13 A race against time (1)

Right now Master Drumm, Master Minoru, Master Wong, Winston and the Ancient One is in the room of infirmary where Kaecilius is sitting on the mattress bed. At that moment Mordo and Marcus entered the room and looked at Kaecilius.

-He looks alright to me.

Marcus said sneering.

-Well, physical wounds may be healed but wound to his over-inflated ego shall take some time to recover.

Winston said sarcastically. Wong added,

-I warned him that it is not the witch who is strong but the dark sceptre itself fuels her power. This arrogant fool disregarded all of us.

Minoru asked,

-That is least of our concern now. We don't know where the witch is headed and what she intends to do with the sceptre. What do you suggest the Ancient one?

-Before that, we need to address a very serious issue that recently has come to light.

Mordo said visibly disappointed with Kaecilius for some reason.

-What is it, Master Mordo? Is it more important than a rouge practitioner stealing a relic of darkness and who knows what she intends to do with it?

Asked the Drumm.

-Apprentice Marcus and Winston will be able to explain better than me.

Mordo answered looking at Marcus.

-Well, it turns out, Master Kaecilius here hiding a nasty secret here. So, Master Kaecilius, will you speak about it or I shall?

Kaecilius looked straight towards him for a few moments and answered,

-I do not know what you speak of. And even if it is secret we should aware that we have full right to protect our secret in Kamar Taj.

-Have it your way then. Winston shows it to them.

As Marcus said that Winston gave a nasty grin hearing that as he said,

-We are doing it at last? Oh, I am going to enjoy it.

He took out a jade from who knows where and a small magic array appeared in front of him without and hand sign or incantation. He placed the stone in the array and light started to come out of the array creating a holographic picture of a room. Soon, strangely enough, a man could be seen moving into the room with a young apprentice. There was no sound, but it could be seen that Kaecilius is convincing him about something while roaming his hand all over the apprentice's body improperly. Everyone frowned at the scene playing out over the array. Kaecilius paled at the sight though. He shouted,

-What's the meaning of this? It is an illusion, that's not me.

-We would be the judge of that, Master Kaecilius.

Spoke master Minoru coldly. The scene continued to play out. After a while, what everyone feared started to happen as Kaecilius forced himself on the apprentice by using a hypnotizing spell. Kaecilius roared,

-That's not me. It's a false accusation.

As he tried to get up, Marcus wanted to restrain him by a binding spell but the Ancient One beat him to it as a spell diagram appeared from her hand and chains of light shot out from it, binding Kaecilius and gagging him.

-Simple as it seems, the projection spell is at a grand-master level as it requires concentration at four different fronts while capturing an image, master Kaecilius. It is only natural that you don't know of it. And you don't need to question it's legitimacy as I am present here. Master Drumm, Master Minoru, please escort Master Kaecilius to the retribution room.

Kaecilius continued to release muffled sound as the two masters took him away. Marcus asked the Ancient One,

-What is going to happen to him?

Taking a deep breath she answered,

-He is going to be judged and passed sentence according to his crime.

-Which is?

Asked Winston. Looking at him, she answered,

-If his crime is proved we are going to strip him of his ability to draw in dimensional energy and banish him from Kamar Taj until his death.

Winston, unsatisfied with the answer, said,

-Meh, he shall be getting off lightly if you ask me.

-I am not the one who made the rules, Winston. I am incapable of giving him a harsher punish for a crime of this weight.

-I think we should think about the witch now.

Mordo interjected.

-Yes, Master Mordo is right. What do you suggest, Ancient One?

Asked Marcus.

-Our first priority would be to find out what she intends to do with the dark sceptre.

Answered Ancient One after thinking something. Surprisingly, Winston answered,

-I have an idea about that. According to the book of Morgana, the Dark Scepter fuels it's the host with power not only by devouring physical light but also devouring light inside the heart of any sentient living being, plunging them into doubt, fear, despair. There is also a ritual mentioning that if a hundred of thousands of people is sacrificed to it, the user shall attain unparalleled strength. The drawback is, it corrupts the user's mind turning him or her into a mindless beast slowly if the user cannot ignore its enticement towards darkness.

-So, you think she is going to attempt that ritual, Winston?

Asked Mordo with disbelief. This time Marcus answered,

-It's pretty obvious if you ask me. Why else would anyone want such a dreadful piece of a relic which harms its user?

-Where do you think she is going to attempt the ritual?

Asked Mordo a little fear plastered across his face. Ancient one conjured a spell which showed a map of London.

-If I were her I wouldn't go anywhere else, as I would have a city full of people right where I am.

-I agree. She is most probably do it right in London. The question is where.

Said Marcus.

-We could probably find her in half an hour if Marcus and I search for her actively.

Winston proposed. Suddenly as if the ancient one remembered something important, she asked hurriedly,

-What did the book say about the suitable time of the ritual?

-It is time when darkness on land reaches its peak. Which should be midnight in common sense...

What time is in London right now?

Winston asked as a realization dawned upon him.

-It's 11.50 pm.

Marcus answered with a pale face.

-We don't have time.

Mordo declared as they ran towards the portal connecting to London.