Chapter 11:

There was a moment of stunned silence before Balthazar spoke again, his eyes averted to avoid contact. "Now you have your answer. Am I allowed to leave now?" he growled. But his tone wasn't angry. To Dave's surprise, the man's voice seemed to be laced with an uncomfortable uncertainty.

"Balthazar..." Veronica started softly.

She was interrupted by Dave, who had finally gotten his wits together enough to blurt out, "He used to be your master? Your old master tried to torture you?"

"Not tried, Dave," Balthazar replied quietly. "Did."

"God... no wonder you went to Merlin with a crackpot like that as your master."

"Dave. I didn't—"

But Dave wasn't even listening. He looked up at the older man. "So, what made him switch sides?"

Balthazar just stared at him. "What?"

"What made him pull a Horvath and go Morganian?"

The older man appeared for once to have been rendered speechless.

He was saved from having to explain that by Veronica who stepped up behind Dave and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Dave," she said so quietly that he had to strain to hear. "Jacobus was Morgana's apprentice, remember? He was Morganian from the start."

Balthazar's face was grim. "And so was I." His voice was cold and flat.

Veronica was silent.

Dave wasn't so tactful. "What? You were Morganian? "Geez, Balthazar, you—"

"—Lied to you. Yes, I know," the sorcerer snapped. Something in the older man's voice silenced the boy. "I get that it ticks you off," he continued. "You want to know why I lie so much? Why I hide things? Because I've done things I regret. Things that I don't want you to know about. And one question inevitably leads to another." There was something harsh in his voice, but to Dave's surprise, he could also hear something else behind it.

Pain. Guilt.

And... panic? No, that wasn't quite right. But fear of some sort...

"Balthazar..."

"No," his master interrupted abruptly. "I don't want to hear it."

"Come on, Balthazar," Dave tried again. "It's not your—"

"Do not tell me that it isn't my fault, Dave," his master growled. "You weren't there. You don't know the things I've done." He turned his back to them at that. "I'm leaving now."

"Balthazar," Dave started desperately, not liking how cold and distant the old man's voice was growing. "Let's just talk. Please."

"I let you stay in your room when you needed to cool off, Dave. The least you can do is allow me that." He glanced back, not meeting either of their eyes—his mouth open as though he were about to speak—but then he seemed to change his mind and instead just shook his head and walked away from them, down the hall.

"Balthazar!" Dave shouted, but the man was obviously done speaking with them. A moment later, the bedroom door slammed shut and the apartment fell silent.

"Dammit," Dave snapped, beginning to pace.

Veronica walked quietly to the sofa and sat down, her face expressionless.

He stopped, looking over at her. "Why didn't you say anything to him? Ask him to stay? Reason with him? He actually listens to you." He motioned a hand toward the hall. "Now he's just going to sit in there thinking that I'm mad at him and that you don't care."

"You are angry with him."

"Of course I am," he replied testily. "But not because of his past. Or even because he hid it. I'm angry that he won't let me tell him that I'm not angry." He winced at how stupid that had sounded.

But Veronica seemed to understand. "He wouldn't have listened to you if he'd have stayed. This is something he's managed to hide for over a thousand years. And this was one of the worst ways it could have come out. Of course he thinks we're angry with him. This is obviously something he hates about himself. If he can't forgive himself for it, why would he assume we could?"

"Because he's our friend," Dave responded quickly. "I'm not going to hold this against him."

"And how would he know that? You just holed up in your room for nearly an hour because he hid something from you. For him, this is probably far worse. What would you think if you were in his shoes?"

"So, this is my fault," the boy muttered glumly.

She shook her head. "No. I'm not blaming you. You had every reason to be angry before. And you have every reason to be angry now. But you aren't. That says a great deal about your friendship. I'm only trying to make the point that he's not in any shape to listen to us." Her eyes were sad. "Even to me. If I'd have tried reasoning with him, he'd have raised his defenses against me as well. At least now, he might speak with me about this when he calms down."

Dave stalked over to the sofa and dropped down into it next to her. "I hate it when you're right," he grumbled. He studied her a moment. Her face was impassive, but her hands were clenched together so tightly that her knuckles were going white. "You okay?" he asked, worried.

She glanced away. "I'm fine."

"You know, you're not such a great liar, yourself."

She didn't seem to have an answer to that.

They sat together in an awkward silence that seemed to stretch forever. Finally Dave spoke again. "How long do you think he's going to be in there?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him this upset in a long time."

"Yeah." He sighed. He began drumming his fingers on the arm of the sofa, trying to relax his frayed nerves. "I wish you'd have warned me about this. I know he has his privacy, but I wouldn't have pushed him so hard if I'd have—"

"I didn't know, Dave." Her voice was soft and quiet, her eyes fixed on her hands. "He never told me this before. He was already Merlinian by the time Horvath and I were apprenticed. This was between Balthazar and Merlin only."

"And Jacobus."

She nodded, wincing. "Yes. And Jacobus."

"Which is probably why he's after Balthazar now."

She nodded again. "And likely how Merlin knew that Jacobus had targeted Balthazar all those years ago. I'd expect that Jacobus and Gwen were trying to get Balthazar back."

Dave's eyes grew wide. "You don't think Jacobus is trying that now, do you?

"I'm not sure. But it would make sense."

"Can he?" He floundered for a moment. "Like, can he order Balthazar to join him?"

Her eyes met his. "I don't know. I've never met anyone with two masters before. You'd have to ask Balthazar what sort of control Jacobus has over him." She rested a hand on his arm before he could move. "Later."

He nodded. "Yeah." Thoughtfully, he added. "He has some control, I think. Balthazar said Jacobus made him give the ring over. And at the school, I'm pretty sure Jacobus made him agree to walk with him." He paused, thinking back. "But Balthazar managed to throw the control off somehow. Wonder why he could manage it there, but not at the lab."

She shook her head. "I don't know. He was trapped in the Pentagram. That would likely have made it harder. Especially if Jacobus began controlling him before the circle could be raised. And if Balthazar was tired from fighting, he'd have had more trouble defending himself against strong magic like that." She paused. "There are any number of reasons. The ring, for instance..."

"The ring?"

"Jacobus must have given Balthazar his ring. We can't take a new ring unless the original one is destroyed. There is a connection between sorcerer and ring that has to be severed first. And the second will never be as powerful as the first. It's very like the connection between apprentice and master. I'm sure Merlin would have insisted Balthazar keep the ring that Jacobus gave him. Something like that normally would have no affect on Balthazar. But at close range, and within the Pentagram... it might have given Jacobus an advantage." She shook her head again to clear it. "There are just too many factors."

Dave sat quietly a moment, trying to process this. Finally he spoke. "So Jacobus gave it to him. That must be how he knew which ring to take. I wondered."

"Which ring to take?" She appeared puzzled by those words.

"Yeah." Dave nodded. "Balthazar told me that's why he wears so many... to throw people off."

"Ah," she replied sagely. "I see. That wouldn't have worked on Jacobus, though, even if he hadn't been Balthazar's... master." She hesitated on that last word, obviously still uncomfortable having to make that connection to her husband.

Dave just stared at her. "Why? Balthazar said—"

"It would work on an apprentice or someone who's too busy fighting to pay attention, but not Jacobus. He's too observant. And to anyone who would take the time to look, the correct ring would be obvious." She held out her ring hand. "Watch," she said simply.

He said nothing, obediently staring down at the large violet stone set it silver on her slender finger.

She made a vague motion, beckoning to the cookbook that Balthazar had set on coffee table. It flew to her, gently landing on her lap. She took the book in her hands and rested it on the cushion beside her. Smiling at Dave, she asked, "What did you notice?"

"About which part?"

"My ring. If I'd been wearing ten, would you have known which was mine?"

He stared at her, suddenly understanding. "Yeah," he responded slowly. "It glowed. The rings always glow when we use them." He sighed. "I knew that," he muttered. "I just figured..." He trailed off in frustration. "So basically all anyone would have to do is attack him and watch which ring he uses to defend?"

She nodded. "Exactly. It was very clever of him to wear decoys. I notice he wears pins and a necklace as well. That makes it more difficult to pay attention to everything at once. It's distracting enough to buy Balthazar more time. Usually." Her eyes grew serious. "But some sorcerers... powerful ones... we will take the hit to keep our eyes on the ring."

At the word "we", Dave's eyebrows shot up. "You've done that before?" he asked. "Taken the hit?"

"We all have. One bad injury is worth finding out an adversary's weakness. Especially if there are two or three more of you to cover when you're down."

Dave snorted. "Let me guess... it was always you and Balthazar taking the hit?"

She appeared surprised. "Actually, it was usually Horvath. Neither of them would generally let me fall. And Balthazar was necessary for other tasks."

"Other tasks?"

But she ignored him to continue her thought. "That's how we learned that Gwen's focus was actually a stone set in the dagger she carried."

"And Jacobus' is a ring with a red stone..." Dave stood and began pacing again, irritated. "I saw it at the school. He doesn't even bother hiding it." His fists clenched. "Just like he doesn't hide the one he stole from Balthazar. He wears it like a trophy." He couldn't hide the bitterness in his voice.

"Not stole," replied Veronica quietly. "He just took back what was his." At Dave's scandalized expression, she added, "I don't like it either, but it's a fact."

Dave sighed, stopping again in his pacing and running a hand tiredly over his eyes. "It's like this whole mess keeps going from bad to worse."

She smiled faintly. "At least Horvath won't be a problem this time."

The youth snorted. "You don't know that. They could team up. That's about par for this week."

She shook her head. "They won't. Jacobus hates Horvath. He'd likely kill Horvath on sight."

At that Dave looked at her again. "Wait. Aren't they on the same side?"

"That doesn't mean anything," she said softly. "Morganians work for Morgana and themselves, not each other. Horvath took Jacobus' place as Morgana's second. Jacobus wouldn't have liked that."

"And he's arrogant enough to hold that grudge for over a thousand years." His expression darkened as a new thought struck him. "Good, then. Maybe Jacobus will do us a favor and save us the trouble of having to take them both down."

"Dave." Her voice was sharp.

"Horvath tried to kill us all. If you don't want to take him down, then I will."

"He was our friend once."

"Not mine."

"But mine," she replied decisively. "And Balthazar's. Don't even think like that. If for no reason other than the fact that Balthazar considers you to be a pure source of good."

Dave rolled his eyes at that, opening his mouth for a quick retort, but she held up a hand before he could speak and continued. "He knows better than to really believe anyone is purely anything. But he wants to believe it. He doesn't hold you on a pedestal by any means, but you represent something he can never be. Especially not with this in his past." Her voice grew quiet. "He needs something to believe in. Let him have this."

"He believes in you."

"Dave, these days he doesn't believe in much. You and I are changing that. But it takes time. He's lived for centuries with his only remaining hope lying with you. And a great deal of that hope faded over time. The fact that you've stood by him and done the right thing time and again, even in the worst situations, has done wonders for him. You've managed to heal more in him than you can possibly know. All I ask is that you don't show him your darker side. We all have it... but please don't let him see it. If not for me, then for him."

He took a moment to process those words. "'The price of immortality,'" he murmured quietly, thinking back to Balthazar's words.

"What's that?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just something Balthazar said to me earlier." He locked eyes with her. "Fine," he said. "I'll be on my best behavior." He smiled faintly. "I don't think I could handle Balthazar becoming a bitter old man." He actually managed a small laugh at the mental image of his master as some cranky old man. Dave added, "He's bad enough as it is."

She smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you."

There was another awkward pause as they both considered their friend in the uncomfortable silence of the apartment.

Dave walked back over to the sofa and dropped down next to Veronica once more. He leaned forward, elbows on knees, chin resting on clasped hands. He tried to ignore the silence. Tried to think of something productive to say, or at very least something to alleviate the heavy blanket of worry that was smothering him.

"So, how long do you think he's going to be in there?" he finally blurted out.

Her startled eyes darted in his direction. "Dave?"

"I want to give him time," he clarified. "But I don't know..." He trailed off helplessly. "We bicker all the time, but the last time we really fought... we weren't even friends yet. I stormed off. When I came back I barely had enough time to stop Horvath from killing Balthazar. Our fight was obviously over at that point." He turned to stare helplessly down the hall. "We haven't had one real fight since then. Not one. But now we fight twice in one day?"

"Jacobus."

"Come again?" He turned back to Veronica's dark, steady gaze.

"Jacobus. You need to understand something about him. He and Gwen were Morgana's best. Gwen was the most deadly. Her methods of torture were horrific. Seasoned warriors would beg for death when facing her. But in many ways Jacobus was far worse."

"Because he plays mind games," Dave said. "Balthazar told me. I don't see how that's worse."

Her face was grim. "Nothing Gwen did to Balthazar ever broke him all those years ago. Merlin assured us of that. And for three weeks she did a great deal of damage. Even Merlin couldn't hurry much of the healing along without risking Balthazar's life. But even with all of that, he stayed intact. This time, however, in hardly more than a day, Jacobus has managed to isolate him from the people he cares about, even if it's only in his mind." Her eyes darted toward the hall. She took a deep breath. "Physical torture, Balthazar can handle. Broken bones are nothing. But if Jacobus manages to actually break him from the inside... How well do you think Balthazar will recover from that?"

The boy was silent.

"Dave," Veronica continued, a haunted quality creeping into her voice. "Do not take Jacobus lightly. Gwen wasn't the one who nearly tore Balthazar's mind apart. It was Jacobus. If anyone can break Balthazar... it will be him. And this time, he will be thorough about it."

The youth squeezed his eyes shut, trying to expel the myriad of unwanted mental images that Veronica's description had brought forth. His master broken and bleeding. Dead. Or mentally destroyed, which to Dave's surprise, he found to be the worst image of all, worse even than death. He felt sick. "How does he do it? I don't want him to have the chance..."

"He's already taken the chance we've unintentionally given him," she replied solemnly. "His methods are simple to start with. He divides people. Then, when they have no one left to help them, he plants doubt... fear... whatever works. He plays on memories and desires and guilt." Her dark eyes bore into Dave's as she repeated carefully. "But first... he has to isolate his prey."

Dave inwardly cringed. Balthazar had tried to warn him about this and they'd still fallen right into his trap. "Divide and conquer," he muttered. "I didn't even see it coming."

She took one of his hands in hers, surprising him out of his dark thoughts. "It isn't your fault. You've never faced him before. You'll learn. And if it's any consolation, Balthazar has let Jacobus get to him, and he knows that man better than any of us. All you can do now is to stand by him no matter what." She managed a weak smile. "And try to control your temper. Believe it or not, Balthazar has been struggling to do the same. He told me as much when I got back from warding the lab. He blames himself for the fight. He said he should have known better."

Dave shuddered, thinking back to exactly why his master 'should have known better.' "I can't believe he grew up with that asshole and came out of it okay."

"Dave," she replied softly, "I don't think he was 'okay' when he got out. He's spoken of regrets. He obviously did things while training under Jacobus that still weigh on his heart..."

Dave paled before she could even finish her thought. "Oh, God," he said in quiet horror, suddenly understanding.

Her dark eyes widened with worry and she squeezed his hand tightly. "What's wrong?"

The sick feeling in Dave's stomach had just grown exponentially. "He murdered people, Veronica," he whispered. "Jacobus said something about Balthazar killing Merlinians. He never denied it." He looked back up to meet her eyes. "Jacobus made him murder people. Our people..."

"Balthazar..." Veronica breathed. "He hates needless violence. No wonder he's..." She took a deep, steadying breath. "I'll speak with him about that as well when he's ready."

"No," Dave replied firmly. "We will talk to him when he's ready. This isn't just between you and him." Dave had gently pulled his hand from her grasp and had flopped back on the sofa, hands covering his face. "Ugh," he groaned, frustration creeping back into his voice. "But when will that be? How long are we supposed to wait? It has to have been half an hour by now."

"How long were you locked in your room?"

"That was different," he replied through gritted teeth, still trying to banish a thousand nightmares from his mind.

"Because this time it's you who's worrying rather than him."

Dave fell silent.

"Stay out here," she said in a quiet voice, gently resting a hand on his shoulder as she stood. "I'll see if he will speak with me yet."

The boy sat up straight at those words. "Sure."

She smiled. "It will be alright, Dave. He's a strong person. If they couldn't break his spirit back then, Jacobus won't manage it now." Her voice was warm and confident.

But Dave could read the uncertainty in her eyes. Balthazar was strong. But this had been the fourth—or was it the fifth—attack he'd withstood in less than twenty-four hours. Since the blatant episode with the Pentagram and the ring, each of the rest had grown clever and far subtler: the attack on Dave for instance had led to hints at murder and betrayal... and now to this. All of this yet until now Dave hadn't even realized that the real battle had already begun.

Veronica and Balthazar were right. Gwen may have been terrifying, but Jacobus was the real threat. And he was already wearing Balthazar down.

"Don't worry," Veronica said, clearly and accurately reading his expression.

He nodded and sent her a weak smile.

She returned it.

Both felt fake.

Just as she turned to leave, Dave stopped her. "Veronica, wait."

She paused in the entrance to the hall. "Yes?"

He took a deep breath. "Just tell Balthazar I'm sorry, okay? I'm not mad. I don't blame him for any of this. Will you do that?"

"Of course." Her back was still to him, but he could hear the smile in her voice. This time it felt real.

"Thanks."

She silently left. Dave settled into the sofa just hoping that she'd hurry. He had the uneasy feeling that Jacobus was just warming up, and Dave wanted to be sure that Balthazar would still be able to fight back. Because if Jacobus pushed him too far. If he managed to break Balthazar down...

Dave's eyes darkened.

If he hurt Balthazar at all, then Dave was going to show Jacobus just what the Prime Merlinian was capable of.

Or he'd die trying.


Author's Note: Thanks to kaytori and lolo popoki for their beta work... on both drafts. And thanks to you for reading. Sorry the chapter is so short. Maybe a longer one next time:P

Dewa mata!

Sirius