Faults

Chapter 24: Archie

As I walk from Aydin's home to the castle, I think about all that just happened. From Aydin getting wounded almost fatally to Taylor getting captured by Christian, my head is drowning in my thoughts. When I went to dress Aydin's stab-wound on his side, I had to remove his shirt and that's when I saw the real extent of the torture he was subjected to.

All the scars he has, yet he never mentions any of them. There was a large scar on his right side that looked like a burn. On his back, all the scars from when he was whipped made me realize how much I hurt him. What was going through his head as I did this cruel thing to him? It hurts so much to see what I did to him, and the fact that he never deserved any of it kills me even more.

I've been trying to push that out of my mind for the time being, but it's hard. I don't know if it's possible for me to make it up to him. I'm going to do everything I can, but it doesn't stop me from wondering if it'll ever be enough. He may tell me everything is fine one day, but I might not agree with him. This will always haunt me.

I need to focus on the task at hand, though. The fight with Christian shouldn't have been as easy as it was for him to win. It only further pushes me to wonder if he is using black magic. This means that a search of the library is more than necessary.

While Galariesse has its aspect of magic given to its residents, outside magic once existed here as well. It heavily interfered with the magic given to the people living here, so it was outlawed. Black magic specifically was ruled to be dangerous for the residents of Galariesse to use. When the spell books were banned and a mandate was made to have them burned over fifty years ago, the use of magic became much safer. The new law unfortunately didn't stop people from using outside magic, still.

The only person I've ever known to use outside magic safely and correctly was my father. Christian certainly isn't someone I'd trust with any outside magic, let alone black magic. Black magic is known for being able to make people effortlessly strong, which is exactly why Christian would use it.

Now I have to figure out which book he stole. Depending on which one it is, our chances of winning–or survival, for that matter–could greatly fluctuate.

When I arrive at the castle, I head straight for the library. There's only one key to the library and no one else but me usually has their hands on it. I quickly unlock the door and slip inside the massive room. I lock the door behind me and face the wall of books.

Spell books are kept on the top shelf.

I forgot how much I hated heights until now.

I roll the ladder to the left of the library and begin climbing, wary of falling. The top shelf is at least twenty feet above the floor. The wooden rungs of the ladder creak beneath my feet and make me feel like I'm about to fall at any given moment.

I finally reach the top of the ladder and peer at the shelf of spell books. There's one missing out of the few copies left in the Kingdom. I scan the titles: Inceptor Est Magicae, Magia Sanationis, Tempestas Incantamenta, Tenebris Magicae...

I let out a breath after seeing Tenebris Magicae. It was one of the most prevalent black magic spell books that was used. I look over the remaining titles and come to the gap between two books where the one Christian presumably took once sat. All the color drains from my face when I realize the missing book is Exitium Per Maleficia.

That book was banned decades before any other spell book. It was known for containing some of the most dangerous spells and incantations ever written. The fact that Christian has it means that we're all doomed. Beyond doomed. We're already in our graves.

The thing about Galariesse's magic is that it's collective. Only one person with a specific ability can exist at that time. Through the ages, the abilities were documented. The authors of Exitium Per Maleficia were mysterious druids who lived within the forest. They created spells according to different abilities which ended up altering how magic worked in the Kingdom. Exitium was banned from the moment new copies were created. The Kingdom couldn't risk having it out in the open.

Shit. It's back out in the open, thanks to Christian. My first order of business just switched from defeating him to getting that spell book back. The last thing we need is black magic infiltrating the Kingdom again.

I climb down the ladder carefully and then run out of the library. I make sure to lock the door and then go back to Aydin's cottage. I walk quickly, despite feeling worn out from the events of today. When I reach his house, I open the door and walk inside. I purposefully left the door unlocked so that I could get inside once again.

I lock the door behind me and head to Aydin's bedroom. He's still lying in his bed, looking defeated. "Aydin," I call out.

"Yes?" he replies weakly.

"Our problems just got so much worse," I say.

He sits up and each movement he makes looks like a struggle. I walk over to the side of his bed and peer down at him, giving him a worried look.

"What happened?" he asks.

"Christian is using black magic. He has one of the spell books and we need it back before he can do anything else," I explain, my voice getting more and more frantic with every word.

Aydin's eyes widen. "What?"

"Exitium Per Maleficia. We need that book back or we're all going to die," I say.

"What do we even do? I can't fight," he says.

With a sigh, I reply, "I honestly don't know. We need to find where Christian and your brother are first. After that, getting the book back is our number one priority."

"But how? We don't know where they went," Aydin comments.

"We'll just have to start looking. It may take days, or even weeks. We just have to find them. This all needs to end and the situation is a thousand times more urgent than it was before. This puts our Kingdom at serious risk," I say firmly.

Aydin nods, looking unsure of what to say.

Christian and Taylor cannot be good. Christian will hurt Taylor if not kill him. That, or he's going to use Taylor to his advantage. The whole Kingdom is going down if that happens.

We're going to stop Christian no matter what. Firstly, we need a better plan and more people. The only person that will lose next time is Christian.

This isn't over.