School of Magical Arts - New York City Campus Box Set

by Chandelle LaVaun

  I hurried along the sidewalk, walking as close to the sides of the soaring building as possible. There were no stoops or covered entries here, so I nearly touched the outer walls as I walked by. I was trying to be invisible. The street was empty and silent. It was eerie. I wasn’t used to Manhattan being quiet. Up ahead there was an intersection where there’d be street signs. I just needed to get there and look at my map again.

  I glanced over my shoulders to make sure no one was watching me, then I sprinted to the corner. The second I stepped away from the cover of tall buildings a huge gust of wind slammed into me and I stumbled into the crosswalk. I gasped and dove for the sidewalk. The air was ice-cold and stung my face.

  The building on the corner said BATTERY PARK CITY SCHOOL but it also had a little cove where the doors were, tucked away from the weather. I sprinted through the heavy wind until I reached the set of glass doors, then I peeked inside, except there was no one there. It was just me out here.

  And hopefully Landy.

  My whole body was rattling from how hard I shivered. The coat I’d packed for our sleepover wasn’t intended for zero-degree weather after midnight and in my panic, I’d forgotten gloves. I didn’t want to take me hands out of my pockets but I had to check to see if I was still headed in the right direction.

  I huddled in the corner, trying to block the cold, and pulled out my cellphone. The map app I’d pulled up was still open and waiting for me. The little blue dot showed I was standing at the corner of 1st Place and Battery Place. My stomach turned. Please don’t let me be lost.

  After another quick glance to make sure no one was looking, I reached into my coat and pulled out my wand. I tapped it on my phone screen and recited the spell I’d found in my spells book. It was far, far more advanced magic than I was supposed to use. Caroline wasn’t even learning it yet, and she was five years older than me. I’d only been in magic school for a couple weeks, I had no business using a tracking spell without any instruction – I didn’t even know what it said, I barely spoke the ancient language.

  But Landy was out there by herself, and if she was in Battery Park then she was definitely lost. No one went to Battery Park at night. Even I knew that. But that golden arrow lit up my screen, pointing straight ahead into the park. My heart sank.

  Deacon is so going to kill me.

  I didn’t know what I had been thinking. The entire Coven was at school, and so was Koth, King of the shifters. I should have just told them that Landy ran away. Tegan would’ve found her by now. I had no idea what made me go on my own. But it was too late. I was here and I had to find her.

  Before we both froze to death.

  My phone buzzed in my hand with texts from Deacon, but I didn’t read them.

  I shoved my wand back into its spot inside my coat, then held my phone out. The golden arrow was still pointing straight ahead, down Battery Place. Ahead not too far, I saw a line of trees. I was close. I glanced around the empty street…then ran.

  Wind slammed into my face like little pin pricks, but I pushed my arms and dug in deeper with my legs. My thighs burned and my feet throbbed. But I ran anyway. I ran until I saw trees and then the arrow made me turn right. Into the park. I didn’t let myself stop and worry about what I was about to do. The golden arrow led me deeper and deeper into the park, passing rows of trees and benches, and a few bricked pathways. There were sculptures and wooden terraces yet I paid them no mind.

  Come on, Landy. Where are you?

  The paved pathway in front of me was practically pitch black, the moonlight was barely streaming in through the heavy layer of trees. My heart fluttered and a cold chill slid down my spine. But the arrow was pointing me in that direction. I had to go. I took a deep, breath then charged forward without stopping. I followed the path through the darkness and around a corner and then I saw water.

  It was dark and faint, but I heard the rolling of the river and saw reflections on the water from the moon. On the right there was a dark railing that separated the island from the Hudson River. Every twenty feet or so there was a vintage-looking lamp post. On the left were wooden benches — I gasped.

  LANDY!

  Relief washed through me. There she was, sitting on the bench, curled up into a ball. “Landy!”

  She flinched and spun around. When she spotted me, her shoulders dropped and she let out a deep sigh. “You found me.”

  “Of course I did!” I ran up to her then tackled her in a hug.

  “H-how – s-s-s-so f-f-fast?” She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself tighter.

  I held my phone up for a second then shoved it into my pocket. “Magic and I can’t believe it worked.”

  “Well, well, well…look what we have here?”

  I froze. My eyes widened.

  Landy’s tawny eyes filled with pure terror. She took a step back.

  “Oh, don’t go anywhere princess…”

  I turned so Landy and I were side by side…and then I spotted them. Four grown men in dark clothes stood a few feet away from us. They looked like tigers locked in a cage.

  “G-g-g-go away!” I shouted and stepped back.

  The man in front, his black hood hiding his face, shook his head. “Nah…I think we’d rather stay and play.”

  “That’s a nice iPhone there, sweetheart.”

  “Nice jacket, too,” the man in the back said, “maybe I’ll take it.”

  They all took a step toward us, and Landy screamed. I reached into my coat and pulled my wand out, then held it out in front of me. My hands trembled so hard my wand was vibrating and bouncing all over the place.

  “Oh, what ya got there?”

  “Don’t come any closer!” I shouted and waved my wand. Golden sparks exploded from the tip. “Stay back!”

  They moved toward us again so I waved my wand in front of us like a madman. The end lit up like a sparkler. The men cursed and jumped back. I waved my wand left and right, then up and down. The sparks changed to turquoise color then started to pop. The men screamed, then took off running.

  Then we were alone again.

  I spun to Landy. “We have to get out of here.”

  “Please don’t make me go back! PLEASE!”

  I flinched. “What?”

  Landy grabbed my arms and shook them, her eyes filling with tears. “Please, don’t make me go back. Please, I beg you. I just want to go home to Issale.”

  Ah crap. My phone buzzed and a quick glance showed Deacon’s name. We couldn’t stand here and argue. We weren’t safe here. I had no idea what I’d done with my wand before or how to do it again.

  So that left us one option.

  I had to agree that we wouldn’t go back. Anything to get her moving. She wanted to go home to Issale, which meant we needed to get on a train to get there. Once we got on the train, I’d tell Deacon. By now the whole Coven knew we were gone, and the shifter king, too. They were probably already looking for us. All I had to do was get on the train where we’d be safer and let them find us.

  “Come on,” I said and grabbed her arm, then pulled her into a sprint. “Let’s go find a train that’ll get us to Issale.”

  Chapter Two

  Emersyn

  The portal opened up right inside the Yule Ball in the far right corner, a few feet from where Koth and his gang were lounging at a table.

  Tennessee stood right in front of us with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes blazing. He already knew something was wrong. “Tell me,” he growled.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Koth and Chutney sit up straight with their eyes narrowed on us. Crap, crap, crap. One shifter from Issale and we already lose her. Koth is going to kill us. Something in my peripheral moved and then I spotted Heather strolling over with a wide smile on her face. Oh God. Can this get any worse?

  “Oh, Deacon, there you two are! I thought you’d left—” Heather froze. “What—”

  “Come on,” Tegan said in a rush as she grabbed Tenn’s arm and pulled him toward Koth. “
Heather, you too.”

  I started to follow, but Deacon didn’t budge. His face was ashen, and his eyes were distant. He was blaming himself for this when he shouldn’t have. I took his hand in mine then dragged him along.

  Chutney was already on her feet, and even standing she was barely taller than Koth sitting. She looked to Tenn, then to Tegan, then finally to me. “Guys?”

  All of the dragons sat forward in perfect unison without saying a word.

  Tegan cleared her throat. “We have a situation. Deacon’s cousin Amelia has run off on her own—”

  “WHAT?” Heather shouted and turned to Deacon. “What do you mean? Why would she run away?”

  He held his phone up and Heather snatched it.

  “Because Landy ran away—”

  Koth jumped to his feet. “The roof. Now.”

  The other dragons leapt to their feet.

  Tegan snapped her fingers and a white portal box opened. None of us hesitated, we leapt through it like Olympic track and field stars. When we came out, we were on the snow-covered roof of the school. The full moon shining bright over our heads lit up the roof like it was daylight. An icy gust of wind slammed into my face and seemed to flow right through the velvet material of Deacon’s jacket I still had on. I hissed and shivered, then pulled my hands out of the too long sleeves and summoned flames into my palms. Deacon, Heather, and Chutney stepped closer to me.

  I looked up at Koth just as light flashed around him – and then a massive black dragon with bright violet eyes stood in his place. He had to be at least twenty feet tall, if not more. Beside him, I caught a glimpse of Silas’s standard yellow-eyed scowl before he shifted into a pale gray dragon that was only a few inches or so shorter than Koth. Heather gasped and stared with wide eyes. I followed her gaze and found the other guys had shifted into their dragon forms – one brown, one green, one ivory, and the last dark gray.

  Koth snorted and his long tail swished through the air. He stuck his nose up toward the moon like a wolf and inhaled. Tennessee and Tegan walked closer to Koth, watching him closely.

  “He can smell her,” Chutney whispered.

  Goddess, it’s convenient to have her around to speak to animals.

  Deacon nodded. “Do you need something of hers to use?”

  Koth snorted and puffs of smoke left his nose.

  Chutney smirked. “Landy is his cousin. He says he knows her scent.”

  His cousin? Did we know that?

  Koth sniffed harder, sucking the falling snow into his nose like a vacuum. His tail sliced across the roof. Silas stood taller. The other dragons moved closer.

  Tennessee frowned and turned to Chutney. “Something’s happened.”

  Tegan nodded without taking her eyes off of Koth. “It wasn’t good, what is it?”

  Chutney narrowed her eyes on Koth and cocked her head to the side. “He says he smells her…but…what do you mean she’s moving? He thinks she’s on a…did you say train?”

  Tenn and Tegan closed their eyes and their bodies began to glow. The air pulsed with electricity and the snowflakes melted around them. Then at the exact same time, they turned toward the southwest, toward the Hudson River.

  “That way,” they said in unison.

  The dragons all dropped down low and stuck a wing out. I frowned.

  Chutney sprinted toward Koth, shouting over her shoulder, “He says get on, we’ll find them together!”

  Chapter Three

  Amelia

  The train was warm and quiet, but there were a bunch of lights on so that was a relief. I was done running in the dark. The car we’d boarded at the station had about a dozen people on it, so I grabbed Landy’s hand and led her to the next car. But in that one a guy dressed like Santa Claus who reeked of garbage was sleeping across the seats, so we hurried to the next. The third car only had three people inside, but they were all older men and even though they were probably perfectly nice gentlemen who just happened to be on the same train as us, they made me uncomfortable. Especially after what had happened in Battery Park.

  I glanced back at Landy.

  “Next one?” she whispered back, her tawny eyes still wide with fear.

  I nodded and dragged her with me through the next set of doors between the train cars. This time, the car was completely empty. We hurried to the back then settled in the last row. I sighed and leaned against the seat, my heart was still pounding like crazy. Landy pressed her face to the window and wrung her hands.

  “Okay…now that we’re on the train…” I took a deep breath. “Why did you run away?”

  She hung her head and stared at her feet. Her hands were shaking.

  After a minute or so of silence, I leaned toward her and put my hand on hers. “Landy, you can talk to me. I mean, I didn’t make you go back, did I? Just tell me why you ran away.”

  She cringed and shook her head. “You’ll think less of me.”

  “What?” I shook my head. “No way.”

  Then she looked up at me and her tawny eyes were filled with unshed tears. “I just want to go home. I didn’t want to go to school here. My parents made me, and Kothari…he wanted me to come. But New York is so scary—” She shuddered.

  “Okay…okay.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “It’s all right. New York scares me sometimes, too. I can’t imagine what it’s like for you.”

  Landy was from Issale, shifter home country. A place where modern technology didn’t work, the magic of their species prevented it. I couldn’t imagine living like that, and Landy had never known anything else until last week when she’d moved to New York.

  I wished I knew what to say to make her feel better, to make her stay.

  “Thank you for rescuing me,” she whispered.

  “Of course, that’s what friends are for.” I smiled at her. “Can I ask you a question?”

  She nodded, her eyes still locked on the floor.

  I hesitated, not sure if I was being too nosey, but I had just rescued her. “You don’t have to answer, but I was wondering…why did your parents make you come? And why did the king care?”

  She peeked up at me from under her dark eyelashes. “King Kothari is my cousin. Distantly removed, but there aren’t many of us related to him. It’s just me, my brother, my parents, and Finn. There’s no one else in our bloodline. Finn’s parents, well, they died. So Kothari cares about us a lot. I mean, he cares about everyone a lot. That’s why he makes such a great king.”

  “Well, that’s nice—”

  “I haven’t shifted.” She sighed. “That’s why they sent me. We normally shift between age eight and ten, and I’m twelve. And since my bloodline produces kings, we tend to shift early, by age six. Yet I haven’t.”

  “Oh…” I didn’t know what to say to that.

  She smiled sadly. “It’s okay, I’m used to it. Everyone looks at me like that. The royal who can’t shift—”

  “Wait, you’re royal?”

  She shrugged. “Technically.”

  “Is your brother older or younger? Has he shifted? If so, into what?”

  “He’s older. Fourteen…and to make matters worse, he’s a dragon.”

  My eyes widened. “There are more dragons than I’ve met?”

  “Yeah, but not many. Neka almost never leaves Issale, and when he does, it’s under water. Because he’s a water dragon. Then there are four younger ones, fourteen and fifteen years old, my brother included. All dragons join the Guard, the king’s army, the protectors of the species. They were so proud when my brother turned out to be a dragon. And then I can’t shift at all.”

  I frowned. “Is that…common?”

  Her face fell. “No. It’s unheard of. Only me. I’m the only weird one. They were all hoping it was somehow repressed and by going to a magic school it might trigger my shift to happen. But if it didn’t happen when we were attacked at midnight in a park alone, then I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

  Now I really didn’t know what to s
ay. But I had a new suspicion. I wondered if that was why she’d run away. If she’d never shifted, she’d feel like an outcast at a school like SOMA. I would if I were the only witch in the world without magic. I pulled out my phone then paused. I wasn’t sure what to say to Deacon. He needed to know where we were, but I didn’t want him to make Landy go back.

  “At least at home everyone is used to me being a freak so I can just —” she gasped.

  I looked up from my phone and followed her stare to where a grown man had walked into our train car. He sat down in the first row…but he sat sideways. Which was weird. The door opened and two more men stepped into our car. They stopped and stood in front of the guy sitting down. Landy glanced up at me and gripped my sleeve. My pulse quickened. It’s nothing, Amelia. Nothing. Just some guys taking a train home. It’s nothing.

  If it’s nothing, then why are they all wearing matching black outfits? All three of them had the same cargo pants, turtlenecks, and combat boots on. Like a uniform. And they weren’t speaking. No, no, no. This is New York. It could be anything. They could be costumes from Broadway.

  The guy sitting down pulled out something that looked like a compass. He watched it for a second, then nodded…and said something to the other two, but it was in a language I’d never heard before. And he had a wildly thick accent.

  Landy gasped and grabbed my arm. “We have to go.”

  I frowned and looked down at her. “What? Not everyone is—”

  “It’s the Duenill!” she hissed and tried to push me out of the seat.

  “The who?” I asked as I glanced back to the three men. Was it just me or were they watching us out of the corners of their eyes?

  “Shifter hunters!” Landy shoved me. “RUN. NOW!”

  WHAT? I jumped to my feet and dove for the door behind us that led to the next car with Landy hanging on to my arm. Shifter hunters? I’d never heard of such a thing. Oh God. No, this can’t be happening. But the fear pouring out of Landy was enough to make my eyes burn. It wasn’t my place to question her. So I ran.