Wicked Academy 1: The Magic Elite

by Nissa Leder

  I’m about to ignore her and walk away when she adds, “Everyone knows you’re a stuck up bitch with no friends, Elaine. And the only reason anyone likes you, Wren, is because of who your family is.”

  Bianca’s opinion of me means nothing, but when I see the blank expression on Elaine’s face, all I want is to shut her up.

  I remember the hex Olivia taught me a while ago and say the words, “silentium lentus.”

  A black, tar-like substance appears over Bianca’s mouth.

  She reaches for her face, wide-eyed, and mumbling words no one can understand.

  Everyone still in the room laughs, causing Lamberg to look over. His eyes move straight to me as he frowns.

  “Wren, hexes are not allowed here at Wicklow,” he says, but his voice sounds more amused than mad. “I have no choice but to give you detention. Bianca, let’s get you to the hospital wing.”

  Even if she can’t talk, the desire to murder me is clear in her glare.

  I wave. “Bye.”

  She stands up and trails behind Lamberg out of the room.

  Even Elaine, the biggest rule-follower I know, looks impressed.

  After months of being good and staying out of trouble, getting detention is totally worth it.

  Rumor has it that it took over an hour to tear the sticky substance from Bianca’s face.

  Hexes, unlike regular incantations, don’t have counter-spells. Some hexes are completely outlawed in Sorcery society, but some, like the one I did, are only against the rules here at Wicklow.

  It’s Friday night, and while the rest of Wicklow is free to do as they please, I’m stuck going to my first detention.

  Professor Lamberg is spending the weekend away from the academy, so he asked Dean Waters to take over punishment duties. I arrive at her office three minutes before seven.

  “Welcome, Ms. Jacobsen.” The dean is sitting at her desk, reading a letter of some sort. “I was surprised to hear that you caused a disruption in your dueling class.”

  “Yes, unfortunately, my temper got the better of me.” I stand there awkwardly, with my hands in my sweatshirt pocket.

  Detention is nothing new to me. I wasn’t a rebel-without-a-cause in high school, but I had moments of bending the rules and getting caught. Then, I had to stay after school for a couple of hours and do supervised homework. With no idea how it works here at Wicklow, I can’t help but be a little nervous.

  “I’m going to assume it was a one-time incident and go easy on you this time. With your final exam only two weeks away, I’m sure you’re under extra stress.” She folds the paper in her hands, sticks it into an envelope, and slides it into a drawer. “Every professor has his or her own method of detention. Professor Thornburn likes to make students run sprints. Professor Belrose takes a calmer approach and assigns an hour of meditation. I find most students prefer to run than to sit still in silence.” She guides a book from the bookcase across the room with her magic. “I’ve always enjoyed reading a good book to relax. So while I sit here and read, you can re-alphabetize my books.”

  I glance at the bookcase, which spans across the whole wall and reaches from the floor to the ceiling. There are a lot of books, but she said re-alphabetize, so maybe they’re already mostly in order.

  Just as I’m about to walk that way, all the books slide from the shelves one-by-one in no particular order and fall to a pile on the ground. “There, that should do.”

  I resist the urge to complain. Surely, there are worse punishments than organizing books, no matter how scrambled they are. “I better get started.”

  Dean Waters sits quietly at her desk as I start picking up the books one at a time. If they’d have fallen even slightly in order, it wouldn’t be so bad. But there is no rhyme or reason to the pile whatsoever. The first book I grab starts with a P. The next a W. The third a B.

  I do my best to space the letters out in a logical order. There probably won’t be too many books that start with X,Y, or Z. Whereas letters like S or T will be more numerous.

  When I get to a book called “The Occult,” I pause and ask, “If it starts with the word ‘the,’ do you want it with the Ts or whatever letter the next word starts with?”

  Dean Waters reads for a few more seconds then peeks over her book. “Whatever the next letter is.”

  I return to organizing, eager to get it done as quickly as I can.

  A few minutes later, someone knocks.

  The door swings open and Lexi Morrison, one of my classmates in Incantations and Magical History, steps inside. She glances at me confused, then continues toward the dean. “Sorry to bother you so late, but I think someone broke into my room.”

  “What makes you think that?” Dean Waters sticks a bookmark in her book and sets it on her desk.

  “My roommate and I were both over in a friend’s room, and when we got back, our lock was broken.”

  The dean steps out from behind her desk. “I’m going to go check on Ms. Morrison’s door. You can keep sorting through all the books, and I’ll return shortly.”

  I nod before they both leave the room.

  I’ve been organizing for a half-hour already, and I’m ten percent done. At most.

  The faster I go, the sooner I’ll be done, so I take a deep breath and concentrate.

  A few minutes later, the door handle turns and the door swings open. I expect to see Dean Waters, even though there’s no way she’s been gone long enough to get to the freshman wing and back.

  Instead, Sebastian enters the room. When he sees me, he stops.

  “Well, I wasn’t expecting to find you here,” he says.

  “I’m full of surprises.” I stick the book in my hand on the shelf.

  I haven’t spoken to him since our run in on Halloween. The few times I’ve seen him, I’ve purposefully gone another way not to talk to him. Although I’m thankful he saved me from getting in trouble, after our kiss, being close to him is dangerous.

  For one, I don’t know much about him. I know he’s the leader of the school’s secret society, which makes everyone, including my older brother, want his attention. But I refuse to be like everyone else. Even if our kiss was amazing.

  “Dean Waters is out for a few minutes, but she should be back soon,” I say.

  Sebastian walks closer to me and stares at the pile of books on the ground. “Was there an earthquake I missed or something?”

  “There was an unfortunate incident where I hexed Bianca Pruit’s lips shut.” I lift both my palms with a shrug. “Which earned me detention. But Professor Lamberg had to leave the academy, so Dean Waters is so generously filling in as detention-giver for him.”

  “Hexed someone in front of a professor after almost getting caught stealing from another professor? You really are something.” His hazel eyes look at me with fascination.

  “I have a tendency to get myself in tricky situations sometimes.”

  Sebastian bends down and grabs a book then hands it to me. “I’ve noticed you strategically avoiding me since your declaration that I’m a fabulous kisser.”

  I snatch the book from his hand. “Um, that information was unfairly coerced.”

  “Doesn’t change the fact that you liked it.” His voice is playful.

  “It also doesn’t change the fact that you are way too cocky.”

  “You were awfully quick to stereotype me, don’t you think?” His body turns toward mine.

  I shift my weight to my right foot as I turn toward him. “Maybe I was. Or maybe I’m that good at reading people.”

  He extends his hand and a book flies to it. “Since I used your delicate situation to my advantage on Halloween, how about I answer the same three questions about you?”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Question one: what did I think of you the first time I saw you?” he asks himself. “I thought you looked hot, but way too casual for the party, which either meant you were someone who didn’t care to impress people, or you were crashing. Either way, I wanted to get
to know you.” He tosses the book toward the shelf and it floats to the third shelf.

  He continues. “Question two: what did I think of our kiss? Well, at first I thought it might earn me a knee to the crotch. But when you kissed me back, a thousand dirty thoughts raced through my mind, and I almost didn’t care that Dean Waters was watching.”

  “Maybe I should have kneed you,” I say, though I don’t mean it. “And your biggest fear?”

  “Being alone.” His mouth tightens as our gazes lock.

  It’s the same fear as mine, though I can’t see why someone who has most of the school desperate to even talk to him would be afraid of ever being alone.

  But now that I think about it, I don’t know much about him.

  Dean Waters walks back into the room. “Sorry that took so long.” She notices Sebastian and me standing together. “Detention is a solo activity, Ms. Jacobsen.”

  “Sorry,” Sebastian says as he steps away from me. “I came here to ask you if you’d had any luck with your research.”

  “I’m afraid not, Mr. Barington.” The dean frowns and I can’t help but wonder what they’re talking about.

  Sebastian’s body language changes. His arms hang at his sides and he lowers his chin. “I’ll let Wren get back to it then.”

  “I’m sorry I don’t have better news,” Dean Waters says.

  “Thank you for trying.” Sebastian smiles a sad grin before leaving the room.

  “Is Sebastian okay?” I ask after he’s gone.

  “It’s a personal matter,” the dean says. “He’s dealt with so much in his life, but he’s a strong young man. Now, no more stalling or you’ll be here all night.”

  As I return to the monotonous organizing, curiosity spins through my mind. In every interaction I’ve had with Sebastian, he’s been so self-assured. I’ve never stopped to consider I don’t actually know anything about him.

  I’ve always hated admitting when I’m wrong, but I judged Sebastian too soon.

  Seventeen

  The next week comes, and we’re learning a new spell in Incantations.

  “So far this semester, we’ve focused on spells of the elemental sort,” Professor Belrose says as she lifts her glasses to the top of her nose. “But now we move on to the physical attacks. Wren and Lexi, will you come be my assistants?”

  “Sure,” I answer.

  We both get out of our seats and walk to the front. Professor Belrose instructs us to stand on the far side of the room. “Lexi, you stand behind Wren.” She waits for us to get into position. “Today, we are going to be learning an immobilizing incantation. When the spell hits you, you will be paralyzed, Wren. It won’t hurt, and Lexi will be there to catch you.”

  I glance at Lexi, who says, “I won’t let you fall. Promise.” I don’t know her too well, but I don’t have any reason not to trust her. Sweat pools across her hairline, and if I’m not mistaken, she looks pale.

  With a deep breath, I turn around and face Professor Belrose.

  She extends her arm, palm toward me, and says, “Opstupefacia.”

  At first, I think it didn’t work. My finger twitches once on command before my entire body tenses. Time slows as my vision is cemented forward until my body falls backward and my gaze moves with it. As hard as I try to stop myself from falling, I can’t move.

  Suddenly, arms catch me and tip me up so I’m looking at Professor Belrose again.

  She says, “Regala,” and my body is mine to control again. “Thank you two for your help. Since this spell requires practicing on someone else, you can split into threes. I’ll be walking around to help with the counterspell if needed.”

  Since Lexi and I are already next to each other, we stay up front and Garrett, my group member, joins us. He stands behind Lexi while I practice the spell first.

  I close my eyes and focus on my magic like Professor Belfrose taught us as I extend my hand. When I open my eyes and say, “Opstupefacia,” nothing happens. I shake out my arms and take two deep breaths.

  Lexi straightens her posture as Garrett reaches out, ready to catch her.

  “Opstupefacia,” I say, louder this time.

  Lexi blinks and I think it failed again, but then her eyes freeze and her unnaturally stiff body falls into Garrett’s arms.

  “Regala,” I say.

  Lexi moves her limbs. “That felt so weird.”

  “You can try,” I say and switch her positions. “Do you want to take the spell or catch me?” I ask Garrett.

  “I’ll take it,” he says.

  I move behind him and steady my stance. He’s lanky but tall, and the last thing I want is to drop him on the ground. “We’re ready.”

  Lexi adjusts her skirt before she lines herself up. “Opstupefacia.” Nothing happens. Lexi narrows her stare and tries again. “Opstupefacia.”

  “You got it,” I say. “It just takes a couple of tries.”

  Lexi wipes her forehead with the back of her hand then tries again. “Opstupefacia.”

  Garrett glances back at me.

  “I feel…strange,” Lexi says. She twists her wrist until her palm is facing upward. “Ignis partum.” When no fire appears in her hand, she tries again, this time louder and more determined. “Ignis partum.” She looks at Garrett and me. “I haven’t had any problems with that spell since the first week of class. It’s like my magic isn’t working.”

  Professor Belrose notices Lexi’s frustration and sends her to the hospital wing for evaluation.

  “I wonder what’s wrong with her,” Garrett asks me.

  “It’s probably just the Sorcerer Flu.” I remember how crappy I felt. “I’m sure Lexi will be back to her normal self in a couple of days.”

  Since we don’t have a third partner, Garrett and I just talk the rest of class.

  Later that day, I look for Lexi in Magical History, but she isn’t there. She’s gone from both classes for three days. I don’t see her again until Friday when I pass her in the hallway.

  “How are you feeling?” I ask her.

  “I…I feel okay.” Her eyes are puffy and red, so clearly something is wrong.

  “Will you be back in classes on Monday?”

  Lexi wipes her nose with a sniffle. “My magic hasn’t come back.”

  They told me my case of Sorcerer Flu was worse than most, and I didn’t lose my magic, especially not for days. I’d passed out during my duel with Bianca, but later that night, even though I was weak, I still had access to my power.

  “Do you think you’ll be better soon?” I ask.

  “They don’t know what’s wrong.” Tears well in her eyes. “The Healers aren’t sure if my magic will come back at all.” Once the sentence is out of her mouth, she burst into tears.

  Instinctively, I reach out and hug her, allowing her to cry on my shoulder. There’s still so much I’m learning about the Sorcery world, but I’ve never heard of someone’s magic disappearing out of nowhere.

  Her sobs quiet and she steps back, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Sorry. I’m such a mess right now.” She sniffles.

  “You have nothing to apologize for,” I say. “You have every right to be freaked out.”

  “Who knows, maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow and everything will be normal again.” Lexi tries to smile, but it falls flat. “I better get going.”

  “Of course. I’ll see you later.”

  When I get back to my room, Olivia is lying on her bed, tossing an electric orb up and down toward the canopy hanging above her.

  “I ran into Lexi in the hallway,” I say. “Her magic still hasn’t come back.”

  Olivia catches the orb and it disappears. “As in it’s completely gone?” She sits up.

  I nod. “She seems really worried. The Healers said it might never come back.”

  “That’s super strange. Sometimes magic can be hard to access. But if the Healers think it might be gone forever…well, that can’t be good.”

  Seeing Lexi so distraught over losing her power reminds me th
at half of our freshman class will be without magic by the end of the year.

  Now more than ever, I know how badly I want to keep mine.

  I never get a chance to talk to Lexi again. If her magic doesn’t return by Monday, she’ll be sent home “temporarily.” But unless it ever returns, she won’t be coming back to Wicklow. And at the end of the year, neither will the bottom half the class.

  The workload in all my classes has doubled from the beginning of the year. Even the professors seem stressed. Rumors about Lexi swirl through campus. Some people swear she really still has magic and just didn’t want to follow through with the trial. Others say she never had much magic to begin with and somehow used it all up.

  I had Incantations with her all year, and she always was one of the first to pick up new spells. And there’s no way she was faking not having access to her power. So no matter how convinced everyone is that the rumors are true, they’re wrong.

  The school week drags by, but somehow I make it until Friday without a mental breakdown.

  Or earning myself another detention.

  I’ve changed my approach with Bianca. Instead of meeting her bitchiness with hostility, I’m killing her with kindness, which seems to have her more annoyed than ever.

  Olivia and Micah’s group is having a double practice tonight, so I’m on my own for dinner.

  Instead of sitting alone in the dining hall, I dish my meal onto a disposable plate to take back to my room to eat. As I’m leaving the dining hall, I pass by Kaz.

  “Where are you headed to?” he asks when he notices my plate stacked with lasagna and garlic bread.

  “My friends are busy, so I figured I’d avoid looking like a loner at a table by myself,” I say.

  “Want some company?”

  “No big plans with my brother?” As soon as I ask the question, I wish I hadn’t. If I want Kaz to see me as someone other than Beck’s little sister, bringing him up probably isn’t the smartest way to go about it.

  “He’s got himself a date, so I’ve been given clear instructions to stay away from our room all night.”