nancy werlock's diary s01 - episodes 9 (3 page)

“You know he ate his last Overseer, don’t you?”

“Charming,”
says Vivika.
“Young man, the truth is I have been completely focused on protecting my son from my murderer. And Nancy’s family has…been otherwise busy as well.”

“Has there been any word about the Lord Advocate?”
asks Mom. I shake my head.
“I don’t believe in coincidences, Nancy. That man disappearing has to be related somehow to all of this. The timing is too close
.”

“
Do you have a theory, Madame Warlock?”
asks Vivika.

“
Mother, explain to them what you found out about Medium Corella Dark.”

“
Well, when Nancy asked about previous cases of Lord Advocates standing trial, I got to thinking about it a little more. Then I remembered that Vivika’s whole problem with Brynwolf started with something called Soul Jar. Forbidden psionic magic.”

“
Vivika never explained what Soul Jar does, and nobody has volunteered to clue me in.”

“
You know that most of the organ transplant technology used by the mundanes today started with the necrobiologists,”
says Vivika. “
But imagine if you could go even further to save a life. Beyond just transplanting healthy organs into a weak body? What if you could transplant a soul from a dying body into a healthy one.”

“I’m not going to like this at all.”

“No, you’re not. Brynwolf was dabbling in this. Psions aren’t like other witches. Our abilities manifests through our own bodies. Our bodies are conduits for our power. Without our bodies, we have difficulty…remaining active. I’ve told you before how difficult it is for me to keep you shielded because of my current state.”

“What would drive him to even attempt that kind of magic? Was Brynwolf sick?”

“No, but he was a Lord Advocate. You don’t get to that level of power without thinking ahead.”

“That ritual isn’t actually a psionic ritual, however,”
says Nanna. “
It was created by Medium Corella Dark, Lord Advocate to the Fifth, just before I became Magus of the School of Demonology. Though whether she actually created the ritual or just perfected it isn’t clear. But guess whose work she used as the basis for her research?”

“Chana Magus.”

“
Exactly. Dark fled when the Council condemned her research. She was hunted down by Justicars and destroyed. One of those Justicars was Tomen Porter, Joshua Brynwolf’s great-uncle by marriage.”

“Sweet Arachne’s web! This is a tangled mess!” I exclaim. “Somehow Byrnwolf learned about the ritual from his great-uncle.”

“
His uncle suffered from Alzheimer’s before he died,”
says Vivika. “
His mind would have been an open book to a psion like Joshua. And the timing matches
.
His uncle wouldn’t have known the ritual, but he would have known of its existence. And that would have been all Joshua needed considering the access he had as Lord Advocate.”

“
Like I said, Nancy, I don’t believe in coincidences,”
says Mom. “
Brynwolf was dabbling in magic created by Chana Magus. He may have found more than a ritual. He may have found her as well.”

“
You think they are working together
,” says Vivika. “
Of course, that is the only way the pieces fit. They both seek immortality. They both need a power ally to pursue their agenda. It would explain how Chana knew to pick her targets. Joshua knows all of the Justicars. He could provide names, locations, and times. It explains how she would have known who Houston was, and why she would have avoided killing him immediately. They couldn’t risk escalating the issue. I would go so far as to guess that the Esteemed that communicated with you was the same one that originally contacted you. It knew about the Inquest and more than likely came across the same evidence I did
.”

“But why go to Nancy and Houston and not the Nine?” asks Eric. “Or go to the Council? Or the Archmage? Or the Justicars?”

“
I would guess it did inform the Nine and was told not to do anything
,” says Nanna. “
The Nine sometimes move slower than a glacier. The Esteemed answer to the Nine, but aren’t beholden to them. They can act on their own accord
.”

“
And in a situation like this, you go to whom you can trust,”
says Mom. “
Very few minds will be safe from Joshua Brynwolf’s prying. He was able to trick Vivika and get her murdered, after all. There is no telling whose mind he is in
.”

“Well, I’m not prepared to sit around and wait for this guy to show up and kill me,” says Houston. “So what do we do?”

“
We have to lure him out,”
says Vivika. “
I may have an idea. But I’ll need some time to put it together. And I’ll need ritual materials.”

“
Since when do psions need reagents?”
asks Nanna.

“Oh dear Madame Magus. I didn’t get to my level without learning a few tricks from the other colleges. After all, not many minds were safe from me, either. You’d be surprised how much you can learn from scanning the minds of other witches. Suffice it to say, I can bait him. If we’re lucky, we’ll bait them both.”

“What do you need?” I ask.

“
It will be a pricey list. But you own a shop. You should be able to get the components wholesale, right?”

“I’ve got a
really
bad feeling about this.” I say.

Parental Advisory

September 27
^th
,

“Two thousand, four hundred and eighty-seven dollars! That’s the wholesale cost!” I yell at Houston as he packs up one of our witch client’s orders.

“Er, sorry?”

“Your mother is trying to bankrupt me!”

“Did you get quotes from some of the other vendors?”

“That
is
the best quote from the vendors. And that is spreading the order out over three different vendors because half of these things are special orders.” I throw the paper on my desk. “There is a two week lead time on petrified Persian griffin eggs! Two weeks! She can’t use the Greek griffin eggs that I keep on stock.
Nooooooooo
. She needs the Persian ones.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Nancy.”

“And the worst part is because of U.S. sanctions in most of the Middle East, I have to have the majority of this stuff shipped into Europe first to be shipped here. So I’m paying shipping and export fees twice!”

“Maybe you can get it all shipped to London and Eric can just go pick it up? He teleports back home every few days to check on Gregor anyway.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea. Probably save at least $300 that way. Good thinking! I knew I kept you around for some reason.”

“I’m feeling the love here, boss.” He holds up one of the items and squints. “Genuine Bulgarian vampire nail clippings. I don’t know what bothers me more. That there is actually a use for vampire nail clippings, that it matters which nationality those clippings come from, or that the vendor felt the need to include the word ‘genuine’ on the label.”

“I vote all of the above, mate,” says Eric as he comes into my office. “I talked to Gregor, Nancy. He says he knows a bloke that can probably get you those cohuatl feathers in exchange for an imp familiar. Your nan has a hundred of them or some wacky number. Sounds like a square trade.”

“What school is this guy?”

“He’s an Enchanter. Mesmer I think. But he’s part of the Madrid Goth underground scene so he wants an imp. I didn’t ask too many questions. Imps don’t cost anything and those feathers cost a bomb.”

“Mesmer with an imp,” I sigh. That probably won’t end well. “Screw it. We’ll make the deal. That will save me $200.”

“I’ll ring Gregor and have him set it up.”

“See, boss? Now you’re below two grand,” says Houston as he leaves the office to open the shop.

“Great.” I shake my head and sit down at my desk to get the October inventories in order. Samhain is the biggest holiday on any witch’s calendar. The Veil is at its thinnest during Samhain, empowering magic and making connections to otherworldly denizens easier. Add to this the fact that the mundanes have made it one of their biggest holidays, spending close to seven billion a year on candy, decorations, costumes, and all things they perceive as witchy, and it’s a big deal for a shop like Three Wishes. Even as I start checking my order status with various vendors to ensure timely deliveries, I hear the chime of the shop bell as customers come in.

My cellphone rings. I look at the number. It’s the Brennons’ home number. My heart starts pounding. Lee never calls me from his parents’ home phone. He calls from his cell. I immediately fear the worst, but Mrs. Brennon sounds cheerful on the other end of the line.

“Good morning, Nancy!” she says. “I hope I’m not bothering you.”

“Not at all, Mrs. Brennon,” I say with relief.

“You can just call me Helen, dear.”

“What can I do for you…Helen?” I ask as my wave of relief retreats into a sea of suspicion. I begin wondering what Lee has actually told his parents about us.

“Oh, well, tomorrow is our anniversary. Monroe and I married forty years ago!”

“Congratulations! I wish Lee had mentioned it to me earlier.”

“That’s actually why I am calling. Lee’s taking us to dinner and a show in Atlantic City. He’s been saving up from his job that you helped him get with Mr. Hessman. I don’t know if I ever fully thanked you for that.”

“I’m just happy it’s worked out for him. For everyone.”

“I just think it would be nice if, well, since you are the one who helped him get the job and…you know we haven’t really seen you since you and Lee started...he’s very fond of you.”

“Lee’s…a unique guy.” Ye gods, this was getting awkward in a hurry.

“Well, I figured if you weren’t busy you would join us! It would mean so much to us. For everything you’ve done for Lee, you know.”

“Oh, how thoughtful of you! And…what a surprise. Um, we are getting into our busy season—”

“
Will you just go to dinner with the old people?”
thinks Houston at me.

“Can you give me one minute? I have to get the other line?”

“Of course, dear.”

I put Mrs. Brennon on hold. “
How long have you been eavesdropping in my head?”

“Since the phone rang and your energy level flared up. I thought something was wrong.”

“You should have jumped out once you realized nothing was wrong.”

“Stop yelling at me and go to dinner with them.”

“I can’t go to dinner with the Brennons!”

“Why not? Your sleeping with their son.”

“Exactly!”

“You make no sense. How did you get a license to provide family counseling again?”

I throw up the Iron Wall incantation and get back to my conversation with Mrs. Brennon. “I’m sorry about that.”

“I understand. You’re at work. But we’ll be leaving around five o’clock for the casino so if you want to meet us here at the house and we can all drive together.”

“Mrs. Brennon—”

“Helen.”

“Helen, I—”

The office door opens. “Say ‘yes’ or I swear the next time your friend Janice comes in the shop, I’m going to give her a love potion and instructions on how to use it.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Nancy, is everything all right?” asks Mrs. Brennon.

“You know I’ll do it, too. She saw some of the fake stuff Anastasia put on sale and was asking.”

“Everything’s fine…Helen. Five o’clock is fine. Sure.” I mouth at Houston “
I am going to kill you.”

September 28
^th
,

“I’m happy Houston was able to cover the shop for you,” says Lee as he looks at me through the rear view mirror and smiles.

“It’s not every day I get invited to share in someone’s fortieth anniversary,” I say. Mrs. Brennon pats my hand.

“I should have mentioned it earlier but I didn’t want to be any trouble. I know how busy you are.”

Mrs. Brennon brushes the back of Lee’s head with her fingers. “Good thing for you your mother doesn’t mind being trouble.”

“Amen to that,” says Mr. Brennon. He turns around and smiles, slightly apologetic. “Thank you for coming, Nancy.” He gives his wife a playful stare before turning back around.

“So is your sister Karen going to meet us?” I ask.

“The girls have piano practice or something tonight,” answers Mrs. Brennon. “That reminds me, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?”

“My brother’s!” I almost shout.

“Oh, I was going to say if you didn’t have plans you could come with us to Karen’s this year,” says Mrs. Brennon.

“You know, I would, but this is going to be the first Thanksgiving without my mom, so…” My mother will choke me if she finds out I used her as an excuse to evade a Thanksgiving dinner invite. Lee frowns at me in the rear view mirror. I shrug.

“Of course. You
should
be with your family. Your brother has children?”

“Yes, I have a niece, Megan, who will be seven in November. And they just found out that their having a boy. He’s due in January.”

Mrs. Brennon squeezes my hand. “You must be so excited! Do you want children?”

“Helen!” says Mr. Brennon.

“I have my hands full raising Houston, and he’s a grown man,” I joke.

“He seems like a nice young man. And he’s been a good friend to Lee. Keeping him going to the gym and taking care of himself better. Lee was telling me you have an exchange student now? A young man from London?”

“It’s…yes. It’s…um…a cultural exchange program with...the Chamber of Commerce. Give young people in other countries a chance to experience American entrepreneurism. Eric. His name is Eric.”

“Is Houston going to be going to London in exchange?”