Outfox: Spellslingers Academy of Magic (Sentry of the South Book 2)

by Annabel Chase

  “Five’s a crowd,” Bryn answered for me. “The four of us can handle it.”

  “I’d never suggest otherwise,” Peter said. “I have a friend, Davish. Sometimes he moves things for me. Sometimes I move things for him. I happen to know he has an access point near Halse.”

  “Is Davish a wizard?” I asked.

  “Sort of,” Peter said carefully.

  “He’s sort of a wizard?” Bryn asked. “Is that like you being sort of a druid?”

  “No,” Peter said. “It means that he’s a warlock.”

  “A deceiver?” Cerys said. “You want someone like that to send us through a portal? I thought you liked us.”

  “Davish is a colleague and a friend,” Peter said. “I trust him.”

  “You keep strange company,” I told him.

  He gave me a pointed look. “Don’t I know it?”

  Bryn glanced over at her owl familiar. “What about you, Icarus?” She looked at me. “He wants to come.”

  “I think it’s best if you stay here,” I told the owl.

  Bryn listened to his response. “You have a point about the bird’s eye view, but it sounds like it could be dangerous.”

  If he’s going, I’m going, Clementine said.

  “It doesn’t work that way,” I said. “We’re traveling to a remote fjord. It’s not a place for cats.”

  Clementine sniffed and turned away. Fine. Play favorites. See if I don’t use your silk cardigan as my new scratching post while you’re away.

  I glared at her. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  The cat curled up in a ball and lowered her head. I guess you’ll find out when you come home.

  My jaw tightened and it took all my strength not to scold her in front of everyone. We’ll talk about this entitled behavior when I get back.

  Clementine ignored me. Her tail swooshed back and forth as she closed her eyes.

  “Like Bryn said, five is a crowd,” I told Icarus. “I think you should sit this one out.”

  Icarus wedged his head between his wings for sulking purposes.

  “Sorry, bro. No boys allowed,” Peter said. He fiddled with a few of my hair accessories on my desk. He had a habit of touching everything and usually dropping one of them before he was finished.

  “How do we find this warlock?” Bryn asked. “Do we need to borrow Fonthill’s truck?”

  “Probably a good idea,” Peter replied. “Davish has a farm over by Hickory Hollow.”

  “The warlock owns a farm?” Cerys asked. She sounded vaguely interested, probably the earth witch in her.

  “He grows plants and herbs for commercial sale,” Peter said. “He may also engage in other practices that I shouldn’t discuss with future agents.”

  “Will he appreciate you sending four trainees his way?” I asked.

  “He doesn’t need to know,” Peter said. “I’ll tell him you’re part of my harem.”

  I punched his arm. “Not funny, Zilla.”

  Peter laughed. “It’s a favor to me. We run in similar professional circles. He won’t ask questions.”

  “Write down the address and we’ll go in the morning,” I said. If we were venturing to Geir Pointe, we needed a solid night of rest first.

  “I’ll let him know to expect you,” Peter said.

  “Thank you,” Cerys said. “You always go above and beyond.”

  “I’m committed to her cause,” Peter said, looking at me. “Whatever it may be.”

  “That’s devotion,” Mia said.

  Peter paused before heading back to the open window. “Yeah, it really is.”

  The sun streamed in the room early the next morning, waking me before I was ready. I heard the gentle sounds of snoring and wrapped the pillow around my ears.

  “It’s Mia, not me,” Cerys said. She was already on her feet and busily selecting her rune rocks. “I’m going to bring a couple with me.”

  “I expected nothing else,” I said.

  Cerys cast a sidelong glance at me. “How dangerous do you suppose this trip is?”

  “Depends,” I said. “If we show up and no one’s there, then the landscape will be our biggest threat.”

  “But if someone else shows up at the same time?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “Then I guess we’ll have a problem.” I patted her on the back. “It’s nothing we can’t handle. I met the satyr, and I can overpower him with one hand tied behind my back.”

  “I don’t want to overpower anyone,” Cerys said.

  “Then you might want to rethink your chosen profession,” came Bryn’s sleepy voice from the bunk bed.

  “Easy for you to say,” Cerys said. “You’re a badass.”

  “You’re a powerful earth witch,” Bryn shot back. “You have the DNA for badassery, too.”

  Mia stirred and the snoring ceased. “Is it time to go?” she asked, her voice groggy.

  “Not yet,” I said. “We’ll eat breakfast first.” I had no idea how long it would be before our next meal.

  “I’ll pack snacks,” Cerys announced, ever the maternal one. “Don’t forget your wands and use the restroom before we go.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Cerys.”

  We got dressed, grabbed a quick breakfast from the cafeteria, and headed to Fonthill’s barn to wrangle the keys to the pickup truck. Icarus circled above us, wanting to see us off. He disappeared every so often in search of his own breakfast. Thankfully, the groundskeeper didn’t have any errands planned today, so we were free to use the truck.

  “How far are you going?” he asked.

  “To a farm near Hickory Hollow,” I said. And then to the other side of the world. Minor details.

  “Enjoy yourselves,” he said. “I always say to the professors that you need more time away from the academy. Your whole job’s going to involve running amok. May as well practice.”

  “It sure is,” Bryn said. “I’m a big fan of running amok.”

  Fonthill chuckled. “Yeah, I know you are. Keep that boyfriend of yours on his toes, don’t you?”

  I put a finger to my lips. “We’re not supposed to acknowledge their relationship. It’s against the rules.”

  Fonthill waved a dismissive hand. “Poppycock. Live and let live. That’s my motto. It’s nice for anybody to find love in this world. We should celebrate it, not hide it.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Fonthill,” Bryn said.

  He handed me the keys. “I know you’ll take good care of her.”

  “I always do,” I said.

  He scratched his chin. “You won’t be transporting any dead demons today or anything like that?”

  “Not that I know of,” I replied.

  “Good.” He smacked the side of the truck. “Have fun. Be careful.”

  I slid behind the wheel and the other witches filled the rest of the cab. We followed Peter’s instructions all the way past Hickory Hollow to a long, winding dirt road. Icarus flew overhead and I’d occasionally see the flash of a white wing in the side mirror. There was no sign to indicate we’d arrived, but I had the sense that it was a deliberate omission. If this warlock engaged in shady practices, he’d want to keep a low profile.

  “It’s nice,” Bryn said, her nose pressed against the glass of the passenger window. The fields stretched as far as the eye could see and were heavily populated with a variety of trees, plants, and bushes.

  “I love it here already,” Cerys said.

  “Your earth magic is probably pulling hard at you right now,” I said.

  Cerys sighed in contentment. “It never tries to pull me. It’s a calming power. It isn’t like yours.”

  I glanced at Cerys in the rearview window. “What do you mean?”

  “Your fire magic is wilder,” Cerys said. “Think about fire. It doesn’t want to be controlled. It wants to break free and spread. Earth magic doesn’t feel like that. Don’t you notice the difference in our elemental magic classes?”

  “I do,” Mia said. “Then again, I’m not as good with fire magi
c. It’s probably the most challenging for me.”

  “I guess it is harder,” Bryn agreed. “Water can be calming, too, but there’s always the potential to get out of hand. There’s an extreme version of all elemental magic, isn’t there?”

  “I suppose that’s true,” Cerys said. “A calm sea becomes a tidal wave in a storm.”

  “Shake the ground violently enough and you’ve got yourself an earthquake,” Bryn said.

  “But the magic doesn’t pull me in that direction,” Cerys said. “I have control and it’s…natural.”

  I locked my eyes on the farmhouse up ahead and remained silent. I used to feel that way, too, but lately I’d felt my control slipping a little. I’d chalked it up to stress and grief following my grandmother’s death, but maybe there was more to it. I’d been too distracted by recent events to give it much consideration.

  “This place is way too cute to belong to a warlock,” Mia said.

  I parked the truck in the driveway adjacent to the stone farmhouse. Smoke billowed from the chimney. I exited the truck and a mixture of fresh herbs filled my nostrils. In an instant, I was transported back to the grounds of my family’s estate. The scent of burstberries and fizzlewick reminded me of afternoons spent in the garden with my grandmother.

  “You must know them all, Dani,” she’d tell me over and over again. “You mustn’t rely on one skill. You may be a fire witch, but there’s no sense in allowing one skill to define you. Know all the magic. Be all the magic.”

  I’d taken her words to heart, although I sometimes wondered how much of her attitude had contributed to her downfall. Maybe if she hadn’t been focused on all the magic, she would have been less likely to succumb to its power. Given how I’d been feeling lately, maybe it was a mistake for me to heed her advice now. I wasn’t sure anymore.

  A creaky screen door opened and a man emerged from inside. He was tall, with a bushy brown beard and thick, wavy hair. He looked more like a shifter than a warlock.

  “You must be Peter’s friends,” he said. “Welcome to the farm. I’m Davish.” He crossed the driveway to shake my hand first. “And you must be the one he refers to as princess.”

  “What gave it away?” I asked.

  “The regal attitude,” he replied. “And maybe because he said you had strawberry blond hair that was prettier than any sunrise he’d ever seen.”

  My chest tightened. Peter said that? “He definitely has a charming side,” I said.

  Davish chuckled. “He can charm the bark off a tree, that druid.” He motioned us over. “Come on. I’ll explain the portal so I don’t hold you up any longer than necessary. My wife’s got tea brewing if anyone’s interested.”

  Bryn turned skyward to tell Icarus it was okay to head back to the academy.

  The interior of the farmhouse was quaint and functional with a flagstone floor and wooden beams across the ceiling. His wife was in the kitchen, pouring cups of mint and bucksberry tea. I inhaled the pleasing aroma.

  “Hello, sisters,” the stout woman said. “I’m April, Davish’s wife.”

  “You’re a witch?” I asked.

  She smiled. “That’s right.” Her brow wrinkled. “Same as you, I think, though I don’t tap into my fire magic much anymore. I tend to focus on herbology with Davish.”

  I blinked in confusion. I thought Davish dwelled closer to the dark side of magic. Otherwise, why not be a wizard? He certainly didn’t seem dark and twisted from my limited interaction with him.

  April brought a tray of cups and set it on the table. “You need a soothing spot of tea before you venture to Halse. Trust me.”

  We settled at the table and I took a sip of my tea. Heavenly.

  “I won’t ask why you want to go to Halse because I make it a habit not to have information I don’t need,” Davish said. “That protects you as much as me.”

  “No one’s chasing us,” I said.

  Davish ran his finger along the rim of his cup. “You never really know what’s ahead of you or behind you. Best be careful.”

  April squeezed her husband’s arm. “Now, Davish, you sound like an oracle. Don’t scare them.”

  “We’re going to look for something,” I said. “If isn’t there, we come straight back. If it is there, we come straight back. Nothing too crazy.”

  Davish nodded. “The portal is virtually unknown. I discovered it by accident when I was trying to get to the Northern Quadrant.”

  “Davish doesn’t travel much anymore,” April said. “Too much portal hopping makes his stomach queasy.”

  “Those days are over for me and good riddance,” Davish said. “I prefer to be on the farm with April. It’s nicer.” They smiled at each other and I felt a pang of longing. Not necessarily for me, but for that experience in my life. My parents had never gazed at each other with such affection—not that I recalled anyway.

  “Tell me. How is Chancellor Tilkin?” April asked.

  I froze. I thought Davish didn’t know our backgrounds. “You know the chancellor?” I asked.

  “She and I know each other from a common charity,” April said. “We both served as board members, but I resigned last year. It was time to give the seat to someone else. I haven’t seen the chancellor since then.”

  “How did you know we attend Spellslingers?” Mia asked.

  April swallowed her tea before answering. “The only time you ever see four young witches roaming these parts together is if they’re looking for trouble or attending the academy. It wasn’t hard to guess which group you fall into.”

  “Did you attend the academy?” I asked.

  April laughed softly. “Not me, no. I’m not one for conflict.”

  “In your line of work?” I asked. “That’s surprising.”

  “April and I don’t see things as black and white as the folks at the AMF,” Davish explained. “There’s something to be said for shades of grey.”

  At the mention of ‘grey,’ Bryn smiled and I knew she was thinking of the vampire.

  “I think it depends on your motivation,” Cerys said. “Do you see shades of grey because you stand to gain financially from it? Or because you recognize that sentient creatures are prone to errors in judgment? You see where I’m going with this….”

  Davish gave a nod of acknowledgement. “The way I see it—the activities we engage in aren’t hurting anyone. There’s no violence. No economic harm to others for our sake. It wouldn’t be something condoned by the AMF, however. It involves a connection to darker magic that makes bureaucracy uncomfortable.”

  “I won’t ask you what it is,” I said. “Like you mentioned, it’s better not to share information with each other.”

  “Agreed,” Davish said. “Peter’s operation is a little more straightforward. The rules he breaks are…not that serious, in my opinion. He skirts regulations that tend to be in favor of big business. Smuggling Terrene alcohol into our world for wealthy clients, that sort of thing. I mean, who does that hurt?”

  “Still, there are other ways to make a living that don’t involve breaking rules,” I said. “And Peter has amazing skills that he barely uses. He could work as a healer. There’s so much value in that.”

  “I admire your idealism,” Davish said, although his tone suggested that I was more naive than ideal. “Just make sure when you rise through the ranks as a fancy warden….”

  “Sentry,” I interjected.

  “A fancy Sentry of the South,” he continued, “that you don’t leave empathy and compassion behind you. Try to understand what motivates your collar. Might help you catch him, too, but understanding him is a lot more valuable. Again, just my opinion.”

  “I appreciate your perspective,” I said.

  “Does the chancellor know about your criminal activities?” Bryn asked. That was the most the dark-haired witch was willing to beat around the bush. She wasn’t one to mince words. I’d learned that quickly about her.

  April hid a smile behind her cup. “I’m sure she’s aware, but I’ve al
ways been under the impression that she’s someone who recognizes shades of grey, despite her position.”

  “If the chancellor weren’t willing to break a few rules, I wouldn’t be here now,” Bryn replied.

  “Same here,” I said. For me, the chancellor’s compassion and empathy had been a beacon in the night.

  “I’m glad we understand each other,” Davish said. “Now, who’s ready to freeze her butt off in Halse?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The portal was a well in the middle of one of the fields on the farm.

  “It was a gaping hole when I discovered it,” Davish explained. “I created the well to make it easier to find and so nobody would accidentally fall in it and end up in another quadrant.”

  “That happened once to my cousin, Berta,” April said. “Very inconvenient.”

  “Why are there multiple wells?” Bryn asked, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked across the open fields.

  “I said I accidentally discovered this one,” Davish said. “What I failed to mention is that I discovered other portals, too.”

  “Some geographic areas are prone to portals,” April said. “This farm is one of them. The issue is figuring out if they take you someplace you want to go.”

  “There’s one over there that’s blocked off for a reason,” Davish said vaguely.

  “This is part of your business, isn’t it?” I asked. “You let others bypass the borders and use the portals in exchange for payment.”

  Davish stroked his beard. “It’s not always about bypassing officials. Sometimes it’s like you—those who need to get somewhere fast. I don’t ask why. Your reasons are not my concern.”

  “What if I want to kill someone in Tokyo?” Bryn asked. The witch pulled no punches.

  “My portals don’t span the entire globe,” Davish replied, “but I have a decent network of access points on the farm.”

  April nudged her husband. “I think she meant for you to focus on the murdering part, rather than the location.”

  Davish seemed mildly embarrassed. “Like I said, I don’t ask questions. The less I know, the better.”

  April looped her arm through her husband’s. “And the less you know, the better, too. No more questions. Time to go, sisters. I’ve got pies to bake.”