Astral Chroma's Arc

Chapter 6 of 7

Astral ran back to her room and grabbed her broom. The council would convene at the hall in twenty minutes, but she had one chance to prove her innocence before they arrived. Master Cornelius had stolen her pigment, and she'd traced the rainbow dust trail all the way to the abandoned mine shaft yesterday. The weathered wooden shack stood at the edge of the compound where the forest began. Snow covered the pulley system above the entrance, and frost coated the heavy doors. Astral pulled them open and peered into the darkness below. A stone bowl sat just inside, filled with ash and bone fragments scattered across frozen herbs. Cornelius had been here recently, preparing something he'd abandoned in a hurry. She lit her brush with a whisper of dawn color and descended the shaft. The tunnel walls glittered with ice as she moved deeper. Her light caught something ahead—a frosted vial resting on a wooden ledge, its contents glowing blue through the crystalline surface. She reached for it, but footsteps echoed from above. Heavy boots crossed the shack floor. The council must have started early. If she climbed out now with the vial, she'd face them alone with no witnesses to confirm where she'd found it. If she waited, she'd miss the meeting entirely and lose her chance to present evidence. Astral grabbed the vial and ran for the surface. The boots stopped moving when she emerged. Master Aurelius stood in the doorway, blocking the light. He looked at the vial in her hand, then at her face. "The council is waiting," he said. "And you have thirty seconds to explain why you're holding stolen property in a restricted area." She held up the vial so the blue glow caught the morning sun. "Because Cornelius hid it here after he stole my colors. This proves he took them." Aurelius studied the vial for a long moment, then stepped aside. "Show them," he said. "But if you're wrong, this ends your case."