12
In Manhattan, cab driver Ben Bailey drove past the Dolphin Hotel one more time today for the fifth time looking for a fare. It was a clear night with a full moon, and the cold night air left a crisp sharp touch on the warm skin of the denizens of the Big Apple. On the sidewalk, detective Mac Taylor and Danny Messer shared a moment of peace and purchased hot dogs from a vendor at the corner. They talked of work and of their lives side by side as tavern owner Sean Finnerty forgot business and family to take his wife, Claudia, to check out a new restaurant here on the West Side. They were a few of the thousands of human beings who lived in this city and made it the greatest city on Earth. Stopping at the curb, Sean and Claudia waited for their chance to cross as a white and red taxi passed by them on Lexington and turned westbound on Thirty-Fifth Street. More than a dozen businesses and locales flashed by the checkered cab; several more hundred lights flashing on its darkened windows. Pedestrians walking dogs minded their business, young groups of teenagers crossed the streets between vehicles and cars moved around other vehicles in this busy nighttime American city. Several blocks from Lexington, it turned on Waverly and slowed to match the speed limit of this Manhattan community filled with the descendants of immigrants to this country. It passed a road construction sign to a closed off road that had been ripped up and proceeded past the Italian restraunt at the first floor of the apartment building. Down the street, it passed an old theater, a coffee shop and then a familiar bookstore next door to the sandwich place with the glowing neon in the window of a subway car added to the front. The green neon lights read "Sandwiches, Salads and Snacks" while in the frieze about the entrance it read Waverly Subway Sandwich Shop in bold dark blue letters. The cab stopped and the back door opened to allow Professor William Danvers to step out in his loose dark green suit and overcoat, an old worn fedora to his head, and then reach out to assist his lovely companion. Dressed in a long white overcoat bound up to this crisp wafty weather, he guided his companion toward the Russo's private entranceway next door to the bookstore. Guiding the way with his arm held out, he opened the door for his guest and allowed her to proceed first up the stairs to the second floor. To the left was the residence next door, to the right was the way to the Russo family loft. His mysterious female guest stood near the fire hose in the hall as Danvers rapped to the door to announce their arrival. There was a flurry of noise and expectant faces inside before Jerry opened the door.
"Professor Danvers…" Jerry guided him in. "You're here! I wasn't sure if you were arriving by magic or by…"
"Well, Jerry, my guest isn't used to traveling by magic." Danvers removed his coat as he looked around this warm and friendly apartment loft. Justin rose to attention to meet his old mentor, and Harper hurriedly tried to finely adjust her appearance. Max was toward the back in the kitchen area mulling over the stove area with a glass of soda. "Jerry…" Danvers reached to help his companion with her coat. "Allow me to introduce a very old friend of mine, Miss Florence Tanner, one of the most gifted and talented Spiritualists in the country. She's been to the afterlife and back so many times she now requires a passport to go there."
"What is this insane habit of yours of applying human customs to the Spirit World?" She looked back at Danvers somewhat annoyed and incredulous. She was a small dainty woman with a light frame. Her long brown tresses were wrapped in a bun at the back of her neck. She had the wide-open hazel eyes of a young woman, but her facial features were of someone much older. Looking at her, Jerry would have guessed she was younger than himself, but Justin thought she could be much older. She seemed to be one of those people who did not show their real age. Garbed in a form fitting baroque dress with numerous patterns with dark stockings and low-heeled shoes, she appeared very British in her demeanor and personality. She took Jerry and Justin's hands when she met them and lightly lowered her head as part of her behavior when she met Theresa and Harper. Max just bobbed his head to her.
"Yes, well, she also left her sense of humor on the other side." Danvers mumbled humorously to Jerry as Florence immediately bonded with Theresa and guided her to the sofa. Theresa guided her to sit, and Florence lightly sat down by her and took her hand to give her support.
"Mrs. Russo…" Florence forced a light smile. "I feel a lot of tension in you. This is not the first time magic has violated you, is it?"
"No…" Theresa was lightly crying tears of joy but they were also turning to tears of personal misery.
"It's also not the first time your daughter has been replaced; is it?"
"No…" Theresa bobbed her eyes with Kleenex to remove her tears. "When she was a sophomore, a man named Nick Logan got stuck inside her after trying to become my son, and just over a year ago, we learned she was the reincarnation of a demigoddess related to my husband's ancestors…" She paused recalling those incidents.
"I got stuck in Alex once." Harper held up her hand behind the couch and came around to sit behind Theresa. "But that was because of a spell she did that went wrong…" She added trying to be helpful. Theresa patted Harper's leg on the sofa for trying to help and looked back to Florence as the men stood behind them before the bookcase.
"Mrs. Russo…" Florence continued unabated. "I wish I could tell you this was a unique circumstance, but it's not. Spirit walk-ins are much more popular than you think, but they usually happen under much more different circumstances, such as after the spirit has departed the body but before the body has died."
"Jerry, do you recall a woman named Anna Anderson?" Danvers spoke up.
"I do, Professor…" Justin spoke up. "She was a German migrant worker who claimed she was actuality the lost Duchess Anastasia of Russia."
"Very good, Justin…" Danvers reflected fondly on his old ward. "When she tried to commit suicide in that German canal, her spirit passed over and was replaced by the Duchess, spending the rest of her life trying to regain her royalty, and Benito Mussolini… he was a mere soldier in the first World War when he was injured, and after the spirit of Julius Caesar filled him, he tried to re-conquer much of Western Europe. Not all walk-ins though are quite so historical I might add…."
"Most spirit walk-ins are so mundane no one notices them…" Florence added. "A husband who suddenly undertakes painting, a wife who suddenly decides to have more children… Most people attribute them to symptoms of near-death experiences…."
"Is there anyway I could come back as Justin Bieber?" Max came over from the kitchen. "Man, that guy gets all the girls!"
"Max…" Jerry warmly pulled his youngest son over as if to hug him then quickly knocked him upside the head for being embarrassing. "Miss Tanner…" He lightly pushed Max back to the kitchen and knelt down to Florence. "Are you suggesting that our daughter might have passed over?"
"Only as a worst case scenario…" Danvers stood by with his hands thrust deeply into his pockets. "Jerry, like the other times Alex has been replaced, she has always somehow managed to stay behind, and with Florence's help, I'm hopeful we can contact her spirit and find out where she is."
"But why Alex?" Theresa asked the question at the top of her mind. "I mean… this spirit jumped from Justin to Harper and then Alex…."
"And our principal…" Justin and Harper echoed together. "It was our Principal first…" Justin finished.
"Because…" Danvers walked around the sofa. "And mind you, this is just my theory… because Herschel was not a wizard, and Justin, your will was a bit too strong, and Harper…" He turned around to the lovely young girl. "Because it had realized it needed to be Alex." He paused recalling Alex as his student as Tribeca Prep. "She had so much untapped potential; what better person for a wizard spirit to be to help finish out its life mission."
"I want to do a séance." Florence told Theresa. "I want to contact your daughter where she is. I cannot guarantee she will return to us, but at least it will give you answers."
"A séance?" Harper's eyes widened. "A séance… You mean as in talking to the dead?"
"No, for talking to the spirits of the dead…" Florence responded. "The dead don't talk… there is a difference."
"Professor, is this really going to work?" Jerry turned to Danvers.
"Jerry, Florence is the best person in the world for this." The professor answered. "I trust her explicitly in things like this. Even Dumbledore and Lord Maple with their mystical expertise surrender to her experience in this area." He gestured silently to the table on the landing as it and several chairs lifted a few inches from the floor and glided to the middle of the room behind the sofa and in front of the kitchen counter. The curtains even pulled themselves across to block out the view of Waverly Place down below and its view of Manhattan.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do this." Harper was growing apprehensive. "I would do anything in the world for Alex but a séance? I think she'd understand if I wasn't here for this."
"I'll do it!" Max was eager to start. "I haven't talked to Nick since he passed over. I think it would be cool to see what he's up to…"
"Dad…" Justin tugged his father's sleeve. "What if Mantooth shows up? You know how I feel about him."
"Justin…" Jerry looked to his wife and back to his son. "Look, take Max and Harper down to the shop; we'll let you know what happens?" Florence was whispering under her breath to create the mystical spells to protect the residence from evil spirits. Professor Danvers was also adding his own spells knowing full well the sorts of evil spirits that invaded séances. Theresa could only stop and stare. Memories from her grandmother's house were coming back. That house was known to be haunted, and she didn't want to relive those memories.
"Theresa?" Jerry tried to support her.
"For Alex…" She tried mustering up her will power. Miss Tanner had sat down right across from her, crossing herself and uttering protection spells under her breath. Jerry sat to her right, and Professor Danvers sat to her left. When they placed their hands to the table, Teresa placed her hands palms down to the table. The room had been closed off to sunlight, and she wasn't sure if it was magic or not, but the room was getting darker – much darker. She could not see anything from a few feet from the table. Her eyes looked up to Jerry.
"If things get too scary…" Jerry looked to her. "Just close your eyes… I'll be here for you."
"Okay…."
"I call upon the spirits of those who have left us…." Florence moved slightly forward back and forth. "All you earthbound spirits who have not moved on, I beseech you to open your voices."
The room was getting colder. Teresa could see her breath. The candle with Danvers had placed on the table was burning the only light they had and cast an afterglow to their faces. Its flame fluttered a bit as if a door had opened.
"There are many spirits connected here…." Tanner was able to see ghosts attracted to the mystical and paranormal energies from the magic performed in the building. "Several spirits protect the ground here."
"Alex…" Jerry looked to Theresa and back. "Is Alex here?"
"You earthbound spirits…." Tanner tried calling them closer. "Where is Alex Russo?" From the darkness, Theresa could hear men's voices laughing, and the loud shrill voice of a woman cackling with delight. It sounded as if a crowd of people were entering the loft from everywhere. Regressing back to her childhood, she closed her eyes to keep from being scared, but it didn't block out the sounds. Footsteps came closer. Sounds like a woman's shoes sounded off the metal spiral staircase. A phantom cavalry officer called his men in line as they arrived. Danvers was just grinning. He loved this stuff. Jerry meanwhile looked to Theresa and stroked her hand to support her bravery. Down in the well-lighted sandwich shop, Justin noted the effects of the séance coming from above. A few light fixtures had suddenly started swaying, and as Harper waited on tables, she noticed a few chairs being pushed unassisted under table. No one else had noticed it yet.
"Justin…" Harper wandered over to Justin at the register. "Should I try getting an order from that table?"
"I wouldn't." Justin answered as Max just happened to glance through the window to the kitchen. There wasn't anyone in there, and yet, he had seen a thin cadaverous figure quickly rush from one end of the room to the other.
"Justin, I think someone in the kitchen is looking for you." He replied.
"Dude…" Justin shot his brother a look. "That's not even funny!"
"I am calling for the spirit of old Jack Frost!" Upstairs, Florence Tanner lifted her head. Her eyes were closed, but she could see so many in her mind's eye. Ghosts mulled around the table trying to pass on messages. The recently dead wanted to pass messages to their relatives, older ghosts wanted to warn of thinks about to happen and even much older ghosts wanted updates on the world changing around them. Where were their old homes? Where were their old friends and family? Who was now President? What year was it? Many of them just wanted someone to talk to. Jerry and the Professor could see them as partial shades, but Theresa closed her eyes trying not to see them. They seemed gravitated to Florence. They stood around her like guards to protect her from others. There were dozens of muddled and vague conversations going around them, and yet, Florence could somehow hear them all.
"Jack Frost…" Her voice tried to reach out further beyond them all trying to reach one more. "Which of your children has claimed Alex Russo?"
"It's not true…" Theresa spoke.
"Theresa?" Jerry reacted to her.
"It's not true…" Theresa raised her fearful face and opened her eyes. Her bearing had chanced from fearful timid to bold assurance. "None of my children have taken the girl…"
"Madelyne…" Danvers knew instantly who she was. "It's me, William. Jack's friend…"
"William…" Theresa spoke with a plaintive Old English accent and her expression started beaming to him as Jerry watched. "My dearest William…. How long has it been?"
"Over a hundred years…." The professor's face filled with tears and emotion. "It is so good to hear your voice again. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there when you needed me most!" Tears fell from his eyes.
"It wasn't your fault…" Madelyne Frost's face and voice was coming through Theresa. "It happened so fast; we never felt a thing… Your eulogy was so beautiful."
"Mrs. Frost…." Jerry spoke. "Where's my daughter?"
"Your daughter is pursuing another's destiny…" Looking to Jerry, Theresa was almost wholly possessed by the beautiful sorceress by now. The surrounding spirits had backed away in her presence. "…in the tower that reaches to the heavens that lies in the land of our ancestors. I implore you… leave her to her work and seek me no further." She gasped lightly and her face faded away back to Theresa's likeness looking to Jerry. She looked to Danvers, to Florence and back to her husband. "What happened?" Her regular Mexican-accent returned. "Did we find Alex?"
"No…" Jerry defeatedly gasped and removed his hands from the table to brace his head. "We didn't even identify who she is now."
"Jerry, I'm so sorry…" Danvers leaned backward in his seat and mulled over what had happened. The room was warming again, and light was peeking into the room again as Florence regained her bearings. "I really thought we might have learned something new, but… I never really believed the Frosts were behind this, and now they've disavowed it themselves."
"Maybe… maybe not…" Jerry rose from his seat and motioned to the bookcase where he picked up a book, removed an envelope from it and turned back to the table. "What do you think of that?"
The wily professor stood to take the envelope and gestured for the curtains to open and once more bathe the loft with light. He glanced the letter over and checked the insignia.
"A dancing hippogriff with a clump of rye in one claw and a sword in the other…"
"That's the Russo Family Crest…" Jerry announced. "It hasn't appeared on anything in over two hundred years; there's no way Alex would know it."
"Interesting…" Danvers paced lightly and stepped back on to the landing where the table and chairs belonged. He pressed Alex's alleged letter to the glass and looked again to the crest and noticed something else. The area around it was just a shade off where the molecules of ink moved around it by magic had displaced the surrounding molecules in the paper. He tilted his head looking at it again then turned the paper horizontally against the glass. He reached about to move it again, but moved his finger in a counter-clockwise motion before it as the ink moved around again and reverted to their original mortal positions as they were before. The hippogriff bowed and broke apart, the shape sharpened and reposition and the green border turned into a background.
"Here we go…" He took the letter back to Jerry. "It's a gold "T" and a "H" on a green background. It's stationery."
"A "T" and a "H!"" Theresa came around to look at it. "She's now someone with an "T" and a "H" in their names!"
"I've seen something like this before…" Jerry tried to think. "But where?"
"Where Jerry?'" Theresa rapped him upside the back of the head trying to restart his memories. "Where? I want my daughter home!"
"Theresa…" Professor Danvers came up to her, taking her hands in his and kissing them to be as chivalrous as possible. "My dear lady… we will find your daughter." He paused with a sympathetic grin and a light to his bold blue eyes. "Wherever she is, she will be found…"