Body Bags & Blarney (26 page)

Vivienne
decided at that moment that the simplest solutions sometimes yielded the best results.
She lunged off the ground and knocked herself into the sorcerer with all her
might. He whirled around to face her, raising the dagger to stab her in the
chest. She clawed at his face in a frenzy, scratching at him with her
fingernails. As her hands flew down his neck, she got them caught on the chain
holding the talisman. As she pulled back to brace for a return blow, the chain
snapped and the heavy pentagram talisman dropped to the ground between their
feet.

The sorcerer
lunged instantly for his prized item, swiping at her with the dagger. It missed
her face but sliced across the upper right arm of her winter jacket, tearing a
hole and getting the teeth caught in the fabric.

She gave a
swift kick right into his groin area with all her might. Another swift kick to
his left knee sent him stumbling backwards toward the circle, allowing her to
snag the precious talisman.
 

There was an
explosion of crimson-red sparks as the sorcerer lost his footing and teetered
just on the very edge of the perimeter flanked by the ebony candles. Vivienne
knew that to cross a magical circle, especially in the throes of a powerful
ritual, was a very dangerous thing indeed. Unlike the safety of the window he
had cut with the dagger to pass items through the barrier, his clumsy movements
had compromised the magic forces brewing within. The right heel of his boot
scuffed just over the edge of the circle in the snow.

The Elemental
grabbed hold of his arm and suddenly lurched him into the air.

 
“What are you doing?” The sorcerer screamed
out in frustration. “We had a deal. You cannot back out of the terms.”

“You had a
deal with the darkness.” Seamus Kilpatrick shook his head. “Not with me.”

Vivienne
crawled up from the ground. “Seamus?” She asked.

When he looked
at her, she could see the spark of life once more in his eyes. “I cannot keep
the darkness away for long.”

“Throw me the
wand and the scroll.” Vivienne pleaded. “We must work quickly.”

The sorcerer
squirmed and kicked. He began chanting some sort of incantation that caused the
crimson flames on the candles around the circle to flare up twice their height
in response.

“Hurry.”
Vivienne screamed.

Seamus
Kilpatrick grabbed the clenched fist of the sorcerer who held tight to the
items in his hand. “Give them to me.”

“Never, preacher
man.” The sorcerer hissed back.

Seamus walked
awkwardly over toward Vivienne from the center of the circle. His movements
were stiff, almost mechanical. “The Elemental is regaining control of my body.”
Seamus warned.

“Swing him
around toward me.” Vivienne stood ready at the edge of the circle.

He did as she
asked and the sorcerer tried to pull his arm back toward his body to avoid
passing the wand and scroll through the barrier where she could get them. “I
can’t hang on much longer.” Seamus warned. “It is my destiny to drive away this
evil. Let them know I am not this evil man who has deceived them.”

“I will.”
Vivienne promised. She reached carefully at the edge of the circle and managed
to get ahold of the tip of the wand as it passed through with another explosion
of crimson sparks. “Pull his fingers loose.” Vivienne shouted. “I’ve almost got
them.”

The sorcerer
cried out in pain as his grip loosened on the items. The wand came free, but
the scroll dropped to the ground inside the circle.

“The scroll.”
She cried out in frustration.

The sorcerer
looked directly at her and smiled. “So close and yet so far.”

The Elemental
once more regained control of Seamus’ body. With swift movement, it released
the sorcerer from its grip. “The time is at hand. The gateway must be opened.”

The sorcerer
pointed to Vivienne. “She has disrupted your sacred circle. You must kill her.
The sacrifice must be made.”

‘We will not
be locked out of this world.” The Elemental bellowed angrily.

“She is going
to close the gateway.” The bald headed man yelled. “Do it now.”

There was a
great cracking sound from out on the lake. Where the waterspout danced across
the water, the surface froze into solid ice instantly. It almost became a blur
as it changed direction and darted back and forth with astounding speed. When
it was done, Vivienne could clearly make out a gigantic ice-sculpted pentagram
floating on the surface of the frigid water. It was easily a hundred feet in
diameter and glowed softly with the same crimson color of the candle flames on
shore.

Vivienne held
tight to her wand and aimed it at the both of them. She did not have the spell
sent from the Elders. She had something even more powerful. Hope for the
future. Hope for the people she loved and cared about. But most importantly,
hope that she was capable of fighting back against the darkness. As she closed
her eyes in concentration, she could see their future home on the lake that
Joshua had mentioned earlier. She was rocking gently on the porch, watching the
fireflies that the children were trying to catch on the lawn. She could hear
the laughter over the gentle sounds of the waves lapping against the wooden
dock. It was a future she wanted more than anything. A future worth fighting
for.

The wand grew
warm in her grip. As she opened her eyes, she felt light-headed as all the
magical energy stored within her body was channeled into the wand and stood
ready for her command to release it. “For us.” She shouted and with a quick
motion stabbed the wand forward.

A blast of
energy, glowing greenish-yellow just like the fireflies in her vision, leapt
forward and blasted the Elemental and the sorcerer up into the air where they
spun wildly around and around before landing on the floating ice pentagram.

From up above,
the clouds roared with thunder. She could see the stars as the eye of the storm
lined up perfectly over the two figures now stranded out in the middle of the
lake. There was a moment of absolute silence as the wind and snow ceased.
Vivienne held her breath and watched from the shoreline.

The
ice-pentagram cracked and began to shatter into pieces. The figure of the
Elemental and the sorcerer flailed about wildly as the ice rocked back and
forth on the choppy water. Piece by piece it continued to break up until she
saw both of them tumble into the dark water and disappear beneath the surface.

Overhead, the
eye of the storm collapsed and once more hid the stars from view. The wind
returned, as did the snow, but it was nowhere as fierce as it had been. She
continued to watch the water where they had stood atop the ice only moments
earlier. The chunks of ice began to swirl and float about in the lake current,
dissolving into chaos. Chaos, Vivienne shuddered. No doubt where the Elemental
had dragged the sorcerer as it was forced back to its home place of existence.
As for the fate of Seamus Kilpatrick, she could only hope that wherever he was,
he found the eternal mercy he had long preached to his congregations about. He
may not have been perfect, but in the end he had chosen to do the right thing.
That had to count for something.

With the evil
circle now void, Vivienne collected the ebony candles that had been snuffed
out. She put them into her backpack along with the pentagram talisman that the
sorcerer had used to protect himself. They would be given to Octavia to store
safely away with the Elder Council where no sorcerers could ever reach them
again.

She almost
stepped on the flash scroll that remained inside the former circle as she
cleaned up the scene. It remained intact, still sealed. She wondered what
arcane magic it contained, but thought it best not to open it after all the
magical energy that had been released during the confrontation.

After a long
trek through the deep snow that had blanketed the town, Vivienne was never so
happy to return to light and warmth again. Once she changed out of her damp
clothes and settled on the sofa with a thick blanket and a mug of hot cocoa,
she and Octavia could at last sit back and watch the snow fall like ordinary
people. With two cats curled upon her lap, she explained what had happened to
Octavia without omitting a single detail.

“You were
armed with the most powerful item a witch has in her tool collection.” Octavia
smiled.

“The wand
worked perfectly.” Vivienne agreed. “Thank you so much for helping me craft it.

“No.” Octavia
corrected. “The belief that you could stand up to the threat without any help
from the Elder Council. The belief in your magic and your ability as a witch.”

“I couldn’t
have done any of it without you or Nana Mary.” Vivienne took another sip of her
hot cocoa. The sweet milk-chocolate flavor soothed her throat. “So what do you
suppose the flash scroll the Elder Council sent had on it?”

Octavia
cleared her throat. “Well, about that.” She squirmed a little on the sofa.
“That didn’t come from them.”

“Then who sent
it?”

Octavia raised
her right hand. “Guilty.”

“What?”
Vivienne’s jaw dropped.

“This was your
test, Vivienne. Your battle to prove that you are ready to advance to the next
level in the craft.”

“So what
exactly was on the scroll?” Vivienne pressed.

“I’m glad you
asked.” Octavia reached over to the end table and grabbed it. “Open it.”

 
Vivienne unrolled it as a flash of sparkling
gold lights leapt off the paper. The words ‘believe in yourself’ flashed before
her eyes and then disappeared.

“The Elder
Council could never take the chance of sending a powerful spell so close to a
sorcerer.” Octavia explained. “It was my job to see that you were prepared to
face this crisis on your own and you did.”

“But what if I
had failed?”

Octavia rolled
her eyes. “Then none of us would be sitting here right now, child.”

Tommy and
Sammy both meowed in protest.

Vivienne
reached out and petted them both on the heads. “Then I’m glad I was up to the
task.”

“I heard some howls
not too far away while you were out saving the town. Sounds like Joshua and
Hunter were having a good time in the snow.”

“Well at least
someone was.” Vivienne smiled.

Octavia
glanced out the window where the snow was now just some flurries blowing in the
night wind. “I think the worst of it is over.”

“Are you
talking about the storms or the danger to Cayuga Cove?”

“Both, I
hope.” Octavia answered. “But only time will tell.”

Vivienne
sighed. “I can’t spend my life worrying about what might happen. I need to just
embrace the present and be thankful that I’m part of it every day.”

“Sounds like
sage advice to me.” Octavia agreed. “Now how about some shamrock cookies from
the Sweet Dreams Bakery?”

Vivienne
smiled. “You bought some at the carnival?”

“Of course.”
Octavia pulled herself up from the sofa and walked toward the kitchen. “I only
buy the best.”

“Sounds
perfect.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

Two days after what the media christened
the ‘Super Storm Saint Patrick’, the bodies of Seamus Kilpatrick and an
unidentified John Doe were found in the waters of Cayuga Lake. The story of how
they got there was the work of a suggestion spell that Octavia and Vivienne had
brewed together to ensure that Seamus did not die in vain. Only this time, it
was only targeted at one individual.

When Alexis Warner had awoken from her coma
shortly after the two had been found drowned in the lake, she recalled a sordid
tale about Johnny Guido and his jewel theft operation. When pressed for
details, she only could recall him as a troubled soul who longed to make a name
for himself, often at the price of others. Thanks to the spell, her memory of
Seamus’ role had been altered slightly. He was now remembered as a hero who
happened upon the vicious attack by the henchman Johnny had hired to do his
dirty work in town. The resulting battle had ended with both men meeting their
doom, but one regaining his soul in the process. Eunice would embellish and
trump up Seamus’ role in saving the town to anyone who would listen, but this
time everyone let her do it. It seemed the right thing to do.

*
           
*
           
*

Nearly four months later, as the first
summer heat descended upon the town, the long and cold winter was but a distant
memory. The wine trail tour buses now discharged their hordes of tourists,
eager to eat a hearty lunch and buy some charming mementos of their Finger
Lakes vacation as they wandered about.

Kathy and Hunter had advanced from casual
dating to something more settled thanks to Joshua relinquishing his bachelor pad
to his brother. Hunter became a permanent resident of Cayuga Cove after Easter,
much to Kathy’s delight, which resulted in many double dates with the two
couples. Of course, Friday night trivia at Slate’s Pub and Grill proved to be
the most popular as their team held the current record for their amazing five
week winning streak during the month of May.

As schools released their students for the
summer in June, the two dating couples had now added miniature golf to their
leisure activities. Both Joshua and Hunter competed fiercely to see who could
come in the most under par while navigating obstacles like miniature windmill
blades, rotating clown heads, and the infamous double loop. Neither Vivienne
nor Kathy really cared for the score. It was all about the hot 18
^th
hole fudge ice cream sundaes afterwards.
  

 
“When are the fireworks supposed to start?”
Nora asked as she sat in the folding camp chair with a glass of iced tea in her
hand.

“The newspaper said around nine.” Nana Mary
replied from her chair next to Nora. “Do you have a hot date or something?” She
teased.

“Mother.” Nora waved her hands at her. “I
was just asking an innocent question.” She looked around at the other families
and couples gathered at the community park that lined the shore of the lake.
“Everyone is probably asking the same thing.”

“Is there any more of my potato salad
left?” Nana Mary asked Vivienne.

Vivienne leaned over from her comfy spot on
the blanket they had spread out for the Fourth of July picnic and opened the
cooler near her. “I think so.”

“I don’t want any right now.” Nana Mary
smiled. “I just wanted to make sure that there was some for me to take back to
Carmen.”

“When is she leaving?” Vivienne asked. She
had been glad to find out that her husband had finally landed a stable job in
the home office of the gas company he worked for. With the salary increase and
stability of having her family home every night for dinner, Carmen would be
able to quit her aide position at Whispering Oaks and start nursing school at
the community college in the fall.

“Her last day is Sunday.” Nana Mary smiled.
“I promised her I’d give her a taste of my famous loaded potato salad before
she left.”

“She deserves a happy ending.” Vivienne
agreed. “Especially after having to work with that horrible Mr. Albertson as
her boss.”

“Oh, he doesn’t work there anymore. Did I
forget to mention that?” Nana Mara smiled broadly.

“What happened?” Vivienne asked in
surprise.

“Well, it turns out one of the pretty girls
he got too familiar with during working hours happened to be planted by a very
shrewd private investigator hired by a certain someone who lives in the
building. Faced with some rather unflattering audio and video recordings, he
thought it best to resign and move out of town.” Nana Mary smiled proudly.

“Mother?” Nora was shocked. “You paid for
that?”

“It was the best two hundred dollars I ever
spent.” Nana Mary laughed and turned toward Joshua. “Be sure to thank your
brother again for me.”

“I will.” Joshua laughed. “I told him that he
should open a private investigator business here in town, but he said he didn’t
want to compete with the best one.” He pointed at Vivienne.

“I’m sticking to baking cakes, cookies, and
pies.” Vivienne protested. “He has my blessing to open his own office.”

“I’m sure there’d be a line out the door
with some of the secrets the folks in this town are keeping.” Nana Mary winked.

Joshua sat up from the blanket. “Is there
any of that pistachio fruit salad in the cooler? You mentioning all those sweet
things just made me hungry again.”

Vivienne raised an eyebrow at him. “I
thought you ate it all?”

“No. I put what was left back in the
cooler.” He smiled back at her. “It’s in one of those little red containers.”

Vivienne pushed aside some of the blue ice
packs that were keeping everything nice and cold in the July heat. “It’s
getting hard to see without a light.” She pulled out a small red container. “Is
this it?”

“Can you open it and check for sure?” He
asked.

“By all means, dearest.” Vivienne teased
and pulled the top open. “Here you…” She stopped in mid-sentence as she popped
the lid and looked inside.

“What’s wrong?” Nora asked. “Did it go
bad?”

Vivienne pulled out a small box with the
Meeker Jewelers logo clearly visible. She held it out for everyone to see.

“It’s perfect.” Joshua crawled up onto one
knee and took the box gently from her. He opened it slowly to reveal a stunning
diamond ring. “Vivienne Finch, you know that I love you more than words can
ever say.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “I love you
too.” She stammered.

“I don’t believe it.” Nora squealed with
delight.

“Hush up and let him finish.” Nana Mary
swatted at her.

He took the ring out of the box and held it
before her. “I’m asking for you to do me the honor of creating a life together.
To sit on that big old porch and watch the sunsets across the lake.” He locked
his steel-blue eyes onto hers. “Will you marry me?”

Before she could speak, several fireworks
launched upwards into the air and exploded with bright colors to signal the
start of the celebration. “Oh, Joshua.” She could barely get the words to leave
her mouth.

He smiled at her. “What do you say?”

She looked at him and paused for a moment
as several more fireworks exploded and the crowd cheered with delight.

“Say yes!” Nora exclaimed.

Vivienne stared down at the diamond
solitaire ring, the pyrotechnic display in the sky above them reflected in the
facets of the gem. The future was waiting for her. The house on the lake. The
rocking chairs. The fireflies. But was she ready? She took a deep breath and
prepared to give the most honest answer of her life.

[Fluffer Nutter]