Menacing Misfits: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (Darkthorn Academy Book 1)

by Robyn Wideman

  Everyone in the room clapped at the speech, and several of the students and teachers made eye contact with Jack and the rest of the Misfits and gave them head nods.

  Then Chef Ramsey walked up beside Headmaster Anderle. He simply said, “Thank you, Misfits, for this meal.” Then he waved his hand and magically everyone had a full plate in front of them.

  Jack grinned at his friends. “Let’s see how this sucker actually tastes.”

  Stann was the first to bite into the meat. His eyes rolled into the top of his head and he let out a groan of approval.

  Slicing into the dargow, Jack immediately noticed how soft it was. He put it in his mouth and it was like an explosion of flavor unlike any he’d ever had before. The meat tasted like strawberries, mint and smoked beef, all at the same time. The tender meat practically melted in his mouth. “It tastes familiar, but different. I’ve had something like this before,” Jack said as he took another bite.

  “Pytav,” Lana said. “Remember the cake Cara fed us? The dargow has been basted with pytav juice.”

  As soon as she said it, Jack remembered the delicious flavor of the cake used to poison them. Yes, the meat tasted like it. It was a truly amazing flavor, but the memory of the deceit slightly soured his opinion.

  “You know, it’s funny. Isaac and Cara thought they were ruining us with that cake,” Colin said. “Instead it brought us together and we’re stronger for it. We all have gained a lot since we teamed up.”

  Jack nodded. Colin was right. Perhaps that memory wasn’t so sour after all. It had been the beginning of their time together.

  Mal laughed. “With enemies like that, who needs friends?”

  “Colin’s right. If Cora hadn’t fed us the cake we’d still be taking normal classes. If she hadn’t pushed Jack into the pit he wouldn’t be the only student with a sellkirk dragon for a familiar in a hundred years or so.”

  Stann lifted his glass of wine. “To Cora.”

  “To the enemies who make us better,” Talia said.

  The rest of the table raised their glasses. “To the enemies who make us better.”

  Jack smiled. He liked Talia’s toast much better than the one to Cora. Her results might’ve favored them, but her intentions had been purely dastardly. He didn’t want to cheer to her at all, even to mock her.

  The rest of the dinner went smoothly, they ate and chatted with the Flaming Fingers of Death, who were all curious about Lord Scratches. They fully enjoyed Colin and Stann’s stories about the little dragon’s personality quirks.

  When the dinner plates disappeared and were replaced with dessert bowls, Jack happened to look over at the head table. Next to Headmaster Anderle sat a dark-haired man. He was staring at Jack. Jack felt a shiver go down his back. He turned back to his friends, not wanting to let the man’s stare bother him. He looked at the new bowl in front of him. “I’m stuffed. I think I’ll explode if I have any of that.”

  “Try it,” Lana encouraged.

  Jack put a small mouthful of the dessert in his mouth. It was a light fluffy white concoction that looked similar to whipped cream, but it tasted like chocolate and raspberries, yet it also tasted like apple and cinnamon, then it tasted like lemon and cream. Jack looked at Lana, who was laughing at him.

  “It’s good, right?”

  “Yes, but it keeps changing flavors,” Jack said.

  “It’s Chef Ramsey’s specialty,” Mal said. “I heard he once put seventy-three distinct flavors into one bowl.”

  “Yes, but I bet that wasn’t as good as the one he made last year for end-of-year celebrations,” Nicole said. “Three flavors at the same time, with at least six different combinations. I couldn’t hold it in my mouth long enough to test if there were more flavors.”

  “How did an ex-quester get to be such a good cook?” Jack asked.

  “I bet he found an ancient recipe book,” Colin said.

  “Whatever he did, I’m glad he decided he wanted to cook for questers,” Mal said.

  “To Chef Ramsey,” Stann said, raising his wine glass again. “The best.”

  “The best,” everyone said.

  After the toast, small individual conversations broke out around the table. Talia was asking about the flame magic used to make their outfits, while Brandon was swapping stories with Stann and Lana.

  Jack turned to Mal. “Who’s that sitting beside Headmaster Anderle?”

  Mal casually glanced over at the head table. “That is Derrick Dixon.”

  “I see,” Jack said.

  “Yes. I’d love to tell you not to worry, but the Dixon family doesn’t like losing at anything. Your success represents Isaac’s failure, which won’t make Uncle Derrick happy.”

  Jack frowned. “How’s my success Isaac’s failure?”

  “He tried to have you killed and you ended up with a dragon familiar. He tried to have you kicked out for failing your exams, you ended up succeeding in the Ancient Lands. I’m not saying Derrick Dixon is your enemy, but I doubt he’s happy that you’ve done so well.”

  “Well, too bad, I’m not going anywhere,” Jack said.

  Mal smiled. “That’s the spirit. Now, I have to get up and walk before my belly sets. That was a fantastic meal.”

  “Mind if I join you?” Jack asked.

  “Sure. Let’s go see Chadwick Deeter. I saw him sneak out earlier with one of the guests. I’m betting Chadwick is showing off a new relic that recently came in.”

  They stood up, and Lana looked at Jack. “Sneaking out already?”

  “Just going for a walk before I go into a food coma. I’ll be back in a few.”

  As they walked toward the antiquities area, a voice called out, “Jack.”

  He turned. It was Garreth. Jack had forgotten he’d wanted to talk to him. “Garreth, how was the dinner?”

  “Amazing. I’ve never had dargow before, and it was incredible. Thanks for the invite.”

  “Garreth, do you know Mal?” Jack asked.

  Garreth shook his head. “No, but I’ve heard of the Flaming Fingers of Death. Best-named questing group in the school.”

  Mal smiled. “Thanks. I wish I could take credit for that name, but that was all Nicole Grotepas.”

  “Mal, do you mind terribly if I borrow Jack for a moment?”

  “Certainly. Jack, I’ll meet you at the antiquities area,” Mal said.

  As Mal walked ahead, Jack looked at Garreth. “What’s up?”

  Garreth glanced around to make sure they were alone. “I was coming to warn you. Isaac Dixon has been bragging about making sure the Misfits don’t finish the year. I don’t know if he was talking about a permanent end to the Misfits, or just making sure you fail to qualify for second year.”

  Jack frowned. What was Isaac’s big issue? Trying to kill him seemed extreme, but they knew he’d already tried that and then had them poisoned to make sure they’d fail their tests. That he would try again to sabotage them didn’t come as a total surprise. “Thanks for the heads up, Garreth.”

  “No prob. Look, I got the feeling that maybe he’s hired someone, he’s said a few things about the Ancient Lands being dangerous and him not expecting you to return. But even after your last trip he was still confident.”

  Jack thought about the bandits they’d almost run into during the last trip out. Had they been there by coincidence, or had they been looking to ambush them? It was something to consider. “I’ll certainly keep an eye out. Thanks again, Garreth.”

  “No problem. Us scholarship guys have to stick together. Everyone in the scholarship dorms is cheering for you guys. We hope you succeed. I’m going to head back to the dorms. Stay safe, Jack.”

  As Garreth took off, Jack turned to head towards the antiquities area, but Mal was on his way back.

  “Chadwick wasn’t there?” Jack asked.

  “Oh, he was there,” Mal said. “But I was mistaken. That wasn’t just a guest of the Academy. It was also a lady friend of Chadwick’s. I don’t think they would appreciate our show
ing up in the antiquities room right now.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  Mal chuckled. “I bet he’s telling her his ‘I used to be an adventurer’ story.”

  “Until he took an arrow to the knee.”

  “Exactly. I shouldn’t laugh. Chadwick was an honest to goodness quester, and a good one, and his knee injury sucked, but he definitely milks that story.”

  Jack laughed. “It is a good story.”

  “It is the way he tells it. What did Garreth want? Or is that top secret?”

  “It certainly isn’t a secret. He came to warn me that Isaac Dixon still has it out for me and he’s trying to sabotage the Misfits.”

  Mal frowned. “Determined bugger, isn’t he? But you don’t have much to worry about. I saw that last haul you guys brought in. You must be almost done paying your fees?”

  “Not quite, but a big chunk, and we still have a couple good locations scouted out.”

  “There you go. The only way to get kicked out of the questing program is not meeting your quota for the year. Once your fees are done, you pass.”

  “I don’t think Isaac is trying to get us kicked out. I think he has another plan.”

  Mal stepped back. “What other way can he get rid of you?”

  Jack ran his thumb across his neck.

  Mal shivered. “I’d say he wouldn’t go that far, but he did have you pushed into the dragon pen. Do you have any idea what he’s planning?”

  “I think he might’ve hired bandits,” Jack said, explaining the near miss during the last trip out.

  “In that case, you better be prepared for anything. The more he talks and brags about it the worse he’ll look if you do make it to second year. I’d be keeping one eye on my back trail at all times, and don’t use any portal circles more than once in a row. If you have a routine, you’ll be easy pickings.”

  Jack nodded. “Thanks for the advice, Mal. Let’s head back to the dinner. Don’t say anything about this conversation to anyone in the group. I want to let them enjoy the rest of the night without worrying about Isaac.”

  Mal smiled. “Good luck with that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If you can go the rest of the night without Lana or Talia asking what’s wrong, I’ll be shocked. Those ladies are smart and perceptive. If they weren’t part of your group, I’d be recruiting them for the Fingers.”

  “Keep your fingers off my friends,” Jack said with a smile.

  “Don’t worry. I respect your group. I wouldn’t dream of poaching your friends. But you better not die either, ‘cause then all bets are off.”

  “I will do my best,” Jack said as they walked back into the dining room.

  There was music playing again, and the girls were all dancing, as were several of the other questers.

  “Where is that music coming from anyways?” Jack asked Mal.

  “Magic,” Mal said with a wink while sauntering out onto the dance floor.

  Jack sat down with Stann, Colin and Brandon, who were talking about the virtues of different desserts. From what Jack could gather, Stann and Brandon were in agreement that Chef Ramsey made the best desserts ever while Colin insisted that his grandmother’s apple strudel was life changing.

  Pretending to be interested, Jack nodded and smiled when it seemed appropriate, but he was thinking about Isaac Dixon. Nothing about the situation made sense to Jack. The whole thing had started when Isaac had been bullying Colin. Jack had come to his defense and called Isaac a jerk and then an idiot and suggested that he was only there because his daddy must be rich. It wasn’t nice, but Jack was confident that it didn’t warrant attempted murder, or the elaborate plot involving Cara getting them to fail and almost drop out of the Academy. There had to be some other reason Isaac was such an ass. But Jack couldn’t think of it.

  A hand grabbed Jack’s shoulder and he looked up.

  Lana smiled at him. “You were in your own world for a moment there. The rest of us are heading back to the room, you coming?”

  “Yes.” Jack had enjoyed the meal, but it was time to go.

  36

  “Why didn’t you tell us last night?” Colin asked.

  Jack sighed. He’d just finished telling the group about his conversation with Garreth.

  “Last night, everyone was having fun. It was a celebration of our success so far. I didn’t want to ruin it. Besides, would it have mattered if you’d heard about it last night?”

  “I suppose not,” Colin conceded.

  “What are we going to do about it?” Talia asked.

  “I think we go about our business. We take our time going to classes and training here. We were planning on doing that anyways, so it doesn’t change our plan. But the next time we go out into the Ancient Lands we be extra careful. We use Mal’s suggestion and don’t use the same portals any more than we have to, and we take extra care to avoid traps. We aren’t far from getting all of our fees paid. Once we do that we can just stay here more. There will be no pressure to explore.”

  Talia smacked her fist against her thigh. “I don’t like Isaac Dixon or anyone else dictating our future. He doesn’t like us? Too freaking bad. If he sends bandits after us, it’s their funeral.”

  “I don’t like it either,” Lana said. “But I say we stick to Jack’s plan. We do a week or two of classes and practice, then we head back out without telling anyone. We hit the sites that Mage Nowak gave us and we’ll be good.”

  “I’ll research a couple other sites just in case someone in the library or maps room is watching us for Isaac,” Colin said.

  Jack nodded. “Good idea, Colin.”

  “Thanks. By the way, I never got to tell you all yesterday, but those locations Mage Nowak took you to? They are way farther into the Ancient Lands than you were before.”

  “How far?” Stann asked.

  Colin pulled out a map of the continent. It contained all of the Ancient Lands and the kingdoms that surrounded it. He pointed to a spot on the bottom of the map. “That’s us.” He moved his finger a tiny bit. “That’s were we’ve been so far.” He moved his hand almost a third of the way up the map. “That’s the first spot he took you.” He moved his hand several inches to the right and up even farther the map. “The second location.” He then moved his hand further right and higher again. “And the third location is almost in the middle of the Ancient Lands.” He then moved his hand to the top of the map. “And of course, the last stop, Chajon.”

  “That’s a lot of territory,” Stann said.

  Colin laughed. “I’ll say so. Jack, you’ve travelled all over the Westdrift Empire, how long do you think it would take to get from one side of it to the other?”

  Jack scratched his head and looked at the map. “We didn’t travel all of Westdrift, but I’ve been to the far southern port of Kalaha, and from there it is about a month to Lorgon, the farthest northern city that I’ve been to.”

  “OK.” Colin put his thumb on the part of the map that showed the Westdrift Empire. “The width of my thumb covers almost the entire distance from Kalaha to Lorgon.” He then moved his thumb so that it was beside where the Academy was. He then placed his second thumb beside it. It still didn’t come close to hitting the first spot.

  Stann frowned. “We’d have to walk for three months just to get to the first location?”

  Colin nodded. “The distance Jack went to cross from the southern end of Westdrift to the northern is about six hundred miles. Chajon is almost six thousand miles away. It would take about a year to walk there. You could ride there in six months or so if you had enough food and water for your horses and didn’t run into any trouble.”

  Stann shook his head. “Crazy.”

  “There’s why everyone loves dragons,” Talia said. “Walking takes too damn long.”

  “Dragons and magic,” Lana said.

  “So those locations Mage Nowak took us to are good?” Stann said.

  “They are more than good. They are locations from which we can spe
nd years searching for goods. You have to remember, the Ancient Lands are vast, and the areas that have been searched the most are the easy places close to the kingdoms. We’ve been searching close to Westdrift, because that’s where we live. Anyone from the other kingdoms does the same. They start close to them.”

  Jack looked at the map. Most of the kingdoms formed a ring around the Ancient Lands. He understood exactly what Colin was saying. “The closer you get to the middle of the map the fewer people that have explored there.”

  “Exactly. We have three locations that are reasonably far into the Ancient Lands. Mage Nowak has done us a tremendous favor. He’s also given us locations that are far more dangerous than the ones we’ve been to so far.”

  Stann shrugged. “We’re ready. Besides, won’t be no bandits on foot trying to follow us to any of those locations.”

  Colin grinned. “Exactly.”

  Talia shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. There are plenty of shady mages Isaac could hire to transport to where we are. If Cara stole any clothing or anything of ours, they could use a tracking spell. That might be how they knew we’d be going west last time. That, and, as Colin said, they might have a spy in the library. We can’t take anything for granted.”

  “Good point. OK. We study, take our courses, and practice while Colin researches our locations, including a few fake locations to throw anyone watching him off, and then we wait till a random day in the next week or two and sneak off to hit the first location or two that Mage Nowak gave us. Everyone cool with that?”

  When everyone nodded, Jack took a deep breath. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was the best he had.

  …

  “You ready?” Colin asked.

  Jack nodded. They’d spent the last two weeks training and attending classes and they were all itching to get back out there and explore. “I think so.”