Chapter ???

William hurried down the corridors of the academy, grimoire tightly clutched against his chest. He attempted to dodge around the other wizards, but he wasn’t exactly the most graceful person, and almost crashed into a few people or stumbled a few times and nearly tripped over nothing. The other wizards just gave him the same sort of derisive looks they always did, or at worst called out for him to watch where he was going. He paid them little mind.

When William came barrelling around the next corner he ran straight into a large figure, spectacled face colliding with their broad chest. Will stumbled backwards, catching his balance and looking up at the taller man. He looked down at William with surprise across his round kind features, framed by his mid-length mousy brown hair. He reached out and grabbed Will by the shoulders to steady him, then looked down at him with concern in his eyes behind his small round glasses.

“Cornelius!” Will exclaimed, taken off guard that he had literally run right into the person he had been looking for.

“Will, are you okay?” Cornelius asked, eyebrows furrowed with worry. “What’s got you in such a hurry?”

“Look what I found Cornelius!” Will declared as he held the ancient grimoire aloft towards the other. 

“Will, is that a book from the restricted section of the library?” Cornelius snapped in a hushed tone. “Don’t go waving it around where everyone can see it! Let’s go talk somewhere more private.” And with that he let go of Will’s shoulders and grabbed him by the wrist instead, dragging the smaller wizard off down the corridor. William used his other hand to hold the grimoire close to his chest again. Cornelius’ hand felt warm around his wrist.

Cornelius pulled Will into an empty room and then over to a wall. He pulled on the candlestick holder attached to the wall and as it moved down there was a clicking sound and a part of the wall popped out slightly. Cornelius used his free hand to pull the wall open, then dragged William inside, before closing it behind them, plunging them into darkness.

The taller wizard whispered a word, and a small orb of pale light appeared in the air in front of his face, its weak glow enough to barely illuminate their surroundings. Cornelius gave Will a smirk. “I’ve been practising,” he said with pride. William smiled back at him encouragingly, knowing how difficult it was for Cornelius to execute even the simplest of spells.

“Good job,” Will said in a hushed tone, then turned and started making his way down the corridor hidden within the walls. The Magus Academy was chock full of secret passageways and rooms that none of the other wizards even seemed to know about, not even those on the council. A while back Will had accidentally stumbled upon their existence during his extensive explorations of the academy. William trod cautiously as he moved through the dimly lit passage, Cornelius right behind him.

Eventually they entered a small room. The ceiling was quite low, meaning Will’s tall companion had to duck his head. The room contained various lamps and cushions littered around on the floor, as well as numerous tomes and magical objects the two young wizards had collected together. Now William spoke a word, and suddenly the candles in the lamps sprung to life with strange purple flames. Cornelius stared at them in shock.

“Was that… dark magic?” Cornelius asked in a tone of concern.

William nodded, smirking himself now. “I learned that last night, while reading books like this one from the restricted section!”

“How did you even get in there?” Cornelius asked, as now Will pulled him by the arm further into the room and then downwards to take a seat on the floor with him.

“I finally found a secret passageway that leads right to it! And there is just so much in there to read, I’ve been up all night studying,” Will said excitedly, holding out the book towards Cornelius again.

Cornelius frowned. “Look Will… I’m happy you are excited about this, but don’t you think maybe Alexavier and the wizard’s council made those books off limits for a reason?” Cornelius pointed out hesitantly. “I mean… everyone knows dark magic is dangerous and destructive right? You could get hurt!”

“That’s just what they tell us, Conny,” Will said with slight vexation. “But apart from Alexavier, no one else around here has even seen dark magic in use before! Everyone just takes his word for it; how do you know he’s not-”

“Will! Are you accusing the most powerful wizard in the world of lying to everyone?” Cornelius exclaimed in disbelief.

Will gave him an expression of uncertainty, one eyebrow arched. “Well, maybe? Perhaps he doesn’t like dark magic because he can’t do it, so thinks no one else should get to either?”

“You think someone who is several thousand years old would be that petty?” Cornelius asked gently.

William scowled at him slightly. “Any magic can be dangerous, you know, light magic as well! It just depends on how you use it,” he explained defensively. “You don’t understand Conny… these spells, they are so easy for me to do! After struggling so long trying to do light magic, being called useless all the time… it feels like such a relief!”

Cornelius’ look of concern didn’t change as he quietly listened to Will’s slightly manic explanation. 

“Maybe it’s the same for you! You should try some of these spells, Conny, that’s why I brought you the book!” Will attempted to encourage, opening the tome and flicking through the pages to try and find a simple spell.

“I still don’t think this is a good idea Will…” Cornelius said softly, shifting uncomfortably.

“Nonsense,” Will said dismissively. “I’m going to learn as much dark magic as possible, and prove to everyone that it’s not dangerous, and I’m not as useless as they all say!”

“You could get in serious trouble if the council or Alexavier finds out,” Cornelius pressed, placing his hand over Will’s on the book’s page.

“They won’t find out if we are careful, and once I show them the truth about dark magic, they won’t be able to argue with me, you’ll see!” Will declared with conviction, looking up at Cornelius for a moment. “Now, I’m going to practise stuff from this book here today, then sneak back into the restricted section tonight to study more.”

Now Cornelius’ brows drew together in very deep concern. “Will… aren’t you going to sleep at all?”

“I had some sleep on Sunday,” Will said cheerily, turning his attention back to the book and brushing Conny’s hand away from the page so he could see the words.

“Will. That was two days ago,” Cornelius said in a firm and serious tone.

“Wh… really?” Will said in disbelief, finally looking up at his friend again. Cornelius nodded glumly in response. 

“Well, it doesn’t matter, I don’t feel tired,” Will lied curtly, shadows in the corners of his vision wobbling. “In fact, I feel more awake than ever before! You should practise the spells with me, Conny, and come to the restricted section with me tonight.”

Cornelius made a sound of uncertainty. “I’ll have a go at a small spell if it makes you happy, though I don’t think I will be any better at that than light magic. But I don’t want to go with you into the library, if my parents found out I would be in huge trouble, just like you will be if Alexavier finds out!”

“Well maybe if he didn’t keep me locked up in this place all the time, never letting me do anything and never acknowledging how hard I try to learn light magic, then maybe I would actually care what he thinks!” Will exclaimed angrily, now scowling heavily up at his friend.

Cornelius raised his hands in surrender. “Okay Will, I understand, it’s not fair,” he said in his ever calm and gentle manner. “Why don’t you tell me more about what you have learned then?”

****

“One of the best examples of the terrible destructive power of dark magic is the most powerful dark spell ever discovered: meteor,” the teacher rattled off, gesturing with a hand and not even looking at the audience of students in the lecture theatre. “It brings a flaming boulder crashing down from the heavens, which could easily wipe out any city or structure.”

“That spell is one of the reasons why Alexavier has forbidden any mortal from performing dark magic,” he continued blithely. “You can probably imagine how kingdoms would use such a power against each other to cause untold destruction on armed forces and civilian settlements alike. A thousand years ago, before the wizards’ council was founded, many towns and villages suffered such a fate.”

The lecturer now turned towards his audience, though with his eyes closed, and raised a finger to make a point. “However, luckily that spell can only be performed by the strongest of dark mages. Such as the most powerful dark mage to ever live, which of course was…” he seemed to falter for a moment, and opened his eyes, before looking directly at William, who was listening with great interest. The teacher cleared his throat, appearing awkward for a moment. “... Kazamir, Alexavier’s brother, of course. Though since Alexavier took his gem from him, he hasn’t been much of a problem over the last thousand years.”

Will shot his hand up into the air, staring at the teacher eagerly. The teacher winced slightly. “Yes William, you have a question?”

“Where does Alexavier keep the gem?” Will asked, failing to keep the excitement out of his voice. “Is it here, in the college?”

The teacher’s eyes widened in alarm. “W-Well, he keeps it under the highest level of security, so that no one will ever be able to use its power,” he explained awkwardly, looking uncomfortable.

“Would the gem allow a wizard to cast a spell like meteor?” Will further pressed the line of inquiry, planting his hands on the desk in front of him, lifting up out of his chair and leaning forward eagerly.

“I…” the teacher looked away, tugging on the collar of his robe. “U-unfortunately I think that’s all the time we have for today’s lesson. You’ll have to excuse me, but I have an important meeting to attend,” he said as he hurried over to his desk to start gathering his notes. As he did so the rest of the class started to pack up as well, breaking out into chatter, while Will slowly slumped back down into his chair. “Remember to practise your wards before next lesson, especially you two,” the teacher called out, pointing at William and Cornelius before hurrying out of the theatre.

The crowd of students slowly started to follow suit as Will sighed and bowed his head. Then Cornelius was elbowing him in the side, so William quickly snapped his head back up to see a group of students approaching where the two of them were still seated. They were led by a girl with dark hair, her eyes as pale opalescent as the gemstone that was in Alexavier’s staff.

William groaned out loud and looked away, trying to pretend to ignore his sister as she approached with her friends, a smug look plastered across her face. She stopped in front of his desk and placed a hand on her hip, looking down at him.

“Why do you two even bother to still come to class?” she asked provokingly. “It’s not like either of you can do any real magic.” A chorus of giggles came from her friends behind her.

“Well considering Alexavier won’t let me leave campus, I need something to do to pass the time,” Will snapped, scowling up at his twin.

Valerie smiled smugly. “Perhaps you should join the kitchen staff instead, you’d probably be more useful down there,” she said, causing her friends to break out into light mocking laughter. “Though what about you Cornelius, why are you still at the academy at all? At least Will can perform some magic, albeit badly. The rest of your family are mages, and yet you can barely even perform a single simple spell! If I were you, I would have already left in shame.”

“Conny tries harder than anyone else to learn magic, he deserves to be here. Some of us have to actually put in some work, rather than getting an easy ride off natural talent,” Will argued back.

“Understanding the theory will only get you so far, if you lack any aptitude to perform spells then you are wasting your time here, and could be much more useful setting your mind to other work. You like cooking, don’t you Cornelius?” Valerie said with a smirk. “You could both work in the kitchens together!”

“If we’re giving each other suggestions, then I have one for you, dear sister,” Will snarked in response. “How about you go away and leave us alone.”

“Dearest brother, I am simply trying to be helpful and assist you to face the reality that Alexavier tries to protect you from. It may be hard for you to accept it, but when it comes to magic, the pair of you are beyond useless,” she continued to ridicule them behind the guise of giving advice.

“Shut. Up.” William growled, rising to his feet to glare straight at her face. “Or else.” he added the threat in a softer tone.

Valerie gave a haughty laugh. “Or else what? You’ll challenge me to a duel? It would be stupid of you to try; my magic would put you on your backside in a matter of seconds.”

“Inversa Graviterum,” Will said softly. Valerie gave him a look of confusion, which soon turned to alarm as her body started rising into the air.

“Wh-! What is this!” she cried out in panic as she floated upwards, now flailing her arms and legs uselessly. Her friends watched on, silent and unmoving with their mouths agape, dumbfounded by the sight.

William turned around and then reached out to grab Cornelius’ hand, who was also watching Valerie scream as she floated towards the ceiling. “Quick Conny, we have to go!” Will hissed, tugging on his friend's hand, having suddenly realised how much trouble he was about to be in. Cornelius snapped his attention to Will, his expression changing to worry, and then nodded sharply. They quickly grabbed up their things and squeezed out from behind the desks, hurrying towards the door, the screams of distress from Valerie and her friends echoing behind them.

A few of the students who had yet to make it out of the lecture theatre since class finished had stopped near the door and turned around to look at the commotion. William and Cornelius quickly slipped past them and out into the hallway, which they continued down at a brisk pace, Will still pulling Cornelius along by the hand.

“Is she going to be okay?” Cornelius whispered to Will as he was dragged down the academy corridors, away from the lecture theatre.

“She’ll be fine, she’ll stop once she hits the ceiling, probably gently bounce off it and be stuck up there until someone gets her down, but it’s a harmless spell if performed indoors, really,” Will explained.

“What happens if you do it to someone outside?” Cornelius asked with concern.

“Then they float away into the sky until it wears off, then fall to their death. But that’s not important right now,” Will said dismissively, “were you listening to what the teacher was talking about?”

“K-Kazamir’s gem?” Cornelius hazarded a guess, not sounding any less worried.

“Yes! Apparently, Alexavier has it locked away. I bet it’s here in the academy somewhere!” Will exclaimed with excitement. He had led Cornelius into the dining hall, which was filling up with hungry students eager for the midday meal. The tables were already laid out with freshly cooked food. Will pulled Cornelius over towards one near the wall.

“Why are you so excited about that? I hope you're not thinking about trying to find it!” Cornelius said as they took the end seats on the table across from each other. “Also, why are we here? Shouldn’t you be hiding; the faculty will soon be after you for what you have done!”

“Exactly, they will catch me eventually, and Alexavier will lock me in my room I bet,” Will said blithely as he started consuming the food with gusto. “And he has a habit of forgetting that mortals like us need food to survive, so I’m getting some while I still have the chance.”

“I could take the blame for you, say that I was the one who did it,” Cornelius suggested as he watched Will eat. 

Will shot him a look of confusion, raising an eyebrow. “Why would you do that?” he asked through a mouthful of food.

“You’re already so thin, I could survive being starved better than you,” Cornelius explained tentatively.

Will shook his head. “They won’t buy it you know; everyone knows you wouldn’t be capable of such a spell, no offence.”

Cornelius looked a little crestfallen. “I guess you’re right… I’ll make sure to bring you food while you are grounded,” he offered with a small smile.

“I’d appreciate that, if the golem will let you in,” Will said light-heartedly, returning the smile.

“There he is!” someone exclaimed loudly from the entrance of the dining hall. William and Cornelius both glanced in that direction, seeing a small group of faculty staff standing by the door pointing in their direction. Will quickly turned back to his meal and started shovelling food into his mouth, trying to consume as much as possible before they reached him.

The group of staff quickly hurried over to the table that Will was seated at, eyes all locked on him. They stopped next to him, glaring down at him. “William, you need to come with us,” one of them said sternly.

“Can this wait a moment? I’m really enjoying this chicken,” Will said through a mouthful in an unperturbed manner.

The teacher stepped forward, reached down and grabbed William by the arm, dragging him roughly to his feet. Will frowned at them, then reached out and snatched a drumstick off the table, and started tearing into the flesh as they roughly pushed him towards the door. He glanced behind himself once more as he continued to eat, and he saw Cornelius watching him go with a sad look.