PART III
CHAPTER 9
Phone Call
4 YEARS LATER
Jay was asleep in bed next to his girlfriend when his cell phone went off. He sat up and grabbed the phone of the nightstand.
"This is Dr. Longbranch," he said groggily.
"Jay?"
His eyes flew open.
"Leah?"
"Oh thank God you answered. We have a huge problem!" his sister said.
"A problem, that needs to be dealt with at three thirty in the morning?"
"Yes!"
"Ok, calm down. What is it?"
"It's Mom. She's lost her powers."
"What! How?"
"Her weirstone was removed using magic."
Jay clutched the phone hard enough to nearly break it, he felt his girlfriend's hand on his shoulder and her lips brushing his neck; he relaxed quite a bit.
"Leah, you need to bring Dr. Longbranch here to Boston."
"Ok, Jay, I'll have her get ready in the morning, and then we'll leave. If we go by plane we should be there sometime tomorrow night," Leah said, and then hung up.
Jay sighed setting the phone down, then ran a hand through his spiky black hair.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" his girlfriend asked.
"Nothing I just have to do something for Jessamine Longbranch. Her weirstone was removed."
"Why should you do anything for her? I mean, what's she ever done for you?"
"It's a long story ok," Jay said standing up.
He pulled a t-shirt on, took off his pajama pants and put on some jeans.
"Where are you going at three forty in the morning?" she asked.
"I have to go out so I can think for a minute."
The next night Jay was waiting at the airport, leaned up against the side of his 2011 black Dodge Charger, one hand his pocket, and smoking a cigarette. He had picked up the bad habit two years prior. The warrior was watching for two familiar black manes of hair. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone walking up to his car, and when he turned to look at the person approaching a grin spread across his handsome face.
"Hey, Leah," he said, throwing the cigarette on the ground and smashing it with his foot.
"Hey, Jay," his sister said, giving him a hug.
"Hello, Dr. Longbranch," Jay said to his mother.
"Hello, Jay," she replied, with a tired voice.
He opened the passenger door for Jessamine, then the right back door for Leah. Jay shut the two car doors then walked around to the driver's side and got in. As he started the car he could hear Leah chuckling.
"What are you chuckling for?" he asked her, revving the engine.
"Oh nothing. Just the fact that you actually brought a car with a back seat this time," the young wizard said, smiling at her older brother.
Jessamine looked at her children, raising an eyebrow at Leah's comment.
He rolled his eyes at her but was smiling himself. They pulled out of the airport parking lot, headed for Jay's house.
Little did they know, someone from Jessamine Longbranch's past was watching them with a dropped jaw.
THE NEXT DAY
Jackson Swift was in a store parking lot with his father, still a bit jumpy from what he had seen the night before. The young warrior couldn't believe that Jessamine Longbranch, the heart surgeon that had implanted his warrior stone, had come to Boston at the same time as him. The last he saw of the White Rose wizard, she had been cringing on the ground screaming in agony, as she was turned to Anaweir. He hadn't expected to see the surgeon in Boston, much less the states, because of what had happened. But the battle of Trinity had been months ago, so why was she in Boston, Jack wondered.
When he turned his head he saw the man that Longbranch had left the airport with.
"Hey, Dad," Jack said, tapping on his father's shoulder. Then pointing to Jay he said, "Who's that guy?"
"Oh, that's Dr. Jay Longbranch, he's a heart surgeon. A damn good one at that," Thomas Swift said.
"Is he by chance related to Jessamine Longbranch, you know the heart surgeon in London?"
"The one who saved you as a child? Well I don't know I guess it's possible since they have the same last names. Hey, Jack we need to go."
"Can I just stay here? I wanted to look around the store some more."
"That's fine. Just call me when you're ready for me to come get you ok."
"Yeah, ok."
Jay was starting to climb into his car when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a boy, well muscled, about three fourths his height with red blond hair and blue eyes.
"Can I help you," Jay asked a little annoyed.
"You're Dr. Longbranch aren't you?" the boy asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Jack Swift," Jack said sticking his hand out to Jay.
Jay shook his hand, and was surprised to meet a strong grip.
He's a warrior, Jay thought.
"You're a warrior," Jack said, a little surprised himself.
"Yeah and so are you. What do you want kid, I have some place to be."
"Why did I see Jessamine Longbranch climbing into your car yesterday night?"
That question caught him off guard.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because. She's evil, so if you're helping her, you'll be sorry."
"I've known her since I was fifteen, and she seems fine to me."
"Are you related to her? Is that why you're helping her?"
"We're distantly related, she's my third cousin or something like that."
"Then why do you have the same last name?"
"How should I know? I don't pay attention to that stuff!" Jay said, greatly annoyed.
"Don't help her."
"Why not?"
"She's done a lot of bad things to a lot of people, including me."
"Oh and what exactly did she do to you?"
"I was born without a wizard stone, and I was dying so she implanted a warrior stone in me."
"You should be grateful. Sounds like to me she saved your life."
"Yeah well that may be but she did it so she could have a warrior to play in the Game. She's also murdered people just to get what she wants and a few months ago she laid siege to my town along with Claude D'Orsay and Geoffrey Wylie. One of my friends was killed and my other friend Ellen almost died as well."
"Well I'm sorry to hear that, but I really have to go. Nice talkin' with ya," Jay said, slamming the car door shut.
What this younger warrior had said to him gave him an idea.
When Jay ran into his house to get out of the rain, he saw Jessamine sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket, drinking a glass of Jay's finest wine.
"Is that wine treating you well?" he asked.
"It seems that you inherited my fine taste for wine," she said with a small smile.
He smiled back, then sat down next to his mother.
"Mom, I have an idea that might help you become a wizard again."
She looked at him with wide eyes. "What is it?" she asked greedily.
"All we need to do is find a wizard stone and implant it in your chest."
She shivered a little, remembering Jackson Swift.
"And what gave you this idea?"
"I met an old 'friend' of yours while I was out today. His name was Jack Swift. He tried telling me that I shouldn't be helping you because you were evil."
She just stared at the floor. Jess was really happy, overjoyed in fact, that her son had been able to come up with an idea to help her become a wizard again, but this one hit real close to home.
"That's great, I'm glad you were able to come up with something."
"Now the problem is finding a wizard stone," he said, scratching his head.
Jay's girlfriend walked into the living room.
"I can help you there," she said.
"You know where we can get one?" Jay asked.
"Yeah, I have a couple of friends who are traders. I'll give 'em a call and see when they can meet you with it."