Dragons and Destiny (Animage Academy Book 1)

by Michelle Wilson

  “I’m from the woodland faeries. My family lives in Vermont. But I’ve only spent summers and Christmas there for the last few years. All faeries go to the Academy for Elementals in Denver when they turn 11 until they’re 20. Unless they get accepted to Animage Academy, of course. My three older siblings have already graduated. My two younger siblings are still there. I’m the only animage so far. Has your family always lived in New York?”

  I was just about to answer her when Hudson appeared at our table. He looked as flustered as I felt. “Can I sit with you guys?”

  “Yeah, of course,” I said, sliding over on the bench seat.

  “Are you going to eat anything for dinner?” I asked. He didn’t have a tray.

  “No,” he said. Gracie grabbed a toaster pastry from her tray and handed it to him on a napkin.

  “Thanks,” he said. His eyes widened as he looked at the pile of toaster pastries stacked on her tray. “Like these, do you?”

  “Love them,” she said. “We only eat what we grow at my house. Mom thinks it helps us be more in tune to nature and to our magic. Even the faerie school was mostly just fruits and vegetables, yuck. Give me junk food all day long.” I laughed as she started on her third pastry.

  “You didn’t tell me your Dad was the dragon,” Hudson said. I barely contained a groan.

  “Yep, that’s my father.”

  “Not big on the family legacy?”

  “Not really.”

  “Totally get it,” he said. It made me curious about his family, but he didn’t offer any more information. “Don’t you have a brother?”

  “What is this? 20 questions? Yes. He’s my twin. He didn’t get in.”

  “Sorry,” Hudson said with his hands up in front of him. He was too easy going to be perturbed by my snappiness, though. “But if there’s a dragon in every generation, who’s going to be the next dragon?”

  “How should I know? The dragon’s always been the oldest male in my family. Maybe there won’t be one this generation.” I shrugged and changed the subject to our classes the next day. Hudson was right, I didn’t like to talk about my family legacy.

  Chapter Four

  Without the familiar glare of my alarm clock on my nightstand, it took me a minute to acclimate myself when I woke up the next morning. The faint glow of morning peeked in from behind the curtains over my window. A red spark shot out of my finger as I mumbled a spell to light the candle next to my bed. It sparked when it hit the handle and consumed half of the wax in a small explosion. When I followed with a spell for water, a bucket’s worth came falling down. When it was over my nightstand and the floor around my bed was soaking wet.

  “Huh, that’s new.” I fumbled with some matches in a drawer until I managed to get another candle lit without using magic. It was only 5 am. I rolled back onto my bed and debated trying to go back to sleep. A noise coming from the common room got me back up again. I grabbed the candle and opened my door a crack. The door to the hall was open and I could see the silhouette of a girl standing there.

  “Hello?” I asked. I walked across the room to the coffee table and lit the lamp. The girl moved further into the room until she was visible in the light cast by the lamp. She was holding a tattered suitcase.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Did I wake you? I’m Willa. You must be Sophie.”

  “No. I was already up. It’s nice to meet you. Are you just getting here?”

  “Yeah, I… uh had some travel delays.”

  “Well I’m glad you made it. Can I help you with anything?”

  “No, that’s okay, this is all I have. Is this really our room?” She was looking around the huge room with wide eyes. “It’s like a fancy apartment.”

  “Yeah,” I told her. “I was pretty amazed too. This is your bedroom.” I walked to the room beside mine and swung the door open for her. “I’m going to take a shower but let me know if you need anything while you’re getting settled.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  I took my time getting ready. Even still, in the blink of an eye, it was time to put on my uniform for the first time. Like I was handling something fragile I pulled on the shirt and buttoned it up. Next was the skirt, then the tie. Soon I was dressed right down to the black socks and shoes. This was really happening. I was in the uniform. I was a student at Animage Academy. And I was going to prove to my father, and to everyone else, I belonged. The last thing I did was put on the necklace my father had given me.

  When I came out of my room, I noticed Willa’s door was open. She was dressed in her uniform as well and was sitting on her bed, leaned back against the headboard with her eyes closed. I gently knocked on her door. She opened her eyes and smiled at me.

  “Sorry, I just wanted to let you know I’m heading to get breakfast. Want to come?”

  “Sure.” We grabbed our bags and headed toward the cafeteria.

  “I guess you really haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone since you just got here, huh?” I asked as we walked.

  “Not really,” she said. Willa’s conversational style seemed to be the opposite of Gracie’s.

  “Well, I don’t know much, but I can tell you what I know so far.” Willa nodded, and I launched into everything I had learned since I arrived. I didn’t know a lot, but I knew enough to fill up the time it took us to walk from our dorm to the cafeteria. Willa didn’t say much, just nodded along and smiled anytime I tried to make a lame joke. I led her through the line. Willa was wide eyed as she looked around at all the options.

  “We can just get whatever?” she asked. I nodded. “We don’t have to pay?”

  “Nope. Get as much as you want.” She shook her head in disbelief and filled her tray with what looked like one of everything.

  The dining room was filled with identical looking students. Everyone had their uniform on. For the first time I really felt like I was a part of the crowd. We were all in this together. I caught sight of Gracie’s multicolored wings on the end of one of the long tables. Even with a room full of hybrid-like supernaturals, she was easy to spot. Hudson was already sitting with her.

  “You’re welcome to sit with us, if you’d like,” I told Willa. “Do you know other people who are coming to the academy?”

  “No, I don’t. You don’t mind?”

  “Not a bit.” We sat down and I introduced her to Gracie and Hudson.

  “Happy Birthday, Hudson.” I slid him over a muffin I’d gotten from the cafeteria and stuck a candle in. He laughed.

  “Thanks.”

  “Seriously, it’s your birthday?” Gracie asked. “Have you shifted yet? Oh, that’s right, we haven’t had class yet. What a silly rule. Do you feel more powerful? Like your magic is crazy? I sometimes feel like my magic is acting up. Faeries have elemental magic, you know. I’ve always done best manipulating earth, but lately my magic has been all over the place.” I remember my mishap with the candle. When she took a breath Hudson chimed in.

  “I haven’t shifted yet, at least not since the last full moon. I don’t really have a choice then. When do you all have shifting class?”

  We all pulled out our schedules. “Looks like first thing,” Hudson said, comparing everyone’s papers.

  “Great, we all have it together,” I said. “So Hudson, figured out any special magic yet?”

  “Just the typical werewolf stuff so far. We have enhanced senses and physical capabilities in our human forms. We can also speak telepathically to other werewolves, but that’s it. I don’t know what being an animage will change for me.”

  “I can’t imagine not being able to do magic,” Willa said. It was the first time she joined in the conversation.

  “I’m hoping I’ll actually get to do some, soon.”

  A sudden peal of laughter came from a group of students seated a few tables from us. I glanced up to see Kylee and Arielle in a gaggle of students, including Drew, all glancing over their shoulders and laughing. Kylee met my eyes and winked. I had a sinking feeling they were laughing at me. Wil
la, Gracie, and Hudson had all fallen silent.

  “Come on,” I said, standing up. “Let’s clean our stuff up and go. We only have a half hour before our first class starts, better find out where it is.” We exited the cafeteria without any further outbursts from the peanut gallery. This school was my new start, and I wasn’t about to let Kylee and her new crew ruin that for me.

  It didn’t take us long to find the gymnasium. I was surprised to see when we walked in there was already someone sitting against one of the gym walls also waiting for class. She was covered almost from head to toe with black tights and a black cardigan added to the regular uniform. The black contrasted strongly with her pale skin and red hair that hung down to pool on the floor beside her. She glanced up as we came in and smiled. Her front canines were disturbingly pointed.

  Gracie tugged on the back of my shirt. I glanced over my shoulder and she mouthed, “Vampire?” Her eyes were as big as saucers.

  “I know! But it can’t be, right?” I whispered back. I looked at Hudson and Willa, but they just shrugged. We piled our stuff together against the wall near the girl and sat down. Sitting proved to be difficult in the school uniform. I started to sit cross legged but remembered just in time I couldn’t really do that in a skirt. I tried sitting with both my legs to the side, leaning on one arm. No dice. That was uncomfortable and awkward. I finally settled for sitting like the vampire girl, my back against the wall and my legs straight out in front of me.

  I still felt exposed, so I pulled my bag across my lap. It would have to do. Willa was having the same problem I was. Gracie, on the other hand, floated to the floor with her legs to the side, leaning on her arm like I had tried to do. She made it look so easy. Her butterfly wings opened and closed sanguinely behind her. Faeries.

  I looked over at Hudson in his uniform of red pants instead of a skirt. He was able to sit down however he wanted.

  “These uniforms are sexist,” I muttered, glaring at him. He shrugged and grinned at me.

  “Hey, don’t blame me, I didn’t pick ‘em. I don’t mind them, though,” he said with a wink.

  “You wouldn’t,” I told him with an eye roll.

  It wasn’t long before other people started to fill the room. The palms of my hands were getting sweaty as I waited, which was ridiculous. There was nothing for me to be nervous about. I wasn’t even shifting. I didn’t really know what I was going to be doing in shifting class for a month before my birthday.

  Nine o’clock came and the sound of a bell gonged through the gym causing most of us to jump. A short, well-dressed man marched into the room through a side door. Unlike most of the teachers, he looked like a regular human. The gentle murmur of voices that had been drifting through our group stopped as everyone turned their attention toward him. When he faced us, I was delighted to see he had a massive handlebar mustache.

  “Good morning, class. I am Professor Atkins. This will be your most important class for the next two years. You must learn to master your shifting abilities, and the magic that comes with them. If you don’t, there could be disastrous consequences. As animages you have the ability to harness more magic than any other type of supernatural. Use that power wisely.

  “On each of your sixteenth birthdays you will be able to shift for the first time. You will do that here in this class, no exceptions. If you shift before you get to this class, there will be severe repercussions. Don’t test me, or the academy. Now that we have laid out the ground rules, I will take roll and then you follow me out to the Shifting Field, we will return here after, so no need to take your things.” As soon as he was done, he spun on his heel and walked toward the same side door he had entered from. There was a scramble as everyone stood up to follow him.

  We entered a large field just outside the gymnasium. We all stopped with the professor in the shade of the gym building. Even though it was still morning, the sun was hot, and the day was getting humid. Once we were all outside the professor pointed toward Hudson and the vampire girl.

  “Both of you turn sixteen today. Please step forward. Charlie, if you will please attempt to shift first. Go out into the middle of the field since we don’t know what animal you will be transforming into, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

  “Once there, close your eyes and empty your mind of all outside stimuli. I’m sure you’ve already felt the connection of your animal within you when you awoke this morning. Take that feeling and let it fill your mind and fill your essence. You should feel your body shift. It won’t be painful, but it might be strange the first time. Don’t worry if it doesn’t happen on the first try, just try again.”

  Charlie, who had put on heavy sunglasses once we came outside, nodded to the professor, set her mouth determinedly, and walked to the middle of the field. I had watched plenty of animages shift before, but watching someone shift for the first time made me nervous. Once again, I was annoyed at the ban on alumni talking about anything that happened at Animage Academy while they were students. The professor had made it sound simple enough, but could something go wrong with a first shift?

  Because Charlie was out in the middle of the field, I couldn’t see her expression that well. I glanced over at Gracie’s watch to see it had been five minutes and Charlie still hadn’t transformed into anything. I kept glancing over at Professor Atkins. He stood in front of us with his arms crossed over his chest watching Charlie with narrowed eyes. He didn’t seem concerned, so I turned my attention back to the field.

  Charlie glowed with the signature magic of an impending shift. Gracie grabbed ahold of my arm. Once the light cleared a small black cat was padding its way toward us from the center of the field. All of us except the professor broke out into thunderous applause. After a few moments Professor Atkins waved his hand to quiet us down.

  “Yes, the first shift of the year is always an exciting one,” he said without sounding very excited at all. He looked down at the cat that was now winding its way around his legs and purring. He squatted and picked her up, so he was looking in her eyes. “Excellent job, Miss Charlie, you have set a high standard for everyone to follow. Now, take a few minutes to get acquainted with your animal form and then do the exact same thing to return to your human self.” He set her back down on the ground and Charlie the cat padded her way across the field again.

  As she walked off, Professor Atkins turned toward Hudson. “Mr. Dwayyo, when you’re ready. You should have the hang of your shifting already, although I’m sure it will be nice to do it in daylight for once.” Hudson grinned and nodded to the professor and then stepped out into the field a bit. He flashed with light before he even stopped walking. His body began to change and in seconds a large white wolf stood where Hudson had been a moment before. After a beat everyone clapped again, it happened so quickly we hardly realized he’d started. This time the professor clapped, too. Hudson shook out his coat and then lifted his head and let out a long howl. The song was haunting and gave me chills. A few of the werewolf students in class cupped their hands and howled back. After he was done, there was a flash of green light and Hudson was human again.

  “A white wolf,” the professor said as Hudson walked back to the class. He sounded impressed.

  “What?” Hudson asked.

  “You’re an anomaly,” Professor Atkins told him. “White wolves are very rare.”

  “Oh that,” Hudson said with a shrug. “It’s probably because of my—uh—colorful past.”

  Turning back to the rest of the class Professor Atkins said, “Okay, everyone. For the rest of class, we will return to the gymnasium. Once inside I would like everyone to find a spot to themselves. We will spend the last two hours in deep meditation. I want you to meditate on your animal. Most of you haven’t shifted yet, so use this time to try to connect with your animal. He is already living deep inside of you, and for most of you, he is almost strong enough to emerge, so try to find him and call to him. Each day we will meditate on our animals and on our powers. Now, inside.”

  Profess
or Atkins was true to his word. He said nothing else the rest of class. Once back in the gymnasium, I found a spot by a wall a couple of feet away from the nearest classmate. Hudson had already settled himself in the middle of the gym and sat with his legs crossed and his hands resting in his lap. His eyes were closed, and his mouth moved silently. Willa sat not far from Hudson. She was still looking around at everyone getting settled. She caught my eye and shrugged. I shrugged back. Gracie sat along the same wall as me. She looked like she was deep in meditation, but now and then she would pop one eye open and look around.

  I leaned back against the wall and closed my own eyes. I had no idea what the professor actually expected us to do for the next two odd hours. How was I supposed to meditate on my animal if I didn’t know what my animal was supposed to be? I gave it a shot anyway. Meditation was easy for me. All witches and warlocks were trained in meditation in primary school. It was supposed to be a way to focus our powers. I hadn’t practiced in a long time, though. As a witch, my powers were middling. I wasn’t the best, and I wasn’t the worst. Most basic spells and tasks came easily to me, but I struggled with complicated or intricate spells. Would my animage magic—whatever it was—help me with those things or would it be a foreign magic altogether?

  I asked my parents shortly after the Revealing how their animage magic fit within their witch and warlock powers, but like all things about being animage they just smiled mysteriously and told me my powers would reveal themselves when I was ready. What did that even mean?

  I was surprised when the bell rang at noon. I opened my eyes and realized I was stiff all over. My knees popped as I stood up and stretched.

  I grabbed my bag and made my way out of the room with the rest of the students. Hudson caught up to me as we made our way to the cafeteria.

  “You were showing off,” I accused him.

  “Did it work? Are you impressed?” he asked with his big grin.

  “Oh, extremely.”