Corruption (Grumpy Old Wizards Book 2) (26 page)

Josephine continued to change direction but there was only so much she could do to make herself a difficult target. She made an abrupt turn into Econo G Rentals. When she was halfway across the room, she realized the protective shield had allowed her to grasp the doorknob. She was unaccustomed to the restrictions of this protective enchantment so she’d failed to notice the inconsistent behavior. Josephine didn’t break her stride to think about it though. She burst into the hallway at the back knowing there was an exit because she’d seen it here before. She paused at the exit when she realized she hadn’t heard a peep from Lorcan. He didn’t bother to open doors quietly. She turned to gaze down the hallway and frowned as the quiet continued. Josephine reached out with her mind to sense his location. His privacy screen made it difficult and she couldn’t get a fix on him right away. After a moment, she sensed him just behind the exit door waiting for her. The impression lasted for only an instant and then it was gone. Josephine backed away from it until she was on the other end of the hallway.

She kept her awareness stretched out to find him again. Another couple moments passed before she caught just a wisp of his energy. He was no longer at the exit but he was outside nearby. She couldn’t tell where he was positioned anymore. Maybe he’d found a spot where he could cover both exits. Josephine slipped into one of the two offices. It had a small window and she peered outside. She could see a portion of the parking lot at the side of the building but nothing up front or in the back. Josephine kept her mind alert and tuned to the psychic energy around the vicinity as she slipped the cell phone from her pants pocket. She tried remembering who she’d seen at the station but everything had happened so fast she had no inkling who’d been knocked out. Josephine had five emergency contacts in case something major occurred and she believed her current situation qualified. The first three individuals didn’t pick up to her dismay. She tried the fourth which was Howie but he didn’t answer it. She flinched when she picked up Lorcan’s presence. He was circling the building but the impression had been so brief she had no idea where he was.

Suddenly, the front door crashed and Josephine rushed over to the door. She hesitated briefly with indecision before she closed the office door very quietly and locked it. Josephine crossed the room and unlocked the window. When she tried to push it open, it stuck. She pushed harder but it wouldn’t budge. She leaned over so she would be able to push with more of her weight but her shield was no longer permeable with the edge of the window and she couldn’t press past the threshold to even touch it anymore. Josephine wanted to shout with frustration and wondered if perhaps there was a price to pay with both white magic and black magic. The office door broke in half and splintered wood shot into the room to reveal Lorcan. He emerged with both wands and unleashed a sustained blast against Josephine. He positioned himself in front of the doorway so she wouldn’t be able to slip past him.

Josephine was amazed that the white sparkling sphere of energy still shone strong around her. She turned to the window and tried to open it but the shield pressed against the threshold so that her hand was blocked from accessing it. She sat down and leaned her back against the wall. She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t see Lorcan’s furious assaults. She forced herself to relax and allow her mind to wander. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t alert since there was no chance of escape at the moment. Her only choice was to regain her composure so she could think clearly and hope for an epiphany. For some reason, this course of action enraged Lorcan.

“I’m going to kill you,” Lorcan vowed.

“Whatever, Toadstool,” Josephine taunted.

“There’s no way your shield can protect you for much longer.”

More flashes of green light flickered behind Josephine’s closed eyelids. She wondered if white magic was so potent that no matter what Lorcan threw at her, it would remain active for days. She opened her eyes and laughed with amusement in spite of her dire circumstances. Lorcan shouted and in a fit of rage blasted both of the desks which collapsed. Loose papers scattered across the floor and the computers toppled over. He shot the desks repeatedly until all that remained were piles of broken wood.

“This is a lot of fun, Toadstool. What would you like to do later?” Josephine asked.

Lorcan shoved his wands into his satchel and glared at her for a long moment.

“What’s going through that walnut-sized brain of yours?” Josephine smirked.

Lorcan’s face broke out into a nasty smile that sent a shiver of apprehension down Josephine’s spine. He took his smaller satchel and dumped the remaining four stones into his hand.

“You can’t destroy these rocks while your inside that stupid little bubble,” Lorcan said.

Josephine’s gaze fixed on the rocks as he tossed them in the air towards her and activated the knockout cloud. She froze with indecision as the rocks settled on the carpeting in front of her. There was a chance she could remove the pendant from her neck and use telekinesis to break the rocks. An instant later, she knew it was too late. A red mist gushed out of the rocks and raced across the floor towards her. Lorcan retreated from the room and Josephine stepped onto the window sill to avoid the knockout spell. A moment later she heard the front door crash as he vacated the building. The window sill was so tiny that only the heels of her feet could fit. Josephine tried not to move as the crimson smoke slowly inched higher. As she stared at the swirling red vapor, she realized it was foolish to stand here. It was inevitable that the knockout cloud would reach her and she’d lose consciousness. It would be a bad fall and she’d be lucky if she didn’t sprain or break an arm or a leg.

Josephine willed herself to step down while she could but that would be giving up. She lifted her left foot and tried to smash it against the window but her shield wouldn’t move and blocked her from it. Josephine slipped and fell. She managed to keep her footing and stood in stunned silence as the crimson vapor swirled around her, but it couldn’t reach past the protective sphere. She heaved a sigh of relief and left the room. She slowed her pace as she traversed the hallway as she couldn’t see beyond the red mist. When Josephine exited the building, red vapor billowed outside and formed an expanding layer on the ground. Lorcan stood nearby and he gaped at her with astonishment.

“Hello again, Toadstool.” Josephine flashed a triumphant smile at him as she held the door open and stepped to the side.

Without warning, her shield shrank back to the edge of her hand so that she could no longer grasp the handle. But she’d anticipated this type of behavior from her temperamental protection and had positioned herself so she was standing directly in front of the door. It rested against her shield and she leaned back until it was wide open again. The red roiling mist that had formed a layer over the ground continued to expand but not as quickly as it did inside the building since there was a lot more space out here. This gave Lorcan time to run away in a panic. Josephine wished she could run after him but then the door would close and she’d be back to square one with no protection again.

Chapter 23

Josephine, Mark and Jake were seated at the dining room table with the large glistening chandelier lending a cheery light to the room. They had plates of steaming lasagna situated in front of them. After her encounter with Lorcan earlier today, Josephine was immensely relieved to be safe at her house. Her desire to catch Lorcan was so strong, she could barely think about anything else. Baking this meal had been a welcome distraction, but thoughts of the dark wizard kept coming back to her. Earlier this evening, Josephine had supplied Mark with a couple dozen of Arabella’s protection amulets and several teleportation enchantments. He had protested but in the end she’d talked him into accepting the gifts. After all, he was the only one who could actually use them.

“This is delicious,” Jake complimented her after he’d taken his first bite of the lasagna.

“Thanks, sweetie,” Josephine said in a distracted tone. She still hadn’t touched her own piece yet. “Do you think Lorcan has many more weapons that he hasn’t used yet?”

“I think he has a lot more,” Mark surmised.

“I wish I could find out where he’s staying.”

“Practically the entire department is working on this case. We’ll track him down,” Jake said confidently.

“We can’t be so sure of that. He’s very good at hiding,” Josephine said.

“Every time he leaves the house, he has to use a glamour to keep from being recognized. Glamours are notoriously unreliable. His face is plastered all over and his picture is shown repeatedly on every major television network. He’ll definitely be spotted,” Jake said.

Her grandson’s argument didn’t reassure her. Lorcan was like a cornered animal so he was beyond rational thought and would strike again soon. She wished Alice and Helen would stay with her but Helen refused to sleep in a cursed house and Alice didn’t want to leave her alone. Josephine had only just taken her first bite of her meal when someone knocked at the door. Her mood became stormy when she left the room to answer it knowing that the uninvited guest was probably a solicitor. Josephine was tempted to prepare a jinx. She could whip up a simple one on the fly since she was connected to the vortex in her home. She discarded this impulse and was surprised to find a handsome, dark-haired man in his forties wearing expensive but casual clothes. The woman standing beside him had coal-black hair secured in a pony tail and she also wore expensive attire without being flashy. Josephine almost immediately realized they must be relatives of Mark.

“I’m Josephine O’Connor. It’s good to finally meet you, Mr. Freeman,” she said just as the man opened his mouth to speak.

Startled, he froze for an instant, which gave him a funny look as his mouth remained open.

He recovered swiftly and adopted a polite expression on his face. “I’m Cyril, Mark’s father and this is Maggie, his sister. We need to talk.”

“You wish to discuss something important with me?” Josephine asked.

“Not with you – with Mark.” A hint of impatience crept in Cyril’s voice.

“I suppose it’s safe to let you inside but I’ll need Mark’s permission first,” Josephine said.

Mark emerged in the foyer, a resigned expression marred his face when he saw the visitors.

“I need to speak with you, young man,” Cyril said in a disapproving tone.

“You came all the way from Seattle just to have a discussion with him?” Josephine asked.

“That’s correct,” Cyril bit out.

Josephine threw a questioning look at Mark and he expelled a sharp breath of dismay.

“We might as well get this over with,” Mark said.

Josephine had already scanned his family members to make sure they didn’t carry dark magic or glamours. All she needed was to invite a couple of Valituras agents inside her home. They gathered in the living room and settled on two of the couches there. Jake joined them and sat beside Josephine with Mark situated on her other side. Cyril and Maggie perched on the couch facing them.

“This is a private matter,” Cyril advised.

“That’s all right. This is my new family.” Mark cast a defiant look at his father.

“Very well then.” Cyril’s restrained façade gave way to annoyance and reprisal. “I’m very disappointed in you. Maggie discovered that you’ve chosen to become a white magic practitioner. How could you do such a thing?”

“It happened by accident. I wasn’t aware of it until just recently.”

“Now that you know, it’s time to reject it,” Cyril ordered.

“I’ve decided that white magic suits my lifestyle better than mainstream magic.”

“I’ve never been happy about your choice to waste time and energy with all those restoration enchantments and now I see I was too lenient with you when you were growing up. I should have put my foot down a long time ago.”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference and it’s too late now. I have my own life to live.” Mark leveled an obstinate look at his father.

“You’re barely an adult and you have the Freeman legacy to uphold.”

“I have plenty of cousins who will carry on the family name. And there’s also my perfect sister here.”

Cyril’s jaw clenched with frustration. “You can’t do anything with white magic!”

“It saved my life,” Josephine interjected. “You wouldn’t believe how much force Mark’s pendant withstood and it never fizzled out. I’ve never seen any protection so strong.”

“You couldn’t fire back though. It made you a sitting duck.”

“I’d run out of my own protection. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for white magic,” Josephine said.

Cyril’s hostile expression turned thoughtful. “Is it true that the two of you are dating?”

“Yes, we are.”

Cyril turned to address Mark again and pinned him with an annoyed gaze.

“At least you’ve done one thing right. If you ever marry her, we’ll have another six in the family. I suppose I’ll have to reconsider my decision to revoke your privileges to the family estates.”

“You were going to deny me the right to access the library and the vault?” Mark eyed his father with incredulous disbelief.

“Of course. Surely you must have known,” Cyril said. “But as long as you’re dating Josephine, I’ll allow you to continue your inferior choice in magic.”

“What’s so special about your family library anyway?” Josephine couldn’t restrain her curiosity.

“We can’t discuss it with you now. We’re bound by a potent enchantment that ensures secrecy,” Cyril advised.

“It sounds like you plan on telling me later. What’s going to change?” Josephine asked.

“When you marry my son, you will become part of the family.”

Josephine was struck speechless at this shocking statement.

“All of the Freeman’s undergo a life-long spell that prevents us from revealing any of our family secrets,” Mark explained.

“I see.” Josephine was still reeling over the marriage remark. She decided to let that subject go.

“Dad, I think you should reconsider. This is white magic we’re talking about! Mark’s forsaken our family name! Virtually all of our spells are beyond his ability now!” Maggie said with passionate fervor.

“He’s only a category four. He would never be able to master our advanced spells. I should have realized something was wrong when he was able to make those antidotes for Nathan so well. Those enchantments were far beyond his ability without years of practice first. I’m partly to blame for not recognizing this weakness and stamping it out when I could,” Cyril said.

“There are plenty of fours in our family,” Maggie argued. “You don’t see THEM wasting their lives.”

“But they’re limited with only a handful of advanced enchantments anyway. There’s not much of a difference.”

“But it’s against the rules!” Maggie’s eyes blazed with fury and indignation. “I can’t allow this!”

“I’m the clan leader – not you,” Cyril said.

“Do you think you might change that rule about white magic?” Mark asked hopefully.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath.” Cyril cast another disappointed look at his son.

“Don’t you think the ability to create antidotes for curses is valuable?” Josephine chimed in as she wanted to emphasize that Mark’s contributions were worthwhile and important.

“Not particularly since there is only a slight chance that any curse is reversed no matter how strong the antidote is,” Cyril replied.

“The praesentia infinitus is extremely effective,” Josephine argued.

Cyril’s expression turned scandalized. “That’s not a cure. It’s a death sentence.”

“I disagree.” Josephine felt shaken by his words as they closely mirrored her own fears. She could see why Mark and Nathan avoided their family. “And I was wondering how Maggie found out Mark was a white magic practitioner. She must have been spying on him. Is this the type of behavior you encourage, Cyril?”

“She was just protecting our legacy. I commend her for her diligence in this matter,” he said.

Josephine was nauseated by Cyril’s attitude. She opened her mouth to argue but her phone chimed which indicated a text message. Josephine frowned with puzzlement as she pulled her cell out to read it. Adrenaline pumped through her body as the message came up from the Florida State AMDS advising her that one or more dark energy devices had been detected near the Siesta Key beach.

“It looks like Lorcan’s making his move.” Josephine tucked the phone back into her pants pocket. She rushed to the foyer and halted when she realized Mark and Jake had followed her. “I’m going alone. This is OC enforcer business.”

“It’s also a police matter,” Jake said with the utmost conviction.

Josephine glared at Mark. “YOU are staying.”

“I love you, Josephine. I’m going.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m practically invincible when my protection is active.” Mark activated one of the protection pendants and a radiant bubble of white light flared into existence around him.

“All right! I don’t have time to argue! Lorcan could be ending the world or something for all we know,” Josephine said with exasperation.

She threw open the door just as Maggie and Cyril emerged in the foyer.

“We will accompany you,” Cyril said imperiously.

Josephine rolled her eyes with exasperation and they rushed outside in the dark. It was well after nightfall but still humid and hot. They boarded Josephine’s car and she drove them over to the beach. She tapped into the power vortex and stretched her awareness over the area. She located Lorcan almost immediately. As the group left the car behind, they activated their protection enchantments. It took a few minutes for them to run over to the spot where the dark wizard waited. Josephine was far ahead of the rest of the group by the time Lorcan was in sight. Lorcan held a large stone tablet with engraved runes that glowed an eerie crimson.

“Stop right there or I’ll kill everyone in Florida,” Lorcan snarled.

Josephine halted but couldn’t believe such a devastating weapon existed. She decided it would be prudent to err on the side of caution in this instance considering the crazed expression on Lorcan’s face.

“You don’t have to do this,” Josephine said.

“Are you willing to sacrifice yourself to me?”

“Yes.” Josephine took a step closer and deactivated her protective pendants.

Lorcan laughed boisterously and the runes on the tablet shone brighter, casting a disturbing shade of red over his face.

“What’s so funny?” Josephine asked.

“You’re going to die anyway. This curse is unstoppable and will send a shockwave that will stop the hearts of everyone here as well as a quarter of the country.” Lorcan tossed the stone tablet which floated languidly towards the edge of the vortex. It became visible as an enormous swirling matrix of blue and green. Josephine brought her protection back up as she aimed her wand at the tablet and tried to pull it away from the vortex. Unfortunately, her wand had absolutely no effect on the device. It continued to drift closer to its target. Angry swirls of red began to appear within the vortex.

“It’s programmed to withstand any attack once it’s activated,” Lorcan said.

With her expanded awareness, Josephine perceived a connection of power between the weapon and the vortex. She tried to sever the link but it was secure. The stone tablet was only seconds away from its target now. More of the angry crimson energy erupted from the vortex, swiftly becoming the dominant color. Maggie, Mark, Jake and Cyril struggled with telekinetic spells to yank the stone tablet towards them but nothing made a difference. The vortex was comprised entirely of volatile red energy that churned restlessly as a dark spell began to coalesce. A short distance behind Lorcan, Ellasbeth and Samantha materialized as their invisibility spell dropped away. They both wore elegant white dresses. Ellasbeth brandished a large white wand with a large crystal on the end while Samantha wielded a large gold chalice with intricate designs woven into the handles and across the surface. Ellasbeth pointed her wand and a ball of sparkling white light gathered at the tip and launched itself into the air. It reminded Josephine of a shooting star as it soared past Lorcan and struck the tablet, engulfing it in a tight cocoon of sparkling white light. The vortex began to revert back to its normal state and the runes in the stone device went dark.