by Melody Rose
My heart began to pound uncomfortably. I was just now able to shake off all the “lamb’s blood” barbs, but this could land me on square one all over again. A stomach-churning vision that I hoped was just paranoia hit me, imagining how all my peers would point fingers at me or gesture with horn signals over their heads. The last thing I needed was to bear the “mark of the beast” or be pegged as some hellacious traitor.
The color drained from my face, and my aura took on the color of dirty dishwater.
“This isn’t going to work,” I admitted in defeat.
Theo’s eyebrows jumped up with surprise, struck by how quickly my sunshiny optimism had dissolved into total angst. “Nonsense, darling. Let’s just be resourceful, shall we? No good came over mulling over small misfortunes.”
I was glad that he didn’t treat me as irrational or point out what might have looked like a vicious mood swing. I couldn’t handle any discouragement this early in the morning. In fact, I was in dire need of a pep talk, a good breakfast, and an even better makeover.
“We’re going to need to bring in the big guns,” I announced.
Theo nodded as though what I said made absolute sense, even though it was probably a bunch of human gibberish.
“As you wish, my darling,” he acknowledged with a pet name more familiar to me.
You know, even with all of my rolling with the punches, figuratively and literally, I didn’t have it so bad. I had a gorgeous boyfriend willing to attend to most of my needs, not a ton but just enough friends that were damn reliable, and more magic on my side that anyone from my neck of the woods could even dream of.
“Apportez-nous la sorcière connue sous le nom de Becks,” Theo began his teleportation incantation. “Bring us the witch known as Becks.
I smirked with satisfaction. It was nice to see that the once stuffy Theo wasn’t above using nicknames. It meant a lot to me to hear that he was referring to Becks the way she actually liked. At first, it was hard to get him to respect my friends since he thought they were a bad influence. That, or he just thought I had bad taste. Either way, it was really difficult to get him to gel with my inner circle, and I had no idea how I could strike a peaceful balance.
Now, he was able to not only see Becks as the respectful genius she was, able to shift seamlessly between Lemurian and human culture, but he also warmed up to me having male friends. As I got caught up in sugary appreciation over Theo’s praise-worthy growth, Becks popped into view.
The teleportation spell went slightly awry, probably because she was super groggy and didn’t actually want to be dragged out of bed. Usually, a willing participant would melt into the magic, sort of similar to speeding down a water slide. If you multiplied that sensation by ten, of course. The end result was the summoned mage sparkling into existence in the designated area. Due to Becks’ resistance, the enchantment got a bit, uh, sticky. Her hair looked like it was caught in a windstorm, and glitter freckled her entire body from head to foot.
I raised an eyebrow at her comical arrival. I could always depend on her to be up for any crazy misadventures, but not today, apparently. She didn’t even have time to prepare one of her more-electrifying-than-a-dozen-Redbulls morning charms. Since she was always sneaking off campus to stalk humans beyond the portal, this was more than necessary.
Now, Becks was more disheveled than I’d ever seen her, all crumpled pajamas and baggy eyes. I squinted and took a closer look. It was a pretty weird combination, though not really surprising. Her nighttime get-up included a matching set of sleepwear covered in blue telephone booths and pajamas that looked like murderous rabbits with bloody fangs. I swear, I didn’t know how a girl with such questionable fashion sense had such killer make-over magic.
You had to love the girl, though. Not a dishonest bone in her body and a heart of gold.
“For Chrissakes!” Becks bemoaned and rubbed her eyes with shaking fists. “What’s this all about, Theo?! Do you need more advice about how to woo Joa…?”
She paused and examined the room, realizing it was mine. The sandy hair mage blushed and then locked eyes with me. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with a fit full of tears, rushing over to me and catching me in a tight embrace.
“I haven’t seen you in ages!” she screeched, now awake enough to worry herself sick.
I laughed and patted her back to ease her frazzled nerves. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Really! I’m pretty much back to normal and excited to get back to classes. The only thing is…”
Theo rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and stepped back, allowing us to gab and catch up. He probably wanted to speak for me and explain the situation but decided against it, giving the floor to me.
“Well, I’ve got this pesky mark that Theo nor I can get rid of, no matter how hard we try--”
“Awww! Come on, guys.” Becks cut in awkwardly, scrunching up her nose and metaphorically clutching pearls. “With how rough the two of you play, you can’t expect to pull me in every time ya’ll leave, uh, signs of passion! I love you, girl, but I’ve got a spell point average to maintain too!”
I crossed and uncrossed my arms frantically, then made a T with my hands like a referee calling a foul. “It’s not like that! No one told you the specifics of my brush with death, or at least a demon, did they? Well, I lived to tell the tale, but I don’t actually want to get into it with everyone at school. It’ll get too complicated.”
Becks furrowed her forehead, trying to make sense of what I was saying. I was glad to know that Damian wasn’t a gossip like a lot of other mages on campus.
“Is that what this is all about?” she demanded. “How the hell did you encounter a demon? Why am I just hearing about this! I thought we were besties, Joan! Anyway, no, I definitely had no idea…” She stressed that last part for an extra dollop of guilt.
I stepped back and crossed my arms, sending the message that I wouldn’t continue if she was just going to play that game.
“Alright, alright,” she relented. “All I knew was that you were on what everyone kept calling ‘sick leave’ to recover. I’m glad to see you’re okay, even though I wish you would keep me in the loop sooner! How can I help?”
I closed my eyes and pointed at the infernal script singed into the lids. Becks made a sympathetic hissing noise as she lightly prodded the glowing symbols. I didn’t even have to tell her what happened. This girl was too damn smart for her own good, and I was glad to have her on my side.
“This wasn’t any common demon, or it wouldn’t have been anywhere near Bouclier, to begin with,” Theo finally spoke up, this time man enough to admit where his limits were. “Whoever the caster is, and you can be sure that I’ll make them pay, their tarnishing hex is absurdly strong.”
“That’s for damn sure,” Becks agreed, irritation dripping from her. “It’s a good thing you teleported me in because I don’t know who would be able to cover this mess up. Plus, anyone who caught wind that Joan crossed paths with a demon and ended up with this would just get the rumor cauldron stirring!”
“Exactly,” Theo confirmed. “Infernal script is no light matter in Lemuria. In fact, it’s so rare of an occurrence that no one has even laid eyes on it since Bouclier was opened as an academy. We have to be cautious since there’s no promising how everyone will react… especially since none of us have the Sight.”
Theo seemed totally defeated, so Becks cut in and waved away his worries. Out of the three of us, she bounced back the quickest from setbacks.
“And no one’s gonna find out,” she insisted. “None of us need the Sight. Just let me do what I do best, and no one will be the wiser. When I’m done with her, she’ll practically come out an angel. Step aside!”
Her cockiness was adorable and melted all, or at least most of, my doubts.
12
Joan
Sure enough, once I let Becks work her magic, there wasn’t a trace of demonic influence to be found on my skin. Now that I was safe and secure with the fact that even the nosiest student wou
ldn’t find out my secret, I could join the land of the living again.
After recharging my mana by chatting with Chef Douglas and swapping recipes, some that were really surprising since he managed to travel so much while I was healing, I was able to treat myself to an actual meal. While Theo’s rotation of soups was admirable and totally not terrible, it still got pretty monotonous. I was a girl who was used to eating, really going to town on true, hearty food, so a weeks-long liquid diet was just not ideal.
My favorite faun whipped me up what was this realm’s version of lamb biryani. He learned about it on an island, Sataragī Badala, roughly translated to rainbow cloud, that was hailed far and wide for its incredible array of spices.
Becks and Theo watched as I closed my eyes in almost inappropriate pleasure over the decadent dish. At least I wasn’t self-conscious over anyone seeing the pesky script that was cleverly concealed but definitely still etched onto me. Even if it were risky to be caught red-handed, or, er, red-eyed, I wouldn’t have been able to help myself. The enchanted meat was so savory and umami that it was hard to believe that it just came from the memory of animals. It warmed my heart to know that not a single creature was harmed for the sake of feeding me.
As I lost myself in the buttery rich, saffron laced rice, enhanced by a medley of garlic-infused vegetables and chopped nuts, Becks cleared her throat. She tapped the clock on her wrist, an odd and pretty much dysfunctional accessory in Lemuria. It had to be for show because it couldn’t tell time to save its life. The hour and minute hands kept racing counterclockwise, making me dizzy just looking at it. If she was going to wear this “civvie” timepiece for the pure joy of it, I wished that she would at least disable it, so its hands didn’t spin around so obnoxiously. Then again, she probably liked how it was a statement of the beautiful chaos created when human and mage culture clashed. Maybe that was why she was so gung-ho to be my best friend.
That’s when I realized that she was actually trying to help me out as usual. Even though I was really out of sorts when I first enrolled at Bouclier, even needing a “temporal sigil” to remind me how much time I had left until my classes, I eventually figured out a reliable rhythm. I didn’t usually need any help and continually had perfect attendance, even in the classes that weren’t my favorite or I wasn’t the greatest at.
But as I shoveled three spoonfuls of Chef Douglas’ biryani, I started. My little salacious “sabbatical” with Theo must have melted my brain. I had forgotten just about all of my responsibilities, including the fact that I needed to collect my sweet Aurelius. Not only would he miss me, but we both had pretty big fish to fry today.
“Oh my god!” I let out. “You’re right!”
Becks nodded with a look of smug satisfaction, not even bothering to question me.
“The Familiar Hunting class,” I went on. “How could I be so stupid! I can’t go to that without my freakin’ Cavallian hound. Shoot, shoot, shoot! Are you able to teleport Aurelius and me to class? I want to make a good impression after being gone for so long.”
She gave me a smile so tight that her eyes crinkled, and I figured her cheeks must have been sore. She was letting me down lightly. The two of us knew each other like the back of our hands and couldn’t hide our feelings. I was only slightly off my game to even ask Becks for help. She was obviously wiped out from performing a high-level cosmetics charm on me, and it would have been selfish of me to ask for whatever mana she had left for my own stupid needs. Becks had her own classes that she wanted to stay on top of, and I couldn’t ask her to put her life on hold on my account.
“Sorry, girl,” Becks began, but I just shook my head. I didn’t want her to take this on as her fault. It wasn’t. At least I got to have lunch with her to settle my nerves, but I still felt like a bundle of anxiety. I groaned and buried my face in my hands.
At first, the day seemed to get off to a good start. I talked shop with Chef Douglas, had a solid meal for once, ate with my best friend after holing myself away with Theo for weeks, and was able to scrub away evidence of my run-in with a demon. Now, though, I hadn’t seen Theo most of the day because he needed to attend early master classes. Then, he pretty much brushed off lunch, telling me that he needed to get a head start on some “studying.” I suspected that that was code for investigating who was after me, so I didn’t get on his case. Plus, I didn’t want him to be under the impression that I needed him every step of the way.
But all that paled in comparison to what I saw or more what I didn’t see when I looked up. For all my attempts to be an independent witch, though, I felt that I stumbled right into a trap. As my head was spinning, fixating on all that had suddenly gone wrong, the last image I remembered was Becks pouting in solidarity. I recalled thinking about what a great friend she was, even though she couldn’t help me this one last time.
I would have stood there for a solid minute if I had the time to just gawk. Even though the aesthetic of where I was spirited away was pretty dark, I was surprisingly at ease. At least, I thought I was. It was hard to tell since the teleportation spell that brought me here was, honestly, pretty amateurish. The interdimensional tunnel that lapped me up from the lunch hall and swallowed me whole was not exactly kind. It felt miles and an hours-long trek of pure, nauseating hell. By the time it was done with me, even though it probably took less than a minute, any type of digs would have felt like heaven.
At the very least, I was on sturdy ground.
The best way I could describe where I’d been taken was “gothic minimalist.” Whoever this room belonged to, they weren’t vain at all because there wasn’t a single mirror at all. Instead, the only decoration mounted on the walls, papered with an odd but not entirely unappealing print that looked vaguely Victorian by human standards and was peeling ever so slightly, was an elaborately carved animal skull. As I squinted to gather my mental balance again, I thought it might have belonged to a coyote. Its eggshell-colored cranium was beautifully bedecked with the outlines of countless wildflowers. Each was pale, intricate, and unique as snowflakes. While I was momentarily entranced, my summoner spoke to me.
“Joan!” he cried out. “I wondered when you’d join the land of the living again! It feels like it’s been ages. Aurelius has been here safe and sound, and it looks like there have been some recent… developments. All should be in your favor, though?”
I gaped at my surroundings, my mouth open. I then looked around helplessly, trying to spot where my familiar was. As far as I could tell, he was nowhere to be found. On top of that, it was hard for me to even believe that I was on Bouclier’s campus. This didn’t look like any dorm I’d ever stepped foot in, even taking Theo’s luxurious suite into account. Where the hell was I?
“I know, right?” Damian said, as though reading my mind. “Pretty ‘sweet,’ as Rebecca would say! I’d love to tell you more about the history of this room since it’s damn fascinating, but we don’t have the time right now. ‘Raincheck’?”
I nodded. “Uh, sure…” If I were less disoriented, it would have been cute how proud he was of adopting human expressions. He didn’t know Becks well enough to use her preferred nickname, so he must have been spying on “civvie” matters alone and on his own business. Maybe misfits in Lemuria were really keen on non-magical folks, wanting to know what made them tick and how they managed to survive.
In the wake of my relative silence, he went on rambling excitedly. “Okay, okay. Here’s what I will let you know. This is one of the run-down rooms used by sorcerers centuries ago. It isn’t actually supposed to be used as a dorm at all, but, I mean, you know Abelard, right? He isn’t aware of a fraction of what happens in his own domain, so why not use it to our advantage?”
He wasn’t entirely wrong, but I didn’t know if that made him… right, either. It wasn’t that I was overly protective over someone bad-mouthing my boyfriend’s dad. Theo did a stellar enough job of ripping his father and my headmaster to shreds on his own. Still, I didn’t know if Abelard having his head in the clou
ds, or tomes, or whatever it was that sapped all his attention away, meant that we should all use that for our own goals. I didn’t want to bite the hand that fed me, after all. Even though he was far away and almost not a school presence at all, the headmaster had still given me the best life I could have ever imagined. Even with these pesky brushes with death.
“I…” I struggled for words. “... haven’t thought about it that way.” Bam. That seemed like the most diplomatic approach. I didn’t have the bandwidth to get into a debate, especially since I was running out of time.
“Of course you wouldn’t! The good witch from Earth, Joan MacKenna, couldn’t dream of breaking the rules,” Damian joked good-naturedly. “As far as I see it, though, biding time in some squeaky-clean, bourgeoisie dorm just wouldn’t work for me. This room has a ton of surprises, not least of which the ward-resistant walls that are porous and open to spirits. Speaking of which…”
He looked then toward one of the walls. Out of the curiosity he obviously wanted to spark, I followed his line of vision. I yelped when I saw a glowing hellhound, ablaze with crimson and amber flames, prowl seamlessly out from the patterned paper. It amazed me how such a red-hot beast didn’t set the whole room on fire like some raging pyromaniac. There was no way… this couldn’t be…?
“What in the…?” My mind blanked. I didn’t know whether to curse hell or the abysses. What in the world was this beast? It was hard for me to make sense of what was going on. “Is that…?”
“Aurelius, in the flesh and fur!” Damian cried out, as though I’d won a prize. It wasn’t as though I wouldn’t have loved my boy unconditionally, even if he was a walking inferno instead of a ball of fluff and affection. It was just that this was a lot to process. I let this oddball, brooding, yet strangely excitable, well, over ghosts and the occult, that is, mage continue to do the talking.
