Dark Moon - Michael Langdon

Part 2 - Hotel Cortez

"Esmeray, what happened?" Cordelia asks worriedly. "I felt your lifeline in distress, and before I could do anything, it vanished. What the hell is going on?"

I let out a long sigh. "Delia, calm down, I'm okay now. It's okay."

"Why is your phone going straight to voicemail?"

"It's kinda of destroyed. I just got home seconds ago, which is why I only just answered your call on the landline."

She takes a deep breath. "Okay, okay, I'm calming down. Just tell me what happened."

And so I do my best to give her a quick summary of everything that happened, from me dying to meeting Michael.

Once I'm finished, Cordelia sighs into the phone in astonishment. "You never cease to surprise me, Esmeray," she chuckles bitterly. I hear some movement from behind me in Michael's direction, but I pay it no mind as I continue listening to Cordelia. "No wonder my supernatural intuition was going insane. You were off getting murdered by some supernatural being greater than me, then resurrected from the dead."

With a chuckle, I ask, "So, Delia, any idea what the situation is here?"

"Not a clue," she replies earnestly. "This boy, Michael, is he a warlock by chance?"

"I don't know. He was saying that he hasn't exhibited any magical abilities yet, isn't that right Mi..." I trail off as I turn around to see that Michael has grabbed a banana out of my fruit basket and is in the middle of levitating it. "Well, looks like he has magical abilities."

"What's he doing?" Cordelia asks.

"Levitating a banana." Michael sends me a mischievous glance, and suddenly the entire fruit basket is levitating in the air. With an impressed nod, I add, "Now a basket of fruit."

"That's a very impressive progression of power," Cordelia says incredulously. "Sounds like he's very powerful, perhaps somewhere within your range."

"Do you think he could be like me? Something similar to a witch or warlock but not quite the same?"

"I'd put all my money on that," she agrees. "Something brought the two of you together, and I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with whatever the both of you are."

"Now we just have to figure out whatever the hell it is that the both of us are."

There's a pause on Cordelia's end.

"Delia?"

"About that... well, I suppose I have somewhere for you to start. I've been holding onto this piece of information, as I was unsure of when the right time was to tell you. Your mother, she really wanted to tell you herself, but she wanted me to do it for her in the event of her untimely death."

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's your father."

I stop dead in my tracks. My asshole father left my mother when I was just a baby, and neither of us have heard from him since. My mother firmly believed that load of shit had his reasons, but I've always been skeptical.

"Esmeray, are you okay?"

I quickly throw back on my casual demeanor as I reply, "Yeah, sorry. I'm ready when you are."

"Your father was from the Hotel Cortez.  When he left your mother, he explained to her that he had a girlfriend who was dangerous.  He said that if she found out about you or your mother, she would've killed you.  That's why he left." She allows for a pause before adding, "That is all your mother ever told me. I'm so sorry she didn't get to tell you this herself, sweetheart."