The woman was rather unfriendly. Or perhaps she simply didn't want to share any information with William. Either way, he sat at the table with her nonetheless.
"We'll be living together here at the academy for a while, so I think it's important we have a good relationship. Otherwise, things will get boring. Don't you agree?" William said.
She laughed.
"Are you hitting on ? Don't worry, we won't see each other much, so there's no reason for this 'great relationship' you're talking about."
Her lunch was nearly finished. She stood up from the table and said, "I still need to buy a few things in town. So, if you'll excuse ."
She left the paynt and walked away without another word. William was perplexed. He had thought he might be able to extract so information from her, but apparently she wasn't soone easy to deal with.
William left the restaurant a few minutes after her. He followed her for a while, from a distance of course, and noticed that she did indeed leave the academy and head into the city.
"Does she really have sothing to buy there?" William wondered.
It wouldn't be strange—won often liked to shop for many things. Though usually, they didn't spend their own money on such purchases.
While watching the academy's main gate, William noticed sothing curious. A few minutes after the mage left, Brian also exited the school. The way he looked around, as if afraid soone might be watching him, was telling.
The coincidence was too much. William wasn't stupid. He knew very well that the two had left the school to discuss sothing in private.
"Do I try to follow them?" William thought.
The idea was tempting, but this was an even better opportunity to head into the academy's underground and speak with the Lich. It would be difficult to find another chance as good as this one.
So William decided to take the risk. Brian was outside the academy, the mysterious woman as well, and the headmaster had been gone for so ti. In other words, the only people left were the students and the guards. That wouldn't be a problem for William.
Now acting as headmaster, even if only temporarily, ant he had greater access to places others couldn't go. The entrance to the underground was in an area neither guards nor students ever visited.
It was relatively easy for William to reach the Lich again. This ti he moved as quickly as possible to ensure he had enough ti before Brian and the woman returned.
The Lich was surprised to see him.
"What happened?" the Lich asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
What the Lich said was funny, considering he was a skeleton.
"The person who captured you—was she a red-haired mage?" William asked.
The Lich looked confused at the question.
"No, she wasn't. Why?" he asked.
William was confused as well. He didn't know exactly what was going on. He shared with the Lich what he had seen in Brian's mories, and also about the mysterious mage who had suddenly appeared at the academy.
"Wait a second," the Lich finally realized sothing. "Can you describe this woman's face again?"
"She's tanned, with red hair, light eyes, a small pointed nose. Her body is slender, seductive…"
"Stop right there," the Lich said with a laugh. "I don't need all the details running through your mind. That woman is actually our friend."
"What? Friend?" William asked, incredulous.
The way she had spoken to him was the opposite of friendly. On top of that, she had said herself that she wouldn't have contact with him during her stay at the academy. So how on earth was she their friend?
"She probably doesn't know you're part of the cult. She's a mber of the council who rarely gets involved in matters like this. The last ti I saw her leave wherever she stays was many years ago. She doesn't even know you exist," the Lich said.
"I understand your point, but why the hell didn't they tell her about my presence here?" William asked.
The current leader of the cult, who obeyed the council, should have ntioned that to her. It made no sense for him to keep William's presence at the academy a secret.
"No idea. But look, if she went out with Brian, you can be sure she's studying him—trying to see if she can get information about the barrier. But as you saw, soone else created the barrier, so Brian won't be able to remove it."
"Yes, but he can at least tell us who made the barrier. I couldn't see the person's face, but I'm certain he knows."
"Makes sense. Well, I think you first need to go talk to her and tell her you're part of the cult. That way, the two of you can help each other in this endeavor."
William decided to return before it was too late. As soon as he got back, he went to the main hall to hold the eting with the students. They were already waiting for him.
The delay was brief, only a few minutes. No one minded. William stood on the stage and shared everything he knew about the events that were unfolding.
Of course, only what he could reveal. The students were disappointed that they didn't get concrete information about why the teachers had abandoned their posts, but they were also glad that William at least had the decency to speak with them.
Not even the real headmaster had done sothing like that for them.
During the speech, William noticed Brian and the red-haired woman. The two were there to listen as well, but now they were separated.
"At least she didn't attack him," William thought.
After the eting ended, William once again tried to speak with the red-haired woman. She grew very angry when she realized he was following her across the academy courtyard.
"Damn, are you in love or sothing? I already told you I don't want to talk."
William laughed. "Not in love at all. I just think we have sothing in common. What do you know about the council?"
It was only a test, and from the woman's surprised reaction, it seed she was indeed the one the Lich had suspected her to be.
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