“You’ve got that look again,” Sam said, watching me from the corner of his eye as stream rose from Kelsey’s shirt. The wet stain was already half its former size, and shrinking rapidly.
“What look?”
He raised an eyebrow like he wasn’t buying my act.
“The one that you get whenever you’re questioning yourself.”
“Just… let it go,” I said irritably, turning away from the pair of them, but not before I caught the look they shared. There were few things that irked me more than pity.
“You know what? I’ve got to get to work. We should pick this up later.”
“But Lyssa, we’ve barely started,” Kelsey said, pushing her hair out of her eyes. “I know it’s hard, but you’re never going to catch up if you don’t practice.”
“Later!”
I tried to shove the cabinet blocking the door out of the way but the damned thing wouldn’t budge. I gritted my teeth and shoved harder. Nothing. Rubbing my forehead, I turned back to my friends, not meeting their eyes.
“Can you help me move this?”
“No.”
“Excuse me? I need to get out of this room. Now. We’ll practice later, okay?”
“I think we need to talk. We’re your friends, Lyssa. You’re bottling everything up and it’s not good for you, you know that. Let us help you.”
“You can help me,” I snapped, rounding on Kelsey, “by getting this stupid cabinet out of my way before Alden fires me.”
“She’s not expecting you for nearly an hour,” Sam said, nodding to a clock on the wall. He hopped up and sat on the cabinet.
“Please?”
He shook his head.
“Not until you talk to us.”
I pivoted on my heel, paced two steps, then pivoted back again. Opened my mouth, then snapped it closed again. I didn’t even know where to begin. I backed against the wall, then let myself slide to the ground, and stared at the space between my feet.
“My whole life I’ve been the odd one out. The one who didn’t quite fit in at school, the one who struggled in classes, wasn’t as smart as my little sister, didn’t even have the same colour eyes as the rest of my family. Then I find out I’m a druid, and I’m adopted, and I don’t have time to even begin dealing with that before I’m thrown into classes at ‘The Dragondale academy of Druidic Magic’.”
I put on a poor imitation of Rufus’s voice, then exhaled slowly and leaned my head back against the wall.
“And I think, ‘Hey, maybe you’ve finally found the place you fit in.’ But I haven’t. I don’t fit in here. I can barely even connect with my power and I’m not like anyone else inside these walls. What if I never find the place I fit in? I’m sick of being an outcast. I just want to belong somewhere. Anywhere.”
“That’s what this is all about?” Kelsey said, glaring at me. Her hands were balled into fists and she was trembling. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her angry – truly angry – before. I frowned, confused, but before I could say anything, she continued, eyes blazing. “Do you think you have the monopoly on being an outcast? Do you think you’re the only one who doesn’t belong?”
Sam hopped down from the cabinet.
“Hey, Kels, take it easy on her.”
“Maybe if you took your head out of your own arse for five minutes, you’d realise that you’re not the only one here with problems.”
I pushed myself up from the ground, trying to work out why she was so rattled.
“What are you talking about? I don’t–”
“You don’t understand? Well, there’s a surprise. You know, you might be surprised by what you understood if you just paid attention to something other than yourself!”
She shoved the cabinet away from the door and yanked it open. Without another word, she stalked out into the corridor, slamming it shut behind her. I looked at Sam.
“What was that all about?”
“Search me. Do you think we should go after her?”
I shook my head.
“Best give her some space. I’ll catch up with her later and grovel as soon as I work out what I did wrong.” I paused. “Am I really self-absorbed?”
He held up a hand, palm downward, and wobbled it side to side.
“A little.”
I grinned and tossed my bag at him.
“Jerk.”
He tossed it back.
“Outcast.”
He picked up his own bag and slung it over one shoulder.
“We should probably get going before someone notices we’re in here.”
I glanced at the clock again and nodded.
“I really do need to get out to the barn. Meet you in the common room later?”
“Sure. Don’t think I’m going to let you in again, though. You can do your own pulse from now on.”
Chapter Eleven
The gryffs seemed to be particularly ornery that evening – or maybe I was the one in the bad mood. Either way, by the time the third gryff had taken a snap at me – the last one coming within a hair of removing one of my ears – Professor Alden suggested I should finish early. That seemed like a sensible idea, so I headed back to the common room, took the coward’s way out and followed another Fire inside, got cleaned up and headed down to the main hall in time for the start of dinner service.
I made my way to the back of the queue, but Sam called my name and waved me over – he was halfway up the queue. I caught up with him and saw Kelsey was there too. I coughed and forced myself to meet her eye.
“Are you– Are things okay between us?” I would have apologised for whatever I’d done to upset her, but I still hadn’t worked out what it was.
“I hope so,” Kelsey said, looking every bit as awkward as I felt. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone off at you like that. Forgive me?”
“It’s already forgotten.”
We shuffled a few steps closer to the counter as the queue moved. I wished I could forget it that easily. I wished I knew what the hell I’d done. I mean, sure, I was whining a bit… alright, a lot, but still, it seemed like a bit of an overreaction. But I didn’t want to start another fight with her. If she wanted me to let it go, that’s exactly what I’d do. We shuffled forwards again.
“So, are we going to… you know,” I glanced over my shoulder at the other students nearby and lowered my voice, “meet up again later?”
Kelsey shook her head and quickly looked away.
“I’m sorry, I can’t this evening. I’ve, um, I’ve got something I need to do.”
“Anything we can help with?
“No! I mean, no, thank you, it’ll be fine.”
I opened my mouth but we’d reached the front of the queue and Kelsey was putting her plate down.
“Evening, Aiden,” she said, with a bright smile.
“Good evening, Kelsey, what can I get for you?”
“I’ll have a steak, please. Rare. Actually, make it blue. And mash and peas… and onions rings and mushrooms.”
“You got it.”
He did his thing, and suddenly her plate was piled high with the food. I eyed it enviously. If I ate that much, I’d be the size of a hippogryff. I put my plate on the counter and asked for a small slice of lasagne and a side salad. Sam got a burger and fries, and we headed off to a table in the Fire quarter.
Sharna and Dean, two of the other first years in our history of magic class, were already at the table, pouring over a textbook while they ate.
“Can you believe Professor Godwin is only giving us a week to write this assignment on the goblin wars in the eighth century?” Dean complained as we took our seats. “I mean, who even knows anything about the goblin wars? And who cares?”
“What I can’t believe,” a voice said from behind us, “is that it’s Friday evening, and you’re studying. I hear Kevan is having a Halloween party – all elements invited.”
Alex put her plate on the table next to mine and pulled out a seat, flicking her dark blonde hair out of her face.
“That beats goblins any day of the week.”
“Have you seen how many factions there were?” Dean buried his head in his hands. “It’s going to take me all night to get my head round this.”
“So you’re telling me,” Alex said, leaning over the table to look at his text book, “that you’re going to pass up a Halloween party, when it’s a full moon, in the basement – with no professors there – to learn about Krokt the Sriak?”
“She makes a good argument,” Sharna said, flipping the book shut. “We can study tomorrow.”
“Are you daft?” Dean stared at her with his mouth open, as if she was, in fact, daft. When she didn’t reply, he continued, “Tomorrow’s the Itealta game – Fire vs Earth.”
“Oh, right. I forgot. We can study Sunday, then.”
“Forgot? How could you possibly forget? It’s the first game of the season. Hope our team aren’t going to be a wreck after your party.”
He glared at Alex who just shrugged and tossed her hair again.
“Hey, it’s not my party. Besides, it’s just a training match, no-one takes those things seriously. It’s not like it’s the real thing. And if they can’t play after a little party, do they really deserve to be on the team?”
She swept her eyes round to the rest of us, apparently certain that no-one would waste their time with a practice game when the season proper didn’t start until the new year.
“Pretty much the whole academy will be there, from what I hear. Aiden says it’s a yearly thing – the professors turn a blind eye, you know, so long as no-one gets killed.”
“Uh, do people usually get killed at academy parties?” I asked, with a little tickle of trepidation in my stomach. I had been thinking of going – even though I had to be up early the following morning to help get the gyffs ready for the match.
“Oh, not in fifty years or so,” Alex said breezily.
“Right.”
“So, I’ll see you there, right?” she asked, downing the rest of her water and picking up her plate. I glanced over at Kelsey and Sam. Sam shrugged but Kelsey shook her head.
“I’ve got somewhere else to be. Hey, are you finishing that?”
She nodded at Alex’s plate, which had an untouched sausage swimming in gravy.
“Knock yourself out,” she said, putting her plate on top of Kelsey’s empty one. “And you don’t know what you’re missing. The parties are the only reason I came to Dragondale. Well, that, and I didn’t want to be bound. Catch you later.”
Several hours later, I was hunting through Kelsey’s wardrobe, looking for a top I could wear to the party – since I had no mundane clothing other than what I’d turned up wearing, Kelsey had generously offered me full rein of her wardrobe for the evening. Luckily, we were about the same size. She was a little broader across the shoulders than me, but not enough that it would notice if I wore something sleeveless. I was seriously going to have to find a way to convince the prefects to let me through to Fantail Market now that I had some money. There’s only so far you can get on a single pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
I pulled out a red skimpy top and turned to Kelsey, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed, fidgeting.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come? You’d look killer in this.”
She shook her head.
“You’re quiet this evening,” I said, as I kept rooting through the rack of clothes.
She shot me a shy smile and managed to still her hands for a moment.
“Sorry, I’m just a little distracted.”
“Anything to do with whatever you’re up to this evening? Hey, you’re not meeting a guy, are you?” I rounded on her, eyebrow raised. “Because I’m your best friend, I deserve the juicy gossip. My love life sucks: I need to live vicariously through yours.”
She just smiled and shook her head again.
“You should wear the red one. It’ll look great on you, you’ve got just the right figure for it.”
And if she still sounded just a little distracted, I pretended not to notice. Some things just weren’t my business. She’d tell me about her mysterious boyfriend when she felt ready. She obviously had her reasons for keeping it quiet. Maybe he was a third year. Maybe he was a professor. My eyes widened as I looked at my innocent friend, twisting her hands in her lap. Okay, probably not a professor, but still. If she wanted to keep it to herself, she could. And I was absolutely not going to pry. For now.
I pulled the red top over my head – she was right, it was more than a little flattering, even if I was getting a little sick of red after two months at the academy. I knew it looked good, because by the time I’d finished sorting my hair and emerged into the Fire common room, a couple of jaws hit the floor. Sam got up from the sofa he’d been waiting on, dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt that was buttoned halfway. He held his arm out to me like an old English gent. I snorted.
“In your dreams, Devlin.”
He laughed, and we ducked out of the common room, pausing long enough to grab our cloaks – it was cold in some of the older corridors. A couple of others came with us, and as a group we made our way down to the dungeons. I hadn’t been there before – this place was massive and I doubted I’d even seen a quarter of it yet – but some of the second and third years with us knew the way. The further we went, the darker the corridors got, until we reached some where the ancient fire balls hanging in the corners were dull and flickering, and casting more shadow than light. Derek – a third year boy with long, dark hair tied back in a bun – did something I couldn’t quite make out with his hands, and then a fireball sprung into existence between them. He gestured and it floated out in front of us, illuminating our way. The joys of not being under the first-year magic restriction. And having some sort of control of your powers, of course – that must be nice.
As we got closer, it became easier to find where we were going – we just had to follow the sound of the music booming from ahead until we reached the dungeon, where the bass was so powerful I could feel it through my legs as I moved. Through the open door we could see the bare walls covered in cobwebs, which may have been decoration but I suspected it just hadn’t been cleaned down here in a really long time. Tiny fireballs hung in the corners, giving off just enough light to let us see the writhing mass of bodies. Practically the whole academy had to be here. I couldn’t believe Kelsey was missing this. I mean, boyfriend or not, surely she wouldn’t want to miss her first real party?
As the others made their way through the throng, I held back.
“What’s up?” Sam shouted in my ear above the roaring tones of a band whose name I didn’t know.
“I’m going to find Kelsey,” I shouted back.
“Are you sure?”
“She shouldn’t miss this!”
Sam nodded his agreement.
“Want me to come?”
“Don’t worry,” I shouted with a shake of my head. “I won’t be long.”
I slipped out, leaving him to work his way to the makeshift bar. The booming of the music faded to a distant thrumming as I moved further from the dungeon, tracing my footsteps back through the long corridors and trying to remember which turns we’d made.
I knew I was on the right track because each fireball I passed was a little brighter than the one before, signalling that I was nearing the more commonly used parts of the castle. I was obviously getting better at this: I’d only made one wrong turn so far. Ahead, I recognised an Earth and Fire tapestry hanging on the clean walls, and knew I was approaching the hallway that branched off towards our common rooms. I was about to turn right, towards the Fire dorms, when I saw a figure lurking to my left. I recognised the short, dark skinned Earth element – she was a first year, too. Elaine, I thought her name was. Or Elanor. Something like that.
“The party’s that way,” I said, gesturing with a thumb over my shoulder. She nodded and chewed her lip.
“I’m heading back there in a minute,” I told her. “I just want to see if Kels
ey has changed her mind. You can come with us, if you’re worried about getting lost.”
She looked down at her feet as she spoke.
“Kelsey isn’t here.”
“Huh? She was here, like, half an hour ago.”
The Earth element shook her head, sending braided hair flying around her face.
“I saw her leaving.”
“Leaving? Leaving where?”
“The castle.”
I frowned. That didn’t make sense. First years were banned from leaving the castle after dark, and Kelsey was paranoid about being expelled. There was no way she’d venture out onto the grounds in the middle of the night.
“Are you sure? Maybe she was just heading somewhere else, near the entrance.”
She shook her head again, adamant this time.
“I… I followed her.” I narrowed my eyes and she said quickly, “I thought she might be going to the party. But she wasn’t. She went outside. Towards the Unhallowed Grove.”
My mouth hung open. That was the grove that was off limits to everyone, even the prefects, and especially to first years.
“You’re mistaken. It must have been someone else, or–”
I remembered how restless Kelsey had been while I was preoccupied with choosing my clothes. Because she was planning on breaking some serious rules? But she’d be at risk of being kicked out and bound, she had to have known that. No guy was worth that. And if Elaine had seen her, anyone else might have, too. Oh, God, she was going to get herself expelled.
“I’ve got to go. Thanks, Elaine.”
I turned and darted back along the corridor. Behind me, the Earth mumbled something that might have been ‘Elanor.’
The hallways were deserted, probably thanks to all the students being at the party, and all the professors pretending that they weren’t. I pounded along them. Maybe I could catch up with Kelsey before she reached the grove. Who knew what lurked in there? Something bad if everyone was banned from going anywhere near it. Maybe even something dangerous. Suddenly getting expelled was the last thing on my mind. Kelsey could get herself killed.
Druid Magic (Druid Academy Book 1) Page 8
