Burning Star: A Twilight FanFic

Ch 15- Red Alert

My work phone rang at 4:00 am. I knew instantly that something must be wrong. I flew out of bed to answer the call. It was Al.

"Come to the Archives immediately. Head to the council chambers, we're having an emergency meeting." She hung up immediately after and I stiffened in shock. I was wide awake now and so was Seth. He'd followed me out of bed and was watching me with alarm.

"I need to go back to the Archives. The room key is on the desk. I'll get in touch later," I told him.

I didn't bother changing clothes the conventional way. With a simple spell, a had an entirely new outfit on. A shimmery white off the shoulder dress with gold lining and white boots. The council pendant hung around my neck. My hair was styled in an intricate updo and a full face of makeup appeared to finish everything off.

Without stopping to give Seth any more explanation, I turned the bathroom door into a gate, dashed through, and quickly shut it behind me.

Just as I passed through, Boahinmaa was coming through another one of the gates. We nodded politely to each other and then began speed walking towards the council chambers. We knew that this must be something extremely serious if it caused an emergency meeting. The fact that Al gave no explanations made me more nervous.

I was shocked when I entered the council chambers. Everyone else was there, already in their respective seats. Al, Olly, Fernanda, and Alma. Fernanda and Alma looked just as lost as Boahinmaa and I did. But my surprise came from the person sitting in a chair in the center of the room, frozen by a spell that shut down the mind and body to the point where only basic functions were being performed. An artificial coma of sorts.

It was Gavrila. I couldn't imagine what she could've done to evoke this kind of response. She was a key figure in the magic world. A well known council informant, the inventor creating and reimagining magic tools, one of the most brilliant minds to ever exist. She was by all means an upstanding citizen. So why was she being treated like a criminal?

As soon as I sat down in my seat beside Al, my mentor cleared her throat. When she spoke it was in the secret language spoken only by members of the council and the hellions. It was a randomized combination of dozens of different ancient languages including Sumerian, ancient Egyptian and Greek, long lost tribal languages, and some belonging to peoples that history wasn't old enough to record.

"I ask that you don't make any comments until I finish my explanation, but I have called you here to discuss something Ms. Kuznetsov has done," she announced. "Several hours ago, I received a call from Ms. Kuznetsov about an ancient bunker she'd found, hidden with some powerful seals. It was within her security clearance to enter and investigate. The owner of the bunker was an ancestor of hers, and due to the extreme similarities in their magic, a seal containing the memories of the bunker's deceased resident broke automatically and implanted the caster's memories in Ms. Kuznetsov's mind. The spell was designed to permanently attach its contents to the mind, and I am unable to counter it and erase those memories."

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but what could she possibly have seen to cause this?" Fernanda asked.

"I will not tell you, and you will not try and find out yourselves. It's the one thing that even you all are absolutely forbidden to know," she explained tersely.

Oh my god. All eyes snapped to Olly who gave a short nod. Gavrila had learned the origins of the hellions. Seeking out the origins of the mutant monsters was one of the highest crimes you could commit. As I looked around the room, there was nothing but thoughtful, troubled expressions. I knew all our minds were working on the same train of thought.

While Gavrila had committed a crime, it was clear from the way Al explained it that she had no intention to, and in fact, committed it involuntarily. She did have the necessary clearance to investigate the bunker as an high ranking informant. And if the spell containing the memories recognized Gavrila as it's caster, if their magical presence was that similar, there would've been no way for her to stop the transfer of information. On top of that, if Al couldn't erase the memories, then Gavrila had no choice but to live with them. Could this really even be considered a crime?

The others began talking, working through the issue out loud, and I listened silently, looking for solutions by myself. We couldn't allow someone outside of the council to have that knowledge, especially since most of the council wasn't even allowed to know it. But there wasn't really any sort of reasonable punishment for Gavrila. And if we did punish her, word would undoubtedly get out to the public, and we would be unable to provide the justification behind the sentence. Explaining would cause those who disliked the council to come after Gavrila and look for what she'd found themselves.

An idea came to me. If we couldn't let an outsider have that info, then we would make sure she wasn't one.

I waited for a pause in the conversation and then butted in. "I may have the answer to this problem, ladies."

"Go on," Al prompted. The others nodded.

"We discussed the issue of Boahinmaa potentially naming a successor in our last meeting, but we couldn't think of a good candidate. But wouldn't Gavrila be an excellent choice? She's the current leader in magical advancement, one of the most brilliant people to ever live, she's great with people of all ages, she's well known, and her magical abilities are certainly on par with the greatest witches out there," I said. I watched as they all caught up to where I was.

Boahinmaa hummed. "Yes, she would do quite well. I would still run the Academy of course, but she would be well suited to my council duties. An excellent resolution, Brielle. Naming her as my successor would raise her clearance and force her silence, while also allowing us to monitor her closely. Her mental blocks are strong enough to keep everyone except you and Alunara out, so nobody would be able to learn what she knows unless she tells them. I'm fully in support of this," Boahinmaa agreed.

"Well, I certainly have no objections. She certainly seems to have the talent," Alma added.

Fernanda nodded in approval. "Yes, she would be a good fit. Beyond that, there's not really any other viable solution."

"Olly, what do you say?" Al asked.

"It's a simple way to protect the secret. I have no issue with it. Plus it would make it easier to vote on issues without risking ties," Olly shrugged.

Al looked around the room, carefully assessing our expressions. I could feel the brief touch of her mind as she examined mine. After she'd confirmed our decisions, she drew herself up. "It's decided then. Gavrila Kuznetsov is to be named the High Witch Protégée of Magical Education and Advancement." With a quick surge she release the girl in front of us.

Gavrila's eyes passed over our faces and I could clearly see the fear on hers. "Have you come to a decision?" she whispered nervously.

"Gavrila Kuznetsov, we name you as the successor to the High Witch Boahinmaa. From this day until the day you ascend to your position, you will bear the title of High Witch Protégée, the seventh member of the Magic Council," Al declared. We all applauded and watched as Boahinmaa changed Gavrila's clothes into the purple lined white garb of a true council member.