Outclassed: Spellslingers Academy of Magic (Warden of the West Book 2)

by Annabel Chase

  He pulled a wand from his cloak pocket. “You’re so inexperienced. You don’t have my level of training.” He exhaled dramatically. “Imagine the power I’d be granted if I offered you to the gods.”

  “Don’t be an idiot, Ivan,” I said, although that ship had plainly sailed. “You’ve had your chance and you blew it. Stop now, before it’s too late.”

  He threw his arms wide. “It’s already too late. If I’m caught now, I’ll be tried for murder. I may as well roll the runes and fight my way to freedom. Take down the whole academy and become a legend. Imagine what the history books would say. My inauspicious beginnings to eventual greatness.”

  “I think you’re skipping over a few pertinent paragraphs.”

  He laughed. “I’ll become more famous than your father and with far less natural ability. A tale for the ages.”

  “A cautionary tale,” I said.

  “After I destroy the academy and everyone in it, I’ll disappear somewhere in Terrene. Reinvent myself.”

  The destruction of the academy was frightening enough, but the thought of Ivan walking free in the human world set my teeth on edge. I had to take him down. Who knew what other horrors he would be capable of?

  Before I could make a move, Ivan aimed his wand and shouted, “Magnes!” My wand flew to him like a magnet. He gripped it in his left hand and smiled.

  “No blood magic at work. No wand. Let’s see how powerful you are now, Shadow Sorceress,” he sneered.

  “Oh, Ivan. You really haven’t been paying attention, have you?”

  He held out both wands in a defensive position. “All I do is pay attention, and what do I get in return? Nothing! The AMF is a farce. This whole academy is a farce.”

  I focused inward, summoning my magic. I conjured a gust of wind and forced him out of the circle. His back slammed hard against the thick wood of an oak tree, but he remained on his feet.

  I called to the river. I didn’t want to use blood magic, not if I could avoid it. I felt the moisture in the air and pulled it to me. Every molecule of water around me that I could grab, I bent to my will. Then I called to the wind and bound their energies together. The binding made it harder for me, but I didn’t want to waste my opportunity to take him down.

  “We can stop right now,” I warned. “Let this be the end of it.”

  But Ivan wasn’t ready to roll over yet.

  “I’ve learned a thing or two in my quest for power,” he said in a menacing tone. “The AMF would have been lucky to have me.” He began a low chant, and I watched as he grew in size until he was nearly equal to the oak tree he stood in front of.

  “Don’t do this,” I pleaded.

  “This ends when I say it ends,” he bellowed. His voice was so deep that the sound vibrated through the forest.

  My body was practically convulsing with magic. It begged for release. I had to time it right, though, or I’d waste my chance. With this much magic, I’d be off my feet for a few minutes before I could recoup. I couldn’t afford to make a mistake.

  “Come closer,” giant Ivan said.

  “Not a chance,” I yelled.

  He lunged for me, and I released the magic. It gushed from me like a fountain, propelling giant Ivan backward. Between Ivan, the wind, and the water, two mighty oak trees fell before Ivan landed flat on the forest floor. The ground quaked so hard that I nearly lost my balance.

  To my dismay, he rose to his enormous feet with barely a scratch on him. “A powerful punch, but not your best. Tell me, how does it feel to be rejected by your peers? To be all alone in this world? Sucks, doesn’t it?”

  It did suck, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing I felt that way. My friends were right to feel betrayed. I lied to them. I deserved to be ostracized.

  He extended a huge hand. “We could join together, Bryn. Then we wouldn’t be alone. Imagine the possibilities.”

  “No, thanks. I’d rather die before following in my father’s footsteps,” I said. I struggled to stay on my feet; the last dose of magic left me feeling drained. I couldn’t let Ivan see that, though. I refused to give him any advantage over me.

  “I thought you might say that.” Ivan glanced to his right at a sturdy oak tree and grinned. He ripped it from the ground, roots and all, and wielded it like a baseball bat.

  “I was never very good with weapons,” Ivan said. “The Master at Arms said I’d be terrible in the field. That was Calvin Motley. I believe you found his dead body.” He laughed and the ground rumbled. “Oh, the irony.” He tested the tree, swinging it gently in front of him. “Let’s see how I manage with this one.”

  I stumbled backward as he sliced the air with the tree, narrowly missing me. The energy surged inside me, desperate to put up a strong defense. There had to be a small bit of magic I could do right now, before he brought the tree down on me. If I could form a protective bubble, it might be enough to deflect the next blow.

  I closed my eyes and reached for more water. None answered my call.

  I was too weak from binding the elements.

  “Bryn, we’re here!” Dani’s confident voice pierced the brief moment of quiet.

  She acted quickly, blasting Ivan’s makeshift bat with a fireball. The trees went up in flames, and the fire reached Ivan within seconds. His painted body smoked and his hair was singed, but, still, he moved forward.

  “Help Bryn,” Dani called over her shoulder.

  Mia appeared beside me. “Can you walk?”

  I shook my head, unable to speak.

  “Cerys, I need you,” Mia yelled.

  I felt two sets of arms slide under my shoulders and drag me out of the combat zone. They propped me up against a tree.

  “He wants to destroy the academy,” I said weakly.

  “I’ll keep her safe here. Get in there and stop him.” Robin’s voice.

  I barely registered the fight. All I could think of was the fact that my friends were here to help. They hadn’t abandoned me in my time of need. I was so grateful that I wanted to cry.

  Dani worked her fire magic like a pro, creating a lasso of flames and flinging it around Ivan’s huge neck. She pulled and he almost fell forward.

  Almost.

  “Cerys, use the trees,” Dani commanded.

  Cerys placed her hand on the nearest tree and summoned her magic. Branches reached for Ivan, twisting and gripping his thick arms and legs. He screamed in protest, breaking a few branches in the process. Roots pushed their way through the ground and laced around his ankles.

  I felt my energy level rise. My magic was ready to go again.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Robin asked, as I attempted to rise to my feet.

  “I have to get back in there,” I said hotly.

  “You’ll collapse if you try another blast of magic,” he warned. “You’ve got three powerful witches against one egotistical moron. The odds are in our favor.”

  At that moment, Ivan broke free of all his restraints.

  I glanced at Robin. “The odds are what now?”

  “I’ll stay here in case one of you requires medical attention,” he said.

  “Good plan.” I knew Robin didn’t like the field. His goal was to become a justice, not an agent.

  I leapt to my feet and rejoined the fight. I couldn’t let my friends do this without me. If it weren’t for my meddling, they wouldn’t even be here.

  “Thank you for coming,” I said.

  “Don’t thank us yet,” Dani replied, her focus solely on Ivan. “Let’s take care of this giant idiot first.”

  “I can hear you with my giant ears, you know,” Ivan rumbled.

  “Good, I’m glad!” Dani conjured another fireball and threw it at his crotch. “It’s such a small target. I easily could’ve missed.”

  Ivan’s rage reverberated throughout the forest.

  “Mia, can you contain him in a tornado?” I asked. Although he seemed impervious to Dani’s fire, maybe the powerful air pressure would keep him from mov
ing.

  She pointed her wand and magic streamed from it in waves of blue and green. The magic wrapped around Ivan—faster and faster—until he could no longer remain rooted to the ground. He was sucked into the vortex, howling in anger and indignation.

  “What now?” Dani asked, poised for action.

  “Now, we finish this,” I said. “Mia, can you use cold air?”

  Her brow furrowed. “I think so.”

  “Then do it now.” I called to the water again and, this time, it answered. I let the magic flow through me, filling me, before I extended my hands toward Ivan. A surge of power pushed its way out of my body and joined forces with Mia’s Arctic blast. Ivan continued to spin until he was completely encased in a block of ice so thick that we could barely see him.

  “Nice work,” Dani said, running over to inspect him. “There’s no way he’s getting out of this.”

  “Not unless he thaws quickly,” I said, and remembered our trip to the bog with the bukavac. I turned toward the blistering trees, careful to extinguish any remaining flames inflicted by Dani. Having defeated Ivan, we didn’t need a forest fire on our hands.

  The squawk of a chicken reminded me that Miss Butters was somewhere in the carnage. I rushed forward and was shocked to see the chicken still in her cage.

  “Thank goodness,” I said, and picked up the cage by the handle.

  “I’ve alerted security,” Robin said. “They should be here any moment to take care of Ivan.”

  “Will they be able to shrink him back to his normal size?” I asked.

  “They’re quite capable,” Robin said. “Sometimes you just need to show a bit of trust, Bryn.”

  I gave him a hesitant smile. “I’m working on it.”

  19

  Arctic Ivan was removed from the forest by a security team under the watchful eye of Finn Horton. When Professor Langley finally arrived, I handed over Miss Butters in her cage. I thought I’d get a modicum of gratitude, but the bitterness in his expression suggested otherwise.

  “Well done, Bryn,” Alana said. The druid healer had been called to the scene to treat any injuries. “Thanks to you, Miss Butters lives to lay another egg.”

  “She’s very stressed,” I told Professor Langley. “She might need extra cuddles tonight.”

  “She’s a chicken, Miss Morrow, not a teddy bear.” His clipped tone left me in no doubt as to his opinion of me. Rescuer of chickens or not, the professor still hated me.

  He turned and marched back toward the academic wing, clutching the cage to his chest.

  Alana placed a warm hand on my shoulder. “You should come to my clinic and let me examine you. Make sure you’re really all right.” Her gaze swept across my roommates. “That goes for all of you.”

  “Thanks, but I’m absolutely fine,” I said. “I may just go back to the bunker for a rest. I feel like I could sleep for a day.”

  “Then come back to your room, where it’s more comfortable,” Dani said. “Don’t go to the bunker.”

  I gave my friends a hesitant look. “You want me to come back?”

  “Of course we do,” Mia said. “We never wanted you to go in the first place.”

  “We needed time to digest the news,” Cerys added. “As soon as we did, though, we expected you to come back. Hazel told us to give you space.”

  “I guess she wanted to make sure I’d be truly welcome.” I didn’t blame Hazel for being cautious; I knew she had my best interest at heart.

  Dani slung an arm across my shoulders. “You’ve been truly welcome since the day you arrived here, Bryn Morrow. Don’t doubt it for one second.”

  “And Icarus, too,” Mia said. “We had a pow-wow with our familiars and the drama is officially over. There’ll be no more cat fighting. Literally.”

  That was a relief. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to tell Icarus.” I’d be telling Icarus a lot of things, including an angry complaint about his absence during my confrontation with Ivan.

  “This calls for a celebration,” Cerys said. “I’ll go see if the dining hall has any desserts I can sneak back to the room.” She glanced quickly at Alana. “I mean, to eat there at the table.”

  The druid healer laughed gently. “I won’t tell if you won’t. I think you have all earned a pudding.”

  “If there’s burstberry pie, grab two slices for me,” Dani said.

  “And don’t forget the cream,” Mia said. “That’s the best part.”

  “I’ll meet you all back at the room,” I said. “Let me grab my things from the bunker.”

  As tired as I was, I walked at a rapid clip toward the building, eager to return to my friends and our room—my home. My life.

  Excellent work, Bryn. I know how difficult that fight was for you.

  I scanned the sky for my familiar. Now you turn up. You’d better have been doing something awesome.

  I was teaching the other familiars how to hunt mice the way I do.

  Fair enough. Well, I managed in the end, thanks to my friends.

  Icarus paused. You won’t always have your friends to help you, Bryn. You can’t be afraid to use your magic to its fullest extent when you’re under threat. Magic by itself doesn’t create monsters. I hope you understand that.

  I don’t know, I said. Ivan and my father make pretty good cases for keeping the power to a minimum.

  If you continue to fight it, the magic will eventually consume you.

  If I embrace it, it’ll consume me, too, I replied. Not an ideal scenario.

  You need someone who can help you develop your powers without the risk of corruption. Someone you trust.

  My mind immediately conjured an image of Gray.

  The vampire cannot educate you in the ways of magic, Icarus said, glimpsing my thoughts. His skills are of a different sort.

  He worked with a witch before, I said, as we passed through the gateway. He knows a lot about magic.

  You don’t need excuses to spend time with him, Icarus said. You should consult the chancellor. The more you resist your power, the harder your life will be.

  Harder than it’s already been? I queried. I couldn’t imagine that. Didn’t want to.

  I reached the entrance to the main building and looked up at him. Are you coming? I’m grabbing my stuff and going to the residence hall.

  Back to the others?

  I am. Everything’s going to be okay, Icarus, I said.

  Yes, Bryn, he replied. I believe it will.

  The next day, I sauntered up to the hellhound enclosure, where Armitage was busy with a giant shovel. His face was bright red from exertion.

  “Came to gloat, did you?” Armitage said, noticing me.

  As much as I wanted to, I decided to keep things on the mature end of the scale. After all, I had years of Armitage ahead of me. No point in burning that bridge so soon.

  “Did we agree to no magic?” I asked, leaning my elbows on the top of the fence.

  “No, but it only seemed fair.” He continued to shovel without looking at me.

  Although I refused to admit it out loud, I was impressed. “Where’s Princess Buttercup?”

  “She and the others are out for a walk with Fonthill. They like to chase butterflies in the meadow.”

  The idea of three vicious hellhounds frolicking in a meadow made me snicker. Those poor butterflies, though.

  “Need any help?” I asked.

  Armitage stuck the shovel in the ground and met my gaze. “Why would you offer to help? You won the bet fair and square.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Seems like the polite thing to do.”

  He stared at me in silence for a moment. “It’s good that your mother raised you. The paranormal community owes her a debt of gratitude.”

  “She didn’t do it for the sake of the paranormal community,” I said.

  He resumed shoveling. “I don’t care why she did it. The result is what matters. If Moldark had gotten his hooks in you early, we’d all be suffering now. I take great pleasure in knowing that yo
u’ve landed here, of all places. I only wish there was a way to pass along the information to whichever hell dimension his warped soul ended up in.”

  Well, he sounded bitter, but not about me. “You don’t hold my DNA against me then? I assumed you’d be wary of me.”

  Armitage approached the fence, still clutching the shovel. His entire face bubbled with sweat. “We forge our own paths, Morrow. I’m a firm believer in that. You haven’t given me any reason to think you’ll stray from yours.” He pointed the handle of the shovel at me. “The second you do, though, I’ll be the first one to knock you back in line.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “The first one? Are you sure about that?” I could think of a few other eager beavers.

  He chuckled. “Fine. Professor Langley might beat me to it.”

  “He’s going to pose a problem for me, isn’t he?”

  Armitage’s expression turned somber. “Most paranormals you meet will pose a problem for you, Morrow. That’s the reality of the situation. You’re going to have enemies for no other reason than the name of your father. Nothing to be done about that. You just work on being the best version of you, and show them all who Bryn Morrow really is.”

  Of all the paranormals at Spellslingers, I never would’ve expected to have an ally in Theo Armitage.

  “About the Mappleworth vamp…” Armitage began, and my chest tightened. I didn’t want to talk about Gray.

  “What about him?” I asked, lifting my chin a fraction.

  “He’s a valuable asset to have on your side. Keep him in your pocket. As a warden, I don’t love losing agents to the private sector, but I understand why he chose to leave.”

  “Do you think he’s responsible for Riya’s death?”

  “He told you about that?” Armitage frowned. “No, not at all. That’s Mappleworth’s mindset. No one else blamed him. It’s a dangerous job most of the time. What happened to his partner…Bad things happen and we try to learn from it and move on. Mappleworth moved on, but not in the way the AMF expected.”

  “I don’t know that Gray will be coming around as much anymore,” I said. “He was pretty unhappy about my secret.”

  Armitage studied me. “Are you sure it was the secret itself, or the fact that you kept one? You need to remember, Morrow, that trust is a huge component in our line of work. He trusted you like he trusted Riya. In his mind, you broke that bond with your omission.”