= Wands High =

Chapter 60 - 24 May 1998, Sunday

His footsteps echoed weirdly up and down the spiraling staircase as he was climbing to the fifth floor. That strange ringing he'd been hearing for the past... how many now, ten days? It was a bit more distinct now, though, even stranger, it was still echoing in his right ear only. At first he thought that it was because of the intense band practices they were doing since Evereth and Kennedy had replaced Daynen and Orianna. But he figured out quickly that the sound wasn't constant. Sometimes it was barely noticeable, other times it suddenly felt like someone had just rang a brass bell right next to his ear.

Or... it wasn't exactly the time, but more like the place, Reginald thought when he reached the fifth floor.

The ringing was now a constant low tone, almost beyond the grasp of his perception, but steady and unwavering. Earlier, in the dining hall he had managed to forget about it for a while again – the sound had nearly vanished in the usual dinnertime racket, but it had been a bit higher back then. Now, as he was walking along the corridor, the sound was significantly lower. Almost as if it was supposed to guide him somewhere...

But what could possibly be here, on this particular floor, at this particular moment? And was he even going in the right direction, if there was such a thing at all? Most residents of the castle were still on the first floor, finishing their dinner. On this floor, there were several classrooms, few storage rooms and teacher studies, and then the corridor was taking a sharp turn leading to another wing of the castle and the wide open space of the Eastern terrace. Sometimes teachers used the terrace for exercises requiring more space, instead of walking five flights of stairs and the whole mid-section of the castle so they could get outside and use the school grounds.

Almost halfway through the corridor, Reginald stopped and slowly turned, trying to take in every detail of the setting. No, there was nothing unusual here, he was sure of it, even if there was always something going on in the castle. The ringing was still the same low, steady tone.

- Hey, bud, what are you doing here?

The voice startled him and the boy turned around. One of the Hit Wizards from the improvised patrol was walking towards him from the opposite side of the corridor.

- Nothing, sir, just, uh, going to my dorm.

- You know walking alone in any part of the castle or the grounds is advised against, mate. I know it's ridiculous to walk in pairs to the toilet or something, but rules are rules, eh? – the Hit Wizard – tall man with dirty blond hair and several small scars on his left cheek – said friendlily. – Need an escort? Which tower is your dorm in?

- The Southern Tower – Reginald said in a hurry. – Uh, thank you, sir, but I'll join that group, I don't want to divert you from your tasks – he added quickly, hearing polyphonic laughter from the adjacent corridor. – Good night, sir.

- To you too, mate – the man nodded, obviously not too keen on keeping the rules to the letter, and continued his walking in the opposite direction of the one stated by Reginald.

His dorm was in the Western tower, and he had no intention of going there yet, though he wasn't convinced at all that his random wandering would lead to any results. Still feeling the eyes of the Hit Wizard on his back, Reginald hurried to catch up with the group of laughing students walking to the staircase at the end of the adjacent corridor. Few meters before reaching the staircase however, he took the other turn and walked out on the Eastern terrace. It was still light outside, though the sun was creeping towards the hills behind the castle, its light gold-ish and quickly dimming down. The evening wind ruffled his curly hair. Nothing unusual here either, just the same mountain vista which never really impressed him with its beauty. Reginald took a long careful look around, then hurried for the opposite side of the terrace before someone else had noticed his lonely exploration.