Chapter 10

The opening was played by piano and then the orchestra began to accompany the soft delicate pianos tones of Josette's music box and the members of the dance party executed the light miniature steps of the dance with as much precision as any amateur could produce. What was to follow was Reginald Dunst was going to join her mother on the dance floor and once again, her mother was going to dance the waltz she had perfected those many years ago as she danced for Josette's father.

Josette leaned against the open door arches and watched as her mother moved with such grace moving about the room that for a moment Josette was transported back to the night she first witnessed her mother dance. Mrs. Dunst was orchestrating the drama of the dance as she used a huge fog machine to cover the dance floor to give the room a surreal feel.

Then her mother appeared with Reginald on his arm and moved in tranquility of shear material that floated and drifted around her legs in flowing movements that lent an air of aliveness to the dance. She was amazed at how utterly beautiful her mother looked movng to the soft music of one of her favorite waltz's.

As the opening ceremonies and her mother's dance concluded and the party broke up to groups and the air became alive with the hum of voices, occasionally interrupted by laughter and in the background were the sounds of period dance music co-mingled with the hard throbbing rock songs being played on the front lawn. Josette knew she was home and it actually felt good.

She watched as her mother Victoria moved among the guests and greeted them as they greeted her. Josette knew this evening was always exhilarating to her mother. Her mother tried to hide the fact she had felt once again she had returned to the past. A place she had shared with her father and had loved so much for a period of time.

Vicki had chosen to watch and enjoy the night drifting along the outside of the gathering, Vicki felt as if she really had passed back into time and it pleased her very much. It was this time that gave her a glimpse of the time she had spent at Collinwood while it was being built.

A time where it had become tumultuous and would eventually lead to her being tried as a witch and hanged. A part of her knew Angelique had after many years escaped from nine hells. Though she had not tried to appear at Collinwood, she knew she was there in the world probably waiting and watching to make her next move. Vicki was waiting and would be prepared to face her old adversary if she had decided to make an appearance.

Glancing around she saw Barnabus with Julia and Timothy and she smiled. Her life with Barnabus had completed her. She had a lovely family, lived with a man that loved her completely and she had found her mother and father. She had more family and background than she could have ever hoped to have.

Soon, the elegant figure of Victoria Collins had disappeared into the wood line and out of site of the party guests. She hurried along the rocky path that was rutted and presented a danger to the non-attentative so it was with care she watched as she hurried careful to avoid being pitched head forward onto her face. Pausing one time to get her bearings she saw Josette was leading her to Widows Hill

The air had become suddenly very electrified and Josette frowned. Someone was drawing on components of the elements to cast a spell.

Josette glanced around the area to see if she could pin point the spell caster. Her sister and brother had left unnoticed earlier and her parents had been working the crowd to get more donations for the fire department equipment fund and the sheriff's department equipment fund. Josette felt her skin tingle with the air around them as the static built. `

Josette was about to activate her shield when she realized what spell was being cast. She would not be affected; the spell caster would not realize she was not spellbound if she just pretended to be under the affects of the spell.

As the air crackled around her she watched time beginning to slow and the festive members of the party were frozen in a time freeze spell. Josette curbed her instincts to rub the raised hairs on her arms. She assumed the stance of being frozen by sitting perfectly still. All she could do was sit, wait, and observe.

In the center of the dance floor amongst the now frozen dancers a pin point of bright light, a vision of pure energy began to form and as the time elapsed, the light grew bigger and then a puff of grayish smoke appeared to flow out of the tear of the fabric of time. She sat perfectly still watching and waiting.

The smoke began to clear, and she watched a well-dressed figure clad in black and a cape coat step through what appeared to be a tear in the fabric of time. The appearance he gave was very reminiscent of Cameron when he first made his appearance at SHADOWS Headquarters. It was that attitude of absolute aggrogance with a dash of tolerance for those beneath his note.

This was nothing more than smoke and mirrors and the use of a dimensional door in time and space. It was not that difficult to do, and she had been born with the natural talents to take that affect one step further. She could not only open the door, she could cloak her image and she could fold time in any direction she chose. For the moment she was trapped to pretend she had no awareness of what was happening and it irked her, she wanted to do something to find out who the target was and deal with it by putting them down.

Josette had to keep from rolling her eyes at such theatrics. Continuing to sit transfixed in her faux faze, she watched as six tall gaunt hooded shaped figures began to materialize from the doorway. "Great there goes Plan A, now for Plan B." Josette thought to her self when she became acutely aware that she was terribly out numbered. She could handle a lower level spell caster but not so sure she could handle him and six zombie fed demons. "Damnit, Gaks, just want I don't need."

She was not about to risk tipping her hand and alerting the SHADOWS Team of a low level Class D DP incursion . That was until Josette heard the spell caster order. "Locate her. She is dressed in a cream colored dress. Here is her image." Moving his fingers in an daedallic fashion, and whispering another spell, Josette watched as a holographic picture of her mother appeared to float in miniature in mid air. Josette fought the panic as she still held her ground. Squinting her eyes, she could not get a good look at the spell caster. "Who the hell are you?" Josette's mind was racing with what her next action would be.

She had to protect her family at all cost and she could not do it sitting there like a froze lump of flesh. Her mind was racing as she took a chance and shifted her gaze around to the location of the lumbering gak drones. A term she had grown used to knowing and understanding since her active roll in SHADOWS had taught her there would be a master and he would use his minions as drones. Mindless, reactive beings that were very dangerous and could be termed zombie like. The differnce was they held captive intelligence and acted as directed and they just had to follow their masters' commands.

Noting the figures were looking at the hologram. Josette chose that moment to activate her shield the subcutaneous implant she had in her left wrist. Pressing her shield she felt more than saw as she did a slow faded from view. The fade was so subtle she held her breath to make sure that the flickering of her leaving did not catch the peripheral vision of the spell caster or one of his drones.

Using the utmost care she cautiously stood from her chair moving diliberate ease so that her stealth mode would not be noted as a distorition in her sorruounds and she had to make sure she did not inadvertently hit a chair or make a noise by bumping against anything that would give away her location. As she backed away from any obstacle that might create a noise by her bumping into it; she glanced anxiously around the crowd.

The last time she saw her mother, she was with her father. She visually located her father and noted he was with Professor Stokes and Julia. Activating her alarm on her right wrist, she navigated the chairs and tables taking care to not bump into anything or anyone and at one point she had bumped a table knocking over a drink. This movement caused the spell caster to look her way and wrinkle his brow, feeling the wind move against them he dismissed it as a sudden wind disturbance and directed his attention to his drones. She waited hoping that her alarm had alerted SHADOWS of the DP incursion and her location or her presence in the middle of the movement.

Who was this new threat, they had a Level 12 spell caster and he wreak of evil. Why did they want her mother and where the hell was she? So much ran through her mind as she had to move slowly navigating through the maze of chairs, people and tables. Finally Josette made it to the edge of the dining area and had was forced stop.

Hidden as she was she could not let one of the drones know or feel her presence. It could jeopardize the guests half of which were her family and possibly put her mother's life at risk. Cloaked as she was, Josette knew a Level 12 spell caster could easily sense her presence and fairly quickly use another spell to locate her. If she were discovered by a DP, she could kiss her white powers good bye and could fall easily under the caster's influence.

Josette had to stop as she realized the spell caster was beginning another spell. She knew it well, Cameron used it all the time it was a location spell. Stifling an inward groan Josette had wondered what had given her away. Surely, he was going to cast the location spell and her outline would appear as a shimmering transparent outline. This was going from bad to very bad in a hurry.

This was horrible, her back-up was at least 20 minutes out and she was going down. Then the flicker of something familiar caught her attention and Josette had to hold her breath. The shimmer of the figure at the edge of the rhododendrons appeared and the spell caster stopped in mid cast. He had seen what she had seen. Josette DuPres-Collins, the woman that was her namesake, the woman that had protected her mother on many occasions.

She had subtly faded into view and stood watching the activities of the intruders. The wind caught her dress and it fluttered in the wind. This was the first time, Josette had seen her out of her wedding dress and wearing a gown that looked so much like the one her mother wore. That is when it struck her how much her mother and Josette did resemble one another in period gowns. The movement caught the attention of the drone. As he glanced about he pointed to Josette, "Warlock, there she is."

The Spell Caster glanced at the figure and he smiled. In a gliding motion he moved to the figure of Josette. "Yes, perfect, we must bring her back to Lord Dameia. Come my dear, we are going on a short trip." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her towards the point of their entry. "Assemble, lets move out!." He barked his order as he moved through the dimensional door his arm draped about Josette's shoulders."

The drones assembled behind him and in a moment the area around the figures were smothered in a growing shadow of blackness and the invading party disappeared and the air once again crackled with static electricity and time was restored and once again Josette was aware of the festive activity of a party with laughter, the soft murmur of voices and music.

It was as if nothing had just transpired. Josette still invisible glanced around for her mother. The original Josette had taken her mother's place and she knew that once the Dark Master moved through the dimensional door, that the ghost of Josette would vanish and the master spell caster would be back. This time he would come with a vengeance having been duped and making sure the next time he would not make the same mistake.

Time was on her side, she knew it would take the spell caster at least 2 hours to recoup from the three spells he had cast. His energy levels would need replinishing so he was inabled to return before that time had to find her mother and get her put in a safe house until she could figure out this mystery of who Lord Damien was and why he wanted her mother. Moving to the darkest corner of her grandmother's garden, she deactivated her shield and waited as the affects of her shield dissipated leaving her slightly disoriented.

Checking her watch she glanced to the north sky and caught the distortion of what had to be the parachutes of the ops team as they made their way down to earth. She knew the drill; the ops team would come in under dark of night. Using the shadows to shield them, they would use their own personal shields to hide their arrival. The only time anyone would see them was when they were about to be taken down with a dart gun.

Josette had recalled the first time she saw a team very similar to this one. She had just turned 12. Her father had bought her a horse Nikki. She was a gorgeous chestnut colored quarter horse. Nikki had been all of 7 years old when she arrived at the Collins estate and she had been classically trained in the hunters class of dressage.