Untouchable Witch: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (School of Necessary Magic Raine Campbell Book 7)

by Judith Berens

  The half-Ifrit nodded. “No problem. I’m ready whenever you are.”

  With practiced ease, Sara arced the small seeds away from the group and up the beach and they burst into a tangled web of vines against the night sky. William raised his hands and gritted his teeth, his palm out. A jet of flame burst from his hand and he coated the vines with sweeping gestures. Soon, fire covered the plant lattice, a burning display that lit up the night.

  Philip grinned and followed up with a rapid shower of silver sparks that rained over the burning tendrils.

  The kitsune pointed at the web. “That’s my take on those little snake fireworks. I used to love those as a kid.”

  Raine laughed. “I like it whenever there’s a burn restriction, and they’re all, ‘Hey, you can still use snakes.’ Boring, but yours is awesome.”

  “I live to serve.” Sara bowed.

  Adrien scrambled to his feet and raised his hands. “I have something both our countries can appreciate. We conveniently share the same flag colors.” He shouted his incantations and blue, white, and red orbs hurtled upward, whistling as they ascended. Several seconds passed before they exploded with matching colors.

  “Nice, Adrien,” Asher said.

  Everyone waited for a few seconds until the remnants of the display disappeared.

  Raine sniffed at the air. “It’s kind of strange to me, now that I think about it.”

  “Why is that?” Sara asked.

  She pointed above them. “Our magic doesn’t produce the kind of smells you get with normal fireworks.”

  Cameron wrinkled his nose. “Good. I hate those.” He nodded meaningfully at her. “But stop stalling and let’s see what you have, Raine. You wouldn’t let even me see you practicing. So impress me and them with the power of the leader of the FBI Trouble Squad.”

  Raine laughed. “I might like investigating trouble, but Evie’s better at magic than me. Still, I have a little something nice.” She rose slowly, her wand pointed up, and murmured a complicated series of incantations while she made several precise movements with her wand. A glowing glyph appeared above her, then another. Days of practice and planning now came to fruition as the magic built in the air around her.

  Professor Powell arched an eyebrow. “Maybe I should have had you all shield yourself before we began. I see some of you made plans to go above and beyond what I expected.” He grinned. “Good.”

  Several more glyphs appeared above her until they surrounded her in a circle, and sweat rolled down the side of her face. She took several deep breaths in an effort to stabilize the complex flow of magic around her. If she’d attempted to pull this off during a confrontation, she would have lost control quickly, but the lower-pressure celebration suggested that she might be able to pull it off.

  Several more seconds ticked by as the glyphs pulsed with power. She fed more magic into them until their light grew blinding.

  A dozen white balls rocketed in rapid succession into the sky and traveled far higher than Adrien’s earlier dual-nation patriotic display. They crackled and hissed rather than whistled.

  Her first orb exploded in an expanding ring of white light. The next produced another ring, which overlapped and lingered for a few seconds. Soon, the sky above was filled with bright expanding rings.

  The other students clapped.

  “Nice one, Raine!” Cameron shouted.

  Philip stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.

  Asher gave her a broad grin.

  Raine took a few deep breaths and sank to her knees. “That took a lot out of me.” She wiped the sweat off her brow. “I didn’t think I could pull it off. In practice, I never managed to control that many of them before the spell collapsed.”

  Professor Powell gave her an approving nod. “An impressive combination of several things you’ve learned over the last several years. Maybe we should test students at the school by making them do fireworks displays.” He winked. “You’ve set an impressive bar, and I’m interested to see what the other students bring.”

  “I think I’ll go now,” Evie said. She stood and nodded before she pointed her wand at the tray and cast a lifting spell.

  Everyone watched with eager expressions as the small tray floated up slowly, the potions still on it. Evie was the only one who had included any potions in her display.

  “I hope I prepared the sequence right,” she said. “The potion prep was the hard part, but I couldn’t make extras to test this, so this might be really neat, or it might be lame.”

  Raine shook her head. “When it comes to potions, I have faith in you.”

  The Orono students exchanged glances before they focused on Evie again.

  William raised his hand and grinned at her. “Just tell me when.”

  “I need it a little higher.” She took a deep breath and continued to raise the tray. Ten feet. Twenty feet. Fifty feet. A hundred feet. She looked paler than normal. “Okay, do it, please.”

  The half-Ifrit nodded and launched a fireball. Everyone held their breath as the flame careened through the sky and enveloped the tray.

  A massive boom followed, which elicited gasps of surprise. The sound rattled Raine’s bones.

  Spiraling fountains of flame lit the darkness, spun around each other, and left trails of glowing smoke in a myriad of colors. Crackling lines of energy twisted around the streams, something no conventional firework could ever hope to achieve.

  Loud applause broke out on the beach, and Evie smiled happily at the display overhead. The fountains continued to pour their contents for a good half-minute before they finally subsided. The glowing smoke lingered and dimmed slowly.

  “That’s a good argument for learning potions,” Finn said and clapped enthusiastically. “They should begin all freshmen potions sections with that kind of thing. Everyone would love the class then. I would have paid a lot more attention.”

  Evie sat once more and beamed with pride.

  “We’ve seen interesting displays from my students, but how about a little effort from Orono?” Professor Powell asked.

  After nodding to one another, Josephine, Heidi, and Kelly stood and pointed their wands at the same angle. They each began chanting a spell, their eyes half-closed in concentration. Evie’s glowing smoke lingered in places, although it was far less bright than before.

  Raine held her breath in anticipation. Everyone’s efforts had been impressive in their own way, and she couldn’t even imagine what the other girls might do. The seconds ticked by as they continued their complicated incantations.

  The three Orono witches finished their spells. Three bright bolts of light launched into the heavens with a hiss. Everyone held their breath and waited for another massive explosion.

  The first bolt fizzled. The second and third did the same thing.

  The other students exchanged puzzled looks.

  Raine sighed with real disappointment and looked furtively at the spellcasters. She didn’t blame them or think them incapable. Complicated magic could fail, and at least they weren’t hurt.

  But there was no disappointment or concern on their faces, only anticipation. She returned her gaze to where the seemingly failed display had fizzled, her breath held yet again. Something was coming, but what?

  The deep opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony thundered above them with bright flashes of light that matched the tempo. The next few notes followed, as if the sky was singing to the island.

  “That’s Jo for you,” Asher said and shook his head with a broad grin. “She always has to class it up. I’m surprised Kelly was involved. It’s not really her style.”

  “I heard that, Asher!” the witch shouted over the loud music. “Don’t annoy me too much if you know what’s good for you.”

  Raine barely noticed the exchange as she listened to the music and watched the vibrant display. She had spent years fixating on the utility of magic. From the very beginning, when they used stealth spells to sneak into the kemana, she’d allowed herself
to think of magic as a tool, not a power.

  As classical music played overhead, she took the time to appreciate that not everything she did with spells had to be about helping an investigation or apprehending chaos witches. Even the enchantments on her dresses during some of the dances were still more about treating her magic in a way that denied the pure fun it could be.

  A broad smile settled on her face as wonder filled her heart. Magic was power. It was useful, but it was also fun.

  The first full minute of the symphony played before the music and pulsating lights died down. After Asher and Kelly’s initial exchange, the others had listened in silence.

  Everyone cheered at the completion of the spells. A few of the boys whistled in appreciation. The three Orono witches sat down. Heidi and Kelly both blushed, but Josephine looked serene, her chin raised and a soft smile on her face as if such complicated displays were something she did every day.

  Asher cleared his throat. “Well, now you’ve set an even higher bar. That makes our school look good in front of the FBI Trouble Squad, but now, I have to prove myself. I have to outshine you but don’t worry, I’m ready to put Evie’s little potions display and that classical interlude to shame with the glorious display of magic that demonstrates the power of my line.” He gestured widely. “I’m about to show you what centuries of Wood Elf tradition has brought forth. I’m about to—”

  Raine’s stomach clenched as a powerful pulse of magic passed over her.

  A sudden massive tremor knocked Asher off his feet. He landed on his butt with a loud grunt. “Seriously? This has to happen now?”

  The ground continued to shake, but with everyone on the beach and nowhere near any trees or buildings, no one was sure what they should do.

  The Wood Elf muttered and shook his head.

  Raine grabbed Cameron’s hand, her stomach still tight from the violent tremors. She was sure she would have fallen too if she had been standing. It was definitely stronger than the last time.

  Professor Powell frowned and pointed beyond the rock wall. “Higher ground—now,” he shouted. “There’s a risk of a tsunami.”

  Raine blinked. They hadn’t mentioned tsunamis before, but the earlier earthquakes had been weaker. She wasn’t all that familiar with coastal earthquake protocol given where she lived normally during either the summer or the school year.

  The students scrambled to their feet, a difficult task given the earth convulsing beneath them. Adrien, Asher, and Finn used burst spells to push them above the rock wall. Josephine remained close to Heidi and Kelly, her expression concerned. The other students reached the wall at the same moment that the ground stopped shaking.

  The earthquake hadn’t been long, but it had been intense. Raine breathed deeply and her gaze settled on Cameron, who frowned and looked a little angry—most likely because this was something over which he had no control. She made the decision right then and there to never live in California. Even if they didn’t have earthquakes as often as New Firefly Island, she didn’t think she could ever be comfortable in a place where the ground might become unstable at any moment.

  Everyone regrouped near the cabins, walking slowly in case of aftershocks. The previous earthquakes had never had any, but no one could be sure given the apparent magical cause behind the tremors.

  Professor Powell frowned and turned to study the ocean. “Even though the quake was strong, if it was that short, there’s little risk of a tsunami. Still, we’ll wait here on the higher ground for a while in case.”

  Finn smirked. “The island doesn’t want to see any magical fireworks from Asher, or maybe he was so desperate not to be shown up by Josephine that he caused the earthquake. Okay, bro, I get it. I’m impressed.”

  “Very funny.” The Wood Elf rolled his eyes. “Maybe the island wanted to put me out of my misery before I had to see your lame effort. I saw you practicing the other day.” He shook his head. “Seriously, it was sad.”

  “Says you.” His friend shrugged.

  Raine stared at the almost serene surface of the water. “It was definitely stronger, wasn’t it? I didn’t imagine that, did I?”

  Professor Powell nodded grimly. “No, you didn’t. It was definitely more powerful.”

  Her shoulders slumped. “If it gets much stronger, we won’t be able to stay, will we? I obviously don’t like them, but I also don’t want to leave yet.”

  “We have to consider your safety,” the professor said calmly. “I think the headmistress would have a few things to say to me if I came back with fewer students than I started with.”

  Concern passed over everyone’s faces.

  “But leaving is the last resort.” The other three professors made their way toward the students and he paused to watch them approach. “And who knows, maybe we’ve simply had a run of bad luck.”

  She didn’t need to be an FBI trainee to know he didn’t believe that.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Two days later, the idea of having to leave the island lingered in Raine’s mind and wedged itself in her thoughts like a painful splinter. She had come to the conclusion that even though leaving would come eventually, the thought depressed her. Surprisingly, she’d adapted to the rhythms of her straightforward existence all too well.

  “Are you okay, Raine?” Sara asked. “You look upset or something.” She shrugged. “Not like you usually are.”

  She blinked a few times to refocus and nodded. “Sorry. I was a little lost in my thoughts. I didn’t realize it was that obvious. I’m not trying to freak you out.”

  “Don’t worry about freaking me out. If you want to talk, we can.” The kitsune pointed to Professor Kaylis, who hummed to himself as he marched several yards ahead and pumped his wand like a baton in a marching band. “He’s not exactly listening. It’s like he’s lost in his own world.”

  That day’s team consisted of the professor, Raine, Sara, and Evie. They now traveled deep into the forest near the center of the island. An earlier trip had identified an inlet that allowed better access to the interior and this was their chosen route. The curious aspect was that it wasn’t on any of the maps from earlier terrain surveys of the area. The professors theorized that it might have been created by the earthquakes.

  Raine shrugged. “I’m not ready to go home.” She laughed. “This basically teaches me that I really love camp, and I should have done a lot more of it when I was younger. I missed out on so much fun.”

  Her friends chuckled.

  “It’s nice, I’ll admit.” Sara looked around. “But I’m also getting to the point where I’m ready to go home, to be honest.”

  “Really?” she asked. “I thought you were having a good time, and you’re spending so much time with Philip too.”

  “That’s nice, but I think he would have preferred to do a charity project in a city. He doesn’t complain too much, and he definitely enjoys more alone time with me, but he doesn’t seem as contented as he usually is, and that makes me a little less happy.” Sara shrugged. “But honestly, I miss my painting. There are so many inspirational things here, from the fireworks the other day to the animals and plants we run into. My mind is swimming with ideas. I’ve sketched things, but that’s not the same as painting. I feel like my creativity is too bottled up, and it needs to be poured out sooner rather than later.”

  “I feel much the same.” Evie patted her pocket. “I can do some potion work, but it’s limited and more difficult here, and that baking experiment last week over the firepit?” She shuddered. “Well, like I said at the time, let’s not talk about it again.”

  “I didn’t realize people weren’t having a good time.” Raine chewed her lip and her glance flicked to the loudly humming Professor Kaylis, who now twirled his wand with surprising skill. “I feel bad now, like I didn’t pay attention to your feelings.”

  Sara raised a hand in a placating manner. “It’s not that I’m having a bad time. I’m still enjoying it here and the time I spend with my friends and Philip. It’s simp
ly that I feel what I don’t have, too, and I feel it more each day. It’s not really being homesick, but it’s similar. Does that make sense?”

  Evie nodded quickly. “Same here.”

  “Yes, that makes sense,” Raine said. “I do miss reading case files. Maybe it’s because I’ve overloaded on FBI stuff that I don’t mind the vacation. I suppose I’ll probably feel the same way as you guys do soon enough. This place is like an escape for me. A little refresher before we dive into that final year and face our future.”

  “We don’t need to escape yet,” Professor Kaylis said and halted abruptly. “I have the situation under control.”

  Raine looked at him and froze. The professor had stopped, his wand pointed forward and a concerned look on his face.

  “Maybe you didn’t understand what I meant, Professor,” she explained. “I wasn’t actually talking about today.”

  “It’s fine, my girl.” He adjusted his hat. “Everyone should raise shield spells just in case. I’m confident we can handle the threat, but I’d rather not have anyone hurt.”

  She didn’t even bother to ask why and cast the spell immediately, as did her friends. They looked around the area for the danger he had obviously seen.

  Nothing seemed to stand out. Thick blankets of moss covered the tree trunks, but there weren’t any strange vines or angry aquaboars, nor any mysterious shadows or mirror cats. There weren’t even any glowing flowers. It looked like any other part of the forest and the background magic didn’t feel any stronger.

  Raine made another careful scrutiny of their surroundings, a little nonplussed by his behavior. “Professor, what’s going on?”

  Professor Kaylis nodded toward one of the trees. “Don’t you see it?”

  “I see moss.” She frowned. “What am I supposed to see?”

  “Look lower.”

  She lowered her gaze below the moss and noticed that numerous thin fibrous lines ran from the moss into the tree. “And what exactly am I looking at?”

  “Don’t blame the tree,” the professor said quietly. “It’s not the tree’s fault. It’s already dead, actually—a zombie tree, now. Very sad. Very sad, indeed.”