"All right," David said after a long pause. "I'll help you. But that nesting doll… I threw it away years ago, right outside the shop."
Balthazar stiffened. "You threw it away? Let me check."
Rowan watched silently from the side, choosing not to interrupt. If David agreed to cooperate, it benefited him as well. As long as David stayed involved, Rowan would eventually gain access to Merlin's legacy.
Balthazar closed his eyes and began casting a locating spell. The nesting doll carried a mark he had placed on it long ago. Distance meant nothing to that kind of imprint.
A few seconds later, his eyes snapped open.
"It's in a crowded area," he said grimly. "Chinatown. We need to move. Horvath will be after it too."
"Why not use your eagle?" David asked, confused, as Balthazar turned toward the stairwell instead of summoning the metal construct again.
Balthazar answered while walking. "Merlin's line follows a rule. We stay hidden from ordinary people whenever possible. Flying a giant metal eagle into a dense city district would cause chaos. I have a car parked below. We'll drive."
"If it's about speed and discretion," Rowan cut in calmly, "I can take us there faster."
Both Balthazar and David turned to look at him.
"How?" Balthazar asked.
Rowan's back lit up as a glowing sigil unfolded. A pair of pure white wings burst into existence.
"I fly."
David stared, eyes wide. "You can fly too?"
Rowan shrugged. "I hadn't needed to yet."
Balthazar was startled but quickly nodded. "Good. Then we won't waste time."
Rowan hooked one arm under Balthazar and the other under David, lifted smoothly off the rooftop, and shot toward Chinatown like a streak of moonlight.
Twenty minutes later, they landed on the roof of a seven-story residential building.
"You two stay here," Balthazar said. "I'll retrieve the doll."
He headed downstairs alone. David couldn't help much yet, and Rowan's panda form would draw too much attention at street level.
As they waited, David leaned over the edge of the roof and looked down at the glowing streets below. Red lanterns swayed in the night air, crowds packed the sidewalks, and music drifted upward.
"It's lively," he said. "What's going on?"
"New Year," Rowan replied. "Like Christmas, but louder."
David nodded, then hesitated. "You're a panda. Does that mean you're from China?"
Rowan paused, then nodded. "You could say that."
It wasn't entirely accurate, but it wasn't wrong either.
"That explains why you know so much," David said thoughtfully. "You ever see Kung Fu Panda? You kind of remind me of him."
"I've seen it," Rowan said dryly. "I don't do kung fu. Just magic."
They were still talking when an explosion shattered the window three floors below.
Balthazar was hurled out of the building and slammed into the street.
Three figures followed.
Horvath landed first, his coat fluttering as he straightened. Behind him were two others: a man and a young woman, both clearly mages.
"Balthazar," Horvath called coldly. "Tonight ends you."
Rowan's eyes narrowed.
"Too slow," he muttered. "He found the doll first."
Horvath had used time-based magic from Morgana's grimoire to trace the nesting doll ahead of them. Worse, he had already released the two Morgana-aligned mages sealed inside it.
"Stay here," Rowan told David.
He leapt off the roof, wings spreading wide as he circled behind Horvath.
"Diffindo."
The invisible blade tore through the air, aimed straight for Horvath's spine.
Horvath dissolved instantly into a swarm of cockroaches, the spell cutting through empty space.
At the same time, the young female mage turned sharply. Her eyes glowed as they locked onto Rowan's.
His mind seized.
"Did you really think I'd fall for that again?" Horvath's voice echoed as he reformed. "I knew you were nearby."
The ambush had been planned. Horvath had freed his allies and waited. The moment Rowan arrived, the psychic trap snapped shut.
On the street below, Balthazar pushed himself up, bloodied but far from defeated.
"Horvath!" he roared.
He clasped his hands together. Lightning condensed between his palms, transforming into a humming mass of white-hot plasma. This was Merlin's lineage magic, devastating beyond ordinary spells.
"Kill the panda first," Horvath ordered calmly. "Then we deal with him."
The male mage stepped forward, hands crossing over his chest. A painted dragon design on his coat shimmered.
Across the street, a decorative festival dragon used for parades twisted violently. Cloth hardened into scales. Eyes ignited.
A real fire dragon roared into existence and lunged for Balthazar.
On the rooftop, David panicked.
He tried to cast something, anything, but his thoughts wouldn't settle. The words Balthazar had taught him scattered the moment he opened his mouth.
Down below, Rowan's eyes suddenly cleared.
His body swelled, bones cracking and reforming as he grew to nearly five meters tall.
Before Horvath could finish his spell, a massive panda paw swung through the air.
The impact was thunderous.
Horvath and the female mage were sent flying more than ten meters, smashed across the street. The nesting doll slipped from Horvath's grip and bounced across the pavement.
The battle wasn't over.
But the balance had just shifted.