by Evie Wilde
As I watched her go, I wondered when I would actually get to see a place outside the states. I wanted to hit Europe, Iceland, Australia, and Southeast Asia before making my way to South America. And I wasn’t planning on nice hotels and cars to get me around. I wanted to rough it and carry a backpack as I trekked my way across the world. But when? I had a sense of dread toward what the future held with Edius. I wished I could have been more positive with Reagan, but that sense of gloom and doom still hung over the academy, though most students were oblivious to the feeling.
“Look who has a glow,” I heard Ruby say and then she snuck up behind me, Nicolette by her side. Both girls hugged me. I actually wasn’t concerned about them being friends since Ruby and I were going to be roommates again. I trusted her the same way I trusted the guys.
“You cut your hair.” I twirled Ruby’s hair around my fingers. “Looks great.” Nicolette looked as though she were waiting for a compliment. “And you”—I pointed at Nicolette—“look thinner.” Nicolette’s eyes shimmered at the compliment.
“You’ve got to get to Europe,” Ruby suggested. “It’s everything people say it is.” Her eyes fluttered. “The food was so damn good.” She looked around to see if anyone else was listening. “And some of the men were hot as hell.”
“So I hear. Well, tell me about it.” We hooked arms, Nicolette on my left, Ruby on my right, and headed down the hall.
“We landed in London in the middle of the night.” There was a happiness in Ruby’s voice that made her sound younger. “It was creepy as hell at first. The fog was thick as thieves. Reminded me of the old Jack the Ripper movie. We spent a few days traveling around the United Kingdom. Even went to Stonehenge and heard some story about ancient aliens. I suggested maybe it was created by a group of witches.” She laughed and then shook her head as if she were about to faint. “Then we hit Spain, Portugal, and France. TV doesn’t do the Eiffel tower justice. We went to the top, and it seemed like you could see forever.”
“I’m so jealous.” Nicolette’s voice always sounded like a five-year-old's. “I’ve only been to South America and Australia.” Knowing I’d been nowhere, Nicolette winked at me. Friend or foe, once again I didn’t know where our friendship fell.
As Ruby went on and on about the things she saw and experienced, I wondered if I would ever see or do those things. Maybe the guys would take me on a trip between semesters. But then deep down I knew I was probably stuck at the academy for the full four years, especially if we had been handpicked to fight Edius.
“Instead of hostels, we stayed with different mages and learned some new spells and hexes. We got to practice magic in castles, along the Mediterranean, and in the Swiss Alps.” Ruby stopped us. “They’d also heard about you.” She smiled, and Nicolette let out one of those “oh no” sighs.
“Oh, great.” I considered covering my ears. Although I’d learned not to give too much credence to other people’s opinion, it didn’t make it any easier to hear. Those days were past me, but I knew some people would never let me live them down.
“No, it was all good stuff,” she said. “They heard about you and the guys and what you did for the academy. They also heard about your guild. Even the mages in Europe are worried about what happened in the states. When we left, they were all headed to Helsinki to discuss how to deal with Edius and his henchmen. Luckily, we never had to use our magic to fight while we were gone.”
“We trained hard all summer to try to stop Edius from doing anything else,” I said. “I’m just not sure when the hunt for him will begin.” I turned to Nicolette who had been left out of the conversation. I’d seen her around the academy over the summer, but I had no idea what she’d been up to. “How was your summer?”
Nicolette put her hands on her hips and shrugged to adjust her backpack. “I never left campus,” she said. “I trained with Aurelius every day after he was done with you guys.” She looked away as if I would be offended about her training with Aurelius.
I glanced at Ruby. Aurelius said nothing about training other students over the summer. “That’s cool,” I said. “I think it helped us a lot. By the end of the summer, my powers had strengthened so much I thought I was ready to take on the world. Aurelius assured me I was not ready for that just yet. We went over a variety of techniques, learned new spells and hexes, and really concentrated a lot on working as a team. How was your training?”
Nicolette, with her typical attitude, smirked and crossed her arms. If we ever needed her to fight with us as a team, I wasn't sure any of us could count on her. “I learned a few new things as well,” she said and the three of us headed to class. I had no problems with Nicolette and hoped whatever was bothering her about me would go away.
I wondered if maybe, like Dash, Nicolette’s tough, sassy attitude was a façade. I thought she wanted to be part of our circle of friends, but she just wasn’t sure how to do so. She took great pride in being a pain in the ass, so it probably would never happen.
We entered the classroom, and I found myself surprised by all the new faces. “Who are these people?” I whispered to Ruby. Ruby still worked part-time in the admin building, so she usually had the scoop on all the new students.
“Transfers from other academies, and kingdoms from around the world,” Ruby said. “Probably the most diverse group of students the Enchanted Academy has ever had.” She pointed at a young girl sitting at the far table, chatting with other students. “She’s from Brazil. Sent here by her government. She’s only thirteen-years-old.”
“I don’t remember ever being that young,” I joked. “They all look like kids.”
Nicolette sighed. “I can’t wait until we’re in all upper-level classes, so we can get away from the daycare age.”
We zigzagged our way through the classroom and took a seat at one of the tables where a couple of new students sat. The two guys stopped talking, smiled at each other, and then turned their attention to us.
“Ladies,” one of the guys said. The other guy at the table shook his head. They made faces at each other until the guy who greeted us seemed to have a lightbulb go on. I was in agreement with Nicolette.
“Cassandra Clarke,” I said. “That’s Ruby, and she’s Nicolette.”
“Sonny Carson,” the other guy said. “And we’ve heard of you three.” He looked at me. “Especially you. That’s Brett Bowman, the guy with no manners. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
We stayed in awkward silence for a minute until the instructor walked in, a woman whom I had never seen on campus before. She couldn’t have been more than five-feet-tall, but her very presence said don’t screw with her. I was glad Dash wasn’t around to make a derogatory comment. He would have been sent to Headmaster Eliphas’ office, never to return.
“Morning,” the instructor said, and we all replied good morning. “Welcome to Hexes and Field Missions 201. I’m Samantha Blackburn, your instructor for the semester.” She removed a stack of papers from her bag and started around the class. “As you probably know, we’ll be building off what you learned last semester. My rules for class are simple. Do your work, respect me and your fellow students, and you’ll pass with no problem. It really is that simple. Go the other direction, and you’ll be sitting in the headmaster’s office.”
I looked at the long list of work on the syllabus and sighed. I then turned to the next page and viewed the dozens of hexes and spells we’d be covering. Perfect. Most of what would be covered I already knew with Oliver’s help. Though Oliver and I had spent time together every day over the summer, he had yet to make a move toward anything sexual. I sensed his nervousness, but thought he needed to decide when and where without my prompting.
“My understanding from Headmaster Eliphas is last semester turned out to be challenging in more ways than one.” She returned to the front of the class. I guessed her to be in her mid-forties, though she seemed a lot older, maybe an old soul. “I think you’ll find the field work this semester with the mages we’ve lined up will be a
challenging task. Hopefully we can avoid a run in with this Edius character, though I believe it will fall on your generation to stop him and his kind from destroying more mages and guilds. You are the generation who will save us from those who wish to do the world harm.”
Sonny raised his hand, and she nodded. “Will we be picking our own training partner?” He then looked at me. I wanted to tell him not a chance.
“Good question, Mister Carson,” she said. “Before we start that discussion, I thought it would be useful for us to get to know each other.” She grabbed a stack of index cards from her bag. “Each of you will take a card and write your name and three interesting facts about yourself. “She looked at her watch. “You have ten-minutes.”
“Did you hear that?” I asked Ruby. “She said before Edius destroys another guild or mage. The administration knows he won’t stop.”
“Why does it seem like nobody knows how to find him?” Ruby asked, whispering as the instructor moved back to the front of the class. “It can’t be that hard to find him.”
“Everyone’s afraid he’s too powerful to defeat.” Nicolette wrote something on her card. “I’m not worried about him. That’s why they’re grooming all of us. We’re the last hope for all the academies and kingdoms around the world. It’s on us. Just like she said.”
Ruby leaned forward. “They really think a bunch of academy graduates can bring down someone as powerful as Edius?” Ruby wrote something on her card but then marked it out.
Nicolette chuckled. “That’s why both Aurelius and Headmaster Eliphas made their classes and training so much harder this year. They want us prepared.” She looked directly at me. “You better bring your A-game. They’re looking to kick our asses, so they can see if we’re ready for Edius.”
I motioned for Nicolette to lean closer, and then I leaned in. “I don’t run from anything. I’m ready to find him now.” And I meant what I said. Like the guys, I was tired of waiting around to be attacked.
The instructor collected our index cards and then passed them out to the class. We spent the next thirty-minutes learning about each other and the special things we’d done in life. Most everyone had traveled far and wide. I tucked that away in my mind.
I watched Nicolette from the corner of my eye, trying to determine her trustworthiness. I hated having an unknown hanging out there like that. One minute we were friends and the next we were adversaries. I wanted that fixed.
“Interesting.” Sonny read his card and stared at me.
“That mine?” I pointed at the card he was holding.
“Sure is.” He read the card again. “You really blew up a sacred statue?”
“Shit happens.” I turned away from Sonny and listened to other students read off their cards about classmates. I glanced at Sonny again and found him still staring at me. I hoped we wouldn’t have to speak again.
The bell rang, and I was thankful for the escape from both the class and my own thoughts. The whole herd of us started down the hall, discussing lunch, our magic, and our next classes, Sonny leading the way as he and Ruby chatted. Then things turned to shit.
Kyler, Oliver, Dash and Braeden appeared from their classroom, Kyler coming face to face with Sonny, the two guys glaring at each other, neither budging. Every student stopped to see what was happening. Dash stepped forward and stood next to Kyler. Sonny looked up at Dash and then back at Kyler.
“Kyler,” Sonny said. “It’s good to see you.” Sonny stuck his hand out, offering to shake Kyler’s hand. I couldn’t tell if it was a smirk or a smile that Sonny wore.
Kyler looked at the hand and scoffed. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Kyler asked, the veins in his neck growing from anger. I’d known Kyler for a year and had never seen him so angry. Oliver and Braeden moved forward and stood behind him. We were a team regardless of circumstances. Whatever was about to go down, Kyler would not have to deal with it alone.
Sonny dropped his hand. He refused to take his eyes off Kyler, but he did take a quick peek at Dash. Dash was the biggest student at the academy and could be quite imposing. “I transferred in. Wanted to see what all the fuss was about.” He looked at me. “Everyone says it’s the place to be.”
“I didn’t think they let your kind into nice places like this,” Kyler said. “Or did you lie your way in?” He took a step forward, and so did I. Kyler getting tossed from the academy for fighting would hurt the group. I wasn’t so sure if Kyler left, if Dash and Oliver wouldn’t go as well.
“Enough, guys,” I said. “You’re causing a scene.”
Sonny looked around at the other students. “What kind are you referring to, Kyler? I’m no different than you.” He glanced at me again. “Well, maybe you are a little different.”
“He’s a witch doctor,” Kyler said, and Oliver let out a loud awe. “You don’t belong here, Sonny. And if I see you again, one of us is leaving, and I’m not planning on that being me.”
“Kyler,” I said. “What’s wrong?”
Kyler glared at me and then pushed through the crowd of students, heading down the hall. By the time he reached the stairs he’d shifted into a wolf.
“What was that all about?” I asked Dash.
Dash shrugged. “Who the hell are you?” he asked Sonny who shrugged as if he had no idea why Kyler was so offended.
I noticed Dash’s fist clinching, so I placed my hand on his arm. “We need to find Kyler.” I glanced at Sonny and then took off down the hall, Ruby, Dash, Oliver and Braeden following, Nicolette’s laughs echoing behind us. Was she friend or foe?
CHAPTER THREE
Cassandra
“What was that all about?” Ruby asked as we hurried down the stairs, the guys following but lagging behind.
“No clue. He's never acted like that before,” I said. “We need to find out who this Sonny guy is. Can you dig around in his records?”
“I did when I saw his acceptance letter. There was nothing. I couldn’t even find his transcripts.”
“Well, at least we’re starting off the semester the right way.”
We left the classroom building and bolted across the courtyard to the dorms. Kyler had left behind paw prints, though they were almost ten-feet apart between the front and back, meaning his anger had not subsided. I opened the door to the dorm building, and Ruby followed.
“He called Sonny a witchdoctor,” Ruby said. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shook my head. “The only time I’ve ever heard that word used was to describe a bad person. Sonny didn’t seem like a bad person at all. A bit of an asshole, but not really bad.”
“Gotta be a girl,” Ruby said. “Guys are always fighting over women. You watch, when we get to the bottom of this there will be a girl involved.”
As we headed down the hall and then up the stairs, I considered what Ruby said. My guys had yet to fight and, to be honest, I didn’t think they ever would. At the top of the stairs, we stopped at Kyler’s room.
“Should we wait on the guys?” Ruby asked. “Maybe Dash knows what’s going on.”
“I don’t think he does,” I said. “It looked to me like Dash was sizing Sonny up. As if he was trying to figure something out. Oliver looked completely lost as well.”
“I thought Dash was going to pulverize the guy,” Ruby said.
I knocked on Kyler’s door and waited. “I know he came back here.”
“I just hope he’s changed back into human form,” Ruby said. “I’ve heard the urge to kill is much stronger when a shape shifter is in animal form.” She looked down the hall as the guys hit the top of the stairs. Dash barged forward and started to open the door.
“Wait,” I said. “Let Kyler come to the door.” I knocked again and heard movement when I said Kyler’s name. Dash backed away from the door and stood behind Ruby with his arms crossed and his face full of concern. Tough guy until the bitter end.
The door opened enough for me to see only Kyler’s left eye. He had shifted back into a human. “What do you w
ant, Cass?” He opened the door a bit wider so he could see who else had joined me. “Great. Did you bring the entire student population?”
“I just want to talk about what happened with that guy,” I said. “Who is he?”
Kyler looked between me and the others several times, trying to decide, I was sure, what to tell who. “Just you,” he finally said and opened the door for me to enter. Dash started forward, but Kyler put his hand against Dash’s chest. “We’ll talk later.”
“Cass,” Ruby said and grabbed my arm.
“It’s okay; we’re just going to talk. Everyone can wait in our room.” I closed the door against several grumbles from the guys.
Kyler left my side and plopped down on the couch.
“What’s going on, Kyler?”
He looked away and rubbed his chin, obviously torn. He was never one to share his feelings, opting instead to run off into the forest when the world was closing in around him. As I stared at him, I noticed somewhere between the classroom building and the dorm his clothes had been ripped.
“It happens sometimes,” he said when he noticed me looking at his clothes. “That’s why I don’t buy expensive clothes.” His left sleeve was ripped to the elbow, and I could see the veins in his arm and bicep.
I joined Kyler on the couch, his energy wavering a bit, like some invisible force field had been thrown up briefly between us. Our legs touched, and he looked away again. I placed my hand on his leg, hoping to calm his nerves. He glanced at my hand and then began rubbing his own hands. I thought he wanted to put a hand on mine, but I didn’t want to push him.
“It’s like I’ve always told you guys,” I said, “you can tell me anything without being judged. I don’t mind helping or just listening. It’s one of the things we do for each other. I want you to be comfortable around me with all things. Even strange guys from your past.” I smiled, but it didn’t seem to ease the tension. Whatever was bothering him was cutting like a knife.
