At the back of the house, large barn doors opened to create a seamless entrance to the pool. The main house sat across the pool and up a large hill garden. People were everywhere. Every nymph, witch, and normie – a person who knows of Mythos but does not have magic - within a hundred-mile radius had come to the party to try to catch themselves a knight mate. There was a reason why the knights were so arrogant. They got whatever girl they wanted just because of what they were.
As we walked in, the room erupted with greetings. The music pumped from speakers hung in every corner of every room. Larger speakers surrounded the pool area. Professional bartenders attended both bars inside and out. Sexy servers either wearing bikini tops or shirtless milled around the room carrying trays of finger foods. To the left was a large lounge area where people sat and had conversations. The stairways were filled with people talking and laughing. The center of the room was the dance floor that was so full it bled outside. Everyone was wearing swimwear, which meant everyone was half naked. It was better than I ever could have imagined it.
Ivy and I exchanged a grin before we both went off our separate ways. Ivy went off to the pool, where a group of knights cheered at her entrance, falling over themselves to greet their lady. I thought Ryker’s head was going to explode. I went to the inside bar. There was a sign for their signature party drink, a frozen fruity rum and tequila concoction. I ordered that. Leaning my back against the bar, I waited for my drink and took a good look at the room. Witches who were dancing let their magic’s shed, creating a colorful light show. Fairies sold Otherworld mushrooms in the back corner. Then, my eyes landed on a pair of familiar faces.
I almost couldn’t hide my excitement as I walked up to the twins Roberto Romulus and Michael Remus. The great thing about most knights was their trusting nature, especially of me, an Emrys. Only a few select wizard families had ever been welcomed into the inner circle of the Order, and my family was one of them. Therefore, when approaching knights I’ve met before, I could count on never having to worry about starting the conversation first.
“Oy! Owen!” Roberto called me over. As I approached, they both wrapped their arms around me, squishing me between them. They had been doing that since we were kids.
“It’s an Emrys sandwich!” Michael laughed. I laughed and pushed them off me.
“That was quite a show though,” Roberto said, leaning in closer.
“Yeah, what do you think about that?” I asked, leaning against the bookshelf. The two exchanged a glance. They obviously knew something that I didn’t. These two weren’t great at hiding their thoughts. Not all knights had to be smart.
“We, uh, saw something,” Michael whispered.
“What?” I asked, wondering if he was serious.
“Michael.” Roberto elbowed his brother. Oh, now I had to know.
“Come on guys, you know me.” I shrugged. The two of them took deep breaths and then glanced around. They gave each other a long look. Roberto eventually nodded.
Michael leaned forward and whispered: “We saw Tobias Achilles use magic.”
“So he wasn’t bluffing,” I whispered. They both shook their heads.
“What kind of magic?” I then asked. They both shook their heads and shrugged. They didn’t know. My eyes caught a golden blonde head. I bet I knew who did, though. I excused myself from the twins and caught up to a sexy little blonde in a hot pink bikini.
“Elaina, it has been too long.” I approached her. She stopped and looked me up and down. I knew I was hot. Her aqua blue eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Owen Emrys, what have you been up to?” She asked, twirling a strand of her dark blonde hair between her fingers. She wore hot-rod red lipstick. By the way she slurred and the heaviness of her eyelids I could tell she was drunk. Sweet.
“Missing you. I was crushed when I heard your team transferred.” I knew Elaina Troy. She loved flattery and was, in fact, stupid enough to fall for it. When I found out they had transferred, I hadn’t cared even a little.
“I wanted to tell people, but it was all so hush-hush, you understand.” She said, leaning forward to set her hand on my forearm.
“Of course I do, can I get you a drink?” I asked, ushering her towards the bar. My fruity frozen thing was waiting for me. I handed it to her.
“Oh my gosh! I love these. I could drink like a million.” Elaina said, putting the hot pink straw between her lips.
“Oh, good to know.” I laughed. She sucked for a long time, longer than was comfortable. Once she drank half of it, she looked up at me with heavy lids and a sloppy smile.
“What were we talking about?” She asked.
“You were telling me why your team transferred,” I said. She put her finger to her mouth and shushed me, smiling and pulling my shoulders towards her.
“That’s a secret.” She whispered.
“Well, you can tell me, can’t you?” I asked, leaning my forehead against hers. She giggled and pulled away. Turning, she took a long moment to inhale her drink again. I nodded at the bartender to make her another one.
“It all started when Toby punched that Dybbuk.” She started. Shock radiated through me. He what? “So then, once he did that, everyone got really interested, especially his father. So then, the General had Toby touch a magicometer, and he scored at a hundred.” She gasped. I gasped too. Though it was lower than mine and much lower than Ivy’s, the average was around fifty. “Then the General talked Toby into transferring to the Mythos class at West Point. We just go there as civilians and receive Toby support training.” She rolled her eyes. “I guess that will be my job for the rest of forever.”
“What a waste of talent,” I assured her. She gave me a smile.
“You’re so sweet.” She hiccupped. Then her eyes widened, and her face lit up. “Oh my gosh! There’s Jenny! I have to go. Thanks for the drink.” She said and then bounced off to fall into the arms of an equally as ditsy brunette. That was fine, I had gotten what I wanted out of her.
I skimmed the room for a raven-haired beauty. I knew she had to be here. Electra Medusa was a party animal and she sure as hell wouldn’t miss an Orion party. Walking out of the main room, I found in the back of the house a bunch of knights playing pool. I nodded at them and then went up the stairs. There were three bedrooms in the pool house. The hallway was lined with couples making out. I didn’t see her there, so I went out to the pool. People were everywhere, lounging in chairs, dancing around the pool, in the cabanas on the lawn. A scream brought my attention to the pool. Ivy was sitting on Angus Orik’s shoulders. She was laughing as her entire body was lifted from the pool, even her feet.
“I’m so tall!” She shrieked. She did her work her way, and I did mine my way. Ryker stood in the crowd, glaring down at her as she wrestled down another witch sitting on Garret Percival shoulders.
I found my raven-haired beauty in one of the three Jacuzzi tubs. She sat with Natalie and a witch of the Qui Legacy, I believe.
“Ladies.” I smiled, ascending the stone stairs to the top of the tub. “May I join you?” I asked.
“Of course you can!” Natalie smiled up at me. I made quick work of the buttons on my shirt and dropped it on the ground. Stepping into the tub, I sat between Natalie and Electra.
“I’m Owen Emrys,” I said to the Qui Legacy.
“Qui Ming.” She smiled, shaking my hand.
“So what were we talking about?” I asked, leaning back and resting both of my arms on the tub.
“Well, we were discussing what happened today,” Natalie whispered and then gave me a guilty look. The worst-kept secret was the surreptitious meetings of the Order of Knights.
“It was something to see.” I nodded.
“You were there, weren’t you?” Electra asked, moving closer to me. She stared up at me with wide, deep green eyes.
“I sure was.” I grinned, wondering exactly how intelligent the Medusa Legacy was.
“Tell me, what happened to Excalibur?” She asked.
; “What do you mean?” It was always best to clarify with an opened ended question like that. Never say more than you have to.
“Well, I mean, it just shut off and went to that Le Fay Witch,” Electra said.
“Didn’t Tobias explain this?” I asked. Electra gave me a long look. He wouldn’t explain it. A lot of knights did keep some secrets, and if he didn’t tell her, then I sure as hell wasn’t going to. Natalie nudged me, telling me that what I was thinking was right.
“Speaking of Tobias,” I didn’t let the silence stretch too long. I was offering her an out from looking like an idiot, she better take it. “I heard he punched a Dybbuk.” I offered. She gave me a long look and then glanced around to the others.
“I mean, that’s crazy, right?” She asked, and then started to fidget with her hair.
“Toby punched a Dybbuk?” Natalie pushed. I knew I could count on her as an observant ally. She knew that Ryker had also punched the translucent and ghostly creature using his Pendragon magic.
“It’s not that big of a deal. Knights punch lots of things.” Electra laughed. I laughed along with her, following her lead for a moment. She was going to be tougher to crack than I anticipated. Maybe if we were alone, I would have a better chance, but I couldn’t very well do that without raising suspicion.
“You know, I ran into Elaina in the house.” I started the conversation.
“Oh yeah, she’s drunk off her ass.” Electra laughed and then her eyes caught mine. She knew what I was saying. She knew that Elaina had told me about Toby punching the Dybbuk and if Electra didn’t play along, I would keep asking questions, to anyone and everyone.
“Owen, have you eaten?” She then asked me.
“I’m famished,” I said, reaching for her hand. I helped her out of the Jacuzzi and then waited patiently as she dried off and pulled her deep purple cover-up over her head. We walked together down the winding path back to the pool and then into the house where the kitchen was filled with a buffet of food. I ate as we walked, not bothering to fill a plate, but just stuffing food in my mouth.
“To answer your question.” Electra started, grabbing a plate and starting down the line. “Yes, Toby can use magic.” She whispered.
“Do you know what that means?” I asked between bites. Electra shrugged, piling her plate with all kinds of expensive caviars and pattes.
“It means he can be king.” Electra shrugged. She grabbed mushroom puffs and lobster rolls. I took a few as well.
“How did he know?” I asked. Though every knight had to memorize the code, it would take someone a lot smarter than Toby to realize that they not only had magic but could also challenge for the throne.
“I don’t know. His father told him, I guess.” She shrugged.
“The General,” I muttered. She nodded.
I thanked her for her time and then rushed off. Finding an abandoned corner between two shrubs in the lawn, I centered my energy and opened myself to the universe, envisioning one incantation. Opening my eyes, I looked at my hands. They were gone. I had learned how to turn invisible some time ago but had wanted to keep that a secret, even from Ivy and Ryker. After some work, I could also make my clothes invisible too. It was all about magically bending the light particles away from me. It was an illusion of the eye.
Going back to the pool, I spotted Ivy having an intimate discussion with Tobias Achilles in the pool. They were seated on one of the long steps in the shallow end, their shoulders touching as they leaned into each other. She really did know how to make a brother suffer. Ryker stood in the background, surrounded by plenty of pretty women, but staring at her. It was tragic, really.
Back to work, I made my way across the gardens and up into the main house. Stepping through the outside wall into the house, the older people were milling around in their suits and cocktail dresses. Most of them were drunk. A Hercules Legacy, Agent Rogers’ father, was playing the piano while a witch sang show tunes. The air was thick with cigar smoke and the smell of brandy.
I explored the house, looking for General Achilles. After what Electra had told me, I needed to get to the bottom of this. Something didn’t feel right, and when the universe gave me a feeling, I had to go with it. The opulence of the pool house was nothing compared to the main house. There was no detail overlooked when it came to the ornamentation. Every piece of marble was craved or covered in some sort of pattern made from gold. I found the general in the study playing poker with the other knight leaders of the free world.
“That boy of yours should have as good of a shot as any.” One of the other men was saying.
“When I found out that Toby had magic, well, you could bet I was a little unnerved.” The General was a little drunk, his ruddy cheeks pink. A huge cigar hung out of the side of his mouth.
“But that is the sign of the king.” Another man said from across the table.
“Just too bad that Pendragon boy has it as well.” One on the end leaned forward and said. I walked around the table to stand next to the general.
“He’ll be taken care of soon enough.” A dark figure at the end of the table said. The only one of the men in the room I recognized was General Achilles, I had no idea who the others were. Unlike the other men in the room, this one radiated malicious energy. Though in most circumstances good people do bad things, there was a very small percent that was actually, what I would call, evil. The feeling this man was giving me was proving my theory.
“Yeah, Toby will show that Pendragon what it means to be a Greek Legacy!” Another man cheered. The General laughed and blustered with the others.
I kept my gaze on the dark man at the end of the table. For some reason, I felt . . . Terrified as I walked closer to him. My heart thumped in my chest as my gut clenched. Cold sweat formed at the back of my neck as I stopped just next to where he was seated. My intuition told me he was a knight, but he wasn’t quite right. There was something . . . Dastardly about him. He had olive toned skin, with brown hair styled professionally to part at the side. For all intents and purposes, he looked no different than the other powerful men who were in the house. Yet, I was having trouble controlling my breathing as my body tensed to either fight or run.
Suddenly the man turned his head as if to look straight at me. The room faded away from my vision as I stared into his entirely black eyes. No pupils, no irises, no white, just total blackness. His face slowly started to deform, his jaw becoming dislocated and hanging loosely, one of his cheeks bones moved higher then the other his skin turned a ghastly pale milk green color. His skin started to melt from his bones, falling in big globs onto the floor. I jumped back, and everything was back to normal. The group of men sat around the table, laughing and cutting up about the fight in the morning.
I gave the man at the end a long look, but he just sat and conversed with the others, like nothing had happened. Glancing around, I noticed the old man with long white hair and beard, wearing a black tunic, standing just outside the door. I hurriedly went to follow him. He was following a lady, pretending to party-boy-dance on her rear-end while slapping the air right above her bottom. I gawked at the scene, feeling like I was absolutely losing my shit. Was my mother’s curse actually cured?
The old wizard stopped and stared at me for a moment. He used his pointer and middle fingers to point at his eyes and then me as if he was asking a question. I nodded, telling him I could see him. He grinned widely and then waved me along to follow him. Turning, he disappeared through a wall. I jogged to keep up with him, following him into a bathroom. A group of rich middle-aged people was crammed into the party shower.
Rich people were so weird.
He led me through the master bedroom and then walked into the center of the room where a large area rug covered the floor. With a wink, he started to descend as if going downstairs. There must be a trap door. I followed him deep underground, wondering how we saw each other but not really caring at the moment. After what I had just seen, I was willing to do anything to put that out of my mind.
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We entered a wine cellar. I looked around, wondering why he led me there. I didn’t even like wine all that much. The old wizard in the black tunic went to the wall to the right and started to pull on wine bottles and then put them back.
“What are you doing?” I asked. He turned and pressed his finger to lips and then pointed to a corner of the room. A camera was bolted to the ceiling.
I turned back to the wizard as he pulled a wine bottle. The shelves started to separate, revealing a hidden door. Quickly, I followed him through, down another flight of stairs and into a gigantic room. It looked like a hanger in an aircraft carrier. The room was full of wooden crates. At the center, on a large marble pedestal sat a glass case with a floating glowing object in it. The old wizard led me to it and stood on the other side. Upon closer examination, I could see that the object glowing the pure white light was a ring. It was relatively plain with no diamonds or gemstones in the metal. It was just a gold band.
The old man stared at me over the glowing glass case.
“What is this?” I asked him.
“To rule them all, one ring.” He replied. I gave him a long look.
“Is Ivy the Queen of Sorcery?” I asked. The old man set his light blue eyes on me, and then glanced back down at the case.
“Lift the glass and find out.” He replied.
I felt an odd sort of trepidation. On the one hand, this old man had shown me the way to the Codex, he had cured me of the mental affliction of Merlin’s druid magic, gave Ivy the knife, and he had led Ryker to Excalibur. On the other hand, he killed my mother. The universe told me to trust him, and that was the only reason why I lifted the glass.
Master of Magic Page 5