“Bye,” Karla barely got out before the call ended. As she hung up the phone she said, “Harry, Sadie loves you, but she hung up and went back to the party.”
Harris amusingly grinned before saying, “I’ll call her tomorrow and give her trouble for hanging up on me to go partying with actors and actresses.”
“I’m very doubtful that you’ll make her feel guilty about that,” Ellen said.
“Mmm,” Harris uttered with an agreeing grin. “Anyway, Karla has the incantation to end the curse so let’s go do it.”
Ellen, Harris, Jessica, Karla and Lance went up to the grated-gate of the taxidermic room, and once there, Ellen saw Lance shooting the stuff animals at the entrance a confused look.
“We did that,” Ellen supplied. “We were trying to block the entrance to keep their grandfather out.”
“I was wondering,” Lance said.
“Okay, Karla. Remove the curse,” Harris said.
Karla nodded before rattling off the short incantation that once again made the gate and the windows to the room glow a golden yellow for only a second before returning to normal.
“It didn’t work!” Ellen uttered.
“It did work,” Harris countered.
“The gate and the windows had glowed yellow as they did when the curse was activated,” Ellen pointed out.
“As they should have,” Harris informed.
“Are you sure?” Ellen quickly asked.
Harris amusingly grinned while saying, “I’m certain of it.” He then moved to unlock the gate. “In fact, I’m certain enough to be the one to open the gate.”
“And if you’re wrong, how soon will it take for you to get sick?” Ellen asked. Harris shot Ellen a curious look. “And will you be contagious?”
“I won’t be contagious and the sickness will come within twenty-four hours once the curse has been activated, but again, I’m one hundred percent certain that the curse was ended,” Harris said before he went to open the gate.
“Okay,” Ellen said in a skeptical tone. Harris grinned as he opened the gate. Once the gate was fully open, Ellen quipped, “Now we wait.”
Harris shook his head and rolled his eyes as Karla questioned, “What are we waiting for?”
Ellen gave Karla a curious look as Jessica supplied, “Ellen fears that Harris might’ve activated the curse. Anyway, Ellen, since we survived this, should I point out that shower to you?”
Ellen grinned before saying, “Yes please.”
Jessica nodded with a grin before saying, “Follow me.”
“So what are we going to do while we wait for Special Agent Neil Sanders to show up?” Karla asked as Ellen and Jessica were walking away.
A finch flew by before Harris could answer. As he pointed to it, he said, “I guess we should gather up the birds and the gerbils.”
“Gerbils?” Karla questioned as she looked towards the floor.
“There are four gerbils scurrying about,” Harris said before saying where they were.
“If they’re scurrying about how do you know where they are?” Lance questioned.
“Ellen, Jessica and I are also mentally linked with the gerbils and the birds,” Harris supplied.
Karla shot Harris a look as if to say, ‘creepy.’
“We used them to spy on…” Harris gestured towards Karla as he continued with, “Well, you while you were being possessed by your grandfather’s spirit.” Karla politely and timidly grinned. “Anyway, let’s go gather up the birds and the gerbils.”
After Jessica had grabbed clean clothes for Ellen and showed her to the bathroom, she helped the others to capture the gerbils and the finches.
Ellen—while fully aware that she was mentally linked with Harris and Jessica—was self-conscious about the fact that they could see her in the nude through her eyes, so once she had stripped down for her shower, she refused to look into the bathroom mirror or—once she got into the shower—look at herself as she washed. She also showered more quickly than normal. Harris and the others didn’t take very long in catching the gerbils and the finches either.
Ellen was getting dressed in the borrowed clothes when the doorbell rang. Lance was the one to open the door, and once the door was open, Neil introduced his partner—Special Agent Janis Pyle—to Lance.
Lance escorted Neil and Janis into the living room and introduced them to Harris, Jessica and Karla.
“So why was I requested to come?” Neil asked as Ellen was walking in.
When everyone looked, Ellen waved to the new arrivals while saying, “Hi.”
“This is Ellen,” Lance said while gesturing. “Ellen, these two are, Special Agent Neil Sanders and Special Agent Janis Pyle.”
Ellen nodded with a polite grin as if she had already known their names all along and that she was only indulging the formalities before saying, “Nice to meet you two.”
Janis gave Ellen a curious look over her actions as Neil said, “Nice to meet you too, Ellen.”
Janis shook off her thoughts before saying, “Yes, nice to meet you, Ellen.”
“So why am I here?” Neil asked again.
Harris began by telling Neil and Janis about the mark of Merlin, the three wizard lines, the Wizard Wars, the Dark Ritual incantation, how the wizard lines became weaker through the generations when twins were born, the Legacy volumes and the Phoenix stage.
Before Harris had a chance to move on to the events of the day, Janis questioned, “You expect Neil and me to believe any of this?”
“I can provide proof of my ability as a sorcerer if you require it,” Harris retorted.
Before Janis could respond, Neil said, “I doubt that I was called here to learn about Harris, Ellen, Jessica and Karla being a sorcerer and sorceresses.”
“No,” Harris confirmed. “Some wizards and sorceresses don’t have respect for human life…”
“Which was the case with my grandfather,” Jessica added sullenly.
Neil caught the past tense and questioned, “Was the case?”
Harris gestured towards Jessica and Karla while saying, “We had found the Dark Ritual incantation among their family’s Legacy volumes and just before Lance had called you, we used it to stop their grandfather.”
“So you’re saying that you, Ellen, Jessica and Karla had killed someone?” Janis quickly questioned.
“Karla had nothing to do with it,” Jessica quickly said. “In fact, she was actually possessed by my grandfather’s spirit at the time.”
“Wait!” Janis uttered. “Even if any of this paranormal bull… stuff is true, how could your grandfather’s spirit possess Karla when your grandfather was still alive?”
“Their grandfather was capable of astral projection,” Harris was the one to explain. “And as an astral projecting spirit, he was capable of possessing people.”
“My grandfather had possessed my mom, and he was the one who had killed Peter Berkeley,” Jessica added. “My mom is innocent and she’s doing life in prison for the murder.”
“Detective Delaney’s mother-in-law didn’t commit suicide either,” Ellen added her piece. “It was…”
“Okay, hold up,” Neil quickly told everyone. “I believe I understand what everyone is saying. And I want to see the… ash remains.”
“I figured you would,” Lance said before gesturing. “And it’s this way.”
As Lance walked away everyone followed. Midway to Leon’s remains, Ellen had a passing thought of, “I wonder how old I have to be before I could apply to the police academy.”
“You want to join the police academy?” Jessica quickly asked.
Ellen shot Jessica an embarrassed look as Janis asked, “Who said anything about joining the police academy?”
“I was thinking it, and she and I are mentally linked,” Ellen confessed.
“You and Jessica are mentally linked?” Janis questioned incredulously.
“Yes… oh and Harris is mentally linked with us too,” Ellen said.
“So if I woul
d whisper something into Harris’s ear, you and Jessica would know what I whisper?” Janis questioned.
“That’s right,” Ellen and Jessica said.
“Only for the next three to four hours though,” Harris added.
“You three are mentally linked from a spell?” Neil asked.
“We are, and the spell’s duration is six hours,” Harris said.
“Interesting,” Neil said. Janis was about to say something, but she stopped when Neil continued with, “And, Ellen, you are thinking about joining the police academy?”
Ellen shrugged before saying, “Yeah. Being a police officer… or even an FBI agent would be something I would be interested in pursuing.”
“If you’re certain that you want a career in law enforcement, Ellen, I can certainly help you to achieve your career goals when you’re old enough,” Lance said.
“It was a random thought that I had, but after saying it out loud, yeah, I want to pursue a career in law enforcement,” Ellen announced.
Lance grinned before saying, “Okay. So you can prepare for it, I’ll make a list of what college courses you’ll need to take.”
Ellen nodded with a grin before saying, “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Lance said before leading everyone into the room of where Leon’s ashes were.
Neil and Janis immediately examined Leon’s ashes, and after a couple of minutes, Neil was convinced that Leon was killed by supernatural means.
“This is a hoax,” Janis accused. “This dust isn’t even human remains.”
“We need a crystal ball, so we can do that ‘Memory Talebearer’ spell,” Ellen thought.
“We do have a crystal ball,” Jessica announced while looking at Ellen.
“Who…?” Janis got out before stopping herself. “Ah, you three are pretending to be mentally talking with each other again.”
“We’re not pretending, Special Agent Pyle,” Harris was the one to say. “Ellen wants to cast the ‘Memory Talebearer’ spell to show you that what we say is true and I suspect that the ‘Memory Talebearer’ spell will turn you into a believer.”
“I’ll bite,” Janis began. “What is the ‘Memory Talebearer’ spell?”
“Once the incantation is cast, the memories that an individual wants to share will be completely transferred down to each second to the crystal ball, and once inside the crystal ball, the crystal ball will stream the specific memories to everyone in the room,” Harris said. “Once the spell is done, you will be disoriented and confused for a short time, but once the confusion wears off, you will have memories as if you were the one who had lived the event.”
“A big crystal ball isn’t necessary and you should clear the room of other crystals as well,” Ellen added.
“And what would happen if the other crystals aren’t cleared from the room?” Janis asked in a tone as if to play along.
“Those other crystals will amplify the spell,” Ellen informed. “In fact, from the amplified spell, I have over a year’s worth of Martha DeNatale’s memories when she was in high school… which was approximately sixty years ago. My great-grandmother was her high school math and gym teacher, and through the memories that Martha had shared with me, she had helped me to know her—memories that I will cherish.”
“Vincentia had done the Dark Ritual on your great-grandmother!” Jessica uttered in a surprised manner after seeing Ellen’s passing thought.
Ellen shrugged while saying, “Martha, Harris and I suspect that to be the case. Vincentia had vanished without a trace, so we don’t really know for sure what had happened.”
“And Vincentia is who exactly?” Neil asked.
“Approximately sixty years ago, she was my great-grand-mother’s eighteen-year-old niece,” Ellen supplied. “My great-grandmother, Vincentia and Martha all lived in Saint Louis, Missouri back then, and when ritual deaths began showing up along with my great-grandmother’s siblings and their families coming up missing or burned alive, my great-grandmother suspected Vincentia to be the culprit. And that was what Martha had wanted to show Harris and me.... that and how my great-grandmother had helped Martha to understand her psychic ability. Anyway, my great-grandmother and Vincentia had confronted each other at the high school one evening.” Ellen glanced towards Leon’s remains and continued sullenly, “My great-grandmother was turned into ashes and… and no one knows what had happened to Vincentia. She vanished without a trace that night.”
There was a brief moment of silence before Harris asked, “Getting back to the ‘Memory Talebearer’ spell; shall we do it?”
Janis sighed before saying, “I’ve taken classes on human behavior and I can see that everyone here is speaking the truth… or at least everyone thinks that he or she is speaking the truth, so trying to prove to me is no longer necessary.”
“Neil, I had called you here because I need your help to declare Leon Stone deceased without the official investigation or red tape,” Lance supplied.
Neil took a deep breath, and after a short deliberation of what he will do, he said, “Alright.”
“Alright?” Janis questioned incredulously. “Are you insane?! This incident will destroy our careers if this ever surfaces.”
“You’re a smart woman, Janis,” Neil began. “These ashes are Leon Stone’s remains… or at least I’m convinced of it. This was clearly a violent act. Harris, Jessica and Ellen had admitted to be the ones to have committed what I will assume to have been a justifiable homicide, and the murder weapon is witchcraft. An open and shut case with one flaw; the judge will have you committed if you bring this case before a court.”
Janis slightly huffed before saying, “Alright. Fine. I will support whatever you do.”
“Harris. You, Ellen, Jessica and Karla should go,” Lance suggested. “Neil, Janis and I will handle things from here.”
“We still have the tigers to release,” Ellen pointed out.
“Tigers?!” Lance questioned as Neil and Janis gave Ellen curious looks.
“There are two live tigers that are frozen in time downstairs in the taxidermic room,” Ellen said.
“You’re kidding!” Janis shot at her.
“She’s not kidding,” Harris said before turning towards Ellen. “And we will deal with them once we have the proper containment to deal with them.”
Ellen thought for a second before nodding in agreement. She then faced Lance before asking, “Do you think Everett is still up?”
“You can see Everett tomorrow at school,” Lance told her.
Ellen slightly hesitated before reluctantly nodding in agreement and saying, “Okay. It’s just that… I fear what Everett’s opinion will be once he finds out what took place here.”
“Then don’t tell him,” Jessica suggested.
“If I keep this from him and he finds out, I would come across as the devil,” Ellen quickly said. “No, he has to know. I won’t hide this from him.”
“Suit yourself,” Jessica said as Lance was giving Ellen an impressed look.
“You guys should get going,” Lance again suggested.
“Jessica and I should grab some clothes,” Karla said.
“Alright,” Harris and Lance agreed.
“Ellen and I will wait for you two at the front door,” Harris added.
Karla nodded before she and Jessica walked away. Ellen and Harris followed them out.
Several minutes later, after Ellen, Harris, Jessica and Karla had returned to Harris’s house, Simon and Allyson were told of the events.
Simon went back to Stone Hall once he was told. Harris cast the incantation to sever the mental link early and once the mental link was severed everyone went to bed. Ellen took her old twin bed while allowing Jessica and Karla to take her full size bed.
As the night progressed into morning, Ellen couldn’t clear her mind from the events of the weekend and didn’t fall asleep until after 3:00 A.M. She was only able to sleep for a short time before she was abruptly awakened by a nightmare of her and a strange
wizard fighting. She shot upright into a sitting position and once she realized that it was just a dream, she lay back down; however, she couldn’t get back to sleep.
Monday morning, Ellen, Jessica and Karla were getting to school slightly earlier than usual, and as Ellen was approaching her locker, she saw that Everett was already there.
As Ellen stepped up to him, she accused, “You’re earlier than usual.”
Everett turned towards Ellen before examining her appearance from head to toe. With an unpleasant expression on his face, he turned back towards his locker and said in an indifferent tone, “Not by much.”
“Is there something wrong with the way I look?” Ellen quickly asked.
“Your aura is more lavender than pink now,” Everett supplied in an indifferent tone without looking at her.
“I was wondering about that,” Ellen said. “I’m still the same person though.”
“Are you?” Everett challenged.
“I have the same moral beliefs as I did when we met,” Ellen insisted.
“You’re a sorceress now though,” Everett said barely above a whisper.
“Yes,” Ellen agreed. “Harris is a sorcerer too, and this happened after we stopped a sorcerer who had no respect for life itself. Harris and I have respect for life and we won’t be hurting people as Leon did. I promise.” Everett apathetically looked at her before nodding in agreement. “So are we good?”
Everett took a breath before saying, “I hear that you’re thinking about going into law enforcement.”
“Yes,” Ellen again agreed. “I can’t really say that our investigation during the past week was fun or entertaining, but… but the investigation that we did felt like me… it felt like the missing part of me that I didn’t even know was missing. I felt more complete last week than any other time in my life.”
“That’s great,” Everett said insincerely.
Ellen caught the tone and questioned, “You don’t like the idea of me becoming a police officer?”
“It’s dangerous,” Everett retorted.
“Yes,” Ellen agreed in a ‘self-evident’ tone. “As with many other professions. And as you had pointed out, I’m a sorceress now, and if I run into other wizards or sorceresses that alone is dangerous for me.”
Legacy Page 45
