Chapter 12
Dave walked into the subway turnaround with two overflowing bags of groceries balanced precariously in each arm. Setting the bags down Dave flicked his wrist in a manner Balthazar had taught him and the groceries began arranging themselves. Dave's brow furrowed as he noticed a distinct lack of his teacher's presence. Leaving the groceries to their own affairs, Dave headed to the back of the underground fortress where Balthazar's room was located.
Poking his head around the partially opened door, Dave was perplexed at the odd sight before him. Balthazar was stretched, belly-down, on the floor, nose to nose with Tank, the little bulldog. The Incantus was propped up against a chair leg to the side.
"What are you doing?" Dave asked carefully.
Balthazar's eyes flicked over to Dave and he sat up with a sigh. "There is a spell that can allow two souls to inhabit one body. I was going to practice."
"So you were going to possess…Tank?" Dave replied incredulously, glancing over at the bulldog.
Balthazar looked down at the dog, which had fallen asleep and begun to drool. "I'll admit it wasn't one of my better ideas."
It had been several days since they had defeated Son Lok and nothing new had happened. When they had returned to their hideout, battered and bruised, Balthazar had decided that Dave was ready to know the real story of Merlin's apprentices.
"Horvath told me that you were Merlin's apprentice, but I can't imagine Horvath fighting for good." Dave clenched his teeth together to stem any further angry comments.
"I know it's hard, but understand that things changed for us. A thousand years have passed, but we were friends once, brothers, even." Balthazar had a far away look. "I was the youngest of us. There were three. Horvath was the oldest, then Veronica, and then me. As children we were all great friends, though Horvath was certainly pushy. When we got older, however, things between the three of us changed. One day I looked at Veronica and it was like the rest of the world melted away. I didn't realize that Horvath felt the same."
A look of understanding dawned on Dave's face. "She chose you, didn't she? Horvath couldn't stand that she chose you so he betrayed all of you."
Balthazar nodded. "During that final battle, I defeated Horvath and he ran. Morgana attacked me because I was weakened by the earlier fight. It was Veronica who saved me. She performed a dangerous piece of magic that allowed me to capture Morgana. I've been trying to make it up to Veronica ever since."
Enlightenment flared in Dave's mind as he realized the implications of the spell Balthazar had been practicing and the cryptic story from days earlier. "That's what Veronica did, isn't it? I thought she died, but she trapped Morgana's soul in her own body to give you more time."
Balthazar nodded. "I plan to release the weakened Morganian's layer by layer and strip them of their powers. By myself I couldn't do it, but if you're willing to help me, we have more than enough strength."
"Believe me, Balthazar, we'll get Veronica back." Dave looked thoughtful. "Isn't that evil, though? Stealing someone's powers?"
"We're not stealing them, we're neutralizing them." Balthazar replied firmly. "The laws of ancient magic state that any sorcerers who use their powers for evil forfeit their birthright to magic. That's why Morganian's are always leeching power away from each other."
"If that's true then why couldn't Horvath steal my powers? I did horrible things." The younger sorcerer asked, confused.
Balthazar smiled, "Because, Dave, through all of your pain and heartache, you never lost sight of what it meant to be a good person. You are still remarkably pure hearted."
With that said, Balthazar headed back to the kitchen to devour a rather large portion of the new groceries.
SA-SA-SA
By the end of the week the two Merlinians had made leaps and bounds in their quest for knowledge about the possession spells. Furthermore, they had managed to release a Morganian and destroy his powers. Necalli had been sent back to the jungles of Nicaragua where the witch doctor could no longer terrify local villagers.
All in all, Dave was feeling fairly good about life as a whole. The day after sending Necalli packing, Dave headed to street level to meet Becky while Balthazar worked on 'the plan.'
As always, the second Dave caught sight of the golden-blonde hair and enormous blue eyes, his heart lifted. Catching Becky's smaller hand in his own, Dave grinned.
"So how has your day been?" He asked happily.
"Oh, you know. Physics was a bear but tomorrow's line-up for the radio show is going to be amazing." She grinned back. "And what have you been doing?"
"Defeating evil sorcerers, attempting to possess a dog, rescuing Balthazar's one-thousand year old girlfriend." Dave counted the list on the fingers of his free hand. "Nothing too exciting."
Then he laughed as they continued to walk down the street hand in hand, talking quietly. Several hours later they had wound up sitting at the top of the Chrysler building staring out at the New York City skyline, exactly as Dave remembered from his dream.
As they sat there, however, a feeling of uneasiness settled in the pit of Dave's stomach. A little too much like my dream, Dave thought to himself as the hair on the back of his neck began to stick up.
"Hello, David." The cultured English accent startled Dave and Becky. Dave stood and whirled around to face the intruder, taking in the shoulder length, white-blonde hair, tailcoat and high-heeled buckle boots. The resemblance to Drake Stone was obvious, but at the same time, the newcomer was clearly more comfortable with himself. He carried himself with an air of confidence that Drake, with all his bravado, did not possess.
As Dave took in the stranger's appearance, a memory stirred in the back of his mind. Carefully placing himself between Becky and the newest threat Dave calmly replied, "Isaac, right? You're a friend of Horvath's."
Isaac grinned. "I wouldn't call us friends, exactly, but we are old acquaintances with mutual goals."
"Look," Dave said reasonably, "I'm pretty sure I know what you want. Problem is, I don't have it with me. So if you'll just let me take Becky home, I'm sure we can work something out."
"That won't be necessary, David. I'd like for you to come with me." The grin turned malicious. "Your friend can come too."
Dave knew that he was backed into a corner with Becky to protect. He couldn't provoke Isaac into a fight without putting her in harm's way. He also couldn't teleport them both to safety. While he and Balthazar had been working on his teleportation skills, something Horvath had neglected to teach Dave, his skills had not yet developed to the point that he could take another living being along without the risk of destroying them.
An idea flashed in Dave's mind. He couldn't take two people, but he could send another person somewhere. Before Isaac could come any closer or utter any spells Dave faced Becky. "Close your eyes."
Isaac lunged at the pair but a blinding light obstructed his vision. When his eyes refocused Dave was leaning against the nearest wall, bleeding from his nose and looking utterly spent. Becky, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight.
Furious at being outsmarted by a mere boy and losing the girl as leverage, Isaac lost all traces of congeniality. He grabbed Dave roughly by the collar and began dragging him towards the exit, snarling. "You're the only one we need anyway."
SA-SA-SA
Bright white light filled the underground hideout, but Balthazar didn't even glance up from the Incantus. "I thought that we agreed that you wouldn't be teleporting unsupervised. After all, I thought one accidental trip to Minnesota and back would make you a little more cautious."
When no snarky comment was thrown back at him, Balthazar looked up to find a very traumatized looking young woman staring around in disbelief. Balthazar was on his feet and at her side instantaneously.
The girl put her hand to her head and started to buckle, though Balthazar was ready for such an event. "How…how did I get here?"
"Becky, listen to me. You know about Dave's magic, but any other questions I will answer, just not right now." Balthazar knew that panicking would not benefit anyone. "Becky you need to tell me what happened. Where is Dave?"
A/N: I'm back, finally. I would give an excuse, but I don't feel like I need one. Thankfully I have a very busy life outside the world up . Though I am stoked to have been published in two very important journals. Well, they're important to animal trainers and conservationists and that's about it. Other than that, things have been cake lately.
If you have questions about the story or don't understand something, let me know. Thanks!
AJ
