At Travis’s house, Travis’s mom has had consoling visitors coming and going throughout the day. Travis’s relatives would stay an hour or two while the others would only stay for thirty minutes.
After Winona got there, she learned that Travis’s funeral arrangements hadn’t been worked out yet. She also stayed for two hours before leaving.
Winona returned home and once she joined her parents in the living room, Dakota asked her, “How’s Travis’s mom?”
“Devastated,” Winona said simply as she sat down in the armchair.
“Is someone with her?” Shayne asked.
“She has had people in and out all day,” Winona said.
“Does she have someone who will be with her tonight though?” Shayne questioned.
“Her brother and his family showed up just before I left,” Winona informed. “I believe they’re going to be staying with her for a while.”
“Good,” Shayne said.
“So are you ready to try that vampire-locating incantation?” Winona questioned.
“Your mom and I tried it on the dining room mirror and on one of the crystal balls,” Shayne said. “We couldn’t get it to work.”
“Did you do that acclimating incantation first?” Winona questioned.
“What acclimating incantation?” Shayne asked.
“I read in Lawrence Stone’s journal that there is a one-time acclimation incantation that has to be cast on a mirror or a crystal ball prior to any locating incantations.”
“Okay, no, I didn’t do it,” Shayne admitted. “I didn’t even know about it.”
“That acclimating incantation is in the back of Lawrence Stone’s journal,” Winona informed before looking over the room. “Where are Blue Moon’s things?”
“They’re in the dining room,” Shayne said.
“Okay, well, I want to try it,” Winona said as she stood.
“Alright,” Shayne agreed as he and Dakota stood up.
As the three were walking towards the dining room, Winona asked, “Where’s Adam?”
“He’s out with Sheila,” Dakota informed.
“They broke up last month,” Winona pointed out.
“They ran into each other today and started talking,” Dakota said as they were entering the dining room. “Apparently they decided to give their relationship another try.”
“Yeah, well, unless Sheila has given up on trying to change Adam into something he’s not, that romance is going to end as before,” Winona said while she, Dakota and Shayne stepped up to the dining room table.
The parchments and the magic supplies were on the dining room table. Winona immediately went to Lawrence Stone’s journal, picked it up and opened it to the incantation that was in the back of the book.
“Here’s that incantation, and I want to do it,” Winona told them.
Shayne just gestured for her to proceed. Winona nodded before stepping up to the wall-mirror within the room. As she stood in front of the mirror she silently read the set-up for the incantation.
When Winona didn’t begin after a short wait, Dakota asked, “Are you suppose to read that silently or aloud?”
“Aloud, but before I recite the ritual, I am to draw four symbols with ash or soot from a burnt piece of tree branch onto the surface of the mirror or the crystal ball,” Winona explained.
“Okay, I’ll burn some wood to get you that ash,” Shayne said before turning towards the exit.
“The ashes must be from green branches,” Winona informed before Shayne could step away. “Ashes from fresh bushes will work too, and it doesn’t matter if there are leaves or berries on the branches either.”
“Alright,” Shayne said while walking away.
Shayne went into the garage and grabbed the pair of pruning shears along with a box. He then went into the backyard and began pruning trees and bushes. The branches that he cut off were tossed into the box.
Winona and Dakota stepped into the yard just as Shayne was finishing at getting the wood.
As Shayne was carrying the box to the house, Winona informed, “I’m not sure how you are planning to burn that, Dad, but an accelerant to start the burning process could make the incantation fail.”
Shayne thought for a moment before instructing, “Winnie, go get that metal trashcan from the garage and take it to the kitchen.”
“Alright,” Winona said before stepping away.
Winona went into the garage and grabbed the trashcan. As she was carrying the trashcan into the kitchen, she saw that Shayne was standing next to the stove. The front-right burner was on at its highest setting.
Shayne gestured towards the floor in front of him while saying, “Put the trashcan down in front of me.”
“Alright,” Winona agreed before putting the trashcan down.
As Winona backed away, Shayne picked up one of the branches and stuck it over the burner.
The branch took several seconds to catch fire, and once it did, Shayne manipulated it until the fire was going well. He then tossed the burning branch into the metal trashcan.
“I’d better disconnect the batteries from the smoke alarms,” Dakota said before walking away.
“Good idea,” Shayne said as he went to repeat what he did with the remaining branches.
Minutes later, once the trashcan was filled with ashes from the burnt branches, Winona carried the trashcan into the dining room, and then—while referring to the book that Shayne held for her—drew out the four symbols onto the surface of the mirror with her index finger.
After Winona completed the last symbol, she wiped off her finger with a wet wipe, took the book from Shayne, and proceeded to recite the incantation.
The incantation was six verses long, and once Winona said it in its entirety, the ash spread itself across the entire surface of the glass, and before everyone’s eyes, the glass clouded over.
“Is that what supposed to happen?” Dakota questioned before noticing that Winona was moving her lips as she counted the seconds silently.
Winona nodded as she continued to count. Before Winona could count to forty seconds, the glass of the mirror returned to its original appearance.
“Yes!” Winona uttered delightfully. “It worked.”
“Okay, what just happened?” Dakota questioned in a confused tone.
“According to the journal, the mirror was supposed to cloud over as it did and then return to normal within sixty seconds,” Winona began. “If it didn’t return to normal or if it took longer than sixty seconds to return to normal then the incantation would’ve been considered a failure.”
“So the mirror is now ready for the vampire-locating incantation?” Shayne questioned.
“According to Lawrence Stone’s journal it is,” Winona replied.
As Shayne moved towards the vampire-locating incantation, he said, “I’ll get it, and if you don’t mind, I would like to try this again.”
“Okay, Dad,” Winona said.
Shayne picked up the incantation, stepped up to the mirror, and for the third time that day, he recited the eight-verse incantation on the mirror.
Once the incantation was complete, a portrait of a man (a vampire) appeared in the mirror.
“It worked this time,” Dakota pointed out.
“I’m thinking that the mirror is showing us a vampire.” Winona then thought aloud, “Where is he though?”
Before Shayne or Dakota could respond, the mirror’s display had shifted to a bird’s eye view of the hotel that the vampire was in.
“Okay,” Winona said in an uncertain tone. “I’m not sure why it had done that.”
Dakota put her hand on Winona’s shoulder before testing, “What city is the vampire in?”
The mirror’s display shifted again to a higher aerial view of the city that showed a major league baseball stadium, which was not far from the hotel.
“Okay, that city is Atlanta, Georgia,” Shayne shared. “There’s Turner Field.”
“That vampire must be the closest one to us,” Winona t
hought aloud.
“Let’s find out,” Shayne said. “Show the next vampire closest to us.” The mirror’s display shifted to a portrait of a woman. “What city is she in?”
The mirror again shifted to an aerial view of Atlanta, Georgia.
“How many vampires are there in Atlanta?” Winona thought aloud.
The mirror shifted to the first portrait for a second, shifted to the second portrait for another second and then shifted again to a portrait of another man. The mirror then cycled through the three portraits, while only showing each portrait for a second.
“It appears to be three,” Shayne informed.
“Why didn’t those three get listed on the wall this morning?” Winona questioned.
The mirror continued to cycle through the portraits as Dakota guessed, “The vampires that are listed on your wall had killed someone during the last forty-eight hours. So most likely they haven’t.”
“Okay, that make sense,” Winona said. “Anyway, mirror, show the fourth vampire from here.” The mirror shifted to a portrait of another man. “What city is he in?” The mirror shifted to an aerial view of the city, but nothing looked familiar. “What city is that?”
When the mirror didn’t respond, Shayne thought for a second before requesting, “Show a higher aerial view of the city.” The mirror shifted to a slightly higher view; however, the view was still unrecognizable. “Go higher.”
When the mirror shifted again to a higher view, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario were recognized.
“That’s Toronto,” Dakota uttered. “The city where the vampire is in is Toronto.”
“Toronto is a nice distance from Atlanta, Georgia,” Winona pointed out.
“Toronto was listed on your wall too,” Shayne added.
“How does one become a vampire anyway?” Winona again thought aloud. The mirror shifted and displayed a person being bitten by a vampire, and then escaping the vampire’s grasp. As the mirror began to show the long and agonizing transformation process from a human to a vampire, Winona said, “Okay, I wasn’t expecting to be shown.”
After several minutes of showing the slow and agonizing transformation process, Shayne said, “Okay, I don’t see this ending anytime soon. So I’m going to… stop this.” He then read off the incantation to end the locating spell.
When the mirror shifted back to being a normal mirror, Winona informed, “Okay, I’ve been on the go since I got up and I haven’t eaten all day. So I’m going to get something to eat.”
“Where are you going?” Dakota questioned.
“To that Dragon Wok Chinese restaurant,” Winona said. “Do you want anything?”
“Yeah,” Dakota began. “Get me shrimp fried rice and an order of chicken wings.”
“Okay,” Winona said before turning towards Shayne.
“Get me some hot braised chicken with fried rice and crab rangoon,” Shayne said.
“Alright,” Winona began. “I’ll be back soon.”
Winona then grabbed her purse and left the house.
Chapter Twelve
Winona’s evening was routine. She went to bed around 10:00 P.M., and while lying there, she was thinking about when she and Travis had first met. Within a short time, Winona drifted off to sleep, and then—within a dream—she found herself reading a book in the high school’s crowded library—the high school that Winona had graduated from a few weeks ago.
Winona looked up from her book and saw that everyone had been ripped to shreds by something unknown.
Winona frantically got to her feet while uttering, “What the hell?!”
Winona frantically looked around and saw that the library was littered with mutilated bodies. She then quickly turned towards the exit and dashed away.
When Winona dashed into the hallway, she came face to face with Nancy Jargon.
Nancy caught Winona from going past her before asking, “Where’s the fire, Winnie?”
“They’re dead!” Winona uttered. “They’re all dead!”
“Who are all dead?” Nancy questioned, curiously.
“In the library,” Winona said while gesturing. “They’re all dead.” Nancy looked towards the library before walking towards the entrance. Winona grabbed her at the shoulder while insisting, “You can’t go in there!”
“I’ll be alright,” Nancy claimed while shrugging Winona’s hand off and continuing into the library.
Winona slightly hesitated before following Nancy. When Winona stepped back into the library, she saw Nancy examining the body closest to the entrance.
“We need to get out of here, Nancy,” Winona insisted.
Nancy stood upright, and as she turned towards Winona she accused, “This is your fault!”
“My fault?!” Winona echoed. “How is this my fault?”
“You didn’t stop him when he came…”
“When who came?” Winona interrupted.
“When Travis came,” Nancy insisted. “You were so excited when he returned. You’re so in denial.”
“What in hell are you talking about?” Winona demanded.
“Travis did this,” Nancy informed as she walked towards one of the bookshelves. “Travis killed these people.”
“Travis would never hurt anyone,” Winona insisted before following Nancy. “And where are you going?”
“Over here,” Nancy said while stepping up to one of the shelves. She then took unbound pages off of the shelf, faced Winona and tossed them to her. The pages separated in mid-air before littering the floor in front of Winona. “Now take those pages and do something about Travis.”
Winona shot Nancy an annoyed look before bending down to pick up the pages. The first page that she had picked up was the first page on the incantation that would magically enhance a wooden stake to incapacitate a vampire.
When Winona saw what was on the page, she gave Nancy a curious look before asking, “Do you know what are on these pages?”
“Yeah, the means on stopping Travis. Now do it before he kills again.”
As Winona continued to gather the pages, she informed, “These pages are on finding and incapacitating vampires.”
“And Travis is a vampire,” Nancy said, patronizingly. “So what’s your point?”
“Travis is a vampire?” Winona questioned in a surprised tone. Before Nancy could answer, Travis whooshed her away. Winona turned herself around while looking in every direction for Nancy and not seeing her. “What the hell?”
Travis suddenly appeared in front of Winona before saying, “I hate tattletales.”
Winona gave Travis a confused look before asking, “Is Nancy right, Travis? Are you a vampire?”
“We had something great,” Travis said while grabbing Winona by the throat with lightning speed. He then threw her across the room, “and then Nancy had to ruin it.”
Winona hit the bookshelf hard before she and several books fell to the floor. One of the books fell open and when Winona went to stand up, she saw that the pages were blank. Winona picked up the book and looked at the title, which read, ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream.’
“You think that this is the time to read Shakespeare?” Travis questioned as he stalked closer.
“None of this is right,” Winona insisted while seeing the book ‘The Scarlet Letter’.
“What isn’t right?” Travis questioned as Winona grabbed the book and opened it to the middle pages.
“You’re dead,” Winona insisted while staring at a blank page. “And these books are…” Winona stopped talking when she saw print on the earlier pages.
“Those books are what?” Travis questioned as he continued to stalk closer.
Winona noticed that the print within the book had ended at where she had left off from when she was reading it for her class.
When Winona didn’t answer while appearing confused, Travis repeated, “Those books are what?”
Recognition came across Winona’s face before she annoyingly called out in the Mikasuki language, “Hear me well, Blue Moon!
I’ll do what I can to kill the vampires and you will not manipulate my dreams like this again!”
“Dream?!” Travis questioned. “You think that this is a dream?”
Winona concentrated to manipulate the dream to a forest scene. Winona didn’t have to try hard before the walls rapidly ate away to nothing while grass, shrubs and trees with green leaves grew in every direction. Just as the forest scene was complete, Travis faded from sight.
Blue Moon stepped out into view from behind a tree before saying in the Mikasuki language, “That was impressive the way that you had changed things.”
“I learned five years ago that as long as I know that I’m dreaming, I could control my dreams,” Winona shared. “Three-fourths of the time when I force my dreams into a certain direction it causes me to wake up though. Even on the fourth time, I think I wake up earlier than usual.”
“So what had told you that you were dreaming?” Blue Moon questioned.
“And give away my cues?” Winona rhetorically questioned. “Not in this life time.” Blue Moon just grinned. “And don’t you ever use my dreams like this again.”
“The dream was already yours,” Blue Moon began. “I just nudged it into a training exercise.”
“I can understand the need to train, but let me know when it’s a training exercise before you begin,” Winona ordered.
Blue Moon pursed his lips before taking a needless breath and saying, “You won’t be putting forth your best if you know that it’s a training exercise and by not putting forth your best you won’t be learning your best, and that could get you killed.”
Winona thought for a second before saying, “Alright. I’ll give you permission to test me. Once every four to five weeks, you can throw a training exercise at me without letting me know that it’s a training exercise.”
Blue Moon pursed his lips for a moment before countering, “Once every three to five weeks.”
Winona thought for a second before agreeing, “Alright. Once every three to five weeks you can test me.”
Blue Moon nodded before saying, “Now let’s begin your training, because tomorrow, you’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia to go after those three vampires.”
“I do have a job to go to tomorrow,” Winona pointed out.
Phoenix and the Dark Star Page 19
