After leaving the infirmary, Julian and Lyra instructed staff around the palace to ensure all the guests were catered to, leaving Asher in supervision.
They also ensured that security was beefed up around the palace and the capital city in case the witches attempted another attack.
Lyra was worried that it might be too late by the time they got to the swamp, found the flower, and brought it back to Beryl and Spencer to make the antidote. The two healers could keep Zero alive with their healing powers, but the poison was powerful and would kill him if not stopped soon.
“We are taking the jet, right?” Lyra asked Julian as they got ready in the weapon room, grabbing basic items that would come in handy in the swamp.
“No,” Julian said.
“If we drive, we’ll never get back in time,” she said.
“We are not driving,” he told her. “Come, I’ll show you something.”
Moving to one end of the room, he pressed his palm to a panel on the wall next to a door labelled ‘Restricted Access’. The door opened and they walked into a narrow corridor. At the end of the corridor was another door, which Julian opened with a password.
The room was empty in the middle, with a few storage cabinets on the sides. A pentagram was drawn on the empty floor in the middle.
“What’s this?” Lyra asked, wondering what something she saw in books on witchcraft was doing in the royal palace. She knew that the drawing was used by witches when casting spells and carrying out other witchcraft practices. Witchcraft was forbidden in the werewolf kingdom, so why was this in the palace?
Julian opened a cabinet and retrieved five candles and a lighter. As he placed the candles on the points, he explained, “The witches have always been hard to get rid of because of their superior magic abilities. We banned witchcraft to protect ourselves, but we could not deny that it might be the best way to counter the witches. Select members of the royal family are taught magic skills using witchcraft that can come in handy when push comes to shove. Today, we are going to use a transportation spell to get to the Deadly Swamp.”
After placing the candles on all five points, he held out his hand to Lyra. She took it, and he led her to stand in the middle of the drawing. “Close your eyes, this might get a little dizzy.”
Lyra closed her eyes. Julian chanted a few unintelligible phrases, and suddenly there was a strong wind blowing in the room. Lyra felt as if her body was spinning with the wind, and she could no longer feel the floor beneath her. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.
“You can open your eyes now,” Julian told her.
When Lyra opened her eyes, they were no longer in the secret room. Right in front of them was a swamp, stretching out as far as their eyes could see.
“Wow,” she muttered, looking at Julian. “This is unbelievable.”
“Now, I just need to use another spell to locate the flower,” he said. “It’s said that the flower has magical qualities, so I should be able to sense it. As long as I can locate it, it’ll make our work easier.”
Lyra was relieved to find out that the mission wasn’t going to be as difficult as she had thought. However, her relief did not last long when Julian informed her that he could not use his magical powers.
“We have to look for it ourselves, then,” she said, moving towards the edge of the swamp.
Julian reached for her hand and stopped her. “No. We can’t just go in, it’s dangerous.”
“How else can we find it, then? If we don’t find it soon, Zero will die.”
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