hurled some dangerous nonsense from his lethal arsenal at the mage. Anticipating trouble, I strengthened the shadow dome, turning it into an almost impenetrable magical shield. But it turned out to be unnecessary.
Struck by the enchanter’s spell, the janitor collapsed lifelessly to the floor. Altair and I exchanged glances. Had we just so easily subdued a powerful mage who nearly destroyed our world?
– Go poke him with your stick, I suggested to the dragon.
– It’s not a stick, it’s a staff! the teacher protested. – And anyway, you need to, you go!
– Can’t, I’m holding the shield, I replied guiltily.
The enchanter snorted disdainfully but didn’t argue. Emerging from under the dome, he cautiously approached our fallen foe and timidly prodded him under the ribs with his stick. Sorry, staff. The mage on the floor didn’t react. Growing bolder, the dragon crouched next to the janitor and made several hand movements, apparently using druid magic.
– He’s unconscious, Altair Ivanovich stated in surprise. – It all turned out to be much simpler than we thought, right?
Indeed. Too simple. But even better. I waved my staff, dissolving the shadow dome. And I was about to cast a binding spell on the destructor-janitor, but everything suddenly went awry.
A powerful blow from behind knocked us off our feet. My head spun, images flashed before my eyes, and it felt like consciousness was being sucked into a vortex. But it all stopped as abruptly as it had begun.
I lay on the floor, staring at a guy with beautiful green eyes. Interesting, where did he come from? Weren’t there just five of us? Though, I had seen him somewhere before. Definitely seen. But where?
The realization came unexpectedly. I was lying on the cold stone floor, looking at myself. But how could I be both there and here? Had I been knocked out of my body? I remembered a similar trick from the last shamanic war. My body stirred clumsily, awkwardly. Our gazes met, a spark seemed to pass between us, and my body screamed. I had no idea I could yell so loudly!
But what exactly had happened? My mind was working slowly but surely. I extended my arms and closely examined the slender female fingers. It became clear. Astral displacement spells. Our friendly group had been body-swapped. And apparently, I was in Asya’s body. My hands involuntarily slid over my chest… Yes, this was definitely Asya.
– Quiet! Zheka unexpectedly barked at me. Or rather, someone in Zheka’s body yelled at mine. How complicated everything was…
To my surprise, my body quieted down. That was good.
– Who among you is Seva? growled pseudo-Zheka angrily.
I think I know whose body he ended up in. I modestly raised my hand. Or should I say, she raised her hand?
– Seriously? the dragon laughed. That’s offensive. He has a green mohawk, and he’s laughing at me.
– You’re in my body! Kazimir yelled. Was that directed at me? And here I thought Asya had ended up in my body, otherwise, who was screaming like that?
– What’s happening?! I cried out again. Well, the other me, who’s no longer me. – Give me back my body!
Oops! He’s yelling at Zheka! Or rather, the dragon… I’m completely confused now. So, I’m in Asya’s body, the dragon is in Zheka’s, Asya is in Kazimir’s, and Zheka is in mine. I think that’s right. Which means, logically, Kazimir should have transferred into the enchanter’s body. By the way, where is he?
– Kazimir is missing, I voiced aloud. – Where is that scatterbrain again? We asked him to stand guard!
– Who knows, shrugged dragon-Zheka. – You’d better tell us how to swap bodies back.
Good question. Too bad I don’t know the answer. I’ve heard of such a spell, but I have no idea how to reverse it. The enchanter quietly swore. Apparently, he understood from my look the complexity of the situation. Yes, we were in a bind…
The dining hall was overcrowded. Students were chatting, joking, eating, and completely unaware that something terrifying was happening right next to them. Namely, I – the Guardian of Ancient Knowledge, a powerful mage, a master of ten orders – was walking around the magic academy in a woman’s skirt! Not to mention that a freshman was sitting in the director’s chair, and a pensioner dragon was strutting around with a green mohawk.
I sighed wearily. What had I learned in these few days? Practically nothing. There was no information about these vile astral displacement spells in the library. On the bright side, I saw Asya naked, which, in principle, was also a good outcome. Plus, I learned how torturous it is to wear tights. And how awful it is to walk in heels. And how annoying it is to comb and wash long hair. And how infuriating bras are!
In short, I learned a lot of new things. And for the first time, I felt weak. Not physically, no. Asya turned out to be a rather mediocre witch, her staff didn’t suit her at all, and half of her internal magical channels were clogged. How she managed to cast spells at all, I couldn’t understand.
I couldn’t use ninety percent of the spells while in her body. Even the simplest weaves worked only half the time. Meanwhile, Zheka in my body was doing great. In these days, he almost destroyed half of the academy’s classrooms. He recently used all my power to lift a pencil off the floor. And he did. Along with the floor and all the students in the auditorium. In short, he’s a fool…
Pushing away my half-empty plate, I scanned the students. They were so carefree, so happy. The teachers, on the other hand, were clearly nervous. Maybe they sensed the change in magical fields? Or were they actually concerned about the disappearance of a colleague? The seat to the right of the director was still empty. Where on earth had Kazimir in the dragon’s body disappeared to?
***
The gentle pre-dawn silence enveloped the ancient castle. I stood frozen near the window, watching as the sun’s rays peeking over the horizon habitually dispersed the twilight. I couldn’t sleep. Either due to the realization that I might remain a girl forever or due to the premonition of impending doom.
Kazimir was gone. So was the steward. We had scoured every dark corner of the castle, but to no avail. The ritual was drawing near, and there was nothing we could do. It seemed I had lost this battle even before it had begun.
– Asya! Uh, I mean, Seva! The enchanter is calling everyone urgently! – Zheka, who had comfortably settled into my body, burst in on me.
We jumped up and hurried to the dragon. A small flame of hope was kindling in my heart. Could he have found something? Maybe we could switch bodies back? Or had he discovered the villain-steward’s lair? In any case, we had to hurry.
As soon as we crossed the threshold of the enchanter’s office, he rushed toward me.
– I’ve figured it out! – the dragon exclaimed joyfully. – I know how to buy us time!
Now, this was interesting. By my calculations, we had only a couple of hours left until the ritual. What had he come up with?
– The Veil of Despair can’t be penetrated even by its creator, which means he’s still in the castle, – the enchanter continued without pause. – We just need to move the castle somewhere else. Far away from the power concentration.
The logic in the teacher’s words was definitely there. And I even knew how to do it, but… I had absolutely no energy for it. All my strength was with Zheka, and I shuddered to imagine what such sorcery might result in his execution.
But once again, we had no choice. Nor did we have time for reflection and calculations. I nodded to the dragon, grabbed Zheka by the hand, and dragged him to the center of the room. The enchanter understood without words, grabbed the chalk, and quickly began