Sabrina’s Wish

by Clyde Andrews

Table of Contents
Part 1 and part 2
appear in this issue.

Conclusion

He kept rambling on, just as all dark magicians did when asked about their plans. L.J.P. had heard enough and really had got the gist of it all anyway. It boiled down to the simple fact that this dark magician was crackers. How Sabrina could be even considered for such a task was beyond L.J.P. She was over fifty for a start and hardly in a position to be able to produce a child.

“Surely there must be more to this,” L.J.P. added, interrupting the Priest.

The Priest stopped, looked upset that L.J.P. had interrupted him, then smiled. “I will tell you, but only because you are a worthy adversary. Besides, old man, once I have told you I will then dispose of you. Simple really.”

“How very kind of you,” L.J.P. said, now stooping down to draw a protective circle around himself.

“Sabrina is a latent psychic. One that does not know about the power she possesses yet has always known that she was different.”

The penny dropped for L.J.P. “So by using her, she will produce a child that could be a magician and a psychic...”

“No, L.J.P.,” the Priest laughed. “She will produce a magician and a psychic. I will inseminate her with my and my lord’s seed when we summon him, thus guaranteeing it. We will prevail. We will be all-powerful. We will conquer all. And, my dear L.J.P., there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that you can do about it.”

L.J.P. shook his head. He could see the Priest’s wild eyes, the spittle flying from his mouth, and the extravagant gestures as he spoke those words. He was working himself up into a frenzy. The Priest, as far as L.J.P. was concerned was a fanatic. And really there was only one way to deal with a fanatic such as this.

L.J.P. began to chant in his circle, opting to go the only way he knew how when it came to dealing with a dark magician so warped by a false religion. L.J.P. began his exorcism.

“The demon, the cicatrix, the stain upon you shall be removed,” L.J.P. began. “I am the one that will remove it, draw it from you like poison from a wound.”

“Don’t make me laugh,” the Priest said. “You are nowhere near qualified enough to perform such a rite.”

hand But L.J.P. continued; he knew that he would affect the Priest eventually. He just hoped he could do so before the ceremony the Priest was about to perform on Sabrina began in earnest. He raised his hand — the one he had drawn not only algorithmic formula, but also an image of the cross — and continued his spell. He, however, did not aim his hand at the Priest; rather L.J.P. had another idea. He aimed the hand with the cross at Sabrina, for he wanted to free her while the Priest was distracted.

L.J.P. knew he had to attack the source of this ceremony first and foremost. The others were only puppets of the Priest: innocent, and unable to break free from his grasp even if they wanted to. The Priest was powerful, having control of so many all at once proved it, and L.J.P. had to tread carefully. But maybe, just maybe his hold was not so great. Sabrina, he knew would be used in the ceremony once all the candles had been lit and the chanting had reached a certain point. L.J.P. hoped Sabrina could be returned back from the darkness well before then.

The Priest now ignored the white magician, for he was busy with other concerns. He disrobed and stepped up onto the altar.

“Bring me my conduit,” he commanded.

Frederick Swanson’s daughter obeyed immediately. Escorting Sabrina to the altar. L.J.P. continued with his plan, although he decided to widen the protective circle around himself, as he was sure before this was over that he would have to accommodate more than just himself within it.

The choir boys lit the candles and the others, including the Priest, began their chanting. Sabrina was placed onto the altar, set down at the Priest’s feet. All was ready. L.J.P. knew he had little time left. Perspiration beaded on his forehead as he concentrated his efforts on the Priest and Sabrina all at the same time.

L.J.P. continued his chant, no matter how grim this situation was looking, determined that he was on the right track. He knew he had to wear down the Priest, who was the key to all this. Which almost made him chuckle to himself, for usually he was the one laughing at the dark magicians chanting away every time there was a candle lit. Now he was doing it. Today was turning out to be quite unusual: first he was surprised by Madam Trusaard, and now here he was chanting like a deranged dark magician.

Then it happened. All things came together at once. And it all happened so quickly; Sabrina, thanks to the blessing of L.J.P.’s cross formula, awoke from the dark place she had been sent to; the Priest lost control of all in his Coven; and the Demon — the one they had been summoning — appeared above the altar.

Once Sabrina gained full consciousness she was horrified to see a naked man standing over her. In the next second — as Sabrina realised the horror of this situation — he was flung from the altar, landing on the ground with a dull skin-on-concrete thud. Sabrina’s psychic abilities sprang forth at the shock of such a terrible sight. L.J.P. cried out with joy.

Sabrina seemed to repel the Priest with her mind: like a magnet of the same polarity would repel another. The Priest’s magic and her psychic force were obviously not compatible.

L.J.P. immediately stopped what he was doing and cried: “Quick, all of you, get into my circle.”

The boys rushed to the altar, plucked Sabrina from it and carried her to L.J.P. Frederick, his daughter, and the other members of the Coven, now themselves, seemed confused, but obeyed and came running with the boys. Meanwhile, the demon took on full form in the air above the altar.

Moments later things were rather cramped in the protective circle.

“I just knew I should have made the circle bigger still,” L.J.P. smiled.

“What’s going on?” Sabrina said, now holding onto L.J.P.

“It takes a heck of a lot of energy and effort, both magical and physical to summon a demon from another plane of existence,” L.J.P. explained in a voice just above a whisper. “No matter what you see, no matter how horrible, please remain quiet. We do not want to become the focus of a demon, now do we?”

Everyone in L.J.P.’s protective circle remained as quiet as church mice, just as L.J.P. had told them. What they witnessed was indeed terrible.

The demon, now fully formed screamed something with a voice that seemed to tear the air itself. The windows of the warehouse shattered and the floor vibrated. So much so that they found it hard to stand up without supporting each other in the tight confines of the circle.

“Stay in the circle,” L.J.P. whispered. “Don’t break it.”

What the demon said even L.J.P. did not understand, for it was spoken in such an ancient dialect that no human on Earth had heard it for well over 2,000 years. All except the Priest. He seemed to understand the demon quite well.

“My lord, show mercy. I am your true...”

He was cut off, for the demon struck him where he stood, sending him flying across the warehouse. All those in the circle shielded their eyes, including L.J.P. But what they could not see, they could hear. And what they heard was terrible.

A great battle ensued. The Priest for his life, and the demon enraged at his servant’s incompetence. And both were just as determined as the other to win.

The sounds of flesh being beaten, of bones and sinews being snapped, reverberated in the empty warehouse. Even more frightening were the cries of the demon, unlike any sound they had ever heard in their lives. Awesome and powerful, yet in pain all at the same time.

For a long while the Priest screamed something incoherent, sometimes chanting — casting his magic. The demon retaliated, continuing to strike the Priest, again and again with all the force he possessed.

Then all was silent.

L.J.P. was the first to look up. The warehouse was covered in blood and body bits; the walls, ceilings, and floor were splattered. It was sickening. But one thing L.J.P. did notice, besides all the carnage, was that the Priest and the demon were gone. They had vanquished each other.

“Where did they go?” Sabrina said. She too was shocked by the sight.

“As I said before: it takes a lot to summon a demon. I’m so glad when the dark magicians do all their own destroying, makes my job so much easier.”

“I think the demon was pissed, to be honest,” one of the boys piped up, eyes wide at the sight. The other boys nodded in agreement.

“Exactly, dear fellow. The demon was summoned to do a duty. One has to be very specific as to why they want a demon. When it arrived, it could not perform its duty. So, I don’t think I have to tell you the rest... It’s everywhere!”

L.J.P. rubbed out a formula from the circle with his foot. The circle was broken, and all within it were free to leave its protective shield. All sighed with relief.

“I am so sorry for getting you into this mess,” Frederick Swanson said to L.J.P. in a quiet voice, obviously ashamed that he has done the Priest’s dirty work, but also relieved that he had his daughter back once more.

“You were acting in your daughter’s best interest, that is all. You are not to blame,” L.J.P. smiled, patting him on the shoulder. “You did what you had to do to save your family, dear fellow.”

“Yes, Dad, you did what you had to,” his daughter said, stepping up to her father and giving him a warm hug. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear.

L.J.P. smiled. “And who shall I say you are, my dear? I can’t go around calling you Frederick’s daughter. You are a magician, after all.”

“I go by the name Ambrosia,” she said. “It’s not my real name, but I don’t use initials either... well, not since Dad and I got caught up in all this anyway.”

“I see,” L.J.P. said raising an eyebrow. “Then I am pleased to meet you, Ambrosia.”

“I think we should get out of here,” Sabrina said. “This place gives me the creeps.”

“I’m so glad we have a limousine,” L.J.P. added.

“Oh, why is that?” Frederick said.

“How else are we going to get all of these people home,” L.J.P. laughed.

Once Frederick had dropped off everyone, L.J.P. and Sabrina were once more left at the casino. They insisted. After all, he was still on a date and absolutely starving too. It had been a rather busy day.

“Sabrina my dear, I am so sorry I did not tell you about what I was before... but I just wanted this to be... normal,” L.J.P. said, finding the words difficult. He had never had a normal life in any sense of the word, let alone one day.

“You know what I wish for, darling?” Sabrina said.

“No, I don’t.”

“I wish I was like you,” she replied.

“You do?”

They were led to their table by the waiter. They sat and studied the menu’s that were handed to them. L.J.P. ordered the wine immediately.

“Yes, I wish I was a magician, able to use my power to correct wrongs... But I know I can’t...”

“But you’re a psychic, and from what I’ve learned of them lately, they can be quite powerful too. You can be like me... only different... if you know what I mean.”

“You remember the time I repaired your car — the time you were broken down by the air port. You had that lovely lady with you — what was her name? Ahh, yes, Mrs. Walters, I think.”

“How could I forget.”

“I had a premonition about it, that’s why I came when I did,” she said, suddenly looking sad.

“What’s the matter, my dear?”

“I just realised what all this means.”

“You have?”

“Yes,” she sighed. “It means that I can never see you again. It means that because you are a magician, and I am a what I am, we can not risk being in a relationship. The dark magicians will always find a way to get to one of us through the other.”

“You’re right, dear Sabrina,” L.J.P. said, pouring her a wine. “It does not take a psychic to work that out. But, then again, my dear, that doesn’t stop us from forming an — how shall I say this... alliance.”

Sabrina smiled slowly, raised her glass, and said: “To us. May dark magicians never worry us. An alliance it shall be.”

“To us,” he said as their glasses clinked.

L.J.P. and Sabrina enjoyed their first and last meal together. The evening was wonderful, and it would be one that L.J.P. and indeed Sabrina would remember for the rest of their lives.

When they finished, L.J.P. said: “Do you fancy an ice cream, my treat.”

“Of course. But lets go down to that ice cream shop I saw on the boardwalk — I love the strawberry ones they have down there. They use real strawberries.”

“Deal.”

“Then I will pay Madam Trusaard a visit. She’s expecting me.”

L.J.P. laughed. “I’m not even going to ask how you knew that, my dear sweet Sabrina.”

“I don’t really understand it all myself,” she laughed. “But I do know I will be seeing you again very soon, L.J.P.”