The Arch Stone: Foxway Academy: Book 1

by Adam Faulkner

  “I… I was practising that shield… I think I went overboard on the energy manipulation…”

  “So, what, it overcharged or something?”

  “Something like that.”

  “But how did you end up in here?”

  “I said I don’t want to talk about it…”

  “Wait, it’s electrical energy, isn’t it?”

  “It’s magic, so it’s not quite that simple, but…”

  “Did you turn yourself into a magnet?”

  “Again, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but…” I burst out laughing again. “Hey!”

  “Sorry… Holy shit…” I panted as I tried to pull myself back together. “Are you still magnetised?”

  “No…”

  “Good.” I stepped forward and looked around the bin. “How the hell am I supposed to do this…?” I muttered under my breath. “I could just tip the bin over…”

  “You can’t do that!”

  “It’s either that or I teleport you out of there… But there’s a very small, slight, possibility that you may possible slightly end up in the floor. Not definitely. Like, 50/50.”

  “Tip the fucking bin over.” Her voice was deadpan. Hilariously so.

  I sighed and walked around to the other side of the metal bin.

  “Okay, three… Two…” Before I got to one, I pushed the bin. It was a lot heavier than I was expecting, especially since it was practically empty. I leaned my weight against it, and it started to tip. “One!” I shouted as the bin toppled over, crashing on the floor.

  “Ow…” August groaned as I walked back around to the other side.

  “Can you get out now?”

  A faint grumbling rose from the inside as August wriggled her way out of the bin.

  “…the last time I’m asking you for help. Tipping the bin over… Like that was the best idea you could come up with…”

  “Well, next time I’ll just leave you there.”

  Once August was free, I flicked together a telekinesis spell and pushed the bin back up.

  “Why didn’t you do that to begin with?” August asked bewilderedly, dusting herself off.

  “It wouldn’t have been as funny to watch.”

  August punched me in the arm.

  “Screw you!”

  “Hey, at least I helped.” I shrugged. “But seriously, next time you want to turn yourself into a giant magnet, don’t.”

  “Really? I didn’t think of that!”

  I laughed.

  “We don’t talk enough, do we?”

  “Probably not, no…” she agreed. “What are you doing after school?”

  “Other than training? I don’t think I’m doing anything. Why?”

  “I was planning on getting out into the city. I don’t get out of the campus enough. All of my other ‘friends’ weren’t interested. So, want to come?”

  “Yeah, sure… I mean, it’s not like London isn’t a good place to shop…”

  “London? I came here from Oxford.”

  “Oh, shit, yeah. The Foxmarts are all over the country, aren’t they? I didn’t even think about that…” I admitted. “How do we get back, then? Like, there’s only one door?”

  “Magic?”

  “Good point…” I agreed. “Still, I wonder what kind of Magic could do that?”

  “So, do you want to come with me?”

  “To Oxford?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I can’t exactly miss the opportunity to take an afternoon trip halfway across the country, can I? It’s way too cool…”

  “That’s that then. Meet me at the gate after school, okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  I waved as I walked away.

  *

  “So, things are going well, then?” Artemis asked as I leaned back on her sofa.

  “They’re going better…” I corrected. “Having Raven back is a real help.”

  “Yes, I’m sure it is. Is there anything that you have been struggling with lately?”

  “I-” I cut myself off.

  “What?”

  “It’s nothing…”

  “If there’s something that you need help with, you should tell me.”

  “No, don’t worry about it…”

  “Emilie…”

  “I said it’s nothing.”

  “Hmm…” Artemis didn’t seem convinced. “So, what about hallucinations?”

  “They… They haven’t changed. Still there, still in the background. I’m getting better at ignoring them.”

  “Are they still only auditory?”

  “Yes.” I knew that the visual hallucinations were a possibility, and once I’d got the idea into my head I couldn’t really get rid of it. But I didn’t want to worry Artemis until I knew for sure.

  “Is there anything else?”

  “I… I don’t think so…”

  Artemis sighed.

  “Can I give you some advice, Emilie?”

  “Isn’t that kind of what I’m here for?”

  “Yes, I suppose it is,” Artemis softly laughed. “Don’t keep things to yourself. Even if it’s not to me, if there’s something bothering you, you should tell someone. It’s not healthy to keep things bottled up. Especially when your mind tips that bottle right out into your consciousness…”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right…” I admitted. I stood up. “I should get going… We’re supposed to have training after school, and I haven’t eaten today.”

  “I won’t keep you then. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

  “See you tomorrow, Miss Artemis.”

  I walked out of the room and closed the door.

  “Don’t keep things to myself…” I repeated. I wasn’t sure why that had affected me so much, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I walked to the sparring hall.

  *

  “Hey, August?” I asked as we walked to the door out of the school. “Do I come across as closed off to you?”

  August thought for a second.

  “I don’t know… Maybe, I guess. You don’t really talk about your feelings and shit a lot of the time. But I’m not sure if I’d call you ‘closed off’ as such. Why?”

  “Just something Miss Artemis said earlier. Don’t worry about it.”

  We walked up to the door and stopped. “So, how do we do this?”

  “I mean, it’s Magic, so who knows…”

  “I never have to do anything to get back to London… Maybe it just knows where you want to go?”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised. I don’t really know what to expect anymore. I’ve just kind of stopped thinking about it.”

  “So… Should we just walk through and see what happens?” August suggested.

  August walked towards the door and opened it. On the other side was definitely a different shop to the one I normally got to school through.

  “I guess it’s to do with who opens it then?”

  “Yeah, must be… Come on then.” August held the door open for me.

  Don’t do it… You can’t trust her… And you don’t know anything about where she’s taking you…

  “Piss off…” I hissed at the voices.

  “What?” August questioned, clearly a bit shocked.

  “Sorry… Voices… We’re definitely going to Oxford, right?”

  “Of course. Where else would we be going? Do you think I’m going to kill you or something?”

  “No, of course not. It’s just… It’s just my head…”

  “Yeah…” August didn’t seem sure how to react to that.

  “Sorry…”

  “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Anyway, we should get going. You’ll need to leave before the Foxmart closes,” August noted. “That or you walk back to London.”

  Oxford was nice. The buildings all looked old, very historical. Which I suppose made sense for a city with one of the best universities in the country. I would have considered looking at the University, but I wasn’t sure how useful an A-Lev
el in Magic would be for the future.

  “Why do you act like you do at school?”

  “I suppose… I guess it’s just how I’ve learned to be. My father… He’s always been such an influential member of the Magical community, and I guess everyone always expected me to be the same… My sister… She’s the same.”

  “You have a sister?” I questioned. “I have no idea.”

  “She’s about seven years older than me… She works for my father.” There was something in her face that I couldn’t put my finger on. She almost seemed angry.

  “Do you get on?”

  “I wouldn’t know… She might as well pretend I don’t exist… January… She’s so stuck up. She thinks that she can treat people like shit just because she’s the eldest daughter of the great Isaiah Flamel…” She always seemed so bitter when she was talking about her father. “And he is, I suppose… He gives so much to the Magical community… Especially Foxway… But he’s the same…” she explained. “You’re lucky… You have the Fire-bird… You two haven’t known each other for a year and you’re already closer than me and January could ever be…” Her voice quietened.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but I changed my mind.

  “You know…”

  “Don’t give me the ‘she’s your family’ bullshit, please. I’ve heard that enough.”

  “I lived my entire life without my sister. And without a dad, in anyway way. You’re not going to get any of that,” I assured her. “You’re not like your sister, August. You may put across this persona, whether you do it deliberately or not… But you’re not like that. You’re hot-headed, you’re impulsive, and frankly you’ve got a serious temper. I learned that the hard way…”

  “You’re giving me a glowing review here…”

  “…But you want to help people. And when you want to help someone, you do anything to do so. You work at it. You’re trying so hard to train, to be able to help protect people, that you ended up passing out on the steps you were so tired.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “You care about people, no matter how you act at school. You’re not your sister. You’re not your father. You’re August Flamel. You’re a good person. That’s what matters.”

  “I… I guess you’re right…” August admitted. “But it’s just… It’s not that easy… I’ve been acting like this my whole life…”

  “I know. Anyway, you’re not like that. That’s what you need to remember.”

  August laughed.

  “Yeah, you’re right. Anyway, let’s get going. You’re making this depressing,” she joked. “There’s a great café around here somewhere…”

  *

  I probably would have got lost making it back to the Foxmart, if it wasn’t that August was there with me. Oxford wasn’t as big as London, by any stretch, but all of the buildings in the town centre looked way too similar to me, which made it pretty difficult to find. It was about seven o’clock when I managed to make it home.

  “Where have you been?” Mum asked. I was a little surprised to see her, but it was only about half an hour earlier than normal.

  “Oxford.”

  “Okay, if you’re not going to tell me…”

  “I’m serious. I was there with a friend from school.”

  “How does that work?”

  “Magic.” I shrugged.

  “You know, that really shouldn’t be an answer that makes sense…”

  “Tell me something I don’t know…”

  “Never been to Oxford. Is it nice?”

  “It really is. I feel like there’s a lot of history there.”

  “We’ll have to go some time.” Mum suggested.

  “Yeah, sure, sounds fun. You and me.”

  “And Raven,” Mum added.

  I smiled.

  “She’s not even your daughter.”

  “But she’s your sister. That makes her family.” Mum smiled. “I mean, that’s probably just me being stupid, but still…”

  “No, it’s not stupid. It’s nice. You’re awesome, mum.” I decided.

  Mum hugged me.

  “I do my best,” she agreed. “Have you eaten?”

  “No. I meant to get something on the way home, but I didn’t get around to it.”

  “There’s no food in the house, is there…?”

  “Don’t think so…” I sighed. “I’ll get the phone…”

  23

  As September arrived, there was a strange atmosphere at school. I mean, Foxway always felt pretty strange, but there was something in the air that didn’t feel right. The first thing that set it off was the weather. Almost the entire time, Foxway was a sunny, summery atmosphere, even in the middle of winter. But at that point… It felt like autumn. It was colder. The leaves were even falling off the trees. Greyford assured everyone that it was perfectly normal for wherever in the world the school was, but I knew that wasn’t true. I’d come to know the professor too well since I’d started at Foxway, with all of our Reality Magic sessions, and he definitely seemed off. Something was coming, and somehow, the school knew it. And it wasn’t something good.

  I kicked a pile of leaves as me, Matt and Leigh walked to class.

  “This is so weird… It’s never cold here… But I’m freezing…” Leigh complained.

  “It’s been like this for a week now. It’s your own fault you’re still wearing summer clothes…” Matt noted.

  “Sorry for being optimistic…” Leigh grumbled.

  I laughed under my breath. I stopped, realizing something.

  “I don’t know when your birthdays are, do I?”

  “Mine was back in February, before you started here.” Matt explained. “Leigh’s is… Next week, I think.”

  “You think?” Leigh raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s next Wednesday,” he hastily confirmed.

  “I can’t believe you almost forgot my birthday!” Leigh protested.

  “Hey, it’s not like we haven’t been focused on more important things the last few months!” They stopped and carried on arguing. I laughed and kept walking.

  *

  “Okay, focus…” Sokolov encouraged Leigh as she tried to pull the energy from around her into a shield. A faint pink shimmering appeared in front of her. “That is good. Now, try and expand it… Protect your whole body…” he pushed.

  Leigh held her hands out in front of her and spread them out. The shimmering spread out as well, and slowly became more visible.

  Sokolov slowly stepped away. He picked up a stone from the ground.

  “Keep calm, keep focused…” he slowly brought his arm back, and with one motion, threw the stone at Leigh. Matt moved to stop it, but I held him back as the stone hit the field in front of Leigh. It sparked as it bounced off, hitting the wall. Leigh exhaled and dropped the shield.

  “I did it!” she cheered. Sokolov laughed. He had exactly the sort of laugh you’d expect; a big, booming shout.

  “Well done, Miss Silvemist. Now you need to practice. You must be able to cast your shield without thinking.” He turned to the rest of us. “This will be our last session together. I have taught you everything I can. All that is left for you to do is keep practising,” he told us. “It has been a pleasure working with you, and I hope that I will see you all again. Well, then, you should all be off. It’s late.”

  We all turned and started to walk away. I stayed behind. “Is everything alright, Miss George?” he asked.

  “I just wanted to say thank you for helping us, Mr Sokolov.”

  “A personal thanks from the Guardian. I feel honoured.” Sokolov chuckled. “You will likely have a lot ahead of you, Emilie. You should be careful.”

  “Will you be staying here for any longer?”

  “For a few more days. I will be returning to Russia in one week,” he explained. “It really has been an honour working with you; all of you. I just hope that it is enough to protect you all. The five of you… You are just children… I do wonder what Maxi
milian is thinking...”

  “I don’t think he likes this either, but we don’t really have much choice… I don’t think that Professor Greyford wants us to be worrying about the Syndicate at all. Not this soon...”

  “I do understand.” Sokolov nodded. “This is a very bad situation, however you look at it...” He sighed. “You should catch up with your friends. I’m sure I’ll see you around before I leave.”

  “Goodbye, Mr Sokolov.” I held out my hand. He shook my hand with his giant fist.

  “Goodbye, Miss George.”

  I turned around and walked out of the room. Matt, Leigh and August had already gone, but Raven was waiting for me.

  “What was that about?” she asked.

  “I was just thanking him. He’s been so helpful, especially to Leigh.”

  “I feel bad for her, really...” Raven decided. “She’s been struggling with all of this so much more than any of the rest of us.”

  “She really has… But I think Mr Sokolov has really helped with that. And I think she’s being doing more training outside of lessons, without us.”

  “I hope you’re right...”

  I laughed.

  “When did you become so attached to the others?”

  “They’re… They’re impulsive, and obnoxious, and frankly just annoying...”

  “Same as me then. You can’t stand them, but there’s just something about them, isn’t there?”

  “They’re good people… I wish I could have got to know them without the circumstances, honestly...”

  “Yeah, I get what you’re saying. But, you can’t change any of that. And I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to get to know them,” I reassured her. “Now, I’m starving. Do you want to eat at mine today?”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “What you’re cooking.” Raven smiled.

  “What’re you in the mood for?”

  “What do you have at home?”

  “Mum should have been shopping today, so probably anything.” I thought for a moment. “I think I have a nice recipe for this Mediterranean chicken thing...” I suggested. “We’ll need to pick some stuff up for it. Nothing we can’t get at the Foxmart though.”

  “Sounds good.” Raven nodded.

  *

  Like normal, sleep was harder than it should have been. I spent the whole time with whispers in my ear. What was strange was what they were saying.