"How many times have I told you not to get so physical?" the governor screamed as spittle from his fleshy jowls sprayed the man's defiant face. He pulled his wand from the folds of his robe, pointed it at the defiant man and spoke the illegal curse no man wants to hear. "Adflictatio!" The man fell to the floor writhing in agony. The governor was in a rage as he watched the man with rapt attention. The torture spell was doing its job as the man twisted and turned and frothed at the mouth in excruciating pain on the cold stone floor deep within the bowels of the ministry building.

"What are you doing!?!" screamed out a blond man, who had just entered the corridor. The governor looked up from his victim and sneered. The blond man knocked the wand from the governor's hand and shoved him to the floor. "Are you crazy!?!" he shouted.

"Ceenta, come quick. The boy is hurt badly," another man called out from an adjacent room with bars on its small window. The blond man looked up quickly.

"This isn't over, governor! Not by a long shot!" The overly obese man quivered on the stone floor along side the tortured man, who was still reeling from the pain. Ceenta, with his long blond locks, whirled around and headed to join his companion.

"He's going to bleed out. There're just too many wounds."

"We need to take him home and have our surgeon tend to him." His companion nodded. They both placed hands on the injured boy and disappeared from the depths of the ministry only to reappear in their opulent home.

"Saduri! Quick! Call our surgeon!" Ceenta called out. A middle Eastern man bowed and turned from the room. Moments later, he reappeared with a surgeon.

"The boy is hurt bad and is bleeding!" Ceenta said to the surgeon. The man immediately started tending to the injured boy. Ceenta then turned and embraced his companion.

"I can't believe Governor Downing would do this. It's incomprehensive that a government official would be behind this. And who was the man he was torturing?" his companion asked.

"I have no idea. Jon, there are many things about our good governor that I find reprehensible, but this is the worst." The two men watched on in dread as their personal surgeon tried desperately to stem to flow of blood. He sutured many deep cuts as quickly as he could, but was soon fighting a losing battle.

"He's lost too much blood. I'm afraid there is nothing more I can do without giving him a transfusion," the surgeon said even as he continued working quickly. "It's just a matter of time now."

"We may need to turn him to save his life."

"OK, Jon. I don't want to have to turn him, but if it's the only way, then I will." He stood, joined with his lover as they watched the doctor sew up laceration after laceration.

Ceenta moved over to the bedside and looked down on the lad. He wished this hadn't happened. He reached out and brushed the soft black hair back from the boy's pale forehead. A lightening bolt shaped scar was revealed.

"I wish there was another way, Daniel," Ceenta said softly. He leaned over and bit gently into Daniel's carotid artery. His fangs released the fluid of life into the young boy. Moments later, the once pale flesh turned a healthy pink.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I wish there was another way," Ceetna sighed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tom stared wide-eyed at the destruction before him. The all glass shower was completely shattered. Blood was spattered all over, and in some instances, it had deeply pooled. Broken glass was everywhere. It was as if an explosion took place inside the shower itself. The shower head was still streaming its hot spray, filling the air with humidity and … the smell of blood. The only thing missing was Daniel. Tom's eyes quickly scanned the room, but … no Daniel. Tom walked quietly over to the shower and turned it off. He was besieged with all kinds of emotions ranging from fright and terror to desperation and even anger. He walked back over to the door, then turned and surveyed the room again, trying to find a clue as to what had happened to Daniel. The longer he looked, the more isolated and alone he felt. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his thoughts turned to the worst. Not being able to look at the horrid scene anymore, he turned back toward the living room. Spying his wand on the floor in the hall, he paused and picked it up. He swiftly turned and pointed it into the room.

"Deduco veneficium!" he yelled. Letters started to appear on the steamed up mirror over the sink. Tom watched as they slowly spelled out the words.

"Nickoli Pertrosika." Tom stared at the words. He had no idea who Nickoli Pertrosika was. He had never heard the name before, but it was his only clue to finding Daniel. He ran back into the living room and pointed his wand at the television.

"Verba communico, Will Theakston," Tom said clearly. The screen crackled with bright flashes, went totally black, then slowly started to glow. As the intensity increased, a face appeared on the screen.

"Hi, Tom. Been a while, mate!" Tom visibly relaxed. Just having someone to talk to was an enormous comfort. But the gravity of the situation changed his demeanor back to serious quickly.

"Will, thank God."

"What's wrong, Tom?"

"It's Dan. He's been taken."

"Taken? What do you mean?" Tom quickly explained the situation to his friend.

"So, this Nickoli person is your only clue."

"Yeah, do you have any idea who he is?"

"Never heard of him, but dad is a investigator with the ministry law enforcement. I'll get him to check around."

"Thanks, Will. This is the only lead I have and the sooner I find something out the better. From the look of things, Dan could be hurt very badly."

"Not to worry, Tom. I'll be back in touch in no time flat."

"Thanks, Will."

"Keep your chin up, Tom. We'll find him. I'm sure he's fine."

"Thanks." Tom ended the conversation. Now all he could do was wait. He was positively sure this had been a magical hit, so calling the police would do no good. Time would become Tom's worst enemy in the minutes and hours to come. With each tick of the clock, his worry grew.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Daniel slowly awoke and opened his eyes. The intensity of the light in the room burned his eyes and he snapped them shut quickly. He tried to move, but his body was instantly wracked with pain. Lying very still, the only thing he could do without pain, was listen. Concentrating on the sounds around him, Daniel was awestruck at what he could hear. The sounds were unexpectedly … intense. He was hearing things that he couldn't hear before. Small sounds, insignificant sounds, normal background sounds, were being amplified, categorized, evaluated and defined in nanoseconds. He could even hear what could only be a spider in the far corner spinning its web. Daniel listened in awe as his sense of hearing worked on autopilot.

Then Daniel became aware of another sense, a new sense, one never experienced before. He felt … aware. The young movie star knew of no other way to describe it. He could sense everything around him, without the use of sight or touch. He just knew what was there and, more significantly, how it affected him. This new sensation was intriguing and scary at the same time. He could sense the size of the room, all the furniture that was in it and he could even sense the presence of people. That confused Daniel. His keen hearing told him no one was in the room; however, he could sense someone, no, three people there. Concentrating on the people, he suddenly realized the sense was telling him who had been in the room, not who actually was there right then. Daniel knew there were spells that would give the same information, but this new ability to do it on his own was in one way amazing and in another, downright alarming. Why was he unexpectedly able to do that? Why was he suddenly able to have this very heightened sense of hearing?

Daniel searched his memory and quickly remembered being attacked in the shower. That would explain the pain, but it gave no clue about these new abilities. The only other question that remained unanswered was, where was he? Getting up to see was out of the question. The intense pain in his eyes and his body was still very clear in his mind. Panic started to rise. He felt trapped. In his ever increasing terror, he reached out to the one person who meant safety … Tom. He screamed Tom's name in his mind.

"Tom! Where are you? Help me, Tom! I'm scared. I'm so scared."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tom was beside himself in grief. He sat on the couch openly sobbing. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt, much less kidnap Daniel. Couple that with the recent car bombing on the set and things just didn't add up. He could understand a human kidnapping. They would want money. Afterall, Daniel was one of the most well-known people on the planet. But this kidnapping was by a wizard. What possible gain could a wizard get from kidnapping Daniel? It just didn't make sense.

Daniel and Tom were the biggest celebrities in the wizard world. Everyone knew them and they were immensely popular. Even at the last Salem Remembrance Gathering marking the three hundred and twelfth anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials, the boys were given a standing ovation. The huge event was attended by hundreds of witches and wizards from all over England. The American Remembrance Committee had even invited the boys to attend their gathering, but the demanding schedule of filming the movie prevented them from attending.

The television in the corner of the room suddenly crackled and flashed. Tom sat up immediately and looked in its direction. Will's face slowly appeared.

"Tom! I've got good news and bad news."

"Give me the good news first. I've had about all the bad news I can stand."

"Dad did some checking around and found that Nickoli Pertrosika works for the KGB and that he's a wizard. And here's the interesting part. His file is classified. That means one of two things. Either he's undercover or he's an assassin." Tom groaned. "Sorry, Tom. And that's not the bad news."

"How can it get worse?"

"No one, wizard or human, has seen Pertrosika over a week. He's on the 'Watch List' at the KGB, which means they're trying to find him."

"Great. A wizard KGB assassin kidnaps Daniel for no apparent reason and no one has seen him in over a week." Tom was having a hard time holding a fresh batch of tears back.

"Don't give up hope, Tom. Dad's still checking, but I knew you wanted some news."

"You're right, Will. Thanks," Tom said choking back a sob.

"Hey, easy mate. Do you want me to come over? I'm free."

"That would be great, Will. I really need a friend right now."

"Be right there." The television popped and cracked and then went black. Seconds later Will appeared in front of the couch. Tom stood up and Will pulled him into a reassuring hug. It was just what Tom needed … to be held and to be told that everything would be all right. He relaxed into Will's warm friendly hug, finally letting his mind relax. That's when a familiar voice echoed into his mind.

"Tom! Where are you? Help me, Tom! I'm scared. I'm so scared."

"I just heard him! I just heard Dan in my head!" Tom screamed. Will stumbled back and looked at Tom with wide eyes. Tom fell to his knees sobbing profusely. "H-he's scared and he n-needs me," Tom said between great heaving sobs.


On the Chapter Six
"A New Life"
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"Uncle Fester"
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