(This story is part of a series, and is best read after "Zzzonked", "S.O.S.", "Kiss and Control", "Q.U.E.E.N.", "Vessel", and "Jailbreak".)
Epiphany placed her hands carefully on the table, one in each of the twin recesses decorated with mystic sigils. She could feel the connection opening, her spirit flowing into the line of pure magical energy that extended the length of the pentagram to Veena's spot. At the same time, Veena connected to Doctor Magick, who connected to the Dilettante, who connected to Venus Ascendant at the head of the table. And Venus connected back to Epiphany, completing the circle of power. "Let the Convocation begin," Venus intoned. "This Pentacle of Wands is assembled. What might we have, let it join in our shared purpose."
Epiphany took a long, shuddering breath as she felt the energies gather within the circle. She'd taken part in Pentacles before, uniting her powers and goals with a group of mystics in a temporary alliance for the benefit of all humankind, but she'd never sat directly along a line of force from Veena. The tiny, slender Indian woman had a majesty and a radiance to her aura that belied her waifish appearance, and it took Epiphany's full concentration at first just to keep it flowing through the circle. She barely took note of Venus Ascendant's words... but what she heard chilled her to the bone.
"All of you were present a few days ago, when a mass escape attempt was engineered from the mystic prison known as the Carcerem Aeternum by an unknown hand. You already know that for the most part, that attempt was foiled; we have accounted for all but a handful of the prisoners who were released from their cells. But what I can only now share with you is this-the person who freed them was none other than Madame Macabre herself." Epiphany gasped, shaking her head in disbelief, but Venus Ascendant's dark brown eyes held nothing but grave, solemn sincerity.
"I know how that sounds," Venus continued, clearly picking up on the bewilderment rushing through the lines of the mystic pentagram that linked them, "but I've spoken to her, and she confirmed it herself. She has no memory of the act, but she has reluctantly accepted the possibility that her mind may have been subverted by whatever unknown entity was behind the attempt. Make no mistake, this would have to be a powerful corruption, capable of slivering off a piece of her very soul and twisting it to the darkest and most foul ends without alerting the wards and safeguards of the Carcerem that she was no longer acting of her own will. Whoever is behind this, they are one of the most dangerous foes we've ever faced. Madame Macabre has sealed herself away until we can be sure of her loyalties, but make no mistake. No one outside this circle can be trusted."
Epiphany understood immediately why Venus convocated a Pentacle of Wands to handle the issue. The legendary artifact mingled and merged their minds and energies, uniting them on a level that would expose any wickedness or corruption. If one of them had been turned by this mysterious entity, the others would instantly sense the foul evil emanating from them no matter what spells or magics they attempted to use to disguise it. And of course, if it was a trap, Epiphany would never have been allowed to come anywhere near the Pentacle in the first place. The universe was very good at steering her exactly where she needed to be. And it had made certain that she was in the right place at the right time to accept Venus's invitation.
"Madame Macabre was unable to provide any certainty on what may have corrupted her spirit into taking such actions. But she did mention that one of her charges, the memetic entity known as Silas the Somnomancer, mentioned during his own escape attempt that his consciousness had been expanded by a mysterious stranger who set him to the task of distracting Earth's heroes. She thinks it's possible that during her time as Silas's thrall, she was exposed to Silas's benefactor and subverted without realizing it. Epiphany, Dilettante, we need you to investigate Silas and find out what he knows. The rest of us will attempt to track down the escapees from the Carcerem Aeternum and find out if they have any connection to our unseen foe. Does this meet with everyone's satisfaction?"
Epiphany's deep, mystic intuition answered for her. "It's exactly what we need to do," she said, her eyes shining with purpose. She could feel it suddenly, deep within the very core of her being, a tug as the grand cosmic forces that shaped events drew her into a new and vital path. It felt impossibly right, utterly necessary, and the tiny part of her that was Professor Ursula Shipton was swept along with it. "Ready for another crazy adventure, old fox?"
Dilettante chuckled. Though much of her connection to the higher powers had faded since her initial contact with the Well of Verthandi, Epiphany's lover nonetheless retained enough mystic intuition to trust in the universe to direct them both. "You know I am, my sweet hedgehog," she replied with laughter in her voice. She'd never quite given up her habit of trying to analyze Epiphany's intuitions, even though she knew it was frequently impossible to discern the meaning of the seemingly random impulses that Ursula followed until after the fact. Humor was just one of her many mechanisms for coping with a world that refused to make sense despite her best efforts.
"Then it is done," Venus said, breaking the connection. "We will find this enemy. We will separate him from his thrall, and save Madame Macabre's soul. And if there is more to his scheme, we will end that as well. So do we swear."
"So do we swear," the others murmured. They all rose, and headed for the mystic portals that led to their next destinations. Epiphany and Dilettante linked hands and stepped through, trusting in the universe to guide them to their first clue.
*****
"I hesitate to begin my objections this early in our investigation," Dilettante said, as they stepped out of an invisible hole in space onto an ordinary patch of sidewalk, "but this doesn't look like the Little St-Ouen district of Pyramid City. This doesn't look like Pyramid City at all, in fact." She glanced around at the fog-shrouded, hilly streets, looking exasperated and amused at the same time. "This looks like Samson City. We're literally a full continent away from our destination, beloved. Care to explain?"
Epiphany let out a small, rueful chuckle. "I would if I could, darling," she replied, looking up and down the narrow street to see if any of the shops caught her attention. "But we're more in the dark than ever this time, I fear, and all I have to go by is my instincts. And they told me to reorient the portal at the last second. I know we're where we need to be, I'm just not sure exactly where-ah!" She broke off with an excited exclamation as an unassuming flower shop caught her eye. "There. That's where we need to go. Um... would you mind giving us a bit of a cloak? Something tells me it might be useful to stand out a little less."
Dilettante looked up and down Epiphany's purple leather catsuit with an amused eye. "I can't think why that would be the case," she said, reaching to her wrists and lightly brushing the cuff-links on her signature red jacket. There was a momentary tingle in the air, as though an electric field was making every hair on Epiphany's neck stand on end, and then it subsided. "That should do the trick," she added confidently. "Only people we speak to directly will notice our existence or activities for the next few hours."
"Thank you, love," Epiphany replied, adding a little kiss on the cheek to signal her appreciation. The Dilettante had accumulated a broad and bewildering variety of magical charms and trinkets over the course of her years of exploration of the realms of the supernatural, and she'd only become more effective with them since she'd begun allowing Epiphany to help dress her in the morning. It took a bit longer, especially when they both got distracted so easily by the bodies they were covering, but it seemed to make certain that Dilettante always had exactly the right items at the right time. It turned out that they made a delightfully effective team in that regard.
They were going to need that effectiveness, if what Venus said was true. Epiphany's mind practically reeled thinking about it-who could be powerful enough to so thoroughly subvert and control one of the most powerful practitioners of magic in the known multiverse? Madame Macabre's will was strong enough to thwart the nightmares of humanity's collective myths, monsters like the Jabberwock and villains like the Fractured Man. If someone could make her do something as fundamentally against her nature as releasing the prisoners from the Carcerem Aeternum without even realizing it, they had to be unspeakably puissant.
It wasn't a pleasant thought. Epiphany tried to push it out of her mind as she approached the flower shop, a small jangling bell announcing their arrival as she and Dilettante entered the warm, fragrant environment. "Excuse me, miss?" she asked the woman behind the counter, a tall Caucasian with long brown hair who showed no signs of acknowledging their entrance. "Ma'am, can you help us?"
The woman looked up, a patina of mystic indifference fading from her eyes as she finally noticed the pair. "Oh, hi, yes, welcome to Powell's," she said, a tinge of momentary confusion in her voice as she tried to reconcile her memory of being by herself with the sudden presence of two unusually-dressed women directly in front of her. "I'm Penny. How can I help you today?"
