E.C. EDWARDS - The Mighty Antimagic Spell

It seemed that door was locked. It could only be opened by solving a riddle.

What can burn like the most terrible fires,

To put out any flame or glare, such as water,

But also to float like a flake,

Which makes it very pleasant to the touch ...

“Riddle again. I don't like riddles,” Alexander sighed.

“I do,” smiled the girl. “Let's see. What could burn like fire? But also can put out the fire. A liquid ...”

“Yes, I know this has to be, but what exactly?”

“In chemistry we talked about substances ...”

“Yes. Theoretically, Nitrogen, Hydrogen or Oxygen can be liquid, if they’re cooled to very low temperatures, but ...”

“It might be water,” the girl tried to interrupt Alexander.

“Nitrogen burns under certain conditions the skin and cools everything, so it can be used to put out a fire. It may float when it’s gas, but it’s not advisable to touch it, it’s by no means pleasant to touch at that moment ...,” Alexander ignored any help from the girl and continued to stick to his thoughts.

“I think it’s water.”

“It can’t be water, silly with no…!”

The boy irritated by so many interruptions, wanted to say something in the end, but stopped because he’d have certainly offended her worse.

“If you read carefully you can see that it says ‘like water’,” the boy said the word “water” loud and clear. “You can’t be given the answer in a riddle because ...”

But the boy stopped talking. That field guarding the door disappeared like a fog. The girl was right.

Without looking at Elizabeth, still feeling the pressure of the smile that spread all over her face, the boy approached the door to see what the other signs were. At the top of the door was a row of cubes that had on four of their faces a pawn, a knight, a castle and a bishop drawn.

Underneath that row were four other cubes that had on four of their faces drawn a fire spitting horse, a swirling horse, a horse letting out steam through its nostrils, and a horse swimming.

“Other riddles,” Alexander felt like going mad. We have less than twenty minutes before the potion loses its effect,” the boy said, looking at the hourglass he gave Elizabeth at the beginning of the test and which was now round her neck.

Order it properly

But be careful that you might,

Need it

Until it's over ...

“Chess pieces ...,” Elizabeth smiled. Fortioris, Fortioris, Fortioris ... Fortioris ... yes Fortioris!”

The chess pieces were ordered pawn, bishop, knight and castle. And even at that moment a part of the door lock system opened.

“Now the second line” the girl said proud of herself.

Alexander without saying a word, even though he had no idea how the chess pieces were to be ordered, began to carefully inspect the four horses.

“Order it properly, but be careful that you may need it until it's over ...What does this riddle mean?”

“ Maybe it has to do with water.”

"Maybe," Alexander said, thoughtful. When water is in liquid form, you can boil it and it evaporates. The order could be swimming horse, fire spitting horse, swirling horse, and steaming horse.”

Using Fortioris magic, the boy arranged the cubes like that, but nothing happened.

“Something's wrong.”

“The swimming horse can be the first.”

“That's how I placed it,” Alexander said, angrily.

“Yes, I know, but the steaming horse should be next to it.”

The girl also used her wand to arrange the pieces. Again, nothing happened. And probably if it wasn't the pressure of time, Alexander would tell her "see... you weren’t right" and would embarrass her as usual. But this time it was important to find the solution.

“The steaming horse might mean it's cold.”

“Yes…”

“It could be water phases. Icy water, that is the steaming horse because it’s very cold. The swimming horse means liquid water, and that swirling horse may mean that water evaporates ...”

“And the fire-spitting horse changes the water phase,” Elizabeth also supported the idea.

“Fortioris, Fortioris, Fortioris, Fortioris ... and Fortioris!”

Alexander's wand placed the cubes in the order fire-spitting, steaming, swimming and swirling, which eventually opened the door completely.

“How smart I am. I succeeded!” Alexander was happy for the success, without worrying that the merit was common.

The two entered the room, which was according to the map and without looking at it, they headed for the Purple Parchment, proud that they finished the second test.

Elizabeth swam happily like a playful dolphin around Alexander. Even he couldn’t help smiling after such a success. But he signalled to the girl that she had to go to the surface, holding that parchment in her hand.

“We have about ten minutes left,” he showed the girl the hourglass around her neck in a sober voice.

Then Alexander smiled. The girl smiled too, looking at him ... but ... the smile on her beautiful face suddenly disappeared. Something happened.

Elizabeth's face began to turn increasingly red, ending up in a purple shade.

“I can't breathe ...” the girl managed to say, then she started wrangling chaotically like a fish caught in the hook.

Alexander grabbed her arm and began to swim to the surface with all his might, pulling Elizabeth after him.

But just a few moments before he reached the surface, a creature with long tentacles at least as long as a man's body, grabbed and pushed him forcefully into the depths of the water, then tried to run holding the girl tight between his tentacles. The girl could hardly keep her eyes open because she couldn't breathe.

Alexander noticed that the octopus had human face. He also noticed, sadly, that the human octopus could swim much faster than him. Besides, he left a lot of ink behind, as octopuses in the seas and in the oceans do, trying to lose track, confusing the boy.

Hardly had he realized where he finally had to look, when the human octopus and Elizabeth were far away.

The boy also saw a few wizards turned into mermaids. They tried hard to stop that creature, which began to do something unthinkable.

When he saw the girl almost lost consciousness due to lack of air, the human octopus, scared, went to the surface as if his purpose was to save, not to hurt her. He got out of the water simultaneously with Alexander.

Head out of water, Alexander could see in the rush at the surface how that human octopus let Elizabeth go from his tentacles, rising up into the air. When there wasn’t water around him anymore, the human octopus turned into a man with trimmed moustache, wearing a purple cape over an elegant suit. Someone snatched the wand out of the flying man’s sleeve in the blink of an eye.

The pinned down guy looked at the one who now held his wand in his hand.

"I thought it was you ..." said the man who was an octopus a few moments ago, after which his body turned to ash and was carried by the wind into the distance.

Alexander looked in the direction of the man who destroyed the human octopus and saw Lord Tbylisium. The Elf Lord babbled something as he laid Elizabeth on the shores of the Purple Oasis. All eyes were on him and on the girl.

After a few moments Elizabeth began coughing, spitting out a bunch of seaweed and water herbs. Seeing how much stuff came out of the poor girl’s mouth, one could hardly understand how she swallowed it and how it fitted into her little stomach.

The girl moved her eyelids and saw Miss Harmony's face above her.

The woman gently tilted her chin so that the girl could eliminate everything that almost killed her.

“That’s it, my dear ... spit out everything ... Everything.”

When the girl came to her senses, Miss Harmony watched her and smiled at her.

“The power of a spell, my darling. A way of magic to harm, or heal in simple words. A way we, humans don't know much about, but which is a habit for the elves. You were lucky because Lord Tbylisium was here to recite the anti-incantation and save you.”

Miss Harmony looked at Knudlac.

“It might be good to include such a course in Elmbridge school curriculum. These incantations are very powerful and can do much harm.”

Director Eaden Knudlac nodded his head.

Back to life, Elizabeth looked for Alexander. When she saw the boy was safe, she breathed in relief and showed Mr. Knudlac who was next to the girls, the parchment she held in her fist. The fact that the parchment was her hands meant that Alexander would be the one to go on in the contest. These were the rules. Magic knew well who to choose to take part in later ... because she felt tired, quite exhausted.

Knudlac also smiled, but it was because he saw Elizabeth was all right. He asked a few stone elves to pick up Elizabeth and transport her to one of the clinic rooms in the emir's sand cave, where her condition could be better investigated.

The girl looked back as she was carried by those stone elves and saw Alexander congratulated by his friends for having managed to bring the parchment to the surface.

“One more challenge, pal, and you’ll be a real wizard,” his friends congratulated him.

“You’ll definitely do your best and you’ll succeed ... Congratulations!”

Avoiding for a moment the crowd congratulating him, Alexander managed to see that Elizabeth was all right. When he felt the girl noticed him he turned his eyes to further be congratulated, behaving as usual ... arrogant, proud and very immodest. Still, he gave a sigh of relief because Elizabeth was safe.

“Did you have any doubt? I didn't ...,” he said to the crowd around him.

Probably Elizabeth was the only one who saw Alexander who gave impression that his only goal was to worry only about himself and his gain, actually feared for her life.

The girl smiled at the thought that the boy known to everyone as having a heart of stone, was actually a good boy, deep in his soul.

Then she closed her eyes, exhausted after the challenge that was almost the end for her, while the professors and the stone elves looked after her.