Chapter 44: An Enchanted Sword
When Olivia had mentioned that her godmother was a white witch like me, I hadn't expected to meet her so suddenly. But currently she was asleep in the room above us and it was rather comforting knowing that someone much more powerful than myself would be here to help if I somehow failed. However, meeting Alice and seeing the kind of person that she was gave me an incredible burst of confidence. Her aura commanded a room and calmed the people around her. Her footsteps were light, almost silent, and she was full of beauty and grace. She was a literal guardian angel that roamed the Earth.
I rolled over in my bed as my eyes focused to the darkness of the room. I could make out Charlie's silhouette. He too, was still awake. "Fin?" He called out to me. Although he was only a few feet away from me, his voice was so soft that I strained to hear it. "Can we talk about Lord Grimwald?"
In the excitement of everything else that had happened during this wicked weekend, I nearly forgot Salem's letter that advised me to reach out to Dagbert. If I was going to assist Dagbert, naturally I would need Charlie's help as well. "Yeah. I have been wanting to talk about him too."
"When Emma was here today, she told me that Cook stopped by and she had seen the Sea Globe for herself. They're keeping it in the Ballroom. She says it's a big, floating orb of water from all of the oceans. It glows and everything. She says it's kept in a clear case, too."
"I bet it's beautiful." I found myself saying. While it needed to be destroyed, I hoped that I could see it for myself first. "You do know that the only one who can handle Grimwald and destroy the Sea Globe is Dagbert."
"Yes." Charlie said a bit begrudgingly. "He wants me to help him. He asked me to take his Sea Gold creatures and hide them. He thinks it's the only way he will be strong enough to face his father. His mother made them from the gold of drowned sailors teeth and claimed that they would keep him safe. I'm having a hard time wanting to help him."
"That is entirely understandable, but Grimwald needs to die. Charlie, he killed Ailwyn, my adopted father." I had been avoiding the topic, but Charlie needed to know what he was capable of. My adopted father had been with experienced sailors and he himself had spent most of his life out on the sea, whereas my biological parents had little to no experience. "Eustacia knew I was endowed long before we ever flew here. And they knew what I was, too. They paid off Grimwald to capsize my father's boat boat and they paid my mother to bring me back. If Ezekiel and Titania want someone gone, Grimwald will succeed. It's very important that Dagbert trusts us."
He didn't speak for a while. I had actually thought he had fallen asleep until he finally spoke again. "I don't think he really meant to hurt Tancred as badly as he did. Those charms, he goes crazy if he doesn't have them." He let out a resigned sigh. "I'll speak with him on Monday."
On Sunday morning, I returned to the Kettle Shop. I left before anyone else could wake up. I wasn't good with good-byes and would only be able to handle Salem leaving again if he didn't make a giant production of it. He had been passed out on the couch when I tip-toed down the stairs. He had wrapped himself in a blanket like a cocoon and his hair flew off in all different kinds of directions as a sign of restless sleep. I leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. I may had been imagine things, but I swore I saw the ghost of a smile on his lips.
In the kitchen, I left a thoughtfully scrawled note for Maisie and bundled myself in my winter boots and coat.
The walk back to Piminy Street had been exhausting and cold. I hoped that Katya and Zelda were awake and that there was a roaring fire in the fireplace and a warm cup of tea waiting for me. When I made it to Cathedral Square, more snowflakes began to fall. I could hardly believe it was April. Public school kids would likely have school closings due to the inconvenience of thick snow.
I could hear plows struggling to scrape the snow off of the cobblestones and business owners coming out to shovel their sidewalks. I watched my feet below me as I walked, hoping not to trip where snow piled up. Some homes and buildings, however, were untouched. I would have been a fool not to notice that the city seemed to have less inhabitants than usual. The air was so heavy and thick with evil that even the unendowed could feel it. Many had packed up all of their belongings and left the city, fearing something dangerous was about to happen.
After a very frosty journey, I finally made it back to the shop. I pushed the door open and was warmly greeted with heat and the scent of tea and fresh bread. Katya must have gone to the bakery that we both liked on Cathedral Close. She would buy the fresh bread and put it in the oven for a few minute so it would still be warm. I quickly sought out Zelda and Katya, ready to tell them about all of the exciting things that they missed.
I wasn't looking forward to returning to the academy the next morning, especially when I saw on the news that the public schools were closed and I knew that Salem would be leaving for Ireland. Zelda offered to drive me to school in Katya's truck, however. So I wouldn't have to deal with the exhausting noise of the bus so early in the morning. Katya's truck had better luck traversing the snow than the academy buses did. I arrived much earlier than everyone else.
Zelda helped me carry my things to the academy doors, which were unlocked and opened a few minutes later. I had been expecting Weedon, but instead we got Manfred. He glanced at me, then at Zelda. "Zelda." He said airily.
She ignored him and gave me a quick hug before descending the stairs. "Have a good week, Infinity. I'll pick you up Friday. Be careful."
"What are you doing down here?" I asked. "Isn't this Weedon's job?"
"If he had his way, you would be out here freezing until the buses arrived. Be thankful." He surprisingly grabbed my trunk and carried it inside for me.
"Gee, Manfred. Thanks for always looking out for me." I rolled my eyes and followed him into the music coatroom. He put my trunk along the wall and watched as I tossed my books into my locker.
"It's too early for your shit." He growled at me and dug his hands into the deep pockets of his black staff cape. "Why didn't you tell me about Olivia? You're the head prefect."
"You know why I didn't tell you." I could hardly believe that he had the audacity to say such a thing. "I've gotten word that Olivia isn't acting like herself. How are you controlling her? Did Venetia or Dorcas make something? Did Titania bewitch her? Did you hypnotize her?"
Manfred refused to answer me. He wouldn't even meet my gaze. I thought about my conversation with Salem a few days back, how he believed that Ezekiel had done something to Manfred and that I could probably lift the curse. The old Manfred, he would have grabbed me, maybe slammed me against the lockers for good measure. This Manfred, he wouldn't even look me in the eye. "Hey," I said, trying to get his attention. I reached for his hand and awkwardly held it in both of my own. He was ice cold and his hands were much bigger than my own.
"What do you want from me, Infinity?" He was finally able to look at me with confused and fearful eyes. I had never witnessed Manfred looking so vulnerable, not even on the day he may or may not have actually poured his heart to me. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because you deserve to be in charge of your own life." His eyes were so sad that I felt my own heart breaking for him. This was the Manfred that I had believed existed deep down inside, someone who was sincere and cared about others. I sent some of my energy through him. I hoped that my white magic would be enough to flush out years of dark magic, even if I did it little by little.
We were interrupted by the sounds of other students filing into the academy. The buses had arrived. Manfred quickly pulled his hand away from mine and ducked out of the coatroom before he could be seen by anyone else. Charlie entered with the other music students shortly after. "Did you do something to Manfred?" He asked me as he approached my locker.
"Why do you ask?"
"I accidentally bumped into him on my way in here and he didn't even yell at me. In fact, he apologized." Charlie grimaced. Of course, Charlie had only ever witnessed the aggressive side of Manfred just like many of the other inhabitants of the academy had. Even the times that I witnessed any kind of humanity from Manfred had been few and far in between. "He hasn't been as intolerable lately."
"He still has his moments." I shrugged. "Salem seems to think he's cursed or something. That he only acts like an insufferable jackass because Ezekiel controls him with magic, and Titania showing up only made things worse." The smell of fish began to waft into the room and I turned my head to see that Dagbert had entered the room. "If you get the opportunity, you should speak with Dagbert today. He is in your classes and dorm, so it will look less suspicious if he's seen speaking with you than if he's speaking with me."
"Okay." Charlie nodded. "Can you try and keep an eye out for Liv? Alice is very worried about her and she wants us to try and figure out how they're controlling her so she can reverse it."
"Emma Tolly will have better luck than me, but I'll see what I can do for you. I'm sure I can find a rule that she has broken and pull her aside."
Charlie and I separated for the day, but the opportunity to speak with Olivia never introduced itself. She seemed to be actively avoiding us. I even watched her walk by Emma without saying a single word. When she joined us in the King's room that night, she sat a great distance away from everyone else. I glanced over at Manfred, who shot me a withering look back. "The headmaster wanted me to inform you that you failed to properly turn in your discipline forms last week." He stood to his feet and angrily slammed a folder down in front of me. I had turned in my discipline forms for the week, I was sure of it. "I don't understand why anyone puts you in charge of anything, you worthless girl."
The sudden shift in Manfred's personality got to me. I could feel my cheeks burning red and my eyes stinging with tears. Usually, I took Manfred's tongue lashings with pride or at least fought back, but today I felt that I had failed him. He wordlessly went back to his seat and I refused to lift my head as he irritably introduced Olivia as a member of our new elite group. I ran my fingertips over a folder that I didn't recognize. When I opened it, there was a single piece of paper inside. I recognized the handwriting as Manfred's. Unlike Salem's handwriting, Manfred's was professionally neat and every word was carefully thought out. Salem's handwriting was occasionally hard to read and he wrote in a mix of cursive and print. His thoughts often came too quickly for his hands to catch up.
I'm sorry.
I wiped my wet eyes and glanced up at Manfred. He was already working on something and didn't seem to notice me looking up at him, but Dorcas did. She quickly nudged him, which seemed to irritate him further. He looked up at me with a scowl and I quickly looked away. "Do you want me to turn these back in to the headmaster, or do I give them to you, sir?" I quickly asked, trying not to raise any suspicion.
"Give them to me when you've completed them. I'll check them to make sure you're not wasting the headmaster's time with another arbitrary mistake." He waved his hand at me and went back to working.
Two hours slowly ticked by as I struggled to focus on my homework. My mind seemed to want to drift everywhere but my literature essay. I was starting to get frustrated and I could feel myself becoming more restless. "You're all dismissed. Bone, stay behind." Manfred's commanding voice finally broke the silence. Both Charlie and I stopped, looking at each other. "Infinity, I mean." Lysander hesitated to leave the room, but Charlie nudged him forward as if to tell Lysander that I would be fine. Once we were alone, he moved from his seat at the head of the table to the abandoned seat next to me. "I'm sorry I upset you." He spoke very quietly as if he was worried that someone would be listening outside. "I don't want you to save me, Infinity. With enlightenment comes guilt for all of the terrible things I have done. It's not worth it."
"What do you mean it's not worth it?" I tried to speak as quietly as he did and I found my eyes drifting up to the portrait of the king. The Shadow was still there and I felt as if he watched our every move.
"I have done horrible things and I don't think I can live with the guilt. I want you to let me go. I want to go down with them because it is what I deserve." He looked so distressed and thoroughly disgusted with himself. It wouldn't be enough or me to just lift the curse. Manfred would drown in the guilt of the things he had done. "I don't want to be aware."
"Manfred," I reached towards him to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder but he pulled away.
"I'm sorry. For everything. For everything I did, for everything I will do. You're a good person. I hope Salem finds you again after this because you two are good for each other. He waited a long time for someone like you." He gingerly stood to his feet.
With a sad smile, he left me behind. The whole exchange put a bad taste in my mouth and I was more worried for Manfred than I ever expected to be.
At lunch the next day, Charlie quickly informed me that he had finally spoken with Dagbert and Dagbert knew that we were available to help. Charlie believed that Joshua would be the one to try and find Dagbert's protective gold sea creatures and that no one was to know where they were, not even us.
When it came time for break to start, I decided to go outside with the other students although I was always given the option to stay in the warm academy. I leaned against the cold brick exterior and scanned the courtyard, only half listening to whatever story Riley was telling me. There were children all over the place stomping the fresh fallen snow from the night before into a disgusting gray slush. Over by the log pile, I could see Charlie, Fidelio and Emma kicking around a soccer ball. Joshua stood by the old red castle walls conspiring with the Branko twins, and I struggled to locate Dagbert.
"You're looking for Dagbert. He went into the ruin." Riley said in a low voice. Sure enough, I could see Dagbert stealthily going into the castle. He was gravitating back to his charms and I knew Joshua could see him too. Not long after Dagbert went inside, Joshua followed, then Charlie.
"Shit." I looked over at Riley. "If I don't come back before the end of break, go find Lysander Sage and tell him where we are."
I tried not to draw too much attention to myself as I slipped into the ruin behind the boys. The walls reminded me of a maze and the only way I was even able to find the boys was because of a mix of their footprints and shouting. They were fighting and I was happy that I hadn't heard Charlie call out in pain at all. I ducked under arches and ran along slimy, crumbling walls. I finally ran down a long, mildew-scented tunnel and came out on the other side of a snow-covered bank. When I emerged, I witnessed Charlie get kicked in the nose by Joshua, who Charlie had yanked to the ground. Blood poured out of his nose and into his mouth, forcing Charlie to let go.
Dagbert held him down on the ground next and he was trying to peel the golden fish off of Joshua's skin as Joshua tried to shake him off. Dagbert was successful and got quite a few, but now he was starting to shake and was unable to do any more. Charlie wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve and was about to try and stop Joshua from climbing back up the bank when a flash of silver flew by my head and a sword struck the earth with a loud twang. It had landed only centimeters from Charlie's hand.
"Get thee gone, wretched boys." Said an over-dramatized voice. "Or suffer the wrath of my sword." I didn't know how Ashkelan Kipaldi had gotten down the bank without me seeing him, but he was standing on the giant black rock Dagbert had hid his charms under, grinning triumphantly. Despite his ridiculous puffy pants and plumed hat, I knew that this man was dangerous. "Give me thy charms, Dagbert Endless." He held out a gloved hand.
"No." Dagbert shook his head and clutched the two charms he had pried off of Joshua to his chest.
Ashkelan scowled. "Tis a pity. Sword, do thy work."
"Run!" I screamed from the top of the bank, quickly sliding down and putting myself between the boys and the sword as it rose from the ground, it's deadly tip pointing straight at my heart. I summoned my own sword, ready to parry Ashkelan's attack. To both my surprise and Ashkelan's chagrin, my sword sliced directly through his like butter. It fell to the ground in two pieces.
"You vile, cursed, hateful witch!" He screamed at me. The sword began to rise again, the pieces reconnecting with each other as if they had never been separated and swung towards me. I grimaced as the sharp blade bit into my side before I could dodge it. I had expected pain, but only felt pressure. I ignored it and continued to block blow after blow. This was starting to frustrate Ashkelan.
I thought I was tiring him out when a scream from Joshua caught my attention and I stupidly turned my head. Ashkelan, seizing the opportunity, issued a command and his sword came flying right for my throat. "TO THE LEFT!" Charlie screamed. My brain barely managed to comprehend his command, but my body moved at the last possible second. Ashkelan had been so sure that his attack wouldn't miss, that he either didn't bother moving or didn't notice that he was in the path of his enchanted sword. He couldn't stop it in time. It entered his chest, just above the leather belt that held his scabbard. He fell back with a moan and his own sword buried deep in his chest.
The pain from my own wound slowly started to throb. When I glanced down, I could see drops of crimson speckling in the snow as the blood pooled around my cape and shirt. It was warm. "Dagbert, run." I commanded before losing my footing and falling to my knees. It felt more like a shooting pain now as the fabric rubbed against my wound. I tried to press my hand against it to staunch the bleeding, but I wasn't strong enough. I glanced up at my brother and Dagbert again. Dagbert took off up the bank, all of his sea charms in his hands. Charlie ran down to me and put my shoulder over his, struggling to lift me from the snow.
I had all of my weight against him as he steadied me to my feet. When had we grown to be the same height? Getting me out of the ruins was no small feat, but through his own pain and my patchy consciousness, he guided me out of the ruins on his own. When I could hear the sounds of the other children in the courtyard, my eyes grew too heavy. If I was going to heal a wound this deep, I needed to rest. If I didn't rest on my own, my body would force me to.