Mage Academy

The Third Tower

After dinner we do a team building exercise on the lawn, which includes a lot of falling and laughing, and I keep the furthest distance I can from Lauren and her cronies. Then we are free to roam the Academy until supper. We are given the instruction to not venture into the forest or the caves, which are dangerous when the tide is in, and to come straight back when the bell is rung.

Oliver, Lydia, Guy, Max, Gibby, Blue and I all wander down the cliff path to the sandy beaches below. It's a beautiful summers night; he moon and the sun both out, the sky getting darker but also blossoming the colours of the sunset, the sea licking the shore.

We paddle in the shallow water, which is like pure ice, splashing each other and shrieking, using Water magic to drench one another. Poor Oliver is the one to get soaked through, and begs me to dry him off with Fire. Cautiously, I hold my hands out and heat him with a small flame, and when I'm done I could drop down with relief, as the whole time I was trying not to burn him.

We head to the caves, and see that the tide is out enough for some of them to be explored in. I light a ball of Fire to see properly, and dozens of crabs sidle away.

Before we know it, the bell rings and it's time to head back inside for supper, which is hot chocolate and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. We eat them lounging in the common room. By the time we are in bed, I swear I have had the best night ever.

But the night's not over yet.

I wait impatiently for everyone to fall asleep, and for a while I worry that by 1 am people will still be up and talking, but everyone switches off like a light. It has been a long day.

At twelve thirty I get out of bed and pull on jeans and a sweater as quietly as I can, then peak out of the window by my bed. I can't see a third tower from here. Gibby jumps on my shoulder and we tip toe across the room and down the winding wooden stairs.

Mage Academy is creepy at night. It's so old and footsteps echo, and every now and again a painting races by, giving me multiple heart attacks. There are so many shadows it's like there are creatures hiding in the darkness, waiting to burst out. I light a massive Fire ball (thank gosh I am a Fire major) and walk swiftly along the corridors.

I get to the courtyard, thinking that the best way to find this tower is by being in the centre of the mansion. But when I look up I just see many roofs which could belong to any part of the building. I narrow my eyes, fade the Fire ball and walk to the edge of the courtyard, which is underneath a slanting roof, only one storey high. I squat down, and use all my concentration, palms together in front of my chest.

And then I jump.

I thrust Air at the ground and leap as high as I can, and the Air takes me close to the roof, which I lean forward and grab onto. Once I am securely balanced, Gibby pants, "You're going to scare me to death one day."

I smile smugly at the achievement. "Everyone here goes on about challenging yourself." I sing, tottering across the roof.

"There is a thin line between challenging yourself and killing yourself-- a warning would be appreciated, thanks."

I grin and squat down, looking up at the next roof. "Gibby, here is a warning." I leap again and catch onto the roof, this time almost missing. Gibby is wheezing on my shoulder, digging his nails in like my skin is running water. "Ouch!"

"Oh, calm down, I'm the one who has to endure this roller-coaster of death," Gibby hisses. "The least you can do is gain a few new scratch marks along the way."

Geez, free-jumping buildings really brings the snark out of my ghost. I ignore him, and leap two more times until I am on the main roof, and when I crawl to the top and look around, I gasp. "It's so beautiful!" I whisper, looking at the sparkling inky black sea, the white beach, the rolling hills and the dark forest. Not to mention the Academy itself-- it looks twice as grand up here!

Then I realise why I am here. "The third tower." I say to myself, and look out for it. It takes me a while, because it's hidden so well, and much smaller than the other two towers, but eventually I see it, on the right side of the building, facing the forest and the sea. I walk carefully across the tiles, and when I get closer I see Max leaning on the roof of the tower, looking out at the forest, with Blue sitting at his side. He looks up as I approach, and smiles. It's the kind of smile that makes my cheeks hot, and I can't help but smile back. He looks different up here: his skin whiter, his hair more black, his eyes darker and his lips a deeper shade of red. I realise that I am alone with him, but not like how I was in the forest; this time we planned it, and everyone else is asleep.

I sit down clumsily on the roof next to him. I look down and immediately wish I hadn't--the drop is extreme. If I slipped, I would be dead. Thank gosh it didn't rain yesterday.

"Well done-- for a while I wondered whether you would find me." Max says, and I look at him, and again immediately wish I hadn't; his eye intensity seems to have grown in the moonlight.

"It wasn't that hard." I say, and Gibby huffs.

"We almost died eight times!"

"Nine time's the charm..." Max says, and I laugh as Gibby wanders off with Blue to sulk elsewhere.

That's when it really dawns on me-- I am alone with Max, on a roof dozens of feet in the air, where at any moment I could slip and fall to my death, and there would be nothing either of us could do about it. Getting up here was difficult enough, when I have to get down I will surely die. What if Max dies?! What will I do?! If he topples to the ground I would have to go down and wake up the--

"Calm down." Max covers my hand with his, and I jolt out of my daydream and look up at him. He smiles humorously. "We won't slip and die."

I reel. "How did you know--"

"Heartbeats. Yours was picking up pace, and you kept looking at the ground so I put two and two together."

I nod slowly, letting everything he just said sink in. Letting everything that was happening sink in.

"Good, it's slowed down again." Max grins playfully.

He is still holding my hand. I daren't look at our hands, partly because I'm afraid it would be awkward, and partly because I fear that if I looked at our hands, he would take his away, and... I don't want that. But after a few moments of looking at one another, he removes his hand and slides it in his pocket, hitting me with an award-winning grin. I can't help but laugh.

"So, are we going to find out what's happening to us, or what?" I say, standing up and lighting a ball of Fire. "It's time to go back to Shadow Forest."