Chapter ???

Much to William's chagrin, Azrael's awakening had not actually eliminated all of the other spirits on campus. After a few days he had started seeing them again, though they didn't appear in large numbers anymore, and seemed to be avoiding him. He might see one at the end of a corridor he was walking down, but once it noticed him it would disappear through a wall.

“What’s up with your shadow servants?” Will asked the spectre eventually, after watching another one keeping its distance from him in the dining room.

My what? Azrael asked with clear confusion.

“Your… you know? The shadow people? The other spirits? That led me to the gem to free you?” Will explained incredulously.

Azrael cocked his head slightly when looking at Will, giving him a non-comprehending stare. I have no clue what the fuck you are talking about. 

“You mean… they’re not yours? You can’t see them?” Will asked in puzzlement, pointing across the room at the shadowy spirit lingering against the far wall.

Azrael followed the direction of Will’s gesture, before looking back at him with knitted brows. I don’t see anything Will. Are you perhaps starting to lose it?

“No! Look, I read a cursed book in the library and started seeing spirits and they led me to the gem, so I assumed they were your servants trying to get me to free you!” Will explained, feeling slightly frustrated at Azrael implying he was crazy.

Azrael gave him an overexaggerated shrug. Nothing to do with me as far as I know.

“Well… they used to harass me a lot, so much that I could barely sleep. Now they won’t come near me anymore… maybe they are scared of you,” William deduced.

Well, I wouldn’t blame them! Finally, some respect for my power around here, Azrael stated pridefully.

William had to admit that he was slightly grateful to the dark lord for keeping the other spirits at bay for now. It meant the wizard could finally get some proper rest. Though Azrael could sometimes be annoying enough in his own right, especially since he didn’t need to sleep himself.

“Who are you talking to Will?” The question caught Will off guard, and he nearly jumped in his seat as he looked up to see Cornelius sitting down at the table across from him. Will quickly let out the breath he had taken in from gasping and tried to relax.

“O-Oh, no one. I, I mean, just myself, you know,” Will excused awkwardly, unable to stop himself from stuttering anxiously.

Cornelius raised an eyebrow at his friend. “You feeling alright Will?” he asked with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine! Never better in fact, since I started getting some proper sleep for the first time in a while.” It really wasn’t a lie at all, so why did he feel like he was acting so weird about it?

“Well, I’m happy that you are doing better,” Cornelius said with a weak smile, not sounding entirely convinced. 

William quickly tried to direct the conversation topic away from himself as they ate their meal together. He also tried, and failed, not to glance over at Azrael sitting next to him too much, as the spirit interjected his opinion on everything, and Will had to fight the urge to respond to him.

This sort of thing went on for a while. William tried his best not to draw any suspicion to himself. He attended classes normally, pretended Azrael wasn’t there around other people, kept the gem hidden, and got enough rest that he stopped falling asleep in class. He was still quite terrible at light magic, but when he returned to his room in the evening, he could finally talk to Azrael properly, and the spectre kept good on his word of teaching Will more dark magic spells and more about dark magic overall.

Then one day Cornelius approached William in a hallway, and Will suddenly had a bad feeling about it, from the expression on his friend's face. He had never seen Cornelius look so determined and serious before. Will almost felt like fleeing, but that would be suspicious for sure, so he instead greeted Cornelius cheerily, trying to pretend like nothing was amiss.

“Will, we need to talk,” Cornelius stated firmly, drawn to his full height towering over William.

“Wh… what do you want to talk about?” Will asked nervously, trying to play dumb. 

“I think it would be better if we had this conversation somewhere more private,” Cornelius stated, and gestured for Will to follow him.

“W-Well actually Conny, I’m a little busy at the moment, you see I am running late to a, uh, a thing,” Will struggled to come up with an excuse.

William was taken by surprise when Cornelius reached out and grabbed his hand, and he started to drag the smaller wizard off down the corridor.

“Hey! Wait a minute!” Will protested, trying to pull his hand out of Cornelius’s firm grip as he nearly stumbled over his own feet.

The audacity of this giant meathead! Azrael exclaimed dramatically as he floated alongside Will.

“Can’t we discuss this later?” Will pleaded.

“No Will. We’re discussing it now.” And with that Cornelius pulled William into a room, dragged him over to a wall, opened a secret entrance and then practically lifted Will up to push him inside the small space.

You should use your magic on him, Azrael suggested as Will was pushed along the passageway and into the hidden room. Will kept ignoring him.

Cornelius then turned William around to face him, placing his hands on Will's shoulders and hunching over so he could look into his eyes. “Will. Tell me what is going on with you. Now.”

“What’s going on? There’s nothing going on with me,” William tried to say as confidently as he could manage.

“Yes, there is! I’m not stupid, Will. I often catch you talking to no one, or staring intently at nothing. And you are acting so suspicious all the time! Tell me what’s going on now, or else… I’ll take my concerns to the Grand Magus,” Cornelius said firmly.

Will felt his eyes widen. “No, no Conny you can’t do that, you don’t understand…”

“Then help me to understand! Tell me what’s happening to you!” Will felt the grip on his shoulders tighten. “We’ve always shared our secrets with each other, Will. We’ve always trusted each other. And now it feels like you are keeping things from me, that you’re pushing me away and I don’t understand why. So please… just tell me…” Will thought he could see the start of tears in Cornelius’ eyes.

William sighed deeply, glancing away for a moment with guilt pulling at his insides. “Alright… alright…” he muttered in resignation, and then reached up and started unbuttoning his shirt. Now Cornelius’ eyes widened as he watched Will with confusion. Will pulled apart his shirt, exposing the gem. 

Cornelius stared at it, its purple glow reflecting in his eyes. “That’s… is that…?” He struggled to form the question properly.

William nodded. He then started to explain about what had happened to him to his friend. During the explanation, the pair of them ended up sitting on the floor, while Azrael stood nearby with his arms crossed over his chest, looking very displeased. He had made several attempts to ask Will not to tell Cornelius everything, but his requests went ignored, and he eventually shut up and simmered in silent frustration instead.

“So, you see, you can’t tell anyone anything about this Conny. If Alexavier found out… well I don’t know exactly what he would do, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be good! He might keep me locked up in a room for the rest of my life or something,” Will pleaded at the end, taking Cornelius’ hands in his own.

“But… Will…” Cornelius started uncertainly, “you said this spirit… is a dark lord? Surely that must mean he’s nothing but bad news! You should tell the Grand Magus, he can probably help you get the gem off, after all!”

William shook his head slowly. “Look Conny… alright, I know Azrael is evil, but the way he is now, he seems perfectly harmless!”

Hey! I’m standing right here you know, Azrael butted in crossly.

“He said he can’t take over my body without my consent, and it’s not like I’d ever give it to him. Plus, he has scared away the other spirits so I can finally sleep, and he’s teaching me dark magic!” Will said, excitement creeping into his voice.

“Will… doesn’t an evil dark lord teaching you dark magic not cause you any concern in the slightest?” Cornelius asked in disbelief. 

“Don’t you think, if he was really that bad, that we would have heard about him before? I think he’s probably self-aggrandizing a lot of things in order to sound more impressive,” Will explained nonchalantly.

Are you calling me a liar, Will? Azrael snapped in irritation.

“If he was really such a big deal, I’m sure it would have been a lot harder for Alexavier to erase him from history,” Will continued to attempt to reassure, ignoring the angered spirit.

“I suppose… that could be the case…” Cornelius still sounded very unsure.

“Promise me you won’t tell Alexavier. Please, Conny,” Will pleaded, giving his friend his most beseeching look and squeezing his hands.

“Alright Will. If he’s not causing any problems, then I won’t tell,” Cornelius agreed, though he didn’t exactly sound very happy about it.

“Thank you Conny,” Will said as he moved forward and threw his arms around his friend. He felt Cornelius tense up, but then he wrapped his own arms around Will and held him close to his chest for a few moments.

****

When there was a knock on William’s room door, he just assumed it was Cornelius, and called out for him to enter. He was not expecting who came into his room instead. 
Galdur stepped into the room, flanked by two faculty staff members. He scowled at William, who had looked up from where he was seated at his desk, practising spells. Will quickly tried to hide the evidence of what he had just been doing.

“Grab him,” Galdur instructed the two teachers, who quickly approached Will.

“W-Wait! What’s this all about?” William exclaimed as he was pulled roughly out of his chair, a teacher grabbing each of his arms and holding him firmly.

Galdur approached the young wizard, and then reached out to pull down Will’s shirt, revealing the bright purple glow of the gem affixed to his chest. William stared with wide eyes; his muscles having frozen up in panic.

“Let’s get him up to the council chambers to see the Grand Magus,” Galdur ordered without delay, and then suddenly the teachers were dragging William out of the room, the council member following behind.

Upon exiting the room, William saw a few other wizards gathered around his room, along with Cornelius. Will stared at his friend in dumbfounded shock, while a guilty look crossed Cornelius’ face.

“You... you told them Conny?” Will cried out in betrayal as he was dragged up the hallway.

“I… I’m sorry Will, but this is for your own good!” Cornelius called out as he followed behind the group dragging Will away, trying to keep up.

“Why?” Will called back to him, feeling an aching in his heart.

“I asked the librarian about Azrael,” Conny explained, now walking beside Galdur just behind Will. “He told me that everything Azrael told you about himself is true! He really was The Dark Lord of Undeath. He ruled a large part of the world with an iron fist a thousand years ago! He destroyed towns and tortured innocent people for fun!”

Ah yes. Good times, Azrael said with an amused smile from where he floated alongside the group.

“How does… the librarian know this?” Will asked in confusion.

“Cadfael has been the librarian here ever since the academy was founded,” Galdur said dismissively. “He was Azrael’s librarian before that. The dark lord bound him to eternal servitude. The Grand Magus swore him to secrecy about Azrael, but in this case we are glad he broke it as it led Cornelius to come to Alexavier.”

“I’m sorry Will, but you need help,” Cornelius said as he wrung his hands with worry. “Cadfael told me that Azrael is the evilest being to ever have existed. You can’t deal with him on your own.”

Glad to know old Cads still respects me, Azrael commented casually.

“Can’t you help me?” Will hissed angrily at the spirit.

What do you want me to do exactly? the spectre retorted. I mean, if you give control of your body to me, I can kill them all for you.

“I don’t want to hurt them…” Will muttered, hanging his head slightly as he continued to be dragged along.

“Do not converse with the dark lord’s spirit,” Galdur ordered.

Eventually William was pulled into the same small antechamber that he had been in last time he got in trouble, the one that connected to the council chambers. He was sat on the same chair again, though this time the wizards quickly wove a holding spell to keep him there. Will tried to move, but he was quickly stuck to the chair, only able to glare at the wizards who surrounded him. Most of them looked angry, except Cornelius who had been allowed to come in too, who looked upset when William glared at him.

Then, the door on the other side of the room opened, and another figure entered. All eyes turned to look at the Grand Magus.

At a meagre three feet tall, Alexavier was considered small even for a faerie, though his long rabbit-like ears helped to add nearly another foot to his height while they were upright. He also spent most of his time floating a few feet off the ground, so he could be closer to eye level with the other wizards, though this was due to magic and not the pair of large, semi translucent wings sprouting from his back. His body was animal shaped and covered with white fur, with large feet and a fluffy tail.

His large eyes were the same colour as the moonstone gem in the wooden staff he held. A pair of fluffy antennae sprouted from the front of his head, curving backwards slightly with the shape of his ears. His small nose and mouth were flanked by whiskers which curled upwards at the ends. A few small pieces of fancy green and gold cloth clad his form, his fur leaving not much need for covering clothes.

Alexavier slowly hovered over towards William, brows knitted with concern and mouth pulled into a small frown. Will glared up at his caretaker and mentor defiantly. He noticed that his sister had followed in behind the faerie, and Valerie had taken a few steps to the side to look down at her brother with some sort of twisted, smug satisfaction. Alexavier looked down at Will's chest, where Galdur had left his shirt pulled open, exposing the gem.

The Grand Magus sighed heavily. “Will… why didn’t you heed my warnings about leaving dark magic well enough alone?” the faerie asked, sounding weary. “Didn't it occur to you that I was keeping you away from it for a good reason?”

“Well, maybe if you had properly explained things to me instead of keeping me in the dark, I wouldn’t have been so curious about it,” Will shot back at his father figure, maintaining his defiant glare.

Alexavier shook his head, then reached out and touched the gem with one fluffy paw-like hand, looking concerned.

Get a load of this guy, Azrael said derisively from where he stood next to the Grand Magus, rolling his eyes.

“Azrael says hi, by the way,” Will said, unable to resist the urge to goad a little.

“Does he now?” Alexavier said, looking thoughtful as he examined the gem some more. “How had he enjoyed the last thousand years of imprisonment? Has he found the experience to be enlightening in any way? Is he ready to play nice with everyone yet?”

Tell fluffy here that he can stick it, Azrael said, jerking a thumb towards the faerie.

“He says you can stick it,” Will relayed, unable to help but smile a little at that.

“I see. I don’t know why I expected anything different,” Alexavier said calmly and emotionlessly. 

William felt magic around Alexavier’s fingers as he wordlessly cast a spell around the gem, the gem in his own staff glowing as he did so. It made the skin of William’s chest tingle, but nothing more. Alexavier seemed to try another spell, as now the skin on Will’s chest felt a burning sensation, which made him flinch backwards against the chair as much as he could. But still, nothing.

“I cannot seem to remove it,” Alexavier finally said, sounding troubled as he drew away from Will.

I’m not letting go that easily, old man, Azrael said, even though he would know the Grand Magus couldn’t hear him. He suddenly appeared behind William, placing his ghostly clawed hands on Will’s shoulders. This is my vessel. Will felt a sense of dread run through him at that.

“Then we cut it out,” another wizard suggested, which made Will flinch again. That didn’t sound very pleasant at all.

Tell them if they do, I’ll sink the gem further into your body and attach it to your heart, Azrael purred menacingly. Will quickly relayed this information to Alexavier.

“Then you have no choice, father, you know what you have to do,” Valerie piped in from where she had been watching silently.

“Hrm?” Alexavier made a questioning noise, turning so his moonstone eyes met those of the same colour of his adoptive daughter.

“You have to kill him,” Will’s twin said flatly, with no emotion on her face.

William’s eyes widened and he swallowed heavily.