Charlie Hill was a perfectly normal sixteen year old boy - if you consider being in the closet and dealing with crippling social anxiety 'normal' - until he managed to stop a bullet with his bare hands. Confused and afraid, Charlie struggles to gain...
The days following the attack were rough to say the least. Hunter continued to wander around like he was one of the Immortuos, barely speaking and not eating no matter how much Az, Olivia and I encouraged him. Ryo had gone back to the Spirit Realm because he would heal much more quickly there as he was sustained only by my magic is this realm instead of the energies he natural obtained from the Spirit Realm.
When we left the dorms on the morning following the attack, someone had somehow cleared away the bodies of the dead – Immortuos and sorcerer – as well as magically repairing damaged structures and regrowing the grass. You wouldn't have been able to tell anything had actually happened.
Merlin appeared as we were looking around in shock. "How are you all?" he asked quietly.
I glanced briefly at my friends, "We're coping, I guess."
Merlin looked at each of us in turn, before saying, "Come with me and I'll explain why this has happened." He led us to a large tree by the statue of himself, shaking his head as we passed the statue. We sat in the shade of the tree, and Merlin spent the next twenty minutes or so talking to my friends all about Vazaria Seeds and giving one to me, about Ceroya and her followers and answering any questions they had. Hunter, though, remained silent throughout.
"So, what's happening now?" Az asked, "Where are Ceroya, Elaria, Umbra and-," he stopped, shooting a hesitant glance at Hunter, "Um...you know..."
"I'm not sure," Merlin sighed, "They could be anywhere, and they left no trace of where they went. But there will be some changes here to ensure nothing like this happens again. I've spoken to Mr Kittridge, and I'll be changing the Rune code myself every month. No one person aside from myself will have the complete code. Furthermore, I will be setting up a number of other protective enchantments around the island, such as prohibiting the magical signature of certain individuals from entering; they have left traces of their magic here last night which I have been able to cultivate for this very reason."
"Charlie," he continued, "I'll be relocating your family, and Zac and his family, to the island for their own protection. I wouldn't put it past Ceroya to go after them and the enchantments around their homes are minimal compared to what I plan to do here."
"But what about their jobs and lives?" I asked, not sure that they would go for it.
"Their jobs are not worth them dying," Merlin stated. "This is for their own protection, just until Ceroya is caught. I will alter memories as I need to, to ensure their jobs and friends are don't ask questions when they return."
I sighed and nodded. "Well, I know Zac will be up for it at least. God, I'm gonna have to explain all of this to his parents."
Merlin smiled. "Do not worry, I will be there to help explain it all."
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A memorial service was held for the people who had died in the battle a day later; three students called Amanda Brent, Fyodore Popov and Ambrose Durst, as well as the transmutation teacher, Mr Bakker and the librarian, Mrs Alleman. The entire school had gathered in the grounds where a stone monument had been constructed bearing the names of those who had died. Photos of the dead were displayed, and I knew I would never forget those names and faces as long as I lived.
