Spellbooks and Stakings

by Lily Webb

  “Thank Lilith at least one of you was paying attention,” Delia said. Mallory made a gagging face at me, and I realized I’d already made friends with one of the coolest people at the Academy.

  For the next twenty minutes I tried to absorb as much as I could while Delia rattled on about the theory behind time travel and its manipulation, but most of it went right over my head. When the rest of the students broke out into groups to practice their wand waving technique, all I could think about was how not having a wand of my own made me stand out more than I already did.

  “I’d offer to let you use mine, but that probably wouldn’t end well,” Mallory said.

  “Probably not,” I laughed.

  As if she’d overheard us — and I didn’t doubt she had — Delia dodged wands as she walked to the back of the class to check on me. Phoebe wandered among the students to monitor their progress and correct them.

  “How are you holding up back here? It looks like you and Mallory have already hit it off,” Delia said.

  “I’m a little overwhelmed, but I expected to be,” I said with a shrug, and Delia smiled. “What about you? That exchange with Seth was a little, uh, explosive.”

  “Oh, ignore him. He’s just upset with me because I confiscated his book of doodles last class,” Delia said. “He doesn’t know how to function without it.”

  “He said some pretty nasty things though,” I said.

  “I have Valentine Delacroix to thank for that. Don’t worry about it, though, we’ll take care of him after class,” Delia said. “Anyway, do you have an idea when you might be getting a wand yourself? You’re not going to be able to get very far around here without one.”

  “Good question. I wouldn’t even know where to start,” I said.

  “I could take you to Bloodworth’s wand shop sometime,” Mallory said. “I doubt they’d have any hesitations about hooking you up if half of what I’ve heard about you is true.”

  “Oh no, not you too,” I groaned.

  “Better get used to it, Zoe. You’ve got a reputation now, whether or not you want it. What are you doing tomorrow before class? I mean, other than being a local hero?” Mallory asked, and Delia snickered.

  “Nothing after I get off work around 5,” I said.

  “Then it’s a date. Here, gimme your phone, and I’ll program my number in,” Mallory said.

  “Are you sure you want to be seen in public with me?” I asked as I dug through my bag for my phone. I passed it to Mallory, and her thumbs sped across the screen as she tapped out a text to herself.

  “Of course I do. There. Now I’ll have your number too,” Mallory said.

  “Wait, there aren’t any requirements or anything to get a wand? Shouldn’t I have to pass some sort of test before someone puts something like that in my hands?” I asked as I took my phone back from Mallory.

  “Typically, yes, every warlock and witch has to take basic wand safety courses and pass an exam,” Delia said.

  “But?”

  “But I doubt you’ll have to do any of it,” she said. “You’re on an expedited track, you don’t have time for that.”

  “Great. Yet another reason for everyone to hate me,” I said.

  “They’ll get over it. They’re gonna have to,” Delia said. “But please try to come to class tomorrow with a wand so we can start getting you caught up with everyone else.”

  “I will,” I said, though I wasn’t looking forward to it.

  Smiling, Delia went back to the head of the class. She clapped her hands together a few times to get everyone’s attention.

  “Okay, everyone. We’re almost out of time. Make sure to keep practicing your technique for your test later this week. Remember that this will be a test on both theory and technique,” Delia said, and the whole class groaned.

  “What class do you have next?” Mallory asked.

  “Good question,” I said and pulled out the card Raina had given me to check. “Looks like I’ve got Transmutation 101 with Nolan Grimm next.”

  “Oh, cool, so do I. Well, assuming he’s actually in class tonight,” Mallory said. “Wanna walk together? You know, since there’s strength in numbers?”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said, shuddering at the thought of being defenseless in the hallways with witches and warlocks like Aurelia and Seth. It wasn’t like I had any idea where Professor Grimm’s class was anyway.

  When the bell rang again to dismiss us, I stayed as close to Mallory as I could and waited for everyone else to file out of the room first.

  “Good luck with the rest of your classes tonight, Zoe!” Delia called after me as we stepped out of the room.

  I was gonna need it.

  Chapter Three

  I descended the spiral staircase of the Kinesis Tower in no hurry, Mallory ahead of me. I’d survived Delia’s class, but Kinesis was a kind of magic I was already pretty familiar with — which I couldn’t say for Transmutation.

  “So, what’s your specialization?” Mallory asked over her shoulder when we reached the ground floor. Hundreds of witches and warlocks flitted through the hall, each trying to get to their next class on time. Mallory pushed her way through them like a plow, and I followed as close to her as I could, struggling to make out the paintings and photographs that hung on the walls.

  “Kinesis, I guess. I’m not really sure,” I said.

  “What? How did you get into this school without knowing your specialization? You must be one heck of a witch,” she said as we approached an intersection. Another hallway to my left seemed to lead back to the central tower, but Mallory kept trucking past it.

  “I don’t know how I got into the school at all, to be honest,” I said, gripping the back of Mallory’s robes to keep from losing her in the crowd.

  “Seriously, I’m starting to wonder the same thing! No wand, no specialization… You’re a mess!” Mallory said. We reached another spiral staircase that looked identical to the last, but the decorations and paintings in the area all showed witches and warlocks turning objects into something else.

  “Good thing I have you to keep me on track,” I said.

  “You’ve got that right.”

  “Where are we now?” I asked.

  “Transmutation Tower,” Mallory said, pointing up the spiral staircase. “Grimm’s class is on the first floor.”

  “That… Probably should’ve been obvious,” I said as we mounted the staircase and started moving up it. “What about you? What’s your specialization?” I asked.

  “Aether,” Mallory said.

  “Really? Life magic?” I asked.

  “It’s more than that. Aether is just as much about the history and study of witchcraft itself as it is necromancy and all that other fun stuff,” Mallory said.

  “Wait, what? Necromancy? You mean, like—”

  “Controlling the dead, yeah. Though that’s pretty frowned upon these days. Most people in the Aether specialty go on to become Healers,” Mallory interrupted.

  Somehow, the combination of corpses and history books fit Mallory’s personality perfectly. Maybe magic specializations weren’t chosen so much as they decided the witch or warlock.

  “How did you find out you had that specialty?” I asked as we reached the first floor and entered a nearly identical circular area like in the Kinesis Tower, but the classrooms were labeled TR-101, 102, and so forth.

  “I took a test, the same way they do everything else,” Mallory said. “But I sort of already figured it out before I started at the Academy. Most witches and warlocks have some idea what kind of magic they’re good at before they get here.”

  “Well, at least I’m not behind in that regard,” I said, shrugging. “What about Aurelia and Seth? Do you know theirs? I want to avoid them if I can.”

  “Good plan,” Mallory laughed. “But you aren’t so lucky there. Aurelia’s is in Kinesis too, and she’s pretty much the best in our entire class. Seth claims his specialty is in Aether, but based on what I’ve seen, I’d be amazed i
f he even knew how to hold a wand the right way.”

  I laughed, and Mallory led me around a corner to room TR-106. She sighed after peeking inside, and I leaned around her to find an elderly witch in black robes at the front of the class writing on the board: Professor Craft, substitute.

  “Ugh, as predicted, Grimm isn’t here again,” Mallory said. “He might be the Deputy Headmaster, but you’d never know because he takes more time off than the rest of the staff combined.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s sick, allegedly,” Mallory said. “Has some sort of rare blood cell condition that makes him weak, so he misses a lot of class for treatment. I just think he hates teaching.”

  “Poor guy,” I said.

  “Yeah, we’ll see if you still feel that way if you ever get to meet him. He’s cranky,” Mallory said as she walked into the room and took a seat toward the back. I sat down beside her, grateful to see that Aurelia and her friends weren’t in the same class — or at least hadn’t gotten there yet if they were.

  “What was the deal with Seth’s little outburst anyway?” I asked.

  “Oh man, that was something else,” Mallory laughed. “He’s always been a little rough around the edges, but I’ve never heard anyone say something like that to Professor Frost.”

  “All over some sketchbook?”

  “Well, I don’t think that’s the only reason. The witches and vampires in Moon Grove have never really gotten along, but they’ve managed to be civil — until the King of the vampires started killing witches anyway,” Mallory said. “But you already know all about that.”

  “Sure do,” I groaned. “So do you think what Seth said to Delia was all because of what happened with Valentine?”

  “I dunno, but I’m sure that’s part of it. The warlocks, in particular, seem more prickly than usual about vampires since Valentine went to jail,” Mallory said.

  “But Delia’s a witch, so why would Seth talk to her like that?” I asked.

  “Yeah, well, she’s also a vampire. It’s not exactly a secret around here that Seth and his friends aren’t fond of vampires, not even the ones who are part witch,” Mallory said.

  “That’s awful. Delia seems like one of the coolest people I’ve met since I moved here,” I said.

  “She is, but I dunno, I guess we can’t be liked by everybody, you know?” Mallory asked. She had a point there.

  The bell rang, interrupting our conversation, and I turned toward the front of the class as Professor Craft cleared her throat and waved her wand to close the door behind us.

  “Good evening, class, and welcome. My name is Professor Craft, and I’ll be substituting for Transmutation 101. Professor Grimm is at home ill,” she said, her voice soft and airy. “I’d like to take roll to make sure everyone’s present. When I call your name, please raise your hand.”

  Great, another opportunity to tell a class full of people to hate me. Of course, Professor Craft read down the list of students in alphabetical order, and I was one of the first to be called.

  “Zoe Clarke?” Professor Craft asked. Keeping my head down, I raised my hand halfway up while hoping against hope no one recognized my name. No dice.

  Rustling and whispers carried through the room as every single person in front of me turned at the same time to find me.

  “My, my, what an honor,” Professor Craft said, beaming at me over the rims of her glasses resting on her nose. My cheeks caught fire.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled and hid my face behind my hands. Mallory chuckled.

  “I told you that you had a reputation,” she whispered.

  Thankfully, Professor Craft moved on to the next name on the list, a Delphina Crowe, but when no one answered, everyone in the room went back to staring at me.

  “Delphina Crowe? Are you here?” Professor Craft asked, lowering her glasses to scan the room. Still, no one answered. “Okay, I’ll just mark her as—”

  A piercing scream cut Professor Craft off and made me wince. As much as I heard the howl, I felt it in my ears ten times more as it echoed through the class and in the halls. What the…?

  “What was that?” I hissed.

  “I dunno, but it didn’t sound like your average spell gone wrong,” Mallory said.

  “Goodness, me,” Professor Craft said as she walked down the rows of desks toward the classroom door. She opened it to a cacophony of noise as students and professors alike scrambled in the hallway, some of them screaming themselves. Professor Craft slammed the door closed.

  “What’s going on out there?” a witch in the front row shouted as she jumped up from her desk.

  “Now, now, class, let’s not panic. The Academy has procedures for all eventualities, I’m sure the Headmistress will make some sort of announcement—”

  “Forget that, I’m out of here,” the witch said and bolted for the door. Several others ran after her, and Professor Craft slumped down into her chair, defeated.

  “What do you think it is?” I asked Mallory over all the noise. Mallory’s eyes went wide.

  “Seth and Delia, they were supposed to meet in her office,” she breathed, and my heart dropped into my stomach.

  “No, you don’t think…? Let’s go!” I said and jumped up without another word. Mallory made a beeline for the door, and I tore out of the room right behind her, no longer shy about shoving people out of my way. We thundered down the spiral staircase into the hallway and Mallory booked it back in the direction we’d come.

  She hurtled around the corner into the Kinesis common room, me at her heels, and skidded to a halt outside one of the office doors, which was cracked open. A gold plate hammered into it read “Delia Frost, Head of Kinesis.”

  A chill ran down my spine, and though my brain screamed at me to leave it alone, to not get involved with whatever was happening, I reached for the knob anyway — only to have it fly out at me as Phoebe burst from it, babbling.

  I screamed as Phoebe took me down with her, pinning me to the ground as she spouted nonsense. She reeked of smoke and burning hair. It took everything I had to roll her off me where she laid motionless, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes and dilated pupils as she jabbered.

  “Phoebe? Phoebe! What happened? Can you hear me?” I asked, waving a hand in front of her face, but nothing I said or did registered. She was completely lost.

  Mallory’s screaming behind me tore me away from Phoebe. I jumped to my feet and whirled around to find Mallory standing in the doorframe with both hands clapped over her mouth. I pushed her aside and forced myself into the office.

  In the center of the room, a heap of ash sat smoking on top of a pile of powder-blue robes, and the smell it gave off was almost too much for me to take. Pulling my shirt up over my nose, I walked further into the room to crouch over the ashes.

  I almost screamed myself when I realized the robes were Delia’s. She was dead, someone had killed her. But how and why?

  As much as I wanted to leave, I couldn’t. Standing, I walked around the corner of Delia’s desk and found a small black book lying open face down on the hardwood floor beside it. Was it the same one Delia said she’d confiscated from Seth?

  I picked the book up and leafed through it, but every page inside was blank. No writing, no scribbles, no lines on the paper. There wasn’t even a title on the book’s leather cover; for all intents and purposes, it was a brand new journal that didn’t mean anything — but I tucked it into my bag anyway.

  “Zoe! What are you doing? What happened here?” Raina’s shrill voice called from behind me, making me jump. She pushed her way past Mallory and charged up to me to take both my shoulders in her hands.

  “What’s wrong with Phoebe? Where’s De—” Raina started but shrieked when she caught sight of the pile of ash on the floor beside us. She held a hand over her mouth as tears formed in her eyes.

  “Oh, dear Lilith, no, not again,” Raina moaned as she ushered me out of Delia’s office.

  “Raina, what’s going on? I swear, I didn’t have
anything to do with this, I just heard the scream, so Mallory and I came running to check and—”

  “I know, dear. I know. I believe you, but you can’t be here right now. This is a crime scene,” Raina said. She slammed the door closed behind her and waved her wand to lock it magically.

  Dozens of students had poured into the common room while I was in Delia’s office. Phoebe was still on her back, her jaw flying faster than a broomstick as she continued spouting gibberish. Raina crouched down beside her and rested a hand on Phoebe’s cheek.

  “She’s been cursed,” Raina whispered, more to herself than to me.

  “What? Why?”

  “She must’ve seen something. Why were the two of you here? How did you know to come?” Raina asked, staring up at me with watery eyes.

  “This warlock, Seth, he and Professor Frost had a nasty altercation, and she warped him out of class to meet with her in her office, so when I heard the scream, I just assumed,” I said.

  “And you didn’t see anything else?” Raina asked.

  “No, nothing. I went to open the office door, and Phoebe came hurtling out. She knocked me down, but I got her off me and went in the office to look and—”

  “I know the rest, dear,” Raina said.

  “Should I call the police?” I asked.

  “No, leave that to me,” Raina said as she stood and straightened her robes. She held her wand to her throat and cleared it.

  “Attention students and staff of Veilside. This is your Headmistress speaking. There’s been an emergency. At this time, with as much caution and care as you can, I’d like to request you all return to your classrooms and stay there until further notice. Department Heads, please report to me at once,” Raina said. Her voice carried through the entire castle.

  “You two need to get back to class,” Raina said as she lowered her wand. Two witches, one younger, the other older, appeared out of thin air beside Raina.