Phoenix and the Dark Star Read online

  “I guess that means I can’t tag along and watch,” Ellen presumed.

  “Not trying to be rude, but I prefer that you didn’t,” Sadie replied.

  “Okay, I’ll stay here,” Ellen said.

  Sadie turned, and as she walked towards the dining room, Ellen sat on the floor next to the playpen.

  Everett sat on the floor next to Ellen as Jessica and Karla sat in the two dining room chairs.

  “So what was everyone discussing before we came in?” Ellen asked.

  Blaire glanced in Jessica and Karla’s direction while gesturing and saying, “Their mother.”

  “What about our mother?” Karla quickly asked.

  “We had continued our discussion of your mother’s possible appeal after you, Jessica, Ellen and Everett left,” Blaire replied.

  Ellen gave Blaire a curious look as Jessica asked, “You’re not changing your mind about asking Wolfgang Alistair to help with her appeal, are you?”

  “No, but your mother was seen by a room full of people shooting Peter Berkeley, and being hypnotized to kill at the time of the shooting isn’t a strong defense,” Blaire began before glancing at Everett. “Your mother is doing life in prison for a crime that she didn’t truly commit, and we were discussing other options on how to help your mother.”

  “What other options are there?” Jessica asked.

  Blaire glanced towards Harris while lying convincingly, “Unfortunately we are unable to come up with any.” Harris, Allyson, Sadie, Trevor and Devon responded as if there was a big secret in the air, which Ellen had noticed. “I’m sorry.”

  “I understand,” Jessica said as Ellen shook off the ‘secret in the air’ feeling.

  “We appreciate any help that you can give us,” Karla added.

  Blaire just nodded for a response.

  After a short moment of silence, Ellen asked, “When the covens gather, what are the meetings like?”

  Trevor responded first with, “It’s kind of like an informal community meeting; however, the members do sit in front of a podium and the current president addresses certain issues that might’ve presented themselves after the last meeting… or if an old issue is still lingering about then we’ll discuss that again. Many of our members are also philanthropists, so we do organize a lot of fundraisers during the year.” Trevor thought for a moment before continuing with, “We socialize. For the ones who can create incantations, they’ll trade them. Oh and there will also be tables set up for tarot card readings, palm readings and crystal ball readings, and if time allows, some of us will perform stage magic.”

  Devon was about to speak, but when the doorbell sounded, he didn’t.

  “I’ll go see who that is,” Allyson said while standing.

  As Allyson was stepping away, Devon said, “With the Clover Coven, many of the coven members bring food.”

  “Tabitha, one of the members of the Raven Coven, owns a catering business, so although food have been brought in by coven members from time to time, our food is normally catered by Tabitha,” Blaire shared.

  “Tabitha usually caters the Tri-Star Confederation meetings as well,” Trevor added.

  “Cool,” Ellen said as Allyson escorted Herb—Jessica and Karla’s dad—into the living room.

  Everyone stood up as Allyson introduced Herb to everyone. Sadie stepped into the living room during the introductions, and once the introductions were over, Herb was told about Blaire, Trevor and Devon being coven leaders, and that his daughters were offered membership into Blaire’s coven.

  Herb sighed before questioning, “This witchcraft will never be over, will it?”

  “Mr. Harman, your two daughters are powerful sorceresses and they have expressed the desire to practice their craft,” Trevor began. “I have no doubt that they will continue to practice their craft if they join the Tri-Star Confederation or not, but by them being a member of our confederation, they are guaranteed our support and guidance.”

  “Dad, they operate their covens peacefully, and I believe that this is a great opportunity for Jessica and me,” Karla said.

  “Karla and I want to join,” Jessica added.

  Herb slightly hesitated, and while slightly shaking his head, he told Jessica and Karla, “You two are the ones who are going to explain this to your mother.”

  “We would like to speak with your wife, Mr. Harman,” Blaire told him before Jessica or Karla could say anything. “The chances are slim, but we might be able to get your wife out of prison.”

  “Please call me Herb, and I would be grateful if you could pull that off,” he said. When Blaire nodded with a grin, he continued with, “Anyway, Jessica. Karla. We should go.”

  “See you all later,” Karla told them with a slight wave.

  Jessica slightly waved too as she and Herb told them, “Bye.”

  “Bye,” the others echoed before Jessica, Karla and Herb could turn and walk away.

  As Jessica, Karla and Herb were leaving, Allyson asked Everett, “Are you going with us when we go out to eat?”

  “I would like to,” Everett said.

  Allyson nodded before looking at the others and saying, “Okay, if no one objects I would like to go now.”

  “We can go now,” Trevor said followed by the others.

  “I’ll get Sonya ready,” Ellen said as she turned towards the playpen.

  Sonya was asleep and she began to fuss once she was picked up. Ellen quickly began singing to Sonya, which quickly calmed her.

  It took the group a short time to get organized before everyone left the house.

  As they were leaving the house, Ellen asked Sadie, “Have you started yet on writing out that incantation?”

  “Not yet, and it might take a day or two to create one,” Sadie replied.

  Ellen responded with a nod and a polite grin.

  Everyone was quiet for a brief moment before Ellen asked, “Which spells can be linked to a magical token?”

  “I’ll put it to you this way,” Trevor began. “The only spells that can’t be linked to a magical token are vivacious incantations.”

  “What about precision incantations?” Ellen asked.

  “Okay, the only spells that can’t be linked to a magical token are vivacious incantations and precision incantations,” Trevor amended. “Any other spell can be linked to a magical token.”

  “I want to try it,” Ellen announced. Everyone gave Ellen a curious look. “I want to link a spell to a token.”

  “Okay,” Trevor said in an uncertain tone. “Which one?”

  “What are the common ones linked to magical tokens?” Ellen asked as they were approaching the vehicles.

  “Linking spells to magical tokens are done more for convenience and not which one is more common,” Trevor told Ellen. “Which spell would you more like to cast with a single word or a short phrase?”

  “Defensive spells,” Ellen uttered without putting too much thought into her answer. “One at least—one that will defend off an attack.”

  As they stopped walking near the vehicles, Trevor informed, “Offensive and defensive incantations are known as combat incantations, and because of the complexity of combat incantations, a magical token holding a combat incantation can only be activated once.”

  “Okay,” Ellen said while pondering what was said. “Could I… reload it? The object that I used for my token? With the same spell?”

  “Of course,” Trevor said. “You can even cancel a spell attached to a token and attach a different spell to it.”

  “Cool,” Ellen uttered. “Which spell would be the best one to defend off an attack?”

  “I recommend one that will knock a person back several feet in order to give you time to assess the situation,” Devon suggested.

  “If I’m defending myself against an attacking wizard, I would know what the situation was,” Ellen retorted.

  “It’s not that simple, Ellen,” Blaire was the one to say. “Some peaceful yet untrusting wizards and sorceresses will attack fir
st and ask questions later. At which you will want to defuse the attack without causing harm to that person, so you can explain that you are there peacefully. However, the untrusting wizard might not believe you, and come at you again. At which you will need to use a stronger defense against the attacking wizard. And even then, you will want to use a spell that will defuse the attack without causing harm.”

  “Alright-alright,” Ellen quickly said. “I get it. I’ll go with the type of spell that Devon had suggested. I want to link that type of spell to a magical token.”

  “Alright,” Trevor agreed. “They’re known as blow-back incantations. There are several different ones with varying effectiveness. Several years ago, I had memorized one of the powerful ones, and when we get back from dinner, I’ll instruct you on how to link it to a token.”

  “Thanks,” Ellen said.

  Trevor nodded before instructing, “In the meantime, think of a word or a short phrase that you would never use in a conversation. That word or phrase will be what you’ll say to activate the spell.”

  “Okay,” Ellen agreed before she and the others went to their respective vehicles.

  Winona, Riley and Brad left Bonnie’s house to search for the two vampires within the city; however, from a vampire locating spell that would be cast on a mirror or a crystal ball—that Winona’s father would do within Winona’s hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Florida—they knew exactly where to go.

  After climbing into their rented van that had eight seats and side windows, Winona, Riley and Brad went to the house that had hosted the large Halloween party the night before, and as they drove up, they saw that the owners of the house were hosting another moderate size social event.

  Brad was the one driving, and when he saw the moderate number of expensive vehicles parked in the driveway and around the house, he asked, “What now? We can’t exactly knock and barge in.”

  Winona was in the seat directly behind Brad, and after a short moment of pondering what to do, she said, “We’ll sit out here and wait. They have to leave at some point.”

  The neighboring houses were two to three times farther apart compared to other neighborhoods, and Brad turned around in the next driveway down.

  Trees filled the neighborhood yards, but Brad found a place to park the van with a good view of the house between the driveway that he had used and the house that was harboring the vampires.

  They talked as they watched the house, and after a forty-minute wait, a police cruiser—with its lights on—pulled up behind them and parked.

  “We have company,” Brad informed as he watched the officer get out of the cruiser.

  “That’s stating the obvious,” Riley retorted.

  Brad rolled down the window before the officer could step up.

  While shining his flashlight with is left hand, the officer looked into the backseats first. When the light had found Winona, the officer held it there for a second longer before shining it on Riley in the front passenger seat. After seeing who all were in the van, the officer turned his attention towards Brad.

  The officer had his right hand resting on his gun as he instructed, “Keep your hands where I can see them.”

  “Of course,” they said in cadence.

  Winona put her hands on the back of Brad’s seat. Brad placed his hands on the steering wheel and Riley placed his hands on the dashboard.

  When the officer saw that the three had complied, he said, “Guys, no doubt that you three are big fans of Denise Stanley, but give her a break tonight and don’t stalk her home.”

  “Denise Stanley lives there?” Winona quickly questioned in a surprised tone as she gestured towards the house.

  Winona was being serious, but the officer shot her a look that said, “I’m tired of the dumbness routine.”

  “I don’t go around stalking novelists,” Winona defended just before a thought occurred to her. “Not as a rule anyway. Her books are awesome though. I read them all.”

  The officer took a breath before saying patiently, “She’s supposed to be signing books tomorrow at ‘Jinkie’s Bookstore’. So go there tomorrow if you want to see her.”

  “Yes,” Winona agreed. “We’ll do that.”

  The officer nodded before instructing, “Now move along.”

  “Yes, officer,” Brad said before starting the van.

  “I’ll be keeping watch to ensure that you won’t be back,” the officer informed.

  “We’re leaving,” Riley assured him with a slight wave.

  The officer backed up a couple of steps and watched as Brad put the van into drive and drove away.

  “So what kind of books does Denise Stanley write?” Riley asked as Brad was driving away from the house.

  “Romance novels,” Winona informed.

  “Huh?” Riley let out.

  “What?” Winona questioned skeptically.

  “I never pegged you for the romance novel type,” Riley said.

  “I’m not,” Winona informed. “At least not as a rule. However, Maryann is, and she has read all of Denise Stanley’s books plus several romance novels from other authors.”

  “So you knew who Denise Stanley was because of Maryann,” Brad accused.

  “Yep, and good thing too,” Winona said. “Being stalking fans is easier to explain than being vampire hunters.”

  “So what are we going to do about the vampires?” Riley asked.

  “Well, watching Denise Stanley’s house is definitely out,” Brad said.

  Winona pulled out her cell phone before saying, “I’ll call my parents and have them keep track of the vampires’ movements with the mirror. As with us, we can go back to my Great Aunt Bonnie’s house and relax or…”

  “Rushing out of the house once your parents call might look suspicious to your aunt,” Brad pointed out.

  “Or we can find a club that minors can get into and relax,” Winona continued after the brief interruption.

  “Alright,” Brad began. “We’ll find somewhere to hang out at.”

  Winona scrolled down to her parents’ phone number, but before placing the call, she decided to call her dad’s cell phone instead.

  After the phone rang a couple of times, her father Shayne answered with, “Is it done?”

  “Not quite,” Winona replied. “The vampires seem to be playing nice with a local celebrity—a well known author and we can’t get to them… currently. We were also asked to leave the area by a local patrol officer. So can you keep tabs on them on your end and report their movements?”

  “I’ll do what I can,” Shayne said.

  “Thanks, Dad. Bye,” Winona said before hanging up.

  As Winona was putting her phone away, Riley asked, “So, Winnie? What kind of books do you read?”

  “Crime, mystery, suspense… the paranormal—like ghost stories,” Winona shared. “What about you?”

  “I don’t really read for fun,” Riley replied.

  “I didn’t really think you did,” Winona said. “I just asked to be certain.”

  Riley just shot Winona a grin.

  After Ellen and the others returned home, Ellen went to her room and grabbed the ruby-heart necklace that had belonged to her mother. As Ellen was rejoining the others in the living room, she said, “Here’s the necklace I want to turn into a magical token.”

  “Alright,” Trevor agreed. “We can do it in the dining room.”

  “Okay,” Ellen said before she, Harris, Everett and Trevor went to the dining room.

  The incantation to turn Ellen’s ruby-heart necklace into a magical token, holding the blow-back incantation was eight lines long. Prior to reciting the words, Ellen had to draw out two small symbols with her blood.

  The activation word that Ellen had chosen was ‘Son-ander’ and once the spell was complete, Trevor informed, “Now, unless you’re planning to activate the blow-back spell, you are not to say ‘son-ander’ while within five feet of that necklace, and as you can see, me saying it doesn’t do anything.”

&n
bsp; “I saw and I won’t accidentally activate it,” Ellen assured Trevor before putting on the necklace.

  “Alright,” Trevor replied. “Oh, and when you do activate the spell, the spell considers the person, animal or thing that you are looking at, at the time you say ‘son-ander’ as the intended target.”

  “That’s good to know,” Ellen said.

  “Yes,” Trevor agreed as he stood up. The others followed suit. “Anyway, let’s join the others.”

  The four then returned to the living room.

  Chapter Six

  Saturday morning, at 11:00 A.M., Ellen—while wearing her ruby-heart necklace beneath her shirt—searched the telephone book and found a hobby shop that was relatively close that sold magic kits, and by 12:40 P.M., Ellen, Harris and Devon were walking into the store.

  Richard—the forty-something-year-old shop owner—stepped up to them while saying, “Good afternoon.”

  “Good afternoon,” they echoed.

  “Do you need assistance in finding anything?” Richard questioned.

  “We would like to look at your magic kits,” Devon said.

  “The cool stuff,” Ellen added.

  Richard grinned before asking, “Is this for you?” Ellen nodded with a slight grin. “Okay. Follow me, and I’ll show you to the cool stuff.”

  “Cool,” Ellen said before she, Harris and Devon followed behind Richard.

  “So is this for a high school talent show?” Richard asked.

  “No,” Ellen replied. “I truly would like to learn it… as an art.”

  “I’ll show you what I have, but this really isn’t the place for you to buy your magic supplies,” Richard said.

  “Why not?” Ellen quickly asked.

  “All I sell are the small magic items—kid’s stuff,” Richard began. “However, if you are serious about learning the big stuff, I can certainly point you in the right direction.”

  “Okay, where do we need to go?” Ellen quickly asked.

  Richard gestured towards the counter while saying, “Follow me, and I’ll get you three the information.”

  “Okay,” Ellen, Harris and Devon agreed.

  Ellen, Harris and Devon followed Richard to the counter and watched as he searched through a Rolodex.