be stopped!” the old woman from Eddan’s world said. “They cannot be allowed to continue in this fashion.”
“So you’re sure there’s more than one witch helping Cage?” Nova said.
“It seems likely.”
Momma Sue suddenly sat forward in her cushioned chair and jabbed a finger at Fred. “Don’t you and Nova go and try something foolish with those witches. You don’t have enough experience to handle them. You could get hurt.”
“So what are we supposed to do? Just sit back and let Eric and Terry try to deal with them? Those agents won’t stand a chance, if it comes down to a face-to-face encounter.”
“You come get us, first,” Momma Sue said with a decisive nod. “Me and Bella will deal with ’em. Then we’ll find out who doesn’t stand a chance.” She scowled fiercely. “Besides, those witches need to be punished, and that’s a job for me and Bella, not you girls.”
“What are you going to do to them?” Nova said.
“You don’t need to worry about that. We’ll take care of it.”
Fred looked at Sammi, sitting beside her, and was suddenly worried that they were frightening the little girl. She had sunk deeply into her chair, and her dark eyebrows were drawn low, her bottom lip poking out. Fred reached over and patted Sammi’s leg. “It’s okay, kiddo. Don’t be scared.”
Sammi didn’t answer right away. She locked eyes with Fred for a long moment, then turned to face the older witches. “But what if they aren’t bad? What if it’s all Mr. Cage’s fault? Maybe…maybe he’s making them do bad things, and they can’t help it.”
Momma Sue’s face softened as she regarded Sammi. “Child, do you really think that even a single witch would let a man with no magical power tell her what to do? It’s probably the other way around. Probably the witches are callin’ the shots, and Mr. Cage is doin’ their biddin’.”
“But what if he does have power? He could, you know. Jamie does, and Rollie, and even Aiven and Mr. Winston. Mr. Cage is calling himself a warlock. Maybe it’s true. That’s how he’s controlling the witches.” She nodded emphatically.
Nova traced a slow circle in the air with her index finger. “Or maybe he has some other hold over them, like he’s a charismatic or something, like that guy Jim Jones or Hitler.”
Mrs. Malley held her hands before her and placed her fingertips together as she looked at Nova. “I have never heard of these people, but there have always been evil men throughout history who have held sway over others, sometimes over entire kingdoms. It takes a rare talent to do that. Perhaps Phillip Cage is such a man.”
“Hmph.” Momma Sue wrinkled her wide nose as if she smelled something bad. “Ain’t buyin’ it. Not at all. You show me a witch, and I’ll show you who’s runnin’ the show.”
Fred could tell that Sammi wasn’t so sure. Her little face was still dr
awn into a tight bundle, and she had pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her shins. She doesn’t believe Momma Sue. She can’t. She always wants to see the best in people, even if the rest of us don’t.
Chapter 10
Track practice was cancelled again on Monday due to the relentless rain, and Jamie used the extra time to study. Finals were looming, and he had been too busy to focus on his textbooks. He was interrupted late in the evening by a message from Eric and Terry, who needed to see him right away. He reluctantly went, only to find that they wanted to let him know that they would have some important information on Phillip Cage and needed Jamie to meet with them after dinner on Tuesday night.
Jamie grumbled to himself as he made a doorway back to his dorm room. I don’t have time for this. Makes me wish I hadn’t agreed to help them.
* * *
The next morning, Jamie was sitting on the edge of his bed in his dorm room when Bryce came in and said, “Did you get the message from Coach? He scheduled the gym for practice tonight, since the rain’s not letting up.”
“I can’t go. I told Eric and Terry that I’d meet with them.”
“Coach is gonna kick you off the team if you keep missing practice.”
“I can’t help it.” Jamie slumped heavily with one forearm resting on his thigh, and he stared at the floor. “Maybe I should just quit.”
“Whoa….” Bryce said slowly. “Quit the team? Man, you can’t do that. You just can’t.”
Jamie pressed his mouth into a thin line and looked up at his friend. “What else can I do? I promised Eric and Terry that I’d help them, and it looks like it’s going to be a lot bigger commitment than I thought.” He turned his gaze back to the floor. “I’d rather quit than get kicked off. That’s embarrassing.”
“You can’t quit. The team needs you.”
“Not really. I didn’t do that well during cross country season.”
“Neither did I, but we scored a couple of times, remember? Coach seemed okay with that. He doesn’t expect freshmen to score much in meets. He said it’s a long process.”
“I can’t help the team if I can’t make it to practice, and I don’t think he’d let me work out on my own schedule.”
“He might.”
“I doubt it. I think I’m going to have to tell him. Probably ought to do it today.”
Bryce worked his jaw as if he were chewing something unsavory as he stared at Jamie. “You want me to go with you? Maybe I can lobby him to let you train on your own some.”
“I guess, but I don’t think it’s going to matter much.”
* * *
Coach Harrison leaned back in the chair behind his desk, crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Jamie. “Quit?” the coach said. “You want to quit the team? Why?”
Jamie shifted his weigh to his other leg as he stood next to Bryce, and looked at his feet before answering. “I just don’t have time. I can’t make practice tonight, and I may have to miss a lot more. I’m afraid I won’t be in shape for indoor season.”
“Bryce seems to make time. Are you taking more classes than he is?”
Jamie glanced at Bryce and said, “No sir.”
“Then what is it? Are you spending too much time with your girlfriend?” The muscles around his eyes twitched and he raised his chin.
“That’s not it. I just need to quit, that’s all.”
Coach Harrison stared at Jamie for a long time, and finally uncrossed his arms and pointed his index finger at him. “You’re not the only one. Did you know that Frankie wants to quit, too? He’s disillusioned with the team because we didn’t have a very good cross country season.”
“But we had some injuries, Coach,” Bryce said quickly. “Some guys that would normally score couldn’t run.”
“I know, and that stuff happens. We just had more than our share. Alberto and Max are still injured, and they may miss all of indoor season. Alberto’s knees are still bothering him, and Max just found out he has hairline fractures in both legs. He could end up missing the rest of the year.”
I could take care of both of those problems with Fred’s healing jelly. Wish I could tell him.
“And rumor has it that William might transfer if Alberto quits, because they’re best friends.” Coach Harrison crossed his arms again. “So that leaves me with a very thin team. It could fall apart completely. Morale’s not exactly high right now, and the rain’s not helping. It’s hard for us to get any real training in.”
It’s not raining in Rivershire. Our guys would love to run there.
“So if you quit, it could have a domino effect. Do you see what I’m saying?”
“But I’m not contributing very much,” Jamie said. “I only scored twice this fall.”
“You’re doing just fine, you and Bryce both. You’re only freshmen, and you’ll get better. I have confidence in you. You just need to train.”
“I’m having a hard time making practice,” Jamie said sullenly. “A real hard time.”
“Coach?” Bryce said. “What if you let him run on his own some? Then he could work it into is schedule whenever he could, instead of having to run somewhere at a set time.”
“How am I supposed to verify your training? You need to run with your team, Jamie. We are a team, even if it doesn’t seem like it lately.”
Bryce tapped Jamie with the back of his hand and nodded toward their coach. “Make a deal with him.”
“What?”
“Tell him what’s going on, and let the team run in you-know-where. I bet it’s not raining there.”
He means Rivershire. “It’s not. I checked.” Jamie clenched his jaw and glared at Bryce. He’s getting dangerously close to breaking his oath. Maybe I need to get him to retake it.
Coach sat up straight in his chair. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Uh, nothing, Coach.” Jamie turned back to Bryce and growled in a low voice, “Wish you hadn’t brought that up.”
“I think it’s your best option. It’ll help everybody. Besides, if it doesn’t work out, you can always clean it up later.” Bryce arched one eyebrow and Jamie knew what he was implying. He means I can use a forget potion on the coach. Wish I had some with me right now. I’d use it on both of them.
“You’re not answering my question,” Coach Harrison said sternly. “What are you talking about?”
Jamie closed his eyes and held his breath for a moment while he made his decision, then he exhaled heavily and said, “All right, Bryce, but I need Fred or Rollie right now, and a Bible.”
“Fred’s in class. Rollie’s not.”
“Text him.” Jamie turned back to his coach. “Give us a few minutes and we’ll explain everything.”
“You’ll be glad,” Bryce said. “Really glad. It’ll be worth it, I promise.”
Jamie, Bryce, and a still startled-looking Coach Harrison stepped through a glowing doorway to the front of the Rivershire School, but Rollie stayed behind in the coach’s office. “You guys can take it from here.” He waved one hand casually. “I haven’t had lunch yet.”
Jamie closed the doorway and turned to see Coach Harrison gaping at their surroundings. “Damn,” Coach muttered. “I’ll be…whew. What is this?”
“Pretty awesome, isn’t it?” Bryce said. “We love it here. We come here all the time.”
Coach didn’t respond at first. He groaned softy, then he glanced at the clear blue sky and said, “Where the hell are we? It’s raining in Cullowhee, last I checked. I’m pretty sure it’s raining all over the Southeast. We must be four hundred miles away, somehow.”
“It’s farther than that,” Jamie said. “It’s another planet. We call it Eddan’s world for lack of anything better.”
“Another planet,” he said feebly. “I…no way. I don’t see how you did that.”
“It’s magic, Coach. That’s all.”
“Yeah. Magic. That’s all.” Then he threw his hands out wide and raised his voice. “That’s all? That’s impossible. Firs
t you give some cockamamie story about assassins and the CIA, and then something about a two hundred-year-old wizard named Eddan, and now this?”
“It’s true, though,” Bryce said. “Show ’em something else, Jamie.”
Jamie floated off the ground, then flew in circle around them and landed back where he started, his coach staring the entire time with his mouth hanging open wide enough for a small bird to fly through. “How did you do that?” he said.
“It’s really magic, Coach,” Jamie said. “I can do all kinds of stuff. Watch this.” He raised his hands and called up his invisibility shield. Bryce grinned and gestured at Jamie as if he were a prizewinner on a game show. Coach stared at them for a few seconds, then pressed one palm over his forehead and took a stuttering breath.
“Don’t you think that’s cool?” Bryce said, but got no answer.
“We’re sorry you had to drink the inoculation potion,” Jamie said. “We don’t want you to spread any diseases while you’re here, or catch any yourself.”
“Ugh.” Coach made a face as if he’d just eaten rancid food. “That was awful. What’s in it, cleaning fluid and a dead rat?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t make it.”
Jamie turned when he heard his grandmother’s voice from the front door of the school. “I thought I heard someone shouting out here,” she said. “I was in the front hallway.” She approached them and waved hello to Coach Harrison. “I don’t believe I know you. Is this your first trip to Rivershire?”
“Uh…yes ma’am.”
Jamie made the introductions, and she shook the coach’s hand and said, “Don’t worry about being overwhelmed by all of this magic and such. We all went through it the same as you, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you adjust to everything.”
“She’s not just saying that to make you feel better,” Bryce added. “Almost everybody freaks out a little at first, but when they find out how really awesome this place is, they get used to it, fast.”
