Spellcaster series #2: The Acolyte

Land of Lost Souls III

TRISTAN

Vicky snarled. She barred her teeth. Her black aura shifted to bright red, pulsating immensely. I remained composed and ready.

"Why are we here?" I demanded.

Dean turned to me and put on an exaggerated jovial voice, "Tristan! It's been a while, hasn't it? I missed us, man. Remember the good ol' days?"

I stayed silent.

He pursed his lips, "You don't remember? I'll remind you. Remember Grandpa William? He was nice. He taught me everything I know. Whatever you know, I know better."

"Burn him where he stands, Embers," Vicky growled.

"Not yet," I replied. My eyes were still locked on his gaze. His black aura was beginning to pulsate.

"You see, Vampire, our dear Tristan here was trained to be a boring ol' Sage; following the rules, training other Spellcasters, wearing a fancy red coat with a little gem on it—you know, all that stuff. He's a good Spellcaster, sure, but that made him into a spoiled, entitled sorry excuse of a man."

Dean moved around us when he spoke. Then he looked around him and inhaled, "How do you like this place? I made it all by myself."

"Why are you doing this, Dean?" I demanded again. He turned to me, slightly annoyed.

"Tristan, ever the impatient. You know, your selfishness always gets you in trouble."

I grunted. "You're the one abducting us because you didn't get what you want."

"Abducting?" He raised his eyebrows and pressed a palm onto his chest, as if I said something wildly absurd. "Well that was Synto's idea—I'm just following orders. But you, Sir Tristan, get others in trouble for your impatience and selfishness. Even when you have a girlfriend, you thought only about yourself."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Tell me, Tristan, what happened the last time you saw her?"

"How did you know—"

"Didn't you make her go back to the Worldly realm with you despite her being banished from it?"

Vicky's voice was softer, almost hurt, "Tristan...you didn't tell me."

Dean let out a hearty laugh, "He didn't tell you? What a surprise! Selfish Tristan only thought about what was best for himself. Classic."

"Vicky, it's not like that—"

"It's exactly like that," Dean interjected, "I revealed myself to her in her mind. She didn't tell you that she sees me everywhere? She just thinks it's her trauma, so I became that little guardian in her head. I warned her about that police officer. I see everything that is happening. Heidi is starting to lose faith in you, old friend."

I felt the heat in my lungs. The current inside was dying to come out.

"And I see what you see in her, Tristan. Heidi is strong, resilient, stubborn—my kind of woman. I love watching her sleep...so innocent and vulnerable."

I pointed my wand and cried, "Electricus!"

Lighting shot out towards Dean but he immediately casted a dome around himself. The spell bounced off skywards.

In an uncontrollable rage, I teleported myself inside his shield and booted him from behind. He fell forward and swept my feet. I quickly teleported to his left. I swung a fist at his jaw and his head snapped back. He recovered and punched in the gut. I flinched and teleported myself out of the shield and fell to the ground.

He removed his shield and came for me. Just as I recovered, he had his hands around my throat but Vicky tackled him as quickly in one swift motion. They rolled away and I pushed myself off the ground. Dean raised his palm at her and she stayed on the ground. He did the same to me and I could not move a muscle.

The energy within me grew cold as it swirled my limbs, freezing me from the inside. Vicky's red eyes widened as she realised what was happening.

"What...did you do...to Heidi..." I struggled to speak through gritted teeth.

Dean laughed, "You're too easy, Tristan. So confident, bold and untamed. Too easy."

"I will...kill you..."

"You won't," his smile faded. "Isn't it a Sage's oath to not kill another human? You'd lose your title if you do. And technically, I'm still a human—"

"I highly doubt that."

"Tristan," Vicky's voice was curt. "Don't let him manipulate you."

Dean flashed a wide grin. "All I needed was you to be at your most vulnerable to weaken you. It's so easy to unhinge the Sage of Untamed magic. Don't worry, Tristan, soon it'll just be you and me."

I tried to channel my energy but it was too cold that it hurt like tiny pricks in my veins. I flinched.

"You see, I learned a new trick while you were busy playing detective. When you started showing great interest in that orphan, I knew I found your weakness. Since I can't get to your parents, I'll get to Heidi."

Dark clouds gathered above us as he shut his eyes. Then he cried, pointing his wand skywards, "Arcanum ul' Morphia!"

It was an odd mix of dark magic and a Practical spell of morphing. When I realised what—or who he was turning himself into, every ounce of my blood drained from my face. Vicky gasped.

Dean's ginger hair darkened into a brown hue, his yellow eyes shifted into a deep red. His clothes morphed into a long red coat and black slacks with a pair of black combat boots.

It was like staring into a mirror of a mortifying dream.

Dean whirled, "Did I get it right? Makes me less handsome, though."

Words escaped me but not for Vicky. "What are you planning to do? Replace him so you can be Sage?"

He laughed and I flinched. There was something about seeing yourself in someone else's atrocious manners. "Oh my dear Vicky, this isn't for the Sages. I realised that Heidi wasn't listening to me, so I thought—"

"You monster," Vicky snarled, her face twisted like she tasted poison.

He unfroze us. The coldness inside me thawed and seeped out of me. Vicky and I fell to the ground in a weakened state.

"Oh, and one more thing," Dean said, holding out his thumb and index fingers, "I'm not going to let you two get together and have a little tea party here while we're all hard at work. So I'm going to—"

He snapped his fingers and Vicky disappeared. I tried to lift up my head.

"She'll be fine," Dean waved me off. "If the djinns don't get to her first, of course."

Then he dematerialised as well, leaving me in the middle of a grimly enchanted forest, hopelessly numbed by the remnants of his dark spell.