Spellcaster series #4: The Virtuoso

Secrets

TRISTAN

The auction was held at a grand ballroom of Lady Bernadette's villa on the outskirts of Orchidville. I put on a maroon vest over a white long-sleeved buttoned shirt with ironed cuffs. I slicked my hair back—something I had never done before—and wore a hat I borrowed from my father. I pocketed my wand in my black overcoat and, of course, put on my combat boots.

I glanced at my cell phone. No calls or messages from Heidi.

I teleported to Lady Bernadette's villa soon after I got ready. Jessie and Wynona were already waiting at a table. Jessie donned a black coat jacket over a white buttoned shirt whereas Wynona found herself a sequinned cream-coloured dress, her violet hair tied up. I could hardly recognise us.

"Vicky is in position," Jessie said, blue eyes floating across the grand ballroom.

Wynona casually caressed her husband's hand as she spoke to us, "If you spot him, don't engage. We need to identify him correctly without raising alarms."

I glanced at the door where Lady Bernadette had stationed a security team and Vicky was among them. She had a blonde wig on.

"She looks subtle," I remarked, eyes back to the stage in front of us. Wynona snickered.

"Would you rather that she give away her identity?" Jessie responded. I couldn't hide a grin.

I checked my cell phone for any messages or calls. Still nothing.

"Expecting a call, Sir Tristan?" Jessie asked.

I cleared my throat. "Just making sure I didn't miss anything urgent."

The auction began with Lady Bernadette thanking us for our overwhelming attendance. Almost all of the townsfolk were invited, all the wealthy ones, to participate in the charity event. Dr. Nicole did not join us that evening as she was on her night shift, I heard. Her fiancé, Jessie told me, stood by her mother in her stead. He had golden blond hair, neatly parted, and went by the name Captain James Hammett—a military man.

"See anything?" Wynona asked.

We were seated in the front row at a circular table; she, Dr. Pierce, Jessie and I. Wynona and her husband had their backs against the rest of the attendees in the ballroom while Jessie and I faced them.

"No sign of our Mystery Man just yet," Jessie uttered, eyeing a table of rich Vampires.

"Perhaps our intel was wrong," I remarked, glancing at the watch on my wrist. "Did you clarify with this Scout, Wynona?"

She dropped her violet gaze onto the cream satin cloth that draped over the table. For a moment, she was slightly unsure before she composed herself and cleared her throat. "We communicated through a telegram."

Jessie and I stared at her.

"You're telling us that you don't know which Scout sent you those photographs?" Jessie asked, bewildered. "Wynona that is—"

"I overlooked, I'm sorry!"

"Hey," Dr. Pierce interjected, grey eyes fixated at the door, "is that him?"

The three of us followed his gaze and noticed a man in a white coat jacket with a pair white slacks. He was shaking hands with Lady Bernadette and Captain Hammett. He wore the same hat as in the photographs. I tried to peek at his features from under it.

"See him?" Wynona asked, turning to the front and taking a sip of water from her glass.

The man tilted his head, exposing his blond goatee.