The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 1: The Pendant of Life

Chapter 20: Cold Comfort

Chapter 20

     The next few weeks were a blur of activity.

     Jinx came down with Teller and the rookie Chris Chimera, who had been without a partner since Knight met his fate at the hands of the Parasites. They came down to Salem Academy and took custody of Scorn, taking him to the Ministry for questioning and arraignment on a slew of charges, including illegal transfiguration, smuggling, and murder.

     “Don’t’ worry,” Jinx told Shade. “I’m going to make him wish he were never born when I’m through with him. I’ll make him sing like an Augurey.”

     “I don’t doubt your powers of persuasion,” Shade replied with a grin.

     Jinx grinned back as the Aurors left with Scorn in custody.

     “I’ll be seeing you soon, Gash Face!” Scorn quipped as he was being dragged away by Chris and Teller.

     Jinx stopped and punched Scorn in the face. The punch knocked a tooth out of his mouth.

     “AH! You stupid, lanky, no good-“ Scorn tried to speak, but another punch from Teller rendered Scorn unconscious.

     “Sorry,” Teller said, a little red in the face, “I’m normally not violent, but no one talks to a lady that way.”

     Jinx shook her head. “You men are funny,” she giggled as they left.

     “Keep me informed on what he tells you, Jinx,” Shade whispered to her. “Use the Talk-Box. I’ll be waiting.”

     “What do you want to know?” Jinx asked.

     “He’s working for Leech. That’s not a question. I want to know where Leech is and who Leech is working for.”

     “Who Leech is working for?” Jinx repeated. “I thought Leech was in charge of this whole operation.”

     “No way that slimy werewolf is connected enough to pull off the stunts that they’ve been up to,” Shade whispered. He pulled Jinx aside and talked to her in a hushed tone. “Leech and Scorn combined aren’t smart enough to plan and coordinate the kind of attacks that they’ve been pulling off. Attacking the bus on the way in, changing the dosages on the Morphing Pills, using Imperiused morphed people as animals to infiltrate a Wapanaki village? Those are strokes of genius; calculated, cold, intricate genius.”

     “How do you figure?” Jinx asked.

     “When they killed Rainy, they thought they could get at the girls because they knew that Ms. Rainy’s disappearance was going to hold the kids up. They must have thought that Rainy was in charge. But they didn’t anticipate me protecting them. Then they’ve were not anticipating you nor me when they attacked the group in town. This time, they knew that animals would get past the defenses put up by the Wapanaki in their village.”

     “What defenses?”

     “The Baxia, those turtle-like things that protect the village, can repel those who have evil intentions in their hearts,” Shade explained, “It’s a magic defense power that they naturally have. Bad people can’t get into the village. But if it’s a person who has been unwillingly transformed into a bull or a Dire Wolf, and they’re being controlled from afar, then the Baxia can’t repel them. The people being morphed may not be evil at all, which means the Baxia wouldn’t have the power to repeol them. That’s way too smart for Scorn to have figured out, and Leech may be old, but he’s never been one to be bold and brave enough to take on a tribe nor attack people in broad daylight like he did to us on the bus and in the park. They’ve been coordinated and clever. Put together, those two couldn’t make a sandwich without arguing over what kind of bread they should use.”