It’s almost midday, and Victor is looking himself over in the mirror. He starts putting the finishing touches on. A wooden box Victor bought to hold all his artifacts sits on the dresser next to his other larger artifacts. He opens it and puts on his watch, ring, bracelet, and tie clip. The dagger goes in one inside jacket pocket, and his silver card goes in another.
His silver card.
Where’s the card?Victor starts to panic. He looks all over his room. “Leo!” Victor shouts as he drops to his knees to look under the bed. Leo comes rushing in. “What? What happened?”
“The card Superior Charles gave me. I can’t find it!”
“It has to be around here somewhere.” Leo walks in and starts scanning Victor’s room.
“Ever since I started getting artifacts, I’ve been putting them in a wooden box I bought while I was on a layover in Costa Rica. And the card wasn’t in the box.” Victor starts tossing everything around.
“Found it!” Leo shouts happily.
“Fuck! Where was it?” Victor rushes over when he sees Leo holding it.
“It was in your shoe. It must have dropped there somehow.”
Victor sighs in relief as he takes the card from Leo. “Thank you.” He slides the card into his jacket pocket and pats it lightly. “Okay, I’m ready.”
They walk out of the hotel and head to the water. Victor notices a small boat docked. In the boat are two geishas. “We’re going across the lake?” he asks Leo.
“Sort of,” Leo replies.
Once everyone is seated, they head out into the water. Victor and Leo have to sit very close to each other because the boat is so small. Leo puts his arm behind Victor and looks out.
Victor’s heart races: he likes having Leo’s arm around him. Their legs rub against each other as the boat bobs through thewater. They hit a little bump, and Victor almost falls into Leo’s lap. Leo catches Victor, and they smile at each other. Victor sits back up, clears his throat, and fixes his jacket. He looks over and sees one of the geishas watching them. She gives Victor a little smile.
After twenty minutes on the water, Victor notices something odd directly in front of them. “Leo, do you see what I’m seeing?”
Leo lowers his sunglasses. “You mean the barrier?”
Victor looks forward and sees it’s getting closer. Once they pass through the barrier, Victor spots a small island with a temple. “I don’t remember seeing this on any map.”
“You still have a lot to learn about illusion spells and how to find hiding spots,” Leo says, smiling as he leans over the side of the boat, getting a better look at the temple up ahead.
Chiyo greets them as they pull into the dock and step out of the boat. She is wearing a cherry blossom-inspired kimono with a light blue obi belt. Her raven-black hair shimmers in the sunlight and flows by the gentle breeze. She smiles down upon the warlocks with her hands clasped in front of her. “Welcome to Yamada Temple. This has been in my family since the mid-to-late Muromachi Period.”
Victor looks around in fascination as Chiyo continues. “We had to use an illusion spell in the middle of the Edo Period to protect the coven and those who sought refuge from those who would harm us.” Victor follows Chiyo through the open-air temple grounds to a large open courtyard. “This, my young empath warlock, will be where your lessons on Water Magic will take place.”
Chiyo holds out her palm and creates a large ball of water. “You should be able to pick up Water quickly, as many of the spells are similar to Air.” She tosses the ball high into the air. It bursts and creates a rainbow as the water trickles down. “First,change into something else you don’t mind getting wet in. We don’t want Clarence to get upset with you for ruining his suit.”
Chapter Twenty- Three
Three days have passed, and Victor has been excelling at his lessons. He shoots water out of his hands by using the moisture in the air. Victor creates impressively high waves in the lake, higher than Chiyo anticipated. He conjures water bubbles and makes them dance around while one of Chiyo’s geishas plays thekoto. What was most impressive was when he created a dragon out of the lake and made it fly around, combining Air Magic to make clouds emerge from the dragon’s mouth for more dramatic effects.
Chiyo is very pleased with Victor’s progress. “Karl mentioned you were a quick study, but I must say, you’re almost a natural with Water Magic for being an air sign.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m an Aqueerius,” Victor responds.
Chiyo tilts her head to the side, “Aqueerius?”
Victor stops and laughs, “Aquarius. But because I’m gay, I say Aqueerius.”
Chiyo busts out laughing, “OH MY GODDESS! That is hilarious!”
After some good laughing to help calm the energy, Victor goes back to his lessons. As he goes through a routine of attacks, Leo sits off to the side, playing Riichi Mahjong with a few geishas. Of course, money is involved, and Leo isn’t happy he’s losing. When Leo thinks he will win, a basketball-sized water ball drops close to them, splashing everywhere.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” Leo shouts.
