“Our powers don’t work on the astral plane.”Victor looks around the forest.“Strange. I can see everything glowing, but you can’t. Maybe I’m more powerful than you. Maybe that’s why your powers don’t work.”
“I don’t believe you,”Derek sneers.
“Of course, you wouldn’t because you can’t read my thoughts. But I’m telling you the truth,”Victor claims as he crosses his arms.
Derek stands up straight and lifts his chin.“You figured out that I’m a telepath. What gave it away?”
“You did,”Victor responds without hesitation.“You made a couple mistakes while trying to apprehend me. First, it was when you visited me in Japan. When you came to see Leo, it was actually to see me. Yes, I heard you and felt your presence in Leo’s room.”
Derek rolls his eyes as Victor continues.“The second time was when you visited me at my apartment, trying to scare me away. After you left, Leo told me that you two hadn’t been together for a couple of years. But I don’t think you left. While Leo was talking about his broken relationship, I could sense someone’s annoyance. I couldn’t figure out where it came from because I focused on Leo’s sadness.”
“Maybe it was your neighbor.”
Victor just ignores Derek’s remark and keeps explaining.“The last mistake was when you visited me in the shower. You could have only done that if you had been in close contact with me.Superior Charles mentioned he sensed you when you and those witches tried to attack me and my friends. Then, to discover that telepaths can project their emotions onto empaths, causing them to rage out, I knew it had to be you.”
Derek looks unamused.“I don’t know who told you about how astral projecting works,but–”
Victor holds his hand up, cutting Derek off.“You can stop with the dramatics. Leo didn’ttell me anything. Superior Charles did. Leo gave me a little insight and a book to read. But Superior Charles went into great detail. He is the author of two books on the subject.”Victor studies Derek for a moment.“Something tells me that my apartment and my friend’s birthday weren’t the only times we’ve met.”
“No, it wasn’t,”Derek says.
“When was the first time we met?”Victor orders.
Derek fixes the cuffs of his sleeves.“Well, it looks like I have underestimated you. If you must know, I was there having dinner when Magenta came for you. I was there to knock you unconscious, but I was surprised at how strong your empathic ability was. And I was also caught off guard by how much stronger Leo got.”
Victor lowers his arms to his sides when it dawns on him.“You were the witch Leo went to talk to. He said it was another empath who detected danger. But it was you. I take it when you finally linked our emotions, you weren’t expecting something, which caused your surprise to be misinterpreted by Leo. And when he went over to speak to you, you lost focus.”
Derek smiles sadistically with the corner of his mouth.“Very good. You’re not as stupid as everyone thinks you are. Even though I saw his smug face, I wasn’t expecting Leo to come talkto me. That asshole threw me off my game and somehow your emotions fought back. But if I revealed who I was, I would have been bombarded with Leo’s questions. He’s a complete pain in the ass, I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking marrying him.”
Victor narrows his eyes and places his hands on his hips. “Are you done with the insults, Derek? Because I’m the one who’s free to move around, and I would hate to keep you here.”
“Oh, I’m shaking in my bush,”Derek says sarcastically.
Victor steps closer to Derek.“I think the biggest mistake was outside Superior Charles’ ranch. You knew you couldn’t enter his property without setting off any alarms. Were you trying to see if we figured out you were hiding in plain sight at the restaurant?”
Derek’s eyes widen.“How in the world could you have picked up on that?”
“My empathic abilities have been improving daily since I began practicing magic,”Victor remarks.“And Superior Charles knew you were close by. You were trying to make me rage while I was inside his coven. But you were too far away for me, and your powers were too weak even to work properly.”Victor takes another step closer.“But there is one more mistake you made.”
Derek crosses his arms, cocking an eyebrow.“And what’s that?”
“Letting me know that Superior Tederich is the one who’s after me,”Victor responds.
“Please, I didn’t tell you that,”Derek snorts.
“Of course you did. Why else would you tell me about his invitation to be part of his coven?”Victor smirks.
Derek rolls his eyes.“You’re an idiot. I didn’t tell you that Tederich is the one after you. He doesn’t give a shit about you.That’s why I’ve been trying, for years, to get into Superior Audrey Brook’s coven.”
Victor gives Derek a neutral expression.“You really think I don’t know when you’re lying? I know Superior Tederich is interested in me. Why waste the effort of sending me an invitation? Also, how else did he know where to send the invitation? He must have known your ‘husband’ was my mentor and asked you to find out for him.”
“How would you know if I’m lying or not? As you said, our abilities don’t work here.”Victor points down to the bush. The bush crawls up Derek’s legs like a snake wrapping around an animal.“What’s going on?”Derek panics.
“This bush is tethered to my empathic ability in the corporeal plane. The more you lie, the more that bush grows. A loophole, if you will,”Victor explains with a sneer.
Derek grows angry and balls his hands into fists. He throws up his hands as if he’s trying to throw fire at Victor. Victor takes a few steps back so as not to get hit by Derek’s hands. After several attempts, Derek pants as he regains his breath. He stands straight, fixes his tie, and smooths his hair.“So, it looks like there’s no way of getting out of this.”
“Oh, there is a way. You answer my questions honestly. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get out of here.”Victor puts his hands in his pockets.“Who’s after me?”Derek turns his head and looks off into the forest, snubbing Victor’s questions.“Well?”
