James shook his head, ready to disagree, but Jolene gave an insistent tug on his arm and he knew it was futile to argue. The trio made their way back to the warmth of the kitchen and steaming cups of restorative tea.
The day weighed heavily on Lilly and her two mentors as they sipped their tea in silence. Regardless of their fatigue she decided to speak up, “I thought I had been introduced to all of the magical practitioners in the Quarter. I was surprised you never mentioned the guy at the Apothecary.”
James wiped his mouth with a napkin and sat back in his chair, “He is a practitioner, but has no real power. His magic exists on only one dimension, this one.”
Lilly frowned slightly, “What dimension does your magick exist on?”
“I work with energies in multiple dimensions. Those who are playing at magick have no idea how to access multiple dimensions and parallel worlds. The guy at Magical Light is a dabbler. He is merely a dream twister.”
Lilly’s mouth hung open until James smiled wearily and said, “I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed by this information. You will develop your talents over the years. I have had a long life to study and practice multi-dimensional magic.”
~
On Rampart Street, Lucky pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up and Claude pulled his hat over his ears as the rain fell harder. They crossed Esplanade in silence, their eyes peering into the darkness.
Alustra and Shemo pulled to the curb as Lucky and Claude were crossing Elysian Fields Avenue. “Get in,” Alustra ordered, “we are feeling some disturbance a few blocks down the street.”
They sped through the next few blocks until they heard music. Shemo made a loud grunting noise as the sound of people yelling and crying came through the Motown beat.
Within minutes they drove up in front of a squat looking yellow brick building with big black letters across the entrance, CLUB GEMINI. People were pouring out onto the sidewalk. Many of them held bloody handkerchiefs up to their faces. Scantily clad women were hollering and weeping.
“This must be the place,” Lucky said with some relief. Claude pointed to the alley and they went around to the back of the club and entered through the service door. In the smoky gloom of the club, they saw Roland’s back as he stood on the bar, a bottle of rum in his left hand and scimitar in his right hand. He was fending off the bar owner with the rusty old knife.
Shemo, Lucky and Claude moved quietly forward and grabbed Roland by the legs. He toppled over backwards. As they caught him and dragged him to the floor, Lucky held Roland still while Shemo pried his fingers from the hilt of the knife and tied his hands with an old bandana he had in his pocket. As Shemo predicted, Roland’s body went limp when he was restrained. Alustra grabbed the bottle of rum, poured some into her hand and slapped Roland on the back of the neck signaling Ogou La Flambo his time was up. When the Loa released his hold on him, Roland collapsed into unconsciousness.
The bar owner was picking up the phone to call the police when Shemo intercepted him. “Let’s have a talk, okay? My name’s Shemo I’m the Mambo Alustra’s husband. You see the Mambo over there?”
The owner nodded slowly. “This here is a bit of work gone bad, if you know what I mean. Alustra is gonna’ be happy we found this young man here in your establishment. She will be in the mood to do some favors for Club Gemini over the next few months.”
The owner nodded his head and put the phone back on the receiver. “Glad to be of help,” he said cordially as he picked up beer bottles and overturned chairs.
Claude and Lucky dragged Roland out of the club and laid him in the back of the van giving apologetic looks to the irate clubbers standing with bleeding faces in the rain.
~
Roland slowly lifted one eyelid. Lilly sitting beside the bed moved forward slightly and he opened both eyes. Squinting in pain, he put his hand on his forehead. His voice was hoarse as he croaked, “What happened? Was I in an accident, or am I horribly hung over?” His blurred vision cleared slightly and he could see Lilly smiling.
Lifting his head, she put a glass of water to his lips. Placing a cold damp cloth over his eyes, she made shushing noises and encouraged him to rest. “Time enough for explanations later. You need to rest and get your strength back.” Nodding, Roland drifted back to sleep.
Chapter 44
Normal Life?
A week had passed since the ritual at the Peristyle. Claude’s visits to Hotel Dieu, the hospital where Regina was taken, yielded no information until her parents arrived. They were happy to share details of her condition with her business partner. Regina had a concussion, two broken ankles, a shattered right wrist, and a deep cut along one side of her face. She was scraped and bruised but the doctors expected a complete recovery.
Claude pleaded with Regina’s parents for permission to see her. He had to speak with her. After consulting with her doctors, they consented to a short visit.
Standing beside her bed, Claude took Regina’s hand and squeezed gently. She opened her eyes and stared at him. He struggled for a moment, not knowing how to approach the vast ocean of questions he had.
Finally, he asked the question at the top of the list. “Why did you do it, Regina? What did you hope to gain?”
Regina licked her dry lips and spoke hoarsely, “I want the crystal. I thought I could use it as a time travel device.
