To everyone who read my first chapter, Thank You! I hope you will continue to enjoy this visit with Dave, Balthazar, Veronica, Becky and the rest of the Family. Special thanks to my Beta readers at home: roamer_starwin and bandrui.

Disclaimer: The movie "Sorcerer's Apprentice" is copyrighted by Disney; the names and characters from the movie are not owned by me. I just like playing in their world. The Khayyat family and friends are products of my imagination. Special thanks to Harry D., Jim B. and Nick C. for letting us all in.

Even though Balthazar said he would only give the strangers five minutes, he was giving them nearly ten minutes or more, thought Veronica wryly. While their three companions coaxed the thin, snakelike tubes back into a small hut inside Battle Green park, he and the Khayyats discussed the contents of a chest left to their ancestors by Merlin himself. As she watched the two women and the young man work, she smiled to herself. Her teacher, she thought, the great sorcerer, Merlin, weaving some magical material for a dress, which was to be made as a gift for her? If she had been there, she would have laughed! Merlin never noticed that she and the others in his care had grown from young children to adult Apprentices. He never seemed to notice or spoke about the growing relationship between herself and Balthazar, but in the last days before Morgana's attack on his keep, he saw them as bolts to be sent toward long range targets! They were away from their home more often than Horvath…

The three finished their work. The motherly older woman motioned to the other two to gather around her. Gesturing around the small area she said in a heavy Creole accent, "Look! See—what not right?" All three looked about. The younger woman pointed to an empty slab outside the park, saying, "Mother, the bull statue is missing; people are going to notice." Before either one could react, a metallic bull appeared as if by magic outside the wrought-iron decorative fencing surrounding the park. The bull proudly raised its head and huffed a small cloud of steam through his nose into the night air. Veronica shot a look at Balthazar, noticing his eyes twinkled mischievously, like a child's. He studiously ignored her expression as he continued to talk with the earnest couple in front of him.

All three of the companions looked at the bull, then to where Veronica stood with Balthazar and the Khayyats. The older woman they called Mother shook her head, and waived the younger man and woman toward the bull. It waited docilely next to a strange wheeled vehicle sitting in the street. The younger woman looked at Veronica intently for a moment. Then she turned back to her elder and spoke softly. At the end of the conversation, she gave a bottle of clear liquid and a clear package of dried fruit from her bag to her. Then she and the exotic young man departed, passing the party next to the fountain as they were walked toward the bull and the iron-wrought fence. The young woman muttered the words "Show-off" under her breath in Balthazar's direction as they left.

The older woman joined Veronica at the edge of the fountain. She introduced herself, her accent dry and matter-of-fact but musical as offered Veronica the bottle and the dried fruit. "I am called Mother Hollander, lady. My young girl, she thinks you would need these, as you have not eaten for quite a while." Veronica took the bottle of a flexible, clear material labeled "WaterH20" and the clear, crackling pouch of dried fruit-apricots, she saw. She had felt either hunger or thirst while she was trapped inside the Grimhold with Morgana. Now, the feelings were reawakening inside her with a vengeance. Still, she was cautious. "My thanks, but I will save these for another time." Veronica said, politely. Mother Hollander nodded, accepting her thanks and understanding her caution. "You are welcome. And welcome to New York City. It must seem strange to you, eh?" She waved at the tall buildings, the small park in the middle of asphalted roads. "It is not the same as those lands where you were born." Veronica looked about at the tall buildings surrounding them for a moment. "It—is not so different in some ways", she commented. Both paused for a moment, as Balthazar reluctantly agreed to take possession of their chest. Pleased, Charles placed a business card in Balthazar's hand, with the promise of delivery as quickly as possible to seal the bargain. Suddenly, a strange twisting shimmered in the air, and a hoarse cry for help came from around the corner of the nearest building.

Instantly Balthazar and Veronica tensed, seeking the source of the cry. Mother Hollander cursed under her breath, the caged stone flaring with energy. Before she could call upon it, Natalia pulled out her mirror, murmuring. The mirror shimmered and showed three people, one standing over two still forms. Mother Hollander and Veronica gasped in recognition. Her husband, having seen the image, was quickly moving off the fountain as an echoing, "Please….help us…" drifted through the small park. Balthazar, Veronica, and Mother Hollander followed him as Natalia ran beside her husband toward the sound. "It's Budi; he's with Angela and James. They're around the corner…"

The young Indonesian man was kneeling unsteadily over the young woman and another young man, both whom were lying unconscious on the sidewalk away from the shadowed building. As the party came up to them, Balthazar indentified a Confusion spell encompassing the young man who was now stood swaying over the others. The spell was not by Horvath, but someone else—a powerful someone else. The magic had an oriental flavor to it….

He was distracted then by a familiar magical sense. A thin shell of Horvath's magic wrapped wetly around the two people on the ground. He extended his tired senses toward them, and swore under his breath. The spell was Morganian—it drained the unwitting victims' precious life force, and transferred it to the caster. It used a black mark placed anywhere on a person's body. It was a simple spell, one that Horvath would have used to replenish the powers Dave's Tesla coil had destroyed.

But he sensed no such mark on either one of them.

Veronica reached the dazed Budi and carefully coaxed him away from his friends to allow the others access to the unconscious pair. Gaining his attention for a moment by calling him by name, she spoke the words releasing him from the entrapping spell. As Budi shook his head and leaned heavily against Balthazar's lady, looked dimly around. "How…?" he asked slurring his words. He looked up, startled, at his rescuer. Budi blushed red as Veronica asked him gently, "Are you all right?" He stammered his thanks, deliberately leaning away from her chest after catching a stern look from Balthazar.

Balthazar took a protective stance looking toward the street, checking for any sign of Horvath. Charles joined him. "I told you all to stay where we could see you." Balthazar growled his irritation. The archeologist, looking down the street at the far-off traffic, shook his head. "As we told you earlier, James was already here, treating two other members of our party," Dr. Khayyat replied, "The area was warded and safe….." Mother Hollander looked around, and picking up a crushed disc on one side of the party. "The wards on this side are gone," Natalia looked at her as she knelt next to the young man on the ground. "How?" she asked. Mother Hollander grunted in disgust. "They were destroyed—not easy to do." Natalia spoke to the young man Veronica had freed. "Budi, did you see what had happened?" Budi shook his head, miserably. "No. I was next to the roadster, checking the wiring on the Tesla coil someone had out on that antique car. I heard Angela screaming James's name, then—I was here, bending over them. I called for help…." "You did well, Budi." Dr. Khayyat said, looking back at him. "Do not worry. Before this happened, do you remember seeing what happened to the Takahashi twins?" The young man thought for a moment, his face twisted in concentration. "Yoshi and Coshi? I –I thought I saw them leave while Angela was walking the bull back."

Balthazar and Veronica exchanged a look. Two more civilians to look after… "Natalia, can you use your mirror to See them?" Mother Hollander suggested. "It might," Natalia replied, then paused. "But they are notoriously hard to find sometimes." She pulled the mirror into her hand and focused, murmuring softly to it. A flare of light danced across the surface, but no image formed. "I was afraid of this. The mirror cannot find them. Mother, would you see if you can locate them?" Mother Hollander and Natalia exchanged a long look, then Mother Hollander turned away with a sigh. She knelt down on the dirty sidewalk, gently sweeping a small section in front of her clean with her hand. She frowned in concentration as if she were staring into a darkened mirror. After a moment, she straightened, dusting her hands off. "The Earth says that they are safe, but says nothing else." "It may not be a bad thing that they cannot be found, "Dr. Khayyat said, considering, as Mother Hollander move a few steps away. "Perhaps they are concealing themselves, as we should". He looked at Balthazar directly. "It is becoming late, sir, and the morning rush will be starting in a few hours. Mother Hollander," he turned to her, "Would you bring our transportation to us?" She nodded her agreement. Dr. Khayyat tossed a set of keys to her, saying, "Be careful." She caught them, gave him a "Humph!" comment in reply and literally disappeared in an instant.

Veronica, Budi, and Natalia worked on waking Angela and James, as Balthazar and Dr. Khayyat continued to keep watch. Veronica, her hands glowing with power, gently touched each one on the forehead, using her magic to pull them into wakefulness. The young woman, Angela, groggily awoke, and sleepily asked why her hand hurt. Veronica noted something odd about Angela's hand—a dim remnant of some dark magic marked it. As James was still having trouble waking up, Veronica turned her attention to him. She found his life force partially drained—it was replenishing itself slowly. That was not unexpected, but she saw that Angela, gentle cradled in Natalia's arms, was also showing a slight loss of her life force. She was concentrating her Sight upon the couple so intently, she was startled when a long black van drove up, its engines whispering in the night next to Balthazar and Dr. Khayyat. Mother Hollander parked the van, emergency lights flashing in the dark. She opened the van doors and twanged in her best New- Orleans-Cabbie accent, "Hurry up, my pretties; we're parked in a No Parking zone, and the parking police are on the prowl."

Dr. Khayyat and Natalia carefully helped James, Angela and Budi into the back of the vehicle while Balthazar scanned the area for any movement. As tired as he was, he knew that both he and Veronica were still the best protection the party had against Horvath. He noticed that Veronica spoke quietly to Mother Hollander as the young people were being loaded, telling her what she had observed. Mother Hollander's focus shone brightly for a moment as she listened. She thanked Veronica with a nod, then raised her hands in concentration, muttering under her breathe. Her hands began to glow the color of her gemstone. As they move slowly into the bucket seats contained within the body of the van, she nodded at Charles and Natalia, who moved aside. She reached inside and hugged each one of them. James, Angela and Budi seemed to glow for just a moment afterwards, and then the glow sank into their weary bodies. The three relaxed and slipped into true sleep. After making sure they were buckled in correctly, Dr. Khayyat quietly nodded to her, and then slipped behind the wheel of the van. Natalia stood on the sidewalk, consulting with Mother Hollander for a moment. She then turned to look at Balthazar and Veronica, who stood silently on the sidewalk. "Thank you." Natalia said quietly. "If anything had happened…" Veronica smiled wearily, as Balthazar grumbled tiredly and waived her away. "You're welcome. You should go…" Natalia paused, nodded her accent and climbed into the passenger seat. The black van left, disappearing into the lights of New York City's night traffic. Mother Hollander, Balthazar, and Veronica watched them go.

They strode back together toward Bowling Green Park and Balthazar's antique car. Mother Hollander spoke as they walked. "The magic that broke my disc wards was dark magic, like the evil one you were fighting. Was something left behind?" Balthazar grimaced. "No, more like someone,." he said grimly. He looked at Veronica. "Horvath's focus gem was destroyed by a bolt of electricity from the Tesla coil Dave attached to my car." And by doing so he saved my life…Veronica shook her head, confused. She had seen Maxim through Morgana's eyes tonight. More, she had dimly heard Morgana's thoughts about Maxim as she berated him; Morgana considered him her willing and obedient servant and sometime lover. "Then, Maxim is dead?" she asked. Balthazar considered the question for a moment before replying, "No, we didn't find his body. He's alive, but he has no power. He'll be looking for a way to get it back." Balthazar heard the faint sound of cars and trucks coming toward the small park. "We need to leave. The morning traffic's coming, and I don't think I care to fight it right now." He took Veronica's hand possessively as they hurried toward his car.

Halfway there he saw a familiar glint in the street. "Wait." He knelt down for a moment as Veronica and Mother Hollander nervously kept watch. His hand closed around Merlin's dragon ring-now Dave's-lying in the street. No sign of his oldest friend and enemy, or his cane. He frowned. He wouldn't have gotten far in his condition. He plucked Horvath's hat from the fence on a whim as they came up to the car.

Balthazar opened the door for Veronica after checking inside his roadster for any surprises. He threw the hat on the backseat as Mother Hollander spoke firmly, her accent flowing softly. "Natalia has asked me to find the Takahashi twins. I will stay only for a short time. Go, and be safe." Balthazar looked at her for a moment, and then grunted his agreement. As he passed the driver's side before getting in he felt—something reflected on the surface of his car. A smudge of Power skimmed the magical surface of the roadster as if it was made in passing. Not anyone he knew.

Pushing the information to the back of his mind, he slid into the driver's seat. The antique car quietly started at his command. Mother Hollander went back into the quiet park as Balthazar and Veronica drove away. She knelt next to the quiet waters of the fountain to begin her arcane search. She murmured the words under her breath, calling the power required for a viewing spell, releasing it into the still waters—and her cell phone rang loudly in the quiet of the near morning. Uttering a few choice words that would have reddened the ears of any good sailor, she saw that she had just received a text from Yoshi and Coshi . She brought up the message, and read:

Hi MJH!

We R OK! Mom called/went home.

We R Safe.

C U! Y&C x2

With an annoyed shake of her head, she ended the magic with a prayer of thanks and a wave of her hand to dismiss it. Rising slowly to her feet, Mother Jasmine Hollander walked unhurriedly out of the park. As she returned to her car a short block away, fearing no footpad or thief, she decided to call Natalia about the twins when she was safely at home. She sighed tiredly. Being home sounded good—a place to rest, and recover from all that happened tonight. As she left, Mother Hollander did not notice an image swirling in the waters of the fountain. It showed an odd group of people seated in luxurious surroundings before it dissipated…

Maxim Horvath, Merlin's traitorous third apprentice and Balthazar's self-proclaimed mortal enemy, was not happy. Normally, if the Morgainian were unhappy, he had a number of ways in which to express his displeasure with the rest of the world; usually at the cost to whatever or whoever was unlucky to be within his gaze.

But now, he found himself riding in the back of a black limousine, traveling toward New York City's Chinese district, with no power, no defenses, and the new "pet" of two giggling teenaged twin oriental sorcerers, whose innocent looks belied an ancient and malevolent intelligence he wished that he had never encountered in his current state.

An intelligence that prevented him from completely draining the life energy of that stunned young hoodlum he found unconscious on the sidewalk to replenish the destroyed magical ability taken from him. Dave Stutler, the new Prime Merlinian, had literally shocked him and destroyed his powers by sending an electrical bolt through his thousand year old blue gem focus.

But he had planned for that possibility centuries ago.

He acquired a spell several hundred years after Morgana had been imprisoned in the containment doll with Veronica by Balthazar. A simple spell, true, but it guaranteed that he would never lack for power when he wanted it. It drew out power from anyone for his use. He never had the opportunity to test the spell until now.

He had found the young man, shattered the flimsy wards surrounding him by crushing the discs to small bits under his stylish shoes. He then made the Mark on the young man's hand, using a bit of dark soot from his blackened focus gem to complete the enchantment. He then strode around the building to the other side away from Battle Green Park. As the first bits of life force entered, Horvath summoned a chair from a pile in the open area of a small outside restaurant. He settled in to it as the stolen energy sang into him. It was rich and full of life…Suddenly, it stopped. Something or someone was tampering with his spell… Then, the power flowed once more. It was different, but still rich. He relaxed, filling with the ecstasy of knowing his power was returning despite the efforts of both Balthazar and the Prime Merlinian. He didn't even notice that the power slowing and changing for a moment before it continued.

The energy flowed into him, stronger and deliciously feminine, filling him up. He felt sated and full of power. Distracted as he was, he never notices the bands of enslavement encasing him through the flow of the stolen power, until it was too late. He heard a noise—giggling. He lazily looked up and saw two young, oriental twin teenage girls standing in front of him. One was dangling his cane, with the stolen rings and its ruined blackish-blue gem stone intact- from her fingers. "Naughty, naughty!" they chorused, Horvath felt their giggling continue as he felt their binding wrap itself onto his very soul.

Yoshi and Coshi Takahashi had been teenagers for several thousand years. They told him the real reason most of the Morganians never used that simple Draining spell while the binding process ran its course. They told him matter-of-factly what he was unaware of: that unless the sorcerer casting the spell was in a secure location, protected from any other magical interference, it was too dangerous to cast. True, the mark fed the caster the stolen life force, but it also left the caster vulnerable to being bound to the one or ones feeding them, like a small baby dependant upon his mother's milk for sustenance. They had taken advantage of his need to replace his lost power to bind him to their service, for as long as they had use for him. Horvath cursed his luck and the dead Morganian mage who taught him silently.

.

Now Horvath was being 'fed' a limited amount of power by the stored energy placed in a black jade ring he wore on his left hand by his new 'owners'. "For your protection, Maxim-san," one of the girls, Coshi, had told him, dimpling at him in a coyish way. It was not the near infinite amount he was used to, but he was not totally bereft as he could have been. Under their watchful eyes, he had been forced to take part in a ceremony intending to draw the essence of his liege lady, Morgana the Sorceress, into a green-glass spirit bottle.

Hidden behind a wall of invisibility erected by his captors, they watched Balthazar and Veronica react to Budi's call for help, leaving Bowling Green Park with the others to rescue his victim. Maxim eye's glittered as he watched them leave. Veronica! She was alive, and free of Morgana! Maxim hid a fierce grin from the twins. Perhaps, he thought, there would be a chance for freedom after all if he could reach Veronica and convince her to help him.

The ceremony was done quickly. Once the circle was cast, sealing Coshi inside, the other girl, Yoshi, stood outside of it with Horvath acting as a guard. Yoshi chanted, the weirdly fluid language of ancient days summoning the infinitesimal pieces of drifting soul energy of Morgana to the center of the containment circle. When all of the pieces drifted together in a tight cylinder shape, Coshi took up the chant, drawing them closer to her. Then, she opened the bottle, pointed it toward the tightly swirling mass and ordered them in the Forbidden tongue, "We two command the Morgana to enter this bottle!" He felt Morgana's wailing as the particles of his liege lady were sucked into the bottle between one heart beat to the next. His heart sank as the cork was driven into the neck of the bottle. Coshi wrapped the top with a character-marked paper to the bottle, chanting quietly under her breath. It glowed and shrank, magically seal the bottle.

At the ceremony's conclusion the two gave each other very satisfied looks as they left the park. As they walked away from the small park, he noticed the bull had been returned to its place, and his hat was still hanging from the park's wrought-iron gate. They waited in front of a townhouse. Both girls looking impatiently at the driver as a long black limousine drove up. A huge man jumped out of the passenger seat and gave the girls a slight bow. They dismissed his honorific as their due with a wave of their hands, indicating he should open the door for them. The huge man moved quickly to open the door for the girls at the side of the huge vehicle. He stared at Horvath in contempt as he followed them inside. Horvath paused, returning the look, and considered the huge man's future. Yoshi's voice rang out. "Hun, Maxim-san, behave, both of you. Maxim-san, join us. Now." Horvath felt a twinge pulling him into the back of the limousine. He had some satisfaction that Hun grimaced possibly in sudden pain, before shutting the door and resuming his seat.

The twins daintily entered into the back together and settled into the luxurious seats. Upon entering the seating area of the limousine, Horvath noted approvingly that it was well kept inside and well stocked. As he helped himself to a glass of smooth brandy from the small bar, the twins spoke to him as the car started driving away. Coshi confided to him that he would be playing a part in a bigger plan. Coshi leaned toward Horvath and spoke intently as he settled back into his seat. "It was written in the stars at the time of our birth, that we, "Coshi indicated herself and Yoshi,"my sister and I, would join in a Triad of Great Power with a foreign sorceress. Our family sacrificed themselves to give us the long life we needed to make the prophecy come true after we heard of Morgana." They looked at Horvath expectantly. He schooled his expression into showing surprise. "Really." He took a swallow of his drink, as if collecting his thoughts, then allowed intense interest to show in his face. "And how will you do this? She had been held by Veronica and Balthazar for over a thousand years. And tonight, she was almost destroyed by the new Prime Merlinian." Yoshi waved her hand. "These are small details. These are the things you will resolve for us while in our-care." She continued, telling him that the two planned to place Morgana's captured soul into a mortal receptacle. This, they believed, would not only earn them her gratitude, but would insure her participation in the special ceremony that would fulfill their destiny. "So the receptacle will be one with talent and spirit, one worthy of your lady, of course." Yoshi assured him, confidingly. "Yeah, too bad your Veronica is no longer available; she would have been perfect!" Coshi sighed.

While he expressed surprise at their announcement, and hesitant agreement about their plans concerning Morgana on his face, Horvath smiled privately to himself. Ridiculous, he thought with contempt. As if she would even consider their offer once she was again free in this world….

He hadn't hid his smile as well as he thought, as a voice pulled him from his revelry. "What are you smiling about, Maxim-san?" Coshi asked him in a curious voice, as she finished typing on her phone's keypad. Satisfied, she pressed the Send button on the device.

He schooled his features into a smile. "Nothing, my dear; nothing at all," he replied. Coshi looked satisfied. "Good." Her voice hardened. "Tomorrow, you will begin searching for an acceptable vessel for your lady." "Look for something not too old, but not too young." Yoshi added, ".No children or teenagers!" The young woman grinned nastily. "You will show us the ones you have selected, and bring them back to us. We will test them. If we deem them worthy, then your lady will live again." Coshi looked at Horvath. "This must be completed before the next Full Moon; three weeks from now." "Do not fail us, Maxim-san," Yoshi warned. "We can be very generous to our…friends. The punishment would be…unpleasant."

The two leaned back in their seats, with the attitude that since the orders had been given, they would be obeyed. Horvath nodded his head genteelly in agreement, sipping his drink. Inside, he was seething.

He hated this, with all of his darkened soul. But, he would be patient, and cunning. He would be obedient to their wishes, and encourage their mistaken belief that Morgana would willingly join with them in a Triad of Power. Then, when the moment was right, he would not only free himself, he would take their powers to become twice as powerful as he was before.

He would free Morgana once again.

Then the dead would rise.

Because I forgot to do it at the end of the first chapter: Captain James T. Kirk (Captain of the Starship Enterprise) is from the Star Trek television show/universe. Captain Jack Harkness (and the term "Eye Candy") are both from the BBC show Torchwood. I don't own them either of them, but James and Angela are science fiction fans, so they watch them all the time.

All comments gratefully appreciated. Please do not Flame me—constructive criticism is always welcome!