Chapter 140 140. The Paper

Chapter 140 140. The Paper
Isolde and Drake woke up early; they didn't know how long they would be gone. "We need to grab some books and bring them with us, Drake. If we are gone for a bit, having books on specific creatures and there with us might help with our mission." Isolde said.  

They hurried to get ready and to the library at Thorne Castle. They each took three books, shoving them in the backpacks they were bringing. "I don't know if we will be gone as long as you think. Can't we geotravel back every night, so the day is just searching for one to snatch?" Drake asked.  

"No, the best time to hunt creatures is at night. Drake, come on; we were attacked at night. Think about it. Plus, during the day we will be resting and studying." Isolde said. "I am hoping it is just a few days."  

"What about food?" Drake asked.  

"We will grab nonperishables from the kitchen, obviously."  

Drake nodded, and they made their way there; they were trying to leave before the castle roused from slumber. Malachi instructed they leave first thing in the morning, and being gone before he found them would be ideal. Not to mention, neither had told Cassius nor Millicent what they had been ordered to do.  

Drake knew his mother would stress and try to get them to take things they wouldn't need for their task. Drake just hoped it was short. Hunting sounded dreadful, though he knew how to do it on account of going on a few hunts with Cassius via horseback. It was all very posh, and what he and Isolde were doing was not going to be that.  

The servants were moving around. Seeing the headline, Isolde asked if she could steal their paper. They nodded and handed it over. "We need to go before the sun rises," Drake commented. Isolde nodded, and they slipped out. Isolde wished she could stop by Lydia and tell her they were leaving. Drake noticed her looking back at the castle in the direction of Lydia's room.  

"I told her to send for Hugo and Felix; Thorne Castle is the safest place for them. Their parents will probably come with them." Drake said, offering some information. Isolde nodded, and he asked if she was ready. When she told him, "Yes," He pulled her to them, and they vanished. They reappeared where the school train would drop them off. "We need to get out of the open." Drake hissed.  

She nodded; they moved, trying to get out of the open. "I think we can enter the woods over there; we won't need to go up to the rebuilt Academy." She looked where Drake pointed, and it was across a wide-open space. They took off running into the thick trees; there was a lot of underbrush. This wasn't like up by Arcane Academy. There was no trail, and the thick underbrush had thorny plants.  

They were so far off the mark of where they knew they were. "This is the whispering wood, but the academy maintains it more." Drake hissed. Isolde agreed they were in the woods now, but it was wilder than the section that was closer to the school. "I think we shouldn't try to get close to the school," Isolde said.  

"Yeah, but Ashford would want the creatures close to meet with them; wouldn't they be congregating closer to the grounds?" Drake said.

"Can't he geotravel to where they are? Why would they be living close to the school?"  

"Well, I think we should start where we first walked together. Our snakes said they saw one, remember, so we should start with what we know. Plus, no one will be out there during the day; they will be in class." Drake said. Isolde groaned but agreed, and they made their way toward the newly rebuilt Arcane Academy.  

As the sun began to rise. Isolde pulled out the paper. She stopped reading when she saw the front page. Drake noticed and came over to read over her shoulder. "They are blaming us?" He said in disbelief.  

Isolde gulped. The attack on the Nexus and the mundanes were being blamed on the Wraiths. It wasn't even about Malachi; the article said that Isolde and Drake were organizing the creatures, and that Malachi was the leader of the Wraiths but teamed up with them to take down the Mundanes as well. It alluded to Isolde's mundane history: that she was Malachi's general and, as his student, she had been manipulated.  

It also blamed her for the Arcane Academy being burnt down. Isolde flipped to keep reading, finding out Ben had been exonerated, and it painted her and Drake as generals for Malachi's Wraiths. That they should be stopped, and that the Nexus was doing everything it could to get to them.  

"Will they attack Thorne Castle?" Isolde asked nervously.  

"Even if they want it, it will take weeks for them to break through wards; my father and mother, as well as I and even you while you were in your coma, strengthened them," Drake said.  

"How was I of any help? I was unconscious."  

"Vials of blood. I don't think my parents will step out of the ward now, though, based on what we just read. You and I need to make sure we are not captured by any means; our blood could be used to take the wards down, and it isn't just our family at the castle."  

Fear ran through Isolde; how had everything gone to shit so quickly? Where the fuck was Lucifer? "But they could take down the wards even without our blood, right?" She asked, hoping Drake would say no, they can't.  

"Yes, but it will take them weeks to be able to do it. The minimum is two weeks, but most likely four to five weeks, but I am pretty sure it would take even longer than that. The wards at Thorne Castle are old and use dark craft to be so strong; there aren't that many wielders who could undo it. Most of the dark wielders, like yourself, are inside, and they won't want the wards broken through."  

"They can still leave, though they aren't locked in there for their safety, right?" Drake nodded. "Maybe we should sit and read the whole paper before we go; it is better to know everything," Drake suggested. Isolde agreed, and they found a spot against a tree. They each took sections of the paper and took a break to find out the news.