THIRTEEN

 

I looked out over my packed class and smiled. The first few sessions had generated a buzz among students and more people had signed up for no credit just to hear the debates between T.J. and Farley.

“Today’s class is on the profound subject of mind and matter,” I told them. “I’m sure you’ve all heard the riddle, ‘If a tree falls in the forest and no one’s there, does it make a sound?’ Some would say it has to because when an object has matter and hits the ground, it causes the ripple of sound waves. Some would say it doesn’t because reality is only as it is perceived through the senses of the eyewitness, or in this case, the earwitness.”

Some participants chuckled.

I went on with my lecture going over philosophers and their theories, different avenues of thought and branches of science, looking at each. Then I began my conclusion. “So, today we looked at thoughts of the mind and objects, things considered to have mass, size, location. Western cultures identify more with matter. Eastern cultures identify more with the mind. But we are in an age of spiritual awakening where everyone has become more open to the reality of a collective consciousness.

“Ask yourself, are mind and matter mutually exclusive, and if they are, then how can one affect the other? For instance, you may say to yourself, ‘After class I’m going to Jacksonville.’ Then you go out get in your car, and your body takes you there.”

“Not if it’s out of gas,” one student in the back said. Some students laughed, and one patted him on the back.

“No, your car doesn’t necessarily take you there,” Farley said. “But if it’s your intent to go to Jacksonville, you’ll find a way to achieve the desired result.”

“Exactly,” I said. “I’m sure many of you read the book ‘The Secret’ when it came out, or one called ‘The Law of Attraction.’ How much do our thoughts actually control our manifestation of objects? Does anyone have an example how the mind and matter can work in conjunction with each other?”

T.J. raised his hand. “The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. If there is a false prediction one adopts as truth, then he may well adopt a new behavior to make the prediction come true.”

Farley laughed. “Well, now we know you believe the glass is half empty. If you believed it was half-full you would have said, like I do, that the belief something great can happen to me will assist me in adopting a behavior that will make my great event actually occur. Like going out with a beautiful woman.”

T.J.’s eyes threw daggers at Farley. “I doubt that would work for you, Farley. Better adopt the half-empty philosophy.”

The class roared.

“Okay, so write a paper on how the mind can influence matter, or why you think they’re mutually exclusive,” I told everyone. “We’re a couple of minutes early, so it’s my gift to you for thinking about it and, therefore, manifesting it.”

Everyone filed out. T.J. walked over to me and whispered, “Doing anything tonight?”

Rats! I nodded. “I’m helping a friend with a problem.”

“Oh.” He looked at me suspiciously. “All right. Maybe some other time.”

As he started to walk away, Farley approached me. “See you tonight at ten, teach.”

I didn’t have to look because I felt T.J.’s eyes burning though my back.

* * * *

 

“He’s gotta think I’m just leading him on,” I told Natasha as we waited for the florist to package up some white rose petals. “I told him I was helping a friend, and then Farley walks up intimating a date.”

“Look on the bright side. At least you said friend and not lover.”

“Well, we were in class, and I’d already told him how I was on thin ice for seeing both of them out of class.”

“Ooh, not good. Especially since you never answered him after he’d bared all in the car. How he felt anyway. I bet that cutie patootie looks great naked.”

I stared at her. She chuckled. “Okay I’m already in love, but I’m not blind.”

The florist came out of the back with a smile. “Here, if you need any more, come back. Lots of folks like them for potpourri.”

I paid and we left. Driving back to my house, I looked over at Natasha. “I wonder what that woman would say if I told her we needed these for a spell to exorcize a demon.”

She giggled. “It would be a first. Now back to T.J., what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. We have to go through with the exorcism, and even if I knew where T.J. lived, I couldn’t just show up there and try to talk my way through this fiasco. Besides, we have to get the honeysuckle vine.”

“Not to worry. I went to the nursery early this a.m. and found some. It’s in a jar of water at the house. Just call me super green hair.”

“You’re a good friend.” I pulled up in the driveway next to Natasha’s car. “Want to come in?”

“Not really.” She pointed at the house, and I saw T.J. standing on the porch. “Just tell him the truth about tonight.”

I looked at her skeptically. “How do I tell a man in his right mind we’re exorcizing a demon tonight?”

She shrugged. “He didn’t believe you could play golf either. Maybe he won’t call you on this one. Especially considering the demon’s in Farley. That he can probably believe.” She jumped out and waved as she got into her car, started the engine and pulled off.

I got out, my feet feeling like lead. You know that feeling you get when you’re climbing upward in a roller coaster and just before you crest the top and you realize how far up you are, your knees knock at the realization you’re getting ready to go back down? That’s how I felt.

I walked up the front stairs and tried to look at ease. “What’re you doing here?”

“I thought we needed to talk.”

“Okay, want to come inside?”

He shook his head. “Don’t need to. Let’s sit on the step.”

I sat down and he eased down next to me. “Look T.J., about tonight, I—”

“You don’t need to explain anything to me.”

“Yes I do. I know you heard Farley mention about seeing me tonight and I wanted you to know I’m not going out with him.”

He smirked. “What are you doing, tutoring him?”

“No.” I sat there biting my lip, not knowing what to say. I couldn’t lie, but what could I say that didn’t sound like one? “Okay, here’s the truth. It’s going to sound crazy, but I swear it’s the one hundred percent truth.”

“Okay.” He clenched his hands together, his knuckles turning white.

“Hazel, my friend and next door neighbor is a white witch.”

He grinned. “Oh boy. This is going to be a good one.”

I rubbed my hands together. “It’s true. You can find her name on the ‘White Witches of Beachdom’ website. Anyway, she thinks Farley has a demon hanging around or inside of him. So we’re going to try a spell tonight and see if we can exorcize the demon.”

His eyes grew wide in surprise. “Miranda, that’s not safe. If the demon gets angry, it’ll attack you.”

“You believe me?”

He nodded. “Of course I believe you. I own a metaphysical bookstore, don’t I?”

“Well, we have a back-up plan that simulates death but won’t hurt Farley,” I told him. “I guarantee it’s safe, and my friends will be there too, with some of their, um, friends and bodyguards sort of.”

“I’ll come too,” he said.

“No, it isn’t necessary. You said yourself Farley doesn’t like you that much. I sincerely believe we can do this with the folks who’re coming.”

“Okay, I guess you’re right.” He grabbed me by both arms and looked into my eyes. “Call me when you’re finished. Better yet, come see me.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I meant to give you this the other day. It’s my address. I want to see you afterwards so I can see you’re all right.”

I looked at the address and back up at him. “This is a just a few doors up.”

He nodded. “I didn’t drive, did I?” He bent and kissed me tenderly on the lips. “Thanks for telling me the truth.”

* * * *

 

That night at Hazel’s, I felt like I had ants in my pants. Never in all my lives had I risked coming into purposeful contact with a demon. They always seemed to find me without my trying. All the guys hid in the other room of Hazel’s house where they could listen, but Farley wouldn’t know they were there. We didn’t want to alert the demon.

A knock on the door signaled us Farley had arrived. Hazel walked to the door and opened it. “Come on in.” She waved him in. “The party is getting ready to begin.”

“I wasn’t sure I had the right house till I saw the witch’s broom on the front porch.”

Hazel chuckled. “That’s not a witch’s broom. It’s the one I bought at the hardware store to clean off the porch. We don’t fly on brooms anymore.” Her eyes sparkled in mischief. “We use vacuum cleaners now.”

Farley looked up in surprise and started to laugh. “Sorry, I guess my statement was pretty ludicrous. Where do I sit, and what am I supposed to do for this séance, or whatever it is?”

“You sit inside this triangle I’ve drawn on that big piece of linoleum I got. I didn’t want to permanently damage the floor.”

He nodded.

I picked up Merle, stroking her fur. “Merle and I are ready whenever you get things set up, Hazel.” My cat and I had practiced our part. Hazel had told me I would have to recite the chant, because Merle was my familiar. Our energies worked together when we were fighting off evil, resulting in double the strength I could have achieved by myself. Hazel said the best way to achieve maximum power was like Kim Novak did in an old movie. Hold the cat up at the face, my eyes looking just over her head, so both sets of eyes could train on the subject. In this case, that was Farley.

“Okay, let me light the candle.” Hazel bustled around where Farley sat, putting the candle on a small occasional table in front of him. She also lit the incense which we’d placed in a small bud vase. Finally she sprinkled white rose blossoms on the floor around Farley’s feet and placed a wreath of honeysuckle on his head. “Now, I can blow the eye of newt across him when you get to the right spot in the incantation.”

I nodded. I noticed the glass that also sat on Farley’s table. That was the potion he’d have to drink if we implemented Plan B. Here was hoping, if we needed the plan. Farley could drink it before the demon stopped him.

“Okay. Are we ready?” I asked.

“This seems like a really strange way to summon a potential demon.” Farley exhaled sharply. “What happened to a gazing ball?”

“Believe me, this will be much more effective,” Hazel told him. “Go ahead, Miranda.”

I sat and held Merle up at face level.

“Honeysuckle vine does twine,

Round the man who’s soul he binds,

Demon rules what he does do,

Spreading evil round and through.

In the candle glow of night,

Among the roses all in white,

Demon hides from all that’s bright,

Him we call to come in sight.”

As I ended the last stanza, Hazel blew the ground salamanders into the air over Farley. He sneezed, and as he looked up, his eyes had turned solid black. “How dare you summon me, you weak excuses for magick? Do you not know who I am? I am Marid, supreme being of the Jinn. You cannot harm me.”

A Greater Demon! Oh boy.

His voice was low and menacing. Farley’s body jerked as the real Farley tried to regain control. At least the spell had weakened the demon’s power.

“Come out where we can see you, you sissy,” I said. “Stop hiding behind an innocent man’s façade.”

“You will not trick me. I will not vacate this body until my mission is finished.” As he tried to stand, Farley willed his eyes shut as he fought the demon.

“Hazel, this isn’t working!” I screamed. “Plan B.”

Hazel grabbed the glass from the table. “Farley, drink this.”

Again, Farley fought the demon for control over his hand and arm. One hand grabbed at the other one, as the strange and fascinating animation played out. I prayed to all that was holy Farley could win out at least to the extent of getting the fluid down.

Shaking, Farley’s hand reached for the glass. He grabbed it, and almost dropping it, regained control and tipped the glass to his mouth. A few drops dribbled down his chin as he quickly drank it, coughing as he gulped.

The empty glass fell from his hand as he gasped and grabbed his throat. “What have you done?” he asked in Farley’s voice. “This visit was just to talk. What have you given me?”

“Poison,” Hazel said. “It was the only way, Farley. If the demon wouldn’t vacate we had to kill you.”

“I will not fall for such folly!” the demon screamed. “This is but a poor witch’s joke of a potion, but not death threatening.”

“To hell, it isn’t!” Farley shouted back. “I can’t breathe.” He grabbed his chest as he fell to the floor.

I let Merle loose as I ran to his side. I was prepared with my performance. “Farley, I am so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. You would have been killed by that Marid and be eternally damned to be his minion. I had to save your soul.”

His eyes softened for a moment as he grabbed my hand. “I understand. It’s okay.”

His breaths came in gulps, less and less, then down to one every few seconds.

“The hell it is,” the demon screamed. He spiraled upward in a thin vapor and materialized in his real form, a large hulking creature, long razor-sharp teeth and black fluid dripping from them. “So, now I’ll kill you for ruining my cover. Your friends will never know.”

“I invoke my guardian,” I said, “and all who are nearby. Please come to our aid.”

The demon swiped at me, knocking me down and opening a wound on my arm.

Small bright balls of pink whizzed through the room spinning around the demon at warp speed counterclockwise. Then one large ball of green and another one of blue descended from the ceiling, bursting into life just above him. All the guardians appeared, including Michael, to my surprise and delight. Ariel, as a lion, roared and sprang forward, slashing at the demon’s face. Then, Michael screamed, “Back!” Waving his sword over his head he held the hilt forcefully, and brought it down, slicing the Marid in two.

Michael nodded to the others, and they all bowed their heads. Then, they disappeared with the demon.

Outside the window, lights sparkled in the distance. Hazel looked out. “What a beautiful meteor shower.”

I shook my head. “His minions have been released to the light.”

“Oh my.”

Josh, Seth, Natasha, and Gregory came running out of the room next door. “Boy, it was really cool to see this from the other side for a change,” Josh said with a smile.

“Wow, sounded like a real battle,” Seth said.

“It was.” I fell to the floor. “Farley, are you okay?”

“What happened?” he asked. “Where am I?” He winced as he held his head.

“It’s going to take a while for him to have all his faculties,” Seth said. “It’s fast acting, but does leave a punch of a hangover.”

Hazel patted me on the hand. “You need a bandage on that arm. I can take care of Farley, but you promised to see T.J. when this was over. Go on. He’ll be worried.”

I nodded. I couldn’t wait to have his arms around me after this fight.

“Miranda, wait!” Gregory called out.

I turned and looked at him.

“Follow your heart. Know what is true and don’t be afraid to say it.”

I nodded. “I’m not any more. Not after this.”