Forbidden Power

Chapter 6- Leaving Home

I stayed another week in North Carolina with my family. Liz and my mom especially wanted to hear details about my adventures in Egypt, which were disappointing to me as they yielded no results, but the ladies thought I had made a lot of progress.

"Well, now you know where not to look," Liz said seriously. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Forget that. I want to hear more about this archaeologist that you met. Is she pretty?" My mom asked hopefully. She wanted more grandchildren. I rolled my eyes again. I haven't rolled my eyes this much since I was a teenager.

"I guess you could say she's pretty. She's a human. Honestly, I didn't notice her looks. She had the knowledge I needed. And she's married," I told my mom. Her face fell in disappointment.

"Well, drat. Teddy, when are you going to settle down? Having a family is a great adventure!"

"You know I'm not interested in marriage, Mom. I have forever to live. There's no reason to rush it. If I meet the right girl, I'll marry her. Is that good enough for you?" I asked, mentally noting that I will never meet the right girl because I distance myself from women as much as possible. It's not that I don't find women attractive. It's more that they find me attractive and won't quit throwing themselves at me like that disgusting drunk p********e on the streets. I find women's behavior repulsive and undignified. Other than the women in my family, I can't stand women in general.

"I guess that will have to do," my mom sighed.

"Any luck on the magic ball?" I asked, changing the subject.

"No. I've tried using various powers on it. Liz and I combined our powers. So did Kana, Huallpa, Liz, and me. Roscoe tried to help, but as you know he's not tapped into his wizard side like you are," she shrugged, and it was my turn to sigh.

"Well, A for effort, that's for sure." I ran my hand along the back of my neck. I've tried everything on that puzzle ball. Mwenya tried to help, but his mana is pretty tapped out from sustaining Adiel for so long. "I think it's time to take it back to Africa where it belongs. Maybe I can find someone there with answers. It can't be the only puzzle ball anyone has ever seen."

"But you haven't found any witches or warlocks in Africa yet. Other than the tribe in Zambia, we don't know of anyone else still living there. What help do you think you could possibly find?" Liz asked.

"Believe it or not, humans know more than we give them credit for. They like to reason things away with their 'science', but they've unwittingly unlocked some mysteries that are relevant to my search. I'll start with the off-limits zones in the Cairo museum. Now that I have a puzzle ball as a reference point, I'll use that as the reference for my search," I paced as I worked out my plans. Last time I was in Egypt I had nothing to go on but my grandmother's first name. This time I have an artifact. Something tangible. Things will be different this time."

"Just don't disappear for five years this time, Teddy," Liz scolded me. "You know how that worries Mom."

"Yeah. I won't. I promise. I'll stay in touch better this time. I almost left again...without seeing...him. I won't make that mistake again," I admitted to them. I hadn't told anyone that I was about to take off without seeing any of my family when I ran into Kunda. I still felt guilty about my selfishness.

"Oh, Teddy. You know he never held your adventures against you. Adiel loved you like his own son. Sure, we all missed you, but you're not responsible for Adiel's death. He gave his life willingly for the people he loves and the causes he cared about. He protected his entire race when he fought in Canada. Wizards and witches were being exterminated, too. He felt like his life was well lived. Don't have regrets, sweetie. We all support you," my mom walked over and gave me her classic mom hug, and I melted into her like I was five years old again.

"Thanks, Mom. I love you all. I know I don't say it a lot. I guess I've always taken you for granted. I didn't ever think anyone would actually die, you know? Now I kind of hate to go without you." She chuckled into my shoulder.

"You go on your adventures, son. Just call us every now and then, okay? I know you're ready to go, so go. Your bag is already packed, I'm sure. Go, Theodore Fairchilde, and find out who my mother was. You're not just doing this for you. You're doing this for all of us. We're all a part of her. Knowing the past will help change our future. Go with our blessings, Teddy. And call me when you get there," my mom grinned and motioned to my packed duffle bag that she already had in the kitchen for our talk. Mom power is the real power. Sheesh.

I looked at her smiling face and then at Liz who was grinning at me and nodding in agreement with my mom.

"I guess we're all leaving today then," I said, pulling my big sister into a hug. "Goodbye, sis. Keep being an awesome Luna."

"Thanks, Teddy," she said.

"Roscoe leaving soon too?" I asked.

"He's heading to Great Britain in two months, so I get him around a little longer. Go tell Bethany and Bianca goodbye. They'll be heading out this afternoon, too," my mom told me.

FOUR HOURS LATER

I boarded the plane headed for Spain with a four-day layover there before heading into Egypt. My mom thought I should check the archives there in an old church managed, ironically, by a long-time vampire friend of the Fairchilde family. The church was originally a fortress for the returning crusaders to go through their spoils from their bloody trail of death and destruction in the Holy Land. However, they also collected relics of antiquity from Egypt during their campaigns, and though those items have long disappeared, the records of what they brought back still remain.

I peered out the window and got comfortable as the plane took off. I won't be staying in my First Class row for long. As soon as the seatbelt light goes off, I'll do the same thing I always do. I'll go find a couple of lucky people in coach and give them my tickets to the row of seats. Humans feel discomfort a lot worse than me, so I try and make some good of my life by helping some of the less fortunate of them. I don't consider it charity or anything. It's just the right thing to do. I usually still get my own row of seats in coach, so it's not so bad.

As it happened, I found a young couple with a baby to trade seats with. I could always smell wholesome people. They didn't smell like drugs, alcohol, or s*x. Yes, even multiple partners give a smell to people. They always smell like lust, but it's only something a vampire could detect. This couple just smelled like cheap detergent and peanuts, which means the airplane food is all they've had to eat today.

I went to the stewardess and told her I would be trading seats with the couple and paid her for them to have two full meals of whatever they wanted while flying. I also paid her a little extra for them to get wine with their meal if they wanted it. She wasn't too keen on my proposal, as they never are, so I slipped her a tip to change her mind, which always works.

She took the money with a wide smile and went to get the couple I had pointed out. I watched from the shadows, hiding in the toilet line while watching the couple's faces go from confusion to shock to gratitude as they were led by the stewardess out of their seats and into First Class.

This was my favorite part of traveling, and I never told anyone I did this. It would take away from the joy of doing it. I inconspicuously took their seat after they had cleared out and settled in for the remainder of the ride. Archives of Spain, here I come.