Cleansing Fire
Chapter 14: Turnaround

Balden could barely contain his excitement as he heard the alarm bells start to ring around the Academy. For reasons of deniability, he had stayed away from the funeral but now he leapt up from behind his desk, fixing his expression in one of worry should anyone be around.

It was finally time for things to move forward – he would have to hurry down to the Well and complete the rituals. The other Brothers had better be in place or everything could still go wrong.

He yanked open the door, startling a servant who had been about to knock. In an emergency, all high-ranking officials were alerted first and given the chance to get out. The man was clearly agitated, dancing from foot to foot, filled with some terrible urgency.

“What is it, man? What is going on?” he said, grabbing the servant by his shirt and shaking him from side to side.

“P-p-please, Sir, it’s the Steward, sir. He’d been injured and…”

Injured? If he lives…

He realised he had pushed the servant up against the wall and relaxed his grip. No need to make act suspiciously.

“How bad is it? Tell me everything!”

“I haven’t seen him sir. But it’s bad. They’re all saying he’s going to… going to die and there’s men fighting in the Great Hall, they’re killing people everywhere! Initiates tried to fight but the men, they just shrugged off the magic! The Guard are helping people to escape but there are too many. What’ll we do, sir? What’ll we do?!”

“Calm yourself, man. What did they look like, these men? You must have seen them, if only from a distance.”

“Tall, very tall. They had dark armour on and carried two swords. Sir, we have to get you out of here! It’s not safe anymore!”

Balden pursed his lips thoughtfully, the servant forgotten. An attack by the Jakori? At this time? He didn’t believe in coincidences. It didn’t matter; he’d have the upper hand in minutes anyway. They might be immune to magic but he had different tricks – it was time to turn this around. They might even prove useful in time.

Leaving the servant behind, staring after him, Balden started running down the corridor. He could hear the sound of skirmishes floating up from the Great Hall but paid them no attention. He had to get to the Well of Souls before they found it and he would have to be quick about it. There was only one more ritual to perform. He hoped for their sakes that the Brothers had secured the Channel for his sacrifice. He wouldn’t let anyone else have the power, he couldn’t. How would he save Ilyana otherwise?