The Sorcerous Prince - 10. Chapter 10: New London

Mihai went to his bedchamber and packed an extra robe for the next day as well as a pair of pajamas in case he needed them. Fabian entered the room as well, and he had already packed an overnight bag of his own. “I'm coming too,” he said emphatically. “Oh, I almost forgot to give you this.” Fabian gave Mihai the key to the King's office.

“Thanks,” Mihai replied simply. “And of course you're coming too,” he said with a wry grin. Fabian could often sense his bonder's plans, so it was not surprising at all to Mihai that he had packed a suitcase as well. In the magical world, suitcases were usually made of dark dragon leather. While the creatures were often controlled by dark witches and wizards, those on the light side loved to use them for luggage. Not all dragons were aligned with the dark. Many were either neutral or on the light side, just like magical people.

Neither had bothered to close the door, and Mihai glanced toward the doorway when he heard some footsteps. As he looked, he saw that the source of the footsteps was his mother. “Come on in, Mom,” he said in a friendly tone.

“Thanks,” she replied. “So where are you two going with Prince Pavel?” Mihai explained where they were going and why. “That sounds like a great idea. I would join you, but I have a meeting with the National Citizen's Council today. Why they insist on meeting with me on a Saturday I do not know, but I try my best to keep the masses happy.”

“That sounds like fun,” Mihai said sarcastically.

“Not really,” she said dryly. “Anyway, be careful there. I know you'll likely be arriving through the private portal, but I must warn you that I've heard that there is a spider nest somewhere under the city. The Empress was telling me about it, and she'd asked if I could check it out. No one there seems to be able to sense demons. Then again, it is a rare gift.”

“I'll keep that in mind, Mom,” Mihai said firmly. “Spider demons are among my least favorite. Of course, the ones I hate the most are the snake demons.”

“I have to say I agree with you there,” she quivered. “Fabian, I know I don't have to say this, but take good care of my son and Prince Pavel while you're all away.”

“I will indeed, Your Majesty,” he replied most sincerely.

“Mother,” Mihai said suddenly. “How about you join us after the meeting?”

“I would, son,” she crooned. “But your father should be home in the morning, and I would like to be here when he returns.”

“Very well, Mother,” he said, not able to hide his disappointment. He always liked to travel with his family, and this would be his first visit to the planet, Hebalon. He knew he would be fine, because the Empress and, more importantly, her guards would be there, though it would still have been nice to have his mother with him. Before leaving the room, he gave his mother a hug and a kiss on her cheek.

Pavel had already left his room and had taken a seat on a beautiful blue French-style sofa in the parlor beside the family dining room. The parlor was within plain view from the staircase, so Mihai and Fabian headed toward it after walking down. “Are you ready to go?” Mihai asked enthusiastically.

“Where are we going?” Pavel asked suspiciously.

“It's a surprise,” Mihai snickered. “You'll like it. I am rewarding you for completing your day of training so quickly. And I think you need this after the long week you've had, so follow us.” Even though they were close to a stairway, they did not use it, instead going to the staircase in the other end of the palace. This would be Mihai's first trip through the portal since ascension. It was one of the objects he could not use beforehand. Speaking again to Pavel Mihai ordered, “Place your hand on the right side of the orb since you do not know the destination.” Pavel did not question the order, and the portal opened as soon as they touched the magical orb. Quickly, they all walked through the portal.

New London, Katala

To the three travelers it felt as if they walked from one side of the portal to the other, but this was a special illusion that some smart witches and wizards had created centuries earlier. When the portals were first discovered, anyone using them was exposed to the high G forces of wormholes. It was traumatic for many, so there was a plan to make it easier. The powerful spell was cast on each portal that caused anyone who entered to fall into a deep trance in which they forgot the psychological trauma associated with wormholes. Fortunately, the wormholes did not cause any physical harm whatsoever.

Mihai exited the portal first, and he was not in the bowels of a palace. This palace had its portal in plain view on the ground level. Pavel was the second to exit, and the familiar ornate palace was one he recognized instantly. The walls contained gold, and everything aside from a few murals and pictures on the walls and the light bulbs in the grand fixtures were made of various combinations of gold, silver, platinum, and diamonds. “Wow!” Mihai heard himself say. Royal palaces were ornate, but this was opulence to the extreme. “This is what an imperial palace looks like.”

“You act as if you've never seen one,” Pavel groused.

“Surely, you've noticed that my home is quite humble in comparison, even though it's considered one of the most beautiful Royal Palaces of Magic on Earth!” Mihai snapped back. Someone had heard them, and they could hear the clacking of heels upon the golden floor, which seemed to be resistant to the wear and tear of shoes. Not a single scuff mark or speck of dust could be seen on the floor. The footsteps grew closer, and a woman appeared.

“Mom!” Pavel yelled with glee as he sprinted toward the Empress. She caught him in her arms and held on for dear life.

“I didn't expect to see you so soon,” she said tenderly. “This is the best surprise I've had all week.” Still holding her son in a hug, she looked over at Mihai and Fabian. “And I see that you did not come alone. Why don't you two come over here?” Soon both teens had joined the mother and son in their hug. “It's nice to see you too, Mihai,” she had said just as warmly. “Let's go into the parlor and talk.” With that they untangled themselves, and Empress Guadalupe led her visitors into another ornate room with fancy British furniture, which was appropriate considering the name of the city. The furniture too had slivers of real gold woven into the fabric. This could only be done by magic, but Mihai and Fabian were both impressed.

“So what brings you to New London, My Empress?” Fabian inquired.

“Some of the imperial government offices are here as well,” she replied plainly. “Jevartus is not enough, so New London became a secondary capital centuries ago. Has Mihai failed to tell you this? He would have known. It is required learning at the magical schools on Earth.”

“I hadn't had a chance to explain it to him,” Mihai admitted. Turning to Fabian he added. “The headquarters of the Council of Nobles is here along with the headquarters of the Imperial Police and the Ministry of Finance. There are others, including secondary offices, but those are the main ones.”

“Very good,” the Empress said proudly. “You seem to know quite a bit, Mihai. I'm actually having my weekend leisure to such extent as I can, but the Council of Nobles wants another meeting bright and early on Monday morning. The Imperial Chancellor of Katala does, however, wish to see me today.” With those words, she had a big smile on her face. 'Yeah, she's got more than a business meeting on her mind,' Mihai thought. There were 12 kingdoms on the continent. New London itself was not part of any of them, but it bordered only Andalora, which was where all suburbs of the capital could be found, and it was the capital of Katala as well as the secondary capital of the empire. Mihai was no stranger to cities that served as capitals for more than one entity as Candavorum was the capital of The Kingdom of the South as well as the Magical Capital of the Americas even if it was a much smaller city than New London.

Fabian seemed especially curious about the members of the Council. He asked her what they were like, who she liked, and who she disliked. The Empress' assistant, Gretchen, walked in while they were talking more about the council. “My Empress, there has been another attack. A young mortal woman named Elizabeth Anderson was attacked by a small group of spiders. It seems that their leader was on the scene.”

“Not again!” Empress Guadalupe lamented. “They're not even attacking wizards and witches. They're such cowards.” This hurt the Empress, and with daily attacks since she arrived in the city, it was just too much. While she was expected to keep her emotions under control, the spilling of innocent mortal blood by demons deeply disturbed her, and with the latest news, she could hold back her tears no longer. “Everybody out,” she commanded. “Except for you, Mihai.” Quickly, Gretchen and the other two boys rushed out of the room, and Gretchen closed the door after ushering Fabian and Pavel away. There was no questioning the Empress when she made such an order. “I'm sorry, Mihai. It's just too much. There have been dozens of attacks, many of them deadly. We cannot find their nest. I was thinking that you might have the power to find them.”

“I had not noticed any demons in and around Candavorum, and neither has my mother as of late, so I haven't had a chance to find out until now,” Mihai said with a heavy heart. “I can feel a presence here. The numbers are great. They've been spawning for a while. If I'm not mistaken one of the generals must have left. It would seem, from my understanding of demons, that a general leaving the main nest with her army is an act of treason.”

“That is correct,” the Empress said bitterly. “Believe it or not, The Lady Black Widow has indirectly contacted us and said that we are more than welcome to kill this rogue general and her spawn. She even stole some of the males, and as you know they become the female's meal after reproduction, which means that she is training a large number of babies. That's not counting the increasing size of the army division of tarantulas and brown recluses. All three are venomous, even more so than their Earthly counterparts. Have you any idea where the nest is located?”

“It's somewhere close to the ocean,” he replied nervously. “I cannot pinpoint an exact location, but I can sense that they're close to the ocean. That's all I know so far.”

“That's alright,” Empress Guadalupe retorted. Her crying had ceased, but she was still bothered if not somewhat annoyed. “That narrows it down, but I wonder how many more will perish if we do not find them quickly and eradicate them. I am going to have my guards take the three of you on a tour of the city. Should you find or sense spider demons, you are to send Pavel back to the palace, and you are to take a teleportation ring with you for that purpose. From the reports I have received from your parents, he is far from ready to battle spider demons. You seem to be developing quickly as I suspected you would, but even at that, I do this with hesitation. It is only because of your demon sensing that you're going at all.”

“I don't want him anywhere near the spiders,” Mihai said flatly. “Spiders have a natural resistance to his active gift, and he was not able to use a full shield until I attempted a hydroelectric attack. And don't worry, it wasn't nearly at full blast. I didn't even use a wand. He produced a textbook shield that covered his entire body, which was even better than what was required. Still, that is not enough when it comes to...”

Before, Mihai could say anything more, the door burst open. “Mom!” Pavel cried. “It's terrible. Oh my god, it's just... just dre... dre... dre... dreadful.”

“Pavel, calm down,” Empress Guadalupe, replied soothingly. “It will be alright. What's wrong?”

Pavel was in tears, and his breathing was labored. “It was you,” he stammered, looking and pointing at Mihai. “You were in the infirmary here... n.. n... no color in your cheeks. You were barely clinging to life. It's j... j... j... just horrible!”

“Pavel,” the Empress sighed. “You had a premonition. That means it may or may not happen, and if it's going to happen, nothing we can do can prevent it. It could be something that happens years from now. We live a life of great risk to ourselves in our fight to rid our worlds of demons. Many kings, queens, emperors, and empresses have sacrificed their lives for the greater good. I don't want anything to happen to Mihai, but as you pointed out, he is in the infirmary in your premonition, and he could not be in better hands. Liza is the best healer I've ever seen. She travels with me for a reason. She is simply the best. Now, try to put it out of your mind for now. You're all going with the guards so that Mihai and Fabian can see the city.”

“But... but,” Pavel moaned. “I don't want him to get hurt.”

“Pavel,” she grumbled, losing her patience. “Mihai will be fine. There's nothing we can do to stop what will happen from happening. I've had premonitions that have taken years to reach fruition.”

“But he didn't look any older,” Pavel whined.

“I'm sure he's already taking the longevity potion,” she retorted, her irritation growing. “You have told us. There's nothing more to say. Now, I am giving Mihai a teleportation ring, a very special one. Only the two of you or a lieutenant can use it, and it will allow you to return to the palace. If Mihai tells you to use it, you will obey him. Now go get ready for lunch. You'll be leaving as soon as you finish eating. For now, don't worry about the premonition. You have told us. It is too vague for us to determine when it will or might take place, okay?”

“Yes Mom,” he replied gruffly.

“Now go,” Empress Guadalupe ordered harshly. “We're trying to have a private conversation. Mihai is, as of now, the Heir Apparent to the throne of emperor, and if I wish to talk with him privately, you will obey. Understood?” Pavel nodded and quickly left the room, closing the door behind him. Though he wanted to slam it, he knew it would only make his mother angrier.

Empress Guadalupe returned her attention to Mihai. “I'll apologize to him later. He needs to learn to wait. However, this new information is most disturbing. It may be soon. It may be later. It may never happen. But considering that you may come across spider demons, it seems likely that Pavel's vision could come true on this very day. I don't want him to panic. I don't even want him to know about the spider demons. He just tried to probe my mind too. That's why I was cross with him. He does not need to know. He's still too young to have to be troubled by demons. He's already had more exposure than he should have. He was there when I was bitten and when his father died trying to heal me, and he's been kidnapped as you know. I don't want him exposed to anymore danger than he has to be until he is ready to serve a higher purpose.”

“But I thought our destinies were intertwined,” Mihai retorted.

“They are,” she said sullenly. “But my vision was a long one. It showed you working with others in the beginning. It won't be long before he's ready to face more of the dangers, but he has to let go of his inhibitions and realize just how serious it is. You are the key. You must get closer to him and help him understand. You alone will know. You will be the one to see his metamorphosis from a petulant child to a man on a mission. In return, he will follow you to the highest mountain and to the lowest valley. The two of you will make this galaxy a safer place to be, a place where magical people can come out of the woodwork and stand side by side with humans without the threat of demons. In my heart, I know you can destroy the underworld one day. Now, go and see the city! It is spectacular. You'll all need jackets though. New London is chilly this time of year.”

“Can I ask you one more thing?” Mihai asked.

“You just did ask me something,” she teased. They both chuckled. “Yes, you can ask.”

“How did you know that Pavel probed your mind?” Mihai inquired with due incredulity. “I thought your powers were more along the lines of premonitions and mediumship.”

“Well,” the Empress snickered. “This tiara is no ordinary tiara. It is the Crown of Wisdom. I choose not to let anyone know what powers it has bestowed upon me. It helps me stay a step ahead of the evil ones, and all but one of the demons who have crossed my path were dead before they could spread the word. It's worked quite well actually. As for the one who survived, I didn't get a chance to use my special gifts against them anyway. You can probably guess one, but I will show you.” The Empress smiled as Mihai heard her speak to his mind. 'I'm a telepath too. Not even Pavel knows, and I would prefer if he didn't. He probably thinks I have other means.'

Using telepathy, Mihai said. 'Your secret is safe with me. I'm still wondering though, is that tiara especially made for you, or is it passed down?'

Using her vocal chords this time, the Empress replied, “It will be yours one day, since the council and I have already agreed that Karan shall no longer be considered Heir Apparent. Don't worry, it will transform itself into a proper crown, and it will bestow even more gifts upon you. I just know that the Empire of Magic will be safer under your rule than Karan's. He is evil. Luckily, he made a grave error, and it made it much easier than I anticipated. Now, I must tell you that you will not be official until you are legally considered a wizard. Once you have that title, you will have a coronation as Imperial Prince of Hebalon and Imperial Guardian of the Earthly Realms. So, does that answer all your questions?”

“Yes, My Empress,” he replied reverently.

“We're not in public,” she reminded him. “You can call me Aunt Guadalupe. Now, I think we should go have lunch.” Lunch was kept simple with chef's salad. There was light conversation and plenty of laughs. Mihai was enjoying every moment, and he was glad to see that Pavel seemed more relaxed than he had been earlier.

There was so much to see in New London, and as the group ventured out of the palace, Mihai was struck by the building across the street. It looked just like the Palace of Westminster, except that it was of a dark red color and was several stories taller, but the clock was pretty much an exact twin of Big Ben. Much of the city had similar architecture. The city of New London was actually founded by Emperor Timothy, who had a vision of what London would look like 1,000 years from then. His goal was creating a city with similar architecture on a grander scale. Indeed New London was larger than London with almost triple the number of residents. Only a quarter of the people in New London were magical while the rest were descendants of the mortals who had been on the friendliest of terms with magical people and wanted to live with them.

Of particular interest was Belena Park. The soldiers led the way, and even Pavel was anxious to visit the historic park. The park was surrounded by a fence that appeared to be made of gold and was twelve feet tall. The gate, which was open for the daytime hours also appeared to be made of gold but was covered in jewels. The group walked into the entrance, but Prince Mihai and Fabian became transfixed by the gate. “Yes, it is all real,” one of the guards said. He was a tall black man with a shaved head, and a goatee that was dark brown with a few touches of pepper gray. “The fence is made of magically enhanced 18-karat gold, and the finest gems, including diamonds, rubies, and emeralds.”

Pavel was the only one who was not surprised by it, and he felt like mentioning why the fence was there in the first place. “It's been a while since I've been here. I love this gate. This fence has been here for about 100 years now, ever since that poor woman, Josephine Gates, got raped and murdered at the park. After that, they decided that the park should be closed at night. The fence even has a spell that prevents teleporting. Well... you can teleport out but not in.”

“How nice,” Mihai said dryly. “Now why don't we go see the park?” His cousin's story about the rape took away from his interest in the gate, and judging by the nods he received from everyone except Pavel, the others shared his sentiment. About fifty feet from the gate was a garden of roses with a fountain as the centerpiece. The roses were in every conceivable color, and they appeared to glitter. “Wow! They look like they're covered in fairy dust.”

“Indeed,” Pavel agreed. “The fairies come every morning.

“I just love the fountain!” Fabian beamed. It was a magnificent one. It had a pedestal in the middle with a woman on top of it, one who was wearing a witch's robe and had a tiara on her head. While the body and clothing were silver, the tiara was made of gold and contained some diamonds.

“This fountain has been here for over a thousand years,” Pavel told him. “Magic has kept it in pristine condition. This is no ordinary fountain. It was made by elves. They loved Empress Belena so much that they made this fountain to honor her forever. She was, as most of you should know, the wife of the city's founder, Emperor Timothy. Do you all want to see the statue they made of him?” Everyone nodded at him. “Follow me.” Pavel took the trail that was east of the gate as well as the rose garden. All the others followed. The trees in the park were magical oak, which meant that they too were enhanced with fairy dust. Even though Mihai suspected that the statue would be tall, he figured that the tall trees prevented it from being visible from their current location, though he was only partly right.

There was another trail that started about a mile from where they started, and once they got there, the group turned toward the south with Pavel still leading the way. As they walked closer to the statue, everyone could see the bottom of it. “We're not far from it now,” Pavel said unnecessarily.

Soon, they were standing in front of the statue. Fabian and Mihai were amazed. The body of the statue was made of ivory, but the robe was made of gold, and so was the crown. In the statue's right hand was a sword with a golden handle, and a blade made of wizard's steel. Again, the statue appeared to be resistant to the damage of time that was common for statues made by mortals. It looked brand new. Even magical people were often amazed by the work of the elves. Nothing that even witches and wizards made could stand the test of time without routine maintenance. Mihai was the first to comment. “This is simply marvelous!”

“They must have used tons of gold and ivory for this!” Fabian gasped. “I never saw anything like this in the mortal world.” Though Fabian was a familiar, he had grown up in a mortal family, one in which he was the first familiar.

“You won't either,” Mihai said flatly. Before he could explain anything more, Mihai felt a presence. It was an evil one. It made him feel cold inside. He could also see what it saw as it moved into an alley way, chasing a woman and a little boy. Mihai figured out that he was using a combination of the demon sensing gift that he had received through his mother's bloodline and his high level telepathy.

It must have been obvious to Fabian as he asked, “Are you okay, Mihai?”

Snapping out of his daze, Mihai replied. “No, I'm not okay, not at all.” Mihai reached into a pocket and extracted a small golden hoop-shaped object. He tossed the item to his side, and it started to grow. By the time it reached full size, it was large enough for a human to walk through it. “Pavel, go now, and do not question me.” Pavel obeyed. In fact, Mihai's tone of voice seemed to frighten him. As soon as Pavel was on the other side, the teleportation ring shrunk to its original size and went back into Mihai's hand, and he put it back in his pocket. Had Mihai been going to the other side, the ring would have been absorbed by its own portal so that Mihai would have retained possession.

“What is it, Your Highness?” the black lieutenant asked.

“There's a spider demon trying to kill a woman and her son,” Mihai said with feigned calmness. “We must go immediately. All of you will need to be touching me. Otherwise, I don't think I can take all of you.” They did as he instructed. In total, Mihai could feel six hands upon him. He concentrated on a location about twenty feet from the alley. He figured that was a good distance from which to launch an attack. He once again had the weird feeling of being weightless and within moments, he had taken the entire group to his chosen destination.

Sure enough, there were several large spiders. One looked like a black widow, which was the same species as the generals as well as The Lady Black Widow. There were also some brown recluse demons, both large and small, as well as a couple of tarantula demons, both large. Mihai took out his wizard sword and went into battle. Because of his gift to control magnetism, he was able to launch himself into the air. One of the guards too was able to take to the air, only his powers were flight and superhuman strength.

Mihai first came upon one of the Tarantulas, one that was perched on the brick building to the right of the demon. He wasted no time with it as he electrified the sword and slashed off one its legs, causing the demon to screech and to bleed green ooze. His slashed the creature again, but this time he cut it in half, and the bisected remains fell to the pavement below. Mihai then teleported to the ground and joined two of the soldiers, including Paul, who were battling the large black widow. He stabbed the black widow's abdomen, and Paul sliced off her head. “Good job...” Mihai screamed in pain as a large spike entered his right shoulder from the rear, penetrating all the way through. Almost immediately, his body went rigid, and his consciousness began to fade as he collapsed onto the ground.