Chapter 16: Final Battle

Wess opened his eyes. This was his second morning in his new house. It still felt strange sleeping in a king-sized bed. Wess was used to sleeping in his small bed in the mansion. He sat up and looked around. Art was unpacking the last of Wess’s books and floating them downstairs to Wess’s new magic studio in the basement.

A sliver of light from the top of the curtain sliced through the room like a sword. Everything was quiet except for the singing of the birds outside his window. The sound was comforting to Wess. When he ran away to live by himself, Wess would listen to the birds outside. It helped him not feel so alone. This was his happy sound.

Wess got out of bed and got dressed. It was nearly time for breakfast, so Wess walked through the house and out to the garden. He met Nina and CJ at the central gazebo, and they took their seats. When they first moved in, they all decided that this would be where all meals would be served.

Wes Nina and Cj had become close to the staff of the mansion and the staff close to them. So close, in fact, that the staff from the mansion traded out with the staff from the cottages. Wess saw them more like a family than servants. He had always wanted a big family. His life was perfect now.

After breakfast, Wess hurried to catch up with Nina. Just as she was about to take the path to CJ’s and her cottage, Wess took her hand, causing her to stop and turn around. Wess was on one knee with a ring in hand when she turned around.

“Nina?” he asked, “will you marry me?”

Standing there in shock for a moment, Nina looked at Wess with tears of joy streaming down her face. “Yes, I will,” she said almost too loud.

Wess stood as Nina pulled him into a tight embrace. They heard clapping and whistles as they released each other. They were surrounded by staff members who were congratulating and patting them on the backs. Wess shook as many hands as he could and thanked everyone for being there to share this moment with them.

All of the staff dispersed and went about their jobs. As Wess walked back inside, the new butler announced, “Master Richard.”

“Thank you, James,” Wess said as he walked over to greet Richard with a firm handshake.

Wess and Richard walked into the study to talk privately. “What’s on your mind, Richard?”

“I found out where our mystery man is hiding.”

“How? Where is he?”

“I hid and waited for him to appear, then I followed him,” Richard said with a smile. “He’s hiding on an abandoned farm out in the country. I can take you there.”

“Okay, but we go after dark and don’t tell the girls.” Wess had a bad feeling but didn’t want to jinx it by saying it aloud.

For the rest of the day, Wess worked in his studio. He didn’t want CJ and Nina to know that something was up. Also, he needed more powerful spells. With the aid of Art, Wess found and gathered the most potent spells he could find. He even made some potions and gathered some plants and seeds. Wess didn’t want to take any chances. He would use every type of magic at his disposal.

At dinner time, Wess was unusually quiet. The girls sensed that something was wrong but decided that he would tell them if there was something wrong, so they acted as if they didn’t notice. Wess was glad that they didn’t question him about it. He didn’t want them to know yet, And he didn’t want to lie to them. Wess felt it best to not say anything at all.

Later that evening, it was time to go, so Wess gathered everything he thought he would need and snuck out to meet Richard. The drive was quiet and a little tense. Wess couldn’t help feeling nervous. He was confident that he was armed with the most powerful spells he had, but would it be enough?

Ten minutes later, they pulled up to a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. It looked like something out of a horror movie. If buildings could speak, this one would tell a story of misdeeds and neglect.

Wess got out of the truck. “You can go now,” he said.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Richard said. But before he could say another word, the truck doors slammed shut, and he was transported far away, still in the truck.

Wess cautiously approached the dilapidated farmhouse. He still thought it looked like something out of a horror movie. The paint was peeling, the windows were broken, and the inside looked darker than possible. Wess would have thought it to be haunted if he believed in ghosts. Though he had a feeling that he would rather face ghosts than the one he was here to face.

As he walked up the path to the house, there were no signs of life. There were no birds, no spiders, not even a cricket. It was eerily quiet. It made Wess feel more unsettled as he reached the stairs. He stepped on the first step. Creeek! Compared to the quiet, the sound was almost deafening. Wess looked around. It was all clear, so he proceeded.

The door was already opened, so he walked in. He paused at the door, waiting for his eyes to adjust. The first thing he noticed was the lack of dust. The room was full of furniture deteriorating from neglect. There were missing floorboards and a broken banister. But not a speck of dust. There wasn’t even a cobweb to be found.

As his eyes adjusted, Wess noticed movement at the top of the stairs. It was him. The man started walking down the stairs. “It took long enough,” he said. “I thought you would’ve found me sooner.”

“Are you Bradford?” Wess asked.

“That name died long ago. I am Bartholous.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Your soul!”

“You can’t own a soul, and if you kill me, I’ll just be reborn.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Bartholous asked. “I don’t want to own your soul. I want to absorb it and your power.”

“And, how would you do that?”

“With a little spell, I stole from a demon right before I absorbed his soul.”

“That’s impossible. All demons are extinct!”

“They are now thanks to you,” Bartholous said with a smirk.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Two demons survived the great demon war trapped by other demons. In my search for powerful relics, I freed them from their prison. In return, they gave me the demon’s promise. It gave me unimaginable power. What they didn’t tell me was that the spell would eventually turn me into a demon.”

“So, you’re a demon?” Wess asked.

“No, I’m so much more. When Weston used the inferno spell, the demon didn’t completely die. Part of his soul attached to me, giving birth to Bartholous. When you used the inferno spell, the demon survived but was severely injured.”

“Then, what happened to him?” Wess asked to keep him talking so he could devise a plan.

“I helped him, hid him away, even brought victims so he could absorb their souls and recover faster. In return, he tried to absorb my soul. Lucky for me, he was still too weak. I turned the spell against him and absorbed his soul. You can’t imagine the rush of power.

“So, what do you want with me?”

“Like I said, I want to absorb your soul. I want to absorb all of the Wessier’s souls. Starting with the most powerful!”

Bartholous raised his right hand toward Wess and started reciting a spell. Wess tried to run, but he couldn’t. It felt like his feet were glued to the floor. Wess had to think fast. He fired one of his most potent spells at Bartholous. Bartholous stumbled back a little. Wess was free, so he ran to the next room and hid behind the wall.

He’s too powerful, Wess thought. He regretted doing this alone but was glad that he sent Richard away. Wess wasn’t sure what Richard could do if he was here. He had no magic powers, so he would just be killed.

Just then, the wall next to him exploded, sending shards of wood everywhere. Wess bolted for the stairs. Just as he got to the top of the stairs, they exploded and fell from under him. He landed on the rubble below and felt a sharp pain in his side. Wess looked down at his body. A six-inch piece of wood was stuck in his side just above his hip. He pulled it out and performed a cauterizing spell just in time to roll away from another explosion.

Remembering the snake vine seed in his pocket, Wess touched it and said the magic words. A dozen snake vines twisted their way around Him, forming a protective cocoon. The ends of the vines extended out like tentacles. Another explosion hit the vines. It didn’t do much damage, so the vines quickly healed and counterattacked.