Chapter Twelve
Victor emerges from the mirror and into a hallway that resembles the one in the hotel in New York.
He looks around and doesn’t see Leo right away.
He looks back at the mirror, hoping he didn’t mess this up.
A couple of whistles came from down the hall.
Victor spins and sees Leo peeking around the corner.
Victor walks over to Leo and notices that the hotel looks exactly like one in New York.
When they approach the elevator, the doors open, and the bellman seems like the one in New York.
“What in Pokémon hell is going on?” Victor remarks in confusion.
Leo gives Victor a puzzled look. “Huh?”
“You know, Nurse Joy from Pokémon? She was all over the place. They even joke about it as every nurse is Nurse Joy,” Victor explains.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Leo states.
“Then why does it feel like we’re still in New York?” Victor questions.
Leo scrunches his face with more confusion from Victor’s reaction. “We’re not. We’re in Chicago. Why would you think we’re still in New York?”
Victor pinches the bridge of his nose. “How can you tell we’re in Chicago?”
“Because our rooms face the water,” Leo responds. “I don’t understand the problem.”
Victor looks over to Leo, slightly aggravated. “Really? Everything looks the same, down to the bellman.”
“But this is Jerry. You saw Jerry in . . . “ Leo finally realizes Victor’s comments. “ . . . Ooh, I see what you’re saying now.”
“If our rooms are the same number, I think I’m going to scream,” Victor says, looking up at the floor counter.
Leo is silent as he looks forward and doesn’t make eye contact. “Leo?”
Leo doesn’t answer or notice Victor glaring at him. “Leeeooo . . . “ Victor snarls.
Leo finally answers, “Here’s our floor!”
Victor looks up and sees 14. “You got off lucky.”
Leo jokingly whispers under his breath, “That’s what she said.” Victor narrows his eyes, causing Leo to snicker. Leo takes out a couple of key cards and hands Victor one of them.
They exit the elevator and walk toward the corner rooms at the end of the hall.
When Victor opens the door, his living room window wraps around, giving him a panoramic view of the river and most of downtown Chicago.
The decor in the room is different from New York.
He barely has time to check out the rest of the room when he hears knocking at the connecting door. He opens the door, and there’s Leo.
“What, no drink?” Victor jokes.
Leo walks in with two more books. “Not right now. I need you focused before we attend your first lesson later.” He hands Victor the two books, “I need you to read the first five chapters in both these books before we meet up with Karl Landring tonight. In the meantime, I’m going to go get some items we’ll need. ”
Victor examines the books. “Well, can’t I go with you?”
Leo shakes his head and taps his index finger on top of one of the books. “No, because the first five chapters in this book are 50 pages alone. And I need you to be reading.”
Victor slumps his shoulders and moans like a disgruntled teenager, “Why does this feel like I’m not getting time to do anything else?”
“What can I say? He was able to see you right away before he had to leave for his own lessons next week. But don’t worry; you’ll do fine.
” Leo walks out the front door and turns to finish talking to Victor.
“I already programmed my number into your phone. Just call or text me if you need anything. Preferably call; I hate text.”
Victor watches the door close behind Leo. “Who prefers call over text nowadays?” he says. He takes a deep breath, plops down on the couch, and looks at the books he was given.
The first book is titled: “Air Bending: Not Your Ordinary Kids Show.”
He thinks to himself, Seriously? Who came up with that title? The second book is titled: “The Air Within You.”
Almost as bad as the first title. But which one should I read first? Victor shrugs. Meh, I’ll go alphabetically since I don’t know the Dewey decimals for these books.
Victor opens the first book and then looks up to where his luggage is. They’re gone. He looks around the room and sees nothing. He looks into Leo’s room . . . nothing. He walks into the bedroom and sees an older woman.
“Umm, hello? May I help you?” Victor asks the stranger.
The woman has short, curly red hair and is dressed in a simple pale blue, knee-length dress with a pleated skirt and a light green cardigan sweater.
She looks up and smiles at Victor. “Oh, hi there, Mr. Russo,” She responds in her Midwestern accent.
“I’m the maid assigned to you and Mr. Oliveira.
Don’t mind me. I’m just here to make sure everything is in order for your stay this week. ”
Victor tries to get a word in but can’t.
“There will also be a couple of garment bags from that Clarence Waterlily fella. They sent one over for each of you. And I’m hoping a package that was sent for you arrives later today.
” She walks around the bed to the nightstand to place a new box of tissues.
Victor tries to talk, but is still unable to get a word in.
“I made sure there was plenty of bottled water for you in the wet bar, and I supplied you with all your favorite snacks. If you should ever need more, there’s no need to call. I have already anticipated your needs.”
She walks around the bed again and heads into the bathroom.
Victor still can’t get a word in as she shouts from the bathroom.
“I made sure there are lots of towels for you. If you wish to take a bubble bath after your lessons, I put a bottle of bubbles on the sink. There should be plenty of shampoo, and I found the hair products you like to use. But I also provided some that my grandson uses. He has the same hair as yours.”
She starts to walk towards Victor. He moves out of her way as she enters the living room. “Lunch will be here in a couple of hours, so please don’t fill up on snacks. I already know you had breakfast; it’s the most important meal of the day, next to lunch, even dinner.”
She stops talking and giggles but starts up again before Victor can speak.
“If you would like turndown service, please let me know later today. I’m going to take your suit to be cleaned and pressed, so it will be ready before you leave for your lessons.
Other than that, if you need anything, please give me a call.
” She exits the room, leaving Victor in utter silence and confusion.
Leo walks into a shop that sells magical artifacts. He looks inside a small glass case containing rings. He leans over, getting a better look at the variety inside. A woman approaches him and says, “Hello, is there a ring that tickles your fancy?”
Leo looks up and smiles. “Hello. I’m looking for a ring that can assist with Air Magic.”
“I have a few rings to help those with air specialties.” She reaches in and pulls out a small tray of rings. “I like this one.” She holds up a silver ring with a large blue gem.
“Too gaudy,” Leo replies.
“Well, how about this one?” She holds up a black ring with several tiny white gems wrapped halfway around it.
“No, I need something without gems. Like this one.” He points to a metallic blue ring.
She gives Leo a funny look. “Well, this one is very plain. Are you sure this is what you want?”
She hands Leo the ring. “Yes, this will be perfect,” he responds. “He is a strong empath, and the gems will either block his ability or intensify it too much.”
The woman takes the ring back and places it in a small box. “You could have mentioned it was for an empath. I do have some other artifacts that could help.” She walks Leo to the other side of the shop and stops in front of a tall glass case containing wands and swords.
“Everything in here is perfect for an empath and their specialties. If this is for someone learning a new skill, might I suggest this sword?” She takes out a small black sword with blue leather wrapped around the hilt.
A round sapphire is attached to the top of the hilt, and a medium-sized pearl is embedded in the black metal.
“This will be perfect for using their empathic abilities when defending against attacks. It will slice the magic in half like butter.”
Leo takes the sword and examines it carefully. “What about Fire? I’m having a hard time seeing if the magic in this will prevent fire attacks.”
She takes the sword and twirls it around with her wrist. “Throw something at me.” She takes up a defensive stance as Leo looks at her. “Come on, throw something at me.”
He takes a few steps back and twirls a blue fireball her way like a baseball.
As it comes at her, she swings the sword and slices the fireball in half, causing it to extinguish.
She twirls the blade with her wrist again, waiting for more.
Leo tosses three more fireballs, more prominent this time.
She swings the sword, connecting it to all three.
They vanish just as soon as they connect with the steel.
Leo throws a green flame at her. She holds the sword up, and the sword absorbs the flame. The steel begins to glow a greenish color. She swings the blade to the ceiling and releases the green flame onto it. The magic protection of the ceiling extinguishes the green flame.
Leo nods, impressed, “I’ll take it.”
The employee smiles as she walks back behind the counter. “Would you like me to wrap it up for you?”
“Why not?” Leo smiles.
The clerk takes the sword and places it in a deep charcoal box. “You know, we do have some nice harnesses for sale,” the clerk suggests, nodding to a rack with various harnesses for holding swords and other objects.
“Trying to upsell me?” Leo jokes as he walks over to pick out a harness. He finds a simple black one that slings diagonally across the chest. “I take it one size fits all?”
“If you’re talking about the sword, yes,” the clerk replies as she starts ringing up the items. “The strap is adjustable, and the sheath will fit the sword’s size.”
“That’s what she said,” Leo jokes under his breath.
He walks back over to the counter and hands the clerk a dark maroon credit card.
She thanks Leo as she hands him a bag with the items. As he exits the shop, he notices a maroon and silver bracelet in a cabinet.
“What can you tell me about the bracelet?”
The woman smiles, “That will help with your fire specialty.” He cocks his eyebrow and looks back at her, “I’ll take it.”
A short time later, Leo returns to his room and puts the bag on the coffee table. He takes out the ring box and walks into Victor’s room.
Victor is in the lounge chair, reading the second book. There are three empty glass water bottles on the coffee table. He notices Victor’s suit is hanging on the bedroom door.
“I see your suit has been cleaned and pressed,” Leo comments.
Victor looks up at Leo. “That maid came in twice before that, and I couldn’t even get a word in. When she came to drop off my suit, I didn’t bother trying. She loves to talk.”
“How’s your reading?” Leo asks, walking over to Victor.
Victor sighs heavily, placing the book in his lap so he can rub his eyes. “I finished the first book while eating lunch. And I still have 10 pages to go before I finish this one. Good thing these books are small.” He looks up at Leo, “Is it time to go?”
“Almost. You can finish the rest of the book in the car. Get washed up and ready,” Leo orders.
Victor puts the book on the coffee table and walks into the bedroom. A short time later, he walks out of his bedroom in his new suit. Leo is standing at the connecting doorway and gives Victor a whistle.
“I’ve got something for you,” Leo says as he tosses the ring box to Victor. Victor opens the box. “Aww, Leo, is this a proposal?” he asks sarcastically.
Leo laughs, “No, this ring will assist you with honing your empathic abilities while you channel your air specialty.”
Victor slips the ring on his hand and approves. Leo gestures to the door, and they exit the room.