Читать книгу Legacy: Phoenix and the Dark Star - Gerald Pruett - Страница 6
ОглавлениеChapter Two
Andie had remained with Ellen’s group, and as the evening progressed, Ellen would ask Andie things to get to know her, and to get her involved in the conversation.
During their conversation, Ellen learned that Andie and Robin attended a private school. Ellen also learned that Andie and Robin’s parents were both research doctors for a local facility.
Everett saw in Ellen’s eyes that Ellen wasn’t happy when Andie shared that test animals were being used at the research facility. Ellen took a calming breath before saying, “I’ll keep that little tidbit away from my uncle.”
Ellen saw a confused look on Andie’s face as Karla asked, “Your uncle would have a problem with animals being used for research?”
“Mmm,” Ellen let out with an agreeing grin. “In fact, over twenty years ago, he was an animal rights activist. About twenty years ago, he went to prison for several years for breaking into a lab, releasing the animals and assaulting police and security officers.”
“And how much do you take after your uncle?” Everett questioned in a slightly worried tone.
Ellen amusingly grinned before shrugging and saying, “I don’t know, but I won’t be breaking into labs and releasing lab animals… or anything worse. In fact, the only thing that I would do is sign a petition if one comes my way.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” Everett told her with a grin.
Ellen nodded with a grin before continuing on with a different topic.
Across town, Winona—instead of being out hunting vampires—was at a local hospital while waiting patiently for her Great Aunt Bonnie’s test results. She, Riley and Brad had been waiting in the waiting room for over two hours after they had rushed Bonnie to the hospital with severe chest pains.
Ellen and her group stayed at the party until 10:00 P.M. Allen was the one who drove his group to the party, and he was the one who was to drive everyone home.
Ellen got out with Everett in front of Everett’s house and then assured Allen that she will find her own way home after she speaks with Everett’s mom.
Karla was in the front passenger seat while Jessica and Simon were in the backseats, and as Allen drove away, Ellen and Everett entered Everett’s house.
Everett’s dad was in the living room while watching the late night news when Ellen and Everett entered the room.
“Hi, Mr. Delaney,” Ellen said when he looked her way.
Lance glanced at his watch before saying, “Ellen, I thought that you were going straight home after the party.”
“I have a question for Mrs. Delaney,” Ellen explained. “She hasn’t left for work yet, has she?”
“She’s preparing for work now,” Lance said as Everett’s ten-year-old sister—while wearing pajamas—stepped into the room.
When everyone turned to look, Megan waved while saying, “Hey, Ellen.”
“Hey, Megan,” Ellen replied. “How much candy did you get trick-or-treating?”
“Lots…” Megan was only able to get out.
“Megan, you’re supposed to be in bed,” Lance pointed out. “You… all of you, in fact, do have school tomorrow.”
“I wanted to say ‘hi’ to Ellen,” Megan said. “And now I’m going back to bed.”
“Goodnight,” Ellen said before Megan could step away.
“Goodnight,” Megan echoed followed by Lance and Everett.
Before Megan could leave the room, Kristen stepped in while wearing her nurse’s uniform.
“Goodnight, Mom,” Megan told Kristen before Kristen could say anything to her for being out of bed.
“Again, goodnight, sweetie,” Kristen told Megan before facing Ellen. As Megan was leaving the room, Kristen asked, “Is Allyson or Harris coming to get you, Ellen?”
“I’m sure one of them will once I call and tell them that I need a ride,” Ellen replied.
“I’ll take you home, Ellen,” Kristen offered.
“Okay, thanks, Mrs. Delaney,” Ellen said.
“You’re welcome,” Kristen told her with a grin. “And as soon as I get my jacket and my purse we can go.”
“I don’t know what it is yet, but Ellen has a question for you,” Lance informed Kristen.
“What is it, Ellen?” Kristen prompted.
“At the party, Everett and I… and of course Jessica, Karla, Simon and Allen too, met this girl named Andie. She’s fifteen and she can see, hear and speak to ghosts.” Curious expressions came quickly across Kristen’s and Lance’s faces. “However, her parents don’t believe her, and they have her on medication. So my question is, what can we do to get her off her medication?”
“If I understand you correctly, Andie is on medication for delusions…” Kristen was only able to get out.
“She’s not delusional though,” Ellen insisted.
Kristen gestured for Ellen to wait while saying, “Be that as it may, it sounds as though she is on medication for delusions…. and I believe you when you say that she can see, hear and speak to ghosts. However, most psychiatrists don’t believe in the paranormal, and the few who do couldn’t distinguish between a person having delusions and a person having a genuine paranormal experience. So to answer your question, I sympathize over Andie’s situation, but there’s really nothing that we can do to get her off of the medication.”
“There has to be something that we can do,” Ellen insisted.
“Ellen,” Lance called to grab her attention. When Ellen looked he continued with, “The courts will be on the parents’ side on this issue, and if you do anything to interfere, you can be held legally accountable.”
“Well, I wouldn’t do anything illegal,” Ellen assured him.
“And there’s nothing legally you can do about it,” Lance countered. “So I strongly suggest that you drop this issue and cut your losses.”
“Andie is the one who’s losing here,” Ellen retorted. “That medicine she’s on makes her feel like crap and she’s missing out on the life that she should have.”
Kristen placed her hand on Ellen’s back before saying, “And again I sympathize over Andie’s situation, but, sweetie, there’s really nothing that we can do.”
Ellen formed her lips to protest some more, but grunted in frustration instead before grumbling, “Fine. I’m dropping it—for now.”
“For now?” Lance questioned.
“There has to be a legal way to help Andie, and I’m going to come up with it,” Ellen informed.
“Listen to me carefully, Ellen,” Lance said sternly. Ellen gave him her full attention. “It doesn’t matter how noble of a cause you think this is, if you get yourself arrested then any future career in law enforcement that you hope to have after college could be ruined beyond salvaging. So before you start staging a crusade… over this or any other issue, make sure that it’s not a fool’s crusade.”
“Yes, sir,” Ellen said politely.
“Ellen, if I’m going to get you home and get to work on time, we need to leave now,” Kristen urged.
“I’m ready,” Ellen assured Kristen.
“I’ll walk Ellen to the car,” Everett announced.
Kristen slightly grinned before agreeing, “Alright.” She then stepped up to and gave Lance a quick kiss.
Once the kiss ended, Lance faced Ellen again before saying, “Goodnight, Ellen.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Delaney,” Ellen replied.
“Don’t forget, Ellen, that I’m picking you up tomorrow after school for your appointment with Dr. Pendell,” Lance reminded.
Ellen smirked before saying, “I can’t no matter how hard I try.”
Lance rolled his eyes before repeating, “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Ellen echoed before turning and walking away.
After getting her jacket and purse Kristen gestured for Ellen to leave out first. Everett followed Ellen out as Kristen followed him out.
Once they were at the car, Everett gave Ellen a kiss. Kristen got into the car and shut her door before Ellen and Everett ended their kiss.
“See you tomorrow at school,” Everett told Ellen as he slowly backed away.
Ellen grinned before echoing, “See you tomorrow.”
Everett turned, and as he was walking away, Ellen opened the front passenger door and climbed in.
Minutes later, as Kristen was pulling up to Ellen’s house, Ellen saw a rented car parked in the driveway.
“Who’s here?” Ellen rhetorically mumbled out incoherently.
Kristen didn’t hear Ellen clearly and asked, “What, sweetie?”
“Oh, um, I was just wondering who was here,” Ellen explained as Kristen was parking her car in front of the house. “I guess I’ll find out soon enough.”
Kristen grinned before saying, “Okay, well, have a goodnight, and I’ll see you later.”
“Have a goodnight too,” Ellen replied with a grin as she opened her door. “Bye.”
As Ellen was getting out of the car, Kristen echoed, “Bye.”
Ellen shut her door and waved ‘bye’. Kristen returned the wave before Ellen could turn and walk away.
In the house, Harris and Allyson sat on the love seat. Sadie sat in the armchair. Blaire (Harris and Sadie’s second cousin) and Blaire’s two coven members Devon and Trevor sat on the couch. The six were having a casual conversation as Sonya slept in her playpen a few feet from them.
Devon was currently talking when they heard the front door opening followed by Ellen announcing, “It’s me. I’m home.”
The six waited quietly during the short time that it took Ellen to step into the living room. Ellen’s eyes gazed upon Trevor first after entering.
“Ellen, we have company,” Harris informed.
Ellen’s eyes moved onto Blaire, Devon and finally Sadie. Ellen grinned when she saw that Sadie was among the guests before agreeing, “Yes. I actually figured that out myself when I saw the rented car out front. I didn’t imagine that Sadie would be here though. It’s good to see you again, Sadie.”
Sadie grinned before saying, “It’s good to see you, Ellen. Although I’m not sure how you got inside the house without a verbal invitation.”
“What are you…?” Ellen got out before realizing what she was dressed up as. “Oh, my vampire costume. I went to a costume party.”
“Yes,” Sadie said with an amused grin. “Harry informed us of that. Anyway, I should introduce you to the three you don’t know. This is my mom’s cousin, Blaire, and two of Blaire’s coven members Devon and Trevor.”
Ellen shot Blaire a curious look before accusing, “You’re the Phoenix rising.”
“Phoenix rising?” Blaire questioned curiously.
“Phoenix rising is a term that her uncle had coined a few weeks ago,” Harris explained. “It means that you were born with the mark of Merlin when both of your parents were in the Phoenix stage.”
“Then I suppose I am a Phoenix rising,” Blaire agreed while facing Ellen. “I know that you and Harris now carry the mark of Merlin. Have you come up with a word that would describe you two?”
Ellen shrugged before saying, “Phoenix is all I can think of to describe us.”
“Why call yourself the Phoenix,” Devon curiously asked.
“I’m not really a Phoenix rising, but yet I rose above the Phoenix stage,” Ellen replied without putting too much thought into her answer. “And if you think about it, Harris and I were destroyed… symbolically speaking of course, and then renewed when we received the mark of Merlin.”
“Yes,” Trevor agreed. “And you two are unique on how the two of you had risen above the Phoenix stage. In fact, until I heard of you and Harris receiving the mark of Merlin, I had thought that it was impossible for anyone born within the Phoenix stage to receive the mark of Merlin.”
“I was thrown by it myself,” Ellen retorted.
“Yes. I imagine you were,” Trevor agreed with a grin. “Anyway, since you are here, we should include you in as to why we’re here.”
“So this isn’t a social visit?” Ellen questioned curiously.
Trevor grinned before saying, “Blaire, Devon and I are presently the co-leaders to the Tri-Star Confederation…”
“And what’s the Tri-Star Confederation?” Ellen interrupted.
Trevor held his grin as he said, “I’m presently the elected leader to a Brimstone acorn coven. The acorn coven that I’m in charge of has sixteen members above the age of fifteen… plus Sadie as an unofficial member.” Ellen glanced towards Sadie as he continued. “Blaire is the elected leader of a Raven acorn coven with fifteen members above the age of fifteen, and Devon is the elected leader of a Clover acorn coven with also fifteen members above the age of fifteen. And together we all form a large coven known as the Tri-Star Confederation, and this confederation was formed in the year 1435.”
“Okay,” Ellen said in a tone as if she didn’t know what else to say. “So why are you here?”
“We are always on the look out for potential members with proper morals, and I understand that you and Harris are now eligible to join the Tri-Star Confederation,” Trevor continued.
Ellen busted out laughing.
Everyone gave her a curious look. After a second, Blaire looked at Harris while pointing out, “She’s laughing. Why is she laughing?” When Harris shrugged Blaire turned towards Ellen again. “Why are you laughing?”
Ellen tried to get her laughter under control while saying, “I thought you knew me better than that, Harry.”
“What are you talking about?” Harris questioned.
Ellen cleared her throat in order to get serious. Once her laughter was under control she said, “I’m assuming that to be a part of this Tri-Star Confederation Coven, one must commit to it fully and vow an allegiance to it… which I believe is how most private organizations are. However, I’m not one to blindly follow the commands of a leader. I need to know all the who’s, what’s, when’s, where’s, why’s and how’s, and if I have a problem with any of that then my first loyalty is to my principles.”
“What if I tell you that we would accept your terms?” Blaire questioned.
Ellen shot Blaire an incredulous look before asking in a matching tone, “The Tri-Star Confederation Coven wouldn’t pressure me into doing something I don’t want to do?”
“We’re not that kind of organization, Ellen,” Blaire began. “Devon’s coven meets three times a year. My coven meets four times a year, and Trevor’s coven meets four times a year… I believe.” Trevor nodded. “The Tri-Star Confederation members meet once a year. If you would decide to join, you would be part of Devon’s coven, and although your attendance at the coven meetings is appreciated and strongly encouraged, nothing bad will happen to you if you don’t show up. Nothing bad will happen to you if you don’t go along with the coven as well.”
Ellen thought for a moment before saying, “Over twenty years ago, my uncle was an animal rights activist. He was very committed… overly committed, in fact, in protecting the animals, and so about twenty years ago, he went to prison for several years for breaking into a lab, releasing animals and assaulting police and security officers.
“Everett asked me earlier if I took after my uncle and I shrugged because I didn’t know the answer to that. I took his question wrong because I do know the answer to that. Blaire, if I join this Tri-Star Confederation Coven and see you or the other coven members doing something that I strongly think that you shouldn’t be doing, I’m not going to be turning a blind eye. I will do what I can to stop you and the coven.”
“Thank you for your candor, Ellen, and to be candor with you, we do band together when a strange wizard or sorceress threatens a Tri-Star Confederation member,” Blaire began. “A percentage of them were killed in the way that you, Harris and Jessica had killed Leon Stone, while the rest of them were allowed to go on their merry way. It just depends on the individual and the situation at the time. In any case, the Tri-Star Confederation’s mission statement is to respect others and do no harm… unless threaten obviously and then we will do what we have to, to protect ourselves. From what I had learned of you, Ellen, your beliefs and morals fall in line with our beliefs and morals, so again, the terms that you’re setting are acceptable.”
“Hmm,” Ellen let out as she contemplated on what to do. “Let’s say I joined, and a year from now, I decide that being a Tri-Star Confederation member isn’t for me. Can I quit?”
“We aren’t going to force you into doing something that you don’t want to do,” Blaire assured her. “So after a year… or even ten years, if you decide to leave the coven, we’ll respect your choice. However, by being a coven member, you are guaranteed support from the coven if a wizard or sorceress would threaten you. You won’t be guaranteed support if you’re not a member.”
“I’ll think about joining,” Ellen said.
“Okay, well, are there any questions that you would like answered that would help you to decide?” Blaire asked.
“There is a question I would like answered, actually,” Ellen replied.
“Okay, shoot,” Blaire prompted.
“What is Immortal Magic?” Ellen questioned. Disconcerting expressions quickly came across Blaire’s, Devon’s and Trevor’s faces. Puzzled and unknowledgeable expressions came across Harris’s, Allyson’s and Sadie’s faces. “Did I say something wrong?”
With a slightly anxious tone to his voice, Devon calmly asked, “Where… where have you learned of Immortal Magic?”
“At the party I met Andie Cornell,” Ellen began. “Andie is fifteen—and a girl I would like to add, since her name could throw people off—and she’s a medium. To top that, one of my volumes has Eleanor Thorne’s spirit attached to it. Eleanor is an ancestor of mine who had lived in the 1400s and she had followed me to the party. When Eleanor saw that Andie could see her, Eleanor asked Andie to pass on a warning to me.”
“What kind of warning?” Harris asked quickly.
“Remember that nightmare I had, about me fighting a wizard?” Ellen asked. Harris nodded. “Well, it turns out that my nightmare wizard is flesh and blood, and he is ritually killing people in New Orleans. I caught a glimpse of his latest killing from a vision tonight, and the warning that Eleanor had wanted me to have, is that the wizard can see me at the same time I can see him.”
“He must’ve cast an echo spell on himself,” Trevor thought aloud.
“What’s an echo spell?” Ellen asked.
“It’s actually called something else… and I can’t think of its proper name at the moment, but it’s a spell that will alert him when a remote seer would have a vision of him as you did,” Trevor explained.
“Okay, well, Eleanor wants me to cast that permanent cloaking spell for individuals on myself before he locates me, which there is no way in hell that I will cast that spell on myself given the side-effects of the spell,” Ellen continued. “Eleanor then called me a fool because this wizard in New Orleans practices Immortal Magic—which brings me back to my question. What’s Immortal Magic?”
“Eleanor didn’t tell you?” Trevor asked.
“Eleanor said that she will explain it to me in person once this wizard has killed me, and then she vanished from Andie’s sight,” Ellen replied. “She was annoyed that I won’t do the cloaking spell.”
“It sounds as though she was concern for your safety, and she has the right to be,” Devon said.
“Is anyone going to explain what Immortal Magic is to me?” Ellen questioned.
“Harris had told me about the spells that you, he and your friend Jessica had learned,” Blaire began. Ellen gave Blaire her full attention. “All of those spells are a part of Mortal Magic. Earth Magic is another word for them, and it’s the magic that dwells inside the individual wizard or witch. Now Immortal Magic—also known as Eternal Magic—is the magic that comes from the spiritual world. So it’s actually borrowed magic, and it is also very dangerous to perform as the wizard or witch performing it greatly risks spiritual possession; however, if the wizard or witch could pull it off without becoming spiritually possessed, he or she could emulate God-like powers.”
Ellen’s eyes grew wide before demanding, “What kind of God-like powers?!”
“After obtaining the borrowed magic, he or she would have twice the power that Merlin had, and he or she could be capable of teleportation, levitation, shape-shifting, alchemy, resurrecting the dead… limb regeneration—and a full moon isn’t required for any of it,” Blaire explained.
“Wow!” Ellen uttered.
“After obtaining the borrowed magic, most witches or wizards are only capable of performing one or two powers from the God-like powers list,” Trevor added. “In any case, I never heard of one who was capable of performing more than three powers from the list.”
Ellen gave an acknowledging nod before asking, “So, how long does this borrowed magic last for before needing to… rest or recharge?”
Blaire shrugged before saying, “It depends on the individual and my guess is that a witch or a wizard could go hours… possibly a day even before needing to rest or recharge.”
“Wow,” Ellen again let out.
“Perhaps you should do that cloaking spell, Ellen,” Allyson suggested.
“I’m on this wizard’s radar, and I seriously doubt that a wizard who can emulate God-like powers will allow a mere cloaking spell to stand in his way of finding me,” Ellen countered. “No, the spell that I need to cast, I don’t have.”
“And what spell is that?” Harris questioned.
“The spell that activates my power over the beasts,” Ellen replied.
“And you think a few guard dogs will protect you?” Devon questioned.
“Guard dogs, hell,” Ellen retorted. “If I had that spell, I would create War Dogs.”
“You have a plan,” Sadie took note of.
“Eleanor has already warned me that this wizard will come after me once he learns my location,” Ellen began. “So if I had the spell that would activate my power over the beasts, I would round up as many dogs as I could. Take them to the woods or somewhere where they could hide out of sight, and I would wait as bait for this wizard to show up. I’m certain that this wizard will gloat on how easy he had found me, and while he’s gloating, I’ll give the dogs the command to attack.”
“That actually might work,” Devon said. “Especially if we were there as well.”
“I’m not a member of the Tri-Star Confederation,” Ellen reminded Devon, “nor have I decided if joining a coven is right for me. So I don’t expect you guys to risk your lives.”
“You’re a potential member and we’re here,” Devon replied.
“A wizard who practices Immortal Magic is also a threat to the Tri-Star Confederation,” Trevor added. “So by helping you to defeat this wizard, we’ll be helping ourselves as well.”
“Okay, thanks,” Ellen replied in a tone as if she didn’t know what else to say.
“It’s also good that you have a witch-finder as a friend,” Devon told Ellen.
“A witch-finder?” Ellen echoed in a confused tone.
“He’s talking about Everett,” Allyson supplied.
“Okay,” Ellen said in a tone as if to say, ‘if you say so.’ “Are you guys calling him that, or is that what he is?”
“That’s what he is,” Blaire replied.
“King William the First—or William the Conqueror as you might know him by—had a spell cast on a group of very talented archers prior to his invasion of England in order for the archers to spot a witch or a wizard among the apposing army,” Sadie supplied. “When King William the First and his men did invade, those archers were instructed to go after the witches and wizards as they spotted them. What King William the First didn’t take into account is that the ability to spot witches and wizards would be passed down to those archers’ descendants.”
Ellen gave Sadie the thumbs-up sign while saying, “Gotcha. Now what I don’t have is how someone would perform Immortal Magic… not that I want to do it mind you—I like not being spiritually possessed. I’m just curious on how to do it.”
“There are a few ways that a wizard or a witch could achieve Immortal Magic,” Blaire began. “The easiest way though is through a sacrificing ritual that will call forth a powerful spirit. The spirit will temporarily combine its essence with the witch or wizard, and practicing Immortal Magic frequently increases the chances of spiritual possession. The other ways are more involved, and since I don’t practice Immortal Magic I don’t know them.”
“I don’t think anyone knows the more involved ways on achieving Immortal Magic,” Trevor added. “The incantations are very ancient and were most likely lost before Merlin’s time.”
Ellen gave Trevor a curious look while asking, “Would these incantations be written in languages that only a linguist who studies dead languages could read?”
“Okay, that doesn’t sound like a random question,” Trevor pointed out.
“It’s not,” Ellen replied. “Jessica’s grandfather was a linguist and he was reading something from an ancient language before Harris, Jessica and I… faced him.”
Trevor shared a look with Blaire before Blaire questioned, “Ellen, do you think that Jessica and Karla would allow us to take a look at what their grandfather was reading?”
Ellen shrugged before saying, “I’ll find out.”
“Harris feels that Jessica’s and Karla’s beliefs and morals also fall in line with ours, so when you speak with them, the invitation to join the Tri-Star Confederation extends to them as well,” Blaire added.
Ellen politely grinned before saying, “I’ll pass that along.”
“Actually, instead of you passing that along to them, we would like to be the ones to offer the invitation,” Trevor added. “As far as you speaking of this with people outside the coven members, I prefer that you didn’t.”
“Yeah, well, there is at least one person that I won’t hide this from,” Ellen informed.
“I’m guessing that you’re speaking of Everett,” Blaire said. Ellen just nodded. “Yes, well, the Tri-Star Confederation’s existence needs to remain a secret, and Harris had warned us that you might inform Everett of this secret. We won’t try to stop you, but just keep in mind that telling him could come back and haunt you in the future.”
“Not telling him could come back and haunt me as well,” Ellen retorted. “In fact, before Everett met me, he thought that all of Merlin’s descendants were evil and needed to be stopped. He had already thought the worst of us, so I told him about us, and after I did he realized that not all of us are evil. He fully trusts me and I’m not going to ruin that or betray his trust by not being straight with him.”
“Well, as I said, we won’t try to stop you,” Blaire said. “However, if the coven would feel the fallout over your choice, the coven’s meeting locations will be relocated and you will be shunned by the coven. So if you’re threatened by a wizard, you won’t be receiving any assistance from us.”
“Noted,” Ellen said before gesturing towards her room. “Well, I should take off my costume and clean up.”
“Before you walk away, you should know that I’ve decided to pass onto you the beast master incantation… the incantation that will activate your powers over the beasts,” Devon informed.
“You have that incantation?” Ellen asked as her interest piqued.
“The Tri-Star Confederation has a library of incantations and the beast master incantation is among them,” Devon said. “In fact, two of those incantations that you had shared with Sadie had been added to the library, and for every two incantations you can add to the library earns you the right to receive one incantation from the library of your choice among certain incantations.”
“So the beast master incantation is among those certain incantations,” Ellen assumed aloud.
“No,” Devon quickly corrected. Ellen shot him a confused look. “That incantation requires the current leader’s approval—which is me, and your defense plan to defend yourself against that one wizard sounds viable. So I’m giving you my approval.”
Ellen grinned before saying, “Thanks.”
“I’ll call Galvin—my second-in-command—and tell him to copy that incantation and to overnight that copy to this address,” Devon told Ellen.
Ellen thought for a second before saying, “I guess you don’t want to send it via Email.”
“No,” Devon agreed. “If a menacing wizard or sorceress would get a hold of that incantation, that wizard or sorceress could lead an army of wolves, dogs or big cats. There would be no telling what kind of destruction that a wizard or a sorceress could do before being stopped. So I consider this incantation to be highly dangerous, and therefore, it should not be sent via Email.”
“Okay, you had just answered something I was wondering about—about why this incantation needs the leader’s approval before being used,” Ellen shared. Devon and the others grinned. Ellen then gestured towards her room again. “Anyway, I’m going to take off my costume and clean up.”
“Alright,” everyone said, almost in cadence. Ellen grinned before stepping away.
