The Book, The Witches, and the Doorway (Fated Chronicles Book 1)

by Humphrey Quinn

  “You have three hours to complete each exam today. I remind each of you that during your lunch breaks, in between exams one and two, you are not permitted to discuss your results. You may begin.”

  Colin opened his exam and instantly began writing.

  Meghan’s heart thumped heavily, and she daydreamed about telling Juliska she had passed. She opened the exam. It took her until the last minute of the three hours to write out all the appropriate answers and examples required; she checked over the exam hoping she had not overlooked any small details.

  Colin and Jae had both finished after two hours, but she had not noticed. Colin sat in the lunchroom, keeping his mind opened to her (just in case), but she came out of the room looking relieved.

  “How did you do?” he asked her silently.

  “I hope good enough to pass,” she sighed. They all sat quietly, watching as some students came out happy, some angry, and some, downright miserable, even crying.

  “If time is up,” whispered Jae, “and you’re not finished, you have to repeat the level.”

  Meghan did not realize how close she had been to an automatic failure, by finishing so close to the final hour. At the same time, she felt terrible for the students who had worked so hard and had to go home, failing so early on.

  Her nerves came back as lunch ended and the second part was to begin. She had lucked out that morning, but would it happen again? She turned the paper over.

  True or false.

  Magic used against another person is forbidden. T / F

  Give examples based on your above answer, on justifications for using magic on another person. (At least two required)

  This is much harder her thoughts betrayed. Colin was already busy writing, but sensed his sister sorting through it.

  “I think this is a trick question, because using magic against others is forbidden so the answer is true. But, they want a justified example of an occasion when you can use magic on someone.” After talking it through, Colin sent her a happy sentiment, telling her she was on the right track.

  The only time you would be allowed to use magic on another person is to defend yourself, or if you had written permission from the Viancourt, or from the Banon, she wrote.

  Colin and Jae were nearly finished, though time was only half used up. They were both confident and kept their focus as they finished. Colin sent a thought to his sister as he got up to depart the room.

  “Get back to work and forget about me and Jae, you’re doing great.”

  She smiled, took a deep breath, and continued.

  Give three specific examples, on why you would need to report the actions of a fellow Svoda.

  She choked for a second not sure she understood the question. She heard Colin’s echo.

  “Talk your way through it again, like you did before.”

  Her brain was hard at work when Teacher Lindy announced, “One hour remaining.”

  She needed to hurry.

  It all came together.

  “This is the Svoda rule of turning in your neighbors if they do something to compromise the Svoda way of life. All I need to do is write down three examples of rules that could be broken. This one’s easy, seeing as Colin and I have already done that,” she said in light-hearted sarcasm.

  “Now that you know you can, hurry up. You still have to write it all out, and be thorough,” Colin reminded her, breathing a sigh of relief.

  Meghan began scratching her pen across her paper, finishing again, with only minutes to spare. At the end of the day, the twins had never been so exhausted. But now they had completed day one, they could discuss their tests with each other. Numerous children were going over answers, trying to remember if they had answered correctly.

  “I did fine,” said Jae.

  Mireya wasn’t so happy; she hadn’t finished her exam. “I’ll be back in junior level again,” she said, sulking.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” her brother comforted. “You’re already in junior level and you’re only eleven, that’s really good. Keep it up and you’ll be vying Ivan for his graduation record.”

  She hugged him and ran to catch up with her friend.

  “How about you guys?” Jae asked as they walked.

  “I passed,” said Colin confidently.

  “You always do,” scowled Meghan. They both waited for her answer. “I’m not totally sure, but I think I did… good enough.”

  “They’ll give us our grades before we move on from Grimble,” said Jae. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough. Don’t get too relaxed though, we still have tomorrow to get through.”

  “Ugh,” grunted Meghan. “Tomorrow. I may have lucked out today, but tomorrow I have to actually use magic.”

  Even Colin could not help her then. She would be on her own.

  The twins sent a leaf to Uncle Eddy before bed, informing him they believed they had passed. The night was long and sleepless again. Chaos ensued once more as morning arrived, and Ivan again escorted them to their exam, day number two.

  “Thank you so much, Ivan,” said Sheila. “I didn’t expect to be so busy, but I’m the only one working the library since Martha is out having her baby.”

  “It is the least I can do,” replied Ivan, in a moment seeming almost human. “I am forever grateful for your hospitality.”

  Sheila patted his shoulder lovingly. Ivan caught Meghan watching him through the corner of her eye; she shifted away. Ivan darted outside, ordering them to hurry.

  “How exactly did Ivan come to live with you, again?” asked Meghan while they walked. She wasn’t sure why she even cared.

  “Um, it’s actually a scary and a sad story,” said Jae. “His mother died when he was about three years old I think, in some kind of freak accident that no one ever talks about. I guess even magic couldn’t fix what happened. He lived with his father after that.”

  “What happened to his father?” asked Colin.

  “He was killed in the first Scratcher attack, back when we still lived on our island. We didn’t even know they existed. I was just a baby, then. Ivan lived with his grandfather after that, but he passed a few years back. Old age. Nothing catastrophic.”

  Thoughts of Scratchers surrounding their Uncle Arnon made their heads dizzy, and both twins were instantly sorry for Ivan, who was on his own, like them; of course, the twins were still holding out hope that Uncle Arnon was alive.

  “No wonder he doesn’t have any friends,” whispered Colin. Megan eyed him, hearing the thought before he said it. Everyone always left him. The twins understood that sentiment.

  Still, it was hard to feel sorry for Ivan for long when a minute later he was yelling impatiently for them to catch up. “At this pace you won’t arrive until tomorrow.”

  “He’s like a grumpy old man in the body of a seventeen-year-old,” charged Meghan hotly. She’d said it too loudly. He stopped and spun around. She lifted her chin daring him to argue her point.

  He replied nothing, but the savageness of his glare said enough.

  They were at the school entrance and he left them there, disappearing down the road.

  Colin held back a laugh.

  Jae let out a rushed breath. “You guys really don’t like each other, do you?”

  “He is the most infuriating guy I have ever met! I don’t care what happened to him in his past. He really is a grumpy old man in the body of a seventeen-year-old.” She stormed into the school. They followed.

  After the clang of the school bell, Teacher Lindy advised them to line up with their class. Some students fought for front position while others vied for last. It took a minute for the twins to realize you went in for your exam depending on where you were in line. They were in the middle, behind Jae.

  “I don’t imagine it matters that much,” said Colin, hoping he had not screwed up by not being more on the ball.

  “It’s all myth really. Some think if they go in first the teachers might be in a better mood, or if you go in last, you have a chance of getting
more points because the teachers are tired and just want to finish. None of this is true though. The teachers grade each student equally severely.”

  Colin took Jae’s word for it, and the twenty children lined up nervously in the corridor. One by one, each student was called in; the twins had thought it would not take long for the line to move, but with only one teacher doing the elementary exam, and each student taking an average of fifteen minutes, time began to drag.

  “Okay, I guess there’s something to be said for going first,” added Jae, after two hours had passed, and the trio’s nerves were at their peak. “I forget how the longer you sit and think about it, the more nervous you get.” He looked apologetically at Meghan, whose anxiety was more apparent with every passing minute.

  Finally, it was Jae’s turn. He wanted to let Meghan go ahead of him, but once in line you couldn’t change places. It was an eternity before he came out, thankfully smiling.

  “Good luck,” he mouthed to the twins as he escaped out of the school.

  Colin was next; he tensely entered the classroom. It was not Teacher Lindy as he had expected. Mothballs. The examiner was Viancourt member Tanzea Chase. Colin had a hard time not plugging his nose. She sat at a table with a stack of papers.

  “Name,” she asked, not looking up. Her wrinkled hands shook as she wrote. Colin wondered how many jobs she had. So far, he knew she was a member of the Viancourt, worked at the hospital, and today was a school examiner.

  For an old lady, she sure does get around.

  “Colin Jacoby, Ma’am,” he spoke aloud.

  Her eyes glanced over her spectacles inquisitively.

  “Of course you are,” she smiled in a manner that sent a cringe down Colin’s spine. He wondered if it even mattered how good he did on the exam, with Tanzea grading him. What was her problem with him, anyway?

  She looked at him inquisitively. “Task number one. Pick up that stack of pillows, hover them above the ground for one minute, without any of the pillows falling.” Her tone suggested she didn’t expect him to pass. Colin closed his eyes and gathered all the energy required. There was little in the immediate area so he searched outward, beyond the school, and into Grimble.

  He lifted the pillows easily, but the minute was terribly long. Tanzea Mothball Chase scrutinized Colin’s every move. Not once did her eyes leave Colin to look at the pillows. When finished, Tanzea did not comment on Colin’s magic, but simply went on to the next task.

  “Take the stack of pillows and move them to the square. Mind you, if they fall or shift, you lose points.”

  Something strange happened during the test. Colin had the pillows moving in no time, but felt another magical energy in the room, trying to push his pillows out of alignment. He fought it and straightened them. Had Tanzea done it? Why? Did she want him to fail, or was it part of the exam, to test him with the element of surprise? He got the impression it wasn’t normally part of the exam. But he finished, and let out a relieved breath thinking it could be nothing less than a perfect score.

  “Are you even winded, boy?” asked Tanzea frigidly.

  Colin answered truthfully. “No, Ma’am.”

  “Hm, okay. Well number three, then.”

  He grew uneasy again. He had already done the exercise’s they had learned in class. It was a test though. He guessed it only made sense for them to ask something they hadn’t practiced.

  Tanzea had her head down, scribbling notes. She took a long time. It made him question whether there was even supposed to be a number three.

  “You see the chalkboard that goes around the room? Without using your hands to write, I want you to use the chalk and write out the Svoda goals.”

  Colin started to panic, but not for himself. He knew the answers, plus collecting the energy needed was easy, but could Meghan do the same? He collected himself, reached out for the magical energy and pictured himself picking up the chalk and writing. He spoke the answer in a whisper while the chalk wrote out his answer.

  Colin finished and opened his eyes; the words were not only written, but in a perfect straight line. Colin knew he had passed this part of the test, too. Tanzea Chase grimaced at the still not winded Colin Jacoby with great interest, but eventually put her head down, scribbling more notes. After a few more minutes of his silent standing and waiting, she told him harshly to leave and send in the next student.

  Colin sent Meghan a thought. “I’m on my way out, you’re next, okay.”

  “About time! You were in there longer than anyone,” she replied, her inner voice quivering.

  “I was?” he exclaimed, not realizing.

  “Thirty minutes, Colin! I’ve been going crazy, and if it took you that long, I’m doomed.”

  “Don’t think that way,” he pleaded as he passed her. “Remember to reach out and feel the energy flowing around you, and then focus it on the task.”

  Meghan did not answer, and Colin could sense an impromptu desire for her to plug her nose.

  “Musty Mothballs?” he sent her. “The examiner is Tanzea Chase, from the Viancourt.”

  “Name,” croaked Tanzea, again not looking up from her papers.

  “Meghan Jacoby,” she answered uneasily.

  Tanzea looked up. “Ah, yes.” She grinned in welcome. “I have notes here, let’s see. Where are those?”

  Meghan, if possible, grew more anxious, thinking, Notes? What notes? Did Colin have notes?

  “Here we go, that’s right, the Firemancer,” Tanzea smiled with a snobbish sort of approval. “You may not be aware, Miss Jacoby, but most seers do not thrive at hands-on magic. Unless they are using the element of their sight… in your case, fire.”

  Meghan’s gaze perked up. “I really had no idea.” Is this why she sucked so bad? It wasn’t really her fault after all.

  “I have been instructed to test you,” explained Tanzea, “but to also inform you that you’ve already passed. Unusual, yes. But it has been decided that your studies will be aimed toward that of Firemancy. You will be informed of your course direction at a future, yet to be determined date.”

  Was it possible to have such great luck? Meghan had not known that being a Firemancer meant she would not be as good at normal magic. “What a relief,” she whispered, wondering if it was Juliska that made this decision?

  “Your exam today,” interrupted Tanzea, “will consist of moving this pile of pillows to the square.” She pointed to a pile of pillows half the size of the other students, and to a square only two feet away. Meghan, feeling little pressure now, was able to get the pillows off the ground, only a few inches, but off the ground, and moved them into the square, where they plunked down with a soft thud. She grinned, satisfied.

  “Okay, you’re finished, send in the next student.”

  Meghan nodded and hastily exited the school.

  “That was fast,” said both Jae and Colin, who had waited for her outside the school.

  “I did it though, moved the pillows up in the air and two feet into the square.”

  “Two feet, two whole feet,” mocked a voice from behind.

  Colin and Jae wanted to question her about this, too, but it would have to wait. Darcy Scraggs emerged from the school behind them.

  “What. An. Accomplishment! Look everyone, Little Miss Two Feet.”

  “Ignore her,” droned Jae, motioning for the twins to follow him out of the schoolyard. Taunts of, “Little Miss Two Feet,” echoed as they departed.

  Meghan was mortified.

  Colin shot pleading looks at the students, begging them to stop.

  Some that knew him, did.

  That did not just happen, Meghan defied, crestfallen. My brother, coming to my rescue… she let out a breath of disbelief and annoyance.

  Once closer to home, Jae stopped. “Did they really only ask you to move it two feet?”

  “Yes,” she answered tightly. She’d had no idea she hadn’t been given the same test as everyone else. She sighed, shaking her head. “There’s more.”

&nbs
p; “I should hope so,” said Colin angrily. “I had to move the pile around the edge of the whole room, hold it in the air for an entire minute, and then after all that, she asked me to write the Svoda goals on the dang chalkboard, without using my hands.”

  “You did all that?” Jae asked.

  “Yes, I think she was trying to tire me out.”

  “But you weren’t tired at all when you came out,” exclaimed Jae.

  “No, I wasn’t.”

  “How do you do that? It would be incredibly draining to think of the answer, and write it on the board at the same time.” Jae’s tone held a twinge of jealousy.

  Colin shrugged. He really didn’t know how to explain it. He just did it, and it was easy for him.

  Meghan was humiliated. All relief she’d felt after first leaving the exam room had vanished. She’d hardly done anything at all. Plus she knew she’d already passed.

  “So what exactly happened?” breathed out Colin.

  “The teacher said she had been instructed to pass me and that since I was a Firemancer, I needed to have my studies arranged as such, and that I couldn’t be expected to have the magical prowess of others.”

  “That actually make sense, Meghan,” noted Jae honestly. He wasn’t just trying to make her feel better.

  “And I guess it explains why you’re not making any progress,” Colin spouted. It came out harsher than he’d meant it to, but she ignored it. He was starting to get the impression that he’d been given a much harder test than anyone else.

  They continued toward home.

  “You know,” continued Jae after a bit. “I’ve heard that if you have a special gift, like you do with sight, Meghan, that you’ll be really good at that, but not so much other stuff. And I think back when we lived on the island, people with gifts like yours used to drop out of school and enter into apprenticeships, for more focused learning.”

  “Huh. Really?”

  “Yeah. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what they have in mind. So maybe you won’t even be in classes with us again anyway.”