Chosen Chapter 16: A Family that Wizards Together

Part 7

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In the grand halls of Magic School, a panicked Arthur was running after Ben, who had been manipulated into stealing the trident by his father. Unfortunately, Ben was quite athletic and Arthur could barely keep up, and they were nearing the portals to leave the school. Arthur waved his hand and quickly conjured an illusion of a brick wall in front of them. However, Ben did not buy into his trick and ran straight through it.

"Ben, stop!" Arthur called out.

"I can't." Ben replied. "I have to get the trident to him."

"No, you can fight him." Arthur argued. "You can resist his influence."

"I can't, I'm sorry." Ben replied.

Ben stopped and turned around, swinging the trident as he did. A wave of energy was released, which Arthur barely avoided by spiraling away. He reappeared in front of Ben and grabbed the trident, resulting in a struggle between the friends.

"Stop fighting me." Arthur said.

"Don't you think I want to?" Ben replied. "His voice is in my head."

As they kept struggling, Arthur realized he had to break his father's mind manipulation. He remembered that when Ambrose did the same to him, Violet had expelled him with a spell. He just had to remember how it went.

"Forces of light, hear my plea…" Arthur started to cast.

"Sorry, I can't let you." Ben said.

Ben let go of the trident with one hand and punched Arthur in the face. Arthur let go of the trident in pain, giving Ben the opportunity he needed. He swung the trident and rammed it into Arthur's stomach, causing him to double over. As Ben ran for the portals, Arthur knew he could not catch up, so he waved his hand and cast another illusion.

"Ben, stop." Arthur called out.

Arthur ran after his friend and entered the hallway with the portals. There were several portals leading to various parts of the world and even other planes of existence. Only one portal was open, forming a swirling blue wormhole. Without thinking, Ben headed for the portal, leaping straight into the wall behind it. He fell unconscious and dropped the trident. Arthur waved his hand and the illusion of the open portal disappeared, revealing a solid stone wall.

"Sorry, buddy." Arthur said as he picked up the trident.

At that moment, another portal opened behind them. Arthur turned around with the trident, ready to attack, though he was surprised to see Nathan stepping out.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur asked.

"Duncan told me what was going on and asked me to back you up." Nathan replied as he looked at Ben. "Though I don't think you need it. Should I ask what happened?"

"He was being controlled by my father." Arthur said.

"Alright, so should we tie him up?" Nathan asked.

"Actually, I was trying to remember a spell Violet used on me once." Arthur said. "But I only remember parts of it. Maybe you can help me."

"What?" Nathan asked surprised. "How?"

"You're a telepath, or at least half of one." Arthur replied. "I need you to read my mind."

"You know I can't do that without my brother." Nathan said. "You said it, I'm only half a telepath."

"You can use this." Arthur said as he held out the trident. 'Just like the Staff of Magnus, it can augment magical powers. If you wield it, you might be able to read my subconscious for the spell."

"Alright." Nathan replied with a shrug as he accepted the trident, causing a spark of energy to flow through it. "Wow, this thing has some serious juice. I can get used to this."

"Is it working?" Arthur asked.

"I think so, I'm picking up stray thoughts from everywhere in the school." Nathan noted. "One of the students has a serious crush on you."

"Just focus." Arthur replied impatiently.

Nathan nodded and closed his eyes as he placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder. After a short moment, he opened his eyes and waved the trident at Ben as he cast the spell.

"Forces of light hear my pleas,

Help set this troubled mind free,

Reveal to us what is unknown,

Is his mind truly his own?"

Ben glowed in a pale light and he coughed up white smoke, which briefly formed into Ambrose before fading away. Ben stirred for a moment and became motionless again.

"I think that did it." Nathan said. "Did I mention how creepy your dad is?"

"Agreed." Arthur replied as he took the trident back from Nathan. "We should get Ben to the nurse's office and then head to Atlantis. The others will meet us there."

Xxx

Back at the museum, Violet was nervously pacing in the bathroom around the frozen Ramsey. She had not heard from the others and she had no idea how long she could keep the wizard frozen. She grabbed her phone and tried to call Arthur, but he didn't answer. She looked at herself in the mirror and nearly shrieked when there was a knock on the door.

"Sorry, occupied." Violet called out in a failed attempt to sound like a man.

"Violet, open up. It's me." A female voice replied.

"Who is me?" Violet asked confused.

"Duncan." The voice replied. "I'm possessing Harper."

Violet hesitated for a moment, but then opened the door and saw Harper standing in front of her. She had her heels in her hand and was barefoot. Even though she knew it was Duncan possessing her, seeing the crazed female wizard still make Violet nervous.

"God, how do women walk in these things?" Duncan asked as he held up the heels. "I fell twice before taking them off. And this body is hard enough to control as it is."

"Why did you possess her?" Violet asked as she closed and locked the door again.

"How else was I supposed to keep her out of the way?" Duncan replied as he turned to the frozen Ramsey. "And besides, you froze him."

"Yeah, well, same answer." Violet said. "We just need to keep these two away from Bryant long enough for Billie to take him prisoner."

Violet noticed that Duncan was leaning against the sink and that he held his hands to his temples as if he was in pain. It looked like he was struggling to keep control of Harper. Violet herself was getting pretty tired, as her freezing power took a lot of energy.

"She has to hurry." Violet noted. "Neither of us can keep this up for long."

"I know." Duncan replied. "I don't have my earpiece in this body. Ask Murphy for an update."

"Murphy?" Violet asked as Duncan moved closer to listen in. "Can you tell us what is going on?"

"Billie is leading Bryant away from the crowd." Murphy replied. "But we might have a problem."

"What do you mean?" Violet asked.

"Ambrose has left the stage and is looking for his children." Murphy said. "If he realizes something is wrong, this could all be for nothing."

"I'll keep him distracted by pretending to be Harper." Duncan suggested.

"Do you really think that will work?" Violet asked.

"Maybe for a few minutes." Duncan replied.

"We'll just have to hope that is all Billie needs." Murphy added.

"Just be careful." Violet said.

"Don't worry." Duncan assured her. "The moment he starts to suspect, I'll astral project back to my own body."

Duncan put the heels back on and wobbly headed for the door. Once he was gone, Violet locked the door again. She leaned against it as the continued use of her power was wearing her down. She worried she only had a little time left before Ramsey unfroze, hoping Billie had succeeded by then.

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Across the museum, Billie left the crowded hall and headed to a more private location to capture Bryant. As she did, she kept looking over her shoulder to see if he was still following her, which he was. She had pushed enough of his buttons to make him act out of anger instead of common sense, as anyone with a brain could figure out this was a trap. Billie noticed a wing of the building was closed for renovations and headed inside, being careful that nobody but Bryant saw her enter.

"I'm in the closed-off wing." Billie whispered in her earpiece.

"Good, the others have the wizards distracted, but you have to hurry." Murphy replied. "They can only stall them a little while longer."

"I got this." Billie said confidently.

Billie looked around the empty room, where only a few scaffolds, machines and painting supplies were lying around. It was the perfect place to take down Bryant. Billie checked to see if the magic-canceling cuffs were still in her purse and waited. A few moments later, Bryant burst through the door.

"Did you really think you could just walk away after talking to me like that, witch?" Bryant snapped.

"I was just looking for the ladies room." Billie replied. "And everything I said was true, you know."

"Shut the hell up, you don't know anything about me." Bryant said.

"Well, you're not that complicated." Billie remarked. "Sooner or later, you'll outlive your usefulness for your dad and he'll kick you back out on the street."

"I don't think so." Bryant replied. "I think he'll be quite pleased when I tell him our witch problem has been taken care of."

"Think you can actually beat me this time?" Billie asked.

"This time, you won't have your scum boyfriend to rescue you." Bryant replied. "And I've learned some new tricks."

Bryant raised his fists and his skin turned to solid stone. He picked up a piece of machinery that was impossible to lift for a normal person and threw it at Billie, who quickly levitated out of the way. When she landed, she waved her hand and a few paint cans flew straight at Bryant. However, he easily blocked them with his stone fists. Billie realized this was going to be a little more difficult than she thought.

"Cool new power." Billie remarked. "It really gives the saying as dumb as a brick a whole new meaning."

Bryant angrily growled at her as he charged in her direction. Billie avoided his punches and telekinetically threw more paint cans at him. Although he blocked most of them, she managed to hit him in the head with one and he fell down. Billie wanted to reach for the cuffs, but Bryant leaped back up and Billie was shocked to see the spot where she hit him had turned to stone. Bryant smirked as he felt it.

"Interesting." Bryant noted.

Bryant stepped forward as he completely turned to stone. Billie levitated back and continued to telekinetically throw stuff at him, though nothing seemed to affect him anymore. She landed on her feet and held out both hands, sending a wave of kinetic energy at him. Bryant braced himself and was only pushed back a few inches.

"Oh crap." Billie remarked as she realized even her power at its strongest was useless.

Billie became concerned as Bryant forced her into a corner. Bryant picked up a metal pipe and threw it at Billie like a spear, though she deflected it with a wave of her hand. Bryant angrily stomped his foot on the ground and sent a small quake through the building, causing Billie to lose her balance. She was starting to think she was going to lose, as Bryant was too powerful. Then again, he was also arrogant about his power, which could work in her favor. He wanted to beat her badly, so all she had to do was let him think he was winning. She reached into her purse and held onto the cuffs.

"Alright, you've got me." Billie said as she was backed into the wall. "You're stronger. Happy now?"

"Not yet." Bryant replied as he grabbed her by the throat. "I'm going to break every bone in your body."

"That's a little harsh." Billie noted. "You really have to work on those anger issues."

"Shut up!" Bryant yelled at her.

Bryant raised his fist and Billie was barely avoided it, causing him to pierce the wall. As he tried to pull back, he realized he was stuck and Billie saw her chance. She pulled out the cuffs and quickly placed them on both of his wrists, causing them to glow and Bryant's skin to return to normal almost instantly.

"What the hell?" Bryant asked shocked.

"Got you." Billie replied.

Billie glared at Bryant and he was thrown back, sliding across the floor. Billie massaged her painful throat as she walked toward Bryant, who was desperately trying to get the cuffs off to no avail.

"What the hell did you do?" Bryant screamed at her.

"I just took you prisoner, you idiot." Billie replied before touching her earpiece. "Guys, I have the target, get out of the museum and meet us at the rendezvous point."

Billie reached into her purse and pulled out a teleportation potion. She grabbed a struggling Bryant by the neck and threw the potion on the floor, causing them both to disappear in a puff of smoke.

Xxx

In the main hall of the museum, Duncan carefully walked in the heels while still possessing Harper. The psychotic wizard was still trying to break free of the possession every chance she got, which did not make things easier. He was going to have a massive headache once this was all over.

"There you are." A voice sounded that caused Duncan to freeze. "I was looking for you."

Duncan turned around and found himself face to face with Ambrose. He quickly put on a fake smile though he was terrified that the wizard would realize the truth. Despite looking like a charming businessman, Ambrose was actually the worst enemy he had ever faced, a murderous and nearly invincible tyrant.

"Is something wrong, my dear?" Ambrose asked.

"Just these heels." Duncan replied quickly. "Can't wait to take them off… daddy."

"I see. Well, the night is almost over anyway." Ambrose said as he held out his hand. "Let's go find your brothers and get out of there."

"Sure." Duncan replied hesitantly.

At that moment, Ambrose grabbed his hand and pulled him closer, so their faces were mere inches apart from each other. A sinister look appeared in Ambrose's eyes.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice when my daughter was possessed?" Ambrose asked in a calm yet terrifying tone.

Before Duncan could answer, a small quake went through the museum, causing several people to panic. An employee quickly got on stage to reassure everyone, though nobody seemed to listen. Duncan looked at Ambrose and both realized the quake could only come from Bryant.

"What are you up to?" Ambrose asked.

"You'll find out when it's too late." Duncan replied.

Duncan smiled as he astral projected away, causing Harper to fall unconscious in her father's arms. Once he was back in his own body, Duncan got up and quickly headed for the exit.

Xxx

Back in the bathroom, Violet was nearly exhausted when she felt the quake and realized Billie was fighting Bryant. A few moments later, she heard Billie's message about meeting at the rendezvous point. She looked at Ramsey and saw he was starting to adjust to her freezing. She quickly left and entered the hall, finding herself surrounded by people afraid of an earthquake, trying to leave the museum. She decided to follow the crowd, though when she was almost there, someone grabbed her wrist and spun her around.

"Not so fast." Ambrose said to her.

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