Sword of Stars

Chapter Twenty Two. Time and Space.

The Lord Caster led Cecil back into the secret room where the book was still sitting upon its pedestal, the weak flames burning beside it.

“Right, where did I see it last?” The Lord Caster muttered to himself. He made his way over to a shelf of piled up scrolls and began to dig.

“So no other Lord Casters have tried to use this spell for other means?” Cecil asked.

“No,” The Lord Caster said as he picked a scroll up and set it aside. “Every Lord Caster understood the danger such a spell cast. Not one of them has been tempted by its power.”

“Even during the Essense War?” Cecil wondered.

The Lord Caster looked over his shoulder at Cecil. “Even the outcast Andros realised the dangers of such a spell.”

Cecil snorted. “I find that hard to believe. By all accounts the man was a monster.”

The Lord Caster laughed. “Indeed, and even he didn’t want to use it. What does that tell you?”

More than I need to know… Cecil thought bitterly. A new layer of worry enveloped his mind.

“Ah, here it is.” The Lord Caster turned and he held the scroll reverently in both hands. The rollers on both ends of the scroll shined with silver.

Cecil grunted. “The necessity to have such a lavish scroll for such an occasion seems strange.”

“Perhaps.” The Lord Caster held the ancient text out for Cecil.

Cecil reached out and hesitated, his gnarled fingers an inch from touching the yellowed paper. It looked so old. When was the last time someone had touched it and gazed upon its deadly contents? He took the scroll in both hands and felt the smooth paper in his palms. The rollers were cold and he could see his distorted reflection looking back at his with a twisted unrecognisable face.

“It’s called the Scroll of Evil’s Prevention,” The Lord Caster said.

Cecil thought it a mouthful. “So,” Cecil looked at the Lord Caster who looked like a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. “What happens next?”

“Well.” The Lord Caster lifted a finger and made his way across the room. “There is a special room within the depths of the tower. A room surrounded by Essense. A place where you shall receive the power you need to cast this spell.”

Cecil’s bushy eyebrow rose. “Oh?”

“Yes, another secret of the tower.”

“It seems that the tower has more secrets than I believed possible,” Cecil said with a grin.

The Lord Casters black and white eyes sparkled. “More than you know. Come Cecil, it’s time to prepare for the spell. The spell that will determine the fate of the human race and the world itself. In fact, perhaps every possible world.” He turned and his white cloak flared. He tapped the wall and a new secret door opened, naturally, revealing a dark corridor.

The Lord Caster started into the darkness and Cecil followed, the Scroll of Evil’s Prevention held firmly in his hands. He feared for the consequence of dropping the cursed thing despite the unlikeliness. Their footsteps echoed eerily down the hall. Essense gems in the wall slowly appeared and bathed the corridor in a dim light. It got brighter as they got deeper, more gems on the walls filled with more Essense.

Finally they got to the door. The Lord Caster pushed and the huge door creaked with age and underuse. “Give me a hand, Cecil. I’m afraid my muscles are not as they used to be.”