Orion gave me a worried look, but I shook my head.
"I'm okay," I reassured him, trying to catch my breath.Damn. This spell causes some serious magic drain.
"How did you shift?" Ms. Arcadia asked Arielle, looking astonished unlike Othello who was still looking around.
Arielle rolled her eyes, turning to face them. "Can we ask questions later? My Mistress is on the verge of death with her lovers because some idiot put darkness in her locker!" Arielle screeched.
I snickered; Orion smiled while Finn chuckled softly.
"Your familiar has character," Finn whispered in my ear, still holding me.
"Agreed," I replied.
Othello walked through the barrier, his eyes went wide at the sight of the frozen snakes.
"Are you okay, Ms. Rainbow?" Othello asked immediately, his concerned eyes scanned me up and down.
Arielle walked through with Ms. Arcadia who gasped upon seeing the darkness-tainted snakes.
"Of course she's not okay! She had to summon me just to get you guys to pass through a barrier. Someone better have an explanation as to why there are snakes in my Mistress' locker." Arielle huffed.
I could imagine steam coming out of her ears.
"Forsaken. How...impossible!" Ms. Arcadia stated, her voice barely audible.
"Can we get rid of them quickly? I can't keep this spell up for long," Orion admitted.
I noticed the beads of sweat that began to form on his forehead, one rolling down his pale face.
"Gladly," Ms. Arcadia announced. She knelt down, pulling out a dagger from her high knee boot.
"VANQUISHA LAVORA!" she commanded; anger laced her words as she sliced the frozen snakes in half. The top half of the five snakes didn't even reach the ground, fading into a dark cloud.
Othello raised his hand. "PURIFILLA," he chanted.
A burst of light blinded my vision; Finn pulled me into an embrace, my head cradled against his chest to shield my eyes. I waited till I couldn't feel the light magic anymore, then opened my eyes to see the darkness was gone.
I glanced around, surveying the barrier to make sure there wasn't even a speck of darkness in the area.
"When did this occur?" Othello asked.
"A few minutes ago. I was about to open my locker when Orion stopped me. Finn arrived and created the barrier to hide and seal the hall off from whatever was inside and Orion froze them in place after opening it," I explained. I felt rather weak and was thankful Finn was supporting me.
"I'm switching back," Arielle announced. She didn't wait for a reply, immediately shifting to her smaller bird form. She flew to my side, landing on my shoulder and began rubbing her head against my cheek.
"I'm fine, Arielle. Stop worrying," I reassured weakly.
Othello frowned.
"Mr. Charm, carry Ms. Rainbow to the nurse's office. Mr. Meadow, are you okay to walk?" Othello asked.
"I'm fine, sir," Orion replied.
Othello nodded, turning to Ms. Arcadia.
"Take them to the private nurse's office. I'll be there shortly. I'm going to call the other Council members to inspect the area and go over the surveillance footage," Othello ordered.
Ms. Arcadia nodded.