The Sorcerous Prince - 1. Chapter 1: The Prince and the Demon

Candavorum, Texas

The skies were gray in the Valley of Magic, and the rain cascaded down from the heavens. Mihai sat solemnly on a rock, facing his hometown, which was about two miles away. Normally, Mihai could not escape. He was not a prisoner, but his parents had always been protective. It was a dangerous world within a dangerous world, with or without the powerful shield around the entire valley. Candavorum was 15 miles from San Marcos, Texas in an area that most humans found undesirable. At 15 years old, Mihai was unusual. His classmates reminded him of this every single day, and he was tired of it all. His only friend from school, Carissa, was the only one who encouraged him. 'She's the only one. I'm nothing. I'm a disappointment to my whole family.' Mihai's medium brown hair looked more like a dark brown from the increasingly brisk fall of the cool October rain. His eyes, though beautiful as sapphires, were bloodshot and lifeless.

Mihai wanted one thing and only one thing, to be normal, or in other words, to have his powers. Mihai was a sorcerer, or at least he was supposed to be, but his active powers had not come. Generally, a sorcerer's power came into existence by the time he was twelve or thirteen, but at fifteen, there was no such sign of magical ability. Indeed, he was more or less mortal, at least for the time being. 'I'm the only one who hasn't ascended. I'm a joke.' It was rare for the descendants of witches and wizards to not have magical abilities by age thirteen at the latest, but poor Mihai could not use a wand or tap into a powerful gift. He felt like an alien, like he was all alone in a world which was not his own.

Lothario, Mihai's guardian fairy, whooshed past his head. Not thinking, Mihai swatted at the air, but Lothario fled upwards and was soon out of the teen's reach. “What do you want Lothario?”

“I've been looking all over for you? Why did you do that?” Lothario was quite mirthful at this point, but Mihai simply smiled, knowing that his shenanigan had the desired effect.

“I needed to get away for a while. At least I fed you.” The smirk on Mihai's face told Lothario that his protectee felt no guilt for his actions. Soon, Lothario landed right upon the teen's nose. His wings were raised, and eyebrows furled. “What are you doing? I just gave you a little of the Draught of Slumber on your food. I just wanted time alone!”

“You know the rules. You are magical, Your Highness. I wouldn't be with you if you weren't!” The fairy was no less livid as he plucked an eyebrow hair just above Mihai's right eye.

“Achoooooooooooooooo!” Mihai sneezed, and even though the air from Mihai's nostrils had little effect, Lothario fell from his protectee's nose. Recovering quickly, the fairy flapped his magical wings and landed on his previous perch in order to continue his lecture. “Please, don't do that again, Lothario. I won't do it again. I promise!”

“That's what you said last time, Your Highness,” the dark-haired fairy cried. “I love you, but you hurt me sometimes. You know that the only times I leave your presence is when you bathe and when...”

“Don't you get it!?” Mihai grumbled. “I need more time ALONE. This is my safe place, and you know it. Just please leave me alone!”

“What's this?” a cold, bass voice roared. Neither Mihai nor Lothario could see the source of the voice. “There's a fairy protecting a mortal, one whose parents are likely magical. I think some destruction is in order.”

“I suggest you leave now,” snapped Lothario in righteous indignation. “I wouldn't like to send you to the underworld with a missing head.”

The bass voice cackled. “Do you really think I'm scared of an itsy bitsy fairy? Think again. I suggest you leave instead, Lothario. Oh yes, I know your name. I know yours too, Prince Mihai. Yes, I believe my boss would love to bring you into the fold. There's a great potential in you for power. It's just a matter of time, and we could use someone like you.”

“I would sooner die than join the likes of you!” Prince Mihai spat.

“No one will die so long as you join me now, young prince. You will love the dark side. We'll show you how to harness your powers to great potential without all those silly rules holding you back. If I'm not mistaken, you are going to be the strongest wizard in a thousand years.” The demon was now visible. He had black hair and red eyes with the palest skin Mihai had ever seen. Mihai panicked. He knew this was no ordinary demon. Rather, this demon was there on the orders of the Demonic Emperor. “My master wants you.”

“Over my dead body!” Lothario warned. The fairy raised his wand and pointed it at the demon's chest. A burst of fairy dust shot out of the wand, the desired effect being that the demon would be launched into the trees behind him. Unfortunately, the blow had no effect as the demon did not even stagger when the blast collided with his chest.

“You are trying my patience, little one!” he screeched in disgust. “Out of my way!” The demon pointed his finger at Lothario and a blast of fire was blasted in the magical creature’s direction. Lothario swiftly moved to the left, but the projectile was then aimed directly at the seemingly powerless prince. From the darkened sky above, a beam of blinding light descended upon Prince Mihai in an instant. The fire blast ricocheted once it touched the light. Its trajectory clipped the branch of a mesquite tree just above the demon's head, and the branch fell to the ground, missing the demon by mere inches. “Curses! I'll get you next time. Count on it, Mihai!” With that, Mihai could see the demon disappear in a plume of fire and smoke.

“Get me out of here, Lothario!” Prince Mihai wailed. Lothario nodded, and landed on Mihai's right shoulder. Aiming his wand into the air above him, Lothario shot another blast of fairy dust, which trickled down upon them both. In an instant, Prince Mihai's bed chamber appeared and surrounded him. Lothario, drained from overuse of magic, fell off Mihai's shoulder. Luckily, the spell had taken them directly to Mihai's bed, which made the fall less dangerous. Mihai stood up, turning around to face his bed. Down to his knees he went, and he leaned forward to speak to the incapacitated fairy. “Oh Lothario, please be okay! I will never run away again. I promise! Just please be okay.”

“You really mean it?” the fairy whispered. “You know I'll hold you to it. I don't care that you go through the woods and closer to the rocks you love so much. You just have to take me with you. Of course, that's only after we eliminate that demon.”

“Lothario, I don't even want to go back there at all. That was no ordinary demon. It was one of the demon king's personal guards. He is very powerful. Did you see how your fairy dust had no effect? Only a powerful sorcerer, well maybe even wizard, can defeat him. I'm powerless, so that's definitely not me. I don't understand. Why would he want me?” Mihai felt more confused than he had ever felt before. A brilliant young man, he could almost always figure out a puzzle, but he had no clue about this. Demons rarely collected sorcerers or wizards. Demons were known for collecting other special humans like vampires, werewolves, and werecats. He was none of these, and it was an order from the demon king himself. “I know you're wondering how I know. Only a demon within the Demon King’s inner circle would be completely unaffected by fairy dust. Killing a creature like that takes an advanced potion. He will be back and probably when I least expect him.”

“We must tell your mother,” Lothario said firmly.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Mihai added. “There will need to be increased security measures, mostly added security detail. Unfortunately, they will follow me constantly.”

“Your safety is paramount. It may be inconvenient, but we cannot risk your safety, nor can we risk you going to the underworld.” Lothario was the only one who knew just how important his charge was. He was told not even to tell King Frederico or Queen Viviana what he knew. It was difficult for Lothario to hide the truth, and even with the added measures of secrecy, the demons knew just how special Mihai was. The Prophecy of the Princes had long been foretold, and he was one of those princes. In time, Mihai would have great power. He and the other prince, Pavel, would be the most powerful wizards in over 2000 years. However, for the time being, they were to be protected, for neither had yet ascended. Lothario, along with the rest of the fairies knew, and the witch who made the prophecy may have had a good idea. The prophecy had even foretold the ages of ascension. It was a closely guarded secret, and Lothario was well aware of this, and he was under orders to lie or omit a great deal of the truth if pressed concerning the issue.

Mihai made his way to the potions lab where his mother, Queen Viviana, would most likely be. Although the Grand Palace of Candavorum had a team of potion makers, Queen Viviana was a master potion maker. It was perhaps her greatest passion aside from her family. Even though her marriage had been prearranged, she was madly in love with her husband, and her son was the light of her life. “Hello son,” she said sweetly. The queen was then stirring her favorite potion, The Elixir of Longevity, by hand. The potions lab was not ornate like most of the palace, as it was designed as a work area rather than a place where any of the palace's royalty might be.

There were three wooden tables with four chairs each. The tables were for chopping ingredients for the potions. There were seven lighting fixtures, each with half-circle coverings. There was one light over each table, and the remaining three were over the specially designed electric potion stoves. Each stove looked like one you would find in a normal kitchen but with only one large grill in the center. The controls on each had nine settings as well as a setting for each size of cauldron. The cauldron sizes were one-gallon, two-gallon, three-gallon, five-gallon and ten-gallon.

“I have something to tell you, and you're not going to like it. I suggest you have one of the potion makers take over for you, mother,” her son cautioned.

“Melva, can you stir this potion?” Queen Viviana inquired, though it was easily understood as a command.

“Of course, Your Majesty,” the redheaded maiden replied. “It would be my pleasure.” Melva said this most sincerely. It was her favorite potion as well, and she had always enjoyed making potions just as much as the queen.

The blond-haired queen was wearing a lavender witch's robe with sparkling jewels and wore a 24-karat gold tiara upon her head. Her eyes were a much darker blue than those of her son. Queen Viviana led her son and Lothario into a small office beside the potion room; that of the master potion maker. It just so happened that she had conveniently given herself that title. Picking up a pen, the queen began to write on a small notepad, one of the few human items the queen ever purchased. Queen Viviana sometimes laughed to herself when she thought about the Harry Potter series and how witches and wizards used quills with ink and parchment.

“What happened?” the queen asked simply.

As her son began to tell her about the demon beyond the woods, the queen remained stoic. Mihai had always admired this ability, but he was more emotional. He knew this was something he must overcome, and he was obviously fearful as he recalled the tale of the demon. “I don't know what that light was, mother. No one has ever told me that something like that was even possible. I know I didn't create it myself.”

“It is a beam of light that only the gods can create,” she said, not being able to help the smile on her face. “There is no greater honor they can bestow. Do you know what this means, Mihai?”

“No, I don't,” Mihai whispered as he suddenly felt himself wincing at the idea that the gods would bestow such an honor on someone so undeserving. “What could be so special about me?”

“I have my suspicion as to what it might mean, son,” the queen assured him. “They have chosen you for something special indeed. There is a prophecy, and if you are one of the two princes in the prophecy, you are likely the eldest. It was foretold that the gods themselves would protect you with their beam of light more than once. I cannot tell you anymore about the prophecy until I know for sure, but you must know that only someone quite special can ever receive such protection.”

Lothario had been sitting on his charge's shoulder and remaining silent, but he decided it was his turn to speak. “Your majesty, I can neither confirm nor deny whether the prophecy in question is in regard to your son, but I can tell you that he will be ascending soon. I do not have an exact date, but I do have one in mind. My biggest concern is the demon. It takes a powerful one to break through the Barrier of Candavorum, and this one has not only done so but eluded your powers in the process.”

“He did not allude my powers!” Queen Viviana snapped. “My power is most effective within a 1-mile radius. Beyond that I can only detect that there is a demon within a 10-mile radius, and demons are often outside the barrier trying to break through. I thought that was what this demon was doing.”

“Your Majesty, please forgive me,” Lothario replied, his sincerity quite obvious. “I know there are limitations. I simply figured that a demon that powerful would alarm you more.”

“It does,” she replied, this time with an apologetic tone. “He'd been outside the barrier at some point. I have no idea how he penetrated it. The barrier goes deep inside the planet. If I remember correctly, Frederico made sure that the barrier reached down to the region where the mantle ends and the outer core begins.”

The mantle was a magma-rich layer below the Earth's crust. It was 1,800 miles thick and was the largest percentage of the planet's volume. The outer core was the layer below the mantle. Thus, the barrier the king had created was the most extensive in the world and would have killed most demons. Furthermore, it could not have been penetrated without the king or queen knowing. Essentially, there was a demon invading who could withstand the heat of the planet's outer core, which reached temperatures of well over 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as over 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit in the inner regions.

The queen had thought about how a demon could get around the barrier, and she knew of very few who could manage such a feat. “He has to be one of the generals. The Demon King gives his generals extraordinary powers, because they have dominion over the armies. There are only ten generals, and they also have high positions in the Demonic Nobility. He is probably a marquis or a duke.”

“But why would the demon king want me?” Mihai gasped. “I don't even have powers yet!”

“On the contrary,” the queen replied. “I've seen you use portal rings. If you had no powers, you could not use magical objects. I know you will ascend too, and I believe that you are going to be one of the most powerful sorcerers in many years. Don't look at me like that. There are only two reasons that a youngling does not ascend on time. Either you are going to be very powerful, or you're not going to have any power at all. We can easily rule out the latter, because you have your guardian fairy. Guardian fairies do not protect nonmagical descendants of witches and wizards.

“Now, let's address another issue. This demon will return. The Demon King's generals are known for their ferocity and determination. He will not be welcomed back into The Underworld until he succeeds in capturing you. He will have three chances. If he fails a third time, the Demon King will kill him. I will be working on your personal security detail, and it's not optional, so don't even think of arguing. We have relaxed your security up to this point, but now that we know a demon is after you, you will have security at all time. I also want you to carry a wizard's sword. You may not be able to use it fully, but a demon will suffer tremendous injuries if cut or stabbed by a wizard sword.”

“They already make fun of me at school,” Mihai whined.

“They will one day regret it when you are the most powerful wizard Candavorum High School has ever seen.”

“I'd like to believe that Mom, but they still don't like that I'm a prince.” Prince Mihai had always been a pessimist, trait he shared with his father, King Frederico. “They will never like me.”

“Teenagers can be mean,” Queen Viviana said dourly. “You just need to show them that you are just like everyone else, because you are.”

“You know I'm not like them,” Prince Mihai grumbled. “They don't even know my biggest secret.”

“I'm sure there are others, Mihai.” The queen actually knew of some. Not only was she the queen, she was active in the community. Everyone knew and loved her as their queen and as their friend. Mothers always talked about their sons, and more than a few had told her that their sons were gay. While the queen had not mentioned the same of her son, she was always willing to listen and support them. In the magical community homosexuality had always been accepted, though it was preferred that witches and wizards end up with members of the opposite sex. This was especially true for anyone in the Wizardly Nobility or Wizardly Royalty.

“I hope you're right about that, Mom,” was all he could say in return.

San Marcos, Texas

General Typhus entered the local strip club called Knockers. Knockers was a chain of strip clubs that featured women with large breasts. It was one of the demons' front, one that also was a major source of income in and of itself. At a table in the back of the club, there was a dark-haired man wearing a black Armani suit and a pair of high-end sunglasses. General Typhus strode toward the man's table with a confident stride. He was arrogant even in failure. The mysterious man stared at General Typhus with apparent disdain with his lips and forehead furled.

“You have failed me, you fool!” The Demon King's voice was so acidic that even the arrogant General Typhus winced. “You are the only one who can tunnel beneath the force field. I need Prince Mihai, and I need him now! You know I already have General Diphtheria seeking Prince Pavel. I have no doubt that she will succeed the first time. She has a lot more defenses to contend with, and she's on the wizard planet. Do you have any idea how disappointed I am in you? You are my son. You are supposed to be the next Demon King. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“He was protected, Father,” General Typhus replied indignantly. “There was some kind of force field. It came down from the sky.”

“The gods, no doubt,” The Demon King said with a sigh. “They are protecting him. My son, you will have to lure him. You also have to be wary of the queen. I have a copy of her schedule and that of the king. He is much more vulnerable when she leaves Candavorum. Keep in mind that she will increase his security. You'll have to take out some guards and find a way to get him to leave with you 'voluntarily'.”

General Typhus greedily accepted the documents from his father. He smiled as he came across several days in which both of the royals would be away from Candavorum. He also wanted to know who else might be special to Prince Mihai, because that would help him set the trap. He knew that capturing someone special to him would likely make him go along. General Typhus also wanted to figure out a way to bring some of his army along with him to capture even more sorcerers, witches, and wizards. He did not know his father's intentions for Prince Mihai or Imperial Prince Pavel, but he suspected that he wanted to subjugate the Great Duo to his service to conquer Earth and the magical planet, Hebalon. The Demon King had been reading his son’s mind, and he added, “Yes, son! That is exactly what I want to do. Their power is tremendous. We need them as demons, and you should take some of your army with you. However, make sure they operate quietly. We wouldn't want to alarm them.”

“I have no intention of alarming them, Father.” Anyone else who would have heard his tone was likely to have cringed at the ice in his voice. He felt no need to talk about his intentions, because The Demon King knew very well what his son wanted with the magical people of Candavorum. While the great wizards and witches were supposed to protect the world from demons, there was a great deal of hazard in the job. The unspeakable deeds committed by demons were stories of woe that wizards and witches passed to their children, knowing full well that their offspring would encounter many demons in their lifetimes.

Candavorum, Texas

Prince Mihai was sitting on his bed, reading Magical Weapon Defense Tactics: Volume II. He had been practicing with wizard swords since he was ten, but he wanted to find any new ways to use them. The book did mention defensive techniques for younglings, but the vast majority of the book detailed the theory and practice of using magical swords to create shields with one's gifts. It detailed many different gifts and how they could be used to power a magical sword's defensive capability. A gift was a power that a wizard could use effectively even without a wand or magical weapon. Mihai hated being a youngling. He wanted to be a sorcerer, an apprentice of magic. At this point, all he could do was use magical objects but only because they recognized the magical blood in his veins. If a mortal human were to touch such an object, the result would be instant death.

Lothario was asleep in his tiny bed on top of the windowsill of the largest window in the young prince's bed chamber. This was one of the few times that Prince Mihai felt he had any time alone, because the fairy was his almost constant companion. Mihai, however, was thinking nothing of Lothario as he was deeply concentrating on the book that might hold answers to his questions.

A rap at the door interrupted Prince Mihai's concentration, and he sighed to himself before he grumbled, “Come in.”

A teen entered the room, one of several potential familiars in the palace. Prince Mihai could not help the stiffening member in his boxers, and he was glad that he was hidden under his satin sheet and warm blanket. The potential wizard familiar was sixteen, with lustrous, thick golden blond hair and piercing hazel eyes. His skin was nicely tanned, and he had a perpetual smile that could warm even the coldest of hearts. “Is there anything I can do for you, Your Highness?”

'Yeah, I can think of lots of things you can do for me,' he thought. Still, Prince Mihai was not ready to do this, because he knew the implications of having sex with a potential. Even before ascension, such a connection would be very strong and would last throughout the familiar's life. “Everything's fine Fabian,” he lied. “I'm just reading this book. I'll be going to sleep soon. I'll be fine.” Unfortunately, he was anything but fine. He yearned to have his first potential familiar in his bed. He knew what would happen, and he also knew he would feel guilty for creating such a tie. Prince Mihai had always thought that wizards often used their familiars and did not give them the love they deserved. It was expected for wizards to form relationships with other magical people, preferably members of the opposite sex, but familiars had always been mere 'play toys' according to his history teacher. “You can go. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Alright, Your Highness,” Fabian replied, and Mihai could not help but notice a faint sadness in his voice. He knew what Fabian wanted, and he wanted the same thing, but it was not the right time. As Fabian left, he fought back his tears. Fabian had probably felt rejected as he had been wanting Mihai to make it official for months now. But Fabian was special to him. He did not want to feel as though he had a slave, and he knew that Fabian would essentially be just that. He placed a bookmark between pages 123 and 124 in the book before turning off his lamp. He lay in his bed with a dark cloud over his heart as a few tears rolled down his cheeks. Finally, after an hour or so, he had finally cried himself to sleep