"My apologies Rose, that was out of line." Balthazar apologized as he and Rose pulled apart.
"No really, it's alright." Rose promised, placing her hands on the crooks of Balthazar's arms to steady herself.
"No it's not alright." Balthazar declared firmly. "I'm supposed to be your...mentor." The use of the term master felt inappropriate for the current discussion."I'm supposed to be teaching you, guiding you. I am not suppose to distract you."
"What? You're not distracting me." Rose shook her head and let go of his arms. "I was only able to cast fire when I was made at you! I could only make the plasma bolt with your help!"
"You need to learn magic without the use of emotional attachment. It's better this way."
"You're not even making sense Balthazar! You told Dave and I this morning that using emotions in our magic is what set Merlinians apart from Morganians!"
"Would you like me to walk you back to your hotel?" Balthazar asked flatly. Though normally he'd commend an apprentice for listening to his ramblings, Balthazar felt this time it would be best not to acknowledge his apprentice's wise assessment.
"No, thank you. I wouldn't want to developed an emotional attachment." Rose spat before marching off. He'd never admit this to her or David, even years later, but Balthazar followed Rose in secret that night, making sure she'd safely reached the hotel before wondering into the night.
"This is me." Becky said gesturing with her thumb to a classroom she and Dave were about to pass by. It was the morning after Dave had shown Becky his "Tesla coil songs" as she'd called them and he was now walking her to Yoga class.
"So did you want to meet up later? Eight o'clock, my lab?" Dave invited before she ducked into the classroom.
"Yeah, that would be great." Becky smiled.
"With me?" He double checked.
"With you? Yes." Becky laughed before entering the classroom.
"I got a date with a girl 'cause I'm awesome." Dave sang to himself as he washing his hands in athletic facility bathroom moments later.
"So you're the one." A flamboyantly dressed dude with guy-liner questioned.
"Excuse me?" Dave turned off the water and dried his hands on his pants.
"Prime Merlinian eh? You don't like much." The guy shrugged before leaning on a hands dryer.
"I don't actually know what you're talking about." Dave denied.
"Cool, makes this easy." The guy smiled before kicking his feet across the tile floor. This caused all the hand dryers to turn on simultaneously. "Can't have anyone hearing your girly cries, right?"
"I don't actually know who you are." Dave confessed, though he did have a sneaking suspicion that this creep was the same one who'd chased down his sister a few years ago.
"Really? You don't recognize me?" Drake Stone said with surprise.
"Are you in Depeche Mode?" Dave blurted out the first pop culture reference he could think of. Drake Grabbed Dave by his shirt collars, slammed him against the wall, and held him up by one hand.
"What do you weigh? Like a buck twenty?" Stone let go of Dave, leaving him fixed to the wall.
"Whoa what the f...this is high school all over again." Dave sighed. Stone snapped his fingers and Dave fell face first on the ground.
"All right I tell you what," Drake said as Dave scrambled to his feet. "Hit me with your best shot, your most powerful spell."
"Okay." Dave said concentrating incredibly hard to produce a plasma bolt. He was successful, producing a much smaller plasma bolt than the one he'd seen Balthazar create the day before. Regardless it was the best that Dave was going to get, so released it straight for Drake Stone's heart.
"Ow!" Drake exclaimed but he was only faking and began to laugh. "No, I'm joking. Have you cleared your mind?"
"Yeah I'm pretty sure." Dave nodded.
"That's the nerves and it's the pressure."
"I got...nothing happening. I'm new at this!...The ring is on..." Dave mumbled trying to go through Balthazar's instructions in his head.
"Take the ring off."
"Take the ring off?"
"Take it off."
"Enough you idiot." Horvath commanded as he entered the bathroom. "Watch the door." Stone did as he was told leaving to guard the door. Knowing he couldn't possibly produce magic strong enough to take on Horvath, Dave made a run for it. It was a frivolous attempt as Horvath used his magic cane to drag Dave back.
"Hello David."
"Hi." Dave said sheepishly.
"So Dave...I'm going to kill you." Horvath confessed. "Oh yes, right here in this dismal bathroom. It's not very classy, but there you go. But before we get to that unpleasantness, you're going to tell me where the Grimhold is. Where is she?"
"She?" How could Horvath possibly know about his sister? Sure she'd been wearing her ring around town with Balthazar, but if Horvath had known about that he wouldn't be bothering with Dave.
"He hasn't told you has he?" Horvath wasn't surprised , Balthazar was always one to look out for himself above all others. "The truth about who's inside the doll? Sweetheart you've put your faith in the wrong man." Dave didn't say anything, hoping Horvath would give him a clues as to what the hell he was talking about. "Tell me, have you ever been in love? You're in love right now, I can see it in your eyes. I wonder what would happen if you lost her. You'd be no better than the rest of us. Where is the Grimhold?"
"I don't know." Dave said with the distinct feeling this was going to become his catchphrase.
"Oh Dave," Horvath chuckled. "You really are the most dreadful liar."
"That's what I keep telling him." Balthazar said from the bathroom doorway. "Want your guy back?" He asked flicking his wrist and sending Drake Stone flying. Horvath lunched for Balthazar and the two engaged in brief hand to hand combat as Balthazar tried to force Horvath into a nearby mirror.
"It's been a while since I've seen the Hungarian Mirror Trap!" Horvath admitted before in turn trying to trap Balthazar in the mirror.
"I guess I'm just old-fashioned. Balthazar freed himself from Horvath's grasp.
"Balthazar look out!" Dave exclaimed as Drake Stone came too. Effortlessly moving out of the way Balthazar dodged Stone's impending spell, which instead trapped Horvath in the mirror. Balthazar cast a spell of his own, knocking stone unconscious once more.
"What are you doing here Dave?" Balthazar accused.
Horvath was trying to kill me! Dave ranted as he and Balthazar entered the lab.
"His moral compass doesn't exactly point north." Balthazar shrugged.
"Yeah well what about yours huh? You haven't been completely truthful with me! And where's Rose?" Dave asked noticing for the first time that his sister was absent. "I'm not doing anything else until you start being truthful with me about what's going on. Who is in that Grimhold?"
"Morgana." Both men whipped their heads in the direction of the doorway to find Rose standing there with an oversized text book.
"What's that?" Dave questioned as she marched down the stairs.
"An Encantus." Rose and Balthazar answered at the same time. Rose sent Balthazar a glare over her brother's shoulder before flipping through the pages of the Encantus. "While you boys were scraping with Horvath and Drake Stone, I decided to dig around the old Arcana Cabana building. That's how I found this."
"How did you know we were..." Dave asked turning to his sister. Rose flipped the book around to show Dave an illustration of Balthazar and Horvath wrestling in front of the bathroom mirror.
"The Encantus is our textbook." Balthazar explained lifting the book from Rose's hands. "The art, science and history of sorcery are all in this book." Doing her best to pretend that Balthazar wasn't there Rose continued to explain why Horvath wanted the Grimhold.
"Morgana was making preparations for 'The Rising' something that would enable her to enslave mankind by resurrecting dead Morganian sorcerers and sorceresses."
"So after the witch girl there's another doll that contains the greatest evil the world has ever known?" Dave said thinking of Abigail Williams who was painted on the current outer shell of the Grimhold.
"She's in the last doll." Rose nodded. "Before he died, Merlin had three apprentices not two." Rose was again glaring at Balthazar. "Merlin cast a spell to keep his three apprentices from aging until they found the sorcerer who inherited his power and his Dragon ring. This is your calling Dave." Rose tried to sound reassuring as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Merlin said," Balthazar recalled the words. " The only one who will ever be able to destroy Morgana once and for all is the Prime Merlinian."
"So I'm supposed to save the world." Dave voice was shaking. "I...I just don't think I'm up for that."
"Do you think I've been teaching you magic tricks for some little girl's tea party?" Balthazar set down the Encantus. "When you stepped inside that circle, I told you there was no going back! I have been searching 1,000 years for you! Fighting Morganias! Protecting the Grimhold! You have to become the Prime Merlinian and I'm not asking."
"I'm going for coffee. Dave want anything?" Rose decided as she began to climb the stairs.
"Rose I don't think you're suppose to leave!" Dave hollered up to her.
"No it's quite alright David I'm afraid if I stay here too long I'll end of developing an emotional attachment to you." Again the female apprentice cast a pointed look in Balthazar's direction before storming out.
"What was that about?" Dave asked his master.
"Something I said last night." Balthazar admitted.
"You turned her down?" Dave said with disbelief.
"Like I said David, love is a distraction." Balthazar set the Encantus on Dave's desk.
"Oh man you didn't say that to her did you?" Balthazar remained silent, flipping through the pages of the Encantus. "No wonder she's got you in the dog house."
"Impossible I can't be in 'in the dog house' as you put it if there was no relationship to begin with."
"Hopefully you didn't say that to her." David mumbled under his breath but Balthazar heard anyway glaring at Dave. "Soooo..." Dave dragged out uncomfortably. "How do I know when I've become the Prime Merlinian?"
"The Prime Merlinian will become so powerful within he no longer needs his ring to cast magic. When you can do that, you're ready to take on Morgana." Balthazar answered.