by Beam, Brian
I was too scared to make a move, even to retreat. One sound of my footsteps on the pavement would give me away and cut my rescue attempt abruptly short. The wizard stopped two paces away, his youthful face a picture of confusion. His eyes darted back and forth a few times before he shrugged and went back to join the other two.
Once they began conversing, I let out a shuddering breath through tight lips. After a few slow breaths, I was able to resume my normal, silent breathing. I realized that I was going to have to be more careful if I wanted to pull this off.
“Theof, direct the food and spice wagon to the kitchens,” the older Wizard Guard commanded the youthful one. He looked to the wagon’s driver. “You can unload the others here.” He pointed to the door behind him.
“Yes, sir,” the balding driver responded, turning back to the line of carts to shout orders to the other drivers.
The Wizard Guard member who’d spoken to the driver pulled open a wrought-iron door that led inside the Wizard Academy. Once fully open, it let out a sharp click and remained in place. That was my cue. I just had to walk in and find the laboratory.
Here goes nothing, I thought to myself, almost letting out a chuckle at the pun. You know, I was invisible . . . nothing . . . forget it. Bad joke.
I walked slowly, careful to remain silent as I made my way to the door. Sweat beaded on my forehead despite the morning’s chill. No one looked my way, though. I slipped through the door without anyone noticing anything amiss. Finally, I was within the Wizard Academy’s walls.
Now all I had to do was find Max. Easy, right?
Chapter 26
Wrong. Nothing Is Ever Easy
Earlier, I mentioned that hindsight is a bastard. To the best of my knowledge, there’s not a god or goddess of hindsight. If there was, I’d have cursed them until my dying breath. I’ll get to that later. For now, I’ll just explain how I just about botched the whole rescue plan.
Once through the door, I found myself in a long hallway. Unlike the prismatic gleam of the Wizard Academy’s exterior, the interior was similar to the mildly reflective stone of the other buildings in Auslin. The smooth walls were adorned with intricate tapestries, golden-framed paintings, and flawless mirrors. Recessed alcoves were home to statuary and short, fluted columns topped with various objects from jade carvings to pottery. The floor was covered in crimson carpeting bordered with polished white marble tile. The vaulted ceiling was filled with light, illuminating the hallway, yet there was no distinguishable source.
As much as I would’ve loved to stop and take it all in, time wasn’t exactly my friend. Hell, time wasn’t even a casual acquaintance at this point. I had less than an hour before I’d be more concerned about finding the nearest privy than finding Max.
The hallway curved in the direction of the central edifice, so I started forward. With the soft red carpet beneath my feet, I was able to move at a light jog without making much noise.
As I passed a mirror, I made a point of glancing into it, paranoid that it would be spelled in some way that would make my reflection visible. All that reflected back, though, was the tapestry-hung wall across from it. Though not having a reflection was unsettling, I was relieved to know that I wouldn’t have to worry about ducking under the various ornate mirrors hanging on the walls ahead of me.
Around the corner, the hallway stretched into a dead end. Several robed wizards milled about, some entering or exiting doorways, others conversing. From what I’d seen from outside the Wizard Academy, I knew there was a walkway to the central edifice on the second or third floor. I just had to avoid the wizards, find a stairway, and then worry about my next step.
I dodged between two groups of youthful wizards who were talking and laughing amongst themselves. One was particularly animated with his gestures, his hand flying towards my face as I passed. Sidestepping to avoid him, I bumped into the back of a young sorceress. She turned with an annoyed glare but simply aimed it towards the wildly gesturing sorcerer.
About halfway down the hall, I found a wide-stepped stairway spiraling up to the next floor through an open arch in the wall. I started up the stairs, having to press back against the curved marble banister to make room for two older wizards with gray beards and wizened faces as they descended. Like an idiot, I placed my hands on the banister. Where my naked skin touched its surface, two sections about the length of my forearms disappeared.
The closer of the two wizards stopped just one step down from me, his attention drawn to the banister. It wasn’t until he did that I realized what was happening. I released the marble surface and stepped backwards up the next few steps, keeping the wizards in my sight.
“Varrun, did you see that? The banister vanished right here.” The wizard reached for the banister, running his hand down one of the sections I’d unwittingly made invisible moments before.
The second wizard, Varrun, let out an exasperated breath. “We are late enough as it is, Uril. I see nothing out of the ordinary. If we do not get these Communication Stones ready for the next squadron, the Grand Wizard will not be happy.” Varrun grabbed Uril by one of his voluminous sleeves, tugging on it to prod him down the stairs. Uril’s gaze didn’t leave the banister until they were out of sight.
With a relieved sigh, I turned to continue up the stairs. Instead, a wizard bumped into me, almost knocking me down. Thankfully, I was able to grab the banister with one hand as my body flung back. The wizard, a young male in a dark blue robe, wasn’t as lucky and let out a startled grunt as he tripped over me and fell rolling down the stairs. He came to a stop on his back a few steps from the bottom.
Several wizards, including Uril and Varrun, came running to see the source of the commotion, having heard the young wizard cry out as he fell. Uril’s eyes shot up the stairs as he helped the fallen wizard to his feet, but I’d already taken my hand from the banister. The young wizard appeared unharmed as he stared back to where he’d tripped with a bewildered expression. I couldn’t say the same for my left ankle; he’d caught it with his foot as he fell, twisting it painfully.
All it would take was an explanation from the fallen wizard of how he’d bumped into something invisible and then tripped over something equally invisible to prompt a quick investigation into the cause. Between that and the fact that I had very little time, I started running up the stairs.
Maybe I should specify that I hobbled up the stairs. In the stories I’d heard as a child of heroes pulling off daring rescues, none involved the hero twisting his ankle and limping around as if one leg were shorter than the other. But that’s how I found myself as I reached the second-floor landing.
Without looking back, I ignored the pain in my ankle as I ran through the open doorway that led out from the landing. To my left, at the end of another hallway, was the door I believed would take me to the walkway I was looking for. If my bearings were correct, it was in the right place. That would’ve been a good thing if not for the door being closed and guarded by a man in the black and blue tabard of the Wizard Guard. At least there were fewer wizards in this hallway.
Staying close to the wall, I started towards the door, hoping that someone would open it so I could slip through. As if I’d put that hope into a prayer that had been answered, a high-pitched chime suddenly echoed down the hall. The door slowly swung open to admit a middle-aged wizard in a shiny green robe embroidered with swirling designs in red. He was followed by an entourage of young men and women in wizard robes who didn’t look a day over coming of age, each carrying stacks of parchment. They scribbled furiously with quills while attempting to keep up with the man as he spoke fast and strode even faster.
As the trailing wizards came through the door, they fanned out, essentially taking up the entire width of the hallway. Knowing this could’ve been my only chance of getting into the walkway, I started for the door before they could all make it through and shut it behind them.
Now, being invisible doesn’t change who you are, and I was generally a polite person. Basically,
as I cut through the young wizards, I stammered out an “excuse me” or two. So not only were some of them being pushed aside by an invisible force, they were also being politely spoken to by it.
The words of the wizard leading them were apparently more important than puzzling out the odd occurrence of having me pass through. They continued forward without stopping for longer than it took to shoot a puzzling glance around the hallway. Maybe in the Wizard Academy, strange occurrences were the norm. Or maybe the man leading the younger wizards, obviously an instructor of some sort, wasn’t the type to tolerate distractions from his lectures. Either way, I counted myself lucky as I slipped through the stone door just as it started shutting behind the last wizard to exit. With a rush of air and a click, it closed behind me.
The walkway was only about ten paces long, its curved walls giving it the feel of a giant tube. On both sides, narrow, rectangular sections were cut out of the tan stone to look out over the outer grounds below. I was completely alone in the cylindrical room. Ahead of me, the door into the central edifice was shut tight. I could only assume there was a Wizard Guard member posted on the other side, just as there’d been with the door behind me.
My only options were to wait for someone to come through the door or to open it myself. Given that there was no guarantee someone would pass through before my invisibility potion wore off, I decided that I couldn’t allow myself to fret about anyone’s reaction to a door opening seemingly of its own accord.
Without having to worry about keeping silent, I ran to the other end of the walkway, the pain in my ankle shooting through my entire leg. I pushed against the door with my shoulder, not wanting to make a portion of it disappear under my hand and cause further questions. Nothing happened.
Suppressing a flutter of anxiety in my chest, I looked for some kind of handle to pull the door open. There was nothing. No hinges were visible, meaning they had to be on the other side. I vainly tried to shove my fingers into the crack between the door and the wall.
My anxiety flamed into all-out panic. If I couldn’t get out of the walkway before the potion wore off, I’d be discovered when the next wizard decided to come through. Even if they paid me no mind, there was a good chance that the posted guard would know who I was. With Grayson having had recognized me, my description was surely known among the Wizard Guard. If the aftereffects of the potion were worse than the time before, there’d be no way I could escape.
My mind struggled to formulate a plan as my eyes continued to scan the door. After a moment, I noticed a small, rounded stone embedded in the wall. The stone glowed with a soft white radiance. Hoping that it was the means of opening the door, I tapped it with my elbow. The stone flashed brightly and retracted into the wall. The same high-pitched chime I’d heard earlier echoed through the walkway. The door began to swing outward. Apparently, it had a magical opening mechanism. Go figure.
I hurried through the opening door and entered yet another hallway, this one branching at a slight curve to both my left and right. I was officially within the central edifice. Now all I had to do was find a means of getting to the basement.
As I’d expected, a man in a Wizard Guard uniform stood to my immediate left, his eyes narrowed in confusion as he stared down the empty walkway. Not waiting to see his full reaction, I turned right, stepping carefully down the carpeted hallway. Large, arched wooden doors lined the walls on either side. There was a glaring lack of wizards, so once I was out of sight of the confused guard, I broke into a sprint.
I felt as if I’d run the entire circumference of the Wizard Academy, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I searched for a way downstairs. I finally reached a large, open arch leading to a staircase that spiraled down into the floor as well as up through the high ceiling.
There were two wizards coming up the stairs, so I slowed to sidle down the inner curve of the stairway, holding my breath as I passed them. As soon as they were out of sight, I started loping down the stairs three at a time.
The stairway curved past an open exit to the ground floor. I kept forward, though, hoping the stairs would lead all the way to the basement and the laboratory located within. I also hoped that the laboratory was where I’d find Max and that Muscle Head’s information about its location was correct. Otherwise, I’d just be trapped deeper within the Wizard Academy when the potion wore off.
The bottom of the stairs led to another curved hallway. The smooth, reflective walls were completely bare, but unlike the other parts of the Wizard Academy, they had a brownish-red tint, like the color of rust. A group of wizards were huddled in conversation to my right, while a pair approached from my left. Each wore tight black robes with sleeves that stopped halfway down their forearms.
I turned left and slid past the two wizards who’d been walking towards me.
“We should bring the labatory results of the Transfer Box to Nehril,” one was saying to the other. “It is nearly ready for use in the field. Well, Bwennel lost part of his left hand, but we were able to heal that.”
The other, a shorter female with unruly curls and azure eyes, shook her head. “There’s no way the Grand Wizard will . . .” Her words were lost to me as I sprinted ahead, ignoring the pain shooting up my left leg. There was no doubt in my mind that the two wizards had just come from testing whatever a Transfer Box was in the Wizard Academy laboratory. I was almost there. I probably hadn’t even used up more than half of the potion’s duration.
After a few running strides, I came to a set of iron-framed wooden doors labeled, “Laboratory Room 1” in inlaid silver
“Son of a—” I began before realizing I was speaking aloud. The “1” meant that there either had to be a second room—if not more—or the wizards of the Wizard Academy were lax in their naming. I didn’t believe I was lucky enough for the latter to be the case.
With a quick assessment to ensure I hadn’t drawn attention, I reached for the door’s bronze handle. I stopped short, recalling what would happen if my skin made contact with it. Pulling my shirtsleeve over my hand—which wasn’t as easy as it sounds due to the invisibility—I grabbed the handle and eased the door open ever so slowly.
Peeking through the narrow crack of the partially opened door, I checked to see if there was anyone in the room. I saw several wizards in the same short-sleeved black robes hunched over tables and sitting on stools before alcoves mostly covered with sheets of glass. No one paid the door any mind, so I gently squeezed through and silently shut it behind me.
The circular room had a great domed ceiling. The walls were lined with bookshelves and the glass-covered alcoves. Some tables held haphazardly placed glassware full of various colored liquids and powders. Others were set up with strange scientific instruments I didn’t recognize. There were less than a dozen wizards working at the various tables and alcoves, oblivious to everything but what lay directly in front of them. A quick circuit of the room revealed no signs of Max or Xalis, so I snuck out the way I’d come in.
I repeated this process for Laboratory Room 2 through Laboratory Room 5 with no luck. I was running out of patience and time. With my sleeve-covered hand resting on the door handle of Laboratory Room 6, I briefly considered just turning back and reconvening with Til’ and Briscott to come up with a new plan. There were several rooms left, and I figured I’d be lucky to have even a quarter of my hour remaining to find Max and get out.
Just one more room, I thought to myself. Just one more, and then I’ll sneak out before the potion wears off.
Easing the door open, I slunk into the Laboratory Room 6. The room was redolent of animal waste. My ears were met with the sounds of chirping, growling, and squeaking. Only one black-robed wizard was present. He was leaning over a table with his back turned to me, his gray hair tumbling over his shoulders.
Cubic steel cages of various sizes covered the walls, some small enough to hold mice, some large enough to hold hornbears. One of the bigger cages literally did hold a hornbear—a massive, scruffy, four-legged beast with two cur
ved horns protruding from its temples and one straight horn jutting from the middle of its forehead. Hope surged through me. It seemed I’d finally found the room I’d been looking for.
As I stepped fully into the room, some of the animals began thrashing in their cages, their growls and roars increasing in volume. The invisibility potion didn’t seem to fool them as it had the wizards.
With the increased noise masking my footsteps, I quickly started down the wall to my right, searching for any sign of Max in the smaller cages. There were literally hundreds of cages, some stacked so high that the rolling ladders placed around the room would be needed to see into them. It would take too long to check every cage. I needed a quicker way of finding Max. As if sneaking into the Wizard Academy hadn’t been dumb enough, I decided to do something really stupid.
“Max,” I screamed as loudly as I could over the cacophony of animal noises. “Where are you?”
The wizard jerked erect from the table, turning with a startled expression on his wrinkled face. “Who’s there?” he called out, his eyes scanning the room for the source of the voice. He stuck his hand into a small cage on the table, grabbing some sort of brown furry animal within. His other hand rose slowly, as if ready to cast a spell.
I ignored the wizard and called out again. “Max!” There was no response.
I didn’t have time to search the entire collection of cages. The smartest course of action would’ve been to simply leave, but there was no telling how long it would take to find another way into the Wizard Academy if I did. Also, having revealed to the wizard that someone else was in the room with him, I’d likely be unable to escape without notice. Once he saw the door to the room open by itself, he’d easily stop me with his magic.
So, since I’d already thrown caution to the wind, I decided to do something really, really stupid. You know, the “trying to get yourself killed” kind of stupid.
