Cauldron of Ash

by Dorothy Dreyer

  Christine closed her eyes and moved her hand. The microwave stopped moving, but the cookie jar toppled over and crashed to the floor.

  Christine shrugged. “I’d still call that a win.”

  Professor Ingleton tilted his head. “Perhaps. Anyone else have a suggestion? How about you?” He leaned over his desk as if checking something, and then looked directly at me. “Reagan Dakana. What spell would you suggest?”

  My throat felt as if had closed up. I struggled to speak. “Well, I guess I would move the girl out of harm’s way?”

  The professor raised a brow. “All right. Let’s give that a try.”

  I stood, forcing myself to ignore the stares. I knew the incantation I was supposed to recite in my head, but for some reason the words were getting jumbled. Still I tried, waving my hand in the girl’s direction as if reaching for her. The girl’s illusion began to move away from the counter, but her hand was still clutching the cable of the microwave. As she was pulled back, the microwave fell from the edge of the counter. Without time to think, I threw another spell, anything to stop the microwave from hitting the girl. A tendril of dark smoke flew from my hand to the microwave, hitting it like a bullet. The smoke bullet crashed into the illusion, ricocheting with a blast back toward the class. Not just toward the class, but toward me.

  Crap, what did I do?

  I wanted to duck, but before I could even react, the guy in front of me with the dark hair and light blue eyes jumped out of this chair and threw his arm out, catching the smoke bullet. It hit the palm of his hand with a smack, jerking him back a bit. He hissed through his teeth.

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I hurried to him and grabbed his hand to inspect it. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

  My brows dropped in curiosity. The skin of his palm went from red to pink and then returned to his natural peachy skin color, the burn mark completely disappearing. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. He turned his hand, his fingers lingering on my skin.

  I dropped his hand and stared at him in wonder. Sure, I was caught off guard by the touch of his skin, but what was more alarming was how his wound had vanished so fast. Not even a witch could heal themselves this quickly. I studied his face, trying to figure him out.

  He let out a small laugh. “Hey, I said don’t worry about it. You look as if you’re about to throw up. I’m fine.”

  “Good,” I said, clearing my throat. “I’m a little notorious for, um, hurting people.”

  “I’m not ordinary people.” He smirked, looking me up and down. “I thought you’d be able to tell.”

  As his lips widened into a smile and I caught a glimpse of his teeth, I realized what he was.

  Fighting to remain calm, I backed away from him and returned to my seat. I managed to keep a straight face, but my rapid heartbeat betrayed me. I thought this was a disciplinary school for witches only. But now I knew it wasn’t. Because the cute guy in my class was an honest-to-God vampire.

  Chapter Four

  I sighed in relief as I heard the sound of the bell ringing. What the hell had I walked into? Vampires and witches in the same place? What else was here? I had to get out of here. The chair scraped against the ground as I pushed it back. Everyone’s attention turned toward me, but I ignored their stares. Putting my head down, I bolted for the door. Grabbing ahold of the handle, I opened the door and ran straight into something hard. My legs gave way, and I fell straight onto my ass. I glanced up and was met with a scowl from Principal Grayson. Oh great, it could have been anyone else anyone at all, but it had to be her. Just my luck. Can someone give me some good luck powder? Please and thank you.

  “Reagan, if you could pull yourself together, I’d like you to come with me. We have some things to discuss.” With that, she turned on her heel, disappearing into the quiet corridor.

  Someone cleared their throat behind me. “You better hurry up; it’s not pretty when you don’t follow her orders. Here, let me help.” He hooked his arm under mine. I didn’t even have to turn around to know whom that deep voice belonged to. That drop-dead gorgeous vampire. Wait. No. I shouldn’t be attracted to him. He’s a vampire.

  “I’m fine. I can manage,” I snapped back, unable to keep calm any longer. At least that had me up and out the door in one swift movement.

  I heard him yell down the hall. “My name is Killian, in case you were wondering.”

  Why on Earth would I want to know his name? Was he delusional? I knew better than any witch that we simply didn’t mix with vamps. I looked over my shoulder to catch his smirk as he walked off with that guy Jeremy.

  Killian. My mind hung on to his name. It was nice. Rolled off the tongue.

  No, wait. Cut it out.

  I grunted and hurried after the principal.

  With the hope that the principal had some answers for me about this crazy school, I ran down the corridor to catch up. I reached her office just as she did, forcing myself to look casual as I stepped inside. I quickly sat down in the large leather chair opposite her desk. Looking around her office, I noticed it was a complete mess. Papers were stacked in teetering piles all over her desk. The floor was covered with furniture and ornaments placed in random spots. The walls were painted a dark maroon. I wouldn't have guessed this from the principal. She looked very proper and so well put-together. This room, on the other hand, was a complete mess, as if someone had set off a bomb inside. The room was dark, with the only natural light coming in from the tiny, little window in the corner of the room.

  “Now, Reagan, we need to have your induction to Wildwood Falls Disciplinary Academy. I apologize for not doing this before your first class, but I had to meet with the Council to discuss your situation.”

  I gulped. My situation. Uh-oh.

  She leaned down next to her desk, pulling out a black folder with the word “RULES” written on the front in thick, black font. The folder was huge with pages falling out everywhere. Were there that many rules? Surely not. That would be crazy.

  The folder dropped onto her desk with a loud thud, and dust kicked up straight into my mouth, hitting my throat, which propelled me into a full-on coughing fit. Glancing up at Principal Grayson, I caught a twinkle in her eyes. She had to have done that on purpose.

  “I will go over the rules that we have here at Wildwood and how things work.” The book flipped open with a gentle movement from her wrist. “Wildwood works on a merits system. You need to accumulate one thousand merit points in order to graduate. Each new student starts off with zero points. You may earn points by contributing in class, gaining new skills for the good, of course.” She looked down at me to make sure that I was still paying attention.

  I scooted forward in my seat, eager to learn more. She had me intrigued with this whole merit-points thing.

  “But beware if you do something unpleasant, immoral, or troublesome, you can go into negative points, which isn’t ideal if you want to get out of here anytime soon. Only the teachers and myself can delegate the merits.” She moved her chair back and walked over to where I was sitting. I began to stand, but she stopped me, her hand gripping my shoulder.

  “To monitor your merits, you will need a watch.” She pulled back my sweater sleeve, mumbled some words, and then bam! I had a digital watch on my skin. It had the time in digital format, and below it was a big fat “0,” which I guessed represented my points. Or lack thereof. I definitely needed to start adding to that if I was going to get out of here anytime in the near future. Below the merit points was my class schedule. It stated the class name and what room it was held in.

  "Now that that is settled,” she said, “here are the rules and information about the school that you will need to read up on. If any of these are broken, you will lose merits. You will need to go see Miss Sallyanne now, who will present you with your pet.”

  My what?

  Principal Grayson handed me the thick folder and motioned to the door. “You will find Miss Sallyanne in the classroo
m next door.” With that, she disappeared. Poof! One minute she was there, the next gone, and I was left alone in her office. I guessed I had to go find out what this whole pet thing was about. That explained all the animals I’d seen around the school. I would have been lying if I’d said I wasn’t excited and nervous at the same time. I’d never had a pet before.

  Making my way outside, I found Miss Sallyanne’s classroom. Knocking on the hardwood door, I waited. It took a whole minute for the door to open, and I was afraid that my nail would be completely chewed off if I had to wait another second.

  Miss Sallyanne was an old lady with grey, curly hair that trailed all the way down to her hips. I wondered if she had ever had it cut in her whole life. She smiled warmly, offering for me to come in.

  “You must be Reagan. Just take a seat in that chair next to my desk, sweetheart.” Her voice was laced with that sweet, old grandma pitch. I sighed out loud; it made me think of my family and had me questioning whether they would still want me when I made it out of here. Could they stand to look at me anymore?

  I shook my head. It wasn't the time to be thinking about that now. As soon as my bum slid into the chair, I shivered all over. The wood was freezing, like it hadn’t been sat on for days. Miss Sallyanne made her way over to me carrying something in her hands. I couldn’t make out what it was, but it looked like some ancient book. She stopped in front of me and handed me the large book. It had lettering engraved down the spine and was covered in brown fur. My eyes lit up at the sight. I instantly ran my hand over the fur and a light buzz started in my head.

  “Now, Reagan, I want you to close your eyes and calm your breathing,” she whispered.

  I closed my eyes and tried to settle down my breathing. It took several seconds to get it to the right rhythm. My heart beat fast against my chest, anticipating what was going to happen.

  “Perfect. Now gently stroke the cover of the spine and think of nothing but being in the moment right now.”

  I did exactly as she’d instructed, keeping calm and stroking the weird book. My body felt as if it had lit up. A tingling started from my toes, working its way up until it reached my head. I felt amazing, the best I had in months. Like I could accomplish anything.

  “Amazing, Reagan,” Miss Sallyanne said. “Now I want you to repeat this spell with me. Are you ready?”

  I felt the excitement in her voice. I found myself nodding in response, keen to see what would happen.

  “Bring forth my pet, dear Rummysa. Show me who it shall be. Bring forth my pet, dear Rummysa.”

  I followed her instructions, speaking out loud and repeating her words. Clutching the book on each side, I felt a light buzz start from my fingertips, moving its way up my arms. A loud poof came from the book, followed by a gust of wind that blew my hair back from my face. Then something licked my hand. Eww! What the hell was that?

  Quickly, I pulled my hand back, I opened my eyes to find a little ferret sitting on the open book. Oh my God, he was so cute, with his white eyes that had a hint of pink in them. He had a dark chocolate coat with patches of white. I never would have pictured this, but as soon as I saw him, I knew we had a connection. Maybe he would help keep me out of trouble while I spent my time here. I laughed to myself, thinking that wasn’t possible, as he looked like trouble himself.

  “Well done, Reagan. Your pet is the ferret. This is an interesting one, not one that comes up that often in the selection process. Treat him well. Together you will both learn and grow from each other.” She collected the book from me and the ferret jumped to the ground.

  My eyes went from the ferret to Miss Sallyanne and back to the ferret.

  “You’re free to go, my dear. Remember, he’s able to come with you to the majority of your classes. Just check on your timetable. You must train him to be obedient, and he will help you gain merits. But beware, if he misbehaves, you will lose merits too.”

  Oh, great. So he was another thing I had to pay attention to. Another thing that could get me into trouble and possibly keep me here forever. I had to hope he was already inclined to be obedient.

  Looking down at my watch, I noticed my next class was in one hour: Potions with Mr. Peterman, and pets were allowed. The ferret started running around in circles, and then he made a beeline for the door. Oh, shit, that’s not a good start. It looked like I had an hour to get this guy trained to at least stick by my side.

  Chapter Five

  When I opened the door to my room, the ferret jumped out of my arms and skittered across the room, smelling everything in sight. He spotted my roommate’s owl’s cage and stood on his hind legs, trying to sniff at it, before landing back on all fours and running to investigate my suitcase. I was about to yell to him to slow down, but two things stopped me. The first thing was I hadn’t given him a name yet, so I couldn’t properly berate him until I picked one. The second thing was the chirping of my phone, which had finally come back to life on my nightstand.

  I raced to the phone to find a barrage of messages from my best friend, Whitney. The first few texts she’d sent seemed as if she’d been pissed that I was ignoring her messages, but the last few were definitely laced with utter worry.

  I immediately pressed on her number to call her; there was no way I could type out everything I needed to tell her before the next class bell rang.

  “Reagan!” She sounded both shocked and relieved. “Oh my God, are you all right?”

  I set down the sandwich I’d grabbed from the cafeteria on my way back to my room. I was glad they had some items that could be taken out of the cafeteria, because I didn’t know how I was going to handle keeping the ferret next to me while eating. The ferret sniffed around at my packaged lunch, but I gently nudged him away as I answered Whitney.

  “Yeah, Whitney. I’m fine. If you call being held captive in a creepy boarding school ‘fine.’”

  “I heard,” she said. “I was so worried when you never returned my calls that I stopped by your house before school to find out what was going on. Your mom didn’t want to give me any information, but luckily, your grandmother came to the door and told me you’d been shipped away to some juvenile delinquent school. Please tell me it was all a mistake and you’re coming home soon.”

  “I wish.” I raked a hand through my hair as my ferret tugged at the edge of my bedsheet with his teeth. “Did my grandmother tell you what happened? I mean, the real details?” I cringed waiting for her response.

  The five seconds it took for her to answer felt like an eternity. “It wasn’t your fault, Reagan. You would never intentionally…”

  “Kill someone?” My voice cracked as I said it, and tears immediately formed, flooding my eyes and spilling over my cheeks.

  “Of course you wouldn’t. Reagan, I know you. I’ve known you since forever. You’re the one who stuck up for me in school when the girls from the rich-bitch coven picked on me. You have a heart of gold. What happened was an accident.”

  Though she couldn’t see me, I nodded. Wiping away my tears, I cleared my throat. “I wish the Council would see it that way.”

  “Isn’t there any way you can convince them and get out of that place?”

  “I don’t think so. They cast a spell on me to carry through with my punishment. And anyway, they’ve got some weird point system here. I need to reach a certain amount of points before I can leave.”

  “Can’t you magic your way to more points?”

  “It won’t work here. Not only would they know I used magic, but I’m positive they have some kind of spell on the system that prevents people from doing it. I think I just have to ride it out.”

  Whitney was quiet for a moment. “Well, I miss you. I hope you at least get to come home over the holidays to visit.”

  “Me too.”

  The sound of the door opening caused me to turn. I held back a look of surprise when the girl from my morning class walked in—the one with the glowing skin and silky hair. She only cast me a moment’s g
lance before marching to her dresser.

  “Whitney, I need to go,” I said into the phone. “But I’ll call you soon. I promise.”

  I set my phone down and stood, willing myself to seem calm and collected enough to introduce myself. After all, I would be living with this girl for who-knew-how-long and didn’t want to feel like we needed to dodge each other at every turn.

  “Hi.” Why was my voice so crackly? “I’m Reagan.”

  She turned away from her dresser, stuffing something into her jacket pocket. There was no smile to be seen, and her eerily-glowing eyes made me shiver. “Your weasel is eating my robe,” was all she said.

  My head swiveled toward my pet to find him chewing on the cloth belt of the robe hanging on my roommate’s bedpost. I immediately clambered after him and snatched him into my arms. “I’m so sorry. And, uh, he’s a ferret, not a weasel.”

  She gave me a look that told me she didn’t care.

  “What’s your name?” I asked, getting right to the point.

  She held my gaze for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not to answer. “Laurel. Don’t bother trying to buddy up to me. I’m almost out of this place.”

  “Oh?”

  She walked over to her desk and opened a drawer, retrieving a small package. She then stepped toward her owl’s cage and poured some of the feed from the package into the owl’s food bowl. “Only need a hundred and fifty more points. I should be able to pull that off by volunteering at the upcoming Founder’s Festival. After that, it’s ‘See-ya, wouldn’t wanna be-ya.’”

  “Oh. Well, that’s cool. How long have you been here?”

  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You hear that news story way back in the day about the girl who burned an apartment building down?”