45. Damian

Chapter forty-five

Damian

F ear coursed through me. I could feel every moment ticking closer and closer to something horrible happening to Owen.

"Damian, focus," Cary said.

I turned to him and saw the same alarm in his expression. "What…what do I do?"

"Focus," Cary said again. "You're the Legacy Wizard. Your skills are innate. Look inside. You're letting your fears block your abilities and putting Owen at further risk!"

That snapped me back into a sound state of mind, so I closed my eyes and let the thoughts come to me. I saw him at home. I thought the house was modern and renovated because I could feel the essence of the place. I focused on trying to see him, but he wasn't inside. Something was blocking me from seeing him, even though I could feel he'd been here not long ago.

"I can see where he's been, but he's not there now. He's not safe! I-I think he's been captured. "

My phone dinged, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the visions. "We need to get to him now!" I said, and my intuition kicked in, giving me the know-how regarding teleportation that would be required to get me from here to there.

"I-I'm going to teleport to Illinois. I need to get to him."

"Not yet," Mr. Stages said, and I turned toward him about to argue. "You can't rush into that situation. It could be a trap set for you as much as for him. Can you tell us what kind of magical person or creature has him?"

I nodded and closed my eyes. This time, I let my intuition guide me through the home, trying to detect magical energies. I immediately saw the exhausted magic that had been used to bind him. The ropelike structures were still lying on the ground. In my vision, I went toward them and stopped. "These were made by something very powerful. Too powerful," I said, knowing everyone could hear me.

I reached out with my powers, and the moment they collided with the bonds, I felt it. "Balthazar. These were created by Balthazar himself, but there's more here." The other power source was much weaker, almost undetectable, but as I moved toward the stairs, I caught a whiff of blood. Owen's blood. "Fuck," I said out loud and could hear both Mrs. Patterson and Mr. Stages suck in air and knew they wanted to chastise me for using such language.

"It's a vampire," I said, opening my eyes. "And it's already attacked Owen!"

"Ugh, of course it is," Cary said. "I hate vampires so much."

"I searched my intuition for details but couldn't feel much. "What? What about them? I-I can't see it or them."

"They aren't technically magical creatures," Mr. Harrison said. "They're more of a spell gone wrong, very wrong."

"Regardless, drinking the Re'em's blood will make it stronger, at least at first. If it takes from Owen often, though, his blood will kill it, so there's some consolation."

"I don't want it sucking Owen's blood at all, okay? So I'm guessing this means I need help. Will you come with me?" I asked.

Just then, my staff appeared, pulling my hand upward as it did. The little cube Mr. Stages had given me floating out of the top.

Mr. Stages just laughed. "You don't have to claim that yet, even though your staff is correct. I have already pledged our support, but keep that. I can feel there will be a time when you'll need our support again, and I might not always be the leader. For now, our Owen is in danger. We are already committed to saving him. He is one of our own, after all."

I could've cried. I needed their help because I was so green and had much more to learn before taking on such a serious foe. Balthazar was a dangerous enemy. He'd been reincarnating himself since the Middle Ages, creating chaos and hoping to unbalance the universe permanently. Balthazar increased his powers through chaos. The more unbalanced the universe, the more powerful he grew .

"Okay, luckily, Balthazar doesn't have him. I know that much. I suspect the vampire is doing his bidding, but we need to go now!" I said, and Molly answered, her voice quiet.

"Damian? I-I don't understand any of this," she said, glancing around the circle, but how can I help? Poor Owen." I could see emotion welling up inside her.

I studied her, looking for how deep the darkness inside her was. It wasn't thick, which meant she hadn't done anything horrible, just participated in a spell or something. Enough that the light entities wouldn't help her, enough that I couldn't do much for her either.

"I…you're at risk too. I can't do much to keep you safe until we cleanse your aura," I said, and my mind began to go to the occupants of my home. "Cary, the spirits in my home hate you, but I think if you and Molly go together, you can rally their support. However," I said quickly to ensure I didn't overstep, "I need a vow that none of you will try to cross over any spirits who help us tonight."

I saw how that hit. Witches firmly believed that ghosts should be crossed over, which had become clearer over the past weeks since Cary had come to visit. However, I didn't entirely agree. Ghosts should have agency as much as the living. If they weren't harming others, they should be allowed to live in this realm unmolested.

I waited several anxious moments as I saw the witches considering my request. "It goes against our vows. It's too much to ask," Mr. Stages said.

"I can't in good conscience ask my allies to help if it puts them in danger from my other allies. At the very least, can you agree not to go against the ghosts residing in my home until the mission is complete?" I asked.

Mr. Stages turned toward Mr. Harrison and then Mrs. Patterson, and all three nodded. "You've got our vow to refrain from acting against the spirits under your care, at least while they are in your service, but this agreement is negated if any of them allow their energies to be used by the dark forces. Sorcery is our greatest enemy and an enemy of the balance between dark and light. It can't be tolerated!"

"Agreed," I said, lifting my hand to initiate the agreement. Mr. Stages raised his, and the binding light was exchanged between us.

I caught the light, instead of absorbing it, then siphoned off just a small amount, creating a pendant that looked like a tiny figurine of Owen, and handed it to Cary.

"Present this to Orville. He'll know it's from me. Make sure he knows this is formed from my agreement with your coven that while in my service, while we seek to save Owen, they are safe from you."

He nodded, and from the green shade of his skin, he wasn't relishing the thought of facing the spirits in my home alone, though he'd be with Molly, but she truly was without powers.

"Molly, you must stay in my home until we return. The vipers took you captive, and the moment they realize I exchanged a golem instead of the real Owen, they will seek to take you back. I suspect if they do, they will murder you. The wards on my home and the spirits that dwell there will ensure no one has access to you."

She swallowed hard but nodded. "Okay, go. Cary, once you've spoken with Orville and have Molly safely tucked into our home, you should teleport to Illinois as well. You are a friend of Owen's. Instinctively, I believe that's something that will help him."

Cary nodded, then grabbing Molly's hand, he bobbed his head, and the two disappeared.

"Okay, let's go!" I said, but Mr. Stages stopped me again. He took my hand—something I don't think he did lightly—but held it briefly before he said, "There's no danger as great as when our emotions are involved. We can let those emotions cloud our judgment. You love Owen. I can see and feel that. We all fear that could lead to you becoming entrapped. Balthazar is one of the most dangerous entities on our planet, in our universe. He will seek any weakness to destroy you."

I nodded. "Okay, for this time, I will follow your lead and try to retain my objectivity. I will trust you because Owen is our priority."

He smiled and nodded. "Then we will transport first and manage any traps that've been set."

A light blinked brightly, and instantly, everyone was gone. I waited five seconds, then transported myself. The moment I landed, nothing less than carnage surrounded us. It was a trap, one the witches were all caught in. Those five seconds had saved me from being caught.

I waved my staff and stopped the Balthazar spell from killing the witches, but they were still covered in cuts and bruises. I swept the area with my staff, and probably because my anger was tied to the spell I'd cast, I eradicated all evidence of the magic that'd been here to hurt us.

Balthazar was powerful, but with the light my staff called forth, I was more powerful, and all dark energies needed to be aware of that.

Unfortunately, I hadn't arrived fast enough to save the two witches who'd been slaughtered sometime before. Mr. Stages and the others tended to their corpses.

An older Lincoln was sitting askew in the driveway. Owen had been in there. I could feel him. Something had taken him, though, and the moment I reached the wrecked car, I could feel the vampire. It was hungry. Crap, it was starving, and it craved Owen and the power he represented as the Re'em. All that was clear from the raw emotions that encased the area.

I really would need the witches, and when I turned around, the corpses had been sent somewhere else, and the area had been cleared of blood. The three witches appeared exhausted. Their injuries weren't helping them either.

"Come, let me heal you. We have many battles ahead of us, and I want you as healthy as you can be," I said.

Mr. Stages looked at me strangely. "You have the gift of healing?" he asked .

I nodded. "Yes, and the spirits of your late friends are letting me know they're willing to help you heal."

"Sorcery?" Mrs. Patterson asked aghast.

"No, this isn't sorcery. It's a gift from them to you. Hold still," I said, and wielding my staff, I used the energy from the late witches. Just like Owen's energy had given me strength when I'd created the staff, I healed the injuries of the witches.

I listened as the two spirits told me what to tell the others and laughed before they crossed the veil. "I was told to tell you all that you should, and I quote, ‘Kick that vampire's ass.'"

The three witches chuckled, but sadness permeated their reaction. I couldn't heal the sadness. I assumed they'd known these witches, by how they acted. Magic couldn't fix emotions.

That was a good though. All living creatures, magical or not, were meant to feel. It's what made us alive. The ghosts of the witches had also given me another message for their children. I'd keep that one for when the battles had been won and Owen was free.

I could envision the middle-aged witches who'd been the kids of the elderly couple the vampire had murdered. They had both shunned their magical abilities, which is why the couple had been out here doing something they were clearly too old to do. I couldn't fix that any more than I could fix the sadness my witch companions felt, but I sure as hell could avenge their deaths!