Druid Magic (Druid Academy Book 1)

by C. S. Churton

  “Yeah, heart-breaking,” I said, picturing the bad-tempered beast I’d occasionally seen blasting fire at students who ventured too close to the dragons’ enclosure.

  “Anyway, that means it has to have been either Paethio or Zoynenth’s rider who saw you – Ethan or Talia.” She paused, thinking. “Ethan is a water element, so we should probably talk to Talia instead.”

  “Keira’s in hospital, really sick. I think this is a little more important than elemental animosity. Besides, aren’t dragon riders supposed to be above all that – you know, attuned to all the elements through their dragons?”

  Kelsey narrowed her eyes at me.

  “You have been paying attention to Alden.”

  “Sometimes. I try not to make a habit of it, it gives her unrealistic expectations of me.”

  “Well, as it happens, you’re right – in theory, at least. But something about Ethan makes me uneasy, so let’s try Talia first anyway, yeah?”

  I buried a chuckle and nodded as I turned back to my book.

  “Sure. I doubt whoever saw will be able to tell us much, anyway.”

  “I say we go and ask her now,” Sam said, looking up from his book hopefully. Kelsey quickly dashed his hopes.

  “The potion is more important, if we can work out what it does then we’ll know what’s wrong with Keira. Besides, we shouldn’t all go looking for Talia, it will look weird. One of us should keep researching.”

  “Oh, no,” Sam said. “If you think I’m spending more time in this library than absolutely necessary…”

  I coughed and arched a brow at him.

  “What I meant was,” he amended quickly, “is that you’re so much better at this research stuff than I am. We can’t spare you.”

  “Fine,” Kelsey sighed. “I’ll stay and keep looking. But finish up those books you’re going through first, okay? I still think this is our best lead.”

  We got through the books in record time, but it was still over an hour later when we stumbled out of the library, bleary-eyed and fuzzy-brained.

  I stretched my arms out over my head, wincing at the audible click from my shoulders – one too many Itealta injuries, probably – and started down the corridor.

  “Where shall we check first?” I asked Sam. He checked his watch.

  “Well, it’s dinner time, so it’s probably worth checking the main hall first, right?”

  “And let me guess, get some food while we’re there?”

  “It’s important not to look out of place,” he said, with a touch of smugness. “Besides, we can grab something for Kelsey, too, so she doesn’t miss dinner.”

  A few minutes later, we both had food-laden plates, and I had a box Aiden the kitchen mage had kindly filled with a couple of steaks and half a tray of mash for Kelsey. If there’s one thing I learned last semester, it’s that you don’t keep a werewolf from her food. We took our seats on the Fire table, keeping a watchful eye on the green table that belonged to the Earth elements.

  “There,” I said, when we were half-way through our food, nodding to a tall red-head who was taking a seat at the end of the Earth table. “That’s her.”

  We ate the rest of our food, oblivious to the conversation going on down the rest of our table around us, keeping one eye on the dragon rider. I was wondering whether we should wait until she was finished when Sam stacked our plates and walked over to her. I hurried to catch up with him.

  “Hi, it’s Talia, isn’t it?” he said. “I’m Sam, this is Lyssa.”

  The rider looked up at us, her face impossible to read. After a moment, she looked at me and said,

  “You’re one of the reserves on Fire’s Itealta team, aren’t you? Tough break about the match being cancelled. We were looking forward to you beating Air.”

  “Actually, that’s kinda what we wanted to talk to you about,” I said.

  “I can’t help.” She broke eye contact with me and I got the sense people had already asked her. “I don’t have any influence.”

  “No, I don’t mean that,” I said quickly. “It’s about Keira. Were you… were you the one who found her?”

  Her expression turned sympathetic and she set her cutlery down.

  “I can’t help with that, either, but I was sorry to hear about it. It was Ethan who found her.” She chewed her lip a moment, and then seemed to reach a decision. “A word of advice? If you’re going to speak to him, go alone, just you. He has an eye for a pretty face.”

  I gave her a grateful smile, even as my insides churned. I was hardly classic honeytrap material.

  “Thanks.”

  “I wish I could do more. I hope Keira recovers soon.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  It was, of course, too much to hope we’d be that lucky twice – there was no sign of Ethan at his elemental table. He’d obviously eaten and left.

  “You might as well head back to the library,” I told Sam as we headed out of the hall. “Kelsey’s probably starving.”

  “Alright,” Sam said, sounding reluctant – though whether it was returning to the library, or missing out on speaking to the dragon rider that he was unhappy about, I wasn’t sure. “Just… just be careful, okay? This guy sounds like a real jerk.”

  Ah. I guess that answered my question. I shot him the most confident smile I could muster.

  “I’ll be fine. He’s nothing I can’t handle.”

  I watched Sam until he disappeared from sight, then ran a quick hand through my hair, making sure it wasn’t a total mess, and headed towards the Water common room. I’d never been there, so it was a little tricky, but eventually I managed to track it down. Of course, I couldn’t get in without the password, so I was forced to loiter outside like a total stalker. I didn’t even know for sure that he was inside, even if I did manage to convince one of the Waters to let me in, which seemed unlikely. As plans went, it was pretty terrible, but it was the best I had. With a sigh, I leaned back against the wall and resigned myself to a long wait.

  “You forget the password? Wait, you’re not one of our first years.”

  I jerked my head to the left and saw the tall, dark-haired guy regarding me with suspicion. Too bad I had other priorities, because he was kinda cute, in a rugged, brooding sort of way.

  “I’m looking for Ethan Salford,” I said, cursing my cheeks that I could already feel burning. Cute guy’s mouth curved into a smile.

  “Then you’re in luck.” He held out a hand. “I’m Ethan.”

  I made to shake his hand, but he caught my fingers in his, and raised my hand to his lips. I just about managed to keep from rolling my eyes as he kissed it, watching me through mischievous eyes. After a moment it became clear he had no intention of letting go.

  “Uh, can I have my hand back?”

  He smiled again and released it.

  “This is normally the part where you’d tell me your name.”

  As if any part of this was normal. This guy was way too full of himself, probably used to getting anything he wanted through his good looks and dragon rider status. Despite that, the annoying flush stayed in my cheeks and my heart was beating just a little harder than usual. I’d be flattered by his attention if I didn’t suspect he fancied himself more than he fancied me.

  “I’m Lyssa, Lyssa Eldridge,” I told him, forcing a smile onto my lips. His eyes sharpened with interest.

  “The Itealta player everyone’s talking about.”

  “I mean, I don’t think everyone’s talking about me,” I said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “I’m just a reserve.”

  “Modest, too,” he said, flashing me another of those breath-taking smiles. “The most raw potential anyone has seen in years is what they say. Too bad you’re a Fire… or are you?”

  He cocked his head just slightly. Clearly, my Itealta potential wasn’t the only thing people had been talking about. That was the trouble with places like Dragondale: it was practically impossible to keep anything quiet, not least when someone did the allegedly im
possible and manifested two opposing elements. I didn’t want to admit that I still had almost no control over my water power, so I just shrugged and gave what I hoped was a self-depreciating smile.

  “Well, I am honoured that you sought me out, Lyssa Eldridge.” He gave a short, mocking bow, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “What can I do for you?”

  “I heard it was you who found Keira.”

  “The Fire girl. Most unfortunate,” he said, not sounding particularly sincere.

  “It was you, then?” I pressed, and decided a little flattery couldn’t hurt my cause. “I heard you saved her life.”

  He obviously liked the sound of that, standing straighter and squaring his hips to me. Eugh. I forced a smile to play across my lips.

  “I was hoping you’d tell me about it.”

  “I’d be happy to – but I need to ensure Paethio has been properly fed. I was just heading there now. You’re welcome to join me.”

  “Funny, it looked like you were heading to the common room.”

  I jerked my head at the door we were standing beside, and he just grinned.

  “Appearances can be deceptive.” He turned on his heel and started back along the corridor, then looked at me over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised in what was unmistakably a challenge. “Coming?”

  Like I had a choice. I followed him through the corridors and out of the main door into the grounds, hoping that no-one was watching us, because he might have special dispensation to leave the castle, but I sure as hell didn’t. And much as I wanted to find out about Keira, I didn’t want to get myself expelled doing it. Or, like, eaten by a dragon.

  It was dark outside, and a layer of frost was already forming on the short grass.

  “This way,” Ethan said, beckoning me towards a stone building looming in the distance. I heard a loud snort as I passed the gryff barn, and with a pang of longing I recognised the sound of Stormclaw’s squeal.

  “Sorry boy,” I muttered under my breath. If I went inside to see him, the rest of the animals would kick up such a fuss that we were bound to be caught. I hurried to keep up with Ethan and he reached the stone building just in front of me, and held open the door.

  “Have you ever seen a dragon up close?” he asked, as I stepped inside. I shook my head, staring around me in amazement – it was much bigger in here than it had appeared from outside. Like Ares’ enclosure, it was as if I’d stepped through the wardrobe into Narnia, only this place was much, much bigger than the gryphon’s home.

  “It’s enchanted,” Ethan said, as I twisted round, looking up at the ceilings that were so far above me I could barely make them out. “Apparently it would have ruined the view.”

  He shrugged with apparent carelessness, but he was watching me closely. My eyes drifted back down from the high ceilings and the immaculate stone walls to the cobbled floor. The hall we were in wasn’t just tall, it covered a huge amount of ground, and a few hundred paces away was the building’s fourth wall, which stood only a couple of feet high, so that you could comfortably lean on it and look out. Beyond was a wide expanse of dusty, scorched earth. I walked over, no longer in control of my own limbs, staring out into the landscape that was most definitely not visible from anywhere else on the academy grounds. And I knew – I’d flown over all of them. Rocks jutted up from the earth, and only a few tall trees stood stoutly against the rugged terrain.

  “It covers over two hundred acres,” Ethan said, and I got the feeling he was enjoying me being dumbstruck. I made an effort to compose myself and squinted up at the sky. Could I just about make out three dark shadows in the distance? Ethan laughed, and let out a long, low whistle.

  There was a distant screech, and one of the shapes circled away from the others. I watched, awestruck, as the massive creature glided effortlessly through the night sky, its wings spread wide on either side of its long, scaled body. It drew closer, and I could see how different its wings were from Stormclaw’s. Where the gryff’s wings were birdlike, thick, arc-shaped, and covered in feathers, the dragon’s wings were far more angular and I could make out the bone structure which seemed only to have a paper-thin layer of skin smeared over them. As it drew closer still, I realised everything about it was bigger than I’d first thought. No wonder they needed such a vast enclosure. The force of the wind displaced by his massive wings blew my hair out of my face, and the dragon screeched again. I winced in pain, near deafened by the dragon’s cry, as his feet crunched down onto the ground with a thud I could feel through my feet. His reptilian face was completely covered in scales other than his eyes, which were watching me with unsettling intelligence as he tucked his wings back to his sides, and stretched his head over the low wall, bumping his nose to Ethan’s hand.

  “Magnificent, isn’t he?”

  “Very,” I breathed, and then shook myself out of my trance. It was true, Paethio was an incredible animal, and I couldn’t believe I was standing this close to him – to a freaking dragon, for crying out loud. But I was here for a reason, and that reason wasn’t to inflate Ethan’s ego – he clearly didn’t need any help in that department.

  “So, you were telling me about Keira,” I prompted.

  “Oh, she’s not interested in us,” Ethan said mournfully to his dragon, rubbing his hand across the creature’s wide nostrils. “Some girls are just impossible to impress.”

  “I am impressed,” I promised him. “Paethio is amazing. I just really need to know what happened with Keira.”

  Ethan dropped his hand and turned back to me.

  “We were doing a perimeter lap – you know that us riders are responsible for making sure that no-one crosses the forcefield protecting the academy, right? – and I decided to do a flyover by the Unhallowed Grove. There are some real nasty things lurking in that place, and I like to make sure they stay put. Make sure everyone can sleep soundly in their beds. Anyway, I saw something lying on the ground and came down for a closer look, and found Keira lying there, unconscious.”

  “What was wrong with her?”

  “Who knows? She wasn’t bleeding, she wasn’t injured, it was just like she’d fallen asleep. Except I couldn’t wake her.”

  “She wasn’t bleeding?” The report had definitely shown bite marks on her shoulder, and if she’d been bitten, there should have been blood. “Are you sure?”

  Ethan’s brow furrowed and he looked annoyed. He obviously wasn’t used to being questioned. I backtracked quickly.

  “I just meant, it was dark and that. It would have been easy to miss… not that I’m saying you’d miss something.”

  He seemed to come to a decision, and smiled, relaxing.

  “I wasn’t mistaken. There was no blood. Even if I hadn’t seen it, Paethio would have smelled it. No blood, no obvious injuries.”

  “Did you get a look at what attacked her? Or see anything weird?”

  “Attacked her? Nope, she was alone. Nothing strange other than the unconscious girl. Oh, except… there was this smell, I couldn’t quite place it, but,” he paused, frowning, then continued, “I don’t know. It was disgusting, like maybe something was rotting? It really set Paethio on edge, that’s for sure. Anyway, enough talk about Keira.”

  He reached out to me and brushed a lock of hair out of my face, then bent his lips to mine. I planted my hand firmly on his chest.

  “Whoa. What are you doing?”

  “What does it look like?” he asked with a smile, leaning in again, and again I pushed him back. He glared at me, curling his lip.

  “Seriously? You’re rejecting me? You’re not going to find anyone better here.”

  “I’m going back to the castle now,” I told him, forcing my voice to remain calm and firm, and ignoring the pounding inside my ribcage. “I’ll see you around.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Lyssa! Where have you been?”

  I almost jumped right out of my skin when the voice sounded from behind me, right as I was slipping back into the entrance hall. Heart pounding, I turned roun
d and found myself face to face with Sam.

  “Don’t do that! I was with Ethan. What’s wrong?”

  I added that last as I took in his pale, anxious face, and the restless way his eyes were darting around.

  “It’s Kelsey, she’s gone.”

  “Gone?”

  “She wasn’t in the library when I got back there. Dawson said she left with Underwood, and she didn’t look happy.”

  I frowned. It was a full moon tonight, but it was still early, she had a couple of hours before she needed to take off for the grove. The grove that had some strange new danger in it, if Ethan was telling the truth about Keira. Professor Underwood must have been taking her somewhere else, there was no other reason he would come and get her. Whatever was out there, it must have the professors really riled if they didn’t think a werewolf could handle it.

  “Where did he take her?”

  “I don’t know. Dean said he saw them heading down to the dungeons. I’m going there now.”

  I blanched. They were going to lock her in a cage. She’d made so much progress controlling her full moon shifted form, but if she was trapped in a dark room with nothing to distract her from her bestial nature, there was no telling how much damage it would do to her and how far it would set her back. And I didn’t just mean in terms of her shift.

  “I’m coming too. Which way?”

  We hurried through the deserted corridors, keeping our heads down and our thoughts to ourselves, but I didn’t doubt we were both thinking the same thing. We needed to get to her before she hurt herself.

  “And just where are you two going?”

  The voice sounded from behind us, and we spun around.

  “Professor…” Sam stammered.