Body Bags & Blarney by J.D. Shaw Page B

and a few diamonds
in bright red marked all across the document. “What am I looking at here?”
    “Those ovals
are the magical portals that have opened up all over the town.” Miss Octavia
revealed. “The very ones that let ghosts like Natalie come into our world.”
    “Nana Mary
mentioned that they were looking into ways to get them all sealed up.” Vivienne
replied.
    “She speaks
the truth.” Miss Octavia answered. “I’ve been tasked with locating each one and
mapping it so that the Council will be able to find a solution for sealing off
the portals safely without any repercussions that would impact the local
residents.”
    “What do the
red diamonds represent?” Vivienne pointed to one of them on the map.
    “That is the
danger I was talking about.”
    “New portals?”
Vivienne asked.
    “No.” Octavia
sighed. “Those are magic voids.”
    Vivienne
lowered the map into her lap and sipped some of the warm tea. “I haven’t read
anything about those in my grimoire.”
    “Someone in
this town is draining the portals of magic, in effect closing them, but in a
very dangerous way.” Octavia lowered her voice. “Someone who is not working for
the Council, I might add.”
    “A rogue
witch?” Vivienne asked.
    “Doubtful.”
Miss Octavia reasoned. “The Council has forbidden anyone from dabbling with the
portals until they have a plan in place.” She took another sip of her tea.
“Besides, a rogue witch would be easily discovered with all the attention
Cayuga Cove is getting lately.”
    “Then who
could it be?”
    “Based on what
I’ve been tracking for the past few months here, I’d say we’re dealing with a
sorcerer.” Miss Octavia revealed.
    Vivienne let
the word sink in for a moment before responding. “Isn’t that the same as a
witch?”
    “Witches are
born to the craft, my dear. Sorcerers are mortals with no genetic history of
witchcraft within their family line. They skirt the rules to bring the power of
magic within their grasp.”
    “Are the
capable of casting spells?” Vivienne worried and sipped some more of her tea.
    “Only with the
aid of a talisman.”
    Vivienne
thought back to what limited magical knowledge she currently had committed to
memory. There were so many terms to learn, it made a medical textbook look like
a leaflet in comparison. “I thought only people skilled with magic could
manipulate magical objects?”
    “An amulet is
an object that is infused with power during its creation. It can only be
utilized by someone who is skilled in the art of releasing the magic trapped
within.” Miss Octavia corrected her. “But a talisman is an object that draws
its power by draining from another source. It can be used by anyone regardless
of skill.” Miss Octavia’s eyes narrowed. “A tool that we witches must keep out
of the hands of mortals at all costs.”
    “So Cayuga
Cove is under attack by a sorcerer and their attacks are causing extreme good
and bad luck events to happen to the people who live here?”
    Miss Octavia
sighed. “Yes. Cayuga Cove has more magical portals open right now than anywhere
on the planet. This is a magic-infused utopia to any sorcerer who desires to
harness the power for their benefit.”
    Vivienne
returned her gaze to the map resting in her lap. The town looked so small, so
insignificant. “But we’re so isolated out here in the country. You’d think we’d
be safer from discovery.”
    “When you have
that much magical energy spewing out of the portals, it’s like broadcasting a
homing beacon.” Octavia finished her cup of tea and gingerly set it down on the
table between them. “A cunning sorcerer need only let their talisman lead them
to a magical source.”
    “Sorcerers are
like the energy companies searching for natural resources to harvest.” Vivienne
began to comprehend. “They will stop at nothing to stake a new claim.”
    “Yes.” Octavia
nodded. “One of them has found Cayuga Cove and it must look like the Fort Knox
of