From the sidewalk Balthazar saw Dave give him a thumbs up sign. Next to him Veronica nodded her head. He felt bad about leaving her with Dave. Admittedly it would probably be worse if he had her in the car with him during a high-speed chase around New York at night time. It was dangerous and hectic enough in the day. They'd have to meet up soon but he might be able to save her from the worst of it.

Sighing he tapped the pocket where he held half of the Rising. If everything went well tonight it would be united and they could destroy it. At last it would be over. With that in mind he held his hand palm out and closed his eyes. Concentrating he felt warmth flow into his palm. When he opened his eyes again he saw an image that flickered with fluctuations in the light. Morgana was in a living room with Horvath and Drake. She was pointing to a map, thumping her finger on different points.

He wondered what exactly that meant. However, he didn't have much time. Seconds after the spell was cast Morgana looked up. Her eyes narrowed and she snapped her fingers. The image flickered and then disappeared entirely. Balthazar waved at Dave and Veronica before stepping on the accelerator. They were on their own now.

.

.

.

Flattening himself up against the wall Dave saw Horvath and Drake hurry out of the building. He held his breath; it would all be for nothing if Morgana wasn't with them. His worries abated as he saw Horvath pause and hold the door. A woman in a sweeping dress stalked out and got into a car that Drake had started.

Next to him Veronica tensed. He gave her a cursory glance and saw that her eyes had become hard. Of course she would. This was the friend who'd betrayed her and the enemy who'd locked her away for centuries. For all of the emotions that he knew must be churning in her mind she was able to keep her composure though.

The car drove off. Together they walked inside of the building, keeping at a fast pace but not fast enough to be noticed. Dave pulled up his hood and got into the elevator. He saw Veronica hesitate outside of its doors before stepping in. When the doors closed she jumped. Dave winced; feeling bad that she had been hurtled into the 21st century out of necessity.

He had no doubt that there would be very long explanations once they were done defeating Morgana.

"Becky says Drake's staying on the top floor," he said, pushing the button for the highest floor that the elevator went to.

She nodded, gripping the safety rail. When the doors opened again he heard her let out a breath. He wondered if she'd been waiting for the elevator to fall at any moment. There was no way that he was going to mention that though; if she was anything like Balthazar then she had her pride too.

Stepping out he thought about the suite number that Becky had told him. With great concentration he stepped up to the appropriate door and knelt outside of it.

"Make sure no one's coming, okay?" he asked.

"Alright."

Dave reached into his pocket and took out a small kit. He selected a few slender pieces of metal and inserted them into the door handle.

"You're picking the lock?" asked Veronica.

"Balthazar taught me," Dave said, putting an extra piece of metal and holding it into his mouth, "These key card locks are tricky, but you can't go for the obvious ploy which would be the key-taker. The handle is still a handle. They haven't changed that."

He stopped, realizing she probably didn't understand anything he'd said.

"Balthazar just wanted to make sure that I'd never be one-hundred percent dependent on magic," Dave said, "So yeah, I know how to pick locks manually."

"Sounds like him," said Veronica.

The door swung open. Taking one the piece of metal out of his mouth he threw it inside. Nothing happened.

"Looks like it's not warded," Veronica said.

"Guess not," Dave replied, getting to his feet.

They walked in and shut the door quietly behind him. Dave bent to retrieve the piece of metal and got a good look at the penthouse.

"Kinda ostentatious, don't you think?" he asked.

Veronica made a face, looking behind him. He turned and saw a mural of Drake with tigers, clouds, women, and a throne.

"Now that's just freaky," he grimaced.

Veronica shuddered in agreement.

"We split up now," she said, "I don't know how long before the trace of Balthazar's spell disappears. I'll search this room."

"I've got the other one," said Dave.

They each went into their prospective rooms. Dave stepped inside of a large room that he supposed was supposed to be the study. Instead it had become a kind of storage room for Drake's magic props. On a coffee table he saw a detailed map of New York laid out. Battery Park had been circled in black sharpie. Several X's had been drawn onto it and then circled as well.

Not knowing what it meant he went closer to it. His feet stepped onto an ornate rug. Suddenly the rug began to shift beneath his feet. Confused Dave raised one foot only to have it immediately sucked back down. The more he struggled the more he seemed to sink into the recesses of the rug. He didn't like to think about what would happen if it got to the point where it covered his head. It would probably be death by rug.

"Now that would just be silly," he sighed.

Dave flicked through the traps that he knew of. Balthazar had always made sure that he was thoroughly educated, but he had skipped through this section. It didn't really matterif Dave knew what it was that was sucking him in or not. It only mattered if he knew how to get out of it. At the moment he didn't, but he was almost positive that he would think of something. He had to.