Chapter 07


As the weeks went by though, it kept itching in the back of his mind. As he walked through the central park with Becky, his thoughts kept wandering to the last events. It had been quiet since then, no sign of Horvath, Morgana was safely locked up in the Grimhold, and his friend and master had returned to his old demandor. They'd found some of his stuff on ebay – which had irritated Balthazar more than he was ready to admit -, others had been sold to unknown buyers, while a big deal of the magic items wasn't to be found at all. The store on the other hand made nearly daily progress. Yesterday they'd fixed the bedroom upstairs and even put some furniture into it. Balthazar had said they'd be training today though, so Dave had decided to use that bit of freetime to spend it with Becky, who appreciated it. Dave had noticed another thing about his friend and master. He looked more often worn out these days, and it wasn't because of the renovation work – as they used their powers to do most of the work, at least Balthazar did while Dave had to do everything manually ("Just a safety measure, Dave.") -, as far as the young apprentice could tell. But Balthazar being himself he wouldn't share his thoughts. And that was what bothered the young apprentice. The elder hadn't said a thing about what had happened. As far as Dave knew, dead couldn't just come back to life. It contradicted any logical explaination and broke any law of nature. Not that he wasn't glad that a seemingly miracle had happened that day. But for crying out loud, it bugged him! Knowing his master he probably had pulled off some stunts to bend the rules, even in heaven – or hell, who knew where sorcerers ended. If there were consequences to worry about, Dave thought himself to have the right to know so he could defend his master if needed.

Becky called his name, effectively destroying his concentrated brooding. He looked up and into her smiling face, finding her standing before him, a hand outstretched into his direction. The youth took it, returning the smile and walked on beside her.

"You know Dave..", she started after a while. "I... got something I need to tell you.."

"What.. what is it?", he asked back, when she hesitated, and even stood, forcing her to stand as well.

"This one thing... you know..", she struggled for words. ".. I'm pregnant."

Now, that got the young sorcerer off-guard. He blinked twice, his brain working on comprehending the newly acquired information. As it sickered in, his smile became even wider.

"That's great, Becky!", he exclaimed, pulling her into a tight embrace which left her playfully wheezing at the strong grip that surrounded her.

"It is?", she asked out of breath when Dave finally let her go. He nodded enthusiatically.

"Of course it is! I'm becoming a daddy!"

She bit her lip and Dave raised an eyebrow at that. "Erm.. what is it?", he asked again.

"That's not all... ... there was this guy... while you were gone.. and that party.. someone drugged me and I woke naked the next morning.."
It clearly was embarassing to her, but Dave just stared. "So, what?"
"I ... just... want to... say.. you know, don't get your hopes up too much, I don't know who it is from.."
"I'm sure it's mine", Dave said with confidence, which made Becky smile reassured, before they continued their walk in loving union.


"What if it's not mine?!"

Balthazar sighed, as he looked at his apprentice, who stood in the midst of the Merlin's circle, discussing this utterly long-lived topic. He'd tried to get him off that a few times by now and to get the young student to concentrate, as the spell he was supposed to learn wasn't easy and at best dangerous. To control large-scale vacuum spheres, you need to be focused. And Dave was everything but focused right now, so the elder really thought of calling it a day and talking Dave out of it. A thought struck his mind though.

"You know, you could check, Dave", he said, making Dave lose the red line, cutting off any words that were about to spill out. As Balthazar got his apprentice's attention, he went on.

"If she's your descendant, she might have the gift"

"A baby?"

"Yes, Dave, even a sorcerer's baby has the spark that may kindle the fire of sorcery. It all depends on the child though. Interests, talent, how much blood it shares with the sorcering parent. You yourself are the grand-grand-grand.."

Dave stared at the elder as he kept on adding 'grand's. When the man finally ended, it had to be about 20, 30 grands.

"... grand-son of Merlin himself."

"Wait.. we've gone through that in biology. A child always has exactly half of each parents' genes! How can there be a share of blood deciding on the.."
"Did you ever notice that some children resemble more of one parent than the other?"
"Yeah, sure.. but that's all about.."
"We're going in circles, Dave. I said it's among other things depending on the blood. There have been born sorcerers in families with no magic at all. You on the other hand have not much of Merlin's blood, but interests that help you in learning the arts. It is always those three factors, Dave."
"But how am I supposed to know if it's my baby?"
"Just touch Becky's belly when you see her next time. Can we go on now?"
"S-sure.."
"Very well."

With that, Balthazar closed his eyes for a moment, obviously consoling whatever dreaded power, before the air around Dave began to flare. When the youth blinked the next time, he saw a huge fireball flying straight at him. Yelping he built up a shield, which was broken down easily. Out of sheer reflex he willed the air around him to pull back, which stopped the fireball in its tracks and made its glow become darker by each heartbeat until it vanished. By the time it did, Dave was gasping for air, which relucantly returned to its original place, filling the vacuumed space with the much needed oxygen. As if from afar, he heard Balthazar praise.

"Excellent. But you need to work on that shortage of breathing if you want to use the technique. Again!"

Dave moaned, feeling dizzy from the experience before and looking desperately at his master, who raised an eyebrow at that. When it became evident the youth wouldn't react – he still stood there like a mannekin, arms dangling low on the slumped shoulders while the body panted for air -, the elder scratched his head thoughtfully and then called

"Let's stop here. We won't make any more progress today."

"N-no, I'm alright. We can.."
"You are not alright, Dave. When I tell you we're stopping, we will."

Only a nearly inaudible grumbling was the answer.

"Come again?", the master called, making his apprentice flinch and reply a "Nothing" while sitting down on the cold floor, staring at his pointy shoes. It was the settling in silence that finally encouraged him to ask.

"How about you..?"

Two storm blue eyes fixated on him, making him uncomfortable but not silent.

"You've been strange these days, Balthazar.."
"What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean.. Staring absentminded holes in a wall – and I mean it, thanks a lot again!"
"You're welcome."
"But that's not the point!"
"What is then?"
"I just thought you'd be devasted at losing Veronica and all.. and wanted to-.."

It was then, Dave realized he'd made a mistake. Raw pain registered in the other sorcerer's eyes, which still locked with his. For a while, nothing was said. Then;

"Thank you, Dave", Balthazar said, his tone somewhere between sharp and depressed, adding weight to the youth's bad conscience instantly. "I nearly forgot that I miss her day in, day out, to train an ungrateful apprentice who seems to find pleasure in reminding me of it."

It was the first time he'd been that direct with Dave. While Dave was too shocked about being ranted at to even reply, much less being able to counter, Balthazar averted his gaze by turning his back on Dave, sighing to get rid of some hot steam that threatened to unload on the apprentice - not quite the Merlinean way. Nor was it Dave's fault. So, to prevent further escalation, Balthazar said;
"Go home. We'll talk tomorrow."
"Listen.. I'm sor-..."
"Just go."

The youth complied, unwilling to cause more damage than he'd unknowingly done. As he went up the stairs he once turned around, looking back to the elder who'd taken seat in the Merlin Circle's center, back turned to the stairs, obviously unwilling to talk. With that, Dave hurried up the last steps and slipped through the door.

Balthazar heard the door close with a clank and breathe out slowly. He regretted snapping at Dave. The boy really wasn't to blame, more like reasonably worried. His choice of words could've been more refined, sure, but Dave hadn't done it on purpose, the master knew. He'd make up for it later. But for now, he tried hard to concentrate. Forcing all thoughts out of his mind he closed his eyes, breathing deep for a while. As his head started to feel light from it and everything from hearing to the cold feeling of the stone floor slowly disintegrated, colors started to spread before his still closed eyes. They mixed into a blinding white, before everything went back to darkness, which again dissolved, until he saw mist. By that time, he didn't even feel his body anymore.

Silently smiling he walked through the area. Stretching out the mental tendrils he explored the area for enemies or allies, finding nothing. He felt only one person closeby, and she was waiting for him, and stormed in his direction as they saw each other. As she was in reach, she jumped into his arms into a tight embrace.

"My dear..!", Veronica whispered, snuggling up to him, while he just whispered back in the most loving manner.

"Love..", she said again, this time looking up at him. "Didn't I warn you? You shouldn't come back.. it's dangerous!", she exclaimed, but he just smirked playfully.
"Don't worry. We're alone, beloved"
"But if they find out..!"
"There's no punishment in heaven, beloved. If there was, it wouldn't be heaven, right?"
"I'm glad you came...", she suddenly breathed as if to avoid the topic. Balthazar noticed, but let it drop. Instead of pushing the matter further, he confessed to her;
"I can't live without you..."
"Don't say that. You went back to care about Dave. He should be your reason to live!"
He chuckled softly. Veronica was so cute when she was upset! "Just kidding. But I miss you down there. And Dave does too."
"I doubt that. He doesn't like me, because you'd prefer me over him. Even if it's untrue."
"He's right, dear. I would choose you over my own life."
"You've always been like this... Making my hair gray prematurely!"

Another chuckle of his and her heart danced a little.

"It didn't do anything to your beauty..."

He said that and held her as close as ever to her, enjoying the time, as he knew just how precious it was. Staying out of his body for too long could be dangerous. He'd done this journey a lot of times in the last weeks, sometimes feeling sore, once even shivering in cold as he'd stayed for over an hour. But without that, all he'd accomplish would be sitting around and wishing for the impossible. Luckily, he'd found out about this little backdoor. The elder sorcerer smiled as he remembered Veronica's surprised – and slightly angry – face and his own surprise, when he'd seen her in a completely regular meditation session after beating up Dave. Balthazar didn't know why it worked to begin with and convinced himself that he didn't need to know. All that counted was that it worked. He could visit her whenever there was time. They would talk, spend time especially close together or just sit beside each other in silence, enjoying each other's company.

Suddenly though, she pressed away from him, a sorrowful look in her eyes and a playful frown in his.

"I think it's time to go... they're looking for me."
"Who is, beloved?"
"The other angels.. I told you of them, didn't I, my dear?"

Of course he remembered. After he'd left a couple of times before, so Veronica had told, all heaven had started to supervise her. She rarely had the freedom of privacy anymore, which made living in heaven kinda awkward for her, but she had hurried to reassure him she was fine back then. But on a closer view, she just looked stressed out. Reasonable, as they didn't even leave her alone when she was with Merlin at the castle. Veronica had skipped that part on purpose, so her husband wouldn't worry too much though. Suddenly, she turned her beautiful head in the direction of a sound Balthazar couldn't hear, which she explained as some kind of extremely high-pitched bird song, the language of angels. They called for her and if she didn't want to raise suspicions, she'd have to go. Now.

A last, longing gaze into his storm blue eyes and a loving kiss was all he got from her before she spread her wings and flew away graceful like a swan. As for him, all he could do – beside standing in the mist - was to return to his body ASAP.

The sorcerer woke with a start.

He found himself still sitting in the turnaround, feeling stiff and sore from not moving for all that time, silence all around him, as well as the dim shimmer coming from the headlights above. He slowly stood, stretched, crackling all joints and bones back into their natural positions before noticing something was missing.

"Dave?", he called to no avail. As memory returned to him, he bit back a curse. Of course, they'd parted in a pointless fight. Nothing he could change right now though. A quick look to the clock told him it was too late right now to be even considering options at hand. Dave would probably be asleep right now anyway. Thinking about it, Balthazar found the idea quite appealing, too. Astral travelling was quite demanding and actually he felt ready to drop. The elder walked over to the table with the closed Encantus on top of it, moved the chair a bit and sat down, half leaning over the table and dozed off in seconds.

There he was found by the apprentice the next day.

Dave stood beside his master, not quite sure what to make of the softly snoring man, waking him or not was quite a hard decision to make. If he did, who knew how a sleep-drunk half-crazed sorcerer would react. Thinking back, he'd never found him like that. It had always been Dave who came late and stuff. It was an absolute new thing. Nonetheless, he'd get one hell of a verbal beating if he tried to skip training by letting his master oversleep, so the apprentice went for option a;

His hand hadn't quite reached the shoulder of his older friend, as that one mumbled something of the likes I'm awake.. Dave.. before sitting up slowly, half turning his head to Dave, who started, ready to defend against whatever thing would be thrown at him. But nothing happened. Instead, Balthazar just gave it a surpressed yawn and stretched his long limbs, before fully turning his attention on Dave. Neither said a word, the tension from yesterday still present. When Dave tried to say something though, opening his mouth to do so, he was cut off by the master immediately.

"No need to apologise. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Without having achieved anything the youth closed his mouth again, looking surprisedly at the elder. As he was about to ask what was wrong and how it came Balthazar was docile for a change, he wished he hadn't even thought it. That innocent smile he saw on the other's face was scary... It always preluded something. Impending doom for example. The apprentice was on guard.

"W-what?", the youth ventured to ask.

"Oh, nothing Dave. Relax."

With that, the elder raised from the chair and strolled to the Merlin's circle, which replied with the usual flames. Dave followed the lion into its den.

"Let's fresh up what you know of Plasma bolts. Tell me what a plasma bolt is and how it is made.", Balthazar said, circling around Dave, who'd taken his place in the elemental sphere once again, its yellow flames flaring brightly, as always without heating the air up.
"Erm... concentrated energy emitted by the nervous system?"
"Yes. Go on."
"And our rings are the conductor to transmit them into the physical world"
An approving nod. "What makes them dangerous?"
"Electrical energy can rob a sorcerer of his powers?"
"Yes and no, Dave. It's different for the power the body emits. You couldn't use it to permanently prevent Horvath from casting magic for example. But your tesla coils did. It's a completely different voltage. Plasma bolts are only dangerous if used against objects or to push your opponent from you. In other words.."

At that, the master formed a sphere, causing Dave to go into defense mode right away, having a shield set up even before thinking, which went mostly unnoticed – or ignored – by the elder, who just continued to walk around Dave, playing with the sizzling ball.

".. you can't depend too much on them. Can you follow?"
"S-sure."

"There are ways of using them in a dangerous way though. Such as you did by attacking that transformer in Battery Park. Or by raising the voltage of your bolts like Morgana did."

Dave thought back to that night and nodded absentminded. Images from back then flared back up and threatened to overwhelm him. Of course his master noticed and used that moment to pull the boy back to reality. The sphere he'd formed was fired at the youth and it was bound to go right through the shield and give the apprentice a push in reality's direction.

But as it flew, Balthazar noticed something was off. When he found what it was, it was too late to react. The bolt met with the still active shield, reinforced by strong feelings and thoughts, and was reflected to shoot just inches past the master and explode at the next wall, the shock wave throwing over the table beside the wall and even the chair with his coat and hat on top. Despite being missed, the master suddenly coughed – hard at that -, as he felt his heart literally stop for nearly two seconds. As he went to his knees, Dave watched wide-eyed as the master continued to cough his insides out, one hand pressed to the left chest, the other on the ground.

"Are you okay?", the youth asked, concerned and slightly panicked about the strange reaction, got a wordless but still coughing nod from the elder, before his eyes wandered to where the reflected plasma bolt had hit. The only thing he noticed was the elder's coat that now laid on the floor instead on the now unusable chair. Beside it the hat .. and.. was that a pocket watch? Dave raised an eyebrow at that but dismissed it as weird-old-man-thing, before turning back to the elder who had made it to his legs again, seemingly recovered from the strange incident.

"Excellent. Your shield has improved I see."

Dave should've swallowed the compliment and shine with pride. Instead, he concentrated on the raspy sound of his friend's voice and the abnormal wheezing of that one's breath. Furrowed brows shot glances of concern in the masters direction, unnerving said one to the point of him frowning too.
".. Dave. Are you even listening?", he asked, catching the youth's eyes once again. A hasty nod came from the apprentice, a sigh from his master, as latter dismissed the whole situation and went on.

"Good. Now that we've cleared what plasma bolts are, let's see how yours have improved", Balthazar said, and to his annoyance, every color left his student's face, as latter one hastily shook his head. Balthazar felt his right eyebrow twitch in irritation.

"Don't tell me you lost your speech now", he said, forcing back his temper, as he always did when Dave wasn't really helping. In this case, the non-verbal answers were enough to annoy him.
"I.. I can't do that!", the apprentice finally meekily admitted.
"Why not?"
"I don't want to hurt you!"
"You can't hurt me, Dave."
"But .. just now.. You know..!"
"No, Dave. I swallowed air, nothing else."

A hard, audible gulp went down the youth's throat, before he began to conjure the energy needed to form the ball. Much to his surprise and annoyance though, the first one he managed fizzled away. Same happened with every following one, until Balthazar decided to step in.

"You're not concentrating, Dave."
"Yes I am!"
"Have you cleared your mind?"
"Yeah!"
"I suppose not. Again!"

And Dave did. Finally, he successfully conjured an electrical sphere to the point of being actually worthy of the name plasma bolt, but when he was supposed to send it on its way, he hesitated, looking up at his master, who cocked an eyebrow at it, having already prepared a defense against the element – an anti-magnetic field -, waiting for the attack to come.

"Erm, Dave. Please", he sardonically snorted, unable not to catch the shiver that went through his apprentice's figure. What was wrong with the young one today? He wasn't really that shocked about earlier, was he? Still nothing happened, beside the trembling becoming worse to the point that the plasma ball died in the youth's hands and vanished, leaving Dave standing there with slumped shoulders and head hanging in defeat. He couldn't do it, and they both knew it.

"Need a break?", the master asked with no detectable sarcasm this time. He meant it, what didn't mean he liked pausing the training for no other reason than his apprentice having a psychotic episode over nothing. The confirming nod was a little too enthusiastically for Balthazar's taste, but he stepped aside anyway, letting the beaten Dave pass. Looking after the youth, he found him walking over to the fallen coat and picking up the watch. Time to step in.

"Leave it, Dave."
"What is that thing?"
"A watch, Dave. An old one at that."
"Looks pretty new to me.."

Now, that made Balthazar nervous and he had trouble concealing it. He closed the distance between himself and his apprentice, trying to take the thing out of his hands, but Dave just stepped aside, not willing to let this slide. His master usually wasn't that possessive of anything, save Veronica and his coat and rings. It meant something to him. Challenging he held the watch and the gaze.

"So? Why don't I see any traces on it if it's old?"
"Because I take care of my things, Dave."
"Like that oil lamp ten years ago?"
"That one was special. And always dirty. Now give it to me!"

Was there some kind of desperation behind that old man's voice now? Dave didn't want to push his luck any longer and held the precious item out to the elder. Latter reached for it, having thought about using magic to gather the item but disposed of the idea since he had no clue what consequences an inconsiderate action could have, given the watch was kind of magic itself.

That thought had slowed his reactions by a fraction though, so he reached for it half a second too late, just when Dave slipped over an invisible something on the floor, typical for the clumsy apprentice. In consequence to the laws of gravity, the watch fell. It landed hard on the stone ground and gave an earshattering ringing which forced Dave to close his eyes in pain from the loud sound, hissing slightly. As he opened them again, there was no master before him anymore.

Not standing at that. More like sprawled out on the floor, collapsed on the front. Instantly the youth was beside him, calling his name, shaking him by the shoulders. Immediately, guilt filled the young apprentice to the brink and he bit his lip. He should've listened.. But he hadn't thought that thing meant so much to his friend and master that he'd black out from the shock... There had to be more behind that.

As the elder suddenly gave a low moan and started to push himself up, Dave felt sweet relief, even if he was growled at when the elder was kneeing on all fours, panting from the exertion.

"I... told you.. to leave it..."
"Sorry man.. I didn't know it was that important."
"For future reference; Do not touch it."
"Be true with me.. what is with that watch? You act as if your life depended on it.."

The silence that followed was the only answer Dave got. Nervously laughing the apprentice asked on; "No, really." Still no answer, just a glare of the kind Stop asking dumb questions which got the young Merlinean freaking out by now.

"No way.. You're not serious, are you?"
"I am."
"What? How can it..?"
"I don't know, Dave."

The hell he didn't, but Dave didn't need to know what had happened in the afterlife. Not yet at least.

"I only know I had it when we met back then."
"That doesn't make sense.."
"I know. Let's settle with you keeping your hands off it, alright?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever.."
"Make sure you keep this to yourself."
"No need to tell me... if Horvath finds out.."

Dave helped the older Merlinean stand and led him over to the stairs, letting him rest there, before he ran back to get the watch, which, before he even got close, levitated past him to land in it's owner's hands. Whatever the potential consequences, for all Balthazar knew he wouldn't let this particular apprentice get close to this particular watch ever again. Not that he didn't trust Dave after the little incident, but what he trusted was the fatal luck the youth had when it came to fall flat. And what that meant he knew from before now.

"No touch, no talk, no eye-contact, Dave", the elder said with a grin, making Dave once again frown. He felt reminded of someone but couldn't put a finger on it, so he shoved the ridiculous thought aside, nodded confused as he watched how the elder slung the chronometer around his neck, shoving the pendant under the vest to keep it safe.

"So. Shall we resume?"
"But.. Becky is coming soon and I need to get ready.."
"Oh. Really."
"Yes."
"Still a bad liar, Dave."
"Wha-..?"
"But you're excused."
"Err... alright... erm.. thanks I guess?"
"Go before I change my mind."

The youth nodded and ran for the locker room. After a few minutes of constant shower sounds, some hectical monologues and the following hasty steps up the stairs silence settled on the turnaround again. Balthazar just shook his head, waited a short while before he took out his watch and started looking at it thoughtfully as memories washed over him.

"Are you sure we should be doing this, my love?"
"No, beloved, we shouldn't. But I can't let the world perish because the one who's supposed to protect it drowns in his own tears."

Veronica sighed in defeat. Her husband could be so stubborn at times. And now, he made her stalk the clocktower, waiting for an opening to get inside, grab a specific clock and get out before anybody noticed, especially the guards on the entrance. Newcomers to heaven were led inside to be introduced to afterlife and came back out with wings – or without – relieved looks on their faces. As each of the sorcerers had been through it as well, they knew what was inside;

Countless clocks and watches, one for each creature on the world. Some running, some not, a few even defect. Two of them were theirs and they were about to grab them and get out of here. At least for Balthazar's part, as Veronica wasn't as convinced it would work like that. But seeing that she couldn't let the person she held dear the most down, she'd gone with him, against Merlin's will – or more precisely; without his knowledge.

Using magic to get past the guards wasn't an option. Angels were immune to it as far as Veronica knew and so she'd recommended strongly against trying. There was no opening on the roof, so flying up wouldn't help. The only way inside was through this well guarded entrance. The guard angels checked each and everyone who entered, making sure nobody got inside twice. Even though, some souls got past without being checked, as it was quite an onslaught these days. The world got more brutal each day, natural disasters became more frequent, diseases, murderers, there was a lot that could kill one these days. But it might just be their chance to get in. Balthazar turned to Veronica, who carried a wary look on her fair face.

"Transformation, Veronica. I think we can fool them."
"If we get found, they will send us straight to hell, my love.."
"Yes. Let's make sure they don't find out."

With that, he went to all fours, breathed deep and got silent, before his appearance changed to that of a german shepherd, which now smiled at Veronica; a dog-like smile with panting tongue. He did a good job as dog and, beside being all black and still having those storm blue eyes, nothing remained of his human form. She joined him, becoming a graceful siamese cat, purring around him and following to the bridge that led over a small canyon, right to the tower. Around them, there were several other dogs and cats, some pretty sad looking – probably missing their humans or mates – while others shook with excitement and jumped around, sometimes colliding with either Veronica or Balthazar to get growled or hissed away.

As luck wanted it, they got past the guards without being looked at and finally stood in the midst of a giantic hall. Veronica hid behind her husband, as a beautiful whippet she-dog came into their direction, friendly smiling. "Welcome to the great hall of judgement!", she said with an extremely sweet smile and motioned the two to follow. The whippet went ahead, only stopping to look back to the black shepherd and the shy siamese, sometimes wagging her tail in anticipation. It was obvious the dog loved her job. She led them through more halls, encouraging to follow even if it was a little scary, and finally stopped at a desk, where she jumped on the accompaning chair and opened a huge book, that would easily rival any Encantus.

"The names, please", she again said, her voice full of compassion for those two poor souls who probably had died in a horrible way, given they were still this young and already dead!

"Bentley and my mate, Veron...a", Balthazar lamely said, glad for the save before he'd nearly said his beloved true name and blown the cover!

But the whippet didn't seem to mind and started browsing the large book, being taken in completely by the task, mumbling from time to time "Sorry, I'm looking for you two.. Must be a mistake.." or something, while Veronica turned to Balthazar, whispering "My love, I'll keep her busy. You go and look for your life!", she said, blinking at her beloved and already casting a spell. When it was finished, a perfect replica of Balthazar in his dog form sat down and wagged his tail at the whippet. The she-dog didn't even notice the black shepherd vanishing from her sight and sneaking past her.

The next thing Veronica heard a while later was the shouting of guard angels, coming closer from where her beloved had run to, as latter returned - back to his original form and no less than two clocks in his hands - and stopped briefly, so Veronica could climb up. As she sat on his shoulders – a strange constallation – he dashed on, seeing the guards passing the confused whimpering whippet as he threw a short look back.

"My love..", the cat on his shoulders asked. "What is the second one?"

For a moment Balthazar contemplated just dropping the topic, but seeing he was doing this for her, he felt the need to tell her. "It's yours, beloved." Her surprised gasp left a warm feeling. They fled on, passing through the incoming crouds on the bridge, even passing the stupored guards there, just to be followed by them too the next second.

Balthazar took out one of the clocks, being an old looking pocket watch, and looked at it while running in the general direction of a pretty foggy area which he knew was the entrance to their personal heaven. Not even the guards could enter without permission, it would be their sanctuary, literally!

The sorcerers got even closer to the area, when a whipping sound went through the air, then Veronica suddenly felt herself falling to the ground – landing softly on four paws – and found her husband kneeling, an arrow stuck in his right leg. Looking back both saw the guard angels run at them, one holding a golden shimmering bow, obviously having fired the missile, now following his mates. There was no time left.

"Veronica... take this.. and run.", Balthazar moaned, very much to his annoyance, as the arrow was more painful than he'd ever imagined an essentially not existing object to be capable of, as he gave his love the one watch that wore her name – a miniature cookoo-clock -, earning a scared look from her, as she took her original form to hold the goody.

"I can't leave you! They will banish you, my dear!"
"Just go..! I trust you figure it out.."

The guards came even closer, forcing a decision from her.

"Veronica, GO!", the sorcerer shouted, firing a series of fireballs at the guards, distracting them for a moment. There she nodded, obviously not happy with leaving the elder laying there, but then turned and ran into the mist. The last she heard was a colorful choice of heavenly curses by the guards and, testing her determination, the bit-back cry of her husband, as she passed the portal to Merlin's castle. As the guards were about to pierce his being with a holy spear, he'd started winding the watch and whited out.

He'd come to, laying on that plaza, and found Dave not much later.

There Balthazar's memory ended. He blinked a few times, as reality started to reclaim him.

What now? Judged by the time that had come and gone by now, Veronica hadn't found back yet. While his own clock just had needed some rewinding, he could barely guess what was wrong with hers. Maybe Merlin refrained from helping her for her own sake, knowing the old man. That had to be it. Besides, they were looking for her, right? And if she didn't come back to life, she was safe at least.

The watch vanished under his vest once again, where it would be until he had a better idea where to store it. Then it hit him. Store! If there was a safe spot in this god forsaken world it was the Arcana Cabana.. All he'd need to do was renew the wards and find a nice spot to hide it inside. There would be no daily training endangering the chronometer, enemies couldn't possibly use it against him either. The plan was perfect. Only one thing left to do.

Getting there.

Becky had come over as soon as Dave had called her. He'd sounded distressed, and as she deemed herself a good girlfriend she couldn't leave him alone, right? Something was off though. Usually he should be coming to her, not the other way around... right? The girl shoved aside the thoughts. Now wasn't the time to ponder over small stuff like social rules.

She sat in his living room, beside her boyfriend, stroking his back in a comforting way. He hadn't told her what was bothering him and she didn't ask. But this silence slowly became unnerving. Finally snapping, she began.

"Listen Dave, whatever is troubling you.. If you don't tell me, I can't help you!"

It wasn't meant as blame. She'd said it as compassionate as she could. Kept her voice even and kept the eye contact – from the side. Dave paled anyway and looked at her shocked. What was wrong with him to be that sensitive today? The blonde resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He still didn't say a thing and just stared at her as if she'd threatened to kill Tank. Actually.. with a little modification.. Again, she shoved aside the thought. If she got angry now, nothing would change. So, instead, she sighed;

"Dave. You called me to come over to talk. If you don't want to talk, I'll go."

He gulped hard and opened his mouth, a good sign! He took a breath.. then shut up again, head hanging. Becky finally failed to repress a groan, gripped both his shoulders and shook him slightly.

"SPEAK TO ME!", she half shouted, feeling tears well up behind her eyes from anger. And a little worry. More than a little probably. When he replied, she just stared back at her boyfriend, perplexed at the sudden reaction.

"I... nearly killed him...", he said, low enough for Becky to miss half of the words, so she asked:

"What?"
"He told me to stay away from it and I didn't listen.. I could've killed him!", he repeated, louder this time and more desperate, but Becky still didn't understand a word, only her eyes switched from angry to even more worried, as she slid back on the couch, back to stroke his back.

"You didn't do it on purpose!"
"How can you know that? I picked up his watch on purpose.. "
"You'd never purposefully harm anybody.."
"Save one"
"No, I don't count that.. thing you got rid of."
"I'm sure he hates me now..."
"Come on, Dave.. He won't hate you for that.. Wait, who are we talking about?"
"My.. uncle. Uncle Balthazar!"

"Oh. He.", was all she said, still remembering that day at the lab and their brief encounter. She deemed him as nice, a bit crazy maybe, but couldn't warm up to him somehow. Besides, Dave had developed an unhealthy obsession with the man, spending a big deal more time in the underground than with her. Somewhere down deep inside her heart she was a little jealous at that Balthazar character and hated herself for it. Again, she looked at her boyfriend in a fruitless attempt to get rid of her negative thoughts. This sad look on his face.. like an abandoned puppy at best. Knowing him, he blamed himself for whatever happened – something with a watch and his uncle as far as she had understood from the bits of information he'd given out – and it ate at him.

Dave wasn't a crybaby per-se, at least if she was asked, but right now, all he needed was support, not a discussion. As she took him into her arms in a consoling gesture, the last she heard from him were silent sobs and the occassionally trembling of his shoulders.

When his phone rang, its owner took it and just stared on the display. As he read the appearing name, he gave it a long stretched sigh before accepting the call. It was Dave. Or, at least his phone as Balthazar found out in that very second, because it was Rebecca who shouted through the phone and made his ear ring in protest against the deafening loudness.

"Whatever you do to Dave must stop!", she called and the sorcerer contemplated if maybe she didn't hear clearly and thought she'd have to compensate for a bad line or something. In any case, he replied calm and collected.

"First; I don't do anything to him as you put it. I'm his master and he's learning sorcery from me. This includes physical labor as well, Rebecca", he said as a matter of fact, but the following, seconds long pause irritated him a little as he could picture the young woman frown on the other end of the line.

"... You are what?", was, what she asked then.
"I think you heard me clear and.."
"You are his uncle, aren't you?"
"Master."

She probably threw a questioning glare at the shrinking David right now, which made the boy's master smirk, knowing he couldn't be seen through the phone and unable to restrain his amusement.

"So.. what does his mentor do to him then?"
"Master."
"Whatever! So what..?"
"Nothing. If you're so worried, you might want to come visit."
"Sure. When?"
"Tell Dave he's supposed to show up here tomorrow morning."
"I will. Bye!"

The soft crack of the hearer told Balthazar the inevitable; Becky had hung up on him. Still he silently smiled, as he turned back to the chores he'd been fulfilling before that unnerving sound had emitted from his nokia. Dusting the shelves and removing that ugly pink color from the walls didn't do itself. Not even in a shop owned by a sorcerer. At least not if he wanted to prevent a distaster of the kind mops-all-around-the-place ... Despite having controlled the situation back then, he knew that particular spell was dangerous on and in itself, as animating that many objects was difficult to control. And Dave had really overdone it back then, the master reminiced. It all seemed so far away now. So long ago... Technically all was back to ground zero now. He had his store back, was more or less single again - he thought latter sourly and praying Veronica may forgive him for even thinking this – and things finally had returned to normal.. -ish.

He looked up, finding what he'd done while overthinking the situation. Everything was clean now. Show cases everywhere, empty still. The dust of years without proper care had leaked through the mail slot by his order. The master knew, he'd have to gather some goods to sell otherwise his efforts would've been in vain. He checked that on his mental list as he went up the stairs, where the living quarters where located. Everything in check here too. The kitchen invited him to prepare tasty meals. The bedroom asked for someone to take a nice long nap on the fluffy double-bed. The bath was clean and pleasant.

In the living room he sat on the couch, staring blankly at the huge plasma screen, hanging on the wall across the room. To the right, a large window gave sight to New York's rooftop landscape and a by now starry sky. It felt good to have a place to live again. But on the other hand, he felt incredibly lonely right now. With that, he grabbed this beautiful woolen cover and pulled it up to his ears, succumbing to sleep.

The next morning, he woke, because the annoying noise from yesterday was tormenting his ears once again. He really would have to change that ringtone. Soon. Grumbling he took out the hearer, pushed the accept call-button without even checking who called, held the device to his ear and mumbled a "Hello?". It was Dave.

"Balthazar?! Finally man! Where the hell are you?"
"Good morning to you too, Dave."
"Very funny, man. I'm down in the lab waiting for you!"
"Interesting. And you suppose I come when you call?"
"Wha...? Usually you call me over and expect me to appear! Literally! Can't I expect.."
"You..", Balthazar cut into his apprentice's fit sharply. ".. can't expect anything. I will come, as we have a date with wind controlling today. Go and read the chapter in your Encantus. I'll be there in a bit."

He really wasn't in the mood to be sensitive with the youth today. He'd dreamt of Veronica, so being forcefully waken was the one, big reason he was gruff in the first place. Before Dave could reply, he ended the call and swung his tired bones off the couch, lifting himself up to grab a snack from the fridge and walk, not run, down the stairs.

Standing on ground-floor once again he took a bite from the sandwhich in his hands, chewed thoughtfully on the morsel, back leaning against a shelf. No need to hurry. Haste made stress and stress weakened the concentration, which could become a problem when manipulating wind. As harmless as that element sounded, if used in a wrong way it could form indoor-hurricanes or even taifuns which slashed everything in sight. Correctly used it was a deadly weapon against any enemy, so it was neccessary for Dave to learn it - under observation.

After coming to the conclusion nothing could be accomplished while standing around, he pushed off the shelf and strolled across the store to the exit, left it, made sure to lock it properly – who wants some homeless people or thoughtless kids to cause a wreckage and spoil days of hard work – and walked a bit, rounding a street corner to where his beloved car was parked. It looked like it was waiting for him and purred as its owner took place on the driver's seat. "Good morning, beautiful", Balthazar purred a reply, feeling the engine's soft vibrations.

When he gently pushed the charge pedal, he knew he'd spent at least ten minutes, sitting in the car, simply enjoying the mere feeling of being alive for the first time in over thousand years. Even if his head still hammered.

Even days could feel like eternity.