3 Dark Energy (17 page)

“Suit yourself.”

Soon, Alex was behind the wheel of the police car driving Josephine to the hospital.

“Do you care to explain what this is all about?” he asked.

“I think the Valituras unleashed some sort of virus mutated by dark energy into the air. I’ve picked up on it several times but thought I was imagining it because the impression was gone so quickly and whenever I tried to scan for it, there was nothing,” Josephine said. “But I think the concentrations of dark energy is stronger now.”

“Why aren’t the curses gobbling up the stuff?” Alex asked.

“I don’t think they can access them because they’re free floating particles.”

“Why isn’t anyone sick if it’s everywhere?”

“I think everyone’s been infected and that it’s a slow-acting disease. It didn’t occur to me before but EVERYONE has been sneezing. It isn’t allergies,” Josephine hypothesized.

“I haven’t seen YOU sneeze.”

“I was but it stopped. No matter how virulent a sickness is, there are always those who become immune.”

“This is scary stuff.” Alex gripped the steering wheel in a viselike grip and his jaw clenched. “Are you sure about this?”

“It’s just a theory.”

“Who am I kidding? You’re always right.” Alex lapsed into a tense silence for a long moment. He heaved a burdened sigh. “How much time do we have?”

“I don’t know. The good news is that it’s a slow-acting virus so we’ll have plenty of time to figure this out.”

“No one’s going to figure out how to stop a plague created by dark magic,” Alex said.

“Before we jump to conclusions, we need some evidence. If I can find someone infected by a larger concentration, I’ll be able to confirm it with a scan.”

“Don’t you think the doctors would notice something like that?”

“There’s no equipment that can detect particle-sized dark energy,” Josephine explained.

When they arrived at the hospital, they made their way to the lobby and halted in the middle of the large room. The receptionist, a brown-haired woman in her twenties, noticed them and shot them a questioning look.

“Are you getting anything?” Alex asked.

“This may take awhile,” Josephine said. “I need to get closer to the patients.”

She stepped up to the counter and saw the name tag pinned to the woman’s shirt.

“Hi, Meg. I’m Josephine O’Connor, an enforcer and this is Detective Riley.” Josephine flashed her badge then pocketed it. “I’m going to need to search the building for a possible escaped convict.”

“Do we need to evacuate or anything?” Meg asked.

“No. I need you to stay calm. Don’t report this to anyone. I just need to be completely certain that this facility is clean and then I’ll be on my way,” Josephine said.

Meg set two visitor’s badges on the counter. Josephine and Alex both secured them to their shirts and stepped down the hallway. Josephine halted occasionally to perform a deep scan. By the time they reached the third floor, her head and body ached with fatigue and strain.

“Are you all right?” Alex regarded her with concern.

“I’m fine.”

“You look exhausted.”

Josephine threw him a reassuring look. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

She positioned herself near the wall and reached out with her hand to steady herself before activating her psychic receptors in another penetrating scan of her surroundings. Pain immediately flared up in her body but it was tolerable. The particles of dark energy were everywhere and it terrified her. After several seconds, she found a larger cluster and began walking towards the source. She stumbled as fatigue made her limbs weak and she almost fell flat on her face. Josephine caught herself and let go of the scan.

“I think this is too much,” Alex said.

“I sensed something up ahead. We have to keep going.”

“All right.” Alex’s expression was concerned as he stepped beside her down the hallway.

Josephine performed another deep scan for just a second to get her bearings on the dark energy. Pain flared up in her body and dizziness assaulted her sensed for several seconds. She finally stood in front of a closed door and knew that she’d reached her target. Josephine pulled out her badge and Alex did the same with his. She opened the door and found a man in his mid-forties seated in a small waiting room. He wore a blue tee shirt and jeans and had brown hair with flecks of gray mixed in. He did a double take when he realized his doctor hadn’t returned.

“I’m Enforcer O’Connor and this is Detective Riley. We need to ask you a few questions,” Josephine said in a crisp, businesslike tone.

“Okay.”

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Darryl Monroe,” he said with trepidation.

“You’re not in any trouble,” Josephine assured him. “I’m investigating a possible crime. Why have you come to the hospital today?”

“I’ve been sick for about a week. I thought it was the allergies but I’ve been getting light-headed and dizzy periodically and almost had an accident on the way to work this morning.”

“Did you think you had the allergies because you were sneezing a lot?” Josephine inquired.

“Yes, exactly.” Darryl regarded her with an expression of dread on his face. “Am I dying?”

“I really can’t say for sure. Did the doctor take a blood sample?” Josephine asked.

“Yes, I’m waiting for the results of the medical scan.”

Doctor Winslow arrived and Josephine introduced herself and Alex. She briefly explained the purpose of her visit.

“Mr. Monroe has a mutated version of the Whooping Cough,” Winslow explained. “I performed the scan twice just to be sure. I haven’t seen that virus in a long time. If it’s been mutated by dark energy, that would explain how it resurfaced again.”

“Have you been sneezing a lot?” Josephine asked.

“As far as I know, everyone has been suffering with allergies.”

“I suspect it’s not allergies.”

Winslow peered at her with dismay. “If that’s true,every single person may be infected. Everywhere. There’s no chance that we can quarantine this virus.”

“I think that was the intention. The Valituras must have released the virus over a month ago,” Josephine said.

“How did they do it without getting caught?” the doctor asked.

“It could have been introduced in stores and hotels in the ventilation system. Since no one showed symptoms until weeks afterwards, it would have been easy to infect people without drawing attention to themselves.”

“The whooping cough is very infectious. With just a few key locations in some major cities, it would have spread like wildfire. The first stage is sneezing and most people don’t realize what it is,” Winslow said.

“Because the virus was mutated by dark energy, it may attack its victims in an entirely different way than its original form,” Josephine advised.

“I didn’t even detect any dark energy. Are you sure about this?”

“Did you scan him for dark magic?” Josephine regarded the doctor with concern.

“Yes, that’s part of the standard protocol.”

“Have you tried using the treatment for Whooping Cough on this man?” Josephine asked.

“Not yet. I have it here.” Winslow held up the short, white wand in his hand.

It had a rune-like symbol etched on the top and near the handle to identify its purpose.

“Go ahead.”

Winslow’s patient was still seated so he pointed the wand and activated it. The magic wasn’t powerful enough to create visible light but Josephine could sense it. Winslow frowned as he kept the wand pointed for a long moment then stopped.

“I’m afraid it’s not working on the virus,” the doctor said.

Darryl’s face blanched. “Am I going to die?”

“It’s a very slow acting virus. There will be plenty of time for the hospital to find a cure,” Josephine said in a soothing tone.

Darryl didn’t look convinced and Josephine’s heart tugged with sympathy.

“We’ve seen some cases of this virus. No one’s become bedridden from it and we haven’t seen it become serious. There’s one patient who we came in a week ago and she’s perfectly healthy as of yesterday with just some sneezing. She’s staying at home so she doesn’t infect everyone but now we know it’s too late for that.”

“You might want to take a blood sample from me. I think I’m immune. I’m sure I had the virus up until a few days ago,” Josephine said.

Hope flared in the doctor’s eyes as he let her know he’d be right back for the sample. After Winslow had the blood he needed, Josephine explained that he might have an antidote in the hospital records in the form of a potion. Winslow was familiar with it and advised that there were some doses already made in standby because of the Valituras threat. Unfortunately, the potion didn’t seem to make any difference against the virus whatsoever. Josephine placed a call to Ben Nutter to explain what she’d learned.

“This is bad,” Ben said. “And I mean really bad. This is a pandemic. If it wasn’t for you, no one would know about this virus until it actually started killing people. I wonder what that potion was for that you discovered since it doesn’t work on the virus.”

“Maybe there was more than one virus released,” Josephine suggested.

“That’s just terrific,” Ben grumbled.

“If there’s a second virus, we don’t have to worry about it because we’ve already got the cure ready,” Josephine pointed out.

“That’s true.”

“I’m reporting this to the CDC. I’ll need you to file an additional report right away. Come back to the station,” Ben said.

“Will do.”

Chapter 19

Josephine found it difficult to concentrate with the looming threat of the mutated whooping cough virus hanging over her head. It had been two days since the discovery she’d made at the hospital. All of her friends and family had tested positive for the mutated virus dubbed DV-2 by health officials except for Mark and Helen who were immune because of their white magic. She worried that the second stage of the virus would be swift once it started. The staff at the CDC kept assuring the public that the virus was so slow to act that there would be plenty of time to find a cure. Josephine wasn’t so sure about that. The hospital and medical clinics were flooded with patients testing for DV-2. Josephine and Alex were in the police cruiser with Alex driving when Josephine’s cell phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID before answering. “Jake, please tell me you’ve got good news.”

“I do, actually. Alice finished another claro mentis with Lucius. He recovered a memory when he was in college. He had a girlfriend who liked to exchange messages to him in code. Two of the codes were used in the book. Apparently, the journal is divided up into twelve or more sections and as we speak, he’s decoding what he can and writing down the translation for us.”

“That’s great news! Alex and I will be right over,” Josephine said.

She told Alex and he drove over to her house, parking in the driveway. They joined Jake, Alice, Helen, Mark, and Lucius at the dining room table.

“What do we have so far?” Josephine asked.

“The third section of the book talks about the DV-2 virus and another one that is faster acting. The fast acting virus was the one that you found the potion antidote for so that’s why it was never released. Unfortunately, I never discovered the cure for the DV-2 virus. It was programmed to act slowly and target the alveolar sacs in the lungs. Most victims will begin to feel fatigue after they’ve had the disease for about three weeks but not realize anything is wrong until it worsens. As the infection progresses, the victim will have less and less ability to take in oxygen,” Lucius advised.

“It’s like suffocating,” Jake said.

“That’s terrible. Most people have been infected for at least two weeks already. We don’t have a lot of time like the CDC thought,” Josephine said.

Jake sneezed. “I haven’t felt overly tired.”

“I have,” Alice said.

Everyone turned to scrutinize her with expressions of concern.

“You look all right,” Helen said.

“I’m supposed to be immune to this stuff. Why am I sick?” Alice fixed Mark with a pointed look.

“We should ask Perry to examine you,” Mark replied.

Josephine turned to address Lucius. “What else did you learn from the journal?”

“The administrators for the Valituras are connected magically in two groups. There are only about a dozen council members who control everything. I apparently found out by spying on Frederic when he was visited by other team leaders and administrators. Only the administrators interact directly with the council members. If we were to capture one administrator, it would be a domino effect. The federal enforcers could catch all the leaders if they acted quickly.”

“That’s terrific news. Do you have any of the names in there?” Josephine asked.

“Yes but it’s in a different section.” Lucius leveled an apologetic gaze at her. “There are counter spells to some of the dark magic they have. I wrote them down for you.”

“Thanks.” Josephine accepted the papers from him and her lips curved in an appreciative smile. “I need to take these to the station but first, let’s chat with Perry about Alice.”

They ventured to the backyard where Perry was in the form of a white dove perched on one of the branches of a weeping willow tree. Perry gazed down at Josephine as she approached.

“We need to talk,” she said.

The bird didn’t react to her request. Jake and Alex exchanged bewildered looks.

“Are you sure that’s Perry?” Alex asked.

“I’m sure.”

Ever since his brush with death, he’d been subdued and distant from the others. He never strayed from the enchanted garden except to visit very briefly with them in the house. The dove jumped from the branch and flapped its wings to slow down its fall. It exploded in a bright white luminescent cloud as it changed into humanoid form. Instead of a shaved head, Perry now had curly brown hair and wore white pants with a loose-fitting white shirt. He was still seven feet tall with a solid, muscular frame. He had a blue friendship bracelet secured to his left wrist and a pink one on the right.

“Is something wrong?” His brown-eyed gaze conveyed dismay and fear.

Helen stepped closer and patted his arm in a reassuring gesture. “We’re wondering why Alice isn’t immune to the DVR.”

“Alice needs help programming the cable box?” Perry regarded her with confusion.

“She means the DV-2 virus,” Alice said.

“Oh, I see.” Perry turned to scrutinize her. “I’ll take a quick scan.” His eyes became distant for a moment and they waited for him to finish. His gaze snapped back into focus on Alice’s face. “You’re very similar to a light being now that you’ve been transformed with the praesentia infinitus enchantment. It needs source energy to function properly and you’re not getting an adequate supply.”

“Why not?” Alice asked.

“It’s your mindset. You often have a critical outlook on things and it tends to block out light energy.”

“Are you saying I’m negative?” Alice scowled with displeasure.

“Not exactly.” Perry took a small step away from her. “What you need is a boost. I recommend you start sleeping in the enchanted garden like Mark and Helen are doing.”

“Oh, no! I’m not camping out in Josephine’s backyard. I need modern comforts and a bed.”

“It won’t be forever. Maybe a few nights or so.”

“How long exactly will this take?” Alice demanded.

Perry hedged. “I’m not sure. It shouldn’t take long.”

“I really can’t do this.”

“For heavens sakes, Alice, you’re dying. Camping out in the backyard for a few nights isn’t going to kill you,” Josephine said.

“All right!” Alice exclaimed with exasperation. “I’ll do it!”

“It’ll be a piece of cake,” Josephine said.

“If it’s so easy, why don’t you do it?”

“There’s no reason for me to.”

“Sure there is,” Alice said in an innocent tone. “Don’t you want to spend more time with Mark?”

“I would but he’s asleep anyway so it doesn’t make a difference,” Josephine said smoothly. “Nice try, by the way.”

Alice shrugged and offered a teasing smile. “Well. I thought if I had to suffer, everyone should.”

Jake and Alex chuckled with amusement.

“We need to get to the station,” Josephine announced. “Alex, it’s your turn to stay with Lucius.”

“All right,” Alex agreed.

Josephine received a call from Ben on her cell as she and Jake traversed the garden at the side of her house towards the front.

“Josephine, I hate to tell you this but you’re losing custody of Lucius. The federal enforcers are on their way to your house now. They just left my office,” Ben said without preamble.

“I had hoped I could work with him. I just made a major discovery.”

“What did you find?”

Josephine let him know about the information that was decoded.

“That’s good news but we’ll have to turn that in. The Feds are taking over this case.”

“All right. I’ll stay put and tell Lucius.”

Josephine disconnected the call and let Jake know.

“That’s a shame,” Jake said.

When she broke the news to Lucius, he was clearly disappointed. They all gathered in the dining room to wait.

“Would you like something to eat before you go?” Josephine asked. “I baked some mint-chocolate brownies or there’s some Dutch apple pie leftover from last night.”

“Your baking is superb but I don’t want anything,” Lucius said.

Alice pulled out her cell phone. “This thing works as a video recorder. I’d like to interview you before you leave us. It would be something to remember you by.”

“Okay.” Lucius tossed his shoulders in a defeated shrug.

“Let me see if I can get this thing to work. I’ve never used it this way before,” Alice murmured. She tapped and pressed various buttons for several long moments. “Aha! There we go! I think.” Everyone watched her with faint amusement as she held up the phone on it’s side at an angle and peered intently at it. “Lucius, we’re all going to miss you. If you were to sum up your experience here in one word, what would it be?”

Lucius regarded her with a pensive frown as he thought about how to respond.

“We don’t have all day, you know,” Alice prompted.

“Epic.” He grinned at her with mirth.

“Hmm.” Alice set the camera on the table as she pinned him with an assessing look. “I get the feeling you’re pulling my leg.”

The doorbell rang and Josephine answered the door. Four enforcers dressed in black uniforms stood on her doorstep. The man in charge, Gordon Fischer, had blond hair and green eyes with a solid and muscular frame. He flashed his badge at her as he briefly introduced himself.

“I’m here to take Lucius into protective custody,” he announced.

“All right. Come inside,” Josephine said. “He’ll need to pack up.”

They gathered in the dining room and Lucius peered at them with wariness.

“We’re taking you someplace safe,” Gordon said.

“I’d prefer to stay here,” Lucius said.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.” Gordon’s expression didn’t convey sympathy. “Gather your possessions. It’s time to go.”

Lucius left the room and Alice leveled a hostile glare at the enforcer.

“Josephine was doing just fine before you barged in here and took over,” Alice said.

“She’s very capable but we have a team of experts who can help him regain his memories.” Gordon noticed the papers in Josephine’s hand. “I need all evidence that you have in your possession.”

“All right.” Josephine handed him the papers with reluctance. She hated to give them up because she knew he wouldn’t share any of his findings with her. “You may discover that you hit a roadblock with the case. Alice is an expert with this type of thing.”

“I’m sure Alice was an excellent psychiatrist but she’s retired now. She’s out of practice and her knowledge is outdated,” Gordon replied.

“Are you infected by the DV-2 virus?” Josephine asked.

“As far as we know, everyone is infected except for those with natural immunity. There’s no chance of quarantine. That’s why it’s so important that we discover the antidote as quickly as possible.”

“We were so close to making a breakthrough with Lucius. Is there any way you could hold off for a few days?” Josephine asked.

“Absolutely not,” Gordon said.

Lucius returned with his suitcase and Josephine threw him a reassuring smile.

“When this is all over, I’ll have you over for dinner. I make a killer lasagna,” she said.

“Everything you make is stellar,” he replied.

Josephine felt a cold knot form in the pit of her stomach as Gordon and the other three enforcers left with Lucius. She closed the door behind them and found that everyone had followed her.

“I’m sorry he couldn’t stay,” Alex said with sympathy.

“I think they’re making a terrible mistake,” Josephine said.

“We’ll solve the case some other way.” Jake leveled a reassuring look at her.

“It’s not our case anymore,” Alex pointed out.