I felt a burning and a stream of blood started flowing from my belly. I was stabbed from behind by a man who had appeared out of nowhere. Shocked and in pain as I was, I hardly watched Arthur ramming his dagger into the man’s neck. His body got scorched down and disintegrated into a pile of black ashes.
“Oh, my God,” I cried and fell down on smashed pieces of glass. “Who were these people?” The words came out of my mouth with a struggle.
Arthur knelt and gently got my head on his arms. “Don’t be afraid,” he said softly.
“I got stabbed. I’m afraid as shit,” I muttered.
“It wasn’t a Carnwennan, it was a commons sword,” he said as he brushed my hair with his fingers.
“Am I going to die?” I said trembling.
“No, you aren’t going to die,” he said softly. “I promised to protect you and I will honor my promise to you.”
“I’m feeling cold,” I said and my eyes watered.
Suddenly, a green mist surrounded us and the next minute we were both standing in the middle of a lightning storm looking at each other. When the atmosphere cleared, Arthur moved fast beside me and ramming his dagger into the neck of the man who was ready to stub me.
“Now we can go back,” Arthur said before green mist and white lightning bolts surrounded us.
“That’s not the reason I’m crying,” I said sobbing. “It’s the fact that I felt attracted to the man that held me captive before you arrived. I wasn’t really attracted to him; it was more like someone was mentally forcing me to fall for him.”
“Don’t be silly,” he said softly. “The only man in this mansion was the one who stabbed you and he had just arrived here.”
“No, you’re wrong,” I said crying, “there was also a young man with a man bun who was trying to control my mind. What kind of prodigy am I since I wasn’t able to stop him?”
“The person that you’re talking about wasn’t a man at all,” he said, and a smile was painted on his face. “It was the woman with the black dress and the black mini hat whom you exterminated.”
“How can that be possible?” I asked, having abruptly stopped crying. And then I realized it.
We were back in Arthur’s living room. Dindrane was there looking at us.
“What do you think?” Arthur asked her. “Is she ready now?”
“She broke the spell all by herself. I think she is ready,” Dindrane replied.
“Hey, I am here. Don’t talk about me like I am not present. Can you tell what just happened?”
“You passed the test. That is what happened,” Arthur told me.
“I bent time and I sent you to an alternative timeline. If you had not broken the spell, you would have been left there and you would have passed the rest of your life in that timeline,” Dindrane explained.
“Would you really have left me there?” I squeaked.
“We have lost many young aspiring Time Hoppers this way. They did not pass the test and they spent the rest of their lives in alternative timelines.”
“But you said that I am the Sorceress!”
“I warned you to not believe everything I say.” He smirked and I was very close to hitting his jaw with my fist.
Dindrane clapped her hands twice. “Quiet! You can play husband and wife later. We have a mission to accomplish. Dark days are coming, and we must warn the Board of Wizards now.”
CHAPTER 13
*
We passed by a row of teal wooden doors and windows and we stopped in front of the large cypress door with centenarian ivy that distinguished the mansion’s entrance.
We crossed a hallway with black and purple marble floors that led to an inner courtyard full of roses of all colors. Large, vaulted doors made of wood and glass lined each side of the rectangular courtyard, and a few iron tables and chairs filled the space.
Two large living rooms, a reception hall, and a huge ball chamber were on the ground floor, while the Grand Chamber of all Magic, where all secret ceremonies used to take place, was located at the back of the building.
The Grand Wizard’s office was on the second floor, along with the other Board members’ offices. We sent a couple of minutes standing outside the door to catch our breath before Dindrane put her hand on the door handle.
“Okay. Let’s get the party started,” she said and opened the door.
“IF THEY ARE RIGHT, then you are incompetent, Merlin!” Dindrane’s reaction was unexpected especially since the entire Board of Wizards was present.
I couldn’t believe the anger that erupted from her. As I could not believe that they allowed me to attend the meeting.
“Dindrane, please leave,” Merlin demanded as he stood up from his red velvet desk chair.
“With all due respect, Grand Wizard, I am not going anywhere. This meeting isn’t over yet,” Dindrane declared as she remained seated.
“Excuse me? Who do you think you are? I'm calling the WizGuards right now,” said Merlin, his voice shaking in surprise at the unexpected disobedience.
“I'm no one, my Lord. And you are the Grand Wizard. And you can have the WizGuards throw me out of your office anytime. But you will not do that. Because that will bring about the end of your tenure and your career as the Mighty Sorcerer.”
Dindrane stood up slowly and approached Merlin, who clenched his fists defensively. “I have always been loyal to my Grand Wizard, my Lord, and I always will be. I have taken an oath to serve our cause and give my life to protect our values. I am not a soldier of any Army, but I am a member of the Avallon Academy, as my father was before me, and his father, and my great-great-grandfather. My ancestors joined the forces
