The tension in the room was palpable, suffocatingly intense. Timothy could hear his own heart thumping. He continued to face downward as sweat poured down his face like little raindrops. Despite the terror he felt, he used all his might to raise his head and look the Head Mage in the eye.

  “I…”

  “SILENCE!” the Head Mage roared. A gust of wind traveled through her mouth, amplifying her words as the acoustics of the room carried it even further.

  Both Andrea and Timothy were stunned. “You have lost the right to defend yourself. You have broken the rules of the Academy. You have broken the rules of the magical community.”

  Two of the hooded mages grabbed Timothy by his arms and kicked him behind the knees, forcing him to kneel.

  The Head Mage loomed over Timothy. Her eyes were full of rage. Timothy thought he had been scared before, but now he was utterly terrified.

  “You… Timothy Anderson, are a threat. And as Head Mage of the Academy and a follower of the Great Morgan’s teachings, I shall remove such a threat.”

  The Head Mage extended her hand and began to chant a spell.

  “CLEARIA.”

  Her hand glowed yellow, and the interlocking of her fingers seemed connected by some sort of semi-liquid energy that flowed seamlessly.

  The moment Timothy saw this, he struggled against his captors, but he failed. Still, he did not stop his futile attempts to break free.

  “Please… please, no!” Timothy pleaded, tears nearly streaming down his face.

  “Ah… Good. You recognize this spell,” the Head Mage said. “You ought to. After all your time in the Academy, it would be an embarrassment if you didn’t. But let me remind you.”

  “This is Clearia—mind-altering magic. This spell is taught to mages to keep the secrets of magic from the majority of the world. Whenever a non-mage witnesses one of us performing magic, we use this spell to wipe their memories of such an event.”

  “But using this spell on you… will not be so easy. You have been a part of the magical community since you were a child. There are no specific events I can erase to make you forget about our world. So…”

  The Head Mage grabbed Timothy tightly by the forehead. “I will erase everything. Every single memory you have. You will remember nothing. Not your parents. Not your time before you were accepted into the Academy. You won’t even remember your own name. Some might claim that’s a fate worse than death. But you’ve earned it for defying me.”

  Her glowing hand on Timothy’s forehead began to glow even brighter. Timothy screamed as he tried his best to resist the spell. But it was a futile effort. The Head Mage was much more powerful than him in every way, so all his resistance would do was cause him pain.

  “WAIT!” Andrea screamed.

  The Head Mage stopped the spell and looked directly at her. ‘What the hell am I doing? Why did I scream to stop her? I don’t even know this guy,’ Andrea thought.

  Andrea had acted out of reflex, not strategy, and now she was beginning to regret it. She feared she might receive the same punishment as Timothy for interrupting.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “And just who are…” The Head Mage trailed off as she looked at Andrea. She seemed bewildered by her presence, which surprised Andrea. She was sure the Head Mage had seen her when she appeared with Timothy, and yet the Head Mage hadn’t seemed interested in her existence. What had changed?

  The Head Mage turned her head to one of the hooded figures. “Who is she, and why did you bring her to me?”

  “We found her in the courtyard with the boy. We assumed she was his accomplice,” the hooded figure answered.

  The Head Mage turned back to Andrea. “Is that true, child? Are you his accomplice?”

  “She isn’t!” Timothy exclaimed. “All she did was stop my mistake from causing more harm. She has nothing to do with this.”

  The Head Mage slammed Timothy’s face into the floor. “I wasn’t speaking to you. Show some respect while you still can.”

  The Head Mage made eye contact with Andrea, causing her to step back a few feet—a reaction similar to how she felt whenever she was in the presence of Caroline.

  “If this boy speaks the truth, then tell me, why do you defend him? Why take such a risk for him?” the Head Mage asked.

  ‘Yeah… why, Andrea?’ Andrea questioned herself. The Head Mage waited for an answer, and Andrea feared what would happen if she kept her waiting. It didn’t matter why she had decided to stop the Head Mage; right now, she just had to come up with a good enough reason to keep herself from being punished as well.

  “Right… uh…” Andrea cleared her throat. “Don’t you think you’re taking things too far? Maybe just a tiny bit?”

  “Too far, you say?” the Head Mage asked. “Were you not paying attention to anything I just said? He has threatened the safety of all of us. So, no, I don’t believe I’m going too far.”

  “I know, but… what if he promised to stop doing what he did?” Andrea asked.

  The Head Mage raised an eyebrow. Andrea couldn’t see the faces of the hooded figures, but she could feel them all raising their eyebrows too.

  “A promise?” the Head Mage asked, stupefied. “Do you honestly believe that would be enough to make him cease his… experiments? He was warned before, and yet here we are.”

  “That’s true, but I’m sure he wasn’t this scared before. I mean… just look at him,” Andrea said. Timothy was panting heavily and sweating uncontrollably.

  “He does look utterly terrified,” the Head Mage remarked. She said nothing for a while, as if contemplating her decision. “Very well.” The Head Mage let go of Timothy’s head.

  He slowly stood up on his feet. His face was slightly bruised.

  “It seems great luck has struck you, young Timothy. Thanks to the intervention of this young mage, I have decided to spare you, if and only if you give me your word that you will stop this madness of trying to combine magic and technology.”

  “Do we have a deal?” The Head Mage extended her hand for a handshake. Timothy looked at it but didn’t grab it immediately. He stared at it, hesitating.

  “Would you rather I wipe your memory instead?” the Head Mage asked, frowning.

  Timothy reluctantly took her hand. “Yes. We have a deal,” Timothy answered.

  “Splendid!” the Head Mage exclaimed. Andrea let out a sigh of relief. “You… red-haired girl. State your name!”

  Andrea straightened herself and answered immediately. “Andrea Wildfire!”

  The Head Mage looked at the crystal ball attached to Andrea’s robe. She stared and squinted at it for a while before returning her gaze to Andrea.

  “Well, Andrea Wildfire, I have shown mercy to this rogue student because you asked me to. You will do well to remember that in the future,” the Head Mage said.

  “Of course,” Andrea responded.

  The Head Mage nodded to one of the hooded figures. “Return them to the courtyard. I’m sure they have classes,” the Head Mage ordered.

  The figure obeyed, placing their hands on both Andrea’s and Timothy’s shoulders. The next moment, they disappeared from the room.

  “Why did you…”

  “You’re wondering why I spared Timothy,” the Head Mage interrupted one of the hooded figures. “Truthfully, I wanted nothing more than to erase every single memory from that brat. That was until I saw her up close. She’s… different. I can’t put my finger on it, but the way her mana flowed—it was extraordinary. Like… it was in a state of change.”

  She walked back to her desk and sat on her large chair. “I was disappointed when I saw she was just a griffin. That can’t be right. Not many would be able to tell, but I can. She’s powerful, and I have a feeling she’s going to become more powerful in the future.”

  “It would be nice to have such a mage at my side on rainy days. And besides…”

  A black fog emanated from the hand the Head Mage had used to shake Timothy’s. “…I’ve taken a precaution in case young Timothy decides to go back on his word.”