Chapter Twenty Seven

"Chay Acton. Howell Jenkins. Come to the Dean's office immediately."

The two boys looked at each other as the announcement blared in the library. The students turned their sights at the boys who had been well known for their disruptive behavior.

"Again?" Chay muttered. Howell stood up and gathered his belongings. Chay watched his friend in surprise.

"Where are you going?" Chay asked. Chay quickly followed after him.

As the two walked through the hall, eyes continued to follow them. They ignored the stares but were able to hear the whispers of gossips from the students.

"Did they get called again?" One whispered loudly to his friends. With that question, more eyes turned to the two infamous boys.

"What did they do this time?" a girl asked her friend as they walked past them.

"They're always causing trouble yet they're still the top students. So unfair." A student complained as if hoping the boys would hear him badmouth them.

"What a waste of a handsome face…" A girl whispered causing the female group to burst into giggles.

Howell frowned as he unconsciously glanced at them. "I never should have listened to you." He said to Chay. Chay whipped his head towards his friend.

"Why are you putting the blame on me?" Chay asked, surprised. "You're the one who told me about the potion. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten the idea."

"Don't twist my words." Howell retorted back at him. "I told you about it for class, not to destroy the hall."

Chay gave a loud laugh as he remembered the prank. "What's done is done." He replied, dismissively. He blinked and stopped in his tracks.

Howell turned to look at the blank look on his friend's face. Slowly, a grin formed on Chay's face and his blue eyes seemed to shine. Howell had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Whatever Chay was thinking is about to get them in trouble again.

"Why do we have to go to the Dean's office?" Chay asked. Howell narrowed his eyes at him.

"What?" Howell asked. However, he knew what Chay was suggesting.

"I mean, we already know she's upset with us, so do we have to hear her rant again?" Chay explained.

Howell smiled in amusement. "So you're planning to run away?" He suggested.

Chay shrugged. "Why not? Come on, I'm sure this can wait for a while." He reasoned.

With that he turned to leave. Howell went to follow him but froze when someone walked past him in large strides. Chay choked as a hand grabbed the back of his collar, pulling him to a stop.

"Going somewhere?" A voice asked with a tone of amusement.

Chay turned to look up and see his mentor looking down at him. Her hazel green eyes seemed to look fondly at him behind metal rimmed glasses but he knew he was in trouble.

"No?" He said, a bit unsure.

She smiled and let him go. Madam Suliman stood beside her. Howell took a step away from his mentor.

"Miss Amelia, why are you here?" Chay asked as he fixed his collar. Howell chuckled slightly. Amelia adjusted her glasses a bit before replying.

"You think the Dean only called you two? They called us as well. To make sure you two don't try to escape." She said.

"We are very disappointed in you two." Suliman continued with a disapproving frown. "Follow us."

Suliman led the way while Amelia trailed behind to make sure the two boys didn't escape. Not that the boys would even try. They knew they wouldn't be able to defy their mentors. As they entered the Dean's office, the two boys are reprimanded by the Dean. The boys stood as the Dean continued to scold them while the two mentors watched. The Dean also gave firm warnings to the mentors to keep a close eye on the boys.

"So punishment?" Chay asked as they walked out of the office. The mentors glanced at each other, silently communicating, before Amelia looked at the boys.

"Arrange the books in the library for a week." Amelia stated. Howell sighed while Chay groaned. For normal people, it sounded boring and mundane. However, these were magic books which were twice more mischievous than the two boys. The books enjoyed flying around the library and disliked being put back onto the shelves.

"Honestly, what were you two thinking?" Suliman asked as she crossed her arms.

"Sorry." Howell answered. He elbowed Chay who murmured a halfhearted sorry.

Amelia glanced at the clock. "We only have fifteen minutes left for mentoring." She said. There won't be enough time to teach them something, which was a shame to Amelia. She was hoping to finish teaching Chay about the dangers of the sleeping potion. Chay and Howell had different schedules and the only time they met is during mentoring hours. This was where the students learn from other respectable wizards and witches. Mentoring was mostly with mentor and apprentice. However, the two mentors were friends and Amelia would always visit Suliman. This started with them learning together.

"Why don't we have a break?" Suliman asked the boys. She smiled as the students instantly nodded at her suggestion.

They sat in the classroom as they waited for the time to past. The boys couldn't leave the academy earlier since afterwards they had to go straight to the library. Howell read through his textbooks while Chay practiced his magic. Amelia watched him, only speaking to point out and give advices. She turned to see Suliman read a book about elemental magic. Amelia smiled at the title. Howell and Chay had different specialties.

Howell excelled well in casting spells which made Suliman start teaching him different kinds such as attacks, defense and healing. Howl was focused and mastered every spell Suliman had taught him. It was like second nature to him.

Chay was the best student in his potions class. Amelia would bring herbs and fossils to teach him what potions he could use the ingredients for. Potions were creative like him. Adding too much of one herb will lead to another potion while adding too little will lead to an entirely different potion.

Suliman pushed a stray hair behind her ear. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun with a few grey hairs to show signs of aging.

"I almost forgot." She said before turning to Amelia.

"How is your granddaughter?" She asked with worry.

Amelia gave a small smile. "She's doing better. My son says that they might move to Wales." She answered. Chay perked up with a grin.

"That means they're going to stay with you." Chay said with a smile. Amelia nodded.

"That's good. The fresh air in Wales is great for her health." Suliman added.

"Can I play with her when she comes?" Chay asked. He turned to look at Howell.

"You should meet her." Chay said. Howell looked up from his book. His interest peaked up when he learned it was a girl.

"Meet who?" He asked.

Amelia chuckled. "My granddaughter." She answered. "You should get to know her. She's very pretty."

Howell blushed slightly and Suliman smiled in amusement. Her apprentice really liked girls but he has a hard time treating them nicely. Which would always ends with the girls in tears and Howell chased by fathers.

Chay frowned. "She's not that pretty." He muttered. However, Amelia heard him and gave him a glare. Chay looked back down at his potions.

"It will be nice to make a new friend." Howell said with a sweet smile. Chay rolled his eyes at his friend.

The bell rang to signal that school was finally over.

"Well, off you two go to the library." Amelia shooed the two boys off. Soon the two women were left behind.

"Those boys really are troublesome." Suliman said as she shook her head.

Amelia smiled. "Yes, they definitely are." She agreed. She tilted her head to look at Suliman.

"So, are you sure about taking in Howell?" She asked.

Suliman raised an eyebrow at her friend. "What are you implying?" She asked.

Amelia sighed. "After Isaac, you were so sure that you were done taking in apprentices. You even became a Royal Sorceress after that." She sighed.

"One failure won't overshadow the rest of my successes. And Howl's potential at magic is magnificent." Suliman answered.

Suliman frowned. "I just wonder what I did wrong with Isaac." She muttered.

"Don't say that." Amelia replied with a sigh.

"Say what?" Suliman asked.

"Assuming that it's your fault he ended up like that. Perhaps you couldn't have done anything to change his faith. You couldn't have known." She explained.

"Because I never became close for him to trust me." Suliman reasoned.

"And is that your fault?" Amelia asked, looking straight at her friend. "Perhaps he never wanted to be close to you."

"Things just happen… whether you like it or not."

Suliman looked to see sadness on her friend's usually happy face. Suliman put down her book as she looked out the window.

"That is true." She agreed. "However, sometimes I wonder if things would have been different."


It's been a day since we came back. Thankfully with the potions that Madam Suliman had given, it helped Elena remain calm. So far, there had been no problems with Elena's temper. It looked like aromatherapy to me but I knew it was more complex than that. As I was done applying the potions on Elena, I heard scraping at the windowsill. I turned to see a kitten scratching at the glass.

I smiled and opened the window. "Hello there." I greeted. It rubbed against my hand as its own form of greeting and purred. It was nice to see it again. However, Calcifer didn't feel the same way.

"Why do you keep bringing that thing in?" Calcifer complained.

The cat hopped on to the table as I prepared some milk for the kitten to drink from. It stared at Calcifer who stared right back at it. I chuckled at their little stare down.

"Why don't you like cats?" I asked. The demon tore his eyes away from the feline to look at me.

"I never said I don't like cats. I just hate that one." He explained.

"You don't choose the cat. It chooses you." I explained.

"That cat gives me the creeps. Coming here every day as if it wants something." He replied.

"It wants food." I stated as I held the bowl of milk.

Elena suddenly cried and I looked to see the kitten looking over Elena. I quickly put the bowl down and rushed towards Elena.

"We can't have you disturb the baby." I said as I picked up the kitten. I felt it growl and I put her down. As soon as I did, it went back to look at Elena. I picked her up and placed her at the window sill. She kept trying to come back inside. She was acting a bit strange. I placed the bowl of milk out at the window sill and closed the window. I mouthed sorry to the kitten as it meowed pitifully. I rocked Elena gently until she went back to sleep.

I heard the door open and I turned around to see Markl and Clara walk in. I noticed the grim look on Clara's face and had put Elena back in her crib.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

I paused as I saw the newspaper in her hand. I took it from her grip and read the front headlines. I widened my eyes in shock.

Entire village gone? No one to be seen!

My hands trembled as I quickly read the paragraph below the headlines. The whole village disappeared as if it never existed. Even the villagers were gone. This was the disappearance incident that I had been told about by Sophie. However, I never expect it to happen this quickly. I got worried for Mr. Millers and his safety.

"What happened to Azmarin?" Clara asked.

"We don't know." I answered. I looked at her and noticed the look on her face. "We had nothing to do with this."

She trembled slightly. "How could this happen? We only left a day ago." She said.

I thought of Isaac. Was he powerful enough to make a village disappear?

"What about Papa?" She gave a quiet sob just thinking about her father. I placed the newspaper on the table and I gave her a consoling hug. I didn't know what to tell her. I didn't know whether Mr. Miller is alive or not. I held her until she calmed down.

"I'm here to help you." I reminded when we pulled away. "We all are. Right now, you need to focus on Elena."

I didn't know what to do right now. What can I do actually?

"What's the matter?"

I looked to see Howl coming down the stairs.

"Master Howl!" Markl exclaimed as he took the newspaper. "A whole town disappeared!"

Howl took the newspaper from the boy and read it. "This is unfortunate." He said once he finished reading it.

"What kind of magic is that?" Clara asked. "Who would be able to make a whole village disappear?"

"I've never seen magic like this. I have heard of it, however." He answered.

"Is it dangerous? Is my father alright?" Clara asked.

"I don't know much, however I'm sure it is just an illusion." He assured. Clara sighed in relief while I smiled.

"Why don't you sit down?" I suggested. I helped her take a seat. She smiled to reassure me before she looked after her daughter.

"Rose."

I turned to look at him and saw a serious look on his face. This time I followed him up the stairs.

"What do you want to tell me?" I asked.

"That magic. I wanted to tell you without Clara hearing us." He explained.

I gave a frown. What else is there that he didn't want Clara to know? I nodded and waited for him to continue.

"It's a forbidden magic." He explained.

"It can't be used anymore?" I asked.

He nodded. "It absorbs life source and converts it into more magic." He explained.

I frowned. Life into more magic? I widened my eyes.

"Then what happened to the people?" I asked. He looked away but it confirmed my suspicions. My eyes watered at the thought.

"Why… would someone do that?" I asked. "Was it Isaac?"

"Unlikely." He answered.

"It is him." I argued. "He's been terrorizing me and Clara's family!"

"Take a deep breath." Howl replied as he held my shoulders. I felt myself shake.

"Ever since I knew him, Isaac has never used this type of magic. This is only used when a person's body is unable to control magic." He explained.

"If this was him, then he must be weak right now." He explained.

"That must be why he's been killing wizards and witches. It's because he's weak." I added. He nodded at me.

"That might be why he's looking for Elena." Howl added.

"Not because Madam Suliman asked him to but because he wants to kill her." I concluded.

"And since he learned that Agatha had ill intentions, he manipulated her." He added.

Howl frowned. "What happened to him?" He muttered. "He used to be very different."

"Guess we'll have to find out." I said. I knew I might have to meet Isaac someday. I remembered how he got into my mind. That was the first time we met but it wasn't face to face. That time scared me until know. If he was able to frighten me that much, I don't know if I'll be able to face him.

"If you need anything, just ask me." Howl said. "I can help you."

"You're a very dependable man." I said. He chuckled.

"Don't tell me you've fallen for me." He teased. I smiled. If only he knew…

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" I replied as I rolled my eyes.

I then thought about Azmarin. "When can I tell her about Azmarin?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not yet." He answered. "Now isn't the time."

I nodded. "You're right." I said. I sighed as I thought of the kind man that had helped me when I first arrived Azmarin.

Mr. Miller helped me when the villagers had acted with hostile towards me. He cared for his two daughters. He loved his granddaughter even though her magic wreaked havoc on the village. He didn't deserve to die like that.

Neither did the villagers. They were hostile and cold-hearted but there was a reason for that. They felt terrorized by a monster. No one had to die like that. We left Azmarin. The villagers should've been safe but now they're…

"Gone…"

I felt a hand over my shoulder. I turned to look up at Howl

"None of it is your fault." He said.

"I know but…" I hesitated. "Would it have been different if I never went to Azmarin?"

"Perhaps." He answered. I widened my eyes in shock.

"But then maybe Elena would've died." He added. "Isaac would've gotten what he wanted. And we still won't know what he might do to the village afterwards."

I gave a small smile as I realized he was right. Who knows what might have happened? The disappearance of Azmarin was supposed to happen and maybe I couldn't have stopped it.

I heard Clara talk to Markl and Elena's giggle could be heard. Right now, I just have to protect those that were closest to me. I turned to look at Howl.

"I won't let anything hurt anyone in this castle." I said. It was a promise to myself.

He blinked at me in surprise before grinning back at me. "Are you sure you'll be able to do that?" He teased.

I couldn't help but laugh with him. It was a promise with high expectation but I'll do whatever it takes to protect them.


A/N: Introducing a new character! Also a bit more on Howl and Chay's friendship. Don't forget to favorite, follow and review. As always, see you next time!