A Life Beyond by Mark Church (e book reader txt) 📖

the cast, some might only be able to hold it for a few seconds, whereas some may be able to hold it for a lot longer which helps with how far it will cast' sighed the Professor as he calmly set himself again,

'Now boy…' he said as he turned back to look Harvey straight in the eyes 'in that box on the floor is something I need you to pick out and use for me',

'Oooo...kkk??' replied Harvey as he lifted the lid on the box to reveal a huge rock sitting in the middle which he duly picked up out of it, 'is this it??' he asked as he turned back towards the Professor,

'Yes boy that is correct...now what I want you to do is throw it with all your might towards me ok!!' the Professor said confidently as Harvey stared at him blankly,

'Are you sure sir??, I mean I don't fancy hurting you, I am actually a good shot you see!!' replied Harvey as he looked down at the rock, feeling the weight of it in his hand 'It's really heavy too!!',

'I promise you that nothing bad will happen, you have my word, now throw it at me boy as hard as you can!!' the Professor began muttering to himself as Harvey wound his arm up and unleashed the stone from his hand which zipped through the air towards the Professor, heading right for his face until he shouted ‘REPELIS’, the rock seemed to stop in mid-air inches from the Professors face before falling to the ground making a clattering sound on the wooden stage. The children whooped and clapped all around the hall at what they had just witnessed, even Harvey stood there mesmerised,

'H...how did you do that??, that was amazing!!' he spluttered as the Professor just stood up with a slight smirk on his face and addressed the class,

'Now children..you will all get the chance to practice this spell along with many other protection spells which will take place throughout the year, in each of your rooms an individual book will sit, and with every class you attend with myself then the spell we perform that day will appear in it so you can practice of your own accord, but it will only appear at the end of the class. So what I have just shown you is the most basic of protection spells which I expect you all to master at some point and this boy...Henry wasn't it….will now demonstrate his casting ability for us to see' the Professor looked right at Harvey who had whipped his head round so fast he nearly lost his balance on the stage,

'Err...Ha..Harvey sir, its Harvey and I don't think I can do what you just done...I mean. I’m not magical or anything!!' he protested as he raised his hands up towards his chest but the Professor reassured him softly as he stood there,

'Do not worry boy, I have seen something in you, you will be fine' as he felt a hand on his shoulder Harvey listened as the Professor whispered the words of the spell for him to cast 'just relax your mind. Feel it flowing through you like a river, let it control your senses'.

Harvey shut his eyes and breathed slowly and puffed out his cheeks as he spoke the words in his head over and over again as the Professor stepped back towards the edge of the stage again,

'That's it boy...free your mind, feel the energy building inside you…' Professor Deveraux bent down and picked up a smaller rock that was sat in the corner of the box on the stage as he looked at Harvey who was muttering the words of the spell to himself still,

'Now….ROCK!!!!' the Professor shouted as he threw the smaller rock in Harvey's direction, Harvey screeched out loud like a banshee as his eyes stayed shut tight,

'YAAHHHHH….' he shouted, too scared to open his eyes as he expected to feel some sort of pain from the rock hitting him but he felt nothing so he popped open one eye carefully,

'Huh??...' he said as he saw the rock floating there right in front of his eyes as if under his spell,

'Wh..What just happened' Harvey asked 'did I just do that??'

'Why yes Henry...that was all you, I told you I could feel something inside you, no pupil has ever been able to conjure a spell of that strength so quickly before...I am mightily impressed',

'Th..Thank you sir. But my name is still Harvey!!' as he let go of his concentration and let out a huge huff,

'Yes yes. A minor detail boy, so children as you can see it can be performed by anyone willing enough to let it take over their body and soul' Harvey stood there wiping his brow of the sweat that had formed on it as the Professor turned around to address the class and secretly showed them the bigger rock in his hands 'Just one more try…' Professor Deveraux said wickedly as he spun around on the spot and shouted once again giving Harvey little time to cast the spell,

'ROCK!!!' the Professor put everything into the throw as Harvey cowered in front of him but somehow he had managed to cast the spell again, his eyes were squinting this time as he managed to see the huge rock shooting off past the face of Professor Deveraux and stop with a bang against the far wall and land on the floor below.

'Hmm...Interesting...very interesting' he said as he stroked his beard gingerly 'it seems you are stronger than you think boy'

'Wh..what do you mean?' asked Harvey as he stood there open mouthed as he noticed the rock had shot across the room and was slowly spinning on the spot at the base of the chairs, which then caused him to fall to his knees as if completely drained of energy now.

'It seems you casting area is larger than I thought it would be!!, you seem to be able to protect over a very large area for someone so new!!' the Professor said with what sounded like a slight worried tone in his voice, the Professor turned his back away from Harvey and picked up what looked like a large wooden walking stick by the side of the stage which he duly banged on the wooden area. The door swung open and Kaley appeared,

'Ahhhh Kaley…' the Professor said 'can you please approach the stage for me if you please, I need an errand running'

'Yes Professor, what do I need to do?' she asked as she stood in front of the Professor who leant forward and whispered into her ear quietly.

Harvey was still trying to get his energy back as he sat there breathing heavily to himself when he could overhear a few words of what Professor Deveraux was saying to Kaley, words like ‘speak to the King’ and ‘something not right with…’ but that was it, he slowly got back to his feet and coughed, Kaley hurriedly made her way out of the door and could be heard running off down the stone corridor.

'Is there something wrong sir?' asked Harvey as he dusted himself down,

'No no my boy everything is fine' replied the Professor with a nervous smile aimed at Harvey 'now let's get you back to your seat so I can carry on with the lesson, thank you for your help today, you were...a complete surprise', the Professor clicked his fingers causing Harvey to disappear once again in a puff of smoke and reappear back at his seat,

'STOP DOING THAT!!!' Harvey shouted out as he flopped back in his seat with a sweat on and his ears ringing constantly.

So as the Professor carried on with his lesson and keeping one eye in Harvey's direction he allowed every pupil to step down onto the stage and attempt the spell he was trying to teach them, some were more confident than others while others still needed more coaching, the Professor then split them into twos due to the huge number he was faced with which seemed to go better as the children began to relax and cast some excellent protection spells of their own, Daniel though was still looking on in semi amazement at Harvey's ability to cast his spell,

'I still can't believe what you done Harv...that was amazing!!' he said as Harvey sat in his chair still feeling the effects of his reappearance,

'I..I don't know what happened Dan..It was like I wasn't in control or something!!' Harvey replied with a confused sounding tone,

'No...what I mean is you can't even make a sandwich properly, so for you to somehow do whatever it was you just done was mad!!' laughed Daniel as he slapped Harvey gently on the arm, Lillie just sat there looking stunned too,

'Wow Harvey, I must say for the first time ever I am speechless...In a good way I mean' said Lillie who was able to recognise something that might just help them stay safe here in Erwin.

So as the lesson continued Daniel and Lillie got to practice the spell under the watchful eye of Professor Deveraux who had been filled in on the importance of Daniel's presence here at the castle, he was one of the Kings most trusted teachers and his most reliable ally from ‘The Circle’ as his task was to protect the last of ‘The Bells of Peace’, he was the watcher of ‘The Overgaard’ and controller of the Book of the Silent so he was one of the most respected members ever seen at the castle, so when he noticed something in the eyes of Harvey he knew that there was something not right and he was duty bound to pass on his findings to the King as the safety of Erwin was the single most important thing to him.

'REPELIS' shouted Daniel as he raised his arms up just as Lillie threw a small stick at him which duly hovered in mid-air in front of his face before falling to the ground, he smiled at Lillie as he stood there arms aloft feeling rather pleased with himself,

'See told you I could do it sis!!' he said as he blew a raspberry at his sister who had the hump because she wanted the stick to hit him on the nose,

'Lucky more than anything Dan!!' she replied angrily 'but don't worry you won't stop the next lot!' and with that Lillie launched a whole handful of sticks in Daniel's direction but he was wise to it and had already cast the spell, each stick pinging off in different directions just as Professor Deveraux walked past,

'Ahhhh, very good there...Daniel isn't it?' he smiled

'Yes sir, Daniel Carter' he smiled back 'and this is my sister Lillie' as he finished what he was saying he was hit on the side of the face by one of the sticks Lillie had been holding,

'Oh hahaha that's too funny' she laughed doubled over, tears running down her cheek as watched Daniel rubbing his cheek gingerly,

'Owww!!!!, that really hurt you idiot!!, now look what you've done, bet that's left a mark!!' Daniel cried out as he rubbed his cheek harder,

'Now Lillie that wasn't very nice was it' the Professor replied, cutting her a look that stopped her in her tracks 'I would appreciate an apology for your brother please!!',

'Oh that's so unfair!!, he started it sir!!' Lillie replied trying to shift the blame onto her brother,

'Well I only saw what you just done so if you please!!' the Professor asked again 'I won't ask again...the next time you will be ejected from my lesson and will be dealt with accordingly',

'Humph' she sighed 'all right all right!!!, jeez I'm sorry for having a bit of fun!! Daniel I'M sorry for whacking you in the face and all that…' Lillie shrugged her shoulders,

'There that wasn't so bad was it' replied the Professor 'now Daniel I would like you to pick up the sticks by your feet and it is now your sisters turn to cast the spell'

'You ready sis?'