Lunar Flare Book 2: Midnight Eclipse

Chapter ???

William hurried down the corridors of the academy, grimoire tightly clutched against his chest. He attempted to dodge around the other wizards, but he wasn't exactly the most graceful person, and almost crashed into a few people or stumbled a few times and nearly tripped over nothing. The other wizards just gave him the same sort of derisive looks they always did, or at worst called out for him to watch where he was going. He paid them little mind.

When William came barrelling around the next corner he ran straight into a large figure, spectacled face colliding with their broad chest. Will stumbled backwards, catching his balance and looking up at the taller man. He looked down at William with surprise across his round kind features, framed by his mid-length mousy brown hair. He reached out and grabbed Will by the shoulders to steady him, then looked down at him with concern in his eyes behind his small round glasses.

"Cornelius!" Will exclaimed, taken off guard that he had literally run right into the person he had been looking for.

"Will, are you okay?" Cornelius asked, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "What's got you in such a hurry?"

"Look what I found Cornelius!" Will declared as he held the ancient grimoire aloft towards the other.

"Will, is that a book from the restricted section of the library?" Cornelius snapped in a hushed tone. "Don't go waving it around where everyone can see it! Let's go talk somewhere more private." And with that he let go of Will's shoulders and grabbed him by the wrist instead, dragging the smaller wizard off down the corridor. William used his other hand to hold the grimoire close to his chest again. Cornelius' hand felt warm around his wrist.

Cornelius pulled Will into an empty room and then over to a wall. He pulled on the candlestick holder attached to the wall and as it moved down there was a clicking sound and a part of the wall popped out slightly. Cornelius used his free hand to pull the wall open, then dragged William inside, before closing it behind them, plunging them into darkness.

The taller wizard whispered a word, and a small orb of pale light appeared in the air in front of his face, its weak glow enough to barely illuminate their surroundings. Cornelius gave Will a smirk. "I've been practising," he said with pride. William smiled back at him encouragingly, knowing how difficult it was for Cornelius to execute even the simplest of spells.

"Good job," Will said in a hushed tone, then turned and started making his way down the corridor hidden within the walls. The Magus Academy was chock full of secret passageways and rooms that none of the other wizards even seemed to know about, not even those on the council. A while back Will had accidentally stumbled upon their existence during his extensive explorations of the academy. William trod cautiously as he moved through the dimly lit passage, Cornelius right behind him.

Eventually they entered a small room. The ceiling was quite low, meaning Will's tall companion had to duck his head. The room contained various lamps and cushions littered around on the floor, as well as numerous tomes and magical objects the two young wizards had collected together. Now William spoke a word, and suddenly the candles in the lamps sprung to life with strange purple flames. Cornelius stared at them in shock.

"Was that... dark magic?" Cornelius asked in a tone of concern.

William nodded, smirking himself now. "I learned that last night, while reading books like this one from the restricted section!"

"How did you even get in there?" Cornelius asked, as now Will pulled him by the arm further into the room and then downwards to take a seat on the floor with him.

"I finally found a secret passageway that leads right to it! And there is just so much in there to read, I've been up all night studying," Will said excitedly, holding out the book towards Cornelius again.