Page 60 of Twisted Fates
Me: I’m in trouble. My ex is a vampire and has captured me. Help me if you can!
I didn’t have time to wait for his reply before the car landed with a jarring thud, and the driver’s door was ripped from its hinges.
“Now, come to me, and let me taste you again!”
Chapter forty-five
Damian
Fear 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 vampiresso 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,ourOwen 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.
