Memoirs of a Witch (In Bloom Book 1.5)

Glorious Masquerade Finale

"I said I would come quietly, so why'd you tie me up?" Rollo protested, "Don't you have faith in people?"

Idia tugged a little harder at the rope binding the student's wrists, "Coming quietly also means no talking."

"We also don't have faith in you specifically," Azul answered his rhetorical question.

"Guys, just undo his bindings," I said.

"Are you nuts?!" Azul exclaimed. "What if he tries to attack?"

"Then I'll gladly serve as his opponent," Malleus volunteered, but Rollo loudly gulped in response.

I was tired of hearing Rollo's constant complaining. Besides, we were almost at the ground floor. By now, students would be waking up and wondering where we are. If their paths crossed with ours, what would they think if they saw the student council president of Noble Bell College tied and dragged around by three dorm leaders and a witch from Night Raven College?

All of our magical power, including Rollo's, was nearly spent from the fight on top of the bell tower. Without Malleus supporting me with his hand wrapped around my waist, I thought I would fall face first onto the floor. I was baffled how even he had the energy to carry his own weight as well as my own. Our trek down the steps to reach the bottom were much slower and one or two people occassionally yawned. I almost wanted to find a spot in the bell tower to lay down in and go to sleep. I glanced at my crystal necklace, which only had a small fragment of its colors visible in the ocean of black.

Heading down, we, or rather Malleus, was excited to see a herd of magical gargoyles alive and well. When Bell of Salvation rung, it destroyed all of the crimson flowers growing throughout the city, making them release all of the magic they absorbed. Barnett, the gargoyle we encountered earlier, gave us our thanks for helping him and wished for us to have a good remainder of our stay in the City of Flowers.

When we almost reached the bottom, I heard the sound of rushing footsteps and saw a head of blond hair approaching us.

Lucas.

"Cassandra!" the Royal Sword Academy student panted when he reached our group. Unlike us, his clothes were not torn in various places or smelled like smoke. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm alright, don't worry," I brushed it off and felt Malleus' grip on me slightly tighten.

"What happened? Everyone's in a panicked frenzy right now," Lucas looked at all of us before finally focusing on Rollo, "Where did those flowers come from?"

Rollo stood still before his eyes darted to the ground, "Well...that.."

"Allow me," Malleus intervened.

Although Rollo attempted to maintain his stone cold composure, he fiddled with the rings on his fingers when he thought no one was looking. While Malleus explained the spreading of the crimson flowers and how we handled it, he did not point his finger at Rollo. He said the cause for the sudden growth of the flowers was unknown.

Lucas looked to me for confirmation, "Is this true, Cassandra?"

I nodded, "When we all came to the tower, we found Rollo already there. I guess he got a feeling that danger was coming."

In a way, I was telling the truth.

"You all must be exhausted," Lucas examined all of us before his gaze settled on mine for a moment longer, "Especially you."

Though I was touched for his concern, there was something else I was worried about, "How's everyone else? From NRC, RSA, and the other magical schools?"