The Phantom Man 2 - The Book of the Dead

XXIII - The Immortal

Upon arriving at the apartment, Juan, as Jonathan, and Philip saw Silene and Maurizio making Alexia float like a feather across the room. She was unconscious, though.

"Stop now, filthy viper!" The old wizard screamed energetically.

"So, you've managed to escape my friends?" The woman spoke with irony.

"Drop her and go back to your world, hag," Philip ordered angrily.

"Maurizio, will you let them talk to me like that? Finish them off now!"

Juan threw the sword to Philip, who grabbed it in the air and then hit Maurizio on the side, just like he had learned from his human father's guard captain. The warlock fell on the ground. When Philip pierced the sword in the Basnet's heart, he turned into dust, and then was carried away by the breeze.

"Why do I have to do everything on my own?" Said Silene as she laid Alexia on the sofa.

When she started walking towards them, Juan opened an abyss between them. Silene was caught by surprise, so when she took the next step, she fell in the depths. She screamed as she looked up at the light that she would probably never see again.

"Schließe das Loch für immer!" Philip commanded the abyss to close for eternity speaking the magical words in German.

Alexia woke up.

"What happened?" She asked. "Why are you both looking at me like that? And where are the firefighters?"

"I'll explain later. Now we need to leave. Pack up your things, sweetie. We'll be in great danger if we stay here," said Juan, now speaking as Alexia's grandfather, and at the same time looking after Philip. "You must do the same, son. Go to the hostel and get your things. We need to catch the next train. I choose to travel by train because Alexia is afraid of flying since she was a child."

"Where are we heading, Juan?" Philip asked. "And why don't we open a portal and get there right away?"

"Did you say Juan?" Alexia was taken by surprise when she heard Philip calling her grandfather by another name.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you everything on the way," the old man said, worried about what could happen to them if they didn't leave immediately.

"I'll meet you at the train station, then" Philip said, and then he kissed Alexia.

She kissed him back, but then said quite angrily: "Wait a minute. I can't just give up my life here and go with you two. First, where exactly are we traveling to?"

"I thought of London. It is a big city and we can hide there. I believe that Klaus will soon arrive, since he must have gotten more powerful over the years." Apparently, Juan had already planned the escape. He looked at the young man and said, "I prefer not to create portals. Otherwise, we'll surely be spotted by magical creatures. I'm not sure, but I think our biggest enemy may already be quite near."

Juan wanted to spare the lives of those he loved with all his powers.

"The monks said that Klaus stole a book that teaches how to connect to the dead. The valuable object had been kept by the monks' ancestors for a long time, but now it's been generations since Klaus stole it from their temple. Since then, the monks have been trying to retrieve the book in order to keep humanity safe again," Philip said with concern.

"That explains the presence of the Basnet warlocks at the alley. Spirits can travel through time and space. Klaus must be summoning many dead Basnet warlocks by giving them back their power. This way, they're going to pave the way for Klaus' return."

"Please! Can you explain to me what's going on? It seems that you have both forgotten that I'm here."

Although the danger was just a heartbeat away, they owed Alexia some explanation. Besides, they needed to convince her about the urgency to flee, especially now that Juan had appeared in his original identity.