Chapter 38: Broken Code

With Aaron now trapped and unable to escape, the snake raised its head and went in for the strike.

We watched in silence as the snake's head descended in a slow motion, ready to strike Aaron.

A bolt of anger ran through my body, this didn't make sense. To lose a comrade to a beast monster because of some obnoxious rule put in place by a group of mages who thought so highly of themselves and acted like gods.

The problem was that we weren't gods or even comparable, at least not at this early level of magic. Perhaps in the future when we increased in levels, we could be comparable to gods and as such be forced to bear such responsibilities and follow rules like this one.

Why did we have to lose our colleague to a single serpent when we could easily rescue him, in fact if we had worked together from the beginning, we could have been halfway done fighting the serpents together, or maybe killed enough of them that the rest run off.

I looked at the descending jaws of the serpent and clenched my knives tighter.

Emily saw what I was doing and held her arm in front of me.

"Dont". She said, it was a simple warning, devoid of any extra syllables but it carried the weight of the implication of what i was about to do.

If I stepped in, I would be breaking a sacred mage code and there will be punishment for it. Sёarᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I let out a huff of air, it was just as well that I wasn't a member of the mage academy yet. Maybe if I was part, I would share their sentiments.

"I won't watch a team mate die". I said to her and brushed her hand off and ran at the serpent.

"No, don't interfere you fool!" Liam shouted and ran after me but it was too late, I jumped at the serpent and struck it's head with my mana coated knife.

Hissssss!

The snake hissed and twisted vehemently, it loosened its grip around Aaron who climbed out of it, looking at me like a mad man.

"Are you crazy?" He shouted.

"I'll assume you just told me 'thanks for saving my life". I replied drily and walked off, leaving him to finish off the serpent.

"Why would I do that?" He yelled at me as I walked off.

"Maybe because that's what grateful people do". I snapped back, my head was hot and I felt a well of sadness rise in my chest. With my action, I had probably willingly handed off my chance to join the academy and be a mage.

We would get to the palace and they would report me to the masters, the master would summon me for questioning. I could almost picture them standing around me in a semi circle, eyes blazing with anger as they repeated my alleged crime to me and ask me to confirm if I truly did it.

I could picture the masters, old frail looking men with long white beards. They would recoil in shock and disgust when I admitted to doing it.

"Why did you do it?" One of them would ask, probably a kind master, loved by all his student, one who loved kids and tried to find a way to be kind towards young mages. "Why did you break a sacred code deliberately?" He would ask, wanting to give me a chance to redeem myself.

What would I say then?

Would I tell them I did it because it was the righ thing to do? That I thought the rule was a stupid one especially for lower ranked mages?

I imagined the old mage who asked me the question hoping I'd take the olive branch, looking at me with sympathy in his eyes, and a bit of regret that I wasn't smart enough to rescue myself from the hole I dug.

"You just put us in a very uncomfortable position". Liam's voice cut into my thoughts, he looked at me with a hint of pain in his eyes.

I nodded and faced Aaron and the serpent.

Aaron had just been rescued from the jaws of the serpent and quite literarily, of death. He looked at the serpent writhing on the floor, it was obviously in pain and blood leaked from the slight gash in its head.

He glanced behind him to see the boy who had saved him, breaking the rules of the academy.

He sighed and faced the serpent. "You caused this". He said and pointed his hand at it.

"Fire blanket". He said and flames rushed out of his hands, forming a thick spread of fire that wrapped around the serpent, burning it into a crisp.

He walked back to join the group with a little uncertainty.

I almost smiled when I saw him walk back to us, his usual cocky swagger was gone and he walked with a little bit of humility.

"The rule is stupid". I said to all of them. "This is war and it's more important than an arbitrary rule".

"The rules are put in place to protect us and protect others from us". Zoe argued.

"All that doesn't matter right now does it?" I asked. "We're not the biggest threat to ourself right now, the beast monsters are and if we let one of us die now, that's one less mage that will fight with us on the battlefield against them".

"He has a point". Emily said to Zoe, Liam nodded.

"The point is, in battle we're supposed to help each other out and have each other's backs, regardless of the situation". I continued. "If you plan to punish me for that then go ahead".

Aaron stepped forward and walked up to me, he was taller than me so when he placed his hand on my shoulder, he had to lean in slightly.

The words that came out of his mouth next surprised me.

"I agree with you".