The Mage's Grave Read online

  Chapter Three

  Darek didn't even hesitate when he saw the Third Dorm's roof explode. While the rest of the students from both schools just stared at the column of flame and smoke in horror and shock, Darek teleported up from the sports field to the back of the Third Dorm.

  He ran around the building until he reached the front door. Yanking the door open, Darek was met by clouds of black smoke pouring out of the open doorway like water bursting from a dam. Coughing and wheezing, Darek pointed his wand at his face and created an air bubble around his head. Immediately, the smoky smell faded from his lungs and nose, allowing him to breathe again as he dashed into the Third Dorm.

  There was a reason Darek had not hesitated to act. The Third Dorm was his dormitory, the place where he and his fellow dorm mates stayed. Most of his things were in there, after all, so he was determined to put out the fire and save as much of his stuff as he could.

  Of course, he also wanted to make sure that no one else was in here. He doubted there was, seeing as the Magical Superior had made it clear that any students who stayed in their dorms in lieu of greeting the Institute mages would be disciplined, but he just had to be sure.

  When he entered the Third Dorm itself, he had little time to think about his motivations for running into a burning building. The air was hot and oppressive, like walking into an oven, with flames licking at the walls, floor, and ceiling. A chunk of the ceiling had fallen down and crashed onto the coffee table in the center near the burning sofa. The stairs leading up to the second floor were blocked off completely by a chunk of debris from the ceiling, but it was clear based on the position of the explosion outside that the explosion had started in one of the dorm rooms on the second floor, which meant that Darek had to get up there quickly to put it out.

  Keeping his head down, Darek ran over to the stairs and waved his wand. The flames parted just long enough for him to jump through them and land on the other side of the stairs. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he was off, running up the stairs to the second floor even as the heat grew worse.

  Upon emerging on the second floor, Darek immediately spotted the room in which the explosion had started. He knew that it had to be the room where the explosion had started because the door had been blasted off its hinges, leaving an open doorway in which smoke and fire bellowed out.

  Even worse, Darek recognized that open doorway was the doorway to his own room. That meant that the explosion had started in his and Jiku's shared room, although why or how, he didn't know.

  Regardless, Darek knew he had to act right away. He ran toward the open doorway to his room and waved his wand. As he did so, a powerful gust of wind blew from nowhere, tearing through the smoke and giving him a brief glimpse of the inside of his room before the smoke returned and obscured his vision.

  Don't have much time, Darek thought. Air bubble is getting thinner. Gotta get out of here before it goes away completely. Fire's too strong for me to put out on my own. I will have to let the others deal with it.

  Right before he tried to leave, Darek heard the crashing of something nearby. Looking in the direction he had came, he saw that another chunk of ceiling had fallen in front of the stairs, effectively blocking off all escape routes. Not only that, but the flames had grown as well, growing far too large for him to control. They licked at the floor and what was left of the ceiling, leaving burn marks wherever they touched.

  Can't escape through the stairs, Darek thought as he walked backwards, his eyes beginning to burn due to the thinness of the air bubble. Must—

  “Help!” a familiar, old voice shouted. “Someone, help me! I'm stuck!”

  The voice was immediately cut off by hacking and wheezing. Darek had no trouble recognizing that voice as belonging to Jiku, who based on the sounds of his shouts for help was lying somewhere in Darek's room. That made sense, seeing as Jiku and Darek were roommates as well as dorm mates, but at the same time he wondered what Jiku was doing back here in the first place.

  Doesn't matter, Darek thought. I just need to rescue him before he dies. That hacking and wheezing doesn't sound good at all.

  Feeling his air bubble thinning with each passing second, Darek dashed back toward the doorway to his room. The thick smoke and burning flames continued to block the entrance, but he waved his wand again, sending a powerful gust of wind that cut through both like a sword, giving him just enough time to jump through the gap and land in the room.

  Panting, sweat running into his eyes, Darek looked around, scanning the place for any sign of Jiku. It was hard because the smoke was still thick in here, but then he noticed the familiar red boots of his friend poking out through the smoke.

  Not saying anything—after all, talking wasted clean breathing air and he could not afford to waste even one ounce of that—Darek moved forward, ignoring the burning smoke that burned his hands. As he did so, he realized that a large chunk of the ceiling had fallen on Jiku's chest, pinning the middle-aged man to the floor.

  Damn it, Darek thought. How am I supposed to move that?

  He raised his wand to try to move the chunk of burning debris with telekinesis, but then without warning a flame leaped out from his own bed nearby and struck his wand hand. Instinctively cursing, despite how much air that movement wasted, Darek clutched his now burnt hand as his wand disappeared somewhere in the smoke and fire all around him.

  No time to find it, Darek told himself as he moved closer to the chunk of rock on Jiku's chest. Just use your magic as best as you can without it.

  Of course, it was not that easy. Darek hadn't had much experience going wand-less. He could do it, but it would be like trying to walk without shoes in the middle of a furnace.

  He would have to do it. For Jiku.

  Raising his hands—including the one that still burned—Darek focused on moving the damn ceiling chunk that lay on Jiku's chest. Without the wand to help him focus, it was like trying to move a boulder with his teeth. It didn't help that his air bubble was so thin now as to be practically nonexistent, and the smoke was in his eyes making it hard for him to see.

  But then, much to his amazement, the ceiling chunk did in fact wobble before completely rolling off Jiku's body. Darek grimaced when he saw the burnt mark on his friend's chest and almost became depressed when he realized just how still Jiku was.

  Yet Darek didn't give himself time to worry about his friend. He got down on his hands and knees, burning them against the hot floor, and grabbed Jiku's hand as the last of the air bubble gave out.

  Suddenly, thick, hot, black smoke filled Darek's lungs, making him hack and wheeze as much as Jiku had earlier. Tears formed in his eyes as the smoke burned them and unless he was mistaken his robes felt like they had caught fire.

  Must … get … out of here, Darek thought. Must teleport. Now.

  Darek had never teleported without a wand and wasn't even sure if he could. Nonetheless, with the smoke rapidly filling his lungs and with Jiku comatose, Darek had to give it a try.

  Closing his eyes, Darek focused entirely on the courtyard of the Arcanium. He thought about it with all of his heart and soul until he could practically taste the soft green grass in front of it.

  Then he focused on actually being there. He focused on the place as best as he could, trying to forget everything else, trying to even forget his own burning hand and missing wand. The Magical Superior had often told him that complete focus was necessary in order to teleport in stressful situations, but Darek found that much harder to do than he thought it should be.

  And then, without warning, the smoke, heat, and hard stone floor under his knees vanished, replaced with a light, cool breeze and soft grass under him.

  Gasping for breath, opening his eyes, Darek saw the steps of the Arcanium before them and then looked down at Jiku. His heart failed him at the sight of his friend's appearance.

  Jiku looked like he had been burnt to a crisp. His face was burned black in several places, his robes had burned holes in them, especially in the c
hest area, and his silver-gray hair was now blackened around the edges. He looked like the corpse of a burn victim, which was very nearly close to what he was.

  Raising his hands to cast a healing spell (despite having zero experience healing burns, much less wand-less), Darek was interrupted by the sound of people running toward him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the Magical Superior, Archmage Yorak, an aquarian who might have been Yorak's assistant, Mom, and Aorja running toward him. Behind them, the students from both schools were fighting the burning Third Dorm with their magic, while the teachers supervised and helped. They seemed to be having trouble with the fire, but it didn't matter to Darek because the flames did not seem to be spreading to the other dorms.

  It was the Archmage who reached Darek first, well before the other three. She pushed him aside rather roughly for a woman her age, fell to her knees at Jiku's side, and said, “How long has he been out?”

  “I don't know,” said Darek, feeling annoyed. “Maybe ten minutes at most.”

  “Ten minutes,” the Archmage growled. “That's not good. Listen, I know some healing spells that should hopefully take care of the worst of his wounds. Just stay back and let me cast them, okay?”

  Darek bit his lower lip, but when he looked at Jiku again and saw how terrible his condition was, he nodded. Scrambling to his feet to get out of the way, Darek watched as the Archmage held her hands over Jiku's body.

  The stone inside the Archmage's bracelet began to glow. Magical energy flowed from it through her hands into Jiku's body. It was a mesmerizing experience, as Darek had never seen an aquarian mage cast a spell before. It was hampered somewhat by his lungs, which were still burning from the smoke he had briefly inhaled, causing him to hack every now and then, but he would have those looked at later, after Jiku was fixed.

  By the time Yorak finished healing Jiku, the others had arrived. While the Magical Superior went to inspect Jiku and Yorak's assistant helped the Archmage stand, Mom and Aorja went to check on Darek. Mom in particular fussed over his appearance and health, despite the fact that he was perfectly fine aside from his aching lungs, and he told her so.

  Nonetheless, Mom being Mom, she said, “I know you are fine, Darek, but I wanted to make sure that you actually are fine. You ran into a burning building, for the gods' sake. That's not something most people can do without suffering some serious consequences, even if you used magic to protect yourself from most of them.”

  Darek rolled his eyes, but then clutched his hand as soon as the burn flared again. Without so much as a warning, Yorak pointed at Darek's hand, her stone glowed, and the burning went away as if it had never been there at all. He opened his mouth to thank her, but now Yorak and the Magical Superior were talking and he didn't want to interrupt their obviously important discussion, whatever it might have been about.

  “How do you feel?” asked Aorja, putting her hands together in concern. Her guitar was no longer with her; perhaps she had forgotten it in the rush of things. “Can you still breathe?”

  “Yes, I can,” said Darek, waving off her concern. “You should be focusing on Jiku. He's the one who was in the midst of the explosion. I'd be surprised if he survived this.”

  “He will,” said the Magical Superior suddenly, causing Darek, Mom, and Aorja to look at him. “Yorak confirmed that he will live. He will have to rest for a few hours, however, as the spells she cast on him work best when the target is asleep. We will need to transport him to the Arcanium until he wakes up.”

  “Oh, that's wonderful to hear,” said Aorja with a sigh. “I was worried that the old coot wasn't going to make it.”

  “He wouldn't have, had not this young man saved him,” said Yorak, nodding at Darek. “What is your name?”

  “Darek Takren,” said Darek. He gestured at Jiku. “And he's Jiku Nium. Once he awakes, I'll be sure to let him know that you saved his life. Jiku always liked to thank people who helped him, so I'm sure he will be anxious to thank the person who saved his life later.”

  “That would be you, wouldn't it?” said Yorak, looking at him like she wasn't sure that he had been paying attention. “After all, it was you who ran into that burning building and saved him, yes?”

  “Yes, but I didn't even know he was in there and you were the one who actually healed him anyway, ma'am,” said Darek. “I just heard him calling for help. I originally ran in there because I wanted to make sure that there was no one in there and wanted to see if I could save any of my possessions.”

  “Jiku's been missing all morning,” Aorja added. “None of us knew where he was until now. We thought he might have been in the Arcanium, sick.”

  Yorak turned to look at the Magical Superior, a questioning expression on her face. “Superior, why was one of your students inside his dorm room, rather than outside waiting to greet the rest of us?”

  The Magical Superior stroked his chin, his eyes darting between the unconscious Jiku lying on the grass and the burning Third Dorm, which the other mages finally seemed to be getting under control, if the rapidly decreasing size of the flames and smoke was any indication. “I do not know the answer to that question, Yorak. This should not have happened. At this point, I know as much as you do about this situation.”

  The silent aquarian with a goldfish-like head—perhaps Yorak's assistant, who had up until this point been completely silent—pointed at Jiku and looked at Yorak. Yorak returned the look and stared at her assistant for a few seconds before returning her gaze to the Magical Superior.

  “My pupil, Auratus, wants to know why we don't just read your student's mind to find out what happened to him,” said Yorak. “Which I think is a good point.”

  “Because that would break the Telemancy Rules of Ethics,” said the Magical Superior. “Rule Number One is that you cannot use telemancy to read someone's mind without their permission except in emergencies.”

  “That one of your dorm buildings was blown up, and two of your students nearly killed as a result, does not count as an emergency?” Yorak asked, her voice skeptical. “Superior, I would think that this calls for an emergency of the highest order. There is clearly someone here in the school who is trying to cause harm.”

  “That is an odd conclusion to jump to, Yorak,” said the Magical Superior, leaning on his staff. “Jiku may have started the explosion accidentally. It is not unheard of for students here to try spells above their ability and which they do not understand. The consequences are usually even more disastrous than this.”

  “But this is different,” said Mom. She didn't seem at all intimidated by the looks that the two most powerful mages in the world were giving her, but then again, Mom had always been harder to intimidate than most people. “I know Jiku. He's an expert pyromancer. He could handle an explosion like that just fine. And anyway, he was far too responsible to cast an explosion in his own dorm room like that.”

  “Mom's right,” said Darek, nodding. “Jiku's one of the more advanced students. I can't see him doing something like this, not even accidentally. Someone else had to do it.”

  “But who?” Aorja wondered, looking at Jiku with worry on her features. “Who would have even tried to do something like this? Is there a spy among us?”

  “If there is, then what is to stop that spy from striking again?” said Yorak. “And maybe even putting my students at risk? Superior, I appreciate the gesture, but it may very well be time for me and my students to head back early. I do not want to put any of their lives at risk if there is a mad bomber running around blowing up dormitories.”

  Much to Darek's surprise, the Magical Superior actually grabbed Yorak's arm and looked at her pleadingly. It was odd because the Magical Superior rarely ever made physical contact with anyone, even with his own students. The pleading way that the Superior looked at Yorak was bizarre, too, which made Darek wonder just how close the two were and what the exact status of their relationship was.

  “Please, Yorak, don't leave just yet,” said the Magical Superior. “You just got here. Be
sides, we don't have all of the facts yet. We still need to examine the remains of the Third Dorm to find out who did it. It may be that this was a singular event, but rest assured that we will find out who did it and we will keep your students as safe as ours, if not safer.”

  Once again, Darek was struck by the Magical Superior's behavior. He spoke with the kind of conviction and attitude that Darek had never seen the Superior speak with before. It was like Skimif, the God of Martir, had taken the Superior's soul and replaced it with someone else's. He wondered if this was the same Magical Superior he had known for the last thirty years or if this was some kind of imposter pretending to be him.

  Even odder, Yorak didn't shake off the Magical Superior's hand. She just gave him a hard, skeptical look, as if she had been told this before and didn't quite believe it. Her pupil, Auratus, stood at her side, but whether she believed the Superior or not, it was impossible to tell.

  “All right,” said Yorak with a sigh. “I have always had a hard time saying no to you, Superior. I suppose we'll stay for now. But if something else like this happens, I will not hesitate to gather up my students and go back to the Institute. Understood?”

  “Completely,” said the Magical Superior as he let go of her arm. “Of course. I would do the same in your situation. I won't even try to stop you if you decide to do that.”

  Darek tilted his head. Clearly, the Magical Superior and Yorak must have known each other in the past, but that didn't explain where and how they met or what their relationship had been, exactly. It was probably none of his business, but seeing them treat each other like old friends still incited his curiosity and made him wish that he was a better dictamancer. Then he would be able to look into their past and see what happened back then.

  “I have no trouble believing that, Superior,” said Yorak. “But I do have trouble believing that this school is as safe as its reputation suggests.”

  “Don't worry,” said the Magical Superior. “This is the first time that something like this has happened in years, in decades even. I will personally investigate the matter and bring to justice whoever did it and thought they could get away with it. Guaranteed.”

  Next to Darek, Aorja rubbed her arm, like the situation was making her uncomfortable. She kept glancing at Jiku, no doubt wondering how he was feeling and whether he was going to be all right. Mom had her arms folded across her chest, her sharp eyes focused almost entirely on Yorak. Darek knew that look well, for it was a look Darek had seen Mom give to many people over the years and it always meant that she didn't trust the individual in question, at least not entirely, although why Mom looked at Yorak, of all people, with that look, he didn't know.

  It's not like Yorak is behind the explosion, Darek thought. Is she just upset that Yorak thinks the school isn't safe or something?

  At that moment, a familiar, overly-loud voice shouted, “Superior! I have urgent news to deliver to you right away!”

  Darek looked up the steps of the Arcanium and groaned inwardly. A tall man, wearing black robes, with that stupid fox mask on his face, was running down the steps of the Arcanium toward them. He ran so fast that he seemed to be flying across the Arcanium's courtyard, his wand attached to his belt bouncing at his side.

  “Who is that?” said Yorak, blinking at the sight of the strange man.

  “Junaz Esperon,” said the Magical Superior, sounding a little bored. “The luminimancy and metamancy teacher. He's … unique, to put it lightly.”

  “Why is he wearing the face of a beast?” said Yorak.

  “He's crazy,” Mom confirmed.

  “Actually, it's because he thinks it will give him the cleverness of a fox,” said the Magical Superior.

  “Like I said, he's crazy,” said Mom.

  Darek had to avoid laughing at that, although a smirk crossed his lips involuntarily.

  “He's also a very good teacher and mechanic,” said the Magical Superior. “I was wondering where he was. He must have found something important if he was not present to greet you.”

  In less than a minute, Junaz was before them. His hands on his knees, he panted and had to push his long, dark hair out of his eyes in order to see through the slits in his mask. It was like he had run a mile, although the distance from the Arcanium to their current spot was not very long.

  “Magical Superior, sir,” said Junaz in between panting. “I captured two intruders who were trying to break into the school without us knowing. I believe they are the culprits who caused the explosion of Third Dorm in order to distract us from their real plan.”

  “Really?” said the Magical Superior. “That sounds almost too good to be true. Who are they?”

  “I have no idea,” said Junaz, shaking his head. “One of them resembles a huge bear, with fists as big as boulders and fur as red as heatstone. The other looks like a walking, talking tree, but I suspect neither of them are quite what they appear.”

  “So a giant bear and a talking tree tried to blow up the Third Dorm so they could sneak into the school without anyone noticing?” said Mom. “That's the craziest thing you've ever said, Junaz, and that's after you told me, when I first met you, that that fox mask of yours makes you as clever as the real thing.”

  An offended look flashed in Junaz's eyes as he said, “Sorry if that offends your narrow view of the world, Jenur, but it is quite true. They even succeeded in destroying Guardian. Trust me, I would never lie about that.”

  “If they destroyed Guardian, then they're definitely a threat,” said Aorja. “That thing is supposed to be unbeatable, isn't it?”

  “Yes,” said the Magical Superior. “So Junaz, where are these two intruders you spoke of?”

  “I put them in the catacombs, sir,” said Junaz, pointing at the ground beneath their feet. “Locked them up in the cells. They are not yet conscious, but I believe they will soon awake any minute now.”

  Darek grimaced, although no one seemed to notice. The catacombs were a series of underground tunnels and caves that ran underneath the entirety of the Arcanium. They had been built by the founder of North Academy, whoever he was, but their exact purpose was unknown, although nowadays the teachers used them to store supplies and important objects they couldn't store anywhere else.

  Darek had never liked the catacombs. They always seemed far too sinister for his taste, especially the jail cells. He didn't even know why the tunnels beneath a school would need prison cells in the first place; after all, to his knowledge, they had never even been used until today.

  “Then I will go down there to speak with them right away,” said the Magical Superior. “We will find out if they are involved with the explosion of the Third Dorm, and if they are not, why they tried to sneak into the school in the first place.”

  “I wish to come with you, Superior,” said Yorak. “If these two intruders are behind this tragedy, then I would like to know if they have any other terrible plans up their sleeves. For the safety of my students.”

  “Very well,” said the Magical Superior. “But first …”

  The Superior looked at Darek, Mom, and Aorja. “You three, take Jiku to the medical wing of the Arcanium. He should be resting on something better than the grass.” Then he looked at Junaz. “Junaz, you will take me and Yorak down to the catacombs and show us where you put the intruders.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Junaz, bowing.

  Yorak gestured at her pupil, Auratus. “Auratus, I want you to go and find out if the other students have found any clues among the debris of the Third Dorm. Please also tell the others that the intruders have been caught, but that the students should be prepared to leave at any time just in case.”

  Auratus did not respond to that verbally. She simply saluted Yorak and then ran off toward the Third Dorm without hesitation. She ran somewhat awkwardly across the grass, like she wasn't used to running on land.

  “Now then,” said the Magical Superior to Junaz. “Take us to the intruders. If they are truly the ones behind the explosion, then they are a clear
threat to the students from both schools. And I do not tolerate threats to my students from anyone, no matter who they might be.”

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