The Phantom Man

XXXI - The Hunt

At the Castle of the Absents, Klaus was making the final arrangements for the travel to search the last wizard still breathing on Europe.

"Let's get ready, Fratello. You know what? I'm really glad that there's still another wizard left alive. I don't care about the lie the seer told me. It's a chance to break the dullness that only the winners can taste," Klaus said, with a wicked smile on his wrinkled face.

The dark warlock took his sword, the staff he had stolen from Juan during the fight in the cave, a canteen full of water, and half a bottle of rum to warm himself during the cold nights of Germania. He and his servant got into a portal and then appeared on the other side, at the mage's grotto.

"Here's a good shelter for us, the cave of the stinky old mage. At least for now," said the sorcerer, looking contemptuously at the empty place where he hadn't put his feet for years. "I can still recall the horrible smell that emanated from those three bastards when they died! If I close my eyes, I can feel that stench of pus and rotten flesh..." He shook his head to get rid of the memory before he continued with an unpleasant expression on his face. "But let's forget about the wizard. He must be in hell by now. Let's go straight to business, shall we?" The Doppelgänger listened to him with attention. "As soon as you feel again the magic that you told me about, we'll go after the one that is using it. According to what you said, the person must be somewhere near here." Klaus stopped for a moment with his eyes closed. Something was different in that area, and it gave him shivers. "I'm also feeling a strong wave of energy approaching us. Go, now, Dark Fog of Death! Search for the warlock or witch that still lives, wherever they might be! Fly over every place, and track down on this country's skies the place where the magic is manifesting itself so that I can destroy its owner."

The creature nodded and then shifted itself into a black bird to fly over the region and search for waves of spell. The monster took off... A shadow among shadows. The warlock was left alone to his thoughts.

"Power... How good it feels to have it running through my veins!"

The warlock burst into a laugh, already having high expectations. The sound of his laughter echoed around the solitary cave as he engendered his wicked ideas. His thoughts were full of hunger to drain the magical powers of his next victim.

Many days went by, for the warlock's frustration. What he didn't know was that Juan, already anticipating that situation, had produced a spell that made Philip's magic undetectable for supernatural beings. However, Klaus' power had increased considerably over the years, becoming stronger than the mage had estimated. Thus, even if he was unable to locate the two men with precision, he could feel something magical around, which was worth the search.

During this period, Philip used the time to hone his art as a wizard, while he still had encounters with Verena every day after training. He chose not to tell her anything about the matter since he feared to cause problems to her and to himself as well.

One day, during the afternoon's early hours, Juan took the prince to the Dark Forest to teach him new spells.

"Here we are, in the place where all magical forces manifest themselves in their entire glory: Earth, water, and air together in a single place. Fire, due to its majestic and uncontrollable nature, can be produced through the combination of the other nature elements plus the power of magic."

Philip paid as much attention as possible to the mage's words and gestures. It felt good to deal with the power inside him. Deep in his heart, he already knew that he was born to be a wizard, or, more than that, the Prince of the Wizards, as Juan insisted to say.

"I want to learn everything, Juan!"

"Follow your instincts, boy. There's a huge power inside you ready to come to light. There is much power inside of you. As a son of a powerful wizard and a potent sorceress, you can absorb huge amounts of energy. Besides, only someone like you, a warlock by birth, is entitled to carry through the strongest spells. But you must use you power with wisdom. Now, observe the water's force."