The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (3 page)

I found a book
entitled, ‘Exotic Flowers of the Ghanlar’ and pulled it out. I
looked for a spot to sit down and read. The only other person in
the library was an elderly looking Mage with soft grandfatherly
features and messy snowy white hair. He looked up from his book and
nodded with a smile before returning to his reading. I nodded and
grabbed a table on the opposite end of the room. I had seen him in
this library a few times before and that was the first time he
acknowledged me.

After flipping
through the entire book, I still hadn’t found the information I
needed. The sound of chatter and rustling from outside the library
drew my attention. The first class must have ended, so the
Apprentices will be taking a quick break before the next one. I
grabbed the book and placed it back on the shelf.

“
Well, well, well,” a voice called from behind me.

I cringed as I
turned around to face Greg, an Apprentice with a love for both
Elemental Magic and testing it out on other Apprentices. He was
here with his two shadows, future Natural Mage Todd and local
beauty queen Vanessa, a psycho with a love for the Spiritual Magic
of Mind control.

“
You weren’t in class today, Lizard,” Greg continued. “Rumour
has it you’ve had your Demon Dream.”

“
Yeah, you could say that today is my last day,” I
said.

“
We just wanted to drop by and say that we’ll miss you,”
Vanessa smiled sweetly. You would almost think she was
sincere.

“
I’ll be sure to drop by and say ‘Hi’ from time to time,” I
said sarcastically.

I was trying
to scan the room without being obvious about it. They blocked the
only way out and there were too many plants close by. The past
couple of times I’ve been able to slip past Todd’s control of the
plants. But he was starting to get good.

Vanessa mocked
shock. “I really meant that.”

“
Hey guys,” Tom exclaimed as he came over to greet the
trio.

“
Beat it, Tom,” Greg growled.

“
That’s not very nice,” Tom pouted.

“
He said leave,” Vanessa said as she raised her hand. A Pulse
shot out and hit Tom who staggered back a couple of steps but
stayed upright.

“
You can’t use magic in here!” Tom exclaimed.

“
Fine,” Greg said as he walked over and grabbed Tom by the
shirt. He picked Tom up and tossed him through the air. Tom landed
hard on a table breaking it under him. Whatever is up Greg’s butt
today is definitely not making him happy.

As they stared
at what happened, I hid behind a bookcase and crouched low to the
ground. I don’t know where that old man from earlier went but with
the way Greg treated Tom, I’m glad he got out while he still had
the chance.

“
You can’t hide from me, Lizard,” Greg called out. “Not this
time.”

Maybe I should
have given into that Demon. Being stuck in a dream has to be better
than this.

Chapter 2

“
Oh, Lizard,” Vanessa said in a sing-song voice, “come out
come out, wherever you are.”

The sound of
chairs and tables scraping against the floor drew closer and
closer. During my time in hiding, I still hadn’t figured out a plan
on how to get out of this mess.

If I knew them
correctly, Todd would be waiting for me to run so he can ensnare me
with the plants. Greg would be watching over everything and Vanessa
would either be trying to flush me out or Mind Control me into
walking into the opening.

Her shadow
grew larger and larger on the wall and I could feel her searching
for my mind. I had learned a long time ago some tricks to keep your
mind invisible but it took a lot of effort to maintain. An idea
sprung to mind and I waited for her to get closer.

“
You can’t keep up your shield forever,” Vanessa continued.
“I’m going to break through.”

As she walked
behind the bookcase I was using as my hiding space, I dropped my
mental shield and felt for her mind. When she felt the shield drop,
she turned to me and smiled. I felt her reach out with all her
power and slipped into her mind and planted my Illusion. Her mind
seized control of me and I was brought to my feet.

“
Now, walk to…” she said as she stretched out her arm towards
me. She stopped and stared at her fingers in shock. In reality
nothing was wrong with them; to her they had become a lot bigger.
In fact, in her mind, she had gained a ton of weight.

While she
looked at her body in shock, I broke free from her mental hold. Her
face twisted into pain and she grabbed her head with both hands.
“Get out of my head,” she screeched.

I held out my
hand and launched a Pulse at her that knocked her off her feet. I
ran past her and continued along the row of bookcases trying to use
them as cover from Greg and Todd.

She screamed
and I looked over my shoulder to see that she had launched a Pulse
at me. The Pulse bounced off the magical wards on the bookcases as
it drew near me. The massive energy made the hairs on the back of
my neck stand on end and I dove to the ground, twisting around so I
could launch a Pulse back at her.

Her magic had
sailed over me and my returning attack bounced off the nearest
bookcase and charged right at Vanessa. She threw up a shield but
the force of the Pulse knocked her back and she hit her head on a
bookcase. She landed on the ground hard and didn’t move. The energy
reading from her mind said that she had only been knocked
unconscious.

I picked
myself up off the ground and rounded around the bookcase heading
for the door. I spotted a vine from one of Tom’s plants racing
towards me and dodged it but my foot was ensnared by another vine I
hadn’t seen from behind.

Why did Tom
need so many plants?

The vine
lifted me off the ground and hung me upside down. I tried to kick
myself free as another vine wrapped itself around my hand. I
stopped struggling to think as the vines carried me back to Greg
and Todd.

“
I’ve got you now,” Greg smiled. “Just what did you do to
Vanessa?”

“
She was tired, so she took a nap,” I answered while my mind
raced.

Greg looked at
Todd and Todd left quickly to look for her. If they revived her I
was done. I pushed some power into my tangled hand and lit the vine
on Fire. The vine snapped where the fire burnt through and the
plant shriveled up from the attack.

Sorry,
Tom.

Greg raised
both his hands at me and I quickly twisted towards my feet and
launched a small Fire Ball at the vine. The vine released me and I
dropped to the floor before Greg’s stream of Ice could freeze the
area.

The vine now
towered over the room encased in Ice and I dove under the tables
before Greg could point his hand towards me. He wouldn’t dare try
to hit the magical wards of the tables but that wasn’t going to
stop him from throwing the tables aside. I skittered across the
floor on my hands and knees.

“
He’s under the tables, Todd,” Greg shouted. “Hit the top of
the tables. See if you can’t draw him out over here.”

A good plan
any day of the week, but not something you want to shout loud
enough for the person you’re chasing to hear you. I continued in
the opposite direction of them as the vines started hitting the top
of the tables loudly, causing them to shake. I tried to tune out
the sounds as I pressed forward. At the end of the tables, I bolted
out to a standing position but cursed myself as I nearly ran into a
wall. I had travelled to the far end of the library, the totally
opposite direction to the exit.

I turned
around and saw Greg and Todd standing on the opposite side of the
seating area. The tables were now in disarray but there was still a
clear path from one side of the room to the other. If it weren’t
for Greg and Todd being in my way, I would have a clear path out.
Luckily for me, Vanessa was still out of action. My only hope would
be that their minds aren’t protected.

As they walked
closer, I reached out with my mind to test their defenses. They
were both on guard because they knew I was in a corner. Todd’s mind
shield was easy to bypass because he was using most of his power to
control the vines that were trying to keep me contained here.
Greg’s mind was better protected and it seems like Vanessa had been
giving him a couple of tips. I needed to distract him.

A vine was
coming closer and I held up my hand and created a simple ward. If I
attacked it, Todd might unleash them all at me.

“
Where’s your lizard skin?” Greg asked with a joyless
chuckle.

I stayed
quiet. Since I’ve discovered I could do a full body Harden Skin,
I’ve become a sideshow for the other Apprentices. Everybody tries
to provoke me into doing it so they can laugh. I don’t see what’s
so funny.

Greg flicked
his fingers and a small Fire Ball launched towards me. It was
easily absorbed by my ward and he continued to flick a few more.
After those were absorbed, I dropped the ward and focused a lot of
power into my hand. It grew warm as a large Fire Ball launched from
my fingers. It tore through the vine chopping it into two and
bounced off the wall and ceiling.

The ball was
bigger than I had expected and when it started bouncing, Greg
watched it wide eyed. I reached out with my power and entered their
minds. Grabbing the bit of vine from the ground, I threw it at
them.

In their mind
the vine turned into a three meter long snake with a taste for
human flesh. They both cursed and dove under the tables. I saw this
as my chance to run and I didn’t waste the opportunity. Making sure
I didn’t trip over Tom, I pumped my legs as fast as they could
carry me.

I was out of
the library when I heard Greg shout and the Apprentices around me
hurried out of the way as I ran by. I had two options, down to the
Apprentice Chambers and hide or up and get caught by the
Teachers.

It was going
to have to be up, the trio’s aggressiveness this time went too far.
Tom was going to need help. I ran up the stairs taking two at a
time and hoping to not bump into someone who would only assist in
Greg’s mission. Looking back from the top of the stairs, I noticed
Greg and Todd starting to climb them.

There were two
directions to go; left or right.

I jerked my
head back and forth in a panic before making my decision.

Right.

I bolted down
the hallway and as I rounded a corner came face to face with a
large group of Apprentices. I almost slammed in a shocked looking
girl, who screamed in surprise. I muttered a quick apology and
pushed past them. When I looked back, the group had parted to let
Greg and Todd by without incident.

Thanks,
guys.

A vine reached
out and ensnared me in a tight hug and held me against the wall. I
saw a vine reach out and grab Greg and Todd as well. Out of one of
the classrooms, Teacher Jarvis came out with a stern look on her
face.

“
I will not be having Apprentices cause a ruckus outside of my
classroom,” she said.

Teacher Jarvis
was an old hag of a woman; grey hair in a tight bun, beady little
eyes and jowls to complete the picture. Throw in the fact that she
was a nature lover and a talented Nature Mage, who likes to
discipline students, and you have the worst teacher in the
Tower.

“
Will someone clearly explain, what is going on out here?” she
asked in a louder voice.

“
He attacked Vanessa,” Greg said straining against the vines.
“Knocked her out. We were trying to get him to bring him to a
teacher.”

“
And you expect her to believe that?” I asked disgusted. The
vines tightened around me and I groaned.

“
Why shouldn’t I?” Teacher Jarvis asked. “You are as much a
liar as they are.”

“
They attacked me in the library,” I explained as the vines
tightened and loosened. “They attacked Tom then tried to attack me.
I was fleeing from them.”

“
It appears something isn’t as it seems,” a soft voice
said.

Teacher
Jarvis’ face tightened as she looked to the newcomer. “This doesn’t
concern you, Francis.”

“
Everything in the tower concerns all of us,” the voice
continued getting closer, “and you would do well to remember your
place.”

A little venom
seeped into the soft voice and it made Teacher Jarvis’s face
twitch. I was finally able to turn enough around to see who the
newcomer was. He was unmistakable with his touch of grey hair,
plump facial features and bright purple robes: Master Larose of the
School of the Spiritual.

“
I am a Master of the Order and you will show me respect,” he
continued in a voice both calm and commanding.

“
You are not my Master,” Teacher Jarvis muttered too quiet for
Master Larose to hear.

It was strange
to see such a display in front of the Apprentices. There has always
been tension between the different Schools but for a Teacher to
openly back talk to a Master was rare.

“
Now, let’s go to the library and trace the magic used,”
Master Larose said, “and if they are both correct, there are two
people that need our attention.”

Teacher Jarvis
slowly released us from the vines and they retreated back to their
respective plants. She gave a look to the gathering Apprentices and
they scattered towards their classrooms.

“
I have a class to teach,” she said to Master Larose. “You can
handle it from here.”

“
Yes, that is for the best,” he responded as he walked by her
without looking.