Chapter Thirty-Two #2
“Eddie, help Leo,” Victor commands as he looks around the empty field. “I know you’re here!” Victor shouts out into the open field. “I can sense your presence! So why don’t you come out and face me, warlock to warlock?”
Derek appears when he drops the illusion spell. “Looks like you’re getting stronger.”
Victor turns to face Derek. “That illusion charm must have taken up most of your energy. You’re not putting up that much of a fight.”
“And you should have listened to me about replacing Leo with another mentor,” Derek barks. “Also, my superior is still waiting for your response.”
“I’m sorry, I’m not interested in being in any coven you’re a part of,” Victor snaps back.
“Then I guess no coven will take you if you’re dead.” Derek starts throwing fireballs at Victor. Victor uses his Air and Water Magic, extinguishing each one flying toward him.
Leo is about to conjure something when Eddie stops him. “Don’t! This is Victor’s fight.”
“But we have to help him,” Leo demands.
“I know, mi amor, but the oath.” Eddie releases Leo’s wrist and says, “He challenged Derek. I will step in if I need to. Comprende?” Leo nods and watches on.
Victor lifts Derek high into the air on a layer of earth.
He then causes a microburst to slam Derek to the ground.
Derek reacts, breaks himself free, and turns the layer of soil into a fiery ball of dirt.
Victor jumps and rolls to the side before it crashes down on him.
When Victor looks up, Derek is hurling down at him, holding his dagger.
Victor covers himself with a thick layer of dirt. Derek lands on top and starts stabbing away at the earth, trying to dig his way to Victor. When Derek stands up, Victor explodes his earthy cover, sending Derek backward.
“Enough of this!” Victor shouts. As Derek stands, Victor shoots roots up from the ground and starts to bind Derek. Derek struggles to break free. Fireballs go flying out all over the place. Eddie helps block the attacks from hitting anyone.
“Let me go!” Derek demands. “Stop fighting like a little bitch!”
“He’s not a bitch, chéri.” Madame Jeanette and Superior Charles suddenly appear behind Derek. Eddie and Leo are confused about where they came from, not seen in the middle of an agave field.
Derek snarls at Madame Jeanette as she slowly steps beside him. “What? The wannabe empath had to call for reinforcements?”
“No, chéri, I’m here because of this . . .” Madame smiles fondly as she opens her palm. “Bòn nwi.” She blows black sandy dust into Derek’s face. Derek coughs until he passes out.
Superior Charles shakes his head as he approaches. “Jeanette, you know I don’t like it when you use Voodoo magic.”
Madame Jeanette flicks her hair back and grins at Superior Charles. “Then how was I supposed to knock him out, Charlie?”
Superior Charles flares his nostrils. “You know I don’t like being called Charlie,” he groans through his teeth.
Victor frees Derek from his bindings, letting him drop to the ground with a thud. He looks back at Eddie and Leo and asks, “Are you two okay?”
Leo sneers at Victor. “Now you care?”
Victor walks over to Leo and says, “Please, listen to me. I had to project my emotions so a telepath couldn’t read my thoughts.”
Leo is taken aback. “What?
Victor looks down at Derek. “He is a telepath, Leo. And his mistake was when he talked to me in the shower.”
“He what?” Superior Charles responds shockingly.
Victor waves off Superior Charles’s concerns as he continues, “In one of the books Leo gave me after the first time I astral projected, it mentioned that you must be in close proximity to the individual. I never met Derek in person, so that meant he was close to me at some point. Without knowing, Derek’s been using an illusion charm to get close to me, which is probably why Superior Charles sensed Derek at the restaurant. ”
Victor continues explaining as he walks closer to Derek.
“The mistake he made was when he mentioned I should get another mentor. He wouldn’t have known that if he were with you.
You two always bicker, which distracts some of your thoughts from him.
You would always bring up something he did.
But when he met me in the shower, I was thinking about the conversation in Superior Charles’ study.
“Only those with an ability can continue using it while projecting. Hence, he was aware of the suggestion to have a new mentor. I needed to test my theory. The only way to do that was to get angry. Anger is one of the most powerful emotions that can trick a telepath. So, unfortunately, I had to remain angry around you, just in case he was close by.”
Victor’s expression becomes somber as he turns to look at Leo. “The distraction of you being upset with me would be the only thing on your mind. He wouldn’t have shown up in person if he had ever discovered our plan to capture him.”
Leo looks down at Derek. “I’ve been with him for over 30 years, and I didn’t even know he was a telepath. I can’t believe he kept that from me.”
Superior Charles steps forward, commenting, “I had a feeling Derek was a telepath, but I could never figure out how to force it out of him. Telepaths can mask themselves when hiding, and illusion charms can help them. Also, telepaths are best at pushing their auras onto empaths, making them the best at poisoning an empath’s emotions. ”
Superior Charles snarls as he looks down at Derek’s unconscious body.
“Derek could be the reason behind Victor’s rage episodes.
He didn’t anticipate that Victor would recover so quickly at the restaurant, which is why I sensed him.
He was probably trying to make Victor rage out before the cops arrived. ”
Leo walks over and stops beside Victor. “To protect me from him, you had to cover your tracks with our plan.”
As Victor takes Leo’s hands, Superior Charles clears his throat and jerks his head, letting everyone know to give Victor and Leo some privacy.
“I hope you understand I didn’t mean to hurt you, Leo,” Victor says softly. “But I needed to keep you out of the loop to find and capture him. I’m just happy it didn’t take long. The dude has a real hard-on for me. Lucky for us, he’s not as powerful as he says he is.”
Leo looks down while he rubs the pads of his thumbs on top of Victor’s hands. Leo takes a deep breath and looks into Victor’s eyes. “I should be angry with you but keeping me in the dark was smart.” Their eye contact burns between them. “I wish I could kiss you,” Leo says softly.
Victor mouths “Me too” as he swallows his feelings. Victor shakes himself out of the heated emotion. “He should be out for a while. We only have tonight to do what I have planned.”
“What do you have planned?” Leo inquires.
Victor turns to look at the others. “Is there a mirror that can take us to Teotihuacán?” Victor shouts over to Eddie.
Eddie looks at Superior Charles, who looks back suspiciously. “Yeah, there is one that leads into the gift shop,” Eddie replies.
“What’s at Teotihuacán?” Leo questions.
Victor looks down at Derek. “It’s where I find out why someone is after me.”