With the argument settled, the trio retraced their steps and began heading towards the mansion. At the edge of the forest, Liliana suddenly asked, “So what’s the plan?”

The ensuing silence was heavier than a mountain. Max uncomfortably shifted his eyes while Liliana and Amy had a horrible premonition. Her confidence in her familiar dropping, Liliana hesitantly turned to Max again for a confirmation. “Uh… Max? The plan?”

“Well…” Max scratched his head, a nervous smile on his face. “I do have something in mind.” He tried to explain, “It’s just that…”

“Just that?”

“It’s more of a gamble than a plan.”

“You don’t have a plan?!” Liliana nearly shrieked in disbelief.

“Stop yelling! This is exactly why I didn’t want you guys here. If things go south, I would have found it much easier to escape alone.”

“So when you ‘decided to put an end to this once and for all’, you came here without even a single strategy in mind? Who’s the idiot now?!” Liliana lightly tapped Max on the head while doing a terrible imitation. “This gamble of yours better be worth it.”

“Just… follow me.” Max said, shaking his head, resignation apparent on his expression.

The Minister liked his privacy and kept only the bare minimum number of his men in the mansion. Only a large wall stood constructed along its perimeter acting as the first line of defense against intruders.

As Max considered jumping over the unassuming concrete construct, Amy rushed to stop him. She whispered, “If you do that, you’ll only end up exposing all of us.”

“What do you mean?”

Amy quickly explained, “You’ll trigger a silent alarm the moment you jump over that wall. Among the non-attribute spells, there’s one which is used by practically everyone who can afford it. The spell is capable of silently notifying a designated set of people about intruders on the premises. No loud sounds, so you won’t know until it’s too late.”

Liliana suspiciously eyed Max. “Please tell me that your gamble didn’t count on you being able to jump over the wall.”

Max responded with an eye roll. “Of course not, but I admit it would have helped speed things up.”

“You’re lucky we were here to warn you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even have had a chance to sneak into the mansion.”

His back drenched in cold sweat, Max chose his right to silence, ignoring Liliana’s comment. Despite the general lack of scientific development, thanks to the presence of magic, Asterisk had still come a long way. It was time he remembered that magic wasn’t just limited to combat.

“So now what?” Amy couldn’t help but ask as they slowly trudged past the trees and approached the gate.

“You guys wait here while I go looking for someone.”

“What? Who?”

“Speak of the devil!” Max came to a sudden stop and quickly hid behind the trees. Shushing his companions, he quietly observed the pair of guards. Their shift coming to an end, they were ready to turn in for the night. Max and Liliana were all too familiar with one among their replacements.

Noticing Charles, Liliana looked to Max for a confirmation. “Hey… isn’t that?”

“Exactly the person I was looking for.” Max replied, his lips arching into a wicked smile. Time to cash in that favor!

The girls involuntarily shivered. Pity flashed past their eyes as they took note of his expression and let their imagination run wild. Charles was fated to an unpeaceful night.

“Stay here.” Max ordered. Wrapped in alternate layers of air and vacuum, he suppressed every sound possible as he moved closer to Charles and away from the girls. After mentally confirming the distance, he conjured a breeze, producing an obvious rustling among the bushes.

The unnatural susurrations instantly attracted attention. Closer to the source, Charles volunteered to check while the other guard simply laughed and attempted to dissuade him. “It’s probably just some animal. Leave it be.”

“Better safe than sorry.” Charles replied with a meek smile. Using his sword to probe, he poked around the bushes only to come out empty handed.

Max felt relieved. Since Charles had taken the bait, he dispersed his barriers of air and scuttled deeper into the forest, creating sounds of movement that put the guard on high alert.

Frowning, Charles moved forward, troubled by the fact that he still couldn’t identify the source. A foreboding feeling took root in his heart as he marched on with his sword drawn. It wasn’t long before he heard the friendly whispers, “It’s been a while, Charles.”

Tightening his grip around the sword, Charles adopted a battle ready stance, but sighed as soon as his eyes fell on that familiar yet dreaded figure. A bitter smile crept up his face as he recollected the night he had essentially been beaten into submission. “Max…” His sword at the ready, he asked, “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Really?” Max smirked, his gaze on the sword.

“Well, we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.” Charles explained with nervous laughter.

“Alright, in that case… I’ll get right to it. You owe me a favor and I’m here to collect.”

Flinching at the proclamation, Charles knew, given the time and manner of Max’s approach, that there could be only one thing the teenager wanted. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he responded with silence as he considered his options and struggled to find the right answer.

“Hey Charles!” The guard by the gate suddenly called out. “Everything alright?”

“Ev – Everything’s fine. Just a snake.” Charles hesitated before yelling back. He powerlessly gazed at Max, knowing that he couldn’t bank on any more mercy. Eventually, he steeled his heart and said, “I know what you want, but I’m sorry. I can’t get you inside the mansion.”

“Oh?” Not particularly put off by the refusal, Max asked, “Why not?”

“There is a spell around the mansion. The moment I let you in, I’ll be flagged as the person responsible. I can’t risk inviting the Minister’s wrath when I have no guarantee that you’ll succeed.”

“You seem awfully concerned about the Minister for someone standing just a few feet away from me.” Max nonchalantly replied, “What makes you think I won’t snap your neck right now? You know I can do it. Won’t even take me a second.”

“You could do that.” Charles warily stepped back. “But that won’t help you. Please… try to understand.” He said, “Even if I were willing to risk my own life, I won’t risk my brother’s. The - the Minister… He is a powerful man.”

“Your brother, huh?” Looking troubled, Max ruffled through his hair, smiling at his interlocutor. “Then what if I had the means to guarantee your safety?”

“What? Are you perhaps –” Interrupted by a barely noticeable flash of light, Charles stopped midway. Distracted, he didn’t notice Max’s face crumple. Max had a bad feeling about this. Cursing, he broke into a sprint, his guts screaming at him, telling him about who was responsible. Charles hastily followed along. “You’re not alone?!” He asked.

“Things would have been so much easier if I was.” Max muttered just before the two arrived next to Amy and Liliana. Standing over the second guard, they glanced at Max with sheepish smiles. ‘Sorry’ was what their expression seemed to say.

“I asked you to do one thing, and you couldn’t even do that?!” Max nearly blew his top, desperately modulating his voice.

“We had no choice.” Liliana and Amy replied in unison. They guiltily hung their heads low and attempted to reason. “We were made! It was self defense!”

“Miss Lockwood?!” Charles interrupted. Surprise written on his face, he turned to Max. “You brought her here?!”

Max couldn’t resist an eye roll. “Wasn’t by choice.”

Liliana noticed the Premier Knight and sent an angry glare his way. With her wand at the ready, she warned, “Try anything funny and I’ll set you ablaze before you can so much as draw that sword.”

“I had no such intentions.” Charles awkwardly replied, “I know it doesn’t count for much, but I’m really sorry for what happened.”

“You think a mere apology can make up for what you did?!”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Max’s perfunctory attempts at placating the grumpy mage were a moderate success. While he dealt with Liliana, Amy, now privy to Charles’s identity, shared her friend’s resentment and made her displeasure known.

Uncomfortable and worried, Charles avoided their gaze, nervously wondering what the sixteen year old boy had in store from him. Raising the alarm was an option, but his conscience and instincts were warning him against it. He stared at the trio talking in hushed whispers, feeling like he had to hear what they had to say.

“No way, anything but that!”

“Shush!” Max snapped at Liliana. “It’s Amy’s call not yours.”

“It’s certainly possible with my authority, but I’m not so sure about this.” Amy said.

“Do you have a better plan?” Max asked. His question answered with a grim silence, Max turned to Charles. “Remember that guarantee I was talking about?”

The knight seemed puzzled. “Yes?”

“Well, she’s what I meant.” Max continued, placing his hand on Amy’s shoulder.

“Um… And this is?”

“Someone whom even the Minister can’t touch.” Max explained with a smile. “Duke Walker’s only daughter. She’s agreed to shelter both you and your brother.”

“Miss Amy Walker?!” Charles was struck dumb by the revelation. Vacillating for only a moment, he took a few steps back and hastily genuflected. “It’s an honor to meet you, Miss –”

“Enough.” Amy snapped, “I don’t care about your insincere greetings. I’ve given you my word, so now it’s your turn. Can you or can you not get us in?!”