4 Terramezic Energy (5 page)

Chapter 6

Josephine parked her car in the main parking lot for the Siesta Key beach which was half full. Yvonne sat in stiff silence beside her gazing out at the beachgoers. A lot of people strolled across the shoreline or power walked for exercise while groups of friends and family stretched out on beach towels or lawn chairs to soak in the sun. Several people were playing Frisbee nearby. Josephine took in the peaceful setting for a moment before turning off the engine. As soon as the air-conditioning shut down, the interior began to heat up rapidly.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Josephine said.

She opened her car door and noticed Yvonne continued to sit as still as a statue. She pretended not to notice as she emerged from her vehicle and closed the door. It was obvious that Yvonne harbored a deep-seated fear of her condition and Josephine was starting to worry that there may be some truth to it. Josephine took up a position about a dozen feet from her parked car and began stretching rather than coaxing the young woman from her car. Finally, Yvonne joined her with obvious reluctance.

“I can feel its pull.” Yvonne’s expression conveyed terror mingled with longing.

“A category six always feels drawn to vortexes. The urge to connect with them is overwhelming at first. And there’s a very good reason for it,” Josephine advised. “It’s therapeutic and has a very stabilizing effect.”

“For me, that’s the farthest thing from the truth.”

“We’ll see. Let’s go ahead and take a walk first before we tap into the vortex,” Josephine said.

Yvonne regarded her with surprise. “You’re going to connect with the vortex, too?”

“Of course. It will help me balance your energy. Right now, I can’t get a read on you because you’re a six. My power has to be heightened before I can really help you,” Josephine said.

“You never said you were going to use magic on me,” Yvonne said.

“It will be fine,” Josephine said in a reassuring tone. “I’ve done a lot of advanced magic over the years.”

“I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt because of me,” Yvonne said.

The two of them made their way onto the soft, white sand and started walking along the beach. Josephine chose a path farther away from the water so that other walkers and joggers wouldn’t be as frequent. A flock of small, fluffy white birds were gathered in front of Josephine and Yvonne but moved out of the way as they approached.

“I’ve never been here before,” Yvonne remarked.

“Why is that?” Josephine shot her a questioning look.

“It’s too risky. Vortexes are known to activate our power.”

Josephine set a brisk pace and they lapsed into silence. The sound of seagulls and the chatter of beachgoers along with the gently lapping ocean water against the shore soothed the senses. It was all so normal. No one would suspect that a relative of the infamous Brenda Kirkland with newly awakened abilities had joined them here. The powerful energy of the large vortex at the Siesta Key beach was a lure that pulled at Josephine’s awareness. She tapped into it and her body thrummed with pleasure and energy. Her magical senses heightened and she was finally able to begin scanning Yvonne although she still couldn’t read many details. Psychic impressions from most of the other beachgoers flooded her mind. Josephine knew that she had to get Yvonne to relax and feel at ease in order to make the transition easier.

She threw her a friendly smile. “I’m curious. What is your major?”

“Business management.”

That surprised Josephine. “So you want to run a company or a corporation?”

“Not especially. I’d like to be a business analyst or a similar position. I like to crunch numbers. I’m good at it, too,” Yvonne said.

“What do you enjoy about it?” Josephine regarded her with curiosity as they continued their brisk walk.

“I like the comfort of knowing that they’re static. You can rely on them. Once you’ve calculated something, that’s it. You’ve got the answer. There is no second guessing unless you made a mistake in your math,” Yvonne explained.

“There are so many ways that numbers can be misconstrued though.”

“That’s true but the answers are readily apparent to me. I’ve got a knack for it. Even if people misinterpret the big picture by looking at one set of numbers or percentages and ignoring others, when you’re looking at raw data, the numbers don’t lie. It’s the people.”

“That’s an interesting way of looking at it.”

Yvonne shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

They lapsed into silence for a bit then Josephine decided to get started. The two women turned to face the ocean as they came to a halt. Yvonne’s jaw clenched with anxiety.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Just make a connection with the vortex,” Josephine instructed.

The vortex at Siesta Key was massive and spanned the entire length of the beach and rose high into the air. Most of it lay in the water and above it with very little spanning the land. Josephine was already tied to its power and had checked all of the spells that Yvonne currently had in her possession which was only a few protection enchantments and a couple of telekinetic enchantments. Yvonne hesitated for several long moments before tapping into the vortex. Josephine could sense the raw power and knew right away that something was different. She could detect multiple connections as though there were hidden vortexes that Yvonne was tied in to. All of the fluffy white birds frolicking in the sand and the sea gulls cried out in fear and took flight in the air to escape. Panic gripped Josephine as she realized this young woman was much stronger than anything she’d ever encountered.

Josephine adopted a look of calm authority. “You’ve done well, Yvonne. It’s time to break your connection now.”

Yvonne’s breathing was labored and her face contorted with pain and fear.

“I can’t,” she said.

Adrenaline surged through Josephine as she regarded the young woman and her out of control power. The vortex became visible as a swirling mass of sickly green and crimson energy. Josephine hated to do it but she cast a knockout spell on Yvonne. If she was unconscious, her connection with the vortex would dissolve on its own. Unfortunately, the spell that Josephine cast bounced off an invisible barrier of energy that chaotically swirled around Yvonne. It wasn’t something that the young woman had erected intentionally but was a side-effect of the overwhelming volume of energy that cascaded through her. The beachgoers stared at the angry mass of energy in the ocean until they snapped out of their stupor and hastily left behind their towels and lawn chairs to flee to safety. Only Josephine and Yvonne remained on the dangerous beach. Red discharges of lightning shot out randomly from the vortex to strike the white sand, causing small plumes to fly into the air.

Josephine wanted to grasp Yvonne’s arms to gain her attention and to cast a calming spell but knew better than to try. If she so much as brushed against the wild field of energy that encircled Yvonne, she’d be thrown across the beach like a rag doll and the jolt of power may even kill her. Yvonne stared at the vortex as though entranced and the strange connections of power grew stronger. As Josephine continued her scans, she could detect a potent enchantment being created. Blood trickled down Yvonne’s nose as the strain of the intense magic tore through her body. This shouldn’t be happening. The power from the vortex should have stabilized her condition and caused her body to regenerate from any injuries. It shouldn’t be damaging at all. Josephine gathered as much power as she could from her connection to the vortex then created a dampening field around herself and Yvonne. She knew it wouldn’t take but for several seconds, the connection between Yvonne and the vortex weakened just a little and destabilized. This caused the protective field to waver. Josephine didn’t have time to gather more energy from the vortex, she had to act immediately. She cast another knockout spell with as much power as was readily available. The air crackled with so much chaotic energy that Josephine couldn’t tell if her spell had worked or had been deflected.

For several seconds, Josephine held her breath with anticipation as a sense of dread washed over her. The protective field was back and it was too strong for her to try weakening again. The enchantment within the vortex continued to build. Hot wind whipped through the air, tossing Josephine’s and Yvonne’s long hair. One of the random discharges of red lightning from the vortex struck the sand directly in front of Josephine, sending an explosive plume of sand in the air. Without warning, Yvonne crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap. The vortex was still visible but the sickly green and crimson colors were changing back to their normal blue. Josephine took a moment to compose herself. She turned to face the vortex which faded from sight. She could only perceive it with her psychic senses which was at is should be. The explosive enchantment that Yvonne had been creating was completely dissipated now. Josephine’s troubled gaze rested on the young woman crumpled on the sand. There was definitely more going on than just a newly awakened category six. When Yvonne regained consciousness, she was in a state of panic. Josephine spoke reassuringly to her and explained what had happened.

“I told you I’m different than other sixes,” Yvonne said.

“Yes, you did.” Josephine held out her hand to help the young woman rise to her feet. “I noticed that you aren’t wearing the enchantment that your family made that filters your powers. Is it because you’ve already changed and it’s useless now?”

“You’re wrong. I’m still wearing it.” Yvonne pulled out a large smoky quartz pendant from beneath her shirt which was suspended on a silk, black cord.

Josephine frowned as she focused her psychic awareness on the jewelry.

“There’s not a trace of magic on it,” Josephine announced.

“What?!” Yvonne regarded her with incredulous disbelief. “I can feel it right now.”

Josephine scanned her mind which was extremely difficult to do. Category sixes were notoriously difficult to obtain a read on. After several long moments, she detected a compact yet powerful mind control spell.

“Someone has programmed you to detect a spell that doesn’t exist. It’s an advanced spell so I can’t just remove it. It will take an expert who will need to work with you over a number of sessions. I’m not sure what else it does but I think it was making you cast an enchantment on the vortex. Do you remember what was happening while you were keyed in?” Josephine said.

“As soon as I tapped into the vortex, I was in so much pain I could barely think. I blacked out almost right away.”

“So do you remember being tied into the vortex for just a few seconds? Or was it longer than that?” Josephine asked.

“It was just a few seconds.”

“That means the mind control spell took complete control of you. I was afraid of that.” Josephine regarded her with compassion. “Someone set you up.”

“Who would do such a thing?”

“I’m going to find out. In the meantime, I’m assigning you to protective custody,” Josephine said.

Josephine explained what had occurred while driving to the police station. Yvonne was stunned to learn that a mind control spell had caused her to create some sort of mysterious enchantment using the vortex. Luckily, Josephine had stopped her in time but she didn’t intend on letting it happen again. A police officer kept watch on Yvonne in one of the interrogation rooms while Josephine typed up a preliminary report then met with the chief of police in his office. Josephine closed the door behind her and sank into the chair facing Ben who sat behind a massive desk. Ben was a bulky man with close-cropped blond hair and piercing blue eyes. Rather than wearing a suit, he wore a police uniform brimming with medals. His desk also boasted a myriad of awards and there were a variety of plaques nailed to the wall.

“The feds will want this one for sure,” Ben said in his typical, booming voice.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Ben’s concerned gaze bore into Josephine’s. “You won’t have much time to work with her. Probably a day or two at the most.”

“Maybe I should join the Feds so they’ll stop stealing my cases,” Josephine grumbled.

“I don’t think you would enjoy the work.” Ben’s blue eyes twinkled with amusement.

“Probably not.”

“Looking over your report, I can’t help but think that APU 81 is probably involved.”

“You believe it’s planning on using Yvonne as some sort of weapon of mass destruction, don’t you?” Josephine asked.

“The thought crossed my mind. And it will definitely be a prevailing theory with the FBI.”

They discussed more details of the case then Josephine brought up a burning question that loomed in her mind.

“Will I have a budget for hiring consultants on this case? I would like to ask Alice for help with removing the mind control spell,” she said.

“Because this might involve APU 81 or the Valituras and affects national security, you may access your OC Enforcer funding,” Ben advised.

“Great!” Josephine beamed at him. “I should be able to make fast progress.”

“You always do.”

Josephine made her way to one of the vacant interrogation rooms to place a quick call to Alice.

“Hey, Josephine,” Alice said. “I’m sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“That’s okay. I’m actually calling you because I have a case that may involve national security and – ”