The Empire

by C. L. Alden

  “Yes.” Darcy replied.

  “Well that was quite a production they put on the other night. Who pissed them off?”

  “I guess, in a way, we all did.” Darcy answered.

  Sonny pushed through the curtain. “GiGi said to come in here.”

  They followed Sonny through the curtained door, into a small waiting area, through another door which took them into a dimly lit room that Darcy guessed was where they held the consultations. They went through another curtained door at the back of the room that opened into a sunny bright kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table were Mother O, and Pearl; who looked nothing like her sister. If Darcy had to guess, Pearl was the older of the two. She was heavy set, with jet black hair teased at the crown and held back by a purple chiffon scarf tied behind her ear. She wore a brightly patterned flowy satin shirt over baggy black satin pants and leopard print fuzzy slippers. Like her sister, she had dramatically pencilled in eyebrows, heavily mascaraed eyes and deep red lipstick.

  Mother O was much more understated. Her silver white hair was straight and cut in a bob that reached just to the top of her shoulders. It was parted to the side and clipped with a silver barrette. She wore a heather colored velour leisure set, and white Keds. “Hello,” she said. “Please come in and sit down,” she said motioning to the empty seats around the table.

  “Hi I’m Darcy Adams, and this is Ali Bishop and Will Martin.”

  “I’m Opal or Mother O as most call me and this is my daughter Pearl.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Pearl said sizing them up.

  “Sonny get our guests some coffee, please.” Mother O said as she got up and uncovered a bundt cake on a glass cake stand. She brought it over to the table, and cut slices. Pearl reluctantly got up and got plates and forks.

  “Darcy Adams. You’re the one Sonny here told me about,” she said as she served the cake. “You can see them on the other side.”

  “Yes, I just figured that out recently as a matter of fact.”

  “Uh huh.” She handed Ali a plate of cake. “Your aunt Ruth and I go way back, Ali. How is she?”

  Okay, so that’s the way they’re going to play it, Darcy thought. Well at least it made explaining the situation easier.

  Ali glanced at Darcy before answering. “She’s doin’ fine, far as I can tell.”

  “That’s why we’re here.” Darcy added.

  “That’s what I figured. With all the shenanigans that side’s been up to lately, causin’ quite a ruckus around town. I figured ol’ Ruth would get in the mix of it.”

  Ali was taken aback at hearing that, but recovered. “Well things have taken a turn.”

  “What do you need?” Mother O asked.

  “The ‘others’ have called for a meeting.”

  “Oh?” Mother O looked intrigued.

  Pearl looked suspicious. “Why?”

  “They’re not happy.” Will added.

  “Well that’s obvious,” Mother O replied.

  “So what?” Pearl added.

  Time to lay all their cards out on the table. “They’ve taken Eddie Barrett. We’re guessing they view him as a threat.” Darcy said.

  “They wouldn’t be wrong there.” Pearl replied.

  Darcy continued. “We’re meeting at the Grand at four this afternoon, and we’re hoping you’ll come. Ruth says we need your energy and input since you are a founding family.” She didn’t want to muddy the waters by mentioning Temperance.

  “The meeting won’t be at the Grand though, will it?” Mother O asked.

  “No. They want to meet at the standing stones.” Darcy replied. Nobody flinched at the mention of the stones. They obviously knew more about them than the three of them did, Darcy thought.

  “Tell Ruth’s witch we’ll meet you at the stones.”

  “Who?” Darcy asked.

  “Stella Borden, or should I say, Stella Levasque Borden. I assume she’s making the preparations since the three of you seem...new to all of this?” Mother O said.

  “She’s a witch?” Ali asked sounding skeptical.

  Mother O turned to Ali and stared. It felt like she was staring into her. “It seems you’ve got a lot to learn. I would’ve thought Ruth would’ve trained you better.”

  Before Ali could go off on a tangent, Darcy asked to clarify. “So you and Pearl are coming?”

  “Yes, we’ll be there. And Sonny too. I think you’re gonna want all the energy you can get.”

  cHAPTER Twenty-four

  It was a little past three when they arrived at the Grand. Ali called Stella on their way to fill her in on their progress when they left The Eye. She didn’t mention the part about being a witch, thinking that was a conversation that was best had in person. The conference room had one large table in the center of it. Refreshments had been set up to the left of the entrance on two long tables. Ali, Darcy and Will walked in to find Stella with a small spray bottle in her hands dousing the cheese and fruit plates with a fine odorless mist.

  “What are you doing?” Ali asked walking over to Stella to get a closer look.

  “Like Ruth said, you should’ve read through that paperwork.”

  “To hell with the paperwork, tell me what the frig is going on?”

  “Temper!” Stella replied as she continued to spray the hors d’oeuvres.

  “Ali…” Darcy said walking over. Will shut the conference room doors and walked over to join them.

  “Can you please just give us some clue as to what we’re doing?” Will asked politely. Stella paused her spraying and turned to face the three.

  “Alright. First, Ali, here’s the short version of what you missed by not paying attention to the paperwork. And, I will add, this information does not leave this room. Understood?” She asked looking each of them in the eye and waiting for their response.

  “Yes,” each of them replied in turn.

  “Okay, as you’ve already figured out, Shoreton has some supernatural elements. The stone at the museum is one of them. The stones we are meeting at today are another part. If you had read the paperwork, you would’ve started your training on the part of the town’s history that is not widely known. The history that Abraham Bishop started recording when he started the Founding Society about two hundred and fifty years ago.”

  “But we read—” Ali interrupted.

  “Yes I know. But, Abraham kept two sets of journals, the vital statistics and information about daily life in Shoreton, and in another secret set of journals in which he kept track of the supernatural elements that not many people knew about even then. Some mystical and not so mystical events happened back then that tied the founding families to this town, and to this land. Those ties remain even after death. We have a responsibility to the ones that came before us and the ones that come after us to ensure that the town and it’s history are not forgotten. In a way, the group that took Eddie, are reminding us of that.”

  “But why didn’t you make me look at the documents, and start my training?” Ali asked.

  “I tried. Remember when you first started? It wasn’t my place to push you. But now you know.”

  “And you’re a witch?” Ali asked.

  “I see Mother O has been running her mouth.” Stella muttered, not happy about being outed like that.

  “Are you?” Ali asked again.

  “Yes, in a sense, but that isn’t how I identify myself. But, in the broadest, most general sense of the word, I suppose I am.” And before Ali could ask another question, she added. “And that’s all I’m going to say about that today.”

  “Speaking of Mother O, she said she’d meet us at the stones. She’s bringing Pearl and her great-grandson, Sonny.” Darcy said.

  Stella started to say something snippy, but changed her mind and simply said, “Excellent.”

  Darcy wondered what the story between Stella and Mother O was? There didn’t seem to be much love lost between them.

  “Okay, so now what?” Will asked.

  “As people arrive, make
sure they get something to eat or drink. It’s important. We’ll have a brief meeting in which the mayor will say we have to discuss the latest events, and the future of Shoreton. Then we’ll get everyone on the bus and we’ll head to the stones. We’ll meet with the ‘others’, get back on the bus and come back here. When we return, make sure once again that everyone has something to eat and or drink and we’ll conduct a debrief. I’ll debrief the mayor who will in turn will provide a summary to everyone else. And that’s it.”

  “So we’re drugging them?” Ali asked.

  “It’s perfectly safe, and we aren’t coercing them. The solution I’m using enhances the power of suggestion. That’s it. We are going to suggest that we are sitting in a meeting at the Grand to discuss the recent events in town. Whatever their feelings are about the town will remain. When we come back, and re-dose them, we’ll strengthen the suggestion that we have concluded our meeting in the conference room, and send them on their way.”

  The three stood there taking it all in. Ali looked dumbfounded. “Did you and Ruth do this kind of thing all the time?”

  “Not all the time, but over the years we had some situations. We were a good team.” Stella replied.

  “How could you not have told me? Have I been missing things I should’ve been taking care of?”

  “Nothing as big as this.”

  “I feel like I’ve let Aunt Ruth and the town down.” Ali said looking disappointed in herself.

  “It’s alright. No permanent damage has been done. You’ll start your training now, and you’ll be up to speed in no time.” Stella assured her.

  The reassurance got Ali’s head back in the game. “What’s left to do?”

  “I still need to spike the hot hors d’oeuvres, and drinks. If you all fill some glasses, I’ll dose them.” Stella said moving over to the chafing dishes to give them a good spritz.

  ***

  The mayor and her assistant arrived first, followed by town council members. Darcy wondered how Stella managed to get everyone here, and on what pretense? She noticed Stella chatting with the mayor’s assistant. Perhaps she was one of the team members Ruth had mentioned? As people started trickling in, Will and Ali met them and casually steered them toward the refreshments. Everyone was compliant except Mr. Barrett. He made a beeline for the the opposite side of the room, where he stood watching people as they arrived. After a few minutes Darcy walked over to say hello.

  “Hello Mr. Barrett.”

  “Darcy, what brings you to this meeting?”

  “Oh, I was visiting with my friends Ali and Will this afternoon, and I thought I’d tag along.” She could feel Mr. Barrett’s eyes boring a hole through as if he were conducting his own personal lie detector test on her, or perhaps that was just guilt she was feeling.

  “Have you heard from my grandson?”

  “No, I haven’t yet.” Darcy told herself to keep it simple, the less said the better, but she couldn’t help it. “But with the fire and all, I’m not surprised.”

  “I am.” He said staring at her for a moment. “Please keep me informed.”

  “I will. May I get you anything?” She asked motioning to the refreshment tables.

  “No thank you. I’m heading over there now.” He perused the table, and picked up a glass of water.

  Hank arrived and went right to the refreshments. Once he had a plate of food and and a drink, Will greeted him. Darcy arrived in time to hear Hank comment, “Quite a turnout. Where’s Eddie?”

  “Oh, I’m sure he’ll turn up. He wouldn’t miss a meeting.” Will replied.

  About a dozen people had arrived. Darcy recognized Mike Hillstrom from the sporting goods store, and Ivy Demask who owned the Lily Pond. Arthur Bishop, a cousin of Ali’s father and CEO of The Bishop Corporation were all there. About twenty minutes in, Darcy noticed Stella nod to the mayor’s assistant who in turn handed the mayor what Darcy assumed was the meeting agenda. The assistant spoke to the mayor for a couple of minutes, pointing out items on the sheet of paper. She wondered who came up with that? It would be interesting to see how this whole thing was pulled off.

  The mayor walked over to the head of the table and tapped her water glass with a pen. “Hello, everyone. If I could get you all to take a seat, we’ll get this meeting started.” As people found seats around the table, Darcy saw Stella duck out of the room to make a phone call. “I called this meeting today to discuss the recent events in the downtown area. My assistant, Sheila, will go over the agenda and then we’ll dive in. I’ll ask that in the interest of time, that you please hold any questions until the end. Sheila,” she said stepping aside and giving Sheila her attention.

  “Thank you all for coming today. We will begin by reviewing the agenda, after which you will follow me.” She paused and scanned the room. Everyone sat quietly, eyes upon her, waiting for her to continue. “The first item is the malfunction of the lights and alarms last night. Next the impact, if any, the cannery fire will have on the businesses on Main St. And finally a brief discussion of the future of our town and our history and it’s continuing importance.” Again she paused scanning the crowd. Darcy noticed that all eyes were on Sheila. “Now if you’ll follow the mayor and I, we’ll continue this meeting.” Will opened the conference room doors as Sheila approached with the mayor in tow. Everyone filed in line behind them. Ali, Darcy and Will brought up the rear. They left the conference room and exited out a side door and right into a minibus. Stella was already on the bus sitting behind the driver.

  “Are you ready for this?” Will asked Darcy as everyone else was boarding the bus.

  “As ready as I can be.” Darcy replied.

  “Ali, how are you doing? You’ve had a lot to take in.”

  “To be honest, I feel like I’m in some Twilight Zone episode where I woke in some alternate universe.”

  “Yep, that sounds like my week so far.” Darcy agreed.

  “I guess I need to get used to it. Apparently there’s an active history I had no idea about.”

  The three boarded the bus, and Bud pointed the minibus towards Ford’s Mountain. They headed up Ford Mountain Road for a mile or so and then turned onto the Bog Road for a couple miles. Bud made another turn onto a private road and then down a long driveway that led to a large grey Victorian house and carriage house in a clearing. They drove just beyond the house and turned onto a field at the edge of a wooded area beside a footpath leading into the trees. Bud parked the bus and opened the door. Stella was first out followed by Sheila, and once again everyone followed. They followed the footpath into the woods. It was still light enough outside that it was easy to see even in the tree cover. About 300 yards in they passed the first large standing stone.

  As Darcy passed it, she felt a slight tingle, much like the sundial stone at the Grand. Another 300 ft in, they walked between two large stones situated about thirty feet apart. The tingle intensified.

  Darcy slowed down until she was beside Ali, then grabbed her arm to hold her back until Will was out of earshot. “It’s the stones!” She whispered to Ali.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I feel the tingle, like at the Grand with Eddie. That sundial stone must be from here. Look,” she said pointing to more stones that could be seen in the distance to the right. Up ahead they could see more standing stones, set much closer together in a circular pattern. “This was in my dream after that night with Eddie!” Will noticed their absence and turned around, waiting for them.

  “Everything okay?” He asked when they caught up to him.

  “Yeah, I just got a little freaked. The stones give off a tingle” Darcy said.

  “Yeah, I felt something, like the hair on my neck and arms standing up.” Will replied.

  “I’ve got nothing.” Ali added. “That’s weird.”

  They reached the clearing with a small circle of stones about twenty feet in diameter. Most of the stones stood at least 8 feet high or taller. The outer stones they had walked through were a lot bigger. Some of th
e stones in the inner circle had toppled into their neighbor.

  Mother O, Pearl and Sonny were already in the circle when everyone arrived, as were Temperance and Ruth. Stella nodded to them as she and Sheila guided the group into the inner circle where there was a large flat slab at the center. Darcy could see Ruth and Mother O conversing, looking as comfortable and natural as if they were having coffee at a kitchen table. Pearl and Sonny, stood off to the side a bit, looking like they’d rather be anywhere else.

  “Hello Opal.” Stella said with as cordial of a tone as she could muster, as she approached. Darcy, Ali and Will were right behind her. Darcy got the impression that Stella and Opal had been in a tussle or two before.

  “Hello Stella,” Mother O replied in the same icy, but cordial tone.

  “Let’s all try to get along, shall we?” Ruth added. “This is Temperance Martin Bishop.” she said to Stella and Opal, who replied with proper greetings. “And this is Stella Levasque Borden, and Opal Lowe.”

  Temperance seemed agitated at the mention of Mother O’s name, and stared at her for a time as if taking her measure. After a moment she added. “I knew an Opal Lowe in my time.”

  “Is Aunt Ruth here yet?” Ali asked, before Temperance could say anything more.

  “Yes, she and Temperance are both here.” Darcy took Ali and Will by the hand and walked over to Mother O, Ruth and Temperance.

  They walked over in time to hear Temperance say to them, “We must present a united front. I have no idea what the demands will be or what we’ll be up against. Any differences among us must be sorted out later.”

  “I’m sorry Aunt Ruth.” Ali said simply.

  “Save your sorries for something else. You had no idea, and that’s my fault. I thought I had more time. I should have started your training earlier.”

  “I promise to do my best.”

  “I know you will, dear. You were chosen for a good reason.”

  “We shall start in a few minutes. Stella will represent this side.” Temperance said.

  Darcy walked over to check on her dad who was standing among the rest of the attendees. “Where’s your buddy, Eddie?” Hank asked, apparently unfazed about standing in the woods in a circle of stones. Darcy wondered if that’s what he saw. He seemed normal. Looking around everyone seemed totally at ease.