El raised her face to the cold rays of the dawn sun. She was sitting at the terrace, holding her mate tea in one hand and her notebook in another.

- Those are no magical treatises, right pixy? - Deas laughed and sat down on the bench near the redhead.

- Nop, that's my English Language Planning and Policy. I have a midterm test soon. - the young woman took a big sip of tea.

- Ah, right. When do you even have time to study?

- Wrong question. The right one is: do I even study? The answer is: no. Will I have troubles later? Absolutely yes.

- Pedagogy and languages. You are following Arcada's path, though.

- Yes, unfortunately, no university in Zürich has a program in torturing and intimidating. Otherwise, I would have followed my other teacher's path.

- Wasn't your pedagogy degree about that?

El narrowed her eyes and snorted with displeasure.

It suddenly smelled like dough from an open window. Arcada was also already awake. This giant, chubby man was unexpectedly deftly moving through the kitchen preparing breakfast.

The redhead smiled seeing her teacher in such an unusual role. She was significantly better at cooking than the old wizard but didn’t want to interrupt him. That was right, Arcada also had several degrees in pedagogy. Before joining the council, he was the headteacher of the Council's Academy of Magic for many decades. El knew, only taking care of other children this big man could escape the pain of his own loss and find some peace.

- You can wake the kids up; breakfast is almost ready. – the huge man pointed at the redhead with a big wooden spoon.

- I can't believe, did I also deserve a breakfast? - D said with a sneer.

- Sure. I'll put your bowl outside, near the porch.

Nevertheless, Arcada didn't make his threat come true. He sincerely wanted to but El was against it. In the end, all six were sitting at the table, enjoying freshly cooked pancakes.

- So, what did she teach you? - Arcada asked strictly looking at the kids.

- Well...some telekinetic spells, shield spells, some potions... - Nick started listing.

- Explosion spells and elementary elemental magic! - added Sam.

Arcada raised his eyebrow and glanced at his ward with some reproach.

- I see the most important knowledge for kids like them.

- Well, it's for them to be able to protect themselves. - El shrugged.

- Ada and why are you here? Don't you learn this all at the Academy?

- Not in my group. We only have advanced magic. - the little witch replied.

- What do you mean, your group? Those are basics! I've included them in all the programs back in my years. - big man seemed to be surprised.

- Well, a lot of things have changed...- Ada got slightly confused.

- Unforgivable unprofessionalism! - huffed Arcada.

- Anyways, do you already know what to do with this bad guy? - Sam asked enthusiastically.

- We've tried a lot of spells and potions already, so far nothing has worked. I guess it is time to start considering our variants involving dark magic seriously... - El said thoughtfully.

- But dark magic is forbidden! It is too dangerous! - the little girl's eyes filled with fear.

- Why? - Nick asked carefully.

- Dark magic is very strong, gives you incredible powers but it gets inside your mind and can turn you into a blood-thirsty uncontrollable monster. And it often requires sacrifices. - explained the young woman.

- That's why we keep you three here. - chuckled Deas.

- I meant now non-human sacrifices! - El looked at him strictly.

- That's why you shouldn't use dark magic, once you go there, there is no way back! - Ada gazed at the young witch.

- Meh, don't be so dramatic. I've been using dark magic for centuries and I'm still stable. - Deas pronounced proudly.

- D, you've been stably horrible for your whole life, that's no indicator. - laughed the redhead - But speaking seriously I've also used dark magic already. There are some ways to keep it under control.

- How? - Sam seemed to be interested.

- Calm down, little knight. One needs to have a very strong will for that. You would have to almost die and return back, go through mediations, starvation, isolation, and training. Only if you manage to understand yourself and your inner demons to an absolute degree, you can try dealing with dark magic. - explained Deas.

- And even then, from time to time voices in your head will keep pushing you to madness. And when it happens, you will need something that will always remind you why you must stay. - added El.

- Good, what other dangerous and unnecessary information you two are going to share with these children? I swear, I wouldn't let you teach even a stone. - Arcada shook his head and laughed.

In fact, even the old wizard didn't completely know how The Monster above all monsters managed to master dark magic. El was the only one whom Deas taught to use it. Even his allies, although they were unpleasant, cruel people in all respects, none of them had ever used dark magic. Their leader had never seen enough willpower in them.

And one indeed needed enormous willpower for this kind of wizardry. El would never forget how D tested her back then before letting the young woman try herself in dark magic. Those were horrible, difficult months that she spent in a small tent far away in the mountains. Her new teacher left the witch with only a few loaves of bread and locked her there with a magic barrier. The redhead thought that frost, hunger, and fear will make her go insane. Her fingers and toes turned blue from cold during the worst nights. The whole her body was in agony in such moments. Sharp pain was killing her both physically and mentally shackling the girl’s body from the inside. But El was too stubborn to give up to her weaknesses.

Back then, when she returned from her exile, Deas was waiting for her in the main parlor of his castle. He pointed at a chair in front of an old, big chessboard, inviting the witch for a game. Since that day the two played chess every time they met. Years had passed but El still clearly remembered the conversation they had during one of such games:

- Who taught you to play chess?

- Arcada. He taught me almost everything I know.

- Ah, right. I’ve heard he is good at chess. That makes me wonder, though, why are you so bad then.

- What else do I need before starting with dark magic?

- Don’t hurry too much. You need a reminder. When you will get lost and the voices will try to confuse you, you need something that will help you see the way back.

- Something like what?

- Something meaningful.

- And what is your reminder?

- A coin.

- Why? What does it mean to you?

- My Terra was destroyed by people who longed for those golden coins. We were just a source of enrichment for them and when the time came, they tried to get rid of us. I keep this coin to remind myself, I have no right to get lost until I revenge all of them.

- Is revenge the only thing that keeps you here? That’s an endlessly sad reason.

- Well, think of a better one for yourself.

- Hmm… I will take this. The black queen. It will remind me that I have no right to fail my teachers. Arcada and you. I must return to play chess with both of you again.

- That’s a stupid reason. You will fail. Checkmate, by the way.

She didn’t fail, though. El kept the queen and had never fallen for the voices in her head. At least, so far. Sometimes she was woken up in the middle of the night by frightening, ominous whispers. Sometimes those whispers made her cover her ears and cry whole nights long. But the promise she gave to D was still stronger. The young woman knew, she needed to stay for her beloved ones, she had no right to disappoint them.

Now she also needed to stay for the kids. The witch felt that she was supposed to protect them. For a second El wondered if Arcada felt the same when he found her.

- There is one ritual… It will take time and we will have to look beyond the death, but it may work out. - Deas elegantly leaned his head on his fist.

- Is it something I wouldn’t approve? – Arcada gazed seriously at the young man.

- Hmmm, yes, it is.

- Good, then it can probably work. – concluded the old wizard – What do we need for it?

- Well, there is quite a list. We will need a potion and some artefacts for a ritual and yes, one of those monsters. Importantly, alive. If one even can call this condition “alive”. – D air-quoted the last word.

- You are not bringing this stuff to my house. Terra Solitudinis is already not that much Solitudinis anymore. – El glanced at the crowd sitting in her dining room. – I do allow horrible criminals, old wizards, and children but no pets.

- We can keep one of those creatures in my dungeons at Terra Terrorem. I would anyway suggest conducting the ritual there. There will be way too much dark magic, we won’t be able to hide its traces here. We will attract much less attention if we do it in the forbidden dimension.

- If you are sure, that it is safe, I can help you with the potion. I am very good at it. I don’t want any senseless war because of my grandmother’s mistakes. - Ada gazed at her friends very seriously.

- I guess my brother would like to go monster-hunting… - Nick looked at Sam who was already actively nodding – But I think being alive we are more useful. So, we also would like to help where we can.

- Let’s see. Deas, you will make a list of all we need. You and El will take care of the ritual involving dark magic and we will help with the preparations. – Arcada commanded the whole team.

- Well, first of all, help me bring those three to their schools. – the redhead smiled at her teacher pointing at the kids – And then we will see in the evening.

Going to school was surely not the top priority of the trio anymore but they decided not to say it out loud in the same room with a former head of the Academy, a certified teacher, and simply a very scary man. All six finished their breakfast and left Terra Solitudinis agreeing to meet again later.