Chapter 21 Farnsworth
Farnsworth
First things first: find Calex. I head to downtown Salem, where I’m certain someone will know who I’m talking about, but before I even make it there, my attention is pulled to an unusual house on the corner.
It’s a white colonial with a sign that says Psychic Readings in the window, and something about it calls out to me.
Not one to ignore my instincts, I cross the street and enter the house.
Inside the foyer, the scent of incense tickles my nose. “Hello?”
To my left, a drape parts and a man appears. He’s dressed sharply in tailored slacks and a soft sweater. His dark skin is absolutely flawless and his light brown eyes shine like warm honey.
“Here for a reading?” he asks brightly.
“Perhaps. I’m not exactly sure what drew me in.”
I study the man’s face. There’s something unusual about it, something… otherworldly.
“Tarot is always a good place to start,” he says. “I’m Raden. You are?”
“Farnsworth. Pleasure.”
“Come.” Raden gestures for me to follow him into the room.
There’s a round table in the center of the space, and many candles around the room. I note the deck on the table as well.
“You’re a psychic?”
Raden shakes his head. “No, just intuitive.”
I sense the deception in his words. He’s not used to people understanding his nature, and he’s rightfully guarded.
“Raden, I’m not like most people you interact with.”
He turns slowly toward me. “I’m aware. You already know what I am, don’t you?”
“I only know what you’re not.”
His energy shifts slightly, his guarded demeanor increasing. “What is your business with me, sir?”
“I told no lies. I was drawn here. Perhaps, you know something that can help me.”
“With?”
“I’m looking for a witch called Calex.”
Raden literally flinches as I speak the name. “Why?”
“I don’t know entirely, but I suspect they’ve done some magic that’s preventing me from doing my job.”
He lifts his gaze to me. “Calex is bad news. He uses black magic for ill purposes. I don’t associate with him.”
“Fair warning. Do you know where I can find him?”
Raden studies me for a moment. “May I see your hand?”
“Yes.” I offer my left hand and watch as Raden drags his finger over the lines on my palm.
He visibly shivers and nods, as if hearing words I cannot. “Very well. Please sit.”
I sit across from Raden, watching as he shuffles his deck of cards. I don’t know how tarot can help, but I get the sense that Raden uses them in a unique method.
He flips several cards, his brow creased as he studies them. “Hmm. Well, isn’t that interesting.”
“What?”
Raden looks up. “You.”
I’m not surprised he can detect my true nature. He’s far more than simply intuitive. He’s not a witch, but something else. Something nebulous.
“Okay,” he says, exhaling slowly. “You can find Calex in a house near the harbor. No address but you’ll know it when you see it. Be warned, Calex is not welcoming to strangers. Or acquaintances, for that matter.”
“I didn’t expect him to be. Someone I… care about is in trouble and I think Calex instigated it.”
“That sounds right.” Raden leans closer to me. “A tip? Don’t show even a hint of weakness. He’ll exploit it. Be clear on what you want and try to end your interaction as quickly as possible.”
“Great. Thank you. I was aimless before finding you.”
Surprisingly, Raden grabs my wrist. He closes his eyes and vibrates slightly for several seconds before snapping them open again.
“You’ll be fine dealing with Calex. He can’t harm you.”
“He can certainly inconvenience me.”
“Yes, and he’s likely to try, especially if what you say is true. If he’s cast some kind of spell, it’s because it favors him, and he won’t be thrilled to end it.”
“Good to know. I don’t need him to end it. I just need to know why. There’s a reason, and once I know that, I’ll have what I need to get my friend back.”
“Friend.” Raden smiles softly. “Good luck to you.”
“Thank you.” I nod, slightly flustered. There’s no hiding anything from this person. “I do hope you always use your powers for good. You may see me again someday.”
Raden salutes me. “I always use my skills to benefit others. Nice meeting you, Farnsworth.”
“You as well.”
After exiting the house, I orient myself and head towards the harbor instead of downtown.
The air smells a little salty, a bit like old seaweed and rotting wood.
The old sidewalks buckle and dip beneath my feet, raised from age and ancient tree roots growing unwieldy under the city that sprang up around them.
The closer I get to the water, the more I sense a dangerous presence lurking. It knows I’m coming. Calex knows.
My feet seem to guide me on their own down a narrow street to the end of the block, where a gray shaker-sided house sits all alone. It looks abandoned and easily ignored by the living, but anyone with any ties to the world beyond the veil could feel the energy pouring off of it. This must be it.
Remembering Raden’s advice, I set my shoulders and approach the front door confidently. When I raise my hand to knock, the door swings open and a blond woman with waist length hair and an ethereal presence greets me.
“Come in.”
“Thank you.”
I step inside, nearly choking on the thickness of the air. I cough and clear my throat, adjusting to the heavy energy in the space.
“I’m here to see Calex.”
“We know,” she says. “I’m Emma. Come this way.”
I follow her down the hallway and past a room filled with people lounging on large pillows covering the floor. The air smells of various drugs, cigarette smoke, and liquor, but there’s a hint of sex wafting about as well, though everyone seems to be clothed.
Emma leads me into another room with dim lighting, and it’s noticeably cooler than the rest of the house. Behind the table is a slight man, petite and young looking. Is this who I’m supposed to fear?
“Our visitor has arrived,” Emma says, backing out of the room and closing solid French doors behind her.
“Sit,” the man says.
“Are you Calex?”
“Obviously.” He glances up at me, and his eyes startle me. They’re pure white, without a hint of color or the outline of an iris. “I’ve been expecting you.”
As I thought. “How?”
“Call it a feeling.” His voice is eerie, somewhere between masculine and feminine, alive and dead, soft but firm. “I suppose you’re here because of our friend, Mr. Wolcott.”
“He is no friend of mine. How did this happen?”
“I was given a box, passed down through generations of my family, to be opened on my twenty-fifth birthday.” Calex pushes a wooden box toward me, staring just past me. “Open it.”
Carefully, I lift the lid, finding a scroll inside.
“Twenty-five is also when my powers fully matured. That was four months ago. You’ll see the instructions on the parchment are for a spell. That spell awakened Mr. Wolcott’s spirit. You see, I was simply following instructions, except for one crucial piece.”
“Yes?”
“I was to wait for an advantageous moment, but I was, as I always am, impatient and far too curious. I completed the spell right away, and though I hate to admit it, I believe it was a mistake.”
“How so?”
“My family is very powerful. Our magic is stronger than most, and we can wield it however we please. I thought I could control it, but the opposite has been true. This thing took off on its own and while I’ve been able to detect it from time to time, I have no influence or control.
I’ve tried numerous spells to send it back to where it came from, but it seems immune.
” He places his hand on the table, leaning towards me, his dead gaze looking right through me.
“No one is immune to my magic. What is this spirit? You must know.”
“It’s not a simple spirit. In my world, we call it a Horror, a terribly nasty soul meant for confinement in the underworld.”
“You’re from the underworld?”
“I am. It’s my job to get that Horror back where it belongs, but I thought it shouldn’t have been able to get here again anyway. Then I learned about the cursed objects.”
“A gift from my great-great-grandmother. She made a deal with Mr. Wolcott, and I brought it to fruition. It doesn’t even understand the modern world.
It thinks it can rule the world, and doesn’t listen to any sort of reason.
” He exhales slowly. “I am a lot of things, none of them good, but even I can see my error in judgment in unleashing this thing. Can you stop it?”
“Yes, but I need to know what started this and if there are any more objects out there that I should be aware of.”
Calex blinks his eerie eyes. “Well, yes, there is one thing.” He stands, moving to a cabinet that he opens and removing a smaller wood box. “The only thing keeping him somewhat contained is in this box. If he were to get this, he could very easily return in corporeal form.”
I sit up. “What is it?”
Calex opens it, revealing a shriveled object that, upon closer inspection, appears to be a human heart.
“Mr. Wolcott’s heart. It’s enchanted and requires nothing but contact to reanimate.
I very wisely kept this part to myself. Even Mr. Wolcott doesn’t know.
You see, my ancestor was a wise woman, and took extra care to ensure she could utilize this spirit to do her bidding.
” He closes the box. “After seeing what happened when I did the first spell, I decided to hold this back until I understood it better.”
“I need that. Please.”
“Certainly. Everything has its price.”
“You want money for it?”
He chuckles. “Oh please. Of course not. I want something only you can give me. Immortality?”
“I do not grant immortality. I am not a god.”
“You are something powerful. I can sense it. Tell me what you are?”
“I am not at liberty to do so. I cannot offer immortality though. Is there something else?”
Calex taps his chin. “Are you a magic user?”
“No. What I do is for those who are good of soul. Is that you, Calex?”
He frowns, narrowing his white eyes. “There must be something. A tour, perhaps.”
“A tour of what?”
“The underworld. You could introduce me to spirits or whoever runs it.”
“Hades. You want me to introduce you to Hades?” I chuckle. “I cannot. I have never seen the man myself.” It’s time to try a new tactic. “Couldn’t you just give it to me because it’s the right thing to do? I could end this for you too. Release you from the responsibility of it all.”
Calex waves his hand dismissively. “That’s hardly enticing. I never do things for the greater good.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“It’s not even bothering me. It left.”
“What’s to stop it from returning, hmm? What prevents it from using you for its gain? Because I promise you, Calex, it is stronger than you know. If it chooses to attach itself to you, your life will be ruined. You’d be in danger.”
“My magic will protect me.”
“As it has so far? You yourself said the Horror is immune to you. I’m sure you could slow it down, but stop it? No, you can’t. Only I can. Give me the heart, Calex.”
Calex rises abruptly, leaning across the table and laying his palm on my forehead. I stay still, aware that he’s using his ability to read me. His eyelids flutter for a few seconds before he pulls his hand back and moves away from me.
“You speak the truth.”
“Yes. I need to stop this. Someone could get hurt.”
He slides the small box toward me. “You may have it on one condition.”
“What?”
“I want something special. Something only you can get for me. Knowledge, artifacts, anything.”
I sort through my mind, seeking something I could give without compromising my duties and responsibilities, and one pops into my mind. I could give this and Calex could not do anything dangerous with it. In fact, it might even inspire him to do better.
Closing my eyes, I call up the item in my mind, drawing it closer to me, and with a flick of my wrist, it appears on the table before me.
Calex’s dead gaze moves to it right away. “Is that what I think it is?”
“It’s an ancient Egyptian book of dead rites.” It’s a replica, but he doesn’t need to know that. “Very rare. There are only three surviving copies in the world. This comes from the Library of Knowledge.”
He takes it, smiling as he flips the pages. It’s full of hieroglyphics, drawings, and practices that are vague and benign. Even with his magic, he couldn’t cause any real damage.
“This is amazing.”
“The library is available to souls who are not banished for evil doings. In it is all the world’s collected knowledge. One could spend an eternity there and still not finish.”
“You mean, if you’re good, you have access to this?”
“That is exactly what I mean. Treasure it, as it may be the only thing you ever experience from that source. If the rumors are true.”
“I’m simply carrying on family tradition.”
“I am no judge.”
“I could lose my magic.” He lightly touches his eyes.
“But I could regain my true eyesight. We lose it when our magic matures—a trade my ancestors made for this power. I can see, of course, but there’s a thick gray film over everything.
No colors, not many details. I wouldn’t mind seeing the world as it is again. ”
“As I said, I am not a judge, nor do I deliver any justice. I’m merely explaining what’s to come.
The place darker souls go, the Below, is not pleasant.
There is no knowledge, no joy, no autonomy.
Should one manage to escape, they are hunted, and their subsequent banishment is worse than any fate your mortal mind can conjure.
This particular Horror has a nightmare waiting for him. ”
I scoop the box up and press it close to my chest.
“You’ve done a good thing today, Calex. Thank you.”
He nods, his expression thoughtful. “I have a feeling this visit has altered my path.”
“For the better, I hope.”
“Perhaps. What was your name?”
“Farnsworth Renard.”
I take my leave, ready to face the Horror and get Borja back. We have a lot more loving to do.
Love?
Goodness.
A rare smile tugs at my lips. Love. Maybe Elina was right and this is my reward. It’s my time to truly, finally, love a man, and be loved in return.
Isn’t that just the bee’s knees?