QUEEN OF THE CASTLE
To Ethan's eyes, it looked as if Stephanie had picked up a small wooden hammer. But a moment later, Ethan realized it wasn't a hammer, but a gavel.
It made no sense to Ethan, so he looked at Sarah. Sarah shook her head. Benny shrugged.
"She's going to bean us with it?" suggested Rory.
Stephanie gave her high pitched titter, as she lovingly caressed the gavel.
"I've given it thought, what I'd do if I had to face the five of you" said Stephanie. "Even in my victory, you don't know what hardships I put up with the last few weeks. Forced by you five and Evelyn into plotting, scheming, living in seclusion. And dating Malcolm was even worse. It's as bad as dating one of you three geeks here. And Malcolm's evil twin? And then there was just creeping around. Breaking into the Weir garage. Hiding in a hole like Moose Factory. Setting up your doom here. Thinking up this fool-proof plan."
"A fool proof plan thought up by a fool" said Erica.
"Laugh while you can, Erica" Stephanie continued. "But the others seemed to put a lot of faith in good being more powerful than evil. Evelyn always did believe that."
"Only because it's true" said Benny.
"Ethan admitted you five weren't perfect" Stephanie went on. "Only you were lucky, because it was just a little too much punishment that three of you had your souls cursed forever for their mistakes. Well, then, I'll make you five suffer a just fate" said Stephanie with a malicious smirk. "You think you're on the side of good and light? That lets you do whatever you want? You're as bad as I am. No worse! Well? I am going to give each of you a punishment to fit your crimes. That way, your punishments will last for life. Maybe even longer!"
And she laughed once more, while Team Sabre plus Erica stared at her.
As for Jesse, he shook his head as if confirming to himself Stephanie's stupidity. Then Jesse shrugged it off, leaned back and gave the appearance of looking forward to watching something that looked to be a lot of fun.
"What do you mean by crimes?" asked Rory.
"I think she means sins" said Ethan disgusted. "It's Anastasia and Harlow giving orders all over again. Only it's a witch instead of a vamp. She thinks she's going to punish us for the mistakes we made in our lives."
"Stephanie thinks she can take on the job of a higher court" said Sarah icily.
"You know, you're taking a page of Jesse's old book, when he was the not so right-Reverend Horace Black" Ethan said heatedly, as he turned to Stephanie. "You sold your soul. But now you think you're a combination minister and judge. This isn't going to end well. You know it."
"Not end well for you, I know that" interrupted Stephanie. "But now you're having me speaking in cliches. Geek! You know courts are used, worldwide, to enforce laws against sin all the time."
"You're not a real court" said Benny.
"I am the law" said Stephanie.
"You're not Judge Dread either" said Benny insolently.
"Judge Dread is a comic book character living in a dystopian future" Ethan said, on noticing Sarah and Erica's puzzled faces. "He's judge, jury and executioner in . . . ."
"I really needed to know that right now" Erica retorted.
"I'm not interested in your children's comics" Stephanie said contemptuously. "Remember, you are in my castle, and my town."
"Abandoned hotel and ghost town" Benny replied. "As they looked back in 1956."
"That's enough of you" said Stephanie, raising her hand. "Ut quiescat, donec omnes vos loqui bid."
There was a thunderclap.
The five teens were forced into silence. No matter how hard they tried to speak, they couldn't.
Stephanie returned to her chair.
"You can expect judgement without compassion" said Stephanie. "That's true justice."
"That's a parody of justice" shrugged Jesse, surprisingly enough. "Your whole idea is."
"Why, you sympathize with them?" said Stephanie.
"No, but I know stupid when I see it" Jesse yawned. "Trust me, I know more about souls than you."
"I'm not interested in souls" said Stephanie. "I don't intend to do anything to their souls. Are you done?"
Jesse shrugged.
"Try it"
Stephanie smiled, and tittered.
"Now who's first? My oldest enemy here, Evelyn. That is, her grandson. Jack."
Benny was abruptly pulled feet first to a point just in front of Stephanie. Being tall, and a zombie to boot, Benny tumbled ungainly onto the floor.
"The name is Benny" he said angrily, from his spot on the floor.
"Evelyn's only grandson" repeated Stephanie with a smirk. "Right where I want him."
"Leave Grandma out of it" said Benny.
"You have a fun history" said Stephanie. "Ever since you reached fourteen, and your innate magic powers started flowing through your veins, you've loved to use them for yourself."
"And fighting evil" Benny insisted. "Monsters. An awesome spellmaster fighting on the side of good."
"Don't lie to me" said Stephanie, as she held the gavel in her hands like a magic wand. "You've been looking up spells you thought were cool. Like the inside-out spell."
"I just wanted to see what it was like" Benny said. "You know I never used it . . . willingly . . . after that one time to see what it did on that mouse."
"I don't care. Oh, casting a love potion to get girls. Casting a spell to try and get chicks. Bringing back animals from the dead to try and impress Della . . . too bad you'll never see her again."
"You're the zombie-queen here" Benny said indignantly. "I made one mistake with that lawn of the dead-thingy. Besides Grandma already punished me for that."
"I'm not the one being judged" said Stephanie, with a titter. "You are. And you're so selfish. Thinking about making youtube videos. Making a potion to make yourself the next Sidney Crosby. I can go on. Trying to use Ethan to look into the future. Hypnotising cats to bark like dogs and dogs to meow like cats."
"They're just pranks!" said Benny.
"I can go through your less magical pranks" said Stephanie. "Or calling a teacher a fart head. Trying to sneak into a girl's locker room. But I won't. I know you're guilty.
"I don't answer to you, witch" said Benny, whose was so enraged his black pupil-less eyes seemed to boil like hot tar. "Did I say witch? I meant . . . ."
"That's enough . . . Ut quiescat" said Stephanie, and Benny found himself speaking without sound.
Stephanie lowered her gavel, rapping it several times on the table.
"I rule you should lose your magical powers for the rest of your life. Well, what are you grinning at? Do you think I can't do it?" demanded Stephanie. "That Evelyn will undo it. That my powers will again be broken? Speak!"
"I . . . didn't say you couldn't" said Benny, evasively.
"But I know what you're thinking" said Stephanie, with a wide smile. "Which is why you are also my zombie slave for the rest of your natural life. Well" Stephanie went on, with a laugh, "un-natural life from now on."
Stephanie raised her hand and muttered another spell.
Benny jumped up as if he had been given a hot foot, and then suffered yet another very bad shock.
"Anything the matter ma'am?" said Benny, in his calm bellboy's voice.
"No, that will be all Jack" said Stephanie. "But I would like you to stand behind me, to my left. But first, go to the kitchenette and make Jesse and me some café ole."
"Just make my coffee black" said Jesse.
"Yes, ma'am" said Benny. "Yes sir."
"Make sure you're fast, Jack" said Jesse. "I hate cold coffee."
Ethan, Sarah, Rory and even Erica were shocked. Benny had hopelessly reverted to "Jack" the bellhop, with a wave of Stephanie's hand.
"Jesse, I'm getting sick of seeing those eighteenth century clothes of yours" said Stephanie. "Are you ready?"
"I wanted to settle the traitor first" said Jesse. "You need to deal with him, before Jack comes back with my coffee."
"Well, let's see Rory Ransom Keener" said Stephanie.
Rory was slid across the floor only to hastily clamber up before the witch-and-ghost-duo.
"I've been sorry about the bloodsucker thing for months" Rory said, as that was what he expected to be condemned for. "And Benny's been sorry about the whole misuse of magic thing. Come on, Stephanie. Turn him back."
"Oh, you've been sorry about becoming a bloodsucker" said Stephanie. "Like that should matter. Maybe being bitten and brainwashed wasn't your fault. Maybe you don't even have murder on your conscious. But there's one thing you can't escape."
"What?" asked Rory.
"For almost two years . . . ." started Stephanie.
"One year, ten months" said Rory determinedly.
"You stole life to survive" Stephanie said.
"Huh?" said Rory.
"By drinking their blood, you drained the life out of the animals you killed" Jesse said casually.
"You're lecturing me, about stealing lives!" said Rory indignantly.
"No, she is" said Jesse cooly. "But it's not easy to make a moron like you understand."
"I could also go over a long history of pranks" said Stephanie. "But I won't."
"My pranks don't cause anyone anything worse than an orange face or a bucketful of water to their head" Rory retorted. "Doug Falconheart's Rule One of pranks is that you don't hurt anyone in anything except their dignity. My . . . pranks . . . are . . . awesome."
"Like . . . I . . . care" said Stephanie. "Drinking blood is different from eating meat. The blood is the life. When you drink blood, you steal life. You can't make up for the lives you stole. You should sooner have died of a painful starvation after being bit by Erica than taste a single drop of blood. You should have died in agony, every fibre of your cursed fledgeling body thirsting for blood."
"Nuh-uh?" said Rory, who looked to his friends, was unsure of the answer.
Ethan shook his head. Ethan's eyes positively blazed yellow. His shock over Benny had returned to anger. Although Ethan didn't know what Stephanie's plans were with Rory, but he did realize that she was playing mind games with him.
"I guess I should have looked to that blood substitute that Sarah used to use" Rory admitted. "But Benny's Grandma wouldn't have made it for me since Jesse . . . ."
Rory had been looking at Stephanie, but now he stared at Jesse. Rory had been cautious enough when Jesse appeared through the Spirit Speaker, but now Rory glared at the mocking ghost with unconcealed anger.
"It's too late" said Stephanie, as she again rapped her gavel. "You can't give those rats and birds their lives back, can you? So you must forfeit your life for another. "Tu animam tuam detrimentum faciat animae vis alterius et renovare."
Rory was gone in an instant, replaced by the short action figure of a helmeted astronaut that had fallen with a thud upon the floor.
"You see, it's a lot like the spell Jane used to bring to life Debbie Dazzle" said Stephanie. "Only it has a much more permanent effect."
Ethan, for his part, only stared at the action figure a moment. He looked at Jesse with his furiously burning eyes.
Jesse was back in the same clothes he had worn when he had aged to death, right after the Lucifractor exploded. But Jesse was only almost the same. Ethan didn't notice, but Sarah did.
Jesse was thinner, slightly shorter, and had a more boyish face.
"In the flesh, Ethan" said Jesse. "The living, human flesh"
To prove it, Jesse snapped his left thumb and forefinger. To Ethan, Sarah and Erica's surprise, like Benny's, Jesse's thumb set out a few magical sparks.
Jesse smirked at their shocked faces.
"You forget, I was born a spellmaster" Jesse said. "Your geeky friend was a sixteen year old boy. I have his life force. I'm restored to my living, breathing sixteen-year-old self."
Jesse rudely picked up Rory, holding him upside down by his plastic, space-suited foot.
"Nice work" Jesse said casually. "Rory's even stamped Made in Canada with a red maple leaf on his right heel. He ought to get at least a dollar at a good yard sale."
"Pass him to me . . . oh, I should say it" said Stephanie, with a laugh. "You haven't seen the best part. Try the button on top of his helmet."
Stephanie duly pressed a blue button atop Rory.
"Whazzzzzzzzzzzzz-up!" said Rory. "Whazzzzzzz-up!" "Awesome!" "You can call me the Rorster!"
Stephanie and Jesse were still laughing when "Jack the Bellhop" returned with their coffee.