The Phantom Man

XXXII - The Kidnapping

Philip was riding his horse impetuously towards the village. He had a smile on his face for he was anxious to meet Verena by the big tree, their favorite spot. He had felt that Juan was quieter that day, as if the wizard feared something was coming. Earlier, the young man insisted on asking him if something was going on, but his master changed the subject in order to avoid his questions. On the next day, the boy intended to make the mage tell him the truth at any cost. But now, the only thing he really wanted was to be together with his beloved woman. He would leave all worries for tomorrow.

***

The reason for Juan's silence was the fact that he had started the arrangements to face Klaus, who could be nearby. He found the enemy's silence odd. It had been more than 24 hours since the warlock's creature had spotted him, and up to that moment he had suffered no attack. The mage knew that this time the fight would be far worse than the one they had years ago at the cave, before Klaus had imprisoned him. Besides, the wizard was running the risk of being killed in battle. But he was no fool, he knew that there were things in the Book of Souls that the evil man was unable to interpret. The worm still needed him. However, Juan was aware that once Klaus had learned them, he would destroy his life. At least, his adversary was not suspicious about Philip's identity. The young man would be kept safe this way.

There was another thing that Juan had to do soon: Tell the Phantom Man's prophecy to Philip and his role on that story. He would do so at the first opportunity.

***

The young man, at his hurry to see his girlfriend, didn't notice that a dark smoke was flying high above, which had already spotted him riding fast on his horse. The fog was following the young man to report every detail to his master afterwards.

A few minutes later, the prince recognized his beloved one and waved to her. She was gorgeous, and waited for him wearing a light lilac dress with a dark blue ribbon on the chest. Verena smiled and ran to meet him. This time, she was carrying a fawn kitten. Philip got off the horse to kiss her. After a while, she put the pet on the ground, since it was not happy to be squeezed between the two lovers.

While they were spending time catching up, the creature of the shadows descended from the skies and hid behind a tree in the woods to spy on them.

Philip kissed Verena's mouth for some seconds and then held her in his arms. Next, he saw the pet meowing to get attention.

"What a cute kitten! I didn't know you had one..."

"It's not mine," she said, smiling. "I found it on the way and decided to hold it a bit. Then I put it on the ground, but the kitten followed me here."

Philip held the animal in his arms. When he smoothed its fur, it arched its back. The prince felt a shiver running up his spine, and decided to put the cat on the ground. It fixed its eyes towards the woods and meowed loudly, seeming to be seeing something. There, the Doppelgänger was, lurking. The pet could see it among the shrubs, even though the creature was invisible to the couple.

Philip and Verena brooded at the cat's reaction, so they decided to check out. Would there be someone watching them? Maybe a royal spy...

They tiptoed towards the woods, passing over some tree trunks on the way. The creature was quiet, for it only wanted to gather information to pass on to Klaus, as it had been ordered. It didn't want to get involved into any unnecessary fight.

As Philip got nearer, he felt a change in his vision. He could at last see the Doppelgänger in all its ugliness. As if magic ruled his body, he lifted his arm towards the creature and threw it far away. The cat meowed nervously, its head following the monster's track until it hit a tree. After that, the pet arched its back, and its fur stood up. The animal assumed attack position and showed its teeth.