Merlin turned his glance at me.
“I have failed. I trusted people I should not have trusted. My Chief of Wands, my Secretary of Forbidden Magic, my Head of Spell Casters... I chose wrongly... I put the Academy in danger. It is because of me that Avallon faces the greatest danger in history. I do not deserve to be the Grand Wizard. I have to resign,” Merlin mumbled, entering a state of shock.
His body started shaking under my hands. His eyes were wide open as if he had seen a ghost, and he kept repeating the same things. “I failed... I am dangerous... I have to resign...”
“Grand Wizard! My Lord! Merlin!” Dindrane said with a sweet tone in her voice. “It is not your fault. These guys are powerful mages and I know well that Tal had to sell his soul to convince them that he is one of them and gain their trust. I trusted you. Now, please prove me right.”
“My Lord, I trust you too,” I said.
“Me too,” Ector agreed.
“Me too,” Guimora said.
“I trust in you”.
One after the other, we gave our pledge of loyalty and our confidence in his leadership.
Merlin’s chest started moving up and down as he tried to take deep breaths.
“I am responsible for you. I must stop this. And I will stop this,” he said declared.
One by one, they erupted in cheers.
A knock on the door brought us back to order. The smiles froze on our faces, as the young student announced, “There has been another attack.”
CHAPTER 14
*
Everything was so peaceful there. Time ran awfully slow and there was a deafening quietness that was only broken by birds chirping and singing.
I was having a picnic on a green hill looking over Afall Island. The spot was only five minutes walking time away from the Academy that had been my home for the last couple of weeks.
Apart from the Avallon Academy, there also was a small village on the island. It was such a small village that, alongside some village homes, it only hosted one corner shop, a library, a couple of gifts shops, and a pub. The village had a doctor, a blacksmith, a seamstress, and a wandmaker. Living there could not compare to life in London and Paris, but I had always been a small-town girl so I did not bother.
After the latest Black Riders attack, everything was again quiet and peaceful on the island. That had started to become an issue. It was too quiet and too peaceful.
“Centuries ago, there was an ancient legend about the powerful creature that will appear in our world and will bridge the differences between mages. That creature was called the Sorceress,” Arthur had once told me. I was supposed to be that Sorceress. I did not have any evidence that he was right. Oh, I had also killed a mighty Time Hopper in an alternative timeline, but I believed that was the result of a magic dagger and a mysterious ring I wore. Because if I had been the powerful Sorceress, I would not be unable to protect myself.
“You’re wearing the Malkvien ring and you are holding my hand which has the Claitleeff ring on. The creature which you just killed has left behind the Bariah ring. When the Carnwennan’s edge penetrated the Bariah’s body, you connected to the power of three supreme ancient cults. I have seen many portraits depicting the Sorceress. It had long purple hair, just like you,” Arthur had told me.
I had recalled that scene in mind over and over again. I had plenty of free time and so little to do, anyway. I was tired; tired of boredom, tired of being afraid. It was time to go back to the village, but it was still too early to go back home. So, I decided to have a piece of apple pie at the pub.
The tiny place was crowded, full of thirsty students of Magical Arts, but I was lucky enough to find a place to sit. It was time to start playing my new favorite game; reading the minds of people who were complete strangers to me. There were so many inner voices that I could target in my playing game. I decided to start with the young waiter’s mind. “Halò àlainn,” I read his thought and felt flattered by the compliment. “Smile if you want to have sex with me,” the young man’s voice echoed loudly in my mind.
I did not want to have sex with him, of course, but I was really tempted to smile just to enjoy his confused face. However, I had to stand still and patient, as if I had not listened to the words that had formed in his mind. I could not let him know that I had read his mind, I shouldn’t publicly reveal that, with Arthur’s training, I had gained weak telepathic powers. That was a “no-no”.
Arthur was adamant; no one should know, or I would be in life-threatening danger. I did not believe him, to be honest. I thought that he was exaggerating. I was forbidden to let anyone know. Forbidden. That was the keyword. It was a word I had always hated. I hated restrictions. I hated being on a restricted diet. I hated to love with restrictions. I hated places available only to authorized persons; that is why I learned how to break in locked places. I hated being in locked places; that is why I learned how to break free.
I loved my new gift of reading the thoughts of everyone around me. It made me feel less lonely in a reclusive island with no friends and no social life. I was learning how to filter the voices that would sneak into my mind. And it was
