Dance of Magic - The Books of Beginning [1]

26. The Secretary's Demise

"The Dire Magnus is planning to bring an army of evil ghosts through the barrier and under his control as a way of plunging the world into chaos, so he can kill his enemies and take over," The Countess said bluntly.

Michael clutched Wilamena's arm in fright. He had faced monsters and the depths of volcanoes. But the armies of the dead were a bit much, even for him. Though they weren't as terrible as spiders, they came pretty damn close.

"Don't worry, bunny," the elf princess whispered softly into his ear, "I'll protect you from the danger."

He had to admit, that comforted him a bit. Even if Wilamena was as intimidating as a marshmallow most of the time, her devotion and courage inspired him.

Meanwhile, Gabriel was asking the necessary follow up questions, "where is this information coming from?"

The Countess yawned, "oh, he offered me a chance to join his plans. But since he made me ugly, I hate him. So I simply fled. He probably would have come after me but he was a little preoccupied with finding and taking his revenge on you all, so thank you for the diversion."

"And how does the Dire Magnus intend to gather his army? He's dead, how does he still have enough magical power?" Kate questioned.

The Countess barked out a mirthless laugh, "why do you think he keeps so many living sorcerers in his army even if they are fools? He draws heavily off their magical presences. It's not the same as consuming souls of course, but it will give him enough power to bring his ghost army here."

Kate opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it when no words came out. Though she kept her nature calm and collected as to not worry her siblings, inside she was freaking out about yet another catastrophe to avert. Rafe seemed to sense her stress and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

Emma just rolled her eyes, "so basically, everything is really bad. What else is new?"

"I wouldn't be so sarcastic if I were you," the Secretary warned from his position behind the Countess, "the Dire Magnus is seeking revenge and he's far more formidable than a child with a bad attitude."

Emma balled up her fists, ready for a fight. But her friends beat her to it, with Wilamena rising behind her in support, Gabriel getting into a fighting stance, and Michael yelling, "Don't talk to her like that!" 

The Secretary laughed like a maniac, "oh, the little bookworm! How intimidating!"

"Michael is a hero and you will not disrespect him!" Wilamena screeched, her face going red with anger.

The Secretary only continued to laugh, until Kate cut him off, her voice hard and stern, "stop that. Right now. Emma, Michael, and Wilamena should not be made fun of. I will not tolerate it. Especially not after what you did, rescuing my parents only to kidnap them again. You're lucky we're even standing your presence here."

"Yeah, cause you're the human personification of horse dung," Emma muttered under her breath so no one could hear.

The Secretary turned towards Kate, wickedness in his eyes. He smiled his sadistic, repulsive grin, "well well, it seems the little birdie has found her fire."

Kate gave him her most violent death glare, feeling disgusted by his mere presence. But her anger only made him laugh more loudly than ever. He kept laughing and laughing... until he looked to be in pain and the laughter changed to screams of agony.

There were several gasps of shock as the Secretary's ghostly form began flickering and his screams grew louder. Then, finally, he disappeared into a dramatic burst of blinding white light.