Chapter Forty-Two #2
Everyone screams in horror. Leo is so angry; he is about to conjure his Fire Magic. “The blood oath!” Superior Charles shouts, grabbing hold of Leo’s arms.
Derek starts to laugh hysterically. “What a worthless piece of shit. He couldn’t even stop- “ Derek looks back and notices Victor’s body hasn’t fallen to the ground. “. . . The fuck?”
Victor starts laughing, a deep, echoing sound that reverberates through the battlefield.
Derek looks back and forth between Victor’s head and Victor’s body, his confusion turning into horror.
Victor’s hand shoots out, grabbing Derek by the neck and lifting him effortlessly off the ground.
As Victor’s laughter fades, his severed head on the ground begins to pixelate, disintegrating into tiny shards of light that swirl into the air before reappearing seamlessly atop his shoulders.
Victor’s eyes are solid black, with a dark, shimmery glow that extends outward. The glow resembles smoke. Derek is dumbfounded by what has taken place.
“What type of fuckery is this?!” Derek shouts, thrashing in Victor’s iron grip, desperately chopping at Victor’s shoulder with Victor’s sword.
Victor catches Derek’s fist with ease, wrenching the sword from his grasp.
“This sword belongs to me. And as long as it has a connection with me, I cannot be harmed by it.” With a casual flick of his wrist, Victor sends Derek hurtling backward, crashing into the ground several yards away like a rag doll.
Victor strides purposefully towards Derek, who struggles to his feet, only to be knocked aside again by a swift swipe of Victor’s sword.
As Derek rises, Victor calls upon his Earth Magic.
The ground beneath Derek trembles and shifts, throwing him off balance.
Massive walls of lava rock erupt from the earth, forcing Derek to bounce between them, each impact leaving him more battered.
Victor raises his hand, and Derek is lifted into the air, invisible forces tightening around his neck like a noose.
With a disdainful flick, Victor sends Derek crashing through the nearby trees.
Derek’s body snaps branches like twigs as he plummets to the forest floor below.
Blood trickles from his nose, and multiple gashes cover his face.
He rolls off his back, coughing, and gets to his knees, glaring at Victor with bloodshot eyes.
Summoning every ounce of his remaining strength, Derek charges at Victor, screaming in defiance.
Victor doesn’t flinch. With a mere flick of his fingers, a torrent of enormous fireballs rains down upon Derek.
Derek tries to shield himself, but the force of the impact slams him into the ground, leaving him groaning in agony.
Victor’s shadow looms over Derek as he approaches. Derek, lying in a crater of scorched earth, turns and looks up at him. “There’s only one way to kill me in the challenge, and your sword won’t work because it’s too short.”
Victor raises an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. “I’m a grower, not a shower.”
“What?” Derek gasps, grimacing in confusion.
With a flourish, Victor twirls his sword, and with a jerk of his arm, the blade extends, doubling in length. Black flames burst from the blade, and the embedded pearl glows with an eerie light. Derek’s eyes widen in terror.
“Fuck me,” Derek mutters.
Victor swings the elongated sword over his shoulder, the black flames dancing along its edge.
“You’re not my type.” With a swift, backhanded strike, Victor decapitates Derek, sending his head flying toward the lava flow.
The head lands with a sizzle, and Derek’s body erupts in flames, a piercing shriek of agony escaping from the burning neck.
The body burns intensely, turning into a pile of ash within seconds.
Victor drops his sword after it returns to its smaller size, and the flame is extinguished. Victor stumbles backward, exhausted from the fight. He blinks a few times, allowing his eyes to return to normal.
Before Victor could react, Leo wraps his arms around him. After a moment of shock and awe, Victor smiles as he returns Leo’s tight embrace. Leo pulls back and looks at Victor in the eyes. He cups Victor’s cheeks, pulling him in for a deep, passionate kiss.
After a moment has passed, Leo pulls away and slaps Victor in the face.
“The fuck was that for?” Victor asks as he rubs his cheek with a bewildered, yet cheerful expression.
“Don’t you ever pull that shit again,” Leo demands before pulling Victor in for another kiss.
As they break apart, Victor says sarcastically, “Then maybe next time, don’t do a blood oath while getting married.”
They laugh as they walk hand in hand back toward the group. Victor is covered with everyone’s embrace. While Victor is enjoying the attention, his smile fades away. His eyes turn black as he scans the area.
“Now what?” Leo asks with annoyance, knowing something else is about to happen.
“Why is everyone trying to disrupt our enjoyment?” Wren states aggressively.
“What’s going on?” Superior Charles questions as he scans the area with Victor.
Victor doesn’t respond as he continues scanning the energy in the area. He’s drawn to something on the volcano. “Everyone, stay here,” he commands before breaking away from the group.
Using his Air Magic, he quickly bounces around through the air as he makes his way to the side of the volcano. When he comes to a landing, he slowly walks around to see who’s there. He knows there’s a presence but doesn’t see whose it is.
“Congratulations, Empath Warlock Russo.”
Victor spins around, making eye contact with the figure behind him. “Uncle Michael.”
They silently stare at each other for a moment. Victor’s uncle nods while sneering as dark cloud appears behind him. Before Victor can do anything, his uncle disappears into a dark cloud. Victor’s eyes return to their normal dark brown, knowing he won’t see his uncle again anytime too soon.
Late into the night, Victor and many of his crew sit around a bonfire on the beach while still wearing their leis from the luau and comfortably dressed in Hawaiian shirts, chinos, or flowy sundresses.
“It’s a shame Jeanette and Eugene had to leave and miss this beautiful evening,” Superior Jackie says as she sips away at the straw in an empty glass. She drunkenly slides off her seat and lands in Superior Charles’ lap. “Damn it, Charles, I’m married. Stop trying to get me in your lap.”
Everyone laughs.
Once Superior Charles helps Superior Jackie back into her seat, he turns his attention to Victor. “I have a question for you, young empath. You mentioned earlier today that you knew about this secret coven Derek and those others were a part of. How did you know they were part of a second coven?”
Victor looks around as everyone’s eyes are on him.
“Well, I didn’t realize it at the time. I didn’t know what to look for until I was at your home during the barbecue.
When I started noticing everyone’s auras, I also spotted another glow coming off them.
I didn’t know what it was because it was a different color from their aura, smaller too, and was in random locations.
“I would see it on a wrist, over the heart, even on their earlobes. I saw it on Leo’s wrist, Superior Jackie’s chest, and your arm.
When you handed me your coven invite, I realized I was looking at your coven’s emblem.
Then, when Superior Jackie handed me her invite, I confirmed that the emblem on her invite was also a charm on her necklace. ”
As Victor continues to talk, he picks up a stick and starts drawing symbols in the sand. “When Derek attacked us at Eddie’s, I noticed he had two emblems on him. I recognized one was for Superior Tederich’s coven, but the second was different.”
Victor focuses on what he’s drawing in the sand as he continues.
“It gave off another energy that was there, but then again, it wasn’t.
It had an aura, but it’s hard to put into words.
It then dawned on me that the four witches who attacked me at Amber’s birthday dinner had the same emblem in addition to their coven’s emblem.
When I thought back to Japan, it was the same thing with the two who attacked me.
I knew there had to be a connection; I just couldn’t put my finger on it. ”
Victor repositions himself as he continues drawing. Superior Charles listens on as he watches. Eddie leans over to get a better view from his spot around the fire.
“The day after my uncle invited himself into my hotel room, I pulled Wren aside as everyone was leaving,” Victor informs. “I sat down with her to review all the coven invites you gave me from the other superiors. I wanted to get to know who these superiors are. As I looked through her tome, there was a list of the more traditionalist covens.”
Victor leans back to inspect his work before he goes back to adding more details. “While going through the list, the second emblem never appeared. When remembering my uncle’s visit, I saw nothing on his person. He knew how to keep it hidden, or he was not involved. It’s tough to say at this time.”
Victor gets up and walks over to the other side of his drawing.
“Now, fast forward to today’s fiasco. As soon as all those witches and warlocks appeared, I could scan them all, and they all had the same second symbol.
I called Derek out for denouncing his coven for this second one.
The way he didn’t deny it confirmed my suspicions.
” When Victor finishes talking, he also finishes a symbol he drew in the sand.
The symbol is a pentagram. Directly below the pentagram, a crescent moon turned downwards with the points twisted into a braid. In the center of the pentagram was a simple, upside-down Celtic knot.
Superior Charles walks behind Victor and looks down at the symbol in the sand. “Wren, have you ever seen this symbol before?”
Wren shakes her head. “No. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen an aura coming off our charms representing our covens. I’ve seen a glow, but never an aura.”
“Same.” Superior Charles pats Victor on the shoulder. “You are something special, young empath. And if this is what you saw, we should send it around and inform the council.”
“No,” Victor states firmly. He then looks up at Superior Charles. “Let’s keep this between ourselves for right now.”
“Why would we want to do that?” Superior Charles questions.
Victor looks around the bonfire as he explains, “If they know that I know what to look for, then they might change how they operate or recruit.”
“He does have a point there, Charles,” Eddie says as he examines the symbol closely. “We should wait before we tell the council.”
Superior Charles crosses his arms. He hums in the back of his throat as he ponders the request. “Well, the council already knows what happened today.” He looks back down at the mysterious emblem.
“But if our empath warlock suggests keeping this between us, then we’ll keep it between us.
” Superior Charles sighs heavily as he walks back over to his spot in the sand.
“So, Victor, have you thought about which coven you wanted to join?”
Victor looks up from his thoughts. “No, not yet. I haven’t had any time to think about that.”
“You’ll have to decide soon. The council would like to know when you speak to them. It’s better to have a coven sponsor you for the second part of your training,” Superior Jackie remarks as she starts a new drink.
“What about my mentor?” Victor asks, looking at Leo.
“I was only your mentor until you completed this part of your lessons,” Leo mentions. “I will most likely be given a new assignment soon.”
Victor pierces his lips together. A mischievous expression appears on his face. “I think if I’m going to be the Grand Warlock, I should decide who my mentor is.”
Eddie laughs heartily. “This guy barely received the title of empath warlock, and he already acts like he can do what he wants.”
“That’s because he will be able to do what he wants soon,” Superior Charles comments.