“You are him!” I cried. “YOU DID THIS!” I double tapped the shoes and charged. Jasper stood quickly, but not quickly enough. Catching him full on I slammed him into the wall.
“Awoooh!” he groaned. A pulse of blue and purple flashed between us, expelling me away from him. But the golden light of the shoes pushed me forwards again. I raised a fist, but I wasn’t going to spell him — I aimed, the fire white hot inside me, and slammed it into his face. He recoiled backwards in shock as pain rose up through my fist in sharp waves.
Jasper’s eyes turned back to normal and for a second he looked scared. “Think about what you are doing,” he felt his face. “You really want to fight me?”
“I don’t want to fight you… I want to kill you!”
The room was empty and it was a good job too, for the next second I slammed my hands together. “Severso-Zxanxirious-Unquart-Vilunos.” Power and force swelled between the gaps in my hand. Electric fizzes popped in the air between us. Smoke rose from my finger tips. Then, at the full force of the swell, when I couldn't hold it any longer, I clapped.
BOOM! Smoke, fire and wind blasted like a bomb. I flew backwards. Jasper hit the wall with a loud thud, as the floor shook. Then, he was back on his feet.
“You DARE USE THAT SPELL ON ME!” He screamed. I jumped to my feet as he ran at me with wide maddened eyes. He didn’t even say anything, before shot after shot of black smoke detonated from his palm like a machine gun.
BANG! BANG! BANG! I tried to vein to jump out the of the way. But one hit me in the shoulder.
“AHHH!” I howled as agonising spasms made me convulse. Then another and another — like angry murderous Wolfraptor bites. “AHH!” Jasper looked murderous. “Dancidious!” I barked — a black paw erupted out of the air in front of me batting away the black fire.
“Nouchous,” I said, fire reined down upon him — before a tidal wave of blue water shot up from the floor, over the fire and me. It pushed me backwards and I spluttered as salty water filled every orifice, but Jasper was already acting… he swished his hands around his head and a giant green wind fragmented the air — spinning violently.
“Dancidious!” I called, but it didn’t work! “Dancidious! Dancidious! DANCIDIOUS!” The next second, wind spinning like a tornado filled every sense. It was all I could hear, all I could see, all I could feel. Green spinning wind. I span, round and round, turning upside down. I tried desperately to think how to get down — then Jaspers voice echoed in a high pitched, distorted tone through the wind — “You really thought you could beat me again? How pathetic you are. All this for her? You think your saving her from me? When in fact it’s more like the other way around… Even your friends are losing patience with you. The Magisteers have certainly. Remember this: I always win. Goodbye Avis…”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN GOODBYE!” I screamed.
The voice changed into a high pitched rasp. “Its time to die… I’ve killed before. I will do it again. You think people will miss you? Come looking for you? Not when I plant a memory in Robin’s head that says you couldn’t face being in the school a second longer and left… not when they find your body on the moorlands — discovering you were set upon by some rogues and vagabonds. Poor old Avis they will think, before forgetting you forever…”
“NOO!” — my rage blew up — blazing fury expelling red light from my hands. It felt like someone had lit me like a match — my skin itched and prickled as blinding red lights popped through the air.
The wind stopped. I fell back on my feet. Jasper was cowering against the wall.
“Admit it…” I said.
“Admit what?” he called, eyes wide and bloodshot.
“That you are him. That you are Malakai…” the lights fizzed in the dark room — some of the fire brackets put out by the wind.
“That would pretty impossible,” said a strange voice — neither me, nor Jasper — it was high, strained. “Because, he is not Malakai… I am.”
Between us, in the middle of the room rose a black shape, through the floor. I stepped back in terror. We both did. A small, black ragged creature stood three feet tall in the middle of the room. Eyes glowing blue. The air in the room fell. I couldn’t catch my breath. All sound vanished — as if in a vacuum. The room turned, terribly cold.
“You have had… an extraordinary amount of good luck,” said Malakai, his voice dripping with murderous contempt. His blue glowing eyes raised from under the hood towards me. “But, now that luck has run out…”
“Ste-e-eeee!” I tried to say Malakai’s true name. “Ahh!” My tongue slit again — the name was Jarred — impossible to say.
“Ha-ha-ha…” said Malakai, but he wasn’t laughing. “Never rely on past glories.”
Jasper was raising a hand slowly upwards behind Malakai. “Don’t even!” Malakai cried. Something made Jasper buckle, as if punched in the stomach and he wilted to the floor.
I was so confused — I thought Jasper was Malakai all along, but now here they both were in the same room. “Trying to kill me all year?” I said a little braver than I felt. “And failed? So you’ve come to try again? Do you know nothing?” I said, buying myself time while I thought of a spell, or something, anything. “If you kill me, I will turn into a ghost — and tell your true name to everyone I can.”
Malakai shook his head softly and tutted. “Idiot child. Do you think I wouldn’t have plugged that hole?”
I suddenly realised something… last year I had turned into a ghost because I loved Tina — she was my anchor to this world for she was under a curse and I had to go back to save her. But now, my anchor was gone. “The Djinn, it showed me things about you…”
“Like what?” I glanced down at Jasper, who was rising slowly.
“Stuff about me being a seventh son. You can’t defeat me.”
Malakai spluttered into a squeaky cackle. “Then he’s no friend of yours! Think your confused boy! Djinn don’t have your interests at heart!”
“They do if they are also a seventh son.”
Malakai’s blue eyes dimmed. “Rubbish! Seventh son’s are a myth, that they have any extra power is a—”
Jasper propped against the wall spat out a mouth full of blood — “Then why are trying to kill them all?”
“Just in case!” Malakai barked. “You can be killed as easily as anyone else. It’s lovely that you think so highly of yourselves to think you are special! Well, this will be exciting, to kill two Wizards with one spell. Oh, it will be exciting… to watch the aftermath — the rumours about what happened… I could say that you killed each other, over that girl you both love. Or I could kill her too and say one of you killed her, then each other… yeass that would work…” he spoke fast, enjoying himself — Jasper caught my eye and mouthed something.
I swallowed the fear. Then all at once stretched out my hands as we both cried: “Returious-Jacinwa!” Bubbles of thunder spiralled across the ceiling — Malakai batted it away, blue eyes glaring.
But Jasper didn't stop, he jumped up — a barrage of blue and yellow smoke blasted into Malakai, who squealed as fire licked his cloak, before retaliating. A swarm of maddened Happerbats exploded through the window, biting at every available space on our bodies. I swiped in vain at them, screaming with pain at every bite. Jasper waved his arms and a blue flash froze them in mid-air, before they fell to the floor with a thud.
“You will both DIE!” Malakai threw his arms out. What felt like a brick wall smashed into my face, slamming me backwards. I hit the wall hard, hearing something crack and slid down.
Stars and light pulsed before my eyes. Malakai split into two, before pummelling my chest with punches.
“AHHH!” tiny fists beat every inch of me and Jasper. I felt weaker than I had ever done as Malakai stepped back breathing heavily. I couldn’t hold my body up, I slumped forwards. Across the floor I saw Jasper do the same. His eyes connected with mine — at first I felt ashamed that I had accused him of such a thing, for now we would both die. Green chai
ns spiralled round my legs and began snaking up my body.
A voice inside my head echoed: “Avis, blink now if you can hear me…” It was Jasper — I blinked. “When I count to three you need to grab my hand and say Revelendo-Mallum-Rejicio.” I blinked again, my heart hammering as the green chain, cold and slimy, climbed past my chest. We didn’t have long, before my hands would be taken. “Wait…” said Jasper in my head. Malakai grinned down at me, his pale face exorbitantly happy as he raised his hands up behind his head.
Then Jasper called — “Now!”
I reached out and grabbed his hand, then as one we cried: “Revelendo-Mallum-Rejicio!” — the screeching noise obliterated everything else. Malakai squirmed as a wave of blue light pulsed out of us like a tidal wave.
“Wahhhh!” he cried. The join between mine and Jaspers hand pulsed hot blue waves. Another wave echoed through the room as Malakai glared berserk, maddened and shaking before raising his arms again.
“Again!” called Jaspers voice.
“Revelendo-Mallum-Rejicio!” we called — I shielded my eyes again as the light shone brighter than the surface of the sun. Malakai screeched, echoing long after he’d disappeared. I looked up… Jasper snatched his hand back. The green chain fizzed and fell away.
Malakai was gone. We’d done it!
But there was a problem. The floor was shaking. Rumbling from somewhere deep — stones in the wall juddering.
I glanced at Jasper — “What’s going on?” I said.
Jasper sat up quickly then cried: “Get OUT! THE ROOMS FALLING IN!” We scrambled up across the wet floor — darting for the tunnel.
“Get BACK!” I screamed as we reached it. It was falling in! I just had time to lunge backwards as — RUMBLE! CRACK! We did scream, but I didn’t hear it. Stone wall collapsed in from all around us and everything went dark.
***
I didn’t know how long I was out for but when I woke the first thing I questioned was my mortality? Was I dead? But then, as pain returned I realised I wasn’t.
Jasper was sat trying to start a fire. Rubble and stone lay high all around us. We were trapped in a tiny space around the fireplace. I felt groggy, hurting all over. As I sat up groaning I felt a scarf around my mouth. I pulled it off, groaning as my back killed.
“Oh your awake,” said Jasper softly. Then I noticed something sticking out of my arm — it was a long silver tube that ran all the way to Jaspers.
“What’s going on?” I said, my voice weak.
Jasper looked bad, his face cut and bruised, left eye half shut. “You needed blood… it was a close call. But I suppose I owed you one after the stadium collapse. So this makes us even now.”
“Was I that bad?”
Jasper looked back at the fire and poked it. “Well you stopped breathing so yeah, quite bad. And I put some of my robe around your mouth because of the dust, in case you were wondering.”
“Right… thanks,” I said.
“I’ve already looked around, tried some spells to get out of here but… he left us with a parting gift — collapsing this room inwards before he left.”
“Can’t we just spell a hole through it?” I said.
Jasper shook his head slowly. “No, Malakai cursed it — that makes it next to impossible, unless you’re the Lily or something, to find a way out. I’ve tried to get a message out for help, but the curse just kills it.”
“Oh god, so what we gonna do?”
“What can we do?” he sounded mad, speaking in a soft, low voice. “If you hadn’t have come up here making accusations… this would never have happened.”
I didn’t bother to respond — I knew already that this was my fault, all my fault. Jasper had seen Malakai too, perhaps, when we got out, or if we got out, he could tell the Lily what happened. But… the Lily needed evidence and I didn’t have any. I felt bad accusing Jasper now — he had just saved my life, if it hadn’t been for him Malakai would have killed me.
For what felt like hours we sat together in the small confined space amongst the rubble. Jasper tried and failed to spell a fire — complaining the curse wouldn’t let him. The cold creeped in and lodged in my bones, a horrible silence fell and didn’t shift for a long time. It was impossible to know what the time was — my instinct said it was still the middle of the night, maybe nearly morning. I wondered how we could get a message out to Robin, but even the window was completely blocked. The atmosphere was frosty — he had a right to feel aggrieved, this was all my fault and I owed him one.
“Hold on,” I said as I pulled the silver instrument from my arm. “You gave me blood?” Jasper glanced up, his burgundy robes thick with dust and dirt. “But… how?” I said.
His eyes rested on me. “Because I am a seventh son.”
Utter shock smacked me in the face — Jasper was a seventh son too!? I couldn't believe it. I felt giddy, as a tingle of jealousy fluttered in my stomach. I thought I was only the only seventh son in the school. Now the silver tube in my arm made sense, he gave me blood because he was a seventh son — Burrows the Djinn needed a seventh son blood to regain life.
“How did you know about this room?”
Jasper dropped his hand away from the fire, giving up. “Someone showed me it. I didn't know about the Heptagon Society until a man in white called Chambers explained it to me. He told me I could use the room — but I found it earlier. There were things in here that proved useful. But after you were taken by that Djinn, it all disappeared,” he smarted.
“The Djinn is a seventh son too,” I said, but Jasper didn’t say anything — he rolled his eyes sat back against the rubble and looked up into the tall rafters.
“Nothing surprises me anymore…” he said, before sighing. “My father, was a good man, he was the cleverest, bravest, most loyal person I’ve ever known. His life’s work was trying to create a peaceful, inclusive society that worked for everyone. Where huge power amongst individuals was reined in, where no one went without food, where everyone was happy… but they killed him. Saw him as a massive threat to their dark plans. Chambers, the man who showed me this room, worked for my Dad — lots of people did, they called themselves the Order of White. Malakai is only powerful with an army behind him… my Dad never wanted violence. He tried to solve everything with non-violence… but for that, they killed him — Malakai and his minions, killed him…” tears fell down Jaspers face making lines in the dirt. “I wanted to kill Malakai so much, I’ve dreamt about it every night. Even though I know what my Dad would say… violence is not the answer, peace doesn't arrive by violence, only by peace. But then, when I saw Malakai earlier — I froze… I couldn’t think of anything. I am a failure.”
I sighed. “You’re not a failure, anyone would have done the same. Anyway, you’re the one that saved us. Without you, we wouldn't be alive.” Jasper wiped his eyes, and I noticed he was stroking his pendant. “Did he give you that?” I said.
He looked down at it and smiled. “Yeah. He left it to me. It was his,” he frowned. “It does stuff. I think it’s imbued with magical knowledge, or maybe it remembers the magic my Dad did, because, well I just seem to know so much more magic this year…”
So that explained the curious rise in grades. I wondered about my Granddad giving me the pendant — I didn't feel any cleverer, or have any extra powers.
Jasper sighed and closed his eyes. “You can’t blame for me not liking you,” he said. “My family were terrorised by the Blackthorns for years. It tore them apart, made my mother a nervous wreck. So you can understand that when you started mouthing off at me, I took that as you being a typical Blackthorn, come to terrorise me like your family before. They tried to say that you were not evil. I’ve had years of knowing the evil families that were trying to do us in, or take us down.” A cold breeze drifted through the room. “But I realised, after a while, that you were different… after what Tina told me.”
My heart jumped in my chest. “What did she say?”
“She said you two had somethi
ng in first year and you saved her brother — that you were good. She made me promise not to hurt you.”
I swallowed. “What else did she say?”
His blue eyes rested on me. “She said you weren’t like your family. I had a hard time believing that one — especially after you tried everything you could to make me look stupid.”
Tina couldn't have told him about Malakai, and nor could I — because of the pact. “When did you start coming up here?”
“Just before Christmas. I sleep walked up here…”
“You sleepwalked here?” — the memory of seeing Jasper snap out of something when me and Robin saw him up here before, shot across my memory.
“Yeah well, I’ve been talking to my Dad in this room,” he said wistfully.
“Dad? But… I thought he was dead?”
“Whenever he wanted to talk to me I would find myself sleepwalking up here. That big round table allowed me to speak to him. I would sit in one of the chairs and then… he would appear in the one opposite. Telling me things I needed to know.”
“I thought you were Malakai for so long…” I said shaking my head, hoping the pain would fall out if I shook hard enough. “I mean… I even saw you when you came up here and you looked like him.”
Jasper smiled and shook his head softly. “That was just the same cloaking spell that Malakai uses, with the black aura and horns? My Dad told me to use it when coming up here at night. You won’t be stopped or spotted by anything.”
“What about your eyes, when I saw you earlier, they were black.”
“Like this?” he said, closing his eyes and opening them again to reveal startling, scary black eyes. “It’s a bewitchment charm. Rudimentary start to contacting the dead…”
“Who were you… ohh… your Dad?”
“Yes. The table was gone so I was trying to do it without. But I couldn’t. Slightly annoying, this room used to be filled with books and stuff… but now it’s empty.”
Avis Blackthorn and the Magical Multicolour Jumper (The Wizard Magic School Series, Book 2) Page 34