by T S Paul
"It won't be today Camilla, but I am keeping my eye on you." Giving Marcella a half bow, the Chief of police left the room.
"Mom, was that actually our cousin Agatha?" Camilla stared at her daughter Winter, then looked away.
Autumn, the younger daughter, chimed in. "You've always said she was locked up in the crazy house. How did she get to be an FBI agent?"
"Stop asking all these questions. I have never lied to either of you. Your cousin is special. That's all you need to know."
Peter opened his mouth to say something and got a glare that would melt ice. Knowing the consequences, he chose to stay quiet.
"I assume you will now grace me with some pearl of wisdom that will make my entire day worth living or something?" Camilla looked at Marcella.
"Nothing I say will mean anything to you, anyway. We're closing early. You have to leave now." Marcella pointed to the door.
"We have yet to eat! Our food never came. You can't throw us out like common people!"
"No. I won't toss you out with the trash. Although I should have a long time ago. The girls have placed all of your food in To-Go containers. No charge since I'm closing early. Take your food and leave. Please." Two of the waitresses rushed over and set bagged food on the table in front of Camilla.
~~~~~~~
"You grew up in a cool place." Marvin was pretty amazed when we entered the gates and started up the big hill toward the main house.
"I like to think so. My ancestors arrived on this land years before Walter Raleigh founded the Roanoke colony. They started building the house and laid the foundation for the town." I slowed the car down to let him see the full effect of the house.
"It looks like something out of a fairytale. How many people live here?"
"Three. Well, six, now we are here. My Grandmother lives here alone most of the time. Crazy Aunt Camilla has a house down in the valley somewhere. Fergus has been there. You could ask him."
"Ask me what? Are we there yet? I'm hungry!" Fergus poked his head out of my shirt pocket and looked around. "Home! We're home! Pizza time."
"Fergus, you can eat later. Marvin wants to know about Camilla's house." Pulling him out, I set him on the dashboard.
"I didn't ask about your Aunt." Marvin protested loudly.
"Camilla? She makes warthog's look good. Why would I go to her house?" The little unicorn had his head cocked and was glaring at me.
"The place with the flowers before we met for the first time? That place." I tried to spark his memory.
"Oh. That place. Those spotted flowers tasted like dirt! I tried to drink the water to clean out my mouth, and it was all hot and soapy. Good for bathing but drinking was nasty. After my bath, I found the really tasty plants under the fancy hood. Pink roses are the best tasting." Fergus made lots of faces.
"Did you remember what the house looked like? I'm not sure Marvin knows what a Juliet Rose is. Camilla raised them for shows." The secondary gate leading to the house required a passcode. I hoped mine still worked after all these years.
"Just a place. I remember it being white. They kept me locked in the smelly old trailer that they used to kidnap me from my herd. I sure scared those humans good!" He gave his version of a unicorn laugh. It sounded like a cross between a donkey and a horse. Fergus began jumping and shaking his head. "Next time I'll just give them the horn."
Marvin looked at me strangely, "Kidnapped?"
"Fergus came from the unicorn ranch in Montana. In this part of the world, there are only two such ranches, one in Montana, the other up in Canada. Camilla bought Fergus to give to her daughters. He scared them so badly she gave him to me instead. They kept him in the back yard until my birthday party."
"That sucks. Why didn't they just take him back to the ranch?" I pulled up to the gate.
"Hold that thought, Marvin." I leaned out of the car window and punched in my gate code. The gates gave a little shiver and slowly opened.
"Why?"
"Because it's Camilla. She wanted the unicorn to enhance her status amongst the women in town. The thought of giving it away or selling it to someone else who would get the status horrified her. When she thought Fergus was a demon horse, she decided to give him to me. I would almost bet you somewhere in the financial records there is a bill of sale for him. Camilla has Power of Attorney over my mother. Not even Grandmother has been able to shake her free of Camilla."
"Your mom is still alive?" Marvin noticed the small tear trickle down my face.
Carefully, I reached up and wiped it away. "She is. I haven't seen her in more than four years. Camilla told the hospital I would hurt her and barred me from the hospital. Even though I'm an FBI agent, I can't see her."
"Does she have a durable or nondurable Power of Attorney over your mother?" Marvin's eyebrows were pinched as he concentrated.
I stopped the car just inside the gate. "Durable I think. Why?"
"In my business, I have to deal with this sort of thing all the time. Trust me when I say trying to find financial evidence of abuse of power is a stone-cold bitch. Too many times the person in charge has either no clue or a TV clue of what they are supposed to do." Marvin was all business which was different from the man I had seen so far.
"Do you know how to break the contract my mom signed?"
"Maybe. It will depend on what your Aunt has done and if you can prove it. That is the hardest part. Usually, criminal charges are filed after the death of the incapacitated family member. I will have to talk to your Grandmother and you about options." Marvin looked me in the eye. "This is what I do for a living. You can trust me."
"OK. Let's get settled first. What do you think of the house?" I pointed through the front windshield.
Grandmother's house was a Victorian wonder. It had a large porch as well as five stone fireplaces. Ornate roof peaks, as well as gingerbread trim, graced the home. If architecture historians had known it existed, they would be mobbing the place.
Parking the car in the front, I stepped out and took a deep breath. Marvin followed staring at the enormous house in wonder. "Wow! You grew up here?"
"Since I was seven. Come on let's get inside. I'm sure Minerva already has rooms prepared for us. Besides, if I don't feed the hungry unicorn, he might stab me. Again." I looked down at the unicorn in question hanging out of my shirt pocket.
"For once you've got that right! Food! Food! Food!" All I could do was shake my head at Fergus's antics. For such a small little body, he had a black hole for a stomach.
The front door of the house was one of my favorite features of the house. According to Grandmother, the doors were all that remained of the original house built here in the 1600s. Ornately carved, it chronicled the journey of Verity and a few others from the old world to the new. I ran my fingers over the carving of the Tiger, Verity's ship. Seconds after my fingers touched the door it opened.
"By the God's child! You've grown." I found myself engulfed by a large, fluffy linen shirt that smelled like cookies.
Muttering into her shoulder, I started to cry. "Minerva! I've missed you."
"Don't cry little one. It's just me. Dry your tears." She produced a handkerchief from somewhere and handed it to me. She was like that. Things would magically appear when you needed them the most.
"Bring your friend inside. We have so much to talk about. Is Fergus still with you, dear?" Minerva opened both sides of the door. She was a large, full-curved woman and squeezing past her as an adult was not as easy as when I was a child.
"I'm here! Can we have pizza?"
Minerva laughed as she zeroed in on the little terrorist in my pocket. "He hasn't changed I see."
"No, not so much." The front room of the house looked to have stayed the same. My eyes could see a few new knick-knacks here and there. I looked around as if expecting someone.
"Agatha, dear. He's been waiting for you. Please go see him." Minerva always knew me too well.
A large ornate doorway led to the great room of the house. It was here pa
rties were held, and people were greeted. Many an indoor coven function took place here. Large windows facing the Garden lined one wall. The others were filled with books and artwork further chronicling our clan's history in America. A gigantic Norwegian Spruce took up the corner of the room. Not an imitation, this tree was alive, and it was calling my name.
"Boamire! You've grown so big." I practically ran to the tree. The boughs seemed to lower themselves and brush my body. I could feel each and every leaf and cone as they brushed across my skin. Shivers of pleasure ran up and down my spine. "That tickles."
Carefully, I ran my fingers through the tree's branches. I felt a certain sadness while doing it. He wouldn't be here if I hadn't messed up. "I'm so sorry I did this to you Boamire."
"Why the sad face? Child, you saved him, don't you realize that? He was a holiday tree. Destined for the compost pile after the party was over. By talking to him and imbuing him with more life, you connected him to this house and forever sealed him to us. Boamire is the house, and the house is Boamire now. It was a miracle, one the Coven is even today still coming to terms with. No, child, you didn't hurt him. You saved him." Minerva came up behind me and tousled my hair as she did of old.
"Are you sure? He could have moved on with the cycle and have grown again. I took any chance of that from him."
"Stop persecuting yourself over things that happen for a reason. You came to us here for a reason. Marcella needed someone to pass on the knowledge to. You were the person for the job. Neither Camilla nor Teegan wished to learn the secrets of magik from her. They each went their own ways. Your father... he had other ideas that distracted you mother. Camilla got involved with mundanes, and her values and desires were twisted. Only you wished to learn. As unfortunate as your circumstances were, you found the place you needed to be. The Gods can be fickle and cruel, but they can also bless us if we trust in their wisdom. It wasn't the Sanderson sisters who sent Boamire to us, but some sort of divine providence. Yes, it can be argued they imbued the tree with power preparing it for the party, but it took the tree himself to speak to you first."
I slowly nodded my head. Minerva did make a lot of sense when it came to many things. She was more than just a cook and housekeeper. She was my friend.
"This is a cool house." Marvin wandered in and plopped down in one of the really comfortable leather armchairs.
"If you think this is cool wait until I take you out to the Garden."
"You mean those flowers and things we saw outside?" Marvin hooked a thumb toward the front door.
"No, I mean The Garden. It's Magickal." I pointed through the large windows to the area just below the house. For as far as the eye could see an enormous garden lay. It would be called a farm by many in other parts of the world. Individual vegetable patches, as well as herbs and other things, could be seen. It was epic in proportion.
Chapter 15
"This is fantastic." Marvin was eating so fast he'd barely come up for air. Grandmother's lasagna recipe was extremely adaptable and easy to make for everyone except me. Give me a complex spell or herbal recipe, and I get it on the first try. Give me food ingredients, and it's a disaster. No idea why.
"Thank you, Marvin. It's a family favorite. You mentioned something to Agatha about power of attorney. Can you expand upon that? Or is this a bad time?" My Grandmother returned home about twenty minutes after we did. My aunt Camilla had a little meltdown yelling at Chief Cappy.
Marvin wiped the tomato sauce off his face and sat up straighter. He set his utensils down and looked skyward for just a moment. "There are two basic types of power of attorney legal documents. Remember, I am not an attorney by any stretch of the imagination. My familiarity with this information comes from a financial standpoint. Do you understand that?"
Like in the car this was an entirely different Marvin Loman. He was way more serious. My only thought was he loved his job and all things associated with it. It may be why he kept his head and didn't panic after meeting the Strega head. Grams and I both nodded.
"Durable and Nondurable are the terms you need to look for. Guessing from what Agatha said in the car, your daughter has a durable one. What that means is, as long as she is incapacitated, the agent she assigns is in control. Her agent is the one that makes all health decisions, financial, and long-term arrangements. Usually, these are only prepared in the event of life-threatening illness or injury. Or by a spouse." Marvin shifted his silverware around like he was nervous.
"What is the difference? I spoke to my own attorneys, but they could not help me or understand the specifics. Personally, I think Camilla got to them." Marcella leaned back in her chair.
"Durable continues after death, and nondurable does not. It gets more technical than that, but like I said, I am not a lawyer. The best way to break a power of attorney is to prove she took personal gain from your other daughter's assets. If you can get a court to charge her with abuse of power, they can break her power of attorney. Or if Agatha's mother becomes aware. She can revoke it. Otherwise, what happens is after the death of the principal an interested party launches an inquiry into the accounts. The family or whoever contacts my company and we dig into their financials to prove maleficence."
"That will not happen! Teegan suffered from fainting spells and depression. There is no reason she should be locked up for so long. I will throw my attorneys at it again. Something must be done." Grandmother sobbed out the last few words.
"How did Camilla gain so much power over the town? I remember she was a force to be reckoned with before I left for Quantico, but now she's like a queen ordering the police force around."
Wiping her eyes to clear them, Grandmother nodded at me. "Yes, it's past time I tell you a few things about both your Aunt and you. Let's retire to the sitting room."
"Marvin? Minerva will show you to your room, or you can use the library if you like. Let us know if you go outside. Lots of dangerous things lurk in the night around here. Thank you for your information. We will talk later." Grandmother stood and pulled a cord that hung on the wall. While we had servant pulls or bells around the house, I don't remember her ever using them before.
Minerva appeared at the door. "Yes, Milady?"
Grandmother smiled. "Minerva, please show Marvin here either the library or his room. He has partial access to the house with full grounds access. He has been cautioned, but you might show him the flower garden."
I watched as Marvin left in the company of Minerva. Grandmother turned and pointed toward the private sitting room located off her office. Growing up, I was never allowed in either her office or this room.
We sat across from each other in very comfortable leather chairs. A Victorian style table and bookcases lined the walls. Only the chairs weren't period. At my puzzled look, Grandmother smiled. "When you get to a certain age, Agatha, comfort is everything. The old chairs weren't comfortable at all. Even when they were new." She sighed and looked wistfully at the room.
I must have scrunched up my face at what she said because she gave a short laugh. "I forget there are gaps in your education. I am allowed to fill in some of those now. You must remember the reason things were kept from you was your age. Not your maturity or power level. Our world, the part that relates to the Magickal and what the humans call the paranormal is different. The rules are different too. It's our duty to live up to certain expectations. You were too young and much too ignorant of the world to tell you. Even I have to obey our people's laws."
Not sure what I was about to hear, I concentrated on the surface of the table. Flashes of history ran through my head. I tried to remember the conversations that occurred around me as a child. While I thought, I played with the bracelet secured around my wrist. It had a calming effect on me. So much so, I barely noticed when it spoke yet again. "Listen to her."
I started so suddenly Grandmother noticed. She smiled at me. "Did it speak to you?"
Shocked she knew, I could only nod.
"I remember when my Grandmother Verity wore
it. She would tell us littles the bracelet had a name and would speak to her. When I asked what it said, she would say it scolded her." Grams smiled at the memory.
"Your grandmother? But I thought Verity was one of the founders of Briarwood? How could you have met her that was centuries ago?" My eyes widened in surprise.
"So many truths to tell you, child. That is but the first. Witches are an old race. We trace our ancestry back to the earliest days of history. Greek, Roman, Phoenician, Egyptian, Harappan, Persian, Shukushin, the list goes on forever, all the way back to Atlantis and Mu. Our people are born with extended lifespans. Possession of Magickal power will extend your life by almost a hundred years. It has something to do with revitalizing the cells on a subatomic level. I can introduce you to a man named Calvin who can explain the entire process if you wish. Being born to a Witch family gives you considerably more time. Our lifespans can reach into the hundreds of years. Child, I'm into my second century. Verity lived to be a little over four hundred years old." She explained.
