Chapter 19
As soon as the L.A.W. librarian, Duke, heard that Victoria had found a Kaleidoscope plant, he shouted, “Hold on. I need to see this plant. Don't let her leave!”
Joell, who had been keeping him updated, was taken aback by his unusual outburst.
“Okay, okay. Don't get your panties in a bunch. We’ll keep Victoria here.”
“I'll be there in a few moments.”
“Where are you, by the way?” Joell asked.
“I'm in Borneo. I was close enough that I thought I would save her the trouble and cost of gathering the last orchid plant.”
“And you can get here quickly?”
There was a thud in the background, and Joell felt the mansion shake under her feet.
“Look out the side window,” Duke said.
Joell rushed to the window and called out to Victoria. “Victoria! Come here, quick.”
Victoria hurried to Joell's side as fast as her little legs would carry her.
Joell pointed out the window and said, “Look, the librarian is here… I mean, the whole freaking library is here!”
The other witches streamed into the room after feeling the jolt and hearing Joell cry out for Victoria to come quickly.
“What's going on?” Sahara demanded.
Joell put an arm around Victoria and smiled over her shoulder. “Our mysterious librarian is here, and he brought the whole library with him.”
Victoria giggled. “Extraordinaire! Have any of you ever met him before?”
“Never,” they all said at once.
“He wants to see the Kaleidoscope plant that Victoria brought from Central America,” Joell said.
Just then, one of the handsomest men Victoria had ever seen strolled out of the library’s front entrance and down the stairs to the lawn.
He crossed the short distance to the mansion’s veranda, passed the large front windows on his way to the front double doors.
Before he arrived, Magda opened the doors for him and made a sweeping gesture with her arm.
“G’ day, Mr. Masterson. It's nice to finally see the librarian in person.”
“How do you know I'm the librarian?” Duke asked, as he strolled over the threshold. Suddenly, all the witches faced him with suspicious eyes.
He stopped where he stood and held up his hands, as if stopping them from whatever attack they might be planning.
“I'm sorry. I was just teasing. Look.” He dug out a wallet from his pocket and yanked out his magical librarian’s license, then he took his passport out of his inner jacket pocket and flipped it open, showing each of them his photo, name, and address, although the address was the same as the mansion’s on Long Island.
“Okay, you need to not tease us like that,” Victoria said.
“Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't even think about the time of the month or… whatever.”
The witches jammed their hands on their hips and stared at him aghast.
“What? Did you think Bas wouldn't fill me in on your activities? Look, I'm not one of those squeamish men who refuse to acknowledge a woman's unique bodily functions.”
Victoria sighed and said, “Alors… You're forgiven. It's not like you're the first person to step on a landmine with us during this particular time. That's why our weapons are locked up.”
He smiled. “Yes, I know. I'm not sure I would've been so willing to come otherwise. Here are all these fantastically talented witches, and sometimes you don’t even need to bring mortal weapons to a fight. I come in peace.”
Joell said, “We should all introduce ourselves. Unless you know each one of us by sight already?” The witches all cocked their heads at the same time as a question.
“I can guess about some of you, but not all. Please introduce yourselves, but I'll go first,” he said. “I am Duke Masterson, second librarian of the L.A.W. at your service.” He bowed.
“Who was the first?” Lioness asked.
“My father, Earl.”
Lioness leaned toward Magda and whispered, “Duke? Earl? Masterson? Might as well just call them Alpha McAlphason,” then giggled aloud.
The witches gathered around the librarian, eager to get more than a glimpse of the mysterious man.
He was about an inch over six feet tall, with brown hair and a touch of gray on his temples.
He could be in his late thirties or early fifties.
He had a deep, resonating voice that seemed to fill the room.
Victoria stepped up and introduced herself. “I'm Victoria, the one who's trapped in a dry cleaner's body. I wish we were meeting under other circumstances.”
“I understand,” he said.
Lioness stepped forward; her petite stature and wild blonde mane probably gave her away, but she introduced herself anyway. “Hello, Duke. I'm Lioness.”
He bowed to her slightly. Then nodded at the witch standing next to her. “You must be Magda.”
She stepped forward and said in her Australian accent, “Yeah, I'm Magda. Good on you for figuring that out, since I'm the only Aussie here, and I greeted you with ‘g’d day’.”
He chuckled and said, “Yes, Magda. You're one of the few I could identify.”
Sahara stepped forward. “I'm Sahara.” She didn't say anything else to identify herself, and Duke just said, “Nice to meet you,” to the attractive woman with long, brown hair streaked with reddish-blonde highlights. “I know you are the techie among them.”
Sahara nodded.
“I’m Brianna,” said the unidentified redhead. “I’m the newest member.”
“Yes. Congratulations on joining such an elite force for good.”
Crystal stepped forward. “’ello, luv. I'm Crystal. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The blue-eyed blonde let him hear her English accent.
“Yes, the Brit. Ex-Royal Navy,” Duke said. “The pleasure is mine.”
Joell stepped forward. “And I am Joell. You've heard my voice on the phone.”
“And I recognize it. Thank you for keeping me informed of the situation.” Duke looked around at all of them and said, “You're not exactly as I pictured you, but you’re all beautiful in very different ways, and I can sense your warrior spirits. I'm honored to meet you all.”
“Rayna isn’t here yet, but she’ll be arriving soon,” Joell added.
“I imagine she’s saying goodbye to her pets, who are hiding the weapons as we speak,” Duke said.
“Yes. You certainly know more about us than we know about you,” Sahara said. “Even with my tech skills, I couldn’t find a thing about you online.”
“Good. Then I’m doing my job. But it’s time to remedy that with my favorite witches, starting with Victoria. If you would allow me to see the plant you found, and describe how and where you found it, I’d be most interested.”
He smiled kindly at Victoria and waited. Victoria eagerly complied, taking the plant from her tote bag, then handing it to him to examine.
He carefully inspected it, running his fingers along the petals and marveling at the intricate details of the kaleidoscope pattern. “What a fascinating specimen,” he said. “It must be very rare since I had never even heard of it. I commend you on your find, Victoria.”
He then turned to the rest of the witches and said, “We must do our best to protect this plant. I’m sure it has the potential to unlock secrets. With it, we may be able to answer any number of needs.”
The witches all looked at Magda.
“Then Magda should take charge of it,” Victoria said. “She’s our resident horticulturalist. Meanwhile, will this save me from traipsing all over the world to gather ingredients for the body-switching spell?”
Duke shook his head, sadly. “I doubt it. You still need dirt from Chichen Itza, the woman who switched your bodies, and all the other stuff.”
“Wait. Just her body? Dead or alive?”
Duke coughed. “Alive! What you do to her body will be what you must deal with when you switch back.” Then he changed the subject. “Allow me to take you to the library and show you around,” he said.
Victoria strode into the library, a sense of excitement vibrating through her body. Of course, she hoped a book existed that would help her get her real body back, but to get a look at every occult text in the world, well, it was just beyond!
All around her, books of every age, colored bindings, and size sat on row upon row of sturdy oak shelves. She wondered if they had all been translated into English. Or maybe Duke spoke several languages.
“I will be traveling with you. Me and the library.”
Barely able to contain her swirling thoughts, she asked, “Do you have a book with a spell to help me?”
Duke smiled, already knowing the answer. “Yes, we do. It's right over here.”
Victoria followed him to the shelf where he pointed to the book, and she eagerly grabbed it off the shelf.
She hugged the book tightly to her chest, beaming with joy.
“Thank you so much,” she said in a shaky voice, almost in tears.
“The longer I stay in this body, the more I seem to be losing my French accent. I like my accent.”
“I like it too.” Then Duke hesitated, as if wondering if he should share something he knew. He must have changed his mind, because he smiled and said, “Enjoy your book.”
Victoria thanked Duke once more before heading off to a private corner of the library.
A modern orange leather sectional supported her body comfortably.
Her feet even met the floor. Did Duke adjust it?
He seemed like the kind of considerate person who would, if he could.
She wondered if he had magic but didn’t take the time to ask.
She eagerly opened the book, her eyes devouring the words. She had never seen a book like this before. It seemed to weave together knowledge from the occult and scientific realms. She felt a thrill of excitement as she read through the pages.
Suddenly, pages flipped on their own. A passage jumped out at her that seemed to answer her question. She read it over and over, her excitement growing as she realized that it held the key to what she was looking for. Victoria couldn't believe it. She'd found the spell.
Now, with the knowledge she had gained, she could move on to the next step of her journey—with Duke.
He sat beside her on the couch.
“Did you see this?”
He looked over at the passage she pointed to and nodded.
“Are you willing to help me travel to all these places?”
“I am,” he said. “Pack light. No designer gowns.”
“You wound me.”