I rubbed my eyes and noticed that it was early. I had not overslept. I quietly slipped on some day clothes and slipped into my tunnel. I was meeting Terence and hopefully we could find out more about wizards.
“Let’s get going,” He whispered as I approached him in the gardens..
“Where do we look?” I asked.
“There are some small libraries we could try today,” He suggested.
“Let’s get going then before everyone wakes up,” I said. It was nice and warm even though the sun was only just peeping over the horizon.
We walked into town ready for whatever dangers we could encounter. I had secretly brought a few knives and Terence was always equipped with weapons of some sort.
“Is this place open?” I glanced into a library window.
“Yes,” Terence nodded and we walked inside. An old lady greeted us from the counter where she had her nose buried in a novel. Her pet cat rubbed against my leg and I scratched its ear.
“Wizards,” I murmured, looking along the spines of books. I found a book that looked old and weathered. I read through and found only what I already knew in more detail.
Leonthor was a rich, spoiled kid with a terrible temper and Arthur was your typical hero. He had humble beginnings and became a prominent wizard and eventually defeated Leonthor.
It only mentioned the Wizard Council. It was created to monitor wizard activity. It didn’t mention any flaws or mistakes like my father’s book.
“Find what you need?” Terence asked.
“Nope. I need to know more about the Wizard Council,” I said.
“That was really the only book I saw. This is mostly a storybook and novel library,” Terence shrugged,
“Let’s keep looking,” I sighed and thanked the lady on the way out.
We walked through the streets again and many ladies began to start their shopping, toting their servants around. I smiled politely at one lady in green who gave me a contemptuous sniff and a little huff.
“Oh Terence when my father finds out we’re missing, he’ll go mad! You know how the king is,” I said loudly and dramatically. I saw the woman gasp and freeze in her spot. I winked at her and we continued our journey.
“What was that show for?” Terence whispered.
“Madame Hidalge finds herself better than the common folk,” I shrugged.
“Not everyone with extreme wealth is as humble as you,” Terence shoved me playfully. I accidentally barreled into a shady character with dark hair and eyes and a rough voice, like nails in a grinder.
“Watch it blondie!” He hissed. I saw a flash of silver and I felt my heart rate increase, “We wouldn’t want any accidents.” He gave a yellow, toothy smile. I nodded and retreated back to Terence who had his sword drawn.
“Move along before this gets nasty,” Terence said.
“Have it your way,” I saw one more flash of silver before the man walked away,
“We need to be more careful,” I said and Terence nodded, sheathing his sword
We searched through every library we saw. I combed through every factual wizard book I found. Terence helped but even combined, we found nothing of good use.
“Where have you been? We have been searching for you all day!” My mother demanded when I returned near sundown.
“I was extending my fields of knowledge,” I yawned and answered.
“You missed several lessons!” My mother lectured, following me up the stairwell.
“I can do them tomorrow! I was scheduled to have a free day anyway,” I said.
“That isn’t the point Tara! You must be present when you are needed!” My mother said.
“Lesson learned then,” I walked into my room where Lindsey had my night clothes set out.
“You better be ready to go in the morning! Not even a moment late young lady or I will be sure you stay on your schedule for the next two months,” My mother frowned.
“I’ll be present mother,” I sighed and got into my night clothes. Mother and Lindsey left and I watched the sun turn scarlet and slip behind the horizon.
I slipped out of bed and into my tunnel. I tiptoed past my ladder and down a wooden stairwell. I snuck into the old crypt I had discovered a year ago. I only peeked in because it was scary. I saw a coffin, but it turned out to be a table.
I swatted away cobwebs and lit two torches and set them by the door. I saw two old bookcases. Many were old spell books owned by some old witches who rotted in the dungeon one hundred years ago. It was ominous, but I swallowed my fears.
I looked along the spines of the books and found a book on wizards. I blew off the layers of dust and I began to inspect the dim print. I finally found more info on the Wizard Council.
“The Wizard Council was formed after the great battle between Leonthor the Conqueror and Arthur the Great. The only great flaw was-“ I murmured and stopped when there was a big gust of wind. The book snapped shut and flew back onto the shelf. I gasped as the torches went out and then back on. I began panting as I heard the wind whisper.
“Get out of here!” I stifled a scream and ran out of the room and up the stairs. I heard the door swing shut and my heart skipped a beat as the wind stopped and everything went back to normal.
I quickly made my way back to my bedroom and got silently into bed, my heart still racing. I was sweating and I walked to the window in an attempt to calm myself down. I sighed and took a few deeps breaths and laid back down, trying to get the voices of the ghosts, or perhaps the witches, out of my head.
