by Evie Wilde
“Which one went down on you?” Ruby asked. She glanced toward my bedroom door.
“He’s sound asleep.”
“They do that afterward,” Ruby said and laughed quietly. “So which gave you the tongue?”
“Braeden,” I replied. “And I enjoyed every fucking minute of it.”
“Did he watch you?”
I nodded. “It was hot as hell having him watch me. If I’d known things were that good, I would have insisted he stop being my friend and start being my lover a long time ago.”
Ruby went on to tell me all about her sexual exploits, noting she’d never been with more than one man at one time. She told me that particular event was in my near future. I told her that was highly doubtful, but the more I thought about it as I stood outside the classroom the more I realized it was a reality I could have if I so wanted.
I listened to the voices inside the classroom, chatting, laughing, and having a good time. Oliver’s and Kyler’s voices stood out, but Dash’s voice kind of quiet as he spoke. I could also hear a female voice, Nicolette. I needed my powers back if for nothing else but showing her what I was capable of.
“You coming to class, Miss Clarke?”
I nodded at the professor who was heading down the hall toward me. He’d chosen to wear his adorned robe today, though he had coward like a child in the courtyard the day Challis attacked. I wondered what made him qualified to teach Magical Defense; unless, of course, he had been one of the instructors who had their power stolen. I promised myself to quit being judgmental of others.
“Yes, professor,” I said and followed him into class, making it look like I’d been in trouble.
The professor went to the front of the class, and I joined the others at the table.
“You’re in a good mood,” Oliver said when I sat with a smile on my face.
Kyler cleared his throat and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “You and Braeden did it,” he accused.
“Guilty,” I said happily.
Dash scoffed, “You remind him I got there first?”
“What a douche thing to say,” Oliver said and shook his head. He looked pissed that Dash would say such a thing.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I don’t mind.” I scooted closer to Dash and made sure Oliver and Kyler were watching and listening. “You were first because I allowed you to be first. It was the right time. And if you want to go again, you better be nice.”
Dash sat up straight and narrowed his eyes, trying to find something funny to say but struggling to do so. He knew I was right. Everyone had to play nice.
“Okay, let’s get started,” the professor said. I scooted away from Dash after patting the inside of his thigh. “Headmaster Eliphas announced there will be a cultural festival near the end of the year, and you’re all invited.”
“So,” Dash said under his breath.
“And since it’s still two months away, Headmaster Eliphas wants classes to work in teams of four to stage a mock battle they can share during the festival. It’s your opportunity to show what you learned this semester.” He wrote the words Team One on the board. “They will choose the best freshmen team to represent first year students in a battle against other grades. You will be judged on the following.” On the board, he wrote: creativity, realism, and skill.
Dash raised his hand. “Weapons of choice?”
“Good question, William,” the professor said. He never called Dash by his nickname, knowing it pissed him off, and he seemed to take great joy in doing it then. “Students may use any magical items/charms, potions, or weapons within school rules. In other words, nothing that will kill another classmate.”
“Bout time they threw out same shit different day,” Dash said. “Finally going to let us go at it.”
Kyler leaned close. “That means I can use my gift of shapeshifting.”
Oliver waved Kyler off. “Brains over brawn,” he said.
“Shit,” I whispered to Dash.
“I know,” he said.
“Miss Myers, we seem to have an uneven number of students,” the professor said.
Sometimes you take the high road and hope for the best. I raised my hand. “She can join us,” I said.
“No thank you. I can battle on my own,” Nicolette said.
“Right,” Oliver said in a whisper, drawing the ire of Nicolette.
“Want to try me, brainiac?” she said. “I can do this on my own.”
“You can’t,” the professor said. “And you will join them. Otherwise, you will fail the class.”
Nicolette huffed and puffed and then joined our table. “This is against what I want to do,” Nicolette told us. “I’m not your friend, and I’m certainly not your teammate.”
Kyler chuckled. “You might not be our friend, but you’re certainly our teammate.”
The professor glanced at his watch and gently shook his coffee cup. “You have the rest of the period to work on your own and start developing your mock battle. You're free to use any of the open classrooms or study halls. Have a good morning, class,” he said and walked out.
Students at the other tables flung open books and began talking over each other, throwing out ideas, and drawing plans. Excitement filled most of the room. We, on the other hand, sat staring at each other.
“We’re gonna use one of the other rooms,” Oliver said and stood. Dash and Kyler joined him. Nicolette and I stared at each other, trying to avoid what I thought the guys called a cat fight. Hand to hand, I thought I could take her. No magic against her magic, and I was dead.
“Come on,” Dash said, “we don’t have much time.” He looked around as if he were guilty of something.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Just come on,” Kyler said. “You too, teammate,” he told Nicolette.
We followed the three guys from the classroom and down the hall. They kept looking back and in the other rooms, making me paranoid. They talked to each other a lot when I wasn’t around, so it made me worry a bit. I thought maybe there would come a day when they all four might want me at the same time. Sometimes I wondered how the hell I would manage that.
“We’re not going to practice a mock battle,” I said. “Are we?”
“Nope,” Dash said and held a finger up to his lips.
Nicolette stopped. “This is bullshit. We’re supposed to be working on a battle. I’m not flunking the class because you assholes are brushing off an assignment.”
I shrugged. “I have no idea what’s going on.”
“Right,” she said and followed the guys when they continued down the hall. I followed reluctantly.
Nicolette continued griping until Oliver finally stopped the group. “Quit bitching,” he said to Nicolette. “This may be the only opportunity we have to break Challis’ curse on Cassandra.” He pointed at Nicolette. “You might be next!”
Nicolette crossed her arms and pouted. “Fine!”
“Then you’ll have a decent sparring partner down on your level in class,” Dash said to Nicolette.
Kyler and Oliver looked at each other and shook their heads. The comment had been a dig on everyone but him. The façade was up and stronger than ever. Nicolette stood speechless for the first time since we met her.
We entered a classroom and then exited the back of the classroom into another. Dash locked the door behind us. Oliver saw my confusion when I ran my hand along the wall-to-wall mirrors.
“They aren’t real in the sense of the mirrors people use in their homes,” Oliver said. “They’re spell absorption mirrors in case something goes wrong.”
“Great,” Nicolette said. “I’m out.”
“You’re not,” Oliver replied. “We need you in case it messes up.”
“That’s reassuring,” Nicolette replied.
“Can we get this over with?” Dash asked.
Kyler stepped to the counter where several containers held spell ingredients. “We think we know the right combination,” he said.
Kyler shook his head. “That’s a free one. No need to remind me of that.” He motioned at the three beakers. “Actually, we think it’s one of three possibilities.” He shrugged. Aurelius wasn’t wearing his glasses, so we just kind of winged it for the things we weren’t sure about.”
“You’re kidding?” I asked. “No way.”
“Come on, Cassandra,” Dash said. “We have to have you back with your powers intact. Otherwise, Challis and Edius are gonna run all over us. We need to do this as a team.”
“Okay,” I said. “But if something goes wrong…”
“Everyone, have a seat at the table,” Oliver said. I could tell it made him feel good to be large and in charge. “I’ll move everything over.”
We watched as Oliver spent the next few minutes moving everything, turning down our efforts to help, showing he could be a leader when the time called for him to be. He opened a book on the table and pointed at a spell. “We believe it’s this one,” he said. I believed none of them were sure.
Kyler read the first ingredient and then took a pinch from one of the jars.
“Stop,” Nicolette said. “It says a pinch, not a claw full.” She moved Kyler’s hand back over the jar and made him release the pinch. She moved his hand away and then stuck her fingers in the jar. “Like this.” She put the pinch in the beaker.
“The next says a scoop of batwing,” Dash said and buried the scooper deep into the batwing jar. When he removed it there was a mound above the edge of the scooper.
“No,” Nicolette said. “What’s wrong with you people?” She put Dash’s scoop back into the jar and did her own scoop, leveling off to the edge. She then dumped the scoop into the beaker. She looked at me, and I almost thought I caught a glimpse of compassion.
“Now three ounces of hyena saliva,” I said and used a dropper in the hyena jar, accidentally dropping the dropper into the jar.
“You’re too nervous,” Dash said and retrieved the dropper. “I’ll do it.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I will.”
“Okay.” He patted my thigh, his fingers brushing against my center.
“That’s not helping,” Kyler said and playfully punched Dash in the arm. “Keep your hands above the table.”
I filled the dropper and placed the hyena saliva in the beaker. The beaker cracked and the potion leaked onto the table, turning the wood black. The potion quickly dried, and the table remained stained.
“That wasn’t it,” Dash said. He laughed but then jerked back when Oliver slammed another book on the table. “Chill out, dude!”
“Wait,” Kyler said. “Where’d you get that? It looks official.”
Oliver looked around the table. “I borrowed it from Aurelius while you guys had him distracted.”
“Damn, Oliver, you’re going to get us booted outta school,” Kyler said.
Oliver opened the book to a page he had marked. “This is the second potion I told you about.” He sat back. “But I can only read the title.”
“You want her to drink a fucking potion based on a title?” Dash said. “No way!”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Remember, we have to try.” I smiled. “Besides, I can read it.” I looked at the other ingredients on the shelves. “Bring all of those over here.”
The guys glanced at each other and then scurried to the shelves, bringing every last ingredient. I read the recipe and placed the ingredients in the beaker myself. The others watched with both excitement and a sense of gloom. Fortunately for them, if I screwed anything up it was my fault and not theirs.
With each ingredient, I spoke the incantations slowly, making sure every word was spoken properly. When I was done, I used a thin glass mixer to liquify the potion. The potion glowed and turned a brilliant purple. It bubbled for a moment and then settled.
“I think we did it,” Oliver said. The others agreed. Dash stared at me, and I could see he wasn’t so sure we had done it. In fact, he gave me a gentle shake of his head.
I shrugged off the concern and raised the beaker from the table again. It was time to get my powers back and show Challis who was boss. Things were finally heading in the right direction and everyone would get to see I really was as good as the greatest witches. “Here goes nothing,” I said.
It happened fast. So fast I had no time to move or shield myself. The potion expanded inside the beaker and exploded, drenching me in the concoction we thought would change my life. And it did, just not in the way we had planned.
About the only thing that went right was the taste. It actually tasted yummy. Everyone backed away with a slowness I knew meant something worse had gone wrong. “What?” I asked.
“Your face,” Kyler said. He saw me about to turn to the mirror. “No!”
But it was too late. I felt every part of me melt into nothingness. My face was turning the color of dark-green snot, my nose bending and stretching. A large wart instantly grew along my left nostril. I’d been transformed from a beautiful young woman to an ugly ass witch who looked more goblin than witch.
Nicolette burst out laughing, holding her stomach as if sick, her face red, eyes clenched. The guys move back further, Oliver covering his mouth.
The bell rang, and moments later Ruby and Braeden popped in. I turned, and their faces paled. I felt my nose to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me. It was real. I grabbed my stuff and stood.
Dash was the first to move close. He reached out to me, and I pulled away. “Cassandra, it’s okay, we have another potion to try. We can fix this.”
I was tired of those words. They couldn’t fix anything. Every time someone tried, I was visited by another disaster. “I’m done,” I said. “No more.” Dash touched my arm. “No!”
“Cassandra,” Braeden said. “Let me help you.”
“Are you happy?” I asked Nicolette and walked out, avoiding Braeden as I left.
Luckily, when I left the classroom building the courtyard was empty except for the footsteps approaching from behind.
“Cassandra, wait,” Nicolette said.
I stopped and twirled on my heels. “This is what you wanted,” I insisted. “You got what you wanted.”
“Yes, no, wait,” she said, and I felt anger boiling up inside. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. It’s not the way it looks.”
“Then what are you, Nicolette?” I demanded.
“I told you, I’m sorry,” she pleaded. “The guys are right. We need you. All of us. I didn’t start here to let those assholes at the Crystal Academy think that was the only place I could learn. And I know you didn’t come here to fail.”
“That’s right, Nicolette. I didn’t come here to fail. But I also didn’t come here to be your own personal comedy act.” I continued across the courtyard, Nicolette still following.
“Don’t leave, Cassandra.”
I stopped and slowly turned, every ounce of anger moving to my tongue. “I will never leave on your account, Nicolette. I know that’s what you want. But it’s not happening. Read my fucking lips. IT”S NOT HAPPENING!”
She patted me on the shoulder. “Finally. You’re growing a spine to stand up for yourself. Maybe there’s hope for you yet, little witch.” She smiled rather than smirked. “But we’ll see.”
Nicolette turned away and disappeared around the next building, leaving me speechless and wondering what the hell she had meant about still having hope. Everyone was losing their minds.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Dash
I picked up one of the beakers and slammed it against the mirrored wall, breaking both beaker and mirror. The others, stunned, sat staring. Oliver grabbed the other beakers and pulled them away. He then slipped his glass computer into his backpack. He and Kyler had seen my anger before.
The back and forth of trying to figure out what to do was beginning to wear on me. I couldn’t stand being in love with Cassandra and not being able to help her. Our one night
together taught me I never wanted to be away from her. Sure, I understood I needed to share, which I could do, but to have her leave the academy because we fucked up just wasn’t acceptable. I’d promised myself never to do this again, to never fall for another girl, because this happened. You would be so head over heels in love that it made it hard to think straight.
I thought about Cassandra, sitting in her room alone, hurting, thinking she failed. I’d been there before. I knew what it felt like. I knew what it was like not to have any family around to support you when you needed it. At least she had Braeden all those years together. Not having support around caused you to build walls. It was the easiest way to deal with your own disappointments.
“Damn it, I thought we finally had the answer to getting her powers back now,” I said and paced over the broken glass. The floor crunched beneath my feet. It sounded like snow crunching. “Shit! She’s going to leave.” I couldn’t let that happen. We couldn’t let that happen. We let her down again.
Braeden slammed his hand on the table. “My ass! I’m not letting her leave.” He motioned around the room. “We’re not letting her leave. I didn’t bring her here for failure. There’s too many of us here who care about her and love her. We need to show we care. That’s really what this is all about.” He shook his head and lowered his face. “We’ve been through too much together to give up now. We need a solution.”
“We’ve all had tough lives. Each of us,” I scoffed and patted my chest. “I’d put my shitty existence up against anyone here, including Cassandra.”
“That’s great, Dash, but Cassandra is the reason we’re here,” Braeden said. “Her existence determines ours. She’s given up way too fucking much to be here, and if we don’t help her succeed, she’ll be giving up way more. Homeless won’t even begin to describe her fate if this fails. There’s so much more that you all need to understand.” He took a seat next to Kyler, something bugging him.
“Then tell us, Braeden,” I said. “Tell us what we don’t know but should.” Time for him to put up or shut up. He loved barking at us about how close he was to Cassandra, so it was time to find out just how close. Braeden’s fists clenched, and for a minute I thought he might take it all back. Then he started to talk.
