Chapter Eleven
Victor is curled up in his bed. He slowly wakes up and stretches his arms. His phone starts chiming rapidly from multiple notifications.
“For fuck’s sake, who is it?” He struggles while crawling to the side of his king bed.
When he picks up his phone, the notifications are from his friends in their group text.
He sighs heavily, “Well, fuck. How am I going to play this off?”
Elliott: Where are you???
Frank: I’m right here!
Amber: Not you, you noob . . . Vic
Elliott: Why isn’t he answering?
Frank: Maybe he just found out Menudo broke up
Elliott: LOL
Amber: LOL
Victor: LOL
Victor: I’m sorry, guys, I’ve been busy
Elliott: THERE SHE IS!!!
Frank: Where the fuck are you?!
Victor: NYC
Amber: WHAT?!?!?! And no invite?
Elliott: Rude!
Frank: So rude dude
Victor: LOL I’m sorry guys; it was a last minute thing
Frank: What are you doing in NY?
Victor: Just hanging out with a friend
Amber: You have other friends besides us?
Victor: Yes, I have other friends
Elliott: You have other friends besides us
Elliott: Oh, Amber got to it before me
Victor: Yes, I have other friends besides you guys. Don’t worry, you will always be my favorite.
Frank: See, we’re still his favorite
Amber: Red it again numbnuts, he said it in singular form.
Elliott: So who’s your favorite?
Victor: ;-)
Elliott: Ass
Victor: I am what I eat >D
Amber: GROSS!! (vomit emoji)
Frank: Did you just type out vomit emoji???
Victor: She did
Amber: Yeah, so, all of us were supposed to fly to Lima next week and I saw you’re no longer on the flight.
Frank: WTF brO
Elliott: WHAT?!?! I thought we were rainbros!!!
Victor: I’m sorry guys, something came up. I came to help my aunt because my uncle is having knee surgery.
Elliott: I thought you were hanging out with a friend
Victor: I am right now. My aunt is at the hospital with my uncle. His sugry is today.
Victor: *surgery
Amber: Hmmmmm, don’t lie to use
Amber: *use
Amber: *USE
Amber: FUCK ME!!
Amber: US!!!!!
Elliot: LMAO
Victor: ROFL
Frank: JAJAJAJAJAJAJA
Amber: Fuck you guys >:-(
Victor: Listen guys, I need to get going. My aunt just called and asked me to take something to her at the hospital. I’ll message you later. Love you! Mean it!
Elliott: Love you too
Amber: TTFN
Frank: Besos
Victor sighs deeply as he just lied to his friends. He knows that he can’t come out to them. “Wow, I have to come out again! But this time, as a Warlock. Should I tell them?” He looks at the time; it’s only 9 a.m. “What the fuck are they doing up at this god-forsaken hour?”
“Maybe they worry about you?” Leo comments as he leans against the doorframe.
Victor is startled and pulls the covers over himself because he’s naked underneath. He looks over to the bedroom door, and there’s Leo in a robe, holding two mugs of coffee.
Leo chuckles as he enters the bedroom. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay,” Victor says as he sits up against the headboard. “I was just texting with my friends.”
Leo takes a seat and leans against the headboard as he hands Victor a mug.
“Thank you,” Victor mentions, taking the mug from Leo. They sit in silence for a few moments while they sip their coffee. Victor turns on the TV, and the weather report comes on. They look onward at the TV until Victor breaks the silence.
“Leo, about last night . . . “
Leo holds up his hand to stop Victor from continuing. “It’s okay. Don’t worry.”
“I just don’t want to seem like I overstepped,” Victor says.
“You didn’t,” Leo explains while watching the weather report.
“Okay,” Victor responds as he takes another sip of coffee. “So, what are our plans today?”
“We are going to review some books,” Leo answers as he gets up from the bed. “Why don’t you freshen up, then meet me in my room?”
Leo is about to leave the room when Victor asks a question. “Does anyone know?”
“About our kiss?” Leo asks, turning back around.
“No, about you being a warlock,” Victor clarifies.
Leo walks back over and sits back down on the side of the bed. “My family are also magic wielders. But the only friends I have are fellow witches and warlocks. I don’t have any mundane friends. At least, not anymore.”
“What happened?” Victor asks as he crisscrosses his legs.
“Remember, I’m 66, but look in my 30s,” Leo mentions.
“My mundane friends are already in their 60s and 70s, and they look it too. One died recently, and I hesitated to go to his funeral. But I did it against my better judgment.” Leo takes a moment, remembering his friend’s funeral.
“I acted like I was visiting another gravesite to not seem like a mysterious person in the shadows.”
Leo sips his coffee before continuing. “I believe you should cut your losses with your friends soon. I don’t mean to sound like a total asshole about it, but as soon as you start using your powers, it will only be a matter of time before you look like you have stopped aging while you see all your mundane friends grow old.
“And before you suggest necromancy, remember how Anakin became Vader? He gave himself over to the dark side. And if you don’t know how to avoid the temptation of necromancy, you’ll lose yourself in it.
I watched one warlock attempt to revive a dear friend of his.
He had to fight his friend and take him out.
” Leo stands up and walks over to the door.
“Now, freshen up. I ordered room service, and it should be arriving any minute. We have a long day ahead.”
Victor walks into Leo’s room in regular clothes. He notices Leo is still in his robe as he looks over a few books from a box on the couch. Two more boxes are on the lounge chair. Breakfast is already set on the small table near the window in the far corner.
Leo looks up and smiles at Victor. “Come on in. Eat. I’m just looking for the right book to give you first.”
Victor takes a seat and uncovers his breakfast. He sees an omelet made to his liking, a bagel with cream cheese and salmon on top, freshly squeezed orange juice chilling in the bucket on the side of the table, and a fresh cup of coffee.
Victor is about to start eating when Leo sets a book in the center of the table.
He looks at it and wonders about a few markings along the spine.
He’s never seen them before, but they look very familiar.
“I’m going to take a quick shower. Eat up, and we’ll review this book when I return.
” Leo retreats to his bedroom. Victor looks over at a mirror that looks in.
He watches Leo take off the robe, allowing him to see Leo’s firm back and ass.
He watches and hopes Leo turns around to see the front, but Leo walks into the bathroom.
He’s halfway through his breakfast when he hears the bathroom door open.
Curious, Victor looks in the mirror. Leo walks out, but he has a towel wrapped around his waist. Victor can see Leo’s muscular and fuzzy chest. The hairs on his chest are dark against his tanned olive-colored skin. Leo doesn’t notice Victor gazing in the mirror as he closes the bedroom door.
A moment later, Leo walks into the living room wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. “How’s breakfast?”
“It’s good,” Victor answers when he finishes swallowing his food. “They cooked the eggs just the way I like.”
“Of course they did,” Leo smirks.
“Is food always going to be this way now? Where is it to my liking?” Victor asks.
Leo smiles and shrugs his shoulders as he sips his coffee. “So, have you looked at the book?”
“I was waiting for you,” Victor says.
“Well, go on and start reading while I dig into my food,” Leo advises.
“Isn’t your food . . . “ Victor stops when he sees Leo’s hands glow red as he holds them above his plate. “ . . . cold?”
“Not anymore. You forgot I can control fire,” Leo says. He flicks the linen napkin, giving it a good snap before he takes a seat.
Victor reaches over to grab the book, giving Leo a playful eye roll. He looks at the writing in bold green letters. He reads the title out loud, “The Waking of the Warlock. Sounds interesting.”
“It is,” Leo says as he puts a forkful of food in his mouth.
Victor opens the book and reads the first page.
The Waking of the Warlock
Becoming a Warlock is a challenging task.
The process is grueling and long, but oh- so-satisfying.
Many men, and those who identify as men, will try to overcompensate, which is their first failure.
Just like a newborn child, a newborn Warlock must be able to adapt to new environments and learn to trust those around them as they learn to become independent on their own.
If you wish to succeed, you must be patient and never give up if you can’t make the spell work on your first attempt.
Do not let frustration take over. Do not be afraid to fail; that is how you learn.
After Victor reads the first passage, he notices Leo has already finished his breakfast. “What did you do, unhinge your jaw and drop your food down your gaping hole?”
Leo laughs out loud, “That sounds so inappropriate. So, what do you think of the passage?”
“It’s . . . interesting,” Victor comments. “It sounds like the writer knows a thing or two about being a Warlock. If they are writing a book about it, they should.” Victor looks at the author’s name, “Clarence Waterlily? Their last name is Waterlily?”
“Yup,” Leo says as he finishes his coffee. “You’d be surprised how talented a Warlock they are. Or witch. I think they go by either, depending on who’s talking about them. Anyway, they are very talented, but they enjoy being a tailor. They like to size others up, no pun intended.”
“Feel up, too,” Victor says sarcastically. Victor looks back at the spine and examines the symbols some more. “Leo, what do these mean?” he asks.
Leo looks closer at the symbols. “I’m not completely sure, but they might be coven emblems. I think this one might be a rune. Why do you ask?”
“Just curious,” Victor replies softly. “I just have this feeling that I might have seen these before.”
“Maybe you have and not realized it. Your grandma might have owned something with one of them on it,” Leo suggests.
Leo leans in and looks closer at the symbols.
“I think most of the books I got you have symbols somewhere on them. You should read this book first before moving to the next. They discuss what you can expect during your journey. But, before you do that, we need to get ready to check out.”
“Why, where are we going?” Victor asks as he thumbs through the pages.
“We are going to Chicago to meet up with your first instructor. Your first course is Air Magic,” Leo informs.
“Sounds appropriate, being the windy city and all.” Victor looks up just as Leo rolls his eyes.
“Actually, his specialty is Water. But for some reason, he enjoys teaching Air Magic,” Leo explains. “I guess it’s because Air is very easy to achieve, and there’s a demand for air instructors. Plus, he enjoys hearing himself speak. A lot.”
“If I knew we would be traveling a lot, I wouldn’t’ve packed light like you suggested,” Victor remarks.
Leo finishes his juice before pushing away from the table. “Don’t worry, everything we need, we can get where we’re going. So go pack, and you can leave your things; someone will collect them for us. Can you be ready in an hour?”
“I guess,” Victor answers as he gets up from the table.
“Good, meet me on the third floor in an hour. And don’t worry about changing into your suit. We can do that before we go to your first lesson.” As Victor walks away, Leo clears his throat. “Forgetting something?” Victor looks down and grabs the book before he heads back to his room.
An hour later, when Victor is about to leave his room, he peers into Leo’s room. He’s not in there, and neither are the boxes. When he walks to the elevator, the doors open when he approaches.
“Floor three, sir?” the bellman asks Victor.
“Yes, please. Thank you,” Victor says as he steps to the back of the elevator.
Victor exits the elevator and looks around for Leo. The only things in the hallway are several large, wide mirrors attached to the wall. Victor cocks an eyebrow as he speaks to himself, “How original. Walking through a mirror to get to where we are going.”
“Were you expecting a green portal?” Leo asks as he walks up behind Victor.
Victor jumps and gives Leo a pointed look. “I’m going to have to put a bell on you.”
Leo laughs as he takes Victor’s arm in his hand. “This way.” They stop in front of the fourth mirror. Leo places his palm against the mirror. The mirror turns hazy. “Ready?” Victor nods, and Leo walks through. Victor takes a deep breath and walks through himself.