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Indeed. Too simple. But even better. I waved my staff, dissolving the shadow dome. And I was about to cast a binding spell on the destructor-janitor, but everything suddenly went awry.
A powerful blow from behind knocked us off our feet. My head spun, images flashed before my eyes, and it felt like consciousness was being sucked into a vortex. But it all stopped as abruptly as it had begun.
I lay on the floor, staring at a guy with beautiful green eyes. Interesting, where did he come from? Weren’t there just five of us? Though, I had seen him somewhere before. Definitely seen. But where?
The realization came unexpectedly. I was lying on the cold stone floor, looking at myself. But how could I be both there and here? Had I been knocked out of my body? I remembered a similar trick from the last shamanic war. My body stirred clumsily, awkwardly. Our gazes met, a spark seemed to pass between us, and my body screamed. I had no idea I could yell so loudly!
But what exactly had happened? My mind was working slowly but surely. I extended my arms and closely examined the slender female fingers. It became clear. Astral displacement spells. Our friendly group had been body-swapped. And apparently, I was in Asya’s body. My hands involuntarily slid over my chest… Yes, this was definitely Asya.
– Quiet! Zheka unexpectedly barked at me. Or rather, someone in Zheka’s body yelled at mine. How complicated everything was…
To my surprise, my body quieted down. That was good.
– Who among you is Seva? growled pseudo-Zheka angrily.
I think I know whose body he ended up in. I modestly raised my hand. Or should I say, she raised her hand?
– Seriously? the dragon laughed. That’s offensive. He has a green mohawk, and he’s laughing at me.
– You’re in my body! Kazimir yelled. Was that directed at me? And here I thought Asya had ended up in my body, otherwise, who was screaming like that?
– What’s happening?! I cried out again. Well, the other me, who’s no longer me. – Give me back my body!
Oops! He’s yelling at Zheka! Or rather, the dragon… I’m completely confused now. So, I’m in Asya’s body, the dragon is in Zheka’s, Asya is in Kazimir’s, and Zheka is in mine. I think that’s right. Which means, logically, Kazimir should have transferred into the enchanter’s body. By the way, where is he?
– Kazimir is missing, I voiced aloud. – Where is that scatterbrain again? We asked him to stand guard!
– Who knows, shrugged dragon-Zheka. – You’d better tell us how to swap bodies back.
Good question. Too bad I don’t know the answer. I’ve heard of such a spell, but I have no idea how to reverse it. The enchanter quietly swore. Apparently, he understood from my look the complexity of the situation. Yes, we were in a bind…
The dining hall was overcrowded. Students were chatting, joking, eating, and completely unaware that something terrifying was happening right next to them. Namely, I – the Guardian of Ancient Knowledge, a powerful mage, a master of ten orders – was walking around the magic academy in a woman’s skirt! Not to mention that a freshman was sitting in the director’s chair, and a pensioner dragon was strutting around with a green mohawk.
I sighed wearily. What had I learned in these few days? Practically nothing. There was no information about these vile astral displacement spells in the library. On the bright side, I saw Asya naked, which, in principle, was also a good outcome. Plus, I learned how torturous it is to wear tights. And how awful it is to walk in heels. And how annoying it is to comb and wash long hair. And how infuriating bras are!
In short, I learned a lot of new things. And for the first time, I felt weak. Not physically, no. Asya turned out to be a rather mediocre witch, her staff didn’t suit her at all, and half of her internal magical channels were clogged. How she managed to cast spells at all, I couldn’t understand.
I couldn’t use ninety percent of the spells while in her body. Even the simplest weaves worked only half the time. Meanwhile, Zheka in my body was doing great. In these days, he almost destroyed half of the academy’s classrooms. He recently used all my power to lift a pencil off the floor. And he did. Along with the floor and all the students in the auditorium. In short, he’s a fool…
Pushing away my half-empty plate, I scanned the students. They were so carefree, so happy. The teachers, on the other hand, were clearly nervous. Maybe they sensed the change in magical fields? Or were they actually concerned about the disappearance of a colleague? The seat to the right of the director was still empty. Where on earth had Kazimir in the dragon’s body disappeared to?
***
The gentle pre-dawn silence enveloped the ancient castle. I stood frozen near the window, watching as the sun’s rays peeking over the horizon habitually dispersed the twilight. I couldn’t sleep. Either due to the realization that I might remain a girl forever or due to the premonition of impending doom.
Kazimir was gone. So was the steward. We had scoured every dark corner of the castle, but to no avail. The ritual was drawing near, and there was nothing we could do. It seemed I had lost this battle even before it had begun.
– Asya! Uh, I mean, Seva! The enchanter is calling everyone urgently! – Zheka, who had comfortably settled into my body, burst in on me.
We jumped up and hurried to the dragon. A small flame of hope was kindling in my heart. Could he have found something? Maybe we could switch bodies back? Or had he discovered the villain-steward’s lair? In any case, we had to hurry.
As soon as we crossed the threshold of the enchanter’s office, he rushed toward me.
– I’ve figured it out! – the dragon exclaimed joyfully. – I know how to buy us time!
Now, this was interesting. By my calculations, we had only a couple of hours left until the ritual. What had he come up with?
– The Veil of Despair can’t be penetrated even by its creator, which means he’s still in the castle, – the enchanter continued without pause. – We just need to move the castle somewhere else. Far away from the power concentration.
The logic in the teacher’s words was definitely there. And I even knew how to do it, but… I had absolutely no energy for it. All my strength was with Zheka, and I shuddered to imagine what such sorcery might result in his execution.
But once again, we had no choice. Nor did we have time for reflection and calculations. I nodded to the dragon, grabbed Zheka by the hand, and dragged him to the center of the room. The enchanter understood without words, grabbed the chalk, and quickly began to draw a runic weave on the floor. We couldn’t delay.
– Listen to me carefully. – It’s hard to look imposing in the fragile body of an eighteen-year-old beauty, but fortunately, Zheka listened to his sister and was frankly afraid of her. – Now, you’ll visualize this weave, – I extended my hand, and an intricate pattern appeared in the air above my palm, – and fill it with power. If you make a mistake in even one line, we’re all dead. Understand?
Zheka nodded uncertainly, carefully knelt down, closed his eyes, and began the ritual. Soon, there was a loud clap, and the castle shook so violently that we barely kept our feet. Did this fool actually manage to move us into a spatial pocket? The darkness outside the windows confirmed it – Zheka had succeeded!
– Seva, did you explain to him how to anchor it to the source? – the dragon whispered.
I looked at my companion in surprise. What a strange question. Why explain such elementary things?
– You know they only study anchoring in the third year?
That was a real blunder. What does it mean? He closed the loop? I stared wide-eyed at my satisfied roommate. Damn it! He not only transported us into a spatial pocket, but he also put a temporal loop on the castle!
– What have you done, you idiots?! – someone roared, bursting into the auditorium.
It was the dragon! Well, I mean, someone in the enchanter’s body, which was now taking on its true form of a huge reptile. And why was he yelling?
– Decided to stop me?! The great Vseslavsky himself?!
Oops! I was completely lost. So Kazimir was actually in the dragon’s body. But why then was he angry? He couldn’t possibly be the villain. As if hearing my thoughts, the director hurled some deadly filth at me. What was he doing? Why did he need all this? Where did all this power come from?! The questions remained unanswered. Kazimir’s spell reached its target. Jerking aside, I collapsed onto the floor like a broken doll. Before darkness completely engulfed my consciousness, I managed to see my friends also helplessly falling to the stone floor.
Outside the windows, darkness reigned. We stood near Zheka, who was seated in the center of the runic circle. Wait! We were just killed a moment ago! Or… I slapped myself on the forehead. A time loop. Good job, Zheka! Well done!
– He’s about to burst in! – I shouted to my bewildered friends. – Hide!
My call worked. Asya, Zheka, and I dashed to the oak tree, while the enchanter traditionally crawled under his table. Just in time, it must be said.
– What have you done, you idiots?! – Kazimir roared, bursting into the auditorium and transforming into a huge lizard on the move. – Decided to stop me?! The great Vseslavsky himself?!
Kazimir suddenly fell silent. Apparently, he did not expect to find his adversaries missing. And why is he repeating the same thing? Interesting… It seems the loop closed on me, Asya, Altair, and Zheka, as we were closest to the center of the ritual execution. Does that mean the time transfer activates when one of us dies?
– Why are you doing all this? – the enchanter unexpectedly yelled, peering out from under the table.
Strange. I hadn’t noticed any suicidal tendencies in him. Kazimir laughed with a roaring laughter.
– You think I didn’t know you were a dragon?! – he growled. – From the moment we met, I’ve been preparing this plan to seize your body! I’ve been accumulating power for many years and waiting for the right moment!
Now that was confusing. He seriously decided to unleash an apocalypse just to become a dragon? And they say I come up with complicated plans.
– I longed to gain the ancient power of the dragon! – the director continued his rant. – I sent the previous enchanter on maternity leave! I invited you to take her place! I shrouded the castle in the Veil of Despair! I framed the steward! I took your body! And I will destroy you all! Every one of you!
Kazimir laughed again, his laughter filled with madness. And power. We all knew that we couldn’t stand against a dragon. Or rather, I could have… if I were in my own body.
The director swung his clawed paw, sending another deadly weaving at Altair. The enchanter awkwardly jerked his green mohawk and ungracefully fell to the floor. I was ready to be thrown back in time again, but… nothing happened. Why? Ah, I get too distracted during battles. Another of Kazimir’s spells hit me in the chest. Well, at least it was painless this time.
Outside the windows, darkness reigned. Once again, we stood near Zheka, sitting in the center of the runic circle.
– Again? – Asya, stuck in the director’s body, was surprised.
– Yes, again, – I grimly confirmed, walked to the enchanter’s table and climbed on it with my feet. The rest of the company rushed to the oak tree, hoping to find shelter behind its mighty trunk again. So, the loop only triggers if all four of us die? Well, I’ve seen worse.
– What have you done, you idiots?! – Kazimir roared, bursting into the auditorium and transforming into a huge lizard on the move. – Decided to stop me?! The great Vseslavsky himself?!
– Yeah, – I calmly replied. – You wanted to seize the dragon’s body, gain power, and you slept with the enchanter. We all know that. Want some tea?
The director froze in place and looked at me bewildered.
– How do you know?! – he exclaimed, ignoring my question about tea. Too bad, we could have resolved everything peacefully over tea.
– I have my sources, – I waved my hand significantly. – Better tell me, why did you decide to conduct the ritual of forced evolution? Why change the structure of ley lines if you just want to steal a dragon’s body? Why all the complexity?
– I didn’t change anything! – Kazimir roared. – And I’m not planning any ritual! And besides, you’ve annoyed me, stupid girl!
Before I lost my life again, one single thought flashed through my mind – how is it that he’s not conducting the ritual?
Outside the windows, darkness still reigned. Once again, we stood near Zheka, seated in the center of the runic circle.
– I’m tired of this! – Asya shouted, and it seemed she started crying. I understood her, but I had no time for tears.
– If he’s not the one conducting the ritual, then who is? – I quickly asked the enchanter.
– I have no idea, – he shrugged, clearly upset. Yes, it’s not every day that old friends betray you by inhabiting your own body.
– What have you done, you idiots?! – Kazimir bellowed, bursting into the auditorium and again transforming into a huge lizard. – Decided to stop me?! The great Vseslavsky himself?!
– Shush! – I snapped. – Stop yelling. Better tell me, what role do I play in your plan?
Perhaps Kazimir didn’t even know that I was the Guardian. What if my admission to the academy was really just an accident? I don’t believe it! He could sense the true nature of a dragon, but not my power?
– And what do dragons usually do with beautiful girls? – The director laughed and grabbed me with his huge scaly paw. – They kidnap them! So, I will kidnap you. And marry you!
Wait a minute. Marry me? No, I disagree. And besides, I wanted to marry this body first! When it still belonged to Asya! And how, pray tell, am I supposed to fulfill my marital duties? I, for one, love girls, not huge reptiles.
However, my moral turmoil didn’t concern the director. Gripping my-Asya’s body tightly in his paws, he swiftly, as far as it was possible with his size, slipped out of the auditorium. Well, at least he clearly doesn’t know that I’m the Guardian.
I leaned against the cold, damp wall of my cell. So, it’s time to think. What do we have? I’m an adult man in the body of a young girl, locked in a dungeon guarded by a real dragon who wants to marry me. And the dungeon itself is in a castle hidden somewhere outside our reality and trapped in a time loop. Plus, I still don’t know who initiated this whole mess with shifting ley lines. Did I forget anything? Doesn’t seem like it. Well, I’ve seen worse.
Chapter 4: In the Power of Chaos
A spider was crawling up the wall. I wonder where it’s going? Isn’t it cold in this damp dungeon? Why hasn’t it escaped from here? I would have escaped… If I still had the strength. But the door is locked, there’s a dragon outside, and there are no secret passages in the cell. I’ve checked several times, all to no avail.
The most I could do now was maintain a small fire in the center of my tiny cell to avoid freezing to death. At the same time, I was developing the girl’s inner energy channels to make her a little stronger. All my hope was now on my friends. Or more precisely, on Altair. Zheka and Asya are good kids, but they lack experience.
Suddenly, the spider disappeared from sight, and the fire noticeably dimmed. The underground prison slowly filled with billowing darkness, and soon I couldn’t even make out my own hands. I’ve seen something like this before…
– It worked! – a voice exclaimed as the darkness began to recede.
– There she is! The beauty! – the enchanter practically shouted in my ear. – And you didn’t believe it!
The darkness finally dispersed, and I could finally see my surroundings. I was sitting in the middle of Altair’s office, with Zheka standing next to me, looking at me admiringly. I got it. The enchanter figured out how to use our experimental – from the real to the real – spell. Last time we used it to bring a huge oak tree into the academy, and now they pulled me out of the dungeon. Brilliant! Zheka, in my body, had tried to merge with my spirit, trapped in Asya’s body. Well done! But they could have figured it out sooner.
– Thank you, – I sincerely thanked my rescuers. – How are things going here?
– It’s complicated, – the enchanter didn’t hide it. – The castle is still in a time loop. We still haven’t found the organizer of the forced evolution ritual. And we still don’t know how to switch bodies back. We only figured out how to get you out.
– Well done. Confinement always does me good. I have a new plan, – I said cunningly and clapped my hands.
Yes, this gesture would have looked cooler in my own body, but I didn’t have a choice.
***
You devise a plan, set everything up, and then you end up being the bait. Why do they treat me like this? Monsters. Just got out of the dungeon, didn’t even have time to warm up, and now I have to go back already. The gloomy stone corridor stretched far down into the darkness. As I recalled, there should be a large hall at the end. Oh, it’s so far from the sorcerer’s office! Why didn’t I think of setting up an ambush somewhere closer? I just hope Asya’s physical form is up to the task, otherwise… I don’t even want to think about what might happen.
Here, I need to turn and… yes, there it is. A huge black dragon lay in the middle of the large hall, peacefully reading a book by the light of the sparse torches. Quite a sight, I must admit. But there was no time to admire, it was time to act. And boy, was I scared!
– Hey, you! Overgrown lizard! I’m talking to you! You’re a fake, not a dragon! Can’t even keep hold of a girl!
Seems like he finally noticed me. And got very angry! Very angry indeed! Okay, now to run! Run and don’t look back, shedding adrenaline by the handful!
I tried to encourage myself as best I could. But in a situation where a gigantic fire-breathing lizard is chasing you, it’s hard to focus on anything. I think I just ran past the right turn… No, here it is!
Bursting into the sorcerer’s office, I stopped opposite the colorful tapestry, honestly stolen from the director’s bedroom. To hang this artwork, Altair even had to get rid of several bookshelves. Why did we need the tapestry? Its purpose was quite obvious – it covered a huge hole in the wall.
As soon as I stopped, my friends took positions around me. Unfortunately, the dragon was not far behind, and I didn’t even have time to catch my breath.
– Tsk-tsk-tsk, – hissed Zheka. – Come here, my little bird!
Yes, this guy could get on anyone’s nerves. Roaring, the dragon lunged at us, forgetting all about magic. Well, his loss.
The portal to the spirit world, hidden under the tapestry, received us very gently, as if we had landed in the arms of a loving aunt. This kind of transition worked with completely different substances of our universe, so the veil of despair was no barrier to it. This step was a Last Chance, we took it out of desperation. The chances of returning from the spirit world were very slim. Especially for a dragon.
However, there were certain pluses to such a transition.
– Hooray! – someone shouted to my right as the portal fog cleared. – I’m back in my own body!
And there’s the first plus. Crossing the threshold of reality removed all spells cast on a person. And I must admit, being back in my own body felt great. I could feel the strength again, sense the energy flows, catch the whispers of magic. And judging by the happy exclamations around, my friends were also happy with the astral return.
