Scholomance 1

by Logan Jacobs

  “Laxo,” Vanessa muttered with her hand raised again.

  Sweeny crashed down onto the stone floor, and the other witches stifled a laugh.

  “Oh, sorry about that, Sweeny,” Vanessa said. “I should have warned you first.”

  “It’s fine, Professor,” the scarred witch grumbled as she slowly stood up and dusted off her knees. “I’m fine.”

  “Good.” Vanessa smiled as she tossed back her long, raven hair. “Now, return to your partner.”

  Sweeny nodded and slowly walked back to our group. She stood next to Akira, and we all looked at Vanessa.

  “Well, do I have to spell it out for you?” the professor scoffed as she threw her hands up in the air. “Pair up and practice. Make sure you both recite the spell at the same time, palms up. Whoever is the stronger one will overpower the other, so stay sharp and focused.”

  We nodded, and I faced Vesta as she tied back her long green hair and furrowed her eyes in my direction.

  “Don’t take it easy on me,” she hissed.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” I grinned.

  We both raised our palms, and I steadied my feet. My eyes never left hers as I breathed in and focused. I could feel a blanket of dark energy surrounding me, and I welcomed it. It seeped into my pores and filled me up, and I smiled before I was ready.

  “Conligo!” we both shouted at the same time.

  Purple lightning emitted from both our hands, and the two bolts met in between us with a crash. The two lines of electricity were now fighting each other, so I pushed with my mind and focused all my strength into exerting as much force as possible into the spell.

  When I saw Vesta’s face, I knew she was struggling. Her silver eyes were squinting from the bright purple glow, and I could see beads of sweat dripping down her forehead. Her feet shifted as if she was trying to prevent a strong wind from knocking her over, and she continued to fight, but my power was beginning to prove to be too much for her to handle. My bolt was slowly eating away at hers and moving closer and closer to her body. Finally, her mouth dropped open right before her arm dropped to her side.

  That’s when the bolt hit her and coursed through her entire body. The lavender-skinned witch trembled, just as Sweeny had, and her silver eyes filled with confusion and fury as she stood still as stone.

  “Well done,” I heard Vanessa say in a low voice.

  When I looked around, Akira had overpowered Sweeny, and Morgana had beaten Faye. I turned to look back at a paralyzed Vesta, and I could tell she was beyond pissed off.

  “You may release them,” Vanessa said with a smile.

  “Laxo,” I said and waved my hand.

  As soon as Vesta was released, she breathed in a sigh of relief and nearly collapsed onto the ground, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes as she struggled to breathe.

  “Bastard,” she muttered before she pushed past me and sat down.

  I shrugged it off and returned to my seat next to her.

  “Well, to all those who passed the binding hex, well done.” Vanessa clapped. “To the rest of you, I suggest that you practice on rats before the exam tomorrow.”

  I heard Vesta groan next to me, and then she placed her head into her hands. I knew she was embarrassed and defeated, but I only played by the rules. What would happen to her during the final if she couldn’t even complete a class exercise?

  I didn’t want to concern myself with her wellbeing, but I didn’t bear any of these beautiful women ill will. They were the ones all stuck up about me being in their school. All they had to do was be nice, and I’d gladly work with them. Hell, I still wanted to save them all during the final exam. They just wouldn’t let me.

  Maybe after I confessed to destroying the Blood Pact, I’d stand a better chance of protecting Vesta through the final.

  But only if she let me. If she refused to join me, then there was nothing else I could do. She was the only one in charge of her own fate.

  “Now, while hexes may be all fun and games,” Vanessa continued the lesson, “there are plenty for you to learn, and you do not have a lot of time to learn them all, so I will show you one more before we move on to curses.”

  The professor bent down and pulled a lily from underneath her desk. She stared down at the beautiful flower and then glanced up to look at the class.

  “Now, this one is one of my personal favorites, so observe.” Vanessa waved her hand gently over the flower and said a simple spell. “Glacio.”

  Frost started to spread from the bottom of the stem and move upward toward the petals. The lily looked like a flower that had been caught in a morning frost.

  The class clapped, and then Vanessa pulled out her wand again with a sly grin.

  “If you think that was impressive, watch what one can do with a wand,” she said. She then flicked the wooden rod in a circular motion over the lily and whispered the same spell.

  This time, the entire flower turned to glass. She tapped the transformed lily with the end of her wand, and then it shattered into hundreds of pieces all over her desk.

  “See how much more powerful you’ll be once you, or rather, if you pass the exam and acquire a wand?” she questioned. “You’ll feel unstoppable, I guarantee it.”

  Vanessa tucked the wand back into her robes and then folded her hands as she stared at us.

  “Now, a curse is no walk in the dark wood,” she said with a deep frown. “This will be the most challenging endeavor to accomplish during the final exam.”

  Vesta adjusted in her seat, and I could hear her rapid breathing from here. The entire room filled with a heavy silence as Vanessa gathered supplies from a nearby armoire. It reminded me of the first class I had with her, and part of me couldn’t believe time had passed by so quickly.

  The professor collected a jar of herbs, a tongue, and other ingredients.

  “Now, tomorrow morning, we will inform you exactly on what must be done to complete the final exam,” she began. “You will have to find these ingredients as you coordinate through the test.”

  She lifted a jar of yellow herbs up into the air and twirled it around under the dim light.

  “Can anyone tell me what this is?” she asked.

  “Marrow?” Vesta practically shouted.

  “Yes.” Vanessa smiled. “And this is acquired from what?”

  “Bones,” the green-haired witch recited.

  “Correct.” Vanessa nodded. “When you kill your enemies in the exam, be sure to collect at least one bone and a tongue to use for the curse ingredient. It will be your final challenge.”

  We all nodded as she set the jar down.

  Next, the professor snapped her fingers, and then a scrawny young woman appeared from the smoke. She was trembling, and her wide eyes were filled with fear and panic. Her stringy black hair fell over her forehead as she rocked back and forth, chains were wrapped around her ankles and wrists, and she wore a filthy white robe.

  Vanessa quickly cut the tongue from the jar into bits, mixed the chunks of the organ with the bones, and used her finger to stir it all together. She then sprinkled dead rose petals into the cauldron before she licked the remains off her finger.

  Finally, she placed her hand over the cauldron.

  “Illuminana,” she whispered.

  The cauldron lit up and started to bubble. The captive woman began to mumble something in another language, and it sounded like she was praying as she continued to rock back and forth.

  “Est puer periit, nunc veterescent,” Vanessa recited as she closed her eyes.

  The young woman started to shake and then whimper, and I watched closely as her hair began to turn from black into snow white. Her skin started to wrinkle, and she shrieked when she brought her hands up and stared down at her now withered skin. She was aging to the point of death. Her skin sunk into her bones, and she slowly started to fall down to the floor. She collapsed first to her knees, and there was a loud crack that followed. Finally, she was nothing more than a skeleton. A corpse fell down to
the ground, and only bones and white hair remained underneath the white robe.

  “That was an aging curse,” Vanessa explained as she looked over us with a blank expression. “Fascinating, I know, but it requires immense mental strength. Collecting ingredients is simply not enough.”

  We all nodded.

  “Now,” she said before she tossed back her long, dark curls, “I’m not here to coddle you and teach you everything. You must learn through example and extensive reading. So, if I were you, I’d get as much studying done as possible. However, you will need to be alert and fresh-eyed by dawn, so you should just focus on the binding hex and ensure you have mastered it. Especially if your partner overpowered you today. May Satan guide your way.”

  No one made a move, and the professor impatiently clapped.

  “Class is dismissed,” she urged. “Go.”

  Everyone reluctantly stood up, but I lingered by the doorway.

  “What is it, Cole?” Vanessa snapped.

  “I’ll need a textbook if I want to get all that extensive reading done,” I replied with a raised brow.

  “Ah, right,” she muttered as she rolled her eyes and went to her desk. She retrieved a copy of the textbook and returned to me. “Here. I always seem to forget about you, Cole.”

  “So it would seem,” I said with a dry smile.

  She held onto the book as I tried to tug it away from her grip, but her blue eyes bored into mine, and there was deep resentment in them.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, and I wondered if her familiar told her that I’d stolen the last copy of the Blood Pact.

  “Don’t overestimate yourself out there,” she growled.

  “I won’t.” I smirked as I took the book from her.

  I left the room with Vanessa’s eyes glued to my back, and then I headed to the study hall and quickly read the book. Hexes seemed relatively simple to memorize, and I wasn’t too worried about them. I learned how to take away someone or something’s voice and how to instantly break a spine. The hexes were easy, it was the curses which were a little trickier.

  So, I spent the afternoon deeply engrossed with my book, and I was growing bleary-eyed when I heard a commotion coming from the doorway.

  It was my group, so I slammed my book shut and headed over to them. They were in a tight knit circle, seated around a small, dark round table, and they rocked back and forth in their chairs, clearly nervous and on edge.

  “It’s no use, we’ve tried the library and Vanessa’s office, and the pages were gone,” Akira wailed.

  “We are totally and completely fucked,” Vesta groaned, but they all stopped talking as soon as they saw me.

  “Did I happen to overhear something about a book and some missing pages?” I grinned.

  “Fuck off, Cole.” Sweeny scowled.

  “Alright,” I laughed, “I can fuck off … but it just seems like you are having problems finding that spell I told you about.”

  The five of them stared at me in silence.

  “It was you!” Akira screeched as she pointed her finger at me. “You bastard, ass hatted son of a prick! You tore out the pages, didn’t you?”

  “Maybe?” I’d been waiting for this moment for a long time, and the look of outrage they all wore was too goddamn priceless.

  “Fucking Cole,” Sweeny growled, and she bared her sharpened teeth at me.

  “If you want to live, I suggest you come and meet me in my room at midnight. Then I’ll perform the ritual.” With that, I smiled and turned my heels on their flabbergasted and furious faces.

  “I’d rather die than be bonded with you,” Akira called out after me.

  “Me, too,” Faye agreed. “I’d sooner die than call you master!”

  “Well, if that’s what you want!” I yelled over my shoulder. “So be it.”

  Their fate was in their own damn hands. Just like mine.

  It was every witch for themselves.

  Chapter 18

  I was finally back in my room, alone, and able to fully concentrate.

  Well, almost. I still wondered in the back of my mind whether or not the witches would accept my offer to work together. Part of me wanted to see them beg for my help, while the other half actually harbored a small soft spot for them.

  It was a very minuscule spot, but the feeling was still there. The idea of watching them being torn to pieces by a monster or burned at the stake did not fill me with pleasure. I guessed that even after all the shit they gave me, I just didn’t want to see them die.

  Not if I could help it.

  I sighed, shook my head, and continued to study. All my textbooks were splayed out across my desk, and I was reading as much as I could. A few hours into the night, a profound and overwhelming exhaustion started to take over my body and mind. I’d been reading for hours now, and I knew I should heed Vanessa’s advice. As much as we refused to see eye to eye, I still thought she had a valid point.

  If I stayed up reading everything into the early morning hours, it would drain me dry and lead to an inability to think straight during the exam. I needed to be able to plan and act with haste and at full capacity.

  There was no way I would fail this exam due to exhaustion, not after all the studying and hard work I’d accomplished. So, instead of forcing myself to keep going, I gently shut my books, stretched, and yawned. Then I unbuttoned my shirt, tossed it on the bed, and was about to take off my shoes until I heard a hard knock on my door.

  For a moment, I was surprised, but then I smiled to myself. I knew exactly who it was. It had nothing to do with my skills of premonition, I just knew those hard-headed, stubborn witches would show up eventually.

  Even if it took this damn long.

  When I pulled the door open, every witch aside from Sweeny was staring at me with desperate eyes and quivering lips. They were all incredibly beautiful, but I could tell this ordeal had worn them down to their wits’ end. Each of them not only looked pitiful and hopeless but also exhausted and entirely worn out. Dark crescent shadows were stamped underneath their eyes, and everyone’s hair was a complete tangled mess. Their clothes were also wrinkled, as if they’d been sleeping in them for days.

  I doubted they’d been getting any sleep at all, though.

  I waited for someone to say something, but the witches just continued to stare at me. There was a mixture of contempt, rage, and hope that filled the air around them. I could sense it, and I knew they were hesitant to ask for my help. I understood their hesitance, but I was growing impatient myself. I still needed to sleep, and they were just standing there like a group of beautiful statues. I waited, and yet, none of them moved or even opened their mouths to say one fucking word. I did notice, however, that they were all focused on my bare chest, rather than my face.

  “Is anyone going to say something?” I taunted.

  Akira pushed Vesta in front of the group, but they still remained deadly silent. Vesta snapped her head around to probably shoot a glare at Akira, but the dark-haired witch didn’t seem to care. She simply mouthed the word “speak.”

  Vesta turned to look at me again, and she was clearly defeated.

  “Fine,” Vesta grumbled, and her bright silver eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot. “We’re here to ask you … to ask … we need--”

  “The Blood Pact?” I finished for her, and I leaned against my door frame with a smirk. “Yes, I sensed that.”

  “So … will you help us?” Akira asked as she craned her neck. Her usual tone, which was harsh and authoritarian, now sounded desperate and weak.

  “I don’t know,” I teased. “Should I?”

  “Cole, please,” Faye sighed as she pushed a strand of red hair out of her freckled face. “We need you, and I’m sure you know it pains us to admit that out loud … but we do. We will accept you as our master.”

  “She’s right, Cole,” Morgana added with wide blue eyes. “Please don’t make this anymore degrading or difficult than it has to be. You won. Okay? We don’t want to die tomorrow. Please
help us.”

  “Hmmm,” I mused as I tapped my foot on the wooden floorboards. Then I stared at each witch for a long moment before I finally broke into a broad grin. “Fine. I’ll help you. Sit in a circle on the floor.”

  The women all released long, drawn-out sighs, and I gestured for them to come in. They settled down onto the floor and sat cross-legged in a circle. Vesta was the only one not yet seated, and when I arched a questioning brow at her, she approached me. Then she stepped up on her toes to reach my ear and whispered.

  “Can you please put on a shirt or something to cover yourself up?” the lavender-skinned beauty asked.

  “Why?” I grinned. “You’ve seen a lot more of me than this.”

  “Yeah, but it’s a bit … distracting.” Her cheeks flushed a deep plum color.

  “Let’s just take a seat, shall we?” I ignored her. “It’s getting late, and we all need rest, so I suggest we get this over and done with.”

  Vesta nodded and averted her bright silver eyes.

  “Fine,” she agreed before she pulled back her long, sage-green hair and wrapped it up into a bun. Then she took a seat in between Akira and Faye, and when I looked at each witch, I rubbed my hands together.

  “I assume Sweeny will not be joining us?” I questioned.

  “No,” Morgana sighed. “I begged her, I really did, but she’s just too damn stubborn. She hates you.”

  “You all hate me,” I snickered.

  “Not as much as we want to live,” Faye grumbled.

  “I figured.” I shrugged.

  As cold as it might have been of me, I didn’t really care what happened to Sweeny. She’d been aloof, well, even more distant than the other witches had been. I understood they didn’t trust me or welcome me into their world, since I was completely different from them and clearly more powerful.

  Why, though? I still hadn’t figured that out yet, but I had a feeling that if I survived this exam, I’d learn more about my past.

  At least that’s what I continued to tell myself. Hope was a strong motivational pusher for me. It was like the finishing line. As soon as I passed this deadly challenge, I’d finally figure out who I was.