COBALT: The Red Phantom (Book One)

Chapter 25: A Sprinkle of Pixie Dust (Part 3/4)

          Káel had been cautious about recruiting Alestra and Talli, the thought of his plans reaching unwanted ears plaguing his mind from giving them any real specifics regarding the ritual. But, in contrast to his hesitation, Alestra had cooked up a small batch of pixie lures, strange rough candlesticks that reeked of old cheese with a metallic zing. Talli had held up her end with a list of do's and don'ts in catching pixies, the don'ts dwarfing their partner by a sheet and a half.

          Now, prepared to collect the second last ingredient, Káel had discovered a new and unexpected obstacle. Truvius had mentioned that the teachers did not roam the halls through the night, and the safer route of a couple stairways and the closest exit was a tantalising alternative to falling off the roof a second time. However, his attempt failed the moment he opened the door to the silver dorm and found himself facing a bright blue flaming ball with Tia's voice. One of at least twenty floating about the expanse of a room.

          He was sent packing back to the confines of his room, and faced a lengthy lecture about the curfew from Lady Samanthra the following morning, along with two weeks of detention dusting the library. 

          And so, the waiting game began. 

          Scaling down the roof when suspicion died down was the only option, and Káel had made peace with it. 

          So, on a clear night he waited until curfew passed and wished Truvius farewell as he climbed out the window. With a sword on his hip and a half asleep dragon to protect him, he looked out over the forest. He was fairly confident the plan would work. After the dozens of lessons with Mr. Mudelin and Mr. Lightwood his combat skills and physical strength had improved quite a bit. Mr. Mudelin had dropped the time back down to a half an hour, 'out of the goodness of his heart'. But he was still one minute and fifty three seconds over breaking Mr. Lightwood's paralysing spell and that's where he'd likely stay.

          Káel slowly traced the path Zalius had lead him across, carefully jumping down the levels of the shingled roof until he reached the familiar corner of the building. He sighed, closing his eyes as he grabbed the edge of the roof and swung down, inching across it with his grip until he was hanging over an outlooking statue of a dragon-like creature.

          He dropped onto it, almost slipping to his death trying to wrap his arms around its neck, but he quickly slowed his racing heart. Puff glided across to the next statue, perching on it and waiting for Káel to follow. He did, following his dragon's footsteps exactly, until he'd made it close enough to the ground to jump and break his fall with a roll.

          Phantom landed lightly on the grass, brushing off his sleeves. "Very nice, not a single faceplant this time."

          Káel smiled, lighting one of the baits with a gentle fire spell as they walked. "Time to catch some pixies."

          Whatever magics Zalius had worked on Káel's Ceptrum was still sticking to the stone, the plants shuffling from his footsteps without the need for a set trail. With only the licking green flame of his candle, Káel scoured the darkened expanse of rigid trees and stilled shrubs, the greyed smoke of the candlestick choking his nose with a strangely sweet aroma. 

          Alestra had reasoned that pixies were attracted to powerful smells, the emerald green flame serving as the closest mockery to one of their own kind, should they rise from their dens to inspect the scent. The only danger to them came with distance. The closer one was to the creatures, the more powerful their spells became, seeing one within a meter sealing your fate to what sounded to Káel like mind control.