Chosen Chapter 10: Raiders of the Lost Valley
Part 2
Xxx
A swirling portal appeared on the wall of a large hallway. Violet screamed as she was thrown from the portal and fell on the marble floor. As she crawled up and rubbed her sore knees, she silently cursed Magic School for not having a normal entrance. The portal behind her closed and she started walking down the hall. Although Arthur had written to her were some delays, she could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Billie was right, she needed to trust her intuition. Hopefully Leo could provide some answers.
When Violet entered the grand hall, she saw a strawberry blonde woman in a black robe instructing some students as they were placing books in a large bookcase.
"Careful!" The woman screeched as one of the students nearly dropped a book. "These books are ancient and priceless. They cannot be replaced."
"Excuse me." Violet said.
The woman turned around and looked at her through her dark rimmed glasses. "You're not a student, can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Leo." Violet said.
"Headmaster Wyatt, you mean." The woman corrected her. "Do you have an appointment?"
"No." Violet replied.
"The headmaster is a very busy man." The woman said. "I think it would be best if you make an appointment."
"I'm sorry, but it is a little urgent." Violet replied. "Are you his secretary? I really need to see him."
"I am the Literature professor." The woman called out insulted. "Miss Donovan."
"I'm sorry." Violet quickly said.
At that moment, one of the side doors flew open and headmaster Leo came walking in with a class of pre-teen students. Much like the other professor, he was dressed in a black robe. He did not seem to notice Violet, as he was too busy talking to his students.
"So in order to reclaim the school for the side of good, the Charmed Ones performed a powerful spell to vanquish all evil within these walls." Leo explained. "However, even more important was the struggle between Billie and her sister, who had returned in astral form."
"What happened?" A young girl asked curiously.
"Well… I think that is a story for our next lesson." Leo replied when he noticed Violet. "Now hurry to your next class, you don't want to miss conjuration, do you?"
The children smiled and quickly ran off to their class. When Leo joined Violet and Miss Donovan, the literature professor nodded her head and resumed her work with the books. Leo waved his hand, inviting Violet to walk with him. They walked back into the endless hallway.
"Miss Morgan." Leo said with a friendly smile. "Nice to see you again. How may I help you today?"
"Thank you for seeing me." Violet replied. "I was hoping to talk to you about Arthur's expedition. Have you heard anything?"
"I got a letter from Professor Whitney a few days ago." Leo replied. "He said there were some delays, but he remained optimistic they would find what they were looking for."
"I heard the same." Violet said. "Do you know what they are looking for exactly? Another ancient Wizard city?"
"Something like that." Leo replied. "The professor believed there is an ancient city hidden in a mythical valley. In human myths, it is known as Shangri-La."
"Wait, isn't that a fictional place?" Violet asked with a frown. "I remember seeing it in a movie once."
"The professor believes it to be real." Leo replied. "He has researched it for years. That is why he was so interested in Arthur's theories."
"Do you think he's right?" Violet asked. "Arthur believes all these ancient cities were once build by Wizards, only to be abandoned when they nearly went extinct."
"Yes, I read his research." Leo replied with a nod. "I believe he might be correct. After all, the Wizard race was once powerful enough to make even the Source of All Evil fear them."
"Which led to their extinction." Violet concluded sadly.
"Not entirely." Leo replied. "The Charmed Ones encountered a few wizards, and Arthur himself was fathered by a Wizard. I believe there is still a handful of Wizards out there."
"Of course." Violet said.
"So why are you so curious about the expedition?" Leo asked.
"I'm not, at least not really." Violet replied. "I just can't help shake the feeling that something is wrong. I'm worried something happened."
"I see." Leo replied.
"You don't believe me." Violet noted disappointed. "I'm sorry to bother you."
Feeling embarrassed about making a fool out of herself, Violet wanted to walk away, though Leo gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "No, Violet, wait. If my years with the sisters have taught me anything, it's to always trust your intuition. If you think something is wrong, we will find out."
"You can do that?" Violet asked.
"Absolutely." Leo said. "When he left, Professor Whitney left a magical crystal that could be used to contact him in case of emergency. It's in my office, follow me."
Violet nodded and followed Leo to his office. When they entered, Leo closed the door behind them and walked to his desk. He retrieved a small blue crystal from his desk. Violet noticed it was a similar crystal to the one Arthur once used. Leo closed his eyes and focused, causing the crystal to start flashing. After a moment, Leo opened his eyes and frowned.
"It is not working." He explained. "For some reason, I cannot reach Professor Whitney."
"What does that mean?" Violet asked.
"It means that either he can't answer my call, or the signal is not reaching him." Leo replied. "Have you tried calling Arthur on a regular phone?"
"No, he said it would be useless, so he didn't bring it." Violet said. "That is why we've been writing letters. His last letter is from a small village near the Kunlun Mountains."
"Which is where the valley is located according to the legends." Leo reasoned. "If they entered the valley, it would make sense that we can't reach them. It would be protected by ancient magic."
"Can I see the crystal?" Violet asked.
Leo nodded and handed over the crystal. The moment Violet touched it, she was pulled into a premonition. She saw Arthur and an elderly looking man walking down a rocky mountain path with several others. They stopped in front of a large stone archway. When the elderly touched it, they were all pulled through a portal. Then a winged creature appeared throwing fire. Violet gasps as the premonition ended and dropped the crystal.
"Are you okay? What did you see?" Leo asked.
"That they are definitely in trouble." Violet replied worried. She had not seen if Arthur had been injured by the flying creature, but she knew he was in danger. Her intuition was right all along. She needed to go find her boyfriend and bring him back home.
Xxx
In a column of smoke, Duncan appeared in an alley behind the nightclub P3. It was the only place he could think of that Homeland Security would not check. He needed to find a way to deal with them, since he knew Murphy was not going to give up. He considered the twins as but a pair of criminals, but Duncan knew they had great potential for good and he wasn't ready to say goodbye again. He circled around the club until he found the twins on the parking lot.
"Were you followed?" Nathan asked the moment he spotted him.
"Of course not, I used a teleportation potion." Duncan said. "How else do you think I got here this fast?"
"Sorry, sometimes I forget not everyone can move as fast as me." Nathan replied with a shrug. "So we got more trouble, don't we?"
"Yeah, seems like you're not just popular in the magical community anymore." Duncan remarked. "Homeland Security is after you as well now."
"How do they even know we're back?" Nick asked.
"They're the government, they probably never stopped watching us." Duncan reasoned. "Does it matter how they know? The important thing is that they know."
"Then we need to leave." Nick said determined. "I hate running, but if those agents keep chasing us, I know someone will end up getting hurt. And it won't be us."
"No." Nathan replied. "I'm tired of running. If we run, we'll never be able to build a normal life for ourselves. We'll always be criminals."
"Got a better idea?" Nick replied angrily. "Because I would love to hear it!"
"We need to find a way to keep people from coming after you." Duncan said while thinking aloud. "So you can start with a clean slate."
"That's impossible." Nathan said. "It's not like we can change the past. It will always be there."
As Duncan considered his words, an idea suddenly formed in his mind. It was risky, but worth a shot. "We can't change the past, no, but that doesn't mean others can't." He said with a smile.
"What are you talking about?" Nick asked frowning.
"We need to make people forget what you did." Duncan replied.
"That's easier said than done. How? We don't have that kind of power." Nathan argued. "The only ones who can do that are the…"
"The Tribunal?" Duncan finished his sentence.
"Are you insane?" Nick called out angrily. "The Tribunal are not really the helpful kind. They'd sooner erase us from existence than erase our past."
"Then we'll just have to convince them." Duncan replied.
"Why would they even consider helping us?" Nathan asked skeptically. "We haven't exactly done anything to deserve a second chance."
"Seriously? You just helped destroy an evil casino and freed dozens of captured innocent souls." Duncan said. "You've already shown you can be good."
"I don't know. It sounds like a huge risk." Nathan said.
"Do you have a better alternative besides running again?" Duncan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not really." Nathan admitted reluctantly and exchanged looks with his brother, who eventually nodded. "Alright, if you think it will work, we'll do it."
"How do we even reach them?" Nick asked. "Do we expose magic until the Cleaners show up?"
"No, they don't really like that." Duncan replied as he remembered hearing about something similar the Charmed Ones did years ago. "I might know someone who can help."
"Okay, let's just get this over with then." Nick said.
Duncan nodded and pulled another teleportation potion out of his pocket. If they really were going to the Tribunal, they needed someone who knew what they were dealing with. Luckily, Duncan knew the perfect person to ask for help. As they gathered in a circle, Duncan smashed the bottle on the floor and they all disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Xxx
Still trying to find Duncan to convince him about the amazing house, Billie walked across campus to his dorm room. As she headed to his building, she suddenly noticed a suspicious black SUV standing in front of the campus and stopped. She had seen vans like that before. She pretended not to notice it as she walked past, though a car door opened the moment she did. Billie stopped and saw agent Murphy getting out.
"Agent Murphy." Billie said a little hostile. "What did I do this time?"
"I'm not sure." Murphy replied. "Perhaps you're not directly involved, but we both know one of your friends is hiding fugitives."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Billie replied.
"You witches really aren't good liars." Murphy remarked. "Look, I know Duncan is helping the twins, probably because of his relationship with one of them, but I'm hoping you're smarter. You know those twins are trouble. One a criminal, always a criminal."
"I don't believe that." Billie said. "I made plenty of mistakes myself. I don't judge people that easily anymore. You should try it sometimes."
"This isn't about me, Billie." Murphy said. "Those twins have committed serious, sometimes violent crimes. They need to be held accountable."
"Look, Murphy, I know you're just doing your job." Billie said. "But I don't know anything. And even if I did, I'm not obligated to help you. I seriously doubt the twins will get a fair trial once you capture them, and I will not give you more magical beings to run your sick experiments on."
"Is this still about the virus?" Murphy said annoyed. "I already apologized for that and I had nothing to do with it to begin with."
"I don't care." Billie said determined. "Even if you're innocent, your department is definitely not. We're done talking."
Billie turned around and walked away. As she headed into the building, she heard Murphy get in his car and drive off. She grabbed her phone and tried to call Duncan. However, before she could, a magical portal suddenly opened under her feet and she fell through screaming. When the portal closed, it looked like nothing had ever happened.
A similar portal opening in the ceiling of Magic School and Billie continued to scream until she landed on a red sofa in the middle of the grand hall. Disoriented and annoyed, she looked around and saw Violet and Leo standing in front of her.
"Leo, what the hell?" Billie called out as she got up and corrected her hair, which had been severely messed up in the violence of the portal.
"Sorry, this was the fastest way to get you here." Leo said with a faintly amused smile.
"What about exposure? Or personal gain for that matter?" Billie argued. "I was just…"
"Billie, that doesn't matter right now." Violet interrupted her. "Arthur is in danger."
"Oh my God, are you sure?" Billie asked.
"I had a premonition." Violet explained. "I saw the expedition disappear and being attacked by some kind of flying creature that threw fire. We need to find him and bring him back."
"Of course." Billie agreed without hesitation. "Have you called Duncan?"
"We can't reach him." Violet replied.
At that moment, a column of smoke rose up in the middle of the room and Duncan appeared with the twins. He looked surprised to see them. Billie, on the other hand, was surprised the twins could even enter the school with their mixed heritage.
"What are you doing here?" Duncan asked.
"Long story, but Arthur is missing and we need to go find him." Billie said. "Why are you here?"
"We got some problems of our own." Duncan replied. "Agent Murphy is back and determined to arrest the twins."
"Not to mention half the demonic world wants us dead." Nick remarked.
"I know, I ran into Murphy at the dorm." Billie replied. "You're right, he will not stop until he has the twins in custody."
"That's why we're here." Duncan said as he looked at Leo. "We figured there is only one way out and we need the headmaster for that."
"I don't see how I could help." Leo replied.
"Well, I was hoping you would help us appeal to the Tribunal." Duncan explained.
"The Tribunal?" Billie asked with a frown. "Are you insane?"
"It's our only chance." Duncan replied.
"It will be quite a risk to go up against the Tribunal." Leo reasoned. "You will need a strong case and even then they can be unpredictable. But if you're determined to do this, then I will help you."
"Will the two of you be able to handle this without me?" Duncan asked as he turned to the others.
"We have no idea what we're up against. Violet said concerned.
"But we also need to stop Murphy from getting the twins." Billie said.
"Ah, I didn't know you cared." Nick remarked.
"Don't flatter yourself." Billie replied annoyed. "I just don't want the government getting their hands on more magic."
"I'd rather have your hands on me anyway." Nick replied in a flirty tone, which Billie chose to ignore.
"Are you sure?" Duncan asked worried.
"We'll be fine." Billie replied as she looked over to Leo. "If we can take some magical supplies from the school that is…"
"Of course, take whatever you need." Leo said. "I will prepare our appeal to the Tribunal. You can use the portal system of the school when you're ready. Good luck."
As Leo walked away, Billie and Violet said goodbye to the others and left to get ready. Since they had no idea what they would be facing, they had to be prepared for anything. A mythical valley in the middle of the mountains, holding ancient mysteries. If Arthur wasn't in potential danger, it would almost sound exciting.
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