“Just come on,” I said. “I’ll fill you in later.”
He grinned and did a little happy dance, which shouldn’t have warmed my heart as much as it did. Tinkerbell and Pan took off, not even noticing that Hook was waiting for me.
“Hey,” she said. “You ready?”
“Yeah.”
She looked over at Beast.
“Is he coming?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“He’s cool,” I promised her. “It’s fine.”
Besides, Beast was a shifter. If we got into any sort of trouble, he’d be able to help us. His help would be invaluable, in fact. I was quite sure of it.
Hook rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, whatever,” she muttered.
Beast didn’t seem to mind.
“What’s the problem, Hookie?” He winked. “Not a fan of dragons?”
She knew what he was.
We all did.
Beast had done a good job hiding his true identity for a long time, but he didn’t have to hide anymore. Besides, there were other shifters at the school, and he knew that now. It was nice to have a little bit of freedom when it came to expressing that.
“Not a fan of assholes,” she muttered.
“Hey, that’s not fair,” I protested on his behalf.
“Life isn’t fair,” Hook said, but she turned and started walking. Apparently, it was time to go. I hurried to follow her and Beast came along, too. If Hook’s words hurt him at all, he didn’t let it show. Beast was kind of a tough guy, through-and-through, and there wasn’t really anything she could say or do that would upset him.
Still, it stung me a little bit.
He wasn’t a bad guy.
In fact, he’d done a lot for the school. I wished Hook could see that instead of being so damn judgmental.
Whatever.
We went past a bunch of the students who were loitering on the stairs and in their seats. We were all taking advantage of cancelled classes in the morning. Nobody was in a hurry to leave the room and have to return to real life, after all.
Who would?
Helena Hex was still standing at the center of the auditorium. By the time we got down to her, there was a line of students. Each person seemed just as eager to talk to her as we were. There was just one problem: our topic was, well, kind of private.
“We should try to catch her later,” Beast said, jerking his head toward the line. “Especially if what you all have to say is a secret.”
“It can’t wait,” Hook grit her teeth. She was right. This was kind of urgent. I mean, I probably should have gone to Helena long before, but how was I supposed to know that there was something weird and creepy going on with a painting?
It was a painting.
Those things were supposed to be, well, boring.
When I’d studied art in school, I’d always enjoyed drawing and painting. Sculpting was probably my favorite activity, but I loved working on crafts because art projects were freeing. Doing art meant I could do what I liked to do. I was able to pursue my own dreams and explore my own interests. More importantly, I could say anything I wanted to say without having to open my mouth.
Other peoples’ art, though?
So boring.
I’d gotten used to the somber paintings that filled Enchanted Academy. They seemed to loom just about everywhere. I wasn’t sure why some people seemed so totally comfortable with paintings or pictures that were dull and ordinary, but I’d stopped worrying and I’d stopped asking. Now the only thing I wanted to know was whether this painting I’d discovered was actually a threat or if I was totally overreacting.
I hoped, for everyone’s sake, that I was just being dumb.
“We don’t really have a choice,” I said, looking at the students lining up. Helena was inching her way to one of the back doors.
She wasn’t going to hang around to chat.
“Maybe we can catch her in her office,” Beast pointed out.
It wasn’t a bad idea, but Hook looked reluctant. I knew why she was so nervous. The fact that there was a twin orb in the painting at school was quite horrifying and dangerous. That sort of thing shouldn’t have existed in a painting, and more than that, it shouldn’t have existed in a painting at school.
“It’s a good idea,” I told her.
In fact, as I saw Helena inching back more and more and getting closer to the door, I realized we’d never make it through the crowd of students vying for her attention. Unfortunately for us, everyone was very excited about the possibility of attending a ball. While it didn’t really do anything for me, it was something the other students were really looking forward to.
There wasn’t a lot of positive excitement at Enchanted Academy.
Everything that happened here was sort of wild and unpredictable, so it was nice that there was finally something special we could do.
“What’s the problem, anyway?” Beast asked. “Maybe I can help.”
“Sorry, bud, but there’s no chance you can help with this.” Hook looked firm. She turned and started walking away.
“Where are you going?” I scurried after her with Beast in tow.
“I’ll try to head her off in the hallway,” she said.
“Let’s go, then.”
We hurried out of the auditorium and turned right down the hallway. We started going toward the teachers’ offices so we could try to catch Helena Hex before she got inside. Once she was in her office, she was basically inaccessible. The other teachers guarded her office like a prison.
Either that, or a throne.
I still couldn’t really tell which.
We saw her rounding a corner and hurried to catch up with her. There were a few students following her and talking as she walked, but we could easily slip into their little group. We hurried up, reached them, and followed.
“Will there be a dress code?” One student, Hannah, was asking.
“Yes,” Helena said. “You should choose something formal, Hannah. Think prom. Think wedding. Something pretty that makes you feel good about yourself.”
“What about food?” A boy wanted to know. I didn’t know his name.
“What about it?”
“Will there be food at the ball? You know, some of the students get really hungry.”
“Yes, there will be food.”
“How much, exactly?”
“More than enough.”
“What kind of food?”
“Shit, this could go on forever,” Hook mumbled. She stepped forward and spoke loudly and clearly. “Miss Hex, do you have a minute? We have an important question for you that has nothing to do with the ball.”
Was it just me, or did Miss Hex look relieved to have us showing up to distract her?
“Very well,” she said. She turned to the other students. “Please hold the rest of your questions or consult with another professor. I’ll be giving further updates as the date gets closer, as well.”
“But-“
“For now, I need to meet with Miss Hook and her friends,” Helena said. The other students acquiesced and walked away, but not before they shot us some laser-sharp looks that could have melted daggers.
“Sorry about interrupting,” I said. I didn’t want her to think we were being rude.
“Not at all,” she waved her hand. “It’ll do me some good to get out and about. Besides, I don’t really need to be just sitting around talking about dances, even if they are the very best part of school,” she winked.
“I thought the potions classes were the best part,” Beast said with a straight face.
Potions classes were the worst.
Potions were just too easy to screw up. One little mistake and everything would be over. It didn’t take a lot to completely destroy your entire project.
Helena just smiled.
“Let’s go into my office,” she said. “We can talk there. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing this should be a somewhat priv
ate chat?”
“Yes, please,” Hook said. She looked over at me and I nodded. We were both scared about what this meant. We were both worried about what came next.
Chapter 3
Helena Hex had been an ice dragon her entire life, but dealing with student problems never seemed any easier because she was a shifter. If anything, it made things more complicated for her because she could always scent exactly what their emotions were. If a student came to her completely distressed, it was difficult for her to remain calm and rational when she knew they were hurting.
Helena didn’t want anyone to hurt, least of all her students.
She had smelled the fear wafting off Jessica and Hook long before the students finally spoke up. She’d smelled it in the auditorium and now it practically reeked.
Helena was tired.
She felt as though she’d been fighting problem after problem for an eternity. This entire year had been a nightmare with one extreme problem after the next: students disappearing, students being kidnapped. Now she wanted to rest. Hell, maybe it was time for her to start thinking about retirement. She definitely deserved it.
Now that they were in her tiny little office, everything would be fine. The students would tell her what the problem was and they’d talk it out the way they always did. She had a good group of kids at Enchanted Academy this year: kids she’d do anything for.
Including give up her lunch hour to find out just why they were so scared.
Jessica came into the office first and looked around before selecting the best seat in the office. It was typical, but not unlikable. Jessica had come from nothing. When she’d won a scholarship to Enchanted Academy, Helena hadn’t been quite convinced that admitting a non-magical student was a good idea, but Jessica had surprised her. The girl was clever and witty and above everything else, she was fierce.
Jessica wasn’t afraid to fight to get the things that she wanted more than anything else.
She wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted.
Beast came in shortly after her. He was her boyfriend now, Helena was pretty sure, which was strange because before, he’d been such a player. Well, she supposed that was what happened when you fell in love. You didn’t have a problem turning yourself around and changing your image.
That was what her experience had been, anyway. As a young dragon, she’d fallen in love more times than she could count, and that had changed her in many ways.
Beast took the seat next to Jessica, and finally, Jillian Hook came in. She was one of the most fascinating students Helena had ever met, and also one of the bravest.
“We have a problem,” Hook didn’t beat around the bush.
Helena could appreciate that.
“Tell me,” she said. She didn’t bother taking a seat. Instead, Helena stood behind her desk and proudly looked at the students who had come to her for help.
She was both torn and relieved.
It was terrible to have to deal with a problem like this, but it was also a relief that the students had actually come to her this time. Generally speaking, students at Enchanted Academy preferred to wait until problems got so big that they would take an army to solve.
It was nice that today’s problem was much...easier.
She hoped.
“Look, Jessica and I noticed a painting by the East exit.”
“The one you asked me about.”
“Yes.”
“What about it?”
She couldn’t begin to imagine why everyone was so worried about this silly painting. It had appeared one day, presumably as a gift, but she’d had several students come tell her that there was something not quite right about it. Helena liked the fact that the painting was a bit quirky, but, well, she also couldn’t have her residents being scared of a picture.
“Jessica and I noticed something strange in the painting,” Hook said. “A twin orb.”
That caught Helena’s attention.
“A twin orb?”
“Yes.”
“You’re certain?”
“Positive.”
She groaned.
Really?
A twin orb?
Helena slumped into her seat. Who had put it there? And how much had they overheard?
“Uh, excuse me?” Beast raised his hand. “What’s a twin orb?”
Jessica was actually the one who spoke up. This surprised Helena a little. Jessica had struggled since she’d arrived at the school. Things hadn’t been easy for her. Some of that had to do with her non-magical background.
“Twin orbs are these matching little balls.”
“Okay...”
“They can only be created by a very powerful witch,” Jessica continued.
“So what’s wrong with them? What do they do?”
“They allow someone to spy on other people. You take one of the orbs and put it somewhere. Then you go back to your own private place – your bedroom or whatever – and you use the other orb to basically see through the first one.”
“So it’s kind of like a visual portal.”
“Basically,” Jessica said. “But I didn’t know they could appear in paintings. I mean, how do we know if it’s actually an orb or not?”
“Trust me,” Helena said, closing her eyes. “If it’s painted on, it’s probably for a reason.”
She just wondered who was after someone at the school. A twin orb wasn’t something you used casually in order to gain information about a group of people. It was something you used to find information about a specific person.
The school had been through a lot in the past year and there were many threats and enemies, but Helena didn’t like to think that her students in particular were going to be affected.
Only, they were.
They all were.
“You think someone has been spying on the students,” Beast said.
So the girls hadn’t filled him in before they’d arrived.
Curious.
“I think so,” Hook said. “Probably someone evil.”
“It definitely has to be someone powerful,” Jessica pointed out. “Or someone who knows a powerful witch. Aren’t twin orbs remarkably difficult to get your hands on?”
Helena didn’t answer right away, but the truth was that they were. It was nearly impossible to acquire one unless you knew just the right person, and that person needed to be a Darling Witch or someone with a similar level of strength.
“Yes,” Helena finally said. “They are quite difficult to acquire.”
“So what do we do now?” Jessica wanted to know. “Should we destroy the painting?”
“What, like burn it?” Beast looked horrified.
“We can’t,” Hook said. She was watching Helena. “Isn’t that right?”
“If we burn it now, whoever placed it there will know we’ve discovered the truth. It could give them motivation to attack the school,” Helena said.
It could push forward their plan of attack before the students actually had time to prepare. Helena didn’t want to think that anyone would come after any school, much less hers, but she understood the reality around her, and she knew that with this painting in place, someone had probably already gathered enough private information to completely destroy the school.
Chapter 4
The thing about being alone in a hallway, with or without a painting, was that you tended to speak freely when you didn’t think anyone was around. Hook had developed a bad habit of speaking to herself, and it was something she vowed to stop.
When they left Helena’s office, she felt even worse than when they’d gone in. Somehow, it didn’t seem possible, but she actually felt even more horrible about the way everything had gone down. To be honest, it just wasn’t fair.
It wasn’t fair that they’d discovered an orb and it wasn’t fair that someone had planted one.
“Who do think they’re after?” Jessica asked when they left the office.
Hook didn’t want to talk about it or think about it
.
“More importantly, why now?” Beast asked.
Hook sighed.
“Hey, I’m going to go back to my room,” she said, and she took off in the opposite direction. She didn’t look back. She also didn’t go back to her room. Instead, she went to one of the gardens she loved to hang out in, and she found a little corner she could sit in where she wouldn’t be disturbed.
Hook thought back to the past few weeks. When she’d fought Allie Gator for Peter Pan, she hadn’t known she was going to lose her powers. Hook’s energy source had to come back eventually, right? Like, it just had to.
She stared at her hands and closed her eyes. She tried to clear her mind the way she’d been taught to as a kid. When she let go of everything that was bothering her – fear, stress, anxiety – then she could really focus. She could conjure up a little energy ball and sometimes, she could create a big one. The possibilities were endless, but she had to reach that state of solitude and calmness.
Nothing.
Nothing happened at all.
She tried again and again.
She closed her eyes and opened them.
She walked around.
She even danced a little.
Nothing would bring back her powers, and Hook was devastated. Allie had grabbed her wrist – hard – and squeezed until Hook could actually feel the power leaving her hand. It was an uncomfortable sort of feeling, one that she hated. More than anything, she hated that Allie had been the one to hurt her.
Long ago, they had been friends. They had been close: almost as close as sisters.
The truth was, though, that Hook would always hold Allie responsible for everything that had happened to her. In many ways, Hook’s life had taken a strange path, and at the end of the day, she felt like it was Allie’s fault.
“Hey, here she is,” Tinkerbell stepped out from behind a hedge. Peter Pan was with her. The two of them made a cute couple. Hook would be the first to admit it. They were both fairies, and they complemented each other well. They looked like they were meant to be together.
It was a strange sort of thing, seeing your friends fall in love.
Sometimes Hook wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
Other times, she just felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Even if she herself never found happiness or a happily-ever-after or anything at all, at least she would always know that that her friends had found togetherness.
Enchanted Academy Box Set Page 31
