Magus Academy 3

Chapter 34

We were all stood by the ladder, with our weapons at the ready, looking nervously at the wall.

We were gonna do it. We were going to kill another man.

I could feel my hand shaking like crazy as I took multiple panicked breaths. Suddenly, I contemplated what I was doing there. I mean, I was almost 18 and yet here I was going to murder a person!

I barely noticed Jamie's hand clutching my own one reassuringly before kissing my knuckles.

"You'll be fine," Jamie whispered, causing me to force a nervous smile at him.

Beth ran up to me and gave me a tight hug. Even though we barely knew each other, she has been nothing but friendly towards all of us.

The moment Beth backed away, I felt someone tug on my leg. I looked down at Emma before lifting her up and hugging her tightly.

"We'll be back soon sweetheart, ok?" I whispered quietly, causing her to squeeze me.

I gently handed her to Beth, who she'd be staying with whilst me and the others fight in the palace.

I blew Emma a kiss before heading to the ladder and climbing up it.

When I got out, I waited for everyone else to get out before shutting the trapdoor.

When I stood up, I looked around wearily, searching for anyone who could potentially spot us.

I mean, I don't know about you, but I'd feel a bit weirded out if I spotted a bunch of people with weapons walking around suspiciously after coming out of a hidden trapdoor like that.

Anyway, we quickly scampered past the series of houses, occasionally stopping to catch our breath or scout the area for any of Arthur's supporters.

After what felt like hours of rushing past all the barricaded houses, we finally reached the castle.

Seen as Arthur's kingdom was pretty small (and because the writer was too lazy to write about another journey) his palace was really close to the kingdom's border.

Anyway, we were all hiding behind one of the houses, with Jamie peeking around the corner, staring at the set of guards stationed around the palace.

Due to the fact that there were so many of them, we'd obviously had to make some sort of distraction without getting any one of us killed.

That, my friends, is where my trusty illusions come in handy.

I closed my eyes, concentrating on the magic inside of me, picturing it flowing out of my fingertips and forming a monster.

All it was, to be honest, was a large chameleon with huge spikes. The spikes, obviously, to look as intimidating as possible and a chameleon because it would explain the beats disappearance once we snuck into the palace.

The reaction, as predicted, was almost instant as the guards quickly rushed towards the illusion, causing me to make it start running away.

Occasionally, I'd have my creature disappear of a few seconds, making the guards understand the creature's camouflaging abilities.

Once the guards were far enough away, we all quickly scampered towards the palace grounds, with me focusing on maintaining my illusion.

After rounding the corner of the building, I quickly dropped the illusion, panting tiredly whilst wiping the sweat off of my forehead.

Jamie gently held my hand, squeezing it reassuringly before nodding to Maxine, causing her to poke her head through the wall into the palace itself.

When she returned, we all held hands before latching onto Maxine, causing her to pass us all through the wall.

We all quickly ran off into our groups, with adrenaline pushing me onwards, before splitting up.

According to the map that Martin gave us, we'd have to pass the dining room as well as the library to get to the throne room _ which was at the very centre of the castle.

Back when we were planning, Charles claimed that there were at least two guards stationed per exit, meaning that Jamie and the others would have to cause another huge distraction.

That was when Jamie came up with the brilliant idea to flood the corridors. That way, the guards would get confused and distracted enough to not notice me and Maxine going through the multiple walls.

The moment the floors around us started to fill with water was when me and Maxine quickly sprinted, hand in hand, towards the wall in front of us that led to the dining room.

Due to the fact that the dining room was mostly used for special occasions, it was completely empty, causing the two of us to sprint through it easily.

As for the library, we had to be a lot more careful as the librarian inside of it was literally scouting the shelves.

For what? I'd never know. However, it didn't make it any less weird.

I mean, how would you feel if you were just trying to browse for your favourite serious only to stumble across this old dude with Einstein's hair marching around like a creep!

Anyway, I'm getting a little ahead of myself, once we reached the final corridor I turned to Maxine.

"Promise me you'll leave as soon as you drop me off, ok?" I practically begged, causing Maxine to sigh.

"I trust you," she mumbled, "But even I know how stupid this sounds. Then again, you'll probably do something crazier for the finale so... just be careful."

I nodded gratefully before hugging Maxine once more. We then turned towards the throne room, quickly sprinting towards it.

When I regained my senses, I saw a shadowy figure turn away from me, staring at one of the huge paintings on the wall.

It was of a woman, wearing a regal dress with the hugest crown I had ever seen.

"Royals are such strange creatures, are they not?" a chilling voice said, their words echoing around the room, "So powerful, so incredible. Yet they never put any of that strength to use."

I simply said nothing and kept my hand on the hilt of my sword, glaring at the figure viciously.

"They give people freedom, far too much freedom. Freedom to live their lives without any sense of gratitude to the ones giving them this choice," Arthur continued, his face betraying nothing of his intentions.

"Do you have any idea what you're talking about?" I demanded, finally snapping, "The only way to be a good leader is by giving people the freedom to-"

Suddenly, Arthur shot a wave of darkness, sending me flying back. When he finally turned to face me, I could see that his eyes were completely black.

I should not have said anything!