Wizard Hall Chronicles Box Set

by Sheryl Steines

  “As you wish,” Jason said to his youngest daughter.

  Chapter 3

  Robin placed a world map on the wall of the Wizard Guard conference room. All investigated coordinates were added to the map; North America was filling quickly. In the last three weeks, the United States team alone had investigated thirty portals that led to small markets similar to the ones Annie added to the map.

  “We have Isaak Denberry and Smith James in the southeast satellite. They sent pictures of baby dragons. They also found graffiti along the perimeter wall in this market here,” Robin advised.

  Annie stared at the map as if it could tell her something useful about the markets.

  “Seeing anything?” Robin asked.

  “Just a big old mess. What did your contact say about the coordinates?” Annie asked.

  “I have several contacts throwing out locations. They all claim they lead to the market.” Robin leaned against the table and crossed his arms against his chest. “I honestly thought we’d have more answers. Instead, it feels like proof they’re making fools out of us by feeding us these empty markets.” Robin made notes in his small notebook. “Oh, and Stephenson McKay and Eddy Woods from the Northwest found a disturbing quantity of elf parts.” He walked to the board and noted it on the map.

  “Do you think it’s a market to revisit?” Annie asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m leaving that up to Cham. I’m swamped with Artifact Hall. If it wasn’t for Mrs. Cuttlebrink, I’d be drowning in paperwork.”

  “Welcome to the nine-to-five,” Annie joked. Robin grimaced. “Any suggestions on where to go from here?” she asked.

  Robin handed her a stack of pictures. “These are all of the walls and the graffiti that we have. I’ve numbered the pictures and the coordinating number on the map. You think this might lead somewhere?”

  Annie stared at the pictures. “I wonder if Bucky Hart in Telecommunications can do something with these. Maybe it’s something, maybe it’s not. Can I take them?”

  “All yours,” Robin said. “There’s no rhyme or reason to the portal locations, no patterns.”

  “You might be right about it being a wild goose chase to keep us from finding the real market,” Annie said.

  “It’s a lot of work to hide it this way. So why do that? The last market was what? A thousand years old? Everyone knew how to get in.”

  “The only thing I could guess about that is that they’re hiding something. And it would be big,” Annie said.

  “That doesn’t leave me feeling comfy cozy,” Robin said.

  “The magical markets are nasty. You’ve been out there. I don’t have to tell you,” Annie said.

  “One thousand years. Until Gladden Worchester and that djinn tried to control the market, it was pretty much just a place. Dangerous, yeah, but easy enough to maneuver. They left it alone, and it thrived as a business. This hiding thing, it feels like someone actually has control of it.”

  “If someone does control the market, that’s bad news for us,” Annie said. “Anyway. I need to check the call list and catch a case. If you hear anything else, let me know.”

  “Will do,” Robin said, and they left the conference room together.

  *

  It was Annie’s first full day back at Wizard Hall. She stared in her cubicle at the desk she ignored the day before and sat in her chair. Piles of folders lined her desktop, her inbox was filled, and the stack of phone messages was thick. She moved the piles to her credenza behind her and stared at the phone messages to sort through any urgent business.

  “Well, forget the new call list,” Annie mumbled, looking at the first message from Headmaster Turtledove at Windmere School of Wizardry. She dialed his number.

  “Annie Pearce, how are you?” Fitzgerald Turtledove asked. He was warm and sounded genuinely glad to hear from her.

  “Hi, Headmaster. Sorry to take so much time returning your call. I’ve been out of the office for several weeks,” Annie said.

  “Did I hear correctly? You were in the past?” he asked.

  “Ninth-century England, to be exact. I actually met the original Wizard Council,” Annie said.

  “Well, it sounds exciting. I’d love to hear about it someday.”

  “Maybe someday. So, how can I help you?” Annie asked. Her first thought was that he needed an advanced potions teacher for a school seminar. She scowled at the thought.

  “Well. If I remember correctly, I told you once you should come back here and teach,” he said.

  Like she did the first time he brought it up, she laughed. “Yeah. I remember something to that effect. I still don’t think I’m teacher material.”

  “Well, I would very much like for you to come in so we can talk in person. I have some ideas and plans that I wish to discuss,” he said.

  Well, that’s vague.

  “I’m good for lunch today if that works,” Annie said.

  “I’m glad you said that. Come by. I’ll see you then.” He hung up.

  Annie returned the phone receiver to the base and began to sort through the rest of her files. She reviewed the other messages, made a few calls, and sent emails for the calls that didn’t need her immediate attention. When she finished, she moved on to the folders in her inbox. Some were case files that needed plan approvals; others needed her opinion, and she made notes where she could. Halfway through the pile, she stretched her arms in the air as she stared at the ceiling where a new tile had replaced the old, stained one. With the pile smaller, she glanced at her phone. It was time to leave for her meeting with the Headmaster.

  “Hey, Emerson,” Annie said when she reached the end of the hallway. “If anyone asks, I’m at lunch.”

  Emerson nodded. “How are you?”

  “I’m recovering. I’m fine,” Annie told her.

  No thanks to your family.

  “I’m glad. The Wizard Council wants to charge my grandmother with obstruction,” Emerson said.

  Annie nodded. “I heard that. I’m staying out of it.”

  “I’m not asking you to comment. I thought you should know.”

  Annie nodded and said goodbye. She teleported from the courtyard of Wizard Hall to Windmere School of Wizardry.

  *

  The teleportation location at Windmere was a flat piece of land surrounded by high privacy walls, a mile from the school property. While it was a magical property, it was still a public location just south of the Canadian border in Minnesota.

  Security cameras placed around the teleportation spot captured Annie the moment she landed. She ignored the cameras and stepped onto the ancient stone path toward the school. It curved and undulated along small hills and valleys leading to the fence that snaked around the school property.

  Annie pushed the security button and waited for the security officer to answer.

  “I’m Annie Pearce, here to see Headmaster Turtledove,” she said and was left to wait for a Windmere house elves to let her into the building.

  The elf who eventually appeared was four feet tall with grayish-green skin and a school employee uniform of a white cotton tunic over white cotton pants. He nodded quickly and motioned for Annie to follow. School would be starting within weeks, but the building was currently nearly empty. Annie found the silence unnerving as she took a seat in the corner of the foyer beside an unlit fireplace.

  “Headmaster Turtledove asked to have you wait here,” the elf said. He was not especially talkative; he hadn’t even said his name. Annie watched him walk from the foyer through the employee kitchen door and disappear.

  The school hadn’t changed much since Annie had been here six months ago with Bitherby when they were both hiding from the Fraternitatem. The thought made her shudder as she scanned the entrance foyer that currently resembled an oversized ski lodge.

  She lay her head against the hard stone wall, closed her eyes, and listened to the sounds of the old building. Gusts of air blew through the building, whistling through cracks in the rocks. She opened her
eyes when she heard the distinct sound of steps against the stone. Headmaster Turtledove climbed down the curved stairs from the second floor. Annie stood.

  “Glad you could make it,” Fitzgerald Turtledove said when he joined Annie at the bottom of the stairs. He was relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt over jeans with his long hair pulled back in a low ponytail. He greeted her with a kiss on her cheek.

  “No problem. You’ve piqued my curiosity,” Annie said. He led her down the main school hallway. “Um, lunch is the other way.”

  Turtledove chuckled as they passed several empty classrooms. “Patience, my favorite student,” he said. The stroll through the stone-lined walls brought Annie back to her school days, classes and homework, the flying team. She passed several scorch marks against the wall caused by wayward spells.

  She stopped behind the headmaster at a classroom Annie had never been in before. The headmaster switched on the lights and Annie entered. To her right, a stage was set with a table and a podium. The back wall contained a large whiteboard, clean and ready for use.

  To the left, tables were placed from one end of the room to the other on three levels; the chairs were turned upside down resting on the tabletops. It was a small auditorium that could seat possibly fifty students at one time.

  “You’re still serious about me teaching here then?” Annie asked as she stepped inside. She climbed up one step and stood at the podium, where a syllabus for advanced potion making lay at the center.

  “I’ve always been serious. I heard a rumor and, looking at your left hand, I see that it’s true,” he said.

  She glanced at her engagement ring as it sparkled under the artificial lights.

  “Congratulations,” he said to her.

  “Thanks,” she said sheepishly.

  She turned to the back wall. Under the whiteboard, a bookshelf was stuffed with books, potion vials, mortar, and pestles. She glanced at the tomes. All of them were new, updated materials—and not just of the magical variety kind. She found chemistry, biology, horticulture, and spell books as well.

  “What do you think?” Turtledove asked. He sat on the edge of the stage and watched her explore.

  “Once a wizard guard, always a wizard guard,” she said as she pulled out a large tome of ancient potions. She sat on the floor and searched for potions from the ninth century.

  “Cham will be the department manager of the Wizard Guard within months. You can’t work for him. What are you planning on doing?” Turtledove asked.

  She closed the tome and looked at her mentor. “We’ve been engaged all of four weeks and I’ve been out of town for most of that. Weirdly enough though, we just talked about this yesterday.”

  “What did you decide?” he asked again.

  “I can’t report to him. I can report to someone else.”

  Headmaster Turtledove appeared dejected. “So, you don’t like the space?”

  Annie glanced around the small auditorium. “It’s cozy, it seems well stocked. I’d put a mirror above the table and tilt for the class to see. I assume there’s a potions library or storage for ingredients?”

  He pointed to a locked door to their left.

  “I can’t just quit. I’m always going to be a wizard guard. Regardless of who I report to.”

  Turtledove held up his hand. “What I’m proposing is this: You teach one day a week, a three-hour class. You pick the day. We’ll work around you. But most importantly, I understand you are connected to the Guard. Having said that, I’d like you to liaison between the Guard and the school. What you and Cham did your senior year here, taking your first-year Wizard Guard training here—I think we should do that again. Not just for the Guard, but for law, medicine, zoology. All of it.” He was nearly breathless when he stopped, sounding excited by the prospect.

  “Most schools wouldn’t do that. Why here?” she asked.

  “Because I know you, and I know you will consider the school in this before decisions are made. You’ll give us autonomy yet guidance.” He smiled.

  “I’d have to talk to the Wizard Council. I know they’ve wanted to work with the schools more closely for years. No one agreed to it.”

  “We will agree to it. We don’t have a college system in the wizard world. I mean, law and medicine do have one of sorts. I think we waste the senior year and the first year out in the real world is mostly training that would be better completed here.”

  Annie replaced the tome. “We have students who work in the nonmagical world too.”

  “You help me plan it and we’ll educate them too.”

  She pulled herself up and walked through the seats, sitting in a middle chair across from the podium. The table was scrubbed clean, any graffiti removed and the wood re-stained. “Can I have a few days?”

  “Yes. In the meantime, I had the kitchen prepare lunch. It should be in my office,” he said.

  Annie took one last look at the room and followed Headmaster Turtledove out for lunch.

  *

  It was a surprising conversation that left Annie thinking, seriously thinking, about her future. While she had always wanted to be a wizard guard and had never thought of being anything else, her relationship with Cham opened her up to a world of possibilities she otherwise wouldn’t have thought of.

  Teacher.

  She knocked on Cham’s cubicle.

  “Hey, Annie.” He motioned for her to sit.

  “It’s personal.”

  Cham placed his hand on his cubicle wall and put a muffle spell around them as she sat. When the walls were shimmering in the spell, he turned back. “What’s up?”

  She glanced around the space. “A little overkill.”

  Cham shrugged. “What’s up?”

  “Turtledove offered me a job of sorts.”

  “Really?”

  Annie explained the room, the supplies, the offer to teach advanced potion making. When she finished, she sat back in the chair and crossed her legs.

  “Teacher? Not so far off. You do train new guards. And you do the continuing training. And you train other departments.”

  She held her hand up. “I got the point.”

  “Do you want to do this? We never talked about me taking this job. It happened. I accepted without talking to you.”

  “I told you yesterday, I knew it was coming. I’m good with it. Besides, this might be a good opportunity. I just thought you should know.”

  Cham whipped his palm out, releasing the spell. “Thanks. You’re better than I am.”

  Annie stood up and waved as she left. Rather than heading to her cubicle, she walked to the executive branch and to Ryan’s office. Only the Wizard Council could approve a new department, a new position. She thought she’d start at the top.

  “Hi, Megan. Is Ryan in?” she asked his assistant.

  “Hi, Annie. He is.” Megan led her to his door.

  “Annie! Come in,” Ryan said when he saw them. He smiled as Annie sat.

  “I have something… interesting to talk to you about. Not related to anything else.”

  He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. Annie explained her conversation with the Headmaster. Ryan listened attentively until she finished.

  “That is interesting,” he said.

  “And?”

  “Fitzgerald poses it well. You’d mostly be here. I can create an education department, mostly as a liaison to assist departments in creating programs for students in their senior year. It’s not a bad idea,” Ryan said thoughtfully.

  “It gets me out of reporting to Cham,” Annie said.

  He nodded in agreement. “Is this what you’d want to do?”

  Annie drummed her fingers on the arm rests of her chair. “I’ve always wanted to be a wizard guard.”

  “You once told me you wouldn’t do it if you had kids. Is that still true?”

  Annie took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Yes. I won’t leave them without a mom.”

  “You can’t directly report to a spouse. The policy i
s clear on that.”

  “Kathy can never be in a department manager position because of you,” Annie said thoughtfully.

  “It comes with marriage.”

  “Cham suggested I report to someone else and retain my status as a wizard guard.”

  Ryan chuckled. “That definitely allows you to stay an active wizard guard. I can’t make that decision for you. So again, I ask. Do you want to teach?”

  “I’d be able facilitate training for multiple departments. Ensure all departments have survival training or basic medical care knowledge. There’s stuff that I can do to effect change, to keep witches and wizards safe. I can see this being a good change.”

  As she spoke, she understood what she could do, and all of the changes for the better. It was an exciting proposition to Annie.

  “I’ll talk to members of the Wizard Council. We’ll put it to a vote at the next meeting. You have the experience and qualifications to be a department manager. We’ll see what they say,” Ryan told her.

  There wasn’t much more he could do than that. She said goodbye and headed back to her office to catch up.

  Chapter 4

  It was nearly five o’clock when Annie finished reviewing the last folder in her inbox. While she had made headway, there were still several cases, she needed to follow up.

  She had wanted to review the Fraternitatem of Solomon grimoire and review her father’s notes but was interrupted when Robin Price knocked at her cubicle door.

  “What’s up?” Annie said cheerfully, though she didn’t feel so light and happy inside. It had been a time suck of a day, and she had little to show for her work. She closed her field pack and motioned for Robin to sit.

  “I leaned on one of my contacts. He gave me a new lead. Wanna check it out?” he said when he sat.

  “You know I haven’t seen you in months, close to a year actually, and all you want to do is work, work, work,” Annie said. She shrunk her field pack and stuck it in the hidden pocket on her waistband.

  “It hasn’t been a year!” Robin argued.