She paused for a sip of water. “That was our larger mission—to be a guardian against the forces of darkness. We couldn’t heal the genius loci beneath the Commodore Wilson or stop everything bad from happening, but we have done our best to avert the worst possibilities and buffer that harmful energy for the sake of the community.”
“Wow.” Erik looked sincerely impressed. “That’s a pretty impressive mission.”
She smiled at him. “Not so different from what the two of you have done since moving here, and how Trinkets has served Cape May since it opened.”
Ben was surprised at her comment, while Erik appeared thoughtful.
“Trinkets has always gotten dangerous magical items out of circulation, no matter who owned the shop,” she added. “St. Expeditus is a sanctuary for troubled ghosts. Much like halfway houses for living people, we provide a place for them to heal and try to prevent them from becoming vengeful or troublesome.”
“There’s plenty of work like that to go around,” Erik replied. “Cape May has ghosts galore.”
“Ghosts and mobsters,” Sister Mary Barbara said. “Perhaps not as much as Wildwood or Atlantic City, but enough over thedecades to weave them into the history of the town. We can’t put a psychic fence around Cape May to keep them out, but we do what we can to mitigate.”
Given the run-ins with the Mafia he and Erik had since moving to Cape May, Ben didn’t want to think what it would have been like without the nuns’ mitigation.
“Thank you,” Erik replied.
She shrugged off the comment. “It’s our mission. Our purpose. We are grateful to make a difference.”
“Were you aware of the energy in the Commodore Wilson’s Tiffany dome while the building still stood?” Ben asked. “Everything we’re dealing with seems to keep coming back to Tiffany windows.”
Sister Mary Barbara nodded. “We knew. It was a focal point for ill intent. While the hotel was standing, we did our best to drain the dome’s power. When the building was destroyed and the dome removed, it weakened the loci by taking away its nexus.”
“You don’t think the dome was demolished when they imploded the Commodore Wilson?” Erik asked.
“No. It was far too significant—both as art and as a magical artifact—for that to happen,” she said. “There was a powerful storm at that time, much like what we’ve had lately. Many people wanted to purchase the dome, but it came down to two obsessed men with Mafia money and connections. We were barely able to avert a war, and even so, violence occurred.”
“Do you know who ended up with the dome?” Ben questioned. “Because no one has seen it for more than thirty years.”
“No, and I don’t know where it is, although I’m certain it still exists. Someone with strong magic has wrapped it in spells to keep it hidden,” Sister Mary Barbara answered.
“What do you know about a dark witch named Arkadi Mikhailov?” Erik asked. “We got a tip from a ghost that he might have played a role in what’s unfolding.”
Her expression darkened. “He was not a good man. A very powerful witch, but he used his abilities to cause great harm. Why do you ask?”
Erik explained about the Tiffany stained-glass panel and the two murders related to it and possibly to the dome, as well as what they had gleaned from Samuels’s ghost earlier in the day at Haley’s séance.
“Grant Samuels was one of the people whose impact we tried to limit over the years,” she said. “We did our best to keep him out of Cape May’s affairs.”
“We know people who contain dangerous magical objects that can’t be destroyed,” Erik said. “As soon as the police chief lets us, we’ll be having them take the window and make sure it can’t hurt anyone again. We’ll send the dome on as well if we can find it.”
“We are aware of the Alliance and the Briggs Society,” Sister Mary Barbara said. “We also know Sorren, the honorable vampire who works with them. Our paths have crossed many times over the years.”
“Was the Tiffany dome magical in itself, aside from the energy it focused or absorbed from the genius loci?” Erik asked.
“I believe so. You of all people should know that artwork can be infernal as well as sacred.” She confirmed Ben’s suspicion that she knew their backgrounds.
“There is a very large dome in Chicago that has arcane protective symbols along with those of the zodiac. Other windows use iconography to anchor magic, or patterns in the way the glass is pieced together to work spells into the window’s structure itself,” the nun added.
Ben’s eyebrows rose. He had never considered that possibility, and now he viewed the window in their safe with even more skepticism.
“Really?” Erik asked, eyes alight, and Ben knew that his art historian partner was intrigued.
Sister Mary Barbara nodded. “Depending on the glassmaker, it could involve alchemy, numerology, or astronomy. Most of the windows are mundane, but the ones that were designed to channel energy and power are a lot more than just a pretty picture.”
“Can you tell us more?” Erik pressed, and Ben guessed he was thinking about the window in the safe.
“I’m not an expert, but I can tell you what I know,” she replied. “For example, the colors in the glass come from substances that also have arcane resonance. Cobalt is said to influence emotional healing and creativity, while cadmium can create a beacon to attract the energy that is desired.
