Phoenix and the Dark Star

by Gerald Pruett

  “Winnie had found them, so as I see it, they are rightfully hers,” Clint began. “I would like to have a copy of them though.”

  “The printer at home copies too, so I’ll copy them that way,” Winona said.

  “By no means am I an expert with this, but to me it seems that the parchments should be copied by hand.” Clint then continued barely loud enough for Winona and Shayne to hear, “Copying them on a copier might interfere with the magic’s effectiveness.”

  “If you want handwritten copies of them, don’t expect to get them anytime soon,” Winona informed.

  Clint amusingly grinned before saying, “Noted.” Clint then went to stand up. “Anyway, I’ll go with you two to the house.”

  “Alright,” Shayne agreed before he, Winona and Clint moved towards the exit.

  “Steve,” Clint called out to the officer closest to him.

  “Yeah,” Steve replied while looking.

  “I have to go home for a moment,” Clint told Steve. “I’m available though if something comes up.”

  “Okay,” Steve acknowledged.

  Ten minutes later, Winona, Shayne and Clint were sitting at Clint’s dining room table while looking at the incantations and journals. Loretta was at work.

  After Shayne had read over the incantations related to vampires, he said, “These incantations require… items that we don’t have.”

  “There’s a bookstore in Fort Lauderdale that sells the items that we need,” Winona informed as she looked up from Lawrence Stone’s journal.

  “Okay,” Shayne said. “Before we go home, we’ll go there and get what we need.”

  “Once we get what we need, I want to do this one spell,” Winona said before silently reading the incantation that had caught her eye.

  “What spell is that?” Shayne questioned.

  “It’s a spell on improving one’s memory,” Winona began. “It requires…” Winona looked disturbingly at the journal while continuing with, “Never mind. I’m not doing this, and I can’t believe that this Lawrence person could.”

  “What did Lawrence do?” Clint asked.

  “The wizard Lawrence Stone had improved his memory through a human sacrificing ritual,” Winona informed. “The more individuals sacrificed, the better his memory had become. How can a person do something like that?”

  “Believe it; people can,” Shayne said. “You’d be flabbergasted with what I’ve seen over the years.”

  “Which is why I don’t want to be a cop,” Winona informed.

  “I know,” Shayne said with a grin.

  “What are your plans for a future vocation?” Clint asked.

  “I’m eighteen with no idea what to go after,” Winona replied. “I’m not interested in becoming a cop or even a lawyer as Adam is taking classes for.”

  Clint grinned before saying, “It would delight your cousin if you would become a veterinarian as she is.” Winona grinned. “Sawni would definitely insist that you and she would open up your own animal hospital.”

  “I thought about being a veterinarian, but I just don’t feel the allure of that profession… or any other profession, as far as that matters.”

  “Well you have four years of college ahead of you before you need to decide on anything,” Clint told her. “Where will you be going anyway?”

  “The community college is the only college I can currently afford,” Winona said. “I’ll get my associate’s degree there and hopefully by then I’ll have enough money together to get a bachelor’s degree.”

  Before anything else could be said, Clint’s cell phone rang. Clint looked at who was calling before answering the phone with, “Detective Rivers. Okay. I’m on my way.”

  As Clint was hanging up, Shayne asked, “What’s up?”

  “A man from Miami was found dead in the trunk of his car on the casino’s parking lot,” Clint shared as he stood up.

  “Lovely,” Winona said sarcastically as she and Shayne stood as well.

  “Well, I have to get to the casino, so lock up when you two leave,” Clint told them.

  “Okay,” Shayne agreed as he and Winona went to collect the parchments.

  Clint left the house, and once Winona and Shayne gathered everything, they left as well.

  Shayne drove to a bookstore in Fort Lauderdale that sold crystals, candles, tarot cards, incense, herbs and other items that can be considered mystical.

  As they were collecting the items, a twenty-five-year old woman stepped up to them and greeted them with, “Detective Rivers.”

  Winona and Shayne looked before Shayne questioned, “May I help you?”

  “I’m Gladys Woodworth,” she reintroduced herself while staring curiously at Winona. She turned back towards Shayne as she continued with, “You had interrogated me two years ago after I had brought information to you about a dead body that was found in a park.”

  “Yes, I do remember you,” Shayne acknowledged. “You were released from custody because of the lack of evidence of your involvement of the murder.”

  “You’re still convinced that I was involved, aren’t you?” Gladys questioned.

  “You had brought in information that only a person involved would know,” Shayne replied.

  “I’m a psychic,” Gladys insisted before gesturing towards Winona. “This young lady has been touched by death recently.”

  “This young lady is my daughter Winona,” Shayne informed.

  “Something… alarming has happened to you recently, Winona,” Gladys told her.

  Before Winona could reply, Shayne put his hand on Winona’s arm as a gesture for her not to answer while questioning, “If you are a psychic, what else can you say about Winona’s so-called alarming incident?”

  “I can’t see the incident itself or when it had occurred, but Winona had died and then revived recently,” Gladys said.

  “I was the lifeguard who was struck by lightning yesterday,” Winona informed.

  Gladys nodded before saying, “From that ordeal, you had established a connection to the spiritual world, Winona. In fact, that’s why you two are here.” Gladys turned towards Shayne and shot him an astonished look. “You’re not the skeptic that you were two years ago, Detective Rivers.”

  “I may not be the same skeptic, but I still have to be convinced that one is in fact a psychic,” Shayne replied. “In fact, the details surrounding Winona’s near death experience would be easy to find if you would go looking for it, and the rest of what you’re saying were thrown in as effects.”

  Gladys grinned and shook her head before saying, “You still don’t believe I’m a psychic.”

  “Tell me something about me… or even Winona that can’t be found anywhere,” Shayne instructed.

  Gladys stuck out her hand before saying, “Take hold of my hand.”

  Shayne took hold of Gladys’s hand, and immediately following, Gladys fell into a trance.

  When Gladys came out of her trance, she looked disturbingly towards Winona.

  “You have the visual effects, but do you have the goods?” Shayne questioned just before Gladys grabbed hold of Winona’s left wrist.

  Winona—without pulling away—and Shayne looked curiously at Gladys as Gladys fell into another trance. Once Gladys came out of her trance, she released Winona and backed up slightly.

  “The crystal balls four inches in diameter or larger are the ones you’ll need to momentarily stun a vampire—after the proper incantation has been cast that is.” Winona and Shayne stared curiously at Gladys as Gladys continued to say, “Anything smaller than four inches, Winona, will only get you killed.”

  “You think that I’m going after vampires?” Winona questioned quiet enough for only Shayne and Gladys to hear.

  “The connection to the spiritual world that you have, Winona, is as apparent to me as a beacon at night, and while reading you, I saw that Blue Moon—your great-great-great grandfather—is whom you are in contact with. I also saw that you don’t want to go after the vampires; however,
Blue Moon will be so insistent to the point that he won’t allow you to sleep at night if you refuse this calling.”

  “And how will he keep me from sleeping?” Winona asked.

  “When a spirit controls what the dreamer dreams, the dreamer could get thrown into a nightly nightmare or lose contact with reality all together,” Gladys informed. “So don’t underestimate Blue Moon.”

  “So you’re saying that Blue Moon controls my dreams now?” Winona quickly questioned.

  “Yes,” Gladys simply replied.

  “Lovely!” Winona sarcastically uttered.

  “Okay, Gladys, you have convinced me of you being a psychic,” Shayne began. “Now I hope that I can count on your silence about the vampires.”

  “You can,” Gladys assured him. “And I would like to volunteer my services as a psychic.”

  Shayne pursed his lips for a brief moment, and after a quick deliberation he asked, “Are you sure you want to get involved?”

  “Yes, I am,” Gladys quickly replied.

  “Yes, just like that?” Shayne questioned. “Without really thinking it over?”

  “Detective Rivers, I have had this ability my entire life, and once I was old enough to understand it, I felt obligated to use my ability in helping others, and I can’t think of a better way to fulfill my obligation than to help Winona with her calling.”

  “Okay,” Shayne agreed. “So how will you be able to use your psychic ability to help Winnie… Winona?”

  “I answer to both,” Winona assured Gladys.

  Gladys nodded with a slight grin before saying, “Normally—with people anyway. I’m not sure about vampires. Anyway, I just need to learn a little bit about a person—his or her name, what that person does for a living and other trivial information about that person—and then the dreams and visions begin.”

  “So if I would give you a vampire’s name—such as La Croix—you would get visions of him?” Winona questioned.

  “Well, a name only may not be enough,” Gladys informed. “And if I get anything on La Croix, it may be from a dream rather than a vision.” Winona nodded in acknowledgment. “Did you pull the name La Croix from a hat or is there a reason that you had mentioned the name La Croix?”

  Winona took a breath before saying mournfully, “Two days ago my boyfriend Travis went to Alaska to check out the University of Alaska and to do some hiking.” Tears filled Winona’s eyes, and while sounding slightly choked with grief, she forced out, “Yesterday, on one of the Alaskan hiking trails, the authorities had found Travis’s body and his dad’s body. According to the authorities the two were attacked and killed by some animal that have been wreaking havoc with the hikers. In fact, the hiking trails had been declared unsafe for the last few weeks.” Winona wiped the tears from her eyes before continuing with, “Within a dream, Blue Moon had told me that Travis and his father were killed by the vampire La Croix.”

  “If I dream of La Croix, I’ll let you know,” Gladys said sympathetically. Winona just nodded. Gladys reached into her purse as she requested. “Can I get your cell phone number, Winnie?”

  “Sure,” Winona said as Gladys pulled out her cell phone.

  Winona then waited for Gladys to be ready before giving Gladys her number.

  Once the number was stored on Gladys’s phone, Gladys pressed the call button while saying, “I’m calling your phone, so that unknown number on your phone will be my phone number.”

  “My phone is in my purse, and my purse is inside my locker at the swimming pool,” Winona informed.

  “Once we leave here, we’ll swing by there so you can get your stuff,” Shayne told Winona. Winona just nodded. “And speaking of leaving here, we need to gather what we came for and go.”

  “Before you two go, Winnie, I might be able to maintain a psychic link with you if I had something personal of yours that I can keep,” Gladys said.

  “A personal item like with jewelry?” Winona questioned.

  “Jewelry is good for psychic readings, but they are not very effective in maintaining a psychic link… at least not for me anyway. Each psychic is actually different, so another psychic might be able to maintain a psychic link with jewelry.”

  “Okay, so what do you need to maintain a psychic link with me?” Winona asked.

  “Several full strands of your hair would be best,” Gladys told her. “Nail clippings would be second best.”

  “And how many strands of hair do you need exactly?” Winona quickly questioned.

  “Your hair is nice and long, so I can get by with about ten strands of your hair.”

  “Alright, but take the strands from near the back of my neck,” Winona requested.

  “Okay,” Gladys agreed before pulling out travel size scissors from her purse.

  “And you carry scissors with you,” Winona pointed out after seeing them.

  “I use them frequently for a number of reasons,” Gladys said as she moved around to Winona’s back.

  As Gladys proceeded to take a few strands of Winona’s hair near her neck, Winona warned, “If you make a voodoo doll of me with this hair, vampires won’t be the only thing I’ll be going after.”

  “I don’t know anything about witchcraft, but noted,” Gladys said as she cut Winona’s hair. “Got it, and from where I took it, you can’t tell that a few strands of your hair were cut out.”

  “Good,” Winona said before turning and watching as Gladys wrapped the hair around a pencil. “What will you do with it?”

  “I make dream-catchers, and a dream-catcher made out of someone’s hair makes a great psychic tool for me to maintain a psychic link with that someone.”

  “Interesting,” Winona said simply.

  “Okay, Winnie, let’s get what we came for and go,” Shayne urged.

  “See you later,” Winona told Gladys.

  “See you later,” Gladys echoed before the three went their respective ways.

  Winona and Shayne collected several items before making their way to the cashier.

  Once Winona and Shayne left the bookstore, Shayne drove to the swimming pool. Shayne waited in the car as Winona went inside. Soon after Winona had stepped in, concern individuals who knew her had greeted her.

  “Honest, I’m fine,” Winona told them as Dale was stepping up.

  “Since you’re fine, are you here to work?” Dale asked as he stepped up.

  “Being struck by lightning had earned me a day off, Dale, and I’m taking it,” Winona informed.

  “Since Chad is taking your place today, you’ll be taking Chad’s place Saturday,” Dale told her before studying her reaction.

  Winona stared dolefully at Dale while pursing her lips for a brief moment and taking a breath through her nose. While sounding slightly choked with grief, Winona told Dale, “It’s fine.”

  Dale shot Winona a curious look before pointing out, “You practically begged for this Saturday off for an entire week, and now you’re fine with working this Saturday.”

  “That’s right,” Winona said simply. Michelle (Winona’s friend and a fellow worker) gave Winona a curious look. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m here to get my purse and clothes.”

  Without waiting for Dale’s response, Winona turned and walked away quickly towards the women’s locker room. Michelle followed.

  As Winona was stepping up to the lockers, Michelle asked, “Is everything okay, Winnie?”

  Winona glanced at Michelle. As she went to unlock her combination lock, she said dolefully, “No.”

  “What is it?” Michelle quickly asked.

  Tears rolled down Winona’s cheeks as she said dolefully, “Travis and his dad are dead.”

  In a shock tone, Michelle uttered, “Dead! How?!”

  Winona got her crying under control before sharing, “They were hiking… in Alaska, and they were attacked by an animal.”

  “Oh my God, Winnie,” Michelle said sympathetically as she went to rub Winona’s back, consolingly. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Tha
nks,” Winona said as she opened her locker.

  “So I’m guessing that Travis’s and his dad’s bodies are being sent here,” Michelle presumed.

  “I haven’t spoken with Travis’s mom yet, so I haven’t a clue to what’s happening with the bodies or with the funeral arrangements,” Winona said as she grabbed her gym bag, which held her clothes and her small purse. “Once I get home I’ll call her and find out.”

  “Go over there,” Michelle strongly suggested. Winona looked curiously towards Michelle. “By you going over there, it will mean more to her than her receiving a phone call from you.”

  Winona thought for a moment before nodding agreeingly and saying, “Alright.”

  “So who all knows about Travis and his dad?” Michelle asked.

  “You’re the first person I told… well second actually,” Winona said. “I told a woman named Gladys. Anyway, I don’t know who all Travis’s mom had told.”

  “Michelle, you are on the clock!” Dale shouted into the women’s locker room without entering.

  “Yes, coming,” Michelle shouted back.

  “I’m okay, Michelle,” Winona insisted. “So you’d better get back out there before he threatens to…”

  “You’re fired if you don’t get out here in fifty-nine seconds,” Dale threatened while interrupting Winona. “Fifty-eight…”

  “To do that,” Winona added with a jaded gesture.

  Dale had continued his countdown.

  As Michelle was backing away, she told Winona, “I’ll call you later.”

  “Alright,” Winona agreed before turning back towards her locker and shutting it.

  Once Winona and Shayne had returned home, Winona hopped into her car and drove away.

  Shayne entered the house with the magic supplies, and once inside, Shayne—with Dakota assisting—read over and worked through the vampire-locating incantation.

  The vampire-locating incantation required a mirror or a crystal ball to work. Candles and other items could be use to enhance the incantation, but wasn’t required.

  Shayne cast the incantation twice on a mirror and twice on a crystal ball without success, and after failing for the fourth time, Shayne gave up.