| | | | | I leapt out of bed and bounced across the room. A small figure was curled up in a ball under a bright red duvet.
“Nat!” I yelled, shaking the figure. “Nathaniel! Get up!”
Nat gave a grumble and rolled over. I sighed and tried again.
“I said, WAKE UP!”
Nat finally opened his eyes.
“No you didn’t,” he mumbled. “You said get up. Actually, you said ‘Nat, Nathaniel, get up’.”
I groaned, exasperated already, and pulled the duvet off.
Naturally, he protested. “Gerroffme!” he whined. “Gimme the duvet!”
I raised an eyebrow. “You want to be late for school?”
He nodded, eyes closed again. When I didn’t respond, he realized.
“No! Wait! No!” Finally Nat leapt out of bed. He’d remembered. Ravenwood.
I yanked on my robes and boots, pulled my hat over my head, and rolled up my sleeves.
As I might have said before, that’s a habit of mine.
Sorted. I couldn’t say the same for Nat. He was busy combing his hair. I grabbed the comb, tossed it on his unmade bed, and dragged him towards the door.
An enormous tree loomed over the five buildings that always seemed to be gathered around it. Nat wriggled free of my grasp and went sprinting after his friend – dressed in black and red. Another necromancer. They headed towards the storm school. Soon they were both in animated conversation. I wasn’t surprised. They had been working on quests together and had just finished up Cyclops Lane yesterday. I sighed. I usually did my quests on my own.
Gamma the owl flew overhead. “Hat on, Thomas Deathsong!” he hooted. There was a smirk on my face. It was soon wiped away. “Miss Stormrider, roll down those sleeves! How many times to I have to tell you? That’s the third time this week,” Gamma sighed irritably.
Arthur Wethersfield smiled at me as I made my way around the tree to a chasm on the edge of Ravenwood, where a grinning boy in black and white robes stood. A crowd of smaller kids were gathered around him, sat on the grass. Most of them made the grass wilt as they touched it.
“Alexandra,” acknowledged Malorn Ashthorn, gesturing towards the grass so I knew it was okay to sit down. I didn’t, though. I walked up to him.
“I have a training point I’d like to use,” I began.
“Level twelve, huh?” he smiled. “Seems just yesterday you and Nat were novices.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I said. “But can I learn Banshee today?” I added impatiently.
“Sure. Here’s the card.” I was handed a black card with a picture of a screaming woman on it, and a few figures.
“Quieten down, guys!” commanded Malorn. He always insisted that he was really just a student, like us, so we were allowed to call him Malorn instead of Professor Ashthorn. After all, the professor title didn’t really suit him.
“Okay, so today we’re gonna go over the Banshee spell…” A couple of level fourteens groaned. To be honest, I felt a bit sorry for them. It must be kinda dull to keep going over a spell they had learnt four levels ago. Then again, they would be journeymen soon. And then they’d learn Vampire. Awesome.
“Spellbooks out! Turn to the death chapter, it’s page 597, section 4. Who can tell me the accuracy of banshee?”
“85%!” cried a myth student at the back.
“Pips?”
“Three – or one power, one normal.” A level thirteen necromancer.
“Minimum damage?”
“245 death damage, except when there are resists, shields, or damage debuffs.” Me this time.
“And maximum?”
“305 death, excluding boosts, traps, and blades.” Another necromancer.
“Great! Now the boring bit’s over, you can practice it. Get going, guys!”
I took out my wand and grabbed a Banshee card from my deck. I had been practicing this in private for almost a week now, wheedling a few cards out of Autumn Willowbreeze, my journeyman theurgist friend who seconded in death. It had taken a while, but eventually I had mastered it. And the banshee had only escaped once. I blamed Nat, despite the fact that he was only level 7.
I traced the death symbol, feeling an icy breeze swirl threateningly around me and seeing skulls appeared all around me. I was freaked out when I first cast a successful Dark Sprite and that happened, but I’d got used to it. It was just what happened. Unexplainable. Well, not exactly unexplainable, but we don’t learn about it until we get into Master Class, and that’s ages from now.
A banshee appeared in front of me. I nodded and she opened her mouth and started to wail. More banshees appeared and joined in the screeching. It was giving me a killer headache.
“Nice work, guys!” A voice cut across the horrific sound. I signaled for my banshee to quit the screaming, and she did so, a little reluctantly, folding her arms like Nat in a strop.
“Good control, Alexandra!” I glowed. I’m a bit of a sucker for praise. “Oh, and Thomas, remember, it’s a ghost. Don’t try to restrain it.”
A level ten who I knew was called Thomas Deathsong was trying to cover his banshee’s mouth. He grinned sheepishly as it kept on screeching.
Half an hour later, I was sitting on one of Bartleby’s roots watching two necromancers trying to make their banshees fight each other. They were failing miserably – all the banshees would do when provoked was wail, and it was pointless anyway, because they were unable to hurt each other, seeing as they were just spirits. Eventually they gave up and dismissed the ghosts.
“Okay, class!” yelled Malorn Ashthorn, trying to be heard over the banshees that remained. “Dismiss your banshees and pack away your wands. Homework – practice controlling these banshees! Off you go!”
I slung my backpack over my shoulder and started towards the Commons. I walked into the library and sat down, grabbing my history book, notebook, quill, and ink. Harold Argleston walked in.
“Good morning, class. Today we will be learning about the rebellion of the pyromancers in 76 WCE. Please have your notebooks open to take some notes. I have prepared a presentation, and it would be well-advised for you to listen, as I am going to set you a project on this. Resources for your research will be available here every day after classes, although I would recommend you pay a visit to the Krokotopia library, as they have much information on the subject. And do try chapter 8 of your books – that should be helpful. In your projects I expect the cause of the revolt, the effects, and a detailed personal analysis of the revolt. This will be due in next week.”
I sighed and held my pen poised. I would have to come back here after school to study. I had been planning on starting Colossus Boulevard today. I sighed again. I guessed that would have to wait. I was no whiz at history. Harold Argleston began his presentation, and I responded by beginning to scribble notes on what I could understand of the subject.
I had a free lesson next, so I decided to have a break before starting on my history project. I strolled over to the chasm where the death school used to be. I liked the place – the silence and the cold wind that seemed to be there permanently. I assumed it was okay for me to stay in the place as long as there were no classes being held there. There weren’t any today. There were a few apprentices trying to control their thunder snakes outside of the storm class. I giggled to myself as a thaumaturge was electrocuted by a particularly feisty one.
I was dangling my feet over the edge when I first heard the noise – a great booming sound. I was pretty surprised to say the least. It was always silent when classes were being held. But I knew that the apprentice myth class was going on, so I assumed it was trolls. I did think it was very loud though. In theory, that made sense, as I was sitting next to the myth classroom, but it sounded closer. And surely it was too loud to be a troll whacking the floor with his club. It boomed again. The floor was shaking.
I set down my sandwich and stood up. I had a bad feeling about the noise, but I was determined to prove myself that it was simply an unruly troll. I stepped quietly towards the myth school. I peeked in at one of the windows. No trolls. Just students with heads bent over their desks. As if Cyrus Drake would let them do anything fun anyway.
But then, what was the noise?
There was another earth-shattering boom, this time followed by a cruel laugh. I rounded a corner to see a tall myth kid with blue hair and a satisfied smirk on his face, accompanied by two smaller myth kids and a…
CYCLOPS?!
WHAT?
And what was more, it was lunging at a diviner, who was backed against Bartleby in fear. On an impulse, I rolled up my sleeves (again) and sprinted over to them.
“WHAT THE HECKHOUND,” I began, furious. “DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?”
The tall myth kid looked round with a puzzled expression, which was only to turn to another smirk when he saw me.
“Why is that any of your business?” he said, haughty and unruffled.
“TELL THAT STUPID CYCLOPS TO STOP!”
“And why should do that?” he asked in exactly the same stuck-up manner.
“TELL IT TO STOP BEFORE I KNOCK THE MANA OUT OF YOU!” I was right in his face now. Well, not exactly face, because I was half a head shorter than him. But still making an impression, or so I hoped.
“Alright, chill out,” he said, a tad defensively, folding his arms. “But aren’t you going to answer my questions?”
“No,” I said, before I could stop myself. “You get that stupid, idiotic creature to quit that right now or I’ll… I’ll…”
“Did you hear that, my fine Cyclops friend?” asked the tall boy.
The Cyclops turned around and faced me. He grunted.
“Yes,” the stuck-up kid said smoothly. “She did insult you.”
The Cyclops grunted again.
“Get her!”
The Cyclops was getting ready to obey. I darted through its legs, confusing it, and grabbed the diviner, who had been watching with a mixture of confusion, fear, and amusement. I tore off my backpack and fumbled for my wand and deck. I flicked through it desperately. Lightning strike… Dream Shield… Storm blade… Thermic Shield… Lightning Bats!
With a wave of my wand, a cluster of purple clouds appeared. There was a high-pitched shriek and a flash of lightning as several purple-blue bats swooped down towards the myth kid.
And that was when Headmaster Ambrose decided to appear.
There was one word going through my head – oops.
Guess what?
Immediately, Cyrus Drake had appeared, claiming that Reed (the tall kid – his last name was Mythstrider) had done nothing wrong, and that the apprentices had simply been practicing summoning their trolls. As I opened my mouth to say that I had seen the apprentices and they were most definitely had not been practicing spells, he continued to state that I had simply launched a completely unprovoked attack on three innocent myth children. My mouth was hanging open in shock. I was disgusted. How could he say that? He’d been in the classroom the whole time.
Of course, the Mythstrider kid had probably got off scot-free – typical conjurer luck.
The diviner and I were waiting outside Merle Ambrose’s office. It was the first time I’d had a proper look at him. I recognized him vaguely from class. Fair hair, green eyes. He seemed to be taking an interest in the floor. It was an awkward silence. I bit my lip and tried to start a conversation.
“So,” I began. “Um… What’s your name?”
“Jacob… Jacob Ravencloud. But call me Jake.” He replied, smiling.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m Alexandra Stormrider. But call me Alex.”
Jake grinned.
“What level are you?” I added.
“Twelve. And you?”
“Same.”
“Cool.”
There was another uncomfortable silence.
“That Mythstrider kid is a right pain, don’t you think?” I said thoughtfully.
“Mmmmm,” replied Jake, suddenly serious.
“I mean, what is up with him?” I said, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Jake grimaced. “Seriously, Reed is nuts.”
“You’d know?”
“Yeah.”
“How come?”
“He beats me up. Or, that Cyclops does.”
“Oh.”
I mentally kicked myself for momentarily forgetting that he was the guy being beaten up by the Cyclops.
“But thanks.”
“Huh?”
“For sticking up for me. Usually everyone pretty much ignores it.”
“Oh. Well. You’re welcome, I guess.”
It was kinda awkward. I hadn’t really thought about that much. As I said, it was on an impulse.
“So, what quest are you working on?”
I blinked. “Um… I just got in Colossus Boulevard.”
“Wicked. You’ll have to take me in there some time. I’m finishing up my Firecat Alley quest.”
“Firecat Alley? So you’ve nearly done the main quests for all three streets? You’ll be in Colossus in no time!”
“That’s the follow-up quest? Great! I’ve been looking forward to it for ages!”
“Didn’t you know already?”
“Nope.”
“You don’t have any friends at a higher level than you, do you?”
“Um…”
“Don’t look so worried about it. You’ll probably make some in Colossus Boulevard. I’ve heard there are lots of high-level kids there. I mean, it’s an optional area. Most people go back to it after Krokotopia.”
“Cool.”
“So… um… What’s your secondary school?”
Jake went a bit pink. “Um... Life.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s a girly school.”
“Says who?” I was angered. The life school was definitely not girly. Gosh, I would get into an all-out fight if I even suggested that to Autumn. “And why did you pick it if you think that?”
“I don’t think that.”
“So why did you say it?”
“That’s what everyone thinks.” I was getting seriously annoyed.
“Even the grandmaster theurgist boys?”
“Um…”
“It’s not girly! There are loads of boys in the Life School!”
“Reed says…” Reed?
“The Mythstrider kid?” I exploded. “Why are you even listening to him, let alone taking any notice of what he says?”
“It’s just what he says.” What did it take to get the message across?
“Forget about him. He’s a loser.”
“Right.”
“Seconding in Life isn’t a bad thing. I wish I had.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Ah… my little brother made me…”
“Who’s your little brother?”
“Oh, Nathaniel Ironheart. He’s level seven, death school. He said he’d go for storm if I went for death. He did go for storm, but I regret it now.”
“Really?”
“Yep. As I said, Life is cool.”
“Mmm.”
Boys were so stupid sometimes.
“Miss Stormrider, Mister Ravencloud,” Merle Ambrose beckoned, opening the door to his office. I had almost forgotten why I was there in the first place. I followed him into his office, Jake trailing behind.
“Well,” he said sternly. “I am at a loss as to what has happened here. You two seemed perfectly well-behaved until this incident! And you, Miss Stormrider, should know better than to summon creatures during classes without permission. I am very disappointed. And Jacob, where did you manage to get involved in this? As I said, I am at a loss.”
“Professor Drake lied!” I complained. “That myth kid started it! He had a Cyclops and it had Jake against the wall and it was throwing its weight about like a Helephant or something! The apprentices weren’t practicing Troll! I saw them! They were having a test! And anyway—”
“Miss Stormrider! Do be quiet. I do wish to hear what happened in your own words, but that outburst was quite unnecessary. And you do realize that you are asking me to mistrust the word of one of the faculty?”
“Of course I realize!” I sighed. “Because he was lying! Honestly! Tell him, Jake!” I turned to Jake expectantly.
“Well…” Jake was hesitating. I nodded at him encouragingly. “I don’t know what the apprentices were doing…” I frantically shook my head at him. “But Reed did have a Cyclops,” he added, taking my hint. “It was pinning me against Bartleby.”
“Are you sure this is what happened?” Ambrose was frowning.
“Yes! Of course we are!”
“Very well. I do not believe this was entirely your doing,” Ambrose said solemnly. I grinned. “But I am not inclined to trust this tale…
“But Richard – no, Ryan… no… um, whatever – did it! It was his fault!” I cried desperately.
“There is no proof that he did so, other than your word,” said Ambrose, serious. “I trust that enough to accept that you were not entirely responsible for the incident. However, Alexandra, you know the punishment for summoning without permission. You will receive a detention. Here, Monday, straight after classes. No excuses.”
I knew there was no point arguing. I still sighed.
“I suppose that is all for now,” added Ambrose thoughtfully. “But make sure nothing like this happens again, do you understand?”
Jake and I nodded solemnly. Ambrose nodded, and we turned to leave. I was just about to open the door when Ambrose spoke again.
“Miss Stormrider?” I turned around. “Sleeves.”
I looked down at my sleeves. When had I rolled them up again? Stupid habit. I reminded myself to stop doing that. I rolled them down guiltily and Professor Ambrose smiled as I left.
I sat in the library looking at books about the pyromancers’ rebellion. It wasn’t particularly interesting, and it was hard to find information that Harold Argleston hadn’t already mentioned. I made a mental note to ask Autumn if she could take me to the Krokotopia library to see if there was anything better. I flicked through another heavy, dusty history book. Nothing.
I slammed the book I was reading shut, frustrated. A couple of novice conjurers looked at me, aghast, as if to say, ‘How could you make so much noise in the library?’ I ignored them. I didn’t have the patience to fight with any other myth kids today.
I sighed. What was the point? I would go talk to Autumn later. With that thought, I grabbed my bag and walked out into the Commons. It was nice to get some fresh air, but the place was packed with loads of students who were talking at the tops of their voices. I thought about doing quests. No. I needed a break. I headed towards the Shopping District, pushing past a herd of Balance apprentices.
I breathed in the cool air. I was sitting on a ledge on the edge of Triton Avenue, next to a waterfall. I liked it here. I could watch the world go by. It was perfect for me, seeing as I was a diviner. I love water, storms, Triton Avenue itself. I watched an apprentice cast Snow Serpent on the Kraken hundreds of meters below me. I could see wizards on the other side of the water fighting Haunted Minions and Rotting Fodders. My legs were hanging off the edge of a high cliff, but I had been here too many times before to be scared. I was startled, though, when I heard a voice from behind me.
“Hey.” It was a boy’s voice. I whipped around, only to see Jacob Ravencloud. He was grinning.
“Hi,” I replied. “How’s it going?”
“Pretty dull actually,” he said thoughtfully. “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.” Jake sat down beside me.
“So,” he said. “Why are you here? I thought you said you were working on Colossus Boulevard.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “But I just came here for a break. From homework. You know.” There was yet another awkward silence before I added “Why are you here? Weren’t you finishing up Firecat Alley?”
“I found out I had another side quest here,” he shrugged. “I seriously want that Three Streets Savior badge!” he joked. “Done now, though. Homework, you say?”
“Yep. History. Pyromancer’s rebellion.”
“History?” Jake looked interested. “Don’t you like it?”
“No,” I smiled. “Who does?” I caught the look on his face. “You do, then.”
“Yep. But I could help you with that homework. My history class did that project a while back.”
“That’d be cool. Thanks, I guess.”
“If I help you, we’ll be even.”
“I guess so. But I think saving you was way better.”
“Well if you feel like that…”
“No, no. I need help. Seriously. I’m awful at history.”
“You want to get started?”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
I sprinted through the Commons, barely aware of my feet thudding against the ground one after the other and the way in which I was inhaling air in huge, gasping gulps. My heart was racing. I ran over the Rainbow Bridge, glancing over my shoulder. My hand grasped my wand tighter as I pushed myself on. I knew I wouldn’t last much longer. I could see him over my shoulder, dark and tall and ridiculously intimidating, wielding his mighty staff. I could do nothing more. I tripped and fell on the ground. I tried to crawl, but my knees stung. My robes were torn and I had no energy left with which to move. My knees were bleeding. I stared up at Malistaire.
“You will not get away, Stormrider, mark my words. You will never escape my clutches! And once you’re out of the way, Wizard City will be destroyed!” He raised his staff and I could feel the dark power radiating from him. I was vaguely aware of my screams…
“Alex!” whined Nat. “Shut up! Why are you screaming? I want to sleep!”
“Sorry Nat,” I whispered. “Bad dream. Go back to sleep. It’s late.”
I struggled to recall the details of my dream. Why do they always seem to slip away as soon as you wake up? Running. From something… Something bad, evil in fact. With a staff. Running away from something evil with a staff. Malistaire.
What was that all about?
It was Monday, straight after classes, and I was waiting grumpily outside Merle Ambrose’s office. I wasn’t happy about getting a detention. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly a model student – let’s just say this wasn’t my first detention – but I didn’t think I deserved this one. I was only trying to help!
I was slouching against the wall, fuming, when I first heard the voices from inside. Fascinated, I put my ear to the door.
“It’s obvious,” said Ambrose. “He’s one of the children of the prophecy.”
“That may be tru-oo-oo-ue,” hooted a distinctly owlish voice that I recognized as Gamma’s, “but we cannot be sure yet. It is too early to tell.”
“We have so little time!” stressed Ambrose, his voice barely more than a whisper. I had to strain to hear. “We must let him know the truth before it is too late! Malistaire—”
“Well, look what the Firecat dragged in,” drawled a snobbish voice from behind me. I jumped, startled, turning around to see the stuck-up features of the Mythstrider kid.
“What are you doing here, troll-features?” I tried to sneer, but, as I said, he was taller than me, so it was hard to say if he was bothered.
“Detention,” he said loftily, tossing blue hair out of his face. Ugh. “What about you? Telling Ambrose about me being naughty again?”
“Detention,” I said, before what he had said had sunken in. “Wait. What do you mean?”
“After last time, I assumed you would be telling tales to the headmaster again.”
“What last time?”
“You told Ambrose I summoned the Cyclops!”
“Yeah, like he believed me!”
“Why d’you think I have a detention, squirt?”
“Don’t call me that, troll-features!”
“Fine. You don’t tell tales on me, kiddo.”
“I didn’t! Well, I did, but Ambrose didn’t believe me.”
“Yeah right.”
Gosh, some people are so stubborn. As if on cue, Ambrose opened the door.
“Mister Mythstrider, Miss Stormrider.”
The Mythstrider kid walked in haughtily and I followed grudgingly, still a little annoyed about having a detention. Ambrose gestured for us to sit in front of his desk as he seated himself in a business-like manner.
“You both know why you’re here,” he began. The Mythstrider kid threw me a contemptuous glare. Jake was right. He was nuts. What was I meant to have done?
“You two know all too well what the rules we have here are. We don’t have many rules, because we know that, sometimes, young wizards’ powers get out of control. Mostly, this can be contained. But with all the havoc that causes, we can’t have any other wizards deliberately running amok and causing chaos by summoning more creatures.
“Spells are not to be used on your classmates. In Wizard City, we teach you only to use your spells in self-defense! Have you two learnt nothing in your time here?”
“It was in self-defense! He summoned the dumb Cyclops!” I cried.
“We have no proof that it was attacking you directly. Your summoning of lightning bats – though very well cast, I must say, but that is beside the point – was not really necessary.”
“What proof do you have that I summoned the Cyclops then?” said the myth kid indignantly, dark eyes flashing in anger.
“Professor Wu saw it passing the Life School. She assumed a myth initiate’s spell had gone astray. It seems that was the case.” Ambrose’s gaze was disapproving.
The Mythstrider kid looked surly, but didn’t respond.
“Your parents will be told, Mister Mythstrider. You two can write out some lines for now. No magic this time.” Ambrose looked at us sternly. “I must not cast spells without good reason. One hundred times,” he added.
With that, he teleported in a small ‘poof’, different to that of any other wizards, in a small cloud of silvery stars. It was really quite pretty.
I realized that papers had appeared in front of us. I slung my bag on the floor, pulled out a quill, and began to write.
“So,” said the Mythstrider kid.
“So what?” I said, carrying on writing. I wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible so I could work on my history project with Jake. For once, I was actually understanding what the Pyromancer’s rebellion was.
“Who are you, anyway?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Just want to know if anyone asks me if I know the name of an annoying little squirt.”
Childishly, I retorted, “At least I don’t go around summoning creatures to terrorize innocent people! Who are, like… What level are you?”
“Fourteen,” he replied snootily.
“Two levels less than me!” I continued.
“That isn’t very much,” he sneered.
“You’re still a bully.”
“Yeah. You better watch your back, squirt.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Jake was in the library, head in a book as usual. I tapped his shoulder and he turned around. I grinned but he looked almost scared until he realized it was me and his fearful grimace morphed to an expression of relief.
“Chill out, Jake,” I grinned. “It’s only me!”
His smile widened as he said, “You scared me! I thought you were Reed then!”
“Why would you think that?” I almost laughed.
“Oh… Y’know… So shall we go do some quests?”
“I thought we were going to work on that history project.”
“It’s nearly finished, anyway. Plus, you’ve just had a detention – with Reed, as well! You need some rest! And I just got into Colossus Boulevard, so can you help with the first couple of quests?”
“Sure!” I wasn’t fussed about leaving it until later, and – let’s face it – when you have the choice of sitting in the library or fighting evil snowmen, what are you going to pick?
No, I wasn’t fussed until much later, when I realized that I hadn’t once mentioned the Mythstrider kid’s name to Jake once. So how in the Spiral did he know that I had a detention with him?
|
The Tale of Sarah Spiritheart (part 7)
It was quarter to midnight.
Ignoring the lateness of the hour, Cyrus Drake sat at his desk, grading a paper of yet another Conjurer-want-to-be. Not even the pleasure of scratching a big, red F on top of the paper with his luxury sunbird feather quill could distract him from the memories.
…a woman’s scream ringing in his ears…
No, Cyrus thought. He took a deep breath to soothe his mind. Then he turned the paper over and wrote with blood-red ink, Very poor work. The next paper you hand in that is as bad as this one, and I will personally make sure that you are expelled. Cyrus breathed in a sigh of pleasure. Giving threats was a favorite pastime of his.
Of course, nothing could distract him for long. It was but a minute before the ghost of his memories came back to haunt him again.
…a staff with a tiny dragon curled around the glass ball at the top…
…words, angry words, unforgivable words…
…a flash of light, a horrible scream, a woman dead on the floor…
Cyrus pulled away from this flashback, his chest heaving in and out. He would never fully recover from this memory. But he had found a way make it a little better. He had eased his conscious, hid the guilt, by blaming Death. For five years now, he had been blaming Death, so now he actually believed it was to blame.
Cyrus stood up so abruptly, he knocked over the inkwell, spilling red ink all over the paper he was grading. Oh well, there were so many marks on it that it would make a difference anyway.
A sinister smile crept across Cyrus’s lips. One word filled his mind: revenge.
Death was the cause of it. Death was to blame. Then why was he sitting around here when he could be giving those horrible students what they deserved for what they did to him?
Never before had Cyrus felt this way. He had always been able to keep himself in check, to keep himself from ripping out each and every one of their throats. But all that changed when he arrived. The boy. The direct descendent of the creators. He had acted like a trigger, bringing back memories like they had never been brought back before.
A plan began to form in his mind, and a brilliant one at that. He’d show Ambrose that he had been wrong to trust them. They would be at Cyrus’s mercy, and soon enough, they would admit to everything.
He strode across the classroom, throwing a black cloak over his shoulders and picking up his wand. And, he realized, he knew exactly where he would go first.
My face turned pale, and for a while, I forgot to breathe.
“Samuel?” I whispered, as if that would somehow bring him back. But, of course, it didn’t.
Then I kind of went crazy. I tore around the room, throwing open doors and upending any possible hiding places for a four-year-old kid. “Samuel! Samuel!” I kept screaming. “Samuel, where are you?”
In a minute in a half, the room resembled a tornado wreck. But I didn’t care. All I cared about was listening for one of Samuel’s trademark mischievous giggles or waiting for him to come out for behind something and shout, “Stop messing up my room!” But there was nothing.
“Samuel!” I shrieked again. This time, as I screamed for my little brother, I heard two doors slam in the hallway. A minute later, Savannah and Sadie had entered.
“What’s going on?” Savannah glared at me, her hand on her hip. It was the first time she had spoken to me in days. “Can’t a girl get some beauty sleep around he—” she saw Samuel’s empty bed and faltered. Then she saw the two pillows, side by side. I could almost hear her brain whirring.
“He’s not smart enough to do that…” she said, her voice hushed.
These words confirmed what I had been denying all this time. That he couldn’t have just gone on a leisurely stroll around the yard. Someone had kidnapped him, and we all knew who.
“Samuel…gone…” Savannah whispered.
“G-gone?” Sadie stammered. “But what should we do?”
I looked at the scared, frantic faces of my sisters and immediately knew one thing. Samuel’s sudden disappearance, however devastating, had brought us back together. A new sort of determinedness rose up inside me and I put on the most un-scared expression I had.
“Here’s what we do,” I said. “We look around the island; make sure that he isn’t there. If he isn’t, we go straight to Ambrose and we tell him what happened.” If anyone could help us, I was certain that Ambrose could. “Don’t worry, you guys, we’re going to find Samuel, no matter what.”
I don’t know exactly how it happened, but in those two minutes alone, we went from sourly avoiding each other to giving each other group hugs. And as we threw our arms around one another, a great feeling of warmth began to spread inside of me. Or was it just my right thigh..?
Sadie suddenly shrieked. “Your pocket’s glowing!”
“What the..?” Savannah said in wonderment.
I reached into my pocket and immediately found the source of the heat. It was an emerald, mossy green, the one that I had found when monsters were attacking Ravenwood School.
“Oooh!” Savannah’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates. “Where did you get that?”
“In Ravenwood,” I replied. “I found it when…well…I found it on the ground.” I refrained from mentioning the exact time because I knew that horrid day still gave Sadie nightmares.
“Maybe…”said Savannah, taking the gemstone from me. “…nah, that’s stupid. I mean, just because you found it doesn’t mean…”
“Uh, Savannah?” I said. “Remember, we’re supposed to be looking for Samuel.”
“Oh, right.” She said hastily, putting the tiny gem back in my pocket.
We searched all over the island, but we didn’t see Samuel anywhere. Not inside the house, not behind a tree, not in a box, or not with a fox. We reported in front of the front door thirty minutes later.
“Sorry, Sarah, we couldn’t find him anywhere.” Savannah panted.
“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “It just means that he’s not here.”
Sadie’s face suddenly lit up. “Why don’t we try Whisper Chat?”
This was the most painfully obvious suggestion ever made. Calling myself stupid under my breath, I thought as hard as I could, Samuel, where are you? I waited for almost a minute, but no answer. Either he didn’t get my message, he wasn’t responding, or—I shuddered—someone was keeping him from responding.
“No can do.” I said. “He isn’t responding.”
“How about teleport, then?” Sadie asked.
I sighed. “I thought of that,” I said. “And I don’t think we should do it. There’s no guarantee where we’ll end up. Maybe in the middle of Dragonspyre or a cage in Malistaire’s hideout or in a big pit of lava or something.”
“Oh,” Sadie said, “yeah.”
“I say we go to Ambrose,” I said firmly. “He’ll help us out.”
The three of us shared a nod, and then we walked up the cobblestone pathway to our spiral door. I jammed a golden key with a beautiful carving of a tree in the lock. The door opened to the Wizard City Spiral Chamber and I ushered everyone inside.
We scrambled outside of Bartleby, who was snoring gently. We were about to go through the tunnel to the Commons when I saw a cloaked figure emerge from the Myth School.
“Quick, over here,” I whispered, shoving everyone behind a large tree root.
“What are you—” Savannah began, but I made the “shh” sign with my finger. I peered over the root and immediately recognized Cyrus Drake.
Life wizards are known for having highly developed senses. So even though it was night and his face was almost entirely hidden by a hood, I could see him as clear as day.
As he approached the spiral chamber, I also heard him muttering under his breath, “They will pay…pay for what they did to me.” Then he entered the chamber and I couldn’t hear him any more.
However intriguing this may be, there was know time to wonder what Professor Drake was doing at this hour of the night, muttering to himself as though mad. We had a more urgent matter to attend to.
As soon as Professor Drake had disappeared, I shooed everyone back out. Then we dashed through the tunnel to the Commons and all the way to Ambrose’s office.
Not worrying about the fact that it was after twelve at night, I grabbed the bronze star-shaped knocker and banged it against the door as hard as I could. When that didn’t work, I started yelling, “Come on, open up! It’s really important!”
“All right, I heard you the first time,” said a voice from directly behind me. And there was Professor Ambrose, dressed in a periwinkle shift, a nightcap with a tassel, and fuzzy, pink bunny slippers. Of course; Ambrose had been at his house, not in his office.
“For future reference, Miss Spiritheart, I still know that if a student happens to come calling late at night, even if I am sound asleep at my house at the time.” His blue eyes twinkled, or at least the one that I could see that wasn’t behind the monocle. “So do what to I owe this late pleasure?”
“This isn’t a pleasure visit,” I said grimly. “Samuel’s missing.”
“Mister Nighttamer?” Ambrose inquired.
“Yes, him,” I said. “I heard a loud crash upstairs and when I went up to look he was gone!”
“Oh my,” said Ambrose. “Please come inside, all of you.” He pulled a key out of the folds of his nightshift and stuck it in the lock.
Once we were all settled on the couch and drinking tea that Ambrose had conjured out of thin air, Savannah piped up, “Professor Ambrose? You don’t think that Samuel could’ve been kidnapped, do you?”
Ambrose took a sip of tea and swallowed, his mustache twitching. “A wise hypothesis, Miss Swiftsong,” he said. “Yes, I think we must assume so. And, of course, I think we all know by whom.”
“Malistaire,” I muttered under my breath. Did it always have to be him?
“I believe so,” said Ambrose.
“Are we going to be able to save him?” I asked.
“I will give it my best efforts,” said Ambrose. “But you three are to remain here in Ravenwood for the time being.”
While Sadie looked somewhat relieved, Savannah and I both gave cries of outrage.
“Why?” Savannah shouted.
“He’s our brother!” I added.
“Goodness gracious, I thought it would’ve been obvious,” said Ambrose, raising his eyebrows. “Did you not think that Malistaire captured Mister Nighttamer to lure you to his base? It may very well be a trap.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. Ambrose was right.
Ambrose stood up. “Excuse me while I go alert the staff,” he said. “We will begin a full search of the Spiral, starting with Dragonspyre, I think. After all, that was where Malistaire was sighted last. I am very sorry for what has occurred. Trust me when I say we will do everything you can to find your brother.” After this speech, he vanished in a puff of smoke.
The next few minutes were long and agonizing. Not a sound was made, except for the clinking of spoon against china as we stirred more sugar in our tea.
Almost involuntarily, maybe out of boredom, I took the gemstone out of my pocket. When I held it up to the light just so, it shone around the room like a beacon.
“I still think it has something to do with what happened,” said Savannah.
“Really? Wouldn’t it have been too much of a coincidence?” I asked.
She shrugged. Just then, Ambrose teleported back into the room, now dressed in his normal wizard robes.
“I have told the other teachers about what has happened,” he said. “The search will commence shortly. I advise you to wait in your house while we…what is that?”
“I don’t know,” I said, holding out the emerald so he could get a better look.
“May I?” he asked. I nodded.
He picked the stone up from my outstretched palm. Then he started examining it. He looked at it from all angles, held it up an inch from his nose, and even prodded it with is staff at one point.
“By Bartleby…” he said.
When he handed in back to us, it was with a look of amazement.
“Where did you find this?” he asked.
“On the ground,” I said. “On school grounds. Why do you want to know?”
“This,” he said, “is no ordinary gemstone. I can’t imagine how you came across it. It’s Bartleby’s eye; the missing eye of history.”
Okay, so none of us were expecting that.
I was still protesting when Ambrose led us to Bartleby, where he would meet the other members of the staff. “But it’s a gem! Wouldn’t his eye look…I don’t know…more like an eye?”
“Both of Bartleby’s eyes have magical properties,” Ambrose explained. “If they were to be taken away from him, they would take the shape of an ordinary gem, so no one would know what it really was
Maybe except for the person who had taken it, I thought, wondering if this plan could’ve been thought out a bit more properly.
“It’s not even blue!” exclaimed Savannah. Ambrose appeared not to have heard; he led us through the tunnel to Ravenwood to come face to face with all the teachers of magic.
“Oh my,” said Professor Greyrose, fluttering about anxiously. “I heard what happened. We’ll find him, dearies. Don’t you worry.”
“I am glad you could all be here tonight. Despite the lateness of the hour,” he added to a weary looking Dworgyn. He looked around. “But one among us is missing. Where is Cyrus?’
“I looked for him,” said Professor Falmea. He isn’t in his house or the Myth School, as far as I can tell.”
“We will have to proceed without him, then,” said Ambrose gravely. “As you all know, we cannot risk waiting for Cyrus at the present time.”
Professor Greyrose nodded, looking as though she might burst into tears.
“Go on then,” said Ambrose. “I will meet you on the other side.” When the other teachers had left, he turned to us. “Return to Bartleby what belongs to him. Make note of anything he says about Malistaire. And if you happen to see Cyrus, let him know of what is going on.
“Hmm,” I said as Ambrose also vanished through the Spiral door. How did you wake up a tree, anyway? “Um, Bartleby?” I said hesitantly, tapping on the trunk.
The great tree’s one eye blinked slowly. Then it looked down and saw the three of us.
“Hello, young wizards,” he said. His deep voice reminded me of a fire crackling in the hearth: warm, tamed, but with a slight hint of great power. “You wish to speak to me?”
I nodded. “We believe this is yours.” I held out the emerald.
“Closer,” said Bartleby gently. I brought it up closer.
Just then, there was a great wind. The gemstone was swept out of my hand, being carried closer to Bartleby’s empty socket by a tornado of leaves. Then it connected, and a transformation took place. The gem widened, softened at the edges, and turned sky blue. Bartleby’s other eye was in place.
“Wow,” said Sadie.
“You’ve found the lost eye of history,” said Bartleby. “Memories…I can feel them coming back. You have undone Malistaire’s evil work; for this I thank you.”
“Yes,” I said, “but now we really need your help.” His giant eyebrows rose. “Our brother is missing, and we think he’s been captured by Malistaire. The teachers went to search for him in Dragonspyre, but we want to know if you have any other information that can help us.”
“They search in vain. Your brother is not in Dragonspyre,” said Bartleby.
“What?”
“I remember now…the day Malistaire stole my eye, he used my Spiral Chamber to go to a world that was beyond my recognition. I believe this is where he is hiding now.”
“But how do we get there?” I asked.
Something poked me in the back. It was one of Bartleby’s branches. Hanging there was a large, black key with a tiny rune of a skull.
“I felt someone up in my branches not too long ago. They dropped this key. However, it was one of many.”
“Thank you,” I said to Bartleby. Then I said to my sisters, “Let’s go.”
“Wait!” said Sadie. “Aren’t we going to go get Professor Ambrose?”
“There’s no time,” I said. “Besides, we can’t get in Dragonspyre.”
“Oh,” Sadie’s face fell.
“Come on.” I dashed through the hollow in Bartleby’s trunk, but I ran headlong into someone. I fell toward the ground, clutching my nose, which had suffered the most severe blow.
“Oww!”
“Ouch!”
“Chris?”
“Sarah, is that you?”
“What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Long story,” I said, backing up to give him room. “How about you?”
“I was coming to find you,” he said somewhat apologetically. “I just couldn’t stand the idea of you and those necromancers…oh and I see you brought your sisters.” His tone was disapproving.
“Of course I didn’t!” I blustered. “We just came back from Ambrose’s office. Samuel’s missing!”
“What? No way!” He looked from me to Savannah to Sadie as if hoping to find Samuel among us. “So what are you going to do?”
“We’re going to go get him,” I said, holding out the spiral key.
Chris’s eyes widened. “Where did you get that?”
“Bartleby found it,” I said. “Oh yeah, and we found his other eye too.”
“You found his what?”
“Again, a long story,” I said. “Excuse us please.” I was just about to herd Savannah and Sadie through the hollow when Chris suddenly smacked a hand to his forehead.
“I should’ve seen this coming,” he said, more to himself than to me.
“What?” I asked curiously.
“I mean, why didn’t I see it before? Isn’t it obvious?” He looked at me seriously. “When you were out with those death wizards, did Nolan leave any time at all?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said. “He left to help with the big finale. Only I never actually did see him after he left…” My heart sank faster than a bowling ball dropped off a ten-story building.
“I’m sorry,” Chris said sadly.
I swallowed. Now wasn’t the time. I hated to think about what would happen to Samuel if we hesitated for even a second.
“We need to go now,” I said. Again, Chris stopped me.
“Not so fast,” he said. “I’m coming with you.”
“You are? No, you can’t; you really can’t. It’s too dangerous,” I protested.
He smiled wryly. “And yet…you’re going.”
I hesitated.
“Look, let me come with you guys. Do you think I can just stand here watching while my best friend goes to take on the most powerful dark wizard in the world?”
Without any warning on my part, I hugged him. And despite Savannah’s whistle too.
“Thank you,” I said. As much as I hated dragging another person into this, I was grateful for his company.
This time it was Chris leading us into the Spiral Chamber. Even though I’ve never been fully stressed by it, I was glad that someone else was leading for once.
“Can I see the key?” asked Chris. I gave it to him, and he put it through the keyhole. The door opened, there was a flash of blinding light, and…
“Whoa,” said Savannah.
We found ourselves in a different world entirely. The surface of the ground was rough and jagged, and I thought I even saw a bit of lava beneath the cracks. There were no plants anywhere. (I shivered; as a life wizard I was very uncomfortable in this plant-less world.) At least, there were no living plants. Surrounding the stretch of ground we were on was a forest composed entirely of dead, leafless trees.
But what caught my attention most out of this scene was the big castle right smack dab in the center of the land not covered by dead trees. It looked just like Hogwarts from Harry Potter, but almost completely black and without the cheerfulness. There were even large, black birds circling the towers. In fact, it was so creepy, I half expected there to be ominous music right along with it, like in cartoons.
Chris muttered something incomprehensible, but maybe that was because I was wrapped up in my thoughts and wasn’t listening.
“What?” I said.
“Do you think we’re in Dragonspyre?” Chris said again.
“Not sure,” I said. “Probably not. Bartleby told me that Malistaire wasn’t in Dragonspyre.”
“Oh,” said Chris. Almost simultaneously, there was a puff of smoke and the spiral door vanished.
I groaned. “There goes our ticket out.”
Suddenly, Chris shoved us all behind a large rock. “Get down!”
A second later, I saw why. Two skeletal warriors were marching in front of the fortress. We would’ve been in full view.
That’s when I noticed all the other monsters surrounding the castle. There were all kinds, but it was primarily types of undead. Great. I should’ve known that this place was gong to be guarded.
Savannah and Sadie had seen them too, and now they were both looking at me expectantly. “Sarah…” Savannah said through gritted teeth.
“Hang on. I’m trying. Let me think.” I massaged my temples with my fingers. What could we do? How could we avoid getting seen by all these guards?
Suddenly, it came to me. Remembering something from earlier this night, I traced the life symbol into the air. An imp emerged, happily playing its harp.
Several creatures were now staring at our hiding space because of the racket that the imp was making. No, quiet, I thought. To my surprise, the imp quieted down. Then, laughing, it flew out from behind the rock.
“What are you doing?” Savannah hissed.
“Just watch,” I retorted. Of course, a lot of my plan depended on the guess that these creatures were no smarter than the average bear.
The imp floated over the heads of the creatures, occasionally giggling cheekily or pinching the unwary on the nose. I watched it, waiting. Come on… I thought.
I didn’t have long to wait. Soon, my imp was leading a crowd of unsuspecting monsters behind the castle as if he were the pied piper. It wasn’t long before the area in front of the castle was completely empty.
“Yes!” I whispered. Chris, Savannah, and Sadie all looked impressed. I smiled.
“Come on,” said Chris. “Let’s go before any more arrive.”
We dashed out from behind the rock and toward the wooden doors at the front—which were locked.
“Ugh!” I felt like kicking the doors, but besides the fact that it would cause a big pain in my toe, it would alert someone that we were here.
“Now what?” Savannah said, frustrated.
“Look! Up there!” Sadie was pointing at a window that was big enough for us all to fit in to. The only problem? It was fifteen feet above our heads.
“That is the only other entrance as far as I can see,” I observed. “But how do we get up?”
“Ooh! I know!” said Sadie. “I can cast Lightning Bats and we can fly up!”
“Good idea,” I encouraged. Sadie started rummaging in her deck. At last, she came across the right card.
“Will three bats be enough?” Chris asked.
I smiled playfully. “You’re forgetting who you’re talking to,” I said. As I said this, Sadie tried to cast the spell—but it fizzled. Storm was never known for having high accuracy.
“Hey guys…they’re coming back!” said Savannah in an urgent whisper. Sure enough, I could see one or two ghosts coming back from around a column.
“Hurry,” I moaned as Sadie dug around in her backpack for another card. I was on the verge of sticking my hand in myself when she finally found another card. This time when she cast it, it worked. Dozens of Lightning Bats flew down from the sky and surrounded us.
“Okay, that’s a lot more than just three,” said Chris.
“Um, take us up there, please,” Sadie said aloud, pointing to the open window. The bats surged down from their hole in the sky and started carrying us upward.
As soon as they hefted us onto their backs, my body began to thrum as if with an electric current. And I received several shocks up and down my body. I looked around and saw that the others were also experiencing similar effects. After all, none of us were storm wizards, even though both Chris and Sadie had it as their second school.
“Oi!” I looked down and saw a skeletal pirate shaking his bony fist at us. We had been spotted.
Just then, I was unceremoniously hurled through the window. I landed flat on my face on the cold stone floor.
“Thanks a lot,” I muttered to the bats, which had just disappeared. I felt a trickle of blood run down the side of my mouth.
“Are you all right?” I asked everyone.
“Are you kidding?” said Chris. “That was awesome!” I sighed. Boys confused me sometimes.
“Okay, everyone, we have a problem,” I said. “One of those skeletal pirates saw us come in, so I’m betting that soon the entire place will know we’re here. So let’s just find Samuel as soon as possible and get out of here.”
“How?” asked Sadie. “There are probably a million rooms in here.”
“That’s…a good question,” I said. I looked to Chris for guidance, who merely shrugged.
“Okay, first of all, we need to come up with a plan. But we don’t want to be out it the open.” I held open the first door I saw and led everyone through. Just then I heard something.
“Wait,” I said to everybody, who all stopped at once. “I hear something.”
“I hear it too,” said Chris.
I strained my ears to where I thought the sound was coming from. It sounded like…a scream? A scream! Samuel!
“You guys, I think I hear Samuel!” I said excitedly.
“Really? I don’t hear anything,” said Savannah.
“Follow me,” and I tore off down the hallway, Chris right at my heels, and Sadie and Savannah in our wake.
The four of us dashed down hallways and corridors, rooms and staircases. Samuel’s voice grew steadily louder the farther away we got from the entrance. And we didn’t tire either. Something seemed to be keeping my energy up.
Yet something was wrong. I would’ve thought that even the inside of Malistaire’s castle was guarded. But I didn’t see any creatures as we ran.
“Strange, isn’t it,” I said to Chris, “us not running into any monsters yet?” He shrugged as best as he could while running.
Suddenly, I stopped. Samuel’s wails had reached the loudest yet. They were coming from the exact door that I had stopped in front of.
“He’s in here,” I said. I pulled on the door, expecting in to be locked. It wasn’t.
I walked into a small, dark room with what looked like dog crates piled all over the place. In the largest one was Samuel.
I walked up to him, the others close behind. “Samuel,” I whispered.
He looked up, and immediately, his face brightened. “Sarah!” he exclaimed
“Shh!” I said. “Yes, it’s me. We’re going to get you out of there.” I turned toward the rest. “How are we going to get him out of there?”
“Here.” Chris reached into his belt. “Use my knife.”
“Thanks,” I said, turning the dagger over in my hand. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it. Except now there was a gem missing. I ran my finger over the hole. It was about the size and shape of…of…
A sudden suspicion seized me, but before I could do anything, a bone-chilling voice behind me said, “Well done, girls.”
I slowly turned around and found myself staring into eyes I only ever hoped to see in dreams.
“Malistaire,” I whispered. I hoped I looked fiercer than I sounded.
He chuckled. “Who else?”
My eyes darted around the room, and I automatically began to weigh our chances. Malistaire was blocking the only exit. The room was small, and we had little space to fight. Even if we did fight, he would probably kill the five of us in less time it took you to say, “Toast.”
Malistaire kicked the door shut with his foot. “I applaud you for getting this far. But now, I’m afraid, it’s your time to die.” He smiled wickedly, pointing his staff directly at my chest.
“We’ll see about that,” I growled. And I lunged forward, my wand in hand.
“Sarah, no!” Chris shouted. But it was too late. Malistaire moved his staff so fast I could barely see it. And just like that, I was frozen in place, unable to move. Quick glances told me that Savannah and Sadie were stuck in the same situation that I was.
Then I looked at Chris, who wasn’t frozen like us. Yes! There was still hope.
“Chris!” I shouted. “What are you waiting for? Come and help us!”
For a while, he didn’t move. Then he slowly strode across the room towards Malistaire. But he didn’t face him. Instead, he now stood next to him.
I looked from the dagger lying on the ground to Chris’s expressionless face. Sweat began to form on my brow. My breath came out in slow, ragged gasps.
“Chris?” I said. But it came out more like a squeak.
“No,” he said.
A zap of lightning came down from the ceiling. Only it was black.
Blinking spots from my eyes, I looked at Chris and started to wonder if the black lightning was making me see things. Chris was now dressed all in black—a black robe, black boots, and a black hood that covered his eyes. He smiled.
“Marcus Deathspear,” he said just loud enough for me to hear.
Before I could even make sense about what he just said, he raised his staff, and it all went black. | | | | |
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