“And now that the Mundanes have modernized the technology, the threat is even greater than ever before. Knowledge of our existence could very well cost more lives,” Bruno piped in. “You don’t want to see any of your little pet Mundanes die, do you?”
“Bruno!” Professor Spine practically growled. “I’ve had enough of this intractable nonsense. I can see now that those who are for and those who are against this damned Law of Three are going to continue to argue unless we separate the lot of you for the rest of the day. So, if you believe as Felicity believes, I want you on the south side of the school until further notice. Those who feel more as Bruno does, you shall go to the north. ‘Us and them’ at its finest. Now go. I’ll be announcing my decision school-wide directly.”
“Yes, sir, Professor Spine,” the students chorused, and most of the class branched off with Bruno. Only about ten people followed Felicity in the other direction.
One young wizard stood in the middle of the hallway biting his lip indecisively, and Bruno jabbed him with his elbow as he passed. The boy turned and caught up with Felicity as quickly as possible.
“Learning by example, I see, Rian Arnold,” said Felicity with a chuckle. He blushed as he continued on his way.
Up ahead, near the main entrance to the large keep in which the Academie was housed, a gathering of students had converged on a messenger who stood by the huge double doors. Every age of student, from the younglings on up to the acolytes, stood waiting to hear his news.
Professor Spine had followed Felicity’s group on his way back toward the head office. Now he grasped Felicity’s shoulder for a moment as he passed. “Something of great import must have happened to bring a messenger out here in the middle of the day,” he commented with a worried frown.
Felicity nodded her agreement. She and the other students continued along at a slower pace, but Gregory lifted his wand high, its light shining in the dimness of the darkened hallway as he quickly flew to his destination.
“Ah, Professor Spine, there you are, sir,” said Headmistress Primrose Meriwether with a sage nod as the man alighted beside her. “Corbin Matherson has just arrived with a new update concerning today’s goings-on. I think you will want to hear about this.”
“Director Dervish McTavert and Master Lancelot Jones, sir,” Corbin said, still a bit short of breath from hurrying. “They’ve taken their fight to the Council of Elders.”
“Oh my, you can’t be serious,” Gregory gasped. “Do they really feel as strongly as that?”
“I fear so, sir,” he shrugged. “There’s to be a hearing tomorrow morning, and the elders will take a vote once they have heard all the evidences. I fear it’s quite likely their fight may succeed, with so many of the Magi upset by the Law of Three and all that it implies.”
“Madame Meriwether, I had intended to divide the students for the day to minimize the fighting, but in light of this new development, I feel perhaps we’d do better to simply send them all back to their dorms to cool off,” Gregory suggested to the witch at his side. “It’s certain that not much learning will be accomplished today in any case.”
“I fear you may be right, Master Spine,” she agreed with a sad little frown. Then, with a school-wide voluminate, she added, “Attention, everyone. All students must return to your dorms immediately until further notice. Any disagreements between you while you are there will be dealt with harshly. To prevent this, it is permissible to divide by opinion within your dorms. I would suggest that as one side is likely to be greater than the other, that those who believe the Law of Three should be repealed must go above-stairs, while those against the removal of that law must remain below. That is all.”
Felicity and her good friend Jane Nance linked arms as they found each other among the press of bodies headed for the six towers where the dorms were located at the east side of the keep.
“Great,” she commented as they went. “Looks like we’re sleeping on the floor tonight. Won’t that be lovely?”
“It will be, if it gives us a change to do something about all of this,” Jane replied.
“What do you mean?” asked Felicity with a furrowed brow.
“Just because Dervish McTavert is a Director doesn’t mean he should always have his own way,” she snorted. “Some of us are working on a plan to teach him a lesson. But we absolutely must have you to lead the way, Felicity. We couldn’t possibly pull it off without your help.”
“I see,” said Felicity with a feeling of foreboding. Sometimes being the top student in the entire school wasn’t an enviable position. “Then perhaps you’d best tell me precisely what it is you wish me to lead.”
“We’ll tell you all about it later tonight,” she answered with a grin. “I think it will be just the thing, and a bit of a lark as well. I’ll be counting on your support.”
Then Jane pushed forward into the crowd and was gone, leaving Felicity standing there and biting her bottom lip as the other students milled around her unmoving form.
THREE
Lancelot almost decided to ward the Museum for the night and simply go home for some rest. After all, he was meant to be giving a speech tomorrow before the Council, and he needed to be at his best. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to leave, and as a general rule he always listened to his intuition.
“Perhaps a night on the couch wouldn’t be so bad,” he said, sighing heavily. “I could always catch up on some reading—at least until whatever it is that’s got me tethered to the building plays itself out.”
Before he decided to turn in on the chaise-longue, however, first he needed to make sure that every artifact was safely stored, and that nothing else would require his attention either.
If there was one thing about this old Museum, it was the fact that its nature was unpredictable. One wouldn’t think that would be the case, but with so many magical objects in close proximity, sometimes the things in the old place tended to get into mischief if you didn’t watch them with an attentive eye.
Almost every item that could conceivably do any real damage was not put on display. The items displayed to the public were mostly mock-ups of the real artifacts, which were safely stored in various vaults and cabinets in the most protected part of the building.
One very real concern had always been to keep everything under lock and key so that people who wanted to use them for reason most foul would have no opportunity. First and foremost, that meant people like Caracticus Snigget.
If he could have his way, Snigget would break into the Museum and steal every last artifact therein, just so he could horde them for himself. He was one of the main reasons why Lance protected the walls of this establishment so fiercely. He wasn’t about to allow some selfish old miser to obtain the means to unleash a devastatingly powerful spell on his watch.
There were other wizards and beings who wanted a piece of the Museum too, of course. Even though the Magehold would love to pretend otherwise, Lancelot knew not every citizen who lived behind the Veil was intent on doing good deeds.
And who could blame them, really? Magick was a very powerful tool in one’s arsenal, and not something that should be taken lightly. Just as Theodore Lundy must now be well aware.
Lance’s inquiry concerning that young wizard had not been made lightly, of course. Since he had no children of his own, he was forced to take an active interest in the children of other people instead. And Teddy’s father, Evan, was a good friend while he lived. So naturally, Lance intended to continue that friendship through the child.
Using his wand rather than walking through the dozens of shelves, Lancelot drifted through the darkened library, but he spotted nothing out of place. He continued on into the artifact rooms, of which there were many, using magical means to ensure that every lock was secure.
Nothing seemed wrong, and yet still he couldn’t shake the feeling that left him so insecure. Something was going on. Of that he was completely sure. And yet, nothing within the Museum itself was the cause, so he dete
rmined that perhaps he ought to go out and check the grounds.
It didn’t take long for trouble to find him once he’d stepped out the door. Detecting a foul presence, Lance was quick to redouble all of the wards and secure every window and door.
A whoosh of sound assailed his ears, and he looked up to the familiar sight of a huge red dragon flying through the air.
Caracticus Snigget wasn’t really a dragon, but just a wizard who had learned the skill to transform. Very few wizards were able to take on other forms, but the ability to become a dragon was almost unheard of, and so the man had become a bit infamous as a result.
Not that Lance was privy to his motivations, of course, but his opinions on the matter ran a certain course. He didn’t believe most of Snigget’s actions were designed to be evil, necessarily, but selfish in the extreme. Selfish, and somewhat careless as well.
Today, however, the dragon flew by without even glancing in the direction of the Museum. Lance, whose wand was clenched tightly in his hand in anticipation of a good battle, was almost disappointed as the figure continued on its way.
“Well then, that’s not it either,” he said with a sigh. “But something’s got me wound up awfully tight. Perhaps I’ll have a shower and call it a night.”
)0(
Situated on the floor of the dorm in a small huddle beside the largest sofa laid three young witches on a huge pile of blankets with their heads close together, deep in conversation about the Law of Three and the upcoming meeting.
“It’s a tragedy, if you ask me,” Felicity complained. “We finally have made a decent stride towards healing the rift between the Magi and the Mundanes, but some ancient wise guy thinks he needs to ruin the whole thing.”
“Not just him,” said Alice Nance with a sigh. “You forget, he’s also got the backing of his handsome curator.”
“Lancelot Jones,” Jane scoffed. “He’s well enough to look at, but he sure is full of himself. I heard he’s got enough blunt to back up his words, though. And I do suppose most of the time the causes he takes up are just enough, but this time? Well, everyone is entitled to be stupid every once in a while.”
Alice tittered. “I’ll bet you’d never say something like that to his face, sister! I hear in person he can be quite intimidating. He’s extremely powerful, so I’m told, and that power just rolls right off of him. I think I should be quaking in my shoes if I ever encountered him toe to toe.”
“He’s nothing more than a fellow wizard, you know,” scoffed Felicity. “And by all accounts, though he is quite powerful, he isn’t at all conceited as you’ve supposed. At least, that’s how the story I heard was told.”
“Yes?” scoffed Jane. “But have you ever met him?”
“Well no, of course I haven’t,” she replied. “You know that Aunt Beatrix and I are usually elsewhere occupied whenever I’m not at the Academie. I don’t see when I’d have ever had the time.”
“No, I suppose having Mundane adventures and staving off dragons might be much more time consuming than taking the time to socialize.”
“Yes, to be sure,” Felicity sighed. “Only now that she’s having her latest adventure without me, I’m going to be in quite a fix once we’ve finished out this year of school.”
“I heard that your old house is completely unlivable, Felicity is that true?” asked Alice, her voice oozing with sympathy.
“Yes, that errant spell is much too dangerous for any witch or wizard to approach,” Felicity said, nodding. “I suppose I’ll just have to find other accommodations for a century or so. Such a bother, really. All of my things are still trapped in there.”
“I’ll bet if they’d allow you home, you could figure out how to dispel that mess in short order,” Jane said confidently. “Which is precisely the reason I’ve waited to speak with you again until we were alone.”
“What do you mean?” Felicity asked warily.
“I’ve got a brilliant way to make our protest over repealing the law heard,” she explained.
FOUR
“Are you completely insane?” Felicity gasped as she stared at Jane. The three girls all moved into a seated position at the same time, leaning together and squeezing each other’s hands.
“Please, Felicity? It’s a brilliant plan!”
“We can’t just break into the Magical Museum. That building is by far the most important one standing after the Magehold itself. Have you got any idea what sorts of wards that place must have on it? I don’t think even I could figure out how to get past all of them.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, of course you can,” said Alice encouragingly. “You’ll get in all right, and you’ll be able to get into Dervish’s office without any issues, too.”
“We’ve already taken care of that part, at any rate,” Jane reassured her. “Edmund Minkin’s father took him to the Museum earlier this afternoon after he begged to have the visit as his birthday gift. While they were there, he managed to lift the keys to Dervish’s office just as I asked him to.”
“Are you sure they’re the right keys?” Felicity asked worriedly. “I’d hate to try them out and discover we’d made a grave mistake.”
“Oh yes, they’re definitely the right ones,” Alice told her. “He made sure of it.”
“Okay, so we have keys,” she conceded. “Assuming that we actually manage to get inside the Museum and make it to the office door itself, what exactly are we using them for?”
“Don’t you see?” Jane sighed in exasperation. “Dervish and those with his mindset believe they can use other beings in any way they please. Perhaps if we do as we wish with the Director’s things, he will understand how it feels when someone else intrudes upon his rights in such a way.”
“That’s all well and good, but I don’t see why knowing how it feels when your rights get violated is supposed to make him let the Law of Three stand,” Felicity grumbled. “You’ve got to get across that the law will be beneficial to the Magi, not just make him feel like he’s been a naughty boy and ought to treat others with respect.”
“Hey, what do you expect me to do here?” Jane complained. “I can’t exactly work miracles. If you can think of something to improve on the plan, then by all means, please do.”
“I’m sorry, you’re quite right,” said Felicity, sighing wearily. She nodded her agreement. “But if it’s going to happen at all, it will have to be done quite soon,” she said. “Dervish is sure to realize his keys have gone missing, if he doesn’t know already.”
“Yes, I quite agree,” said Alice with a huge smile lighting up her face. “Let’s go right now, shall we? I’ve been itching to get under way, you know. This is going to be so exciting!”
“Alice, we’re not going there for the excitement,” Jane insisted as she crossed her arms over her chest and gave her foot a few impatient taps on the cold stone floor. “This is important. Do try to remember that.”
Alice frowned. “Well yes, there is that, of course, but still.”
“Jane is right, Alice,” Felicity scolded her friend. “If you’re not going to take this mission seriously, then perhaps you shouldn’t even go.”
“No, please, I’ll be good,” she pleaded. “You mustn’t leave me sitting here all alone. If they discovered me, you know I’m abysmally terrible about holding my tongue. I’m sure they’d extract the entire story from me in short order.”
“She makes a good point,” Jane grumbled. “Come on, then, sister, we’ll just have to bring you along.”
The three girls walked down the long, dark hallway, not daring to speed up the process by using their wands lest someone see the lights. Once they had passed outside the gates of the huge keep in which they were schooled, they mutually lifted their wands high and flew away with a quickness.
“Here we are,” Felicity said in a whisper as the trio landed just outside the back of the Museum, where there was very little light to reveal their presence. “Now remember, on the outside this place may look a bit like a Greek tragedy, bu
t inside not only is it much larger, but it also houses many secrets we do not know. We go straight for Dervish’s office, and we’ll figure out what to do there once we’re actually inside.”
“Agreed,” said the twins in unison, then giggled because they’d done so yet again.
“Entranza,” whispered Felicity as they neared the door, and it opened for them with little more effort on her part. “Hmm, that was easy,” she observed. “Much, much too easy. Keep your eyes open.”
“Don’t be silly,” Alice scoffed. “Dervish McTavert won’t be here at this late hour. Don’t you know the old wizard resides high atop a craggy mountain somewhere in Scottish Mundania?”
Felicity chuckled at this. “You believe everything you hear, Alice. How can Dervish live in Scotland and still be here every day? He cannot possibly wish to spend hours upon hours traveling each way.”
“He’s an ancient wizard, and surely knows all kinds of things we know nothing about,” Alice insisted. “Maybe the man knows how to travel instantaneously.”
Felicity wore a smirk as she led the two other girls straight down the hallway to where a door marked ‘office’ was prominently on display. She slid the key into the lock and it clicked open.
“Stay out here,” she warned her friends. “I’ll go in first, and make sure this isn’t some kind of a trap.”
Felicity stepped inside and began to look around as the twins peered in to watch. Seeing ink wells and documents scattered on top of a rather large, mahogany desk, she smirked again as she had an amusing thought.
“I know just what we will do. I will turn everything on this desk into confetti, and charm it to explode with our message and float throughout the room until Dervish figures out how to stop it again.”
Alice chortled with delight. “What an excellent idea! I told you this was going to be fun!”
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