“His usual tone then.” I played with a couple of Cerys’s painted stones on the windowsill. As our resident earth witch, she owned a spectacular collection rune rocks and crystals. “Armitage taunted me, so I decided to be a show-off. I was rewarded with a dead body.”
Robin wagged a finger at me. “Let that be a lesson to you. Underperform from now on.”
He had no idea how often I’d been doing exactly that. “I wish someone had told me about the hellhound dash. I was woefully unprepared.”
Robin laughed. “Well, at least you survived unscathed.”
“My cloak didn’t. Thankfully, Mia is handy with a wand.”
Robin scratched the back of his neck. “Speaking of wands, Armitage mentioned that you seemed uncomfortable using yours.”
I pulled my wand from my waistband. “Yes. I have to find a more comfortable place for it. It's constantly jabbing me in the back."
Robin swatted the wand aside. “That’s not what I mean. He suggested that you didn’t want to use it. He felt you were avoiding magic as much as possible.”
“He said that to the chancellor?” I’d have to be more careful. Apparently, I wasn’t as subtle as I thought.
Robin nodded. “He thinks you only used such strong magic at the river because he goaded you into it.”
My shoulders tensed. Theo Armitage was smarter than he looked. That could pose a problem. At least Chancellor Tilkin already knew my secret. Aside from my familiar, she was the only one, and I trusted her implicitly. If anyone here discovered my real identity, I’d be lucky to escape with just a pitchfork poking me in the butt. My father had been one of the most feared and dangerous sorcerers in paranormal history. The negative reaction to my parentage couldn’t be overestimated.
“It’s time for my next class,” I said, hoping to put an end to the conversation.
“I see.” Robin continued to stand there, awkwardly adjusting his bow tie. “On the subject of a primer, if you decide you’d like a tutor in any subjects—any subjects at all—I’d be happy to assist.”
I gaped at him. “You would? Aren’t you busy with your independent study?” As a fourth year prefect, Robin spent the bulk of his time on a single project.
“The beauty of independent study is that I carve out my own schedule.” He managed a smile. “If that schedule involves a bit of tutoring, I’m perfectly fine with that.”
I narrowed my eyes. “This isn’t because I know your secret, is it? I swear I won’t breathe a word. You don’t have to do me any more favors.”
Robin cleared his throat. “It isn’t because you know my secret.” His eyes met mine. “I trust you, Bryn. You’ve earned it.”
A lump formed in my throat. I’d earned his trust, yet I stood here, lying to his face. Some friend I was.
“I don’t need any help, Robin, but, if I change my mind, you’ll be my first choice.” I started for the door. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
I sat in the back row of Understanding Runes, not remotely understanding runes. Dani was in her usual seat in the front of the room, but I’d arrived late and slipped into the nearest available seat. An angel by the name of Professor Mikaela White helmed the class. Her white wings were tucked behind her back and, according to Mia, her halo was disguised by a glamour because most paranormals found it too intimidating. I wasn’t sure what was intimidating about a halo, but, apparently, it was a status thing.
The symbols flashed in the air as Professor White conjured them one at a time, and then elaborated on their various meanings. There had to be a better way to teach this class. Admittedly, it wasn’t entirely the runes’ fault. I couldn’t stop thinking about the dead body in the river. The guy hadn’t looked much older than me. How had he ended up staked to the bottom of the river? I squirmed in my seat, itching for class to end, so I could pay a visit to Alana, the druid healer on campus. I knew from experience that she had access to autopsy records at the academy, and I figured that, by the time class was over, she’d at least be able to confirm the cause of death. Just because he was secured to the riverbed didn’t mean he drowned.
“Can anyone explain the meaning of this particular rune?” Professor White asked.
Cerys’s hand shot up. The petite blonde knew runes like I knew diner lingo from my years as a waitress. I didn’t understand any of the symbols on Cerys’s rocks, which was probably a good reason to focus on Professor White’s lecture.
“Oak,” Cerys said confidently.
I squinted at the weird-looking F with the crooked top line and wondered how on earth I was supposed to remember that symbol signified oak. Couldn’t they simply draw a big tree?
“The rest of the runes in that row represent trees,” Cerys continued, pointing. “Birch, ash, yew…”
“Thank you, Cerys,” Professor White said. “We haven’t quite gotten to those yet.”
“The oak rune is useful in the underworld,” Cerys said. “My father told me…”
“While I appreciate your enthusiasm for this class, Cerys, we need to keep the anecdotes to a minimum.”
Cerys slumped in her seat. “Sorry, Professor.” I saw Dani lean over to comfort her. I’d let Cerys babble at me tonight about runes if she wanted. Maybe I’d actually learn something.
I raised my hand and Professor White smiled at me, her kind eyes crinkling at the corners. “Yes, Bryn?”
“What do we do with the runes?” I asked. “It’s nice to recognize that’s the symbol for oak, but what’s the point?”
Professor White changed the floating image to an entire collection of runes. “Some magic users cast runes in order to perform a reading.”
“Like a fortune-teller? I can’t imagine that’s what the AMF is looking for in an agent,” I said.
“You’d be surprised what you need to do as an agent sometimes,” Professor White said cryptically. “Depending on the class of agent you are, you might be called upon to go undercover. Trust me, if you suddenly need to be a fortune-teller for a mission, you can’t mistake a yew rune for an ash. The stakes are far too dangerous for avoidable errors.”
Well, that was me put in my place.
Dani waved her hand in the air. “Runes are also used to cast spells, charms, invoke power, and for healing.”
“Thank you, Danielle,” Professor White said.
I raised my hand again—a glutton for punishment. “How do you use runes to cast a spell? Do you pull a few stones from your pouch and chuck them at the object of the spell?”
Some of my classmates laughed, even though I was completely serious.
“It depends on your particular skillset,” Professor White said. “As we know, Cerys Davies has a strong affinity for earth magic. I suspect she doesn’t need stones to perform this type of magic.” She smiled at Cerys. “You could probably draw runes in the air with your finger and create a spell, couldn’t you?”
Cerys nodded her cornsilk head. “The rune rocks amplify my power, but I could scratch a rune on a tree trunk and make it work if I had to.”
“But not you, Keira,” Professor White said, turning toward the brunette witch.
“No, Professor,” Keira said. “I’d have trouble with a three-rune spread, let alone sketching out runes on tree bark. My magic doesn’t work that way.”
I found it fascinating that magic seemed to be so individualized. I guess it made sense, given that our powers were inherited the same as we inherited physical traits. I was thankful that I’d inherited most of my physical characteristics from my mother. Same dark hair and blue eyes. Same slender build. It made it much easier to hide my identity when the strongest trait I shared with my father was magic. If I continued to hide the extent of my powers to the best of my ability, no one would be the wiser.
Anything less was too dangerous.
3
I gave the healer’s door a hesitant knock. Alana glanced up from the table where she was busily arranging a row of colorful crystals.
“Bryn, how are you? Please come in.” She
waved me forward. The druid was definitely the flower child of the Spellslingers set. With her long, white braid and bare feet, she would’ve been perfectly at home on a hippie commune in the human world.
“Are you busy? I don’t want to interrupt.”
“Never too busy for the flock,” she said, gesturing to a nearby chair. “Have a seat.”
“I’m good, thanks. I’ve been in Professor White’s class, so I’ve sat long enough.”
Her expression lit up. “Ah, runes. One of my favorite topics.”
“You and Cerys,” I said. “The rest of us would probably downgrade it from favorite to ho-hum.”
Her laugh tinkled. “That’s how I feel about weaponry.” She swapped a pink crystal with a blue one.
“What are you doing with the crystals?” It looked like some kind of solitary witchy chess.
She cast a furtive glance over my shoulder. “Promise you won’t tell?”
I lowered my voice. “Of course.”
“I’m procrastinating,” she whispered. “Orders have come down to start implementing the new procedures at the border.”
My alarms clanged. “New procedures?”
She nodded. “The Order of the Edge is rolling out a new system, which means I’m responsible for drawing blood from everyone here at the academy and sending the samples off for the new ID cards.”
“Oh.” That sounded like a horrible task. Even worse, it meant I was no closer to getting an ID card. There was no way I could let Alana draw my blood. They’d match me to Volans Moldark in five seconds flat and my life here would be over.
“Not a fan of blood, eh?”
“Not a fan of bureaucracy,” I said.
Alana laughed again. “Same, though it’s a necessary part of life, I’m afraid. Order is important to a civilized society.”
A-ha! Here was my chance. “Not so civilized around here with a dead body in the river,” I said. “I assume you heard about that.”
Her eyebrows drew together in a look of concern. “Most distressing. Is that why you’re here? I imagine it must have been traumatizing for you.”
“It won’t exactly give me pleasant dreams tonight.” I decided to accept the chair, now that we’d moved on to my intended topic. “Any idea what the stake was about? I thought maybe someone was trying to kill a vampire.”
“Not a vampire,” Alana said. “The stake was for practical purposes, intended to affix the body to the riverbed so that it did not wash to shore quickly.”
“The killer didn’t want the body to be found,” I said, more of a statement than a question.
“Not anytime soon,” she replied. “At least not until any evidence had eroded, I suppose. Or to allow the body time to decompose to avoid identification.”
“But we found him before that?” I queried. The body had appeared to be intact.
She nodded her stark white head. “Your use of such powerful magic there was fortuitous.”
I snorted. “That’s a nice word for it. I’m sure some witches and wizards around here think two bodies found by the same sorceress can’t be a coincidence.” If only they knew my father was Volans Moldark.
Alana offered a sympathetic smile. “Calvin Motley’s killer was apprehended. The same will happen for this young man.”
“You sound awfully certain. Are your pretty crystals telling you that?”
“Ha! These pretty crystals are for my peace of mind. As to your question, this is Spellslingers Academy of Magic. We train your kind to solve these types of crimes. Surely, we can solve one on our own school property.”
I bit my tongue. After all, I was the one who figured out who killed Calvin Motley, not Theo Armitage or anyone else working on the investigation. Of course, I’d had more at stake than a bruised ego. I’d had my name to clear before they decided to stick me in a holding cell.
“Any word on the identity of the victim?” I asked. “Was he a student here?”
“No, thank the gods,” Alana replied. “A human.”
“You mean, one hundred percent human? Not a magic user?”
Alana pressed her lips together. “That information should remain confidential until it has been released to the public. They have not even completed the autopsy.”
Rats. I was too early for the report. Still, there were other questions I could ask.
“How did a regular human end up in a river at the academy?” I asked. “They have to not only know about the border, but be able to cross it.” A border that was patrolled by the bureaucracy-happy Order of the Edge.
“His presence here will be part of the investigation, I am sure.” She began to wipe down her crystal collection with a white cloth. “Fingerprints and germs.” She rolled her eyes. “The bane of my existence.”
“You need a nice bottle of Windex to bring out their shine,” I said.
“Windex?” she repeated.
“A product in Terrene,” I said. “Look for it next time you cross the border.” I paused, thinking. “Aside from the border, is there any other way a human could end up here?” I didn’t mention Chancellor Tilkin’s falcon-feathered cloak. Although that was how I arrived here from the bridge over the Delaware River, I highly doubted the young man from the river had enjoyed the same treatment.
Alana set the cloth on the table. “There are always ways to circumvent the system. Teleportation charms and cloaking spells. Secret tunnels. Bribery.” She shrugged her narrow shoulders. “We have human trafficking issues, same as Terrene.”
“Really?”
“We are a world of vampires, succubi, and other paranormals that have a use for humans.”
I winced at the thought of vampires trafficking humans into this world in order to feed on them. I couldn’t picture Gray taking part in something like that. When we’d investigated Calvin Motley’s murder together, he’d been careful to insist to any inquiring parties that he wasn’t feeding on me. It mattered to him that they knew that.
Alana seemed to catch on to my line of inquiry. “I should remind you, Bryn, that you are not under scrutiny for this crime.”
“Oh, I know,” I said. “It’s just that I sort of found him and…” And I didn’t know what else. The fact that he was from my world? That maybe I could have ended up at the bottom of a river here, under different circumstances?
Alana placed an elegant hand on my shoulder. “Focus on your training here. That is where your attention belongs. Let the professionals do their jobs.”
I stifled a groan. Professionals like Theo Armitage? He was far too pompous to conduct a thorough investigation. His hubris would lead to mistakes.
Instinctively, I touched the nearest crystal and immediately apologized. “Here, I’ll clean it for you.” I picked up the cloth and wiped the purple crystal. “Are all stones and crystals created equal?”
Alana gave me a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”
I kept my gaze on the dazzling display of crystals. “Healing stones. Are they all the same? Possess the same kind of power?”
“No, not at all,” she replied. “Different types of stones have different purposes. Different frequencies.”
“Frequencies? Is that druid talk?” I had no earthly idea what she meant.
Alana inhaled sharply. “The gaps in your knowledge must be rectified.”
“Prefect Chambers offered to tutor me,” I said quickly. I hadn’t expected to take him up on his offer, but Alana’s comment had me second-guessing myself.
Her face brightened. “He’s an excellent choice. One of our best and brightest.”
And tweediest. “Yes, he seems very knowledgeable.”
“You must remember that the other trainees have had years of a magical education already,” Alana said. “You will remain at a disadvantage if you do not take action soon. It would be a waste for someone with your abilities. The AMF can always use a talented water witch.”
I felt a pang of humiliation. It wasn’t my fault that I’d missed out. My mother had done her best with me
. I didn’t blame her for making our safety her priority over any magical training, not that she could have offered me anything more than textbooks.
Alana noticed my pained expression. “I do not blame you, of course, Bryn. I only wish for you to reach your full potential. Chancellor Tilkin believes you have the title of magus in your future, and I would like to support that vision.”
I nodded mutely.
She patted my hand. “Make your training a priority, and all will be well.” She returned her attention to the remainder of the crystals on her table, and I knew that was my cue to leave.
“I will, Alana,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. I’d focus on my training, as soon as I got to the bottom of how a human found his way over to this side of the border—and ended up bound to the bottom of the river.
I wasn’t about to give up just because the autopsy report hadn’t made its way to Alana. Thankfully, I had another academy source to tap for confidential information. One who liked to prattle over a cup of tea.
“Hey, Hazel Hazeldine,” I said, leaning against the doorjamb of her office. As the secretary to Chancellor Tilkin, Hazel served as the eyes and ears of the academy. If important details about the human’s death were making the rounds, Hazel was sure to have the inside scoop. It helped that she liked me.
Hazel was busy watering all the herbs and plants in the office. She spoke to each one as she went, asking about its day and whether it was still thirsty.
“Pardon me, Mr. Burstberry Plant, but we seem to have a visitor,” she said, and pinned her gaze on me. “The chancellor is attending a meeting in Terrene today, miss.”
“Really?” I said. “With everything going on?”
Hazel blew a raspberry. “This is Spellslingers. When isn’t there something going on?” She carried on watering her plants.
“Did she go there to investigate the guy from the river? He was human, right?”
Hazel stopped and turned to face me, her round face pink with surprise. “Karl Muldoon has nothing to do with the chancellor’s agenda today, I’ll have you know, though she’s absolutely sick over it.” Hazel clamped a hand over her mouth. “I probably wasn’t supposed to say all that.”
Outclassed: Spellslingers Academy of Magic (Warden of the West Book 2) Page 2
