“A zombie tree?” Raine shouted. “You have to be kidding me.”
Birds took flight when the tree they stared at shook. Dirt blasted into the area accompanied by a volley of hollow pops. The tree somehow pulled its roots out of the ground and shimmering sparkles covered the moss.
“What the heck is that?” Sara pointed at the glittering growth with a half-disgusted, half-fascinated expression.
“A kind of magical parasite,” Professor Kaylis explained. “It’s interesting that even this kind of thing is on Earth now. They really can’t survive without relatively high levels of magic. I wouldn’t have thought there was enough, even here.” The tree turned, its roots writhing below it, and swung a low-hanging branch at him.
The large white-haired man ducked with surprising agility before he raised his wand and shouted a cutting spell. White light flashed in front of his wand, and the offending branch dropped away from the tree, severed with a clean incision.
Several thick roots retaliated and slapped the professor to knock him backward.
Evie yelped as he catapulted several yards and disappeared into the underbrush.
Sara immediately threw several seeds. Her vines covered the infected tree, but its roots strained against the magical fibers and snapped them.
“Are we supposed to not hurt this thing?” Evie shouted. She raised her wand and managed to release a cutting spell and remove another branch. “He hurt it, didn’t he?”
“He said it’s dead already, so I think we can do what we need to do to protect ourselves.” Raine pruned a few branches before she shrugged. “But how do you kill a zombie tree? It’s not like it has a brain, to begin with.”
The kitsune ducked as a branch swung at her and Evie severed it quickly. A moment later, a root smacked her and she screamed and crashed into another trunk. Her shield shimmered around her and her wand fell into a nearby bush.
She shook her head to clear it and plunged into the shrub to find her wand.
“Zombie trees.” Raine removed two more branches in rapid succession. “That’s so not fair.”
A remaining branch managed to connect with Sara and the kitsune cartwheeled awkwardly with a yelp.
“Tell me about it,” she shouted angrily.
Evie found her wand, raised it, and shouted another cutting spell.
Raine immediately followed-up with an attack of her own to remove the last major branch of the tree.
Several of the roots rose above the ground now, twitching and shuddering.
Sara’s red hair popped out of the bushes several yards away, followed by her frowning face. “It has to be the moss. Burn it, Raine.”
“I don’t want to start a forest fire,” she shouted to her friend.
Evie raised her wand. “You burn it, and I’ll stand ready to put out any fires that spread.”
Raine dodged a thrusting root and jogged a few yards back. She pointed her wand directly at the sparkling moss, took a deep breath, and spoke the incantation for a fireball.
A blast of flame roared away from her wand and rocketed into the verdant covering. Fire leapt from piece to piece and quickly consumed the growth on the surface bark. The roots slapped at random now and the tree shook violently. A few stray sparks scattered on either side and new fires were born.
Evie tossed her wand into her left hand and snatched two blue-tinted potions from her bag. She pulled the caps and hurled them to either side of the tree. With a hiss, frigid clouds smothered the fires and coated the nearby plants with a thin layer of frost.
The infected tree continued to shudder before it tilted ominously.
“Timber!” Raine yelled and rushed aside.
Evie and Sara fled in the opposite direction.
The thick trunk fell forward and stopped abruptly a few yards from the ground where it hung, suspended by nothing.
Professor Kaylis appeared from the brush with leaves and branches in his hair and his eyes narrowed. It was the closest to angry Raine had seen him during their entire time on the island.
His wand was pointed at the tree and he gritted his teeth. Slowly, he lowered his wand, and the trunk matched his movements before it settled harmlessly on the ground.
“That sort of reaction is why I try to not burn them,” the professor said with a cheerful smile. “But all’s well that ends well, I suppose.” He marched toward the tree. “I had also hoped to take a sample of the moss for a few experiments, but self-defense is always more important. I’m glad I was able to see the famous FBI Trouble Squad in action.” He crouched beside the scorched trunk and shook his head. “But what a waste of a perfectly good tree.” He broke off some bark. “But maybe I can still achieve some research value from this sample.”
Raine shook her head in disgust. “Zombie trees.”
Chapter Nineteen
A few days later, all the students marched through the forest behind Professor Powell. He had mentioned an important discovery from the previous day that he wanted to show them. Everyone had taken boats up the inlet and now, they were on a twenty-minute march through the forest, according to the professor, but he insisted that careful mapping had established a safe path. There should be no mirror cat ambushes or anything else dangerous.
“What’s with the big mystery?” Sara asked with a frown. “Why can’t you tell us what you want to show us?”
Philip nodded his agreement. “Yes, what’s up?”
The professor glanced over his shoulder and offered her a mischievous smile. “Sometimes, a little anticipation isn’t such a horrible thing. I would have thought your time on the island had made you more patient.”
Sara rolled her eyes. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
“Consider it a perk of being your instructor.”
Adrien surveyed the area with his usual suspicion, but he didn’t carry a sword. “You didn’t need the other professors, but you needed all the students. That greatly narrows the range of possibilities.” His fingers twitched for a moment.
“Does it?” the professor asked. “And what do you think that means? What do you think is going on?” He turned to Raine. “Your thoughts?”
She kept her wand in hand, ready for whatever mirror cat or zombie tree might dare to attack them. “I think you want to train us. I think there’s some sort of threat in the center of the island that is dangerous enough to require more than a few students, but not so deadly as to require all the other professors. You like things more hands-on, and you’re the one who teaches us how to protect ourselves. It makes sense that you would want us to get some practical experience.”
“That’s an interesting theory.” He grinned. “It might even have the virtue of being true. Or maybe not.”
Cameron scoffed and plodded on in front of Raine. “Sara’s right. You are enjoying this too much.”
Dnai walked with the rest of the students. The density of trees and branches on this part of the island made flying pointless except for tiny birds.
“It might be some cool plants,” she said with a shrug. “Something that we’ll all find interesting.”
Professor Powell continued to smile as he pushed past a few trees and stepped over several logs snapped in different places. He gestured to the fallen trees. “They were so close together, they almost worked as a fence and so we hadn’t explored this area yet. We intended to come in from a different angle in a few days. The earthquakes probably felled them, given how recently they appear to have fallen.”
Raine’s eyes widened as the students stepped beyond the logs and past another wall of thick bushes. A huge pond—almost a small lake—lay beyond the shrubby growth. A few bright orange ducks floated on top. They caught sight the two-legged threats and immediately took flight.
Professor Powell gestured to the pond as the other students caught up. “This is, to the best of our knowledge, the only decent-sized body of fresh water on the island. The initial surveys missed it, or perhaps the earthquakes changed the local topography enough to generat
e the pond. I know it has to be annoying to be on an island in summer and not able to swim, but there is still the risk of too many things that can eat you with one bite in the ocean. When we found this, I thought it might be a nice little reward for all your hard work so far.” He grinned. “See. Sometimes, it is worth waiting for the surprise.”
“Nice, Professor. Very nice.” Asher chuckled. “So that’s why you taught us that drying spell the other day.”
“Exactly.” He raised his wand. “And this gives me a good opportunity to teach you another spell that might prove a little useful during your stay on the island.”
“What’s that?” Adrien asked. He walked closer to the water.
It was mostly clear, although caches of leaves floated on the top, along with a few bugs. Raine would have preferred water without insect life or debris, but she also didn’t want to pass up the chance to swim, especially given how muggy the air was that day. Her shorts and shirt stuck to her sweaty body.
Professor Powell circled his head with a finger. “It’s an air bubble spell. It’s a nice way to temporarily breathe in water without the complexities of filtering, transfiguration, or other such methods.” He stepped toward the edge of the pond. “The major disadvantage of the spell I’m about to teach is that it’s far more limited than other magical methods you might use to breathe underwater. The simplicity makes it attractive, though.”
“How is it limited?” Raine asked.
The students now stood near the pond with varying mixtures of excitement and curiosity on their faces as they glanced from the water to the professor.
“The magic is exactly what it sounds like,” he explained. “It’s an air bubble, not a pressure bubble. This isn’t the kind of spell you want to use for deep-sea diving. It’s simply something suitable if you want to, say, hang out at the bottom of a pond for a few minutes without holding your breath. The disadvantage is that it has to be refreshed fairly regularly, and the movements necessary can’t be performed correctly in water, even if you can speak the incantations normally into the air bubble. That means you need to have careful timing and ensure that you have enough air.”
Cameron kicked at the edge of the water. “Can you cast it on someone else?”
“Yes.” Professor Powell nodded. “Definitely.”
Evie knelt and trailed her hand through the water. “It sounds good enough for a little fun. We’re not responsible for fish during the survey, so it’s not like we need a spell that lasts super-long.”
“Exactly.” Professor Powell smiled and raised his wand. “The key, really, is to size it right and fit it to your head. It’s not all that different from some of the other spells that create bubbles.” He twisted his wand. “The motions are similar, as are the incantations and the general level of magic required. It’s simply that this one sucks in air while it’s created.” He gestured for Cameron to come closer. “Since you don’t need to learn the spell, how about I demonstrate on you? That is if you don’t mind.”
The boy stepped closer and shrugged. “Fine. How much air does this have, though? I’m fairly good at holding my breath. If it’s less than a few minutes, there’s not much point.”
“Properly performed, it will generally be about ten to fifteen minutes of air.” He pointed his wand at Cameron. “The thing is, if you try to size it too big, it collapses. If it’s too small, it can’t hold much air. It’s a careful balance.”
The students nodded.
The professor made a few quick movements with his wand with an emphasis on twists. He uttered the incantation slowly and stressed the pitch emphasis changes necessary in each syllable before he repeated it more quickly. A blue bubble appeared around Cameron’s head.
The shifter opened his mouth and spoke, but the sound was too muffled to hear.
“Yet another disadvantage for the basic air sphere,” Professor Powell said. “You can hear decently enough with it over your head, but it’s hard for anyone else to understand you.”
Cameron shrugged. He knelt on the ground and stuck his head in the water.
Everyone leaned closer to watch him. He stuck his thumb up and held his head under the surface.
The professor nodded at him. “Strictly speaking, I could leave out some parts of the incantation so you don’t have the visible blue bubble, but it acts as a kind of status report. The whiter it becomes, the less air you have left. I wouldn’t trust in timing when it comes to breathing.”
The shifter remained where he was and the bubble around him stayed blue for a long moment. Finally, he raised his head.
Professor Powell touched his wand to the magic sphere, spoke an incantation, and it vanished. Cameron’s head remained dry.
“How did that feel?” the professor asked.
“Like I was breathing normally,” the student said with a shrug. “It’s like having a helmet on that doesn’t weigh anything.”
Asher glanced at the water. “And you didn’t feel any pressure or anything?”
He shook his head. “Nothing like that.”
Professor Powell shook his wand enthusiastically. “Now, let me see you practice, and I’ll leave you to have a little fun for a while.”
Chapter Twenty
No one had any swimsuits on them and they didn’t have their backpacks either. Not only had they not thought about that when they set out, but the professors from both schools had also explicitly told them not to pack swimsuits as they didn’t want to encourage anyone to attempt any real swimming in the ocean around the island.
Fortunately, the lack of these wasn’t much of a concern thanks to the drying spell they’d learned. The students eagerly removed their boots, socks, and belts and emptied their pockets before diving into the water.
Silas and Finn demurred, neither eager to get wet even with the magical drying potential, but everyone else enjoyed the cool interlude.
Raine hadn’t swum in a pond in a long time, and she remembered the last experience as frigid and unpleasant. The water in the New Firefly Island pond was surprisingly warm—much warmer than she would have thought given the relatively cool temperatures at night. Some hot springs were involved, she was sure of it.
She drifted around in the water and savored the sensation for several minutes, occasionally smiling at Cameron or one of her friends or splashing them playfully.
Sara emerged from below the surface, a blue bubble around her head. She canceled the spell and splashed a little water on Philip. “Since the professor taught us the spell, we might as well really use it. It’s almost like he told us to—dared us to, even.”
The kitsune might have been scared off pranks because of the chaos-related incidents during the last prank war, but she still possessed a competitive and confrontational streak.
Philip frowned. “Meaning what exactly?”
“Let’s have a little competition.” She grinned. “When I swam around, I saw some tunnels down there. We should have a contest to see who can go the farthest on one casting of the spell.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.” The wizard nodded, his eyes bright with anticipation.
Raine smiled. “It sounds fun.”
Milo shrugged. “I’m fine hanging around up here.”
Josephine kept her eyes closed as she floated on her back. “As am I. Honestly, I’m so completely relaxed, I don’t see the point of trading that for a competition.”
Heidi nodded in agreement.
Dnai made a face. “I don’t like the sound of underwater tunnels. It sounds like something that will scratch my wings.”
Evie shrugged. “I’m enjoying just swimming around. Sorry.”
Raine wasn’t surprised. Her friend wasn’t much interested in any competition that didn’t have to do with baking.
“I’ll stay where Evie is,” William said. He frowned. “And I don’t much like going underwater.”
Raine wondered if that was related to his Ifrit nature but decided to let it be. He might be uncomfortable about it or even slightly a
fraid, and calling him out in front of all the Orono students would be rude.
Kelly pointed a thumb at her chest. “I’m in, Raine. I need something to satisfy my competitive urges since I lost mazeball. It has to come out somehow.”
Asher nodded. “I’m in, too.”
“I’ll go where you go, Raine.” Cameron smiled and seemed to actually enjoy the challenge.
Adrien shook his head. “I’d prefer to stay on the surface for now.”
“Okay.” Sara looked around. “Me, Raine, Cameron, Kelly, Philip, and Asher, then? Does that sound about right?”
The competitors all nodded.
The kitsune grinned. “Everyone should get their spells ready. This is one time where I love not having to use a wand. It makes it easier to swim.”
Raine headed over to the shore to grab her wand. She created an air bubble over Cameron’s head and then her own before she summoned a light orb for each of them. Everyone else prepared their own magic.
“Let’s go!” Sara shouted and turned to dive deeper into the water.
Raine sank beneath the water, not in a particular hurry. It wasn’t a speed race, and a few seconds here or there wouldn’t make much difference.
The water surrounding her was from a pond, not a pool, and that nature was reflected by the small but otherwise normal fish that darted around several feet down. A few had brushed her legs earlier.
Twigs and rocks covered the bottom, and enough dirt was suspended in the water to reduce visibility. The light orb helped but not as much as she would have liked.
She dove deeper and the lights of the others glowed near her. The dark holes that marked the tunnels all lay near the base and presented three different paths. She waited for Cameron to go through one before she took a different route. Sometimes, it was good to not allow him to be overprotective and remind him that she was capable of taking care of herself.
Raine swam for a couple of minutes and kept a wary eye on the color of her bubble. She could hold her breath for a couple more minutes if it became necessary, but she didn’t want to push her luck. Her feet kicked and propelled her deeper into the tunnel.
Untouchable Witch: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (School of Necessary Magic Raine Campbell Book 7) Page 12
