Author's Note: I have some potentially bad news readers. I start college next week, and I am applying for jobs at the same time. I probably won't be updating for a while and if I do it would be on the weekends. I am sorry to say that my education comes first since I am paying for it. Don't worry though! There will be updates; I just can't promise that they will happen almost every day. So, I want to thank everyone who reviewed and made me love writing. This chapter is dedicated to you!

Chapter 7: Rushing

Logan POV

After walking around the entire town of Selije not seeing hide or hair of Carlos, James or Kendall, I decided to ask around. Nobody had seen them earlier either. Passing the sign for the Museum of Wonders, my curiosity was peaked so I walked inside. Gems containing the information of the 'Lost Technology' were housed in glass boxes along with the other artifacts. When I noticed the arrow pointing to the observatory I knew I wanted to go and check out what was up there.

What I saw literally made me laugh, Carlos trying to talk while a girl in a red dress kept babbling about something. Apparently my laughing garnered their attention, Carlos breathing a sigh of relief because the girl had someone new to talk to, me.

"Hey Carlos, you having fun with the locals? What's your name? Don't you attend the Selije School of Crest Sorcery and High Magic?" I asked the girl who then gave me a huge lopsided grin. She nodded and informed me that she was the sister of the 'Eleniak Witch Girl.'

"Oh so you must be very good then! I heard rumors that your older sister is studying far away, is that correct?" Her cheery face fell when I mentioned her sister. Noting that I must have struck a sensitive issue, I immediately began to backtrack.

"But I'm sure you're much better! After all you must be in the advanced class; you have that look about you." Instead of fixing the problem, I seemed to make her feel worse. I rubbed the back of my neck before I got an idea.

"A duel, what I mean is I challenge you," I didn't know her first name so I watched as Carlos mouthed it, "Lilka Eleniak to a duel!"

"You're on! Don't think I'm going to go easy on you!" The three of us ran outside, headed in the direction of the magic field. A medium sized dome of anti-magic energy surrounded the battle field. We could still cast inside the dome but our magic couldn't escape it. Our agreement was, no Level 5 Magic, no curative items or potions and we couldn't cast Restorative Magic. Carlos acted as the referee, making sure we abided by the rules.

Since he didn't understand the concept of Level 5 spells, I told him that we would show him an example. My book flipped open and I called out a Level 5 spells. "Duplicate!" Within a few minutes multiple copies of Carlos appeared. I ended the spell and he blinked in confusion.

"All the Level 5 spells I know are; Duplicate, Flare, Ultima, and Hide." I said to Lilka. Level 5 spells were harder to call because most of the time they are unpredictable for anyone except a High Mage. Since Lilka only possessed Level 4 Crest Magic, we settled on Level 4 and below.

"So, Carlos, if he casts any of those spells then I am the default winner." Lilka explained to Carlos who only nodded.

Lilka and I took our stances a few yards away from each other, knowing that we wouldn't end there. We both nodded at Carlos, signaling that we were ready.

"Ready, set, GO!" And with that we were off. This being a duel I went all out. And so did Lilka.

"Blind!" I called watching her run around with her vision reduced to nothing. She called 'Sight' and gave me a death glare. Lilka yelled 'Fire' and a huge firestorm raced my way. I couldn't run so I did the next best thing.

After the fire ended, I saw Lilka with a cheerful grin on her face; she thought that she had won. Luckily I knew 'Barrier' and that saved my ass from being roasted. Her face fell completely and I countered with a spell of my own.

"Ice!" Shards of icicles rained down from above and were aimed right at her. Instead of calling out a spell like I expected her to, she just opened up her umbrella. My attack turned and was sent back at me, damn that 'Reflect' spell. I ran around, dodging the ice shards as they whizzed right past me. I had one more trump card left, something she couldn't anticipate.

"Meteor!" We both called out at the same time. Two huge meteorites were sent hurling towards another. They crashed and exploded the moment of impact, hitting both of us. We were both flung backwards and landed in the soft snow. I heard her laugh before I started myself.

Kendall POV

After following James as he walked around with the girl for over an hour I decided to head over to the school, where Logan was probably waiting for us. Following them made me feel like a spy, and I kind of enjoyed it, even if it was wrong.

As soon as I entered the school I noticed that nobody was here. I checked the clock on the wall and rubbed my eyes, the clock read 2:12 am. My body didn't feel tired, but when I noticed the time I couldn't help but yawn. Wandering the school, early in the morning, reminded me of the time Logan wanted to spend the night in school. And he begged us to come along, to keep him company. Carlos immediately agreed because he would do almost anything that Logan asked.

When I turned down the hall, walking among the quiet books and desks, I noticed a strange symbol on the wall. It reminded me of a teardrop but it looked more like a machine. Logan would know what it did, so I headed back down the hall before I read a sign on the door.

'Reserved for Professor Mitchell.' I knew of only one person with the last name of Mitchell so I entered the room expecting Logan and the others but instead there was nothing. So I waited, and I eventually fell asleep, sitting in the desk. Much like what I do at the Palmwoods School.

James POV

Marivel and I kept on talking about our latest ideas for mechanical inventions while we walked around the snow covered streets. She mentioned building a flying vehicle with the help of her EMMA motor. I laughed it off; there was no way anything could fly in this world.

"OWW! What was that for!" She punched my arm, hard, and it really hurt. I rubbed the area of pain and winced when I applied some pressure.

"For laughing at me! I've already made some prototypes!" I continued to stare at her in disbelief because it seemed impossible.

"Oh! Didn't you say you were going to meet your friends at the school? It's been hours, maybe they're waiting for you. Go, go!" She pushed me lightly. I couldn't believe that I forgot about them! Running through the crowd-less streets and breathing heavily as I made my way up the hill and into the school. Instead of a busy school setting there was complete silence. Well, almost, I heard someone snoring. So I went to investigate. My worst fear was that they had all fallen asleep waiting for me.

Carlos POV

"Logan, we still need to get to the school. I thought you figured something out." I said walking toward the lying boy. He shot up in an instant and booked it to the school, leaving me and Lilka in the snowy dust.

"Can you teleport me there?" I asked and she nodded. A bright flash of green light surrounded us but we weren't in the school, but in the observatory. She explained that teleportation was her weak spell. I said it was ok and raced out of the building.

A/N: Sorry it's shorter than usual. I am really tired and don't feel well. So I promise you all another update as soon as possible! Pleas review and have a nice day! ~RAY~