Mystic High ✓

MH │36

In the previous chapter: Uilliam requested Gordon to retrieve Oriane and bring her to the tower, following careful consideration of his prisoner's request. Oriane was about to head to another meeting with Shireen before Thursday's deadline regarding the Autumnal Festival.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

"I really can't do this," Marian explained, sounding almost... desperate. "Like, what is this room anyway? An amplifier? Why haven't I heard of this... Oculatory before?"

Carolina rolled her eyes and slid her long skeleton-like fingers over a raised plain block of concrete, and effectively ignoring her string of questions. The second her skin touched the smooth surface, however, it came alive, turning liquid and danced erratically in the air. A few ripples later, splashing against her fingertips, it returned to its original form.

There was a soft rumble in the concrete.

Both the vampiress and Marian stepped back, looking ahead at the plain white wall.

Nothing happened.

"Try again!" prompted Marian. "Nothing's happening."

"Patience, darling. I'll answer your questions later," she tutted.

Certainly, in less than a minute, the white wall began to fade, melting away to reveal a smooth glass door, complete with modernised door handles and frosted tint. Beyond the glass was a room with a massive crystal orb in the centre, surrounded by clay tablets with arcane symbols printed on them slowly spinning around it.

Even Marian, who was definitely much more worldly than anyone in her age group, stood agape at the device.

"Is that the–"

"The Oculatory," Carolina finished for her. Swiftly, she pressed her hand onto the handle and pushed the door wide open, strolling in casually without even batting an eye at it. "Come on, now. Time is of the essence."

While Carolina went around the room, possibly to prepare the unusual device for use or whatever it was she needed to do, Marian gingerly stepped inside. Her attention was entirely pinned on the largest clear quartz she had ever seen.

Stretching at over three metres in diameter, the quartz was completely clear. There were no cracks, no pattern within the orb, and definitely no colour. An unpractised eye would have thought it was man-made glass. Except Marian had been around enough crystals to know that the amazing apparatus in front of her was a clear quartz.

"Hello, beautiful. Where did you come from?" she breathed with amazement.

At closer inspection, the massive orb was actually floating amidst the arcane tablets. Suspended by only the goddess knew what sort of forbidden magicks allowing it to remain in that state for so long.

Perhaps it wasn't magick...

Once the thought crossed her mind, Carolina did something at the other side of the room which caused the tablets and the orb to slowly descend to the ground, as if mechanical.

Marian thought it was awesome. To think she had access to this thing because she wanted to play a prank on Elle! It was unthinkable. Wait until she told Charlotte about this – since her Water elemental friend was the one with the real touch with crystals. Marian was excited to share this discovery as much as she was to actually use it.

When the tablets and the orb settled, she couldn't help but reach out, wanting to feel the quartz under her palm.

"Don't even think about it!" Carolina interrupted. She had phased next to Marian in the blink of an eye and had a firm hand clamping down on her wrist. "Darling, this Ocular is one of the only three in all the realms. Nobody touches it. Okay?"