Vol. III Chapter X: Betrayal of a Friend

As Lucius pushed open the heavy door, cold shot up his arm, then the runes began to glow, and a chill wind gusted out from within.

Beyond lay a long, narrow hall, dimly lit by floating crystals.

Shelves lined the walls, made of dark wood and covered in dust. 

In alcoves stood display cases filled with vials, reagents and small strange objects of all kind.

No sounds. Only the echo of their own footsteps on the ancient stone floor.

"Doesn't look very special..." Glizzy whispered behind him.

Lucius stepped ahead carefully. 

"Stay behind me," he said quietly, "we don't know if there are any traps". 

Just as he'd finished the sentence he stepped onto a loose floor plate and a faint click echoed through the hall.

They froze, as the crystals above began to flicker. A deep, low hum filled the hall.

Then, something moved. At first, just a metallic twitch. Then a rattle.

Four suits of armor, lined up to the left and right of the shelves, slowly lifted their heads. Their helmets were empty, but an icy blue light flared in their eye sockets.

"Crap," Lucius whispered. "Stay back. I'll handle them."

Without hesitation, he reached for the small iron orb in his pocket.

"Mutaglavior atharraigh," he whispered, drizzling essence over it.

As it formed into a long, narrow sword in his hand, Glizzy stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Wow, a sword summoning spell! I heard those are really popular, but personally I prefer..."

"Watch out!" Lucius cut her off and shoved her aside as the first armor charged them.

He dodged, bringing his blade down on its chestplate, but instead of slicing, the metal simply deflected it. No blood. No flesh. Just hollow metal.

"Damn it!"

The second came from behind, and Glizzy narrowly avoided a halberd strike that split a shelf in two.

"I thought you said you were handling it!" she shouted.

He dashed forward, leaping between her and the next suit of armor, catching the blow with his sword. The impact rattled his bones.

"I'm trying! Just stay back!"

The attacks grew more frenzied, and though Lucius was technically superior, he couldn't inflict any real damage.

While he kept the guardians at bay, Glizzy stumbled backward into one of the display cases, knocking it over. Dozens of vials shattered on the ground.

"Oops, those looked expensive..." she muttered, backing up until she hit the wall.

Then she felt something pressing into her back.

A flat, disk-shaped device had been mounted behind the fallen display, hovering gears glowed blue, pulsing in rhythm.

"Ooh, what's this?" she wondered aloud, pressing the glowing button in the center.

Just as Lucius prepared another strike, the glow in the armors' eyes flickered, then faded.

All four guardians collapsed at once, as if their strings had been cut. With a loud crash, they hit the ground and lay still.

Lucius blinked. "What... did you do?"

Glizzy looked just as surprised, until realization dawned on her. 

Then she said proudly, "I fell into that thing back there, and then it went click and bam! Donezo!"

Lucius nodded, breathless but impressed. "Well done."

Her eyes sparkled at the compliment.

They glanced around the wrecked hall, but found no magical books in sight.

"Come on, let's check the next room," Lucius said finally.

"What are we even looking for?" she asked curiously as they approached the next door.

Lucius was just about to reply when Glizzy stepped onto another pressure plate.

Click.

The suits' eyes reignited, and they began to rise once more.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lucius muttered. "Run!" he shouted right after.

Halberds sliced the air just inches away as they dove into the next chamber.

Lucius slammed the door shut behind them, braced it, and dropped the wooden latch. 

Seconds later, blows struck the other side, but the mechanism held.

Glizzy looked at him sideways.

"Man, this is turning into one wild night, huh?"

The room they'd fled into was much smaller.

A circular chamber, entirely of black stone, lit by a single crystal at the ceiling.

Around them, in sunken niches, lay sealed boxes, staves with symbols, and ancient tomes behind glass.

The Academy's artifact vault.

Then he saw a pedestal, standing alone in the center of the room, holding a single book.

Lucius stepped closer.

The cover was black as tar, with no title, no ornamentation. Only a branded sigil on the front, a circle of interwoven runes that seemed to devour the light from above.

It's old. Bound in black leather. Marked with a symbol that casts no light.

Just as Hecate had described.

"That's it..." he murmured, carefully reaching for it.

Glizzy stood beside him. 

"Another old dusty tome? Ugh, I was hoping for something more impressive." She glanced around, a bit disappointed. "Still no flying or biting books either."

As he lifted it, a pulse surged through him. Like a heartbeat, but not his own. Then the book lay heavy and sluggish in his hand.

Lucius turned. "Let's get out of here."

But as soon as they stepped down from the pedestal, the crystal above began to glow red. 

A loud drone followed, like a foghorn. The walls trembled, metallic echoes rang through the halls.

"Uh... yeah, getting out sounds great right now," Glizzy said quickly.

Another door opened on its own, and several floating crystal eyes drifted in, encircling the two intruders.

"We need to go. Now!"

With another sword invocation and a few spinning strikes, Lucius shattered the eyes, and they bolted.

The tunnel they'd used earlier was no longer an option. So they took the door that had just opened.

Lucius led them through the halls, guided by the layout he half-remembered from the architecture book he'd read before.

 Glizzy panted behind him but kept up.

"If we follow this path, we should reach the main entrance, it leads straight to the southern scriptorium!"

In their desperate escape, they triggered more traps. 

Guardians reappeared, barriers blocked their way, crystal eyes pursued them, and above it all, the alarm thundered on.

Yet somehow, they slipped past every danger, whether through force or sheer luck, until at last they reached the grand entrance of the Arcaneum.

They stopped short. From beyond the door, they heard boots approaching.

"Surround the gate! If the guardians fail, they’ll have to come through here eventually!"

They breathed heavily. Outside, the guards gathered. Inside, footsteps of the guardians echoed. 

They were trapped.

Glizzy looked at him. "Sooo, what do we do now?"

Lucius remained silent. He felt the weight of the book in his hand.

He only had to bring it to Hecate, and she'd tell him where she was.

Melissa.

The thought pierced him like a dagger.

He reached into his belt, where one small vial remained.

Fermented nightleaf tincture he'd stolen from class, enhanced with a pinch of goldmoss dust and a few other ingredients.

Enough for an invisibility spell, lasting five minutes. Long enough to escape.

But only enough for him.

He looked at Glizzy. 

The messy hair, the crooked glasses, that typical mischievous expression. 

They’d become friends. Helped each other. More than once.

"Hey," she said, "you've got a plan, right? Right? You're the smart one!"

Lucius turned away. He had a plan. Just not one for the two of them.

He gripped the vial tightly.

"I’ll be back," he whispered. "Just… trust me."

One deep breath, then he uncorked the vial, drank its contents in a single gulp.

He whispered, softly, full of remorse and pain:

"Scathanimor ceiltar ciuin mo rith..."

The spell took hold instantly. A cold veil swept over him, blurring his form, then vanishing it.

Glizzy called out, "Lucan? Where'd you go?" But he didn't answer.

He watched her turn, confused, take a step forward, realize she was alone. 

Then he opened the big gate and slipped through just before the guards stormed in.

Glizzy didn’t move. Just stood there as they grabbed her.

One of the guards spat angrily:

"Of course it's another goblin! Hopefully the headmaster learns something this time and bans these filthy creatures from admission!"

As they bound her, she blurted, panicked:

"I wasn’t... I didn’t... I just wanted to..."

Lucius clenched his fists until his nails dug into flesh, but he didn’t move.

I'm doing this for you, Melissa...

"I'm sorry..." he whispered. But no one heard it amid the chaos.

Then he turned away and ran, Glizzy’s cries fading behind him.

He went invisible through the halls, passing more and more students, teachers, and staff roused by the commotion. 

They would all blame Glizzy. For something that was entirely his doing.

As he crossed the Academy’s great gate, dawn was breaking. 

Dark clouds gathered, and thunder rolled in the distance. 

He was outside. Free.

Lucius held the book tight in his hand. His fingers trembled. Not from exertion, but from what he’d done.

The rain began to fall. Lightly at first. Then harder.

He walked a few steps.

The rain revealed his silhouette, until the invisibility spell fully wore off and his form returned.

One last time, he whispered, as he trudged away from the Academy Gate without looking back:

"I'm sorry..."