Deli Witch

Plot Thickens, Part 2

"Sure, he overreacted," exclaims Cagliostro. "But still, was he not within his rights as a wizard to have done something about this abomination?"

He speaks to the same group of warlocks who attended the last 'Pure Wizards' meeting. Theseus, upset at the news of Tristan's guilty plea and sentence, had called for an emergency meeting to discuss this and the other topic making Wizarding World Headlines – the loss of Cassandra Damaris' powers and of her involvement with amortal. He had no difficulty getting the group to agree to a spur-of-the-moment meeting.

The hotels and casinos on the Vegas Strip are always full of wizards and other well-disguised magical beings, as they enjoy many of the same pursuits as non-magical beings. A group of wizards getting together while at one of these hotels would not be out of the ordinary. Given the short notice they were not able to book a room at a hotel on the Strip. Instead, they had to select a hotel a short distance away, which is always risky. A small hotel such as this rarely attracts a single wizard, let alone a dozen or more. To avoid attracting attention, Theseus had the attendees take special precautions. Any attempt to crash the meeting would result in the crashee finding him or herself transported to a rather unpleasant place.

Even with their precautions the meeting did not go unnoticed. Strange activity, such as the delivery of food and beverages to a room in which a solitary male had checked in, drew the attention of the night manager. After stopping at the door and listening for any strange noise the manager knocks on the door. After a few seconds he hears the scraping of the security chain and then the door opens. The young, slightly nervous-looking man who had registered for the room stands there, wearing a long bathrobe.

"Hi, what can I do for you?" Phaeton asks.

The manager notices the food and beverages stacked against the wall.

"Sorry sir, but I noticed some strange activity in the hallway near your room and I was just checking."

"Oh, well, nothing going on in here," Phaeton says. "Just trying to relax a bit. Have a busy day tomorrow, with an off-site meeting for my company. Unfortunately, we had to store some of the beverages and snacks here."

The manager notices the door to the bathroom is closed. Even though things appear to be in order, he asks, "You don't mind if I check the bathroom do you?"

"Uh, no, I guess not."

The manager opens the door and sees that the bathroom is empty. "Okay, sorry to bother you, sir. Have a nice evening."

"Thank you. You too."

The manager walks out and Phaeton shuts and locks the door behind him. He waits until the manager has passed out of the early warning enchantments he had set up in the hall. He turns to face the small closet next to the main door and slides one of the mirrored doors to the side. Stepping in he slides the door closed behind him. Instead of facing a solid wall he steps into a magically created dimension, complete with a very large conference table and matching chairs. Phaeton steps in just as Cagliostro asks his question.

Theseus disagrees. "However warranted his actions might have been, they have generated sympathy for the female. The initial shock and disappointment that could have helped our cause have been replaced with compassion for her plight, thanks to Mr. Kliest's actions."

Gaspare says, "Indeed. Instead of being a pitiful footnote in the annals of witches behaving stupidly she has become the center of attention for a large number of witches. Her choice has already caused a ripple effect. I have heard of other witches who are reconsidering their situation, thinking about following in this race traitor's footsteps."

Merillis shakes his head. "This is something that cannot be allowed to stand. We must make an example of them."

"Them? Or just the female?" Phaeton asks as he moves toward the conference table. "After all, she knew better. The mortal was, as far as we know, unaware of her situation and is innocent of any wrongdoing."

Merillis disagrees. "It does not matter. If we make an example of them both we will show the other witches that they will not be the only ones who suffer."

Phaeton agrees, "yes, we must nip this in the bud."

Someone asks, "Nip this in the bud?"

Phaeton says, "What? Oh, it's a phrase from some old TV show."

One of the older men speaks out angrily. "We of all people must refrain from using mortal references. It is bad enough we share the same language. Already some of our youngest are acting like the characters from those horrid Potter movies. This can threaten our very way of life."

"Yes, we should have hexed the author into writing horticulture books."

Phaeton says, "What do we do? Remember, the council frowns on any wizard taking action against mortals, especially this one and his ... consort."

Merillis suggests, "well, there is a way where WE can remain in the clear. There are lesser wizards who would relish the chance to go after a mortal. Others would love to go after an out-cast wizard just as a matter of principle. And there are non-wizards in our world who would love nothing more than taking their frustrations out on an ex-witch. Some might even do it for free."

Theseus agrees. "We can look into it and identify possible candidates. We can return here in a week's time to compare notes. Remember, be discrete with your inquiries. Be sure nothing can be traced back to us."