Jack Wilder: Sorcerer's Rising

A Wizards Calling

Chapter 19

The party was booming, the food was great, but Jack Wilder was having a crappy night. He lounged around the living room as people sang and danced with rejuvination. Thanks to Jacks “huge win” the light faction had gathered in masses at Wilder Manor to celebrate such a historic victory. To the oldest Wilder however, he felt like he had ultimately lost. With Jonathon Treswyler dead, the dark magician making Jack look weak, and everyone celebrating those facts, this was not a night Jack was hoping to remember. He had been asked multiple times by his two best friends to indulge in heavy drinking to help him forget, but Jack was honestly waiting for all the guest to leave, before he partaked in any consumption of alcohol with his closest friends.

The night of course had its perks, the ladies of the government were all there in their expensive dresses and skirts, which would make any young man excited about life. Dancing in the arms of his betroth and beautiful bestfriends certainly made Jack feel like a lucky man, but in the back of his mind those negative thoughts were swirling about frantically. Of course Jack had been introduced to several new Lords and Ladies that he had never been acquainted with before, but no one of major significance stood out to him. It seemed like half of hem were interested in being second or third wives to the Wilder clan, or consorts as they liked to call them. While Jack didn't have a problem with polagamy necessarily, he knew his heart only belonged to one girl, whether either of them knew that or not was inconsequential.

As the night came winding down, Theo showed up as the only member of the dark faction to make a public appearance after such a public and humiliating defeat. The giant smile on Theo's face said that he was glad the bastard died no matter what the rest of his faction thought.

With Theo being the last of the private party to show up, the powerful friends all sat around the private bar up on the third floor of Wilder Manor. The bar was a full one hundred eighty degree bar, and thanks to the fact in the magical world there was no minor drinking age, everyone was a little anxious to delve into something heavier after todays stressful events.

Victor, Veronica, and Brody were all downstairs sleeping after a long partying night, so this allowed the adults to not have to worry about the youngsters watching them set bad examples for future stress solving debaccles.

Samuel was the first one to break out the expensive old bottle of whiskey that had apparently been in his cellar since the eigtheenth century. After several drinks for everyone and an empty bottle, everyone agreed that it was definitely the finest bottle anyone had ever had.

Jack wasn't necessarily drunk, but he was certainly a little tipsy, “You know what I think? I don't think the dark magician was actually there today.”

Julian who was definitely not in the same boat as Jack, and completely intoxicated slurred out, “I don't know Jack, but when that spell connected with Jonathon's chess, he looked pretty real to me.”

Patrick and Theo looked thoughtful, but Samuel also interjected, “Besides he had to have been there to keep the shields up so strong.”

Jack shook his head, “I don't think so. Now that I have had sometime to think about it I think someone from the crowd was keeping up the shield.”

Gabriela took the inquisitive postion, “But why would you think that? He displayed such power, if that was just an illusion we all have bigger problems.”

Suddenly Jack's thought process seemed to hit Tatiana, “No I think Jack is on to something. If the dark magician never entered the pit doesn't mean he didn't enter the arena with everyone else. He was more than likely amongst the dark factions crowd of people, which would have made it easy for him to help keep up the shields while we were trying to take them down. Because I don't know if any of you noticed, but none of them were willing to lift a finger to help the USDA take down the barriers. What were you thinking Jack?”