CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

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All the students lean over the rail, eager to catch a glimpse of the Guardians

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All the students lean over the rail, eager to catch a glimpse of the Guardians. Not me, no sir, no need to hang over a perfectly good railing. You can't even see the floor from up here.

Four robed, hooded figures walk onto the platform near the equator with their heads down. They're wearing all four colors of the Elemental Houses—Green for Gaia, Light Blue for Zephyrus, Turquoise for Atlas, and Red for Helios. I suppress a smile, pleased with myself for actually remembering them all.

"In order to repair, strengthen, and maintain the Aegis," Arielle says, "Guardians who are masters in each of the first four Elements must work together. In tandem, they will select one segment of the Aegis and will compose a new magickal arrangement in order to either fortify or repair it."

A magickal arrangement? Ah. Now "Hall of Arrangement" makes sense. Guardians are like conductors in a magickal orchestra with those wands of theirs. I like it. It aligns well with my own brief glimpses of whatever magick really is... golden strings, vibrating notes in a grand symphony.

I close my eyes briefly, trying to connect with that golden web of magick, but I can't sense a thing. There's only that ever-present hum.

I bite my lip in disappointment and watch as all four hooded figures step up to their platform's railing. The Helios Guardian sets down something that looks like a small box. Then all four of them pull their wands from their robes and begin waving them in unison. The hum in the air intensifies, and goosebumps pop up along my arms.

The Aegis Globe seems to jolt, shimmer, and spin a little faster.

Suddenly it stops moving altogether, and a short length of glowing purple ley line lifts away from the Earth. The students beside me gasp, and I squint to try to see better.

It looks like they've somehow cut a small segment of the Aegis out and are bringing it closer to the platform for inspection.

The Guardians perform some kind of joint spell directed at the ley line segment, and the hum grows louder and louder, until I'm struggling to keep myself from putting my hands over my ears. It's grating on me—so intense, I'm starting to feel sick.

I covertly glance at the other kids, but they don't seem bothered by the hum. They're just staring at the Guardians with rapt attention.

The Guardians have finished whatever they were doing with the segment of line that's hovering in front of them. Now they're waving their wands at the box the Helios Guardian set down. A small orb rises from the box, and together with the ley line segment, they both rise in the air until they're floating high above the Earth.

The ley line and purple orb are at eye level with us now, so I can see it all more clearly. The originally purple ley line segment has taken on a bright rainbow shimmer, and the small glass orb beside it contains a swirling, purple smoke. It seems to be darting around in the orb... like it's alive or something.

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