4 Terramezic Energy by John O'Riley Read Free Book Online Page B

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