I was only able to temper my disappointment by focusing on the task at hand. Invisibility was by far the most difficult thing I'd done so far. It required a massive amount of concentration to construct a hallow around myself and then tailor it until it wrapped tightly around my body. Then the final step was to imbue the hallow with magic so that all that surrounded me was a layer of invisibility.
As we began casting our hallows, Professor Malus hovered over me and said, "Esther, your partner will be absent for a while. However, I trust that your skills are advanced enough to begin casting independently." She walked away to correct another student's form before I could ask any more questions.
It was difficult work to cast a hallow alone. With two people the focus was shared so that if one person became distracted the other could still hold the spell until focus was brought back. Alone, however, was an entirely different beast. Any loss of focus meant that the spell was lost and had to be started over. It was a difficult and frustrating work. Not only that, but invisibility required me to focus both on the hallow and imbuing it with magical energy. By the end of class, I was mentally exhausted trying to hold two things in my mind at once. I had achieved invisibility, but only in brief bursts. Professor Malus also appeared irritable by the end of class when nobody had been able to cast the spell at her approved level.
I hurried out of the dungeon of the building ready to get back to Halewick. Maybe Ligeia had a tea or other potion she could give me for being deeply drained. The clamoring of voices filled the upper hallway and I wasn't sure what to make of it until a crowd of people pressed in front of me. Leading the pack was Luke, the babyfaced blonde-haired werewolf. I made eye contact with him and instantly knew I wasn't going to like this. Behind him, everyone's eyes were one me.
"Hey," He said, his eyes softening in a way that told me exactly what he was here for.
"Hi Luke," I sighed.
"Hey, I was wondering..." He drifted off. He couldn't possibly be nervous. All these people around him all the time meant that he could probably say anything he wanted to anyone without feeling the twinge of anxiety. More than likely, he was putting on a show for me, trying to make himself more likable.
"Yes?" I asked, hoping he would get it over with sooner rather than later. I was beginning to develop a splitting headache.
"I was just wondering if I could take you out sometime?" He flashed a grin backward and I knew once again, that it was a show.
"No thanks, Luke. I'm not really interested." I smiled and hoped he would get it.
His grin melted into a twisted smile. "You haven't even heard me out yet," He pushed.
"Sorry," I muttered, hating the apologetic smile that flickered across my face. I pushed through the group of people and saw Aria flash a hate-filled look my way. That's just what I needed, to incur the wrath of Aria. It was surprising to think that she was supposed to be bound to a love goddess, but when I thought back to how she had fogged my mind the first time I met her, I knew it had to be true.
* * *
I ended up nearly racing back to Halewick to get a reprieve from this day. I entered the large old house and it felt like a true sanctuary. Luna was curled up in an armchair next to Ligeia, who appeared to be doing homework. My stomach sank every time I realized how much homework I had, but first things first.
Ligeia looked me up and down and said, "Girl, you need something don't you?"
"You could say that," I muttered.
"Magical burnout maybe," She said to herself.
"What's that?" I asked, my already tense eyebrows drawing together further.
"Hmm," She thought for a moment. "It's like when you blow a fuse because you're running too much power through yourself. I suspect that could be an issue for you. Normally the god you're bound to keeps the power stable and manageable, but well..."
"Yeah I know, I'm unbound. It's dangerous. Yada Yada." I huffed.
"I didn't say dangerous." She clarified, looking hurt at my tone.
"Sorry, I know. It's just after my meeting with the Headmaster, I'm having a hard time not thinking about it." I replied apologetically.
"Let's see if we can find something for that," She said. We moved into the kitchen and she pulled out a huge selection of herbs from a deep bottom cabinet. I didn't want to imagine how long it would take to do the correspondences for those. She took a pinch of several different unfamiliar herbs and ground them up efficiently with a mortar and pestle. She scooped the whole pile into a small satchel and handed it to me.
"Take this. Go draw a bath and put the herbs in the water. Soak in it for at least 30 minutes." She said.
"What do these do?" I asked. "Is it some kind of spell?"
"They don't do anything except smell really good," She laughed. "But I promise it will relax you."
"Thanks, Ligeia." I laughed. To be honest, I felt a little better already. It was a Friday, which meant I didn't have to do anything for a few days, except homework of course. Even so, I could feel the stress starting to drain. I drew the bath as Ligeia had instructed and for a glorious half an hour, I did nothing except allow myself to relax. Halewick had a beautiful bathroom with black and white hexagonal tiles and a huge claw-footed tub. I could feel the energy I had lost today, returning to my body, and It was wonderful. I let all my muscles become loose and relaxed. When I finally got out of the bath, I felt like I had a fresh perspective on everything. I was at a school for Mages and I was learning to do magic. It wouldn't even be a chore to do my homework, because like I said, magic.
Ligeia, Maeve, and I stayed in that night and had a girls' night. I was happy to just hang out with friends, and do nothing for a while.
16
Saturday morning came with a heavy grey fog that lingered in the air. I filled my backpack with all my notebooks and supplies and after a quick breakfast, I made my way to the library. The library was empty as far as I could tell except for myself, but I didn't mind. It would be nice to do my work in relative peace. I took out my Magical Correspondences text first. As usual with this class, it was simply a task of making flashcards of endless lists of correspondences, such as the planets with herbs, herbs with astrological signs, moon phases with types of spells. It felt infinite, but I dug into it and did my best to wear grooves into my mind with all the correlations. I spent several hours that morning on that alone, but my progress felt good. I was now getting to the point where I could draw on many correspondences from memory, which would really help with my spells in the future.
Next, I turned to Philosophy of Magic. I had a lot of runes left to decipher and I knew it would be much more interesting than correspondences so I'd saved it as a sort of reward for myself. I pulled out the pages where I'd transcribed the symbols from the old stones outside the school. They were ancient and haunting looking. I knew they carried the secrets of deep magic. A well-worn tome gave me translations for the symbols, and I thumbed back and forth between the pages until I arrived at a satisfactory translation.
He is the Lord of all that is wild. Lesser beasts flee before him, but the wise animals of the forest follow him. He takes the journey across all that is, the universe, to seek out that which must be released. The wild hunt brings the release of death to the weak, the broken, and the ones whose time has come. When he comes, his presence will be known by all who live and breathe the air of destiny.
What on earth did all of that mean? The Lord of the Wild Hunt? Was it something bad? It sounded like a plague where the sick and weak would be killed. I shuddered when I realized what it could be. The man in the forest riding the horse could be this Lord of the Wild Hunt. And what did it mean by the air of destiny? I wasn't sure, but I knew I would have to do more research. I put away my books for the moment to go get lunch. Strangely the library had remained empty all morning. Maybe everyone had stayed out late last night, although the full moon was passed so the shifters were back in classes.
I entered the cafeteria and headed for our regular table. Ligeia was there already, but
I had to walk past Aria and Luke. She had her hand on his shoulder consoling him while shooting me an angry look. I heard her mutter "You don't want a bitch like her anyway."
It seemed that no matter where I went I inspired strong feelings in people. The Mage's Academy wasn't that different from my old school. When I made it to the table Ligeia was face first in a book.
"Midterm preparations?" I asked.
"It's hitting me hard, Esther," she laughed, but you could see the exhaustion in her eyes.
"Me too." I sighed. Should I ask her about what I read? I decided to go ahead. I had to know. "I came across something strange today. Have you ever heard of an entity called the Lord of the Wild Hunt?"
She looked up, her bloodshot eyes meeting mine. "I have, why do you ask?" Concern colored her tone.
"It's just something that I read about today. It was from an inscription on one of the runes in the forest actually." My explanation sounded hollow.
"I've heard it mentioned only briefly. Whatever it is, It's not a good thing. He proceeds death, cataclysmic events, plagues, and so on. He's a harbinger."
"A harbinger of what?" I asked. Her tone was scaring me.
"Death." Her voice quavered for a moment before she turned back to her book. "Anyway, it's nothing but an old legend as far as I can tell."
How was I supposed to tell her that I believed the man I'd seen in the forest that day was the Lord of the Wild Hunt? Was he a demon or something worse?
We finished eating and parted ways. I had more work to do in the library, but it felt claustrophobic now. I didn't know if I could sit any longer inside that old building. Fresh air was what I needed. I walked across campus. The air was crisp and fresh on my skin, if slightly damp from the morning's lingering fog. I walked among the ancient-looking structures on campus. If the stories about the school were true, this school was one of the oldest locations in the country. It predated the surrounding civilization by centuries. The ruins in the forest definitely supported that story.
My feet mindlessly followed a worn path that wrapped around the edge of the school. It was a dirt trail that must have been cleared by thousands of people walking across it over the years. Eventually, the path turned, leading into the forest that surrounds the Mage's Academy. I stayed on the trail. It was the middle of the day, and there was no danger of the full moon. Surely no harm would come to me from a walk in the forest, on a path no less. Although there was a seed inside of me that wondered, would I see him again? The man, the demon, the one who I suspected was the Lord of the Wild Hunt.
I didn't let those thoughts cross my conscious mind, but on a deep level, it was there. Something in me desired to see him again in his terrible glory. He frightened me, and yet he also fascinated me. I let my mind grow quiet along the path until it began to grow cold. I stuck my hands into my jacket pocket and felt a slip of parchment. Pulling it out and unfolding it, I was flooded with the memory of my tense meeting with the Headmaster. Of course, the ritual. It would happen sooner or later. Being bound was the price I would have to pay for being able to do magic.
I felt a compulsion to do it. I wanted it over with and done. Perhaps I was volatile. Maybe it would be better to be bound. Maybe my magic would even grow if I had a god or goddess to help me. I made my way back to Halewick. I brushed my fingers against the parchment as I put it back in my pocket. I could do it fast, before anyone even got back, maybe even be bound by the end of the night. Pushing aside any lingering uncertainties about what it would mean to be bound, I made plans to start the ritual.
The parchment required two essential ingredients, ink-black, and my own blood. I sat down and read the ritual that the headmaster had given me. It was strange and unlike any of the magic, I had learned so far. It didn't even require me to cast a hallow, which seemed to be almost universal in the spells I had done so far. The spell was deceptively simple, but there was a dark edge to it that made me wary. I would mix my blood and the ink-black until I could use it to write. I would create a symbol calling on the gods and ask them to make themselves known to me. The god or goddess that would have me, would then present themselves to me along with the terms of our agreement. I set my mind to it and began to work.
The kitchen had everything I would need. I lit a candle and let the flame grow for a few minutes, then I took a pewter dish and held it over the candle. The flame left a black residue in the dish. After a few moments, I had gathered enough. I took an athame from a drawer holding ritual instruments and pressed my finger against the blade. It was sharp and sliced through my finger almost painlessly. I held my finger above the dish, allowing several drops to flow into the black substance. I mixed the two together until the ink was fluid and dark. I filled my pen with several drops and began to write on a fresh piece of parchment paper. My pen glided across the page distributing the dark burgundy ink in flowing lines. I copied the symbol from the instructions. It was a large circle with many layers of intertwined astrological symbols. Many were beyond my own knowledge.
Once the symbol was copied, I placed my hand upon it. I recited the incantation from the page.
Obscurum abyssi, veni ad me. Sacrificium faciet mihi.
It was short and meant to be repeated. I said it over and over until I thought that nothing was going to happen. Eventually, I began to feel a tingling sensation on my hand. The place where my skin touched the lines I had written was becoming warm, very warm. In a few seconds, it grew from a hardly noticeable sensation to a hot burning. I pulled my hand away and the paper stuck to my skin. With my free hand, I grasped the corner of the parchment and embers fluttered from the paper. It was on fire, or rather it looked like it had finished burning. It disintegrated.
My hand was still burning and I saw the white marks of scarring on my skin. I hurried over to the sink but I wasn't fast enough. I cried out and thrust my hand under the water. It created steam. When the pain finally subsided after several minutes under the water, I was horrified to see that my hand was covered in scars. The outline of the symbol was burned into my skin. It was pink and sensitive looking. I ran upstairs to the bathroom to find some gauze. I wrapped my hand and fell into my room exhausted from the ordeal. This had not gone as planned. I was about to fall asleep when I heard a commotion downstairs.
"What in the name of-" Ligeia shouted.
I ran downstairs. She was standing in front of the house, but unable to get inside. Something was blocking the doorway. Crows, hundreds of them, were crowded in front of Halewick House. I opened the door and gasped.
"Where did they all come from?" I marveled.
"You're asking me?" She said, exasperation in her voice.
"You think I did this?" I said. I never asked for any of this.
"Well, not on purpose," She said. She did look exhausted. I stepped out onto the porch and tried to shoo them away. The moved awkwardly as I pushed them away, but not a single bird left them porch. They didn't try to get inside, but they wouldn't leave either. I cleared a path for Ligeia as best I could and then we went to dinner together.
17
I was laying in bed. It had to be late at night, but I couldn't seem to move to get to my clock. Strange, I really couldn't move at all. I tried to lift my arm and nothing happened. Then I tried to wiggle my finger, but nothing. I was paralyzed. The thought made my heart race. The shadows in my room pressed in on me. They seemed alive, dancing in the corners of my eyes. The room felt pressurized as if something was coming. I knew then that there was something in the room with me. The shadows at the foot of my bed became fuller somehow, more distinct.
I shuddered as the shadow gained a form. lt was a woman, tall and spindly. She watched me. Several large black masses hovered around her, like tentacles. I tried to cry out but my voice wouldn't work. Her tentacles floated closer and though at first, they appeared to be black, I could see that they were composed of dark red ink. They slid under my blanket until I could feel them gliding along my skin. I instantly felt a feeling of revulsion, of sickness. This
was not right. They were covered in barbs so that if she wanted to get her hooks into me it would be easy for her. I closed my eyes hoping she would go away, but when I opened them she was still there. The sick feeling spread through my body like a wave until I wished I could throw up to expel it from myself. Still, she was there. I remained locked in her embrace until finally, there was only darkness.
* * *
I woke up in a cold sweat. I ran to the bathroom and dry heaved, but nothing came up. I felt my forehead to see if I was feverish, but I couldn't tell. What was that dream? It had been so vivid. As soon as I saw the dark red ink I knew it had to be connected to the ritual I had done. Was the binding supposed to make you feel like this? The revulsion was still lingering deep inside me. I was starting to grow uncertain about what I had done. The headmaster wouldn't give something so dangerous to do right?
A knocking on the bathroom door interrupted my thoughts.
It was Maeve. "Wow, are you okay?" She asked peering at me as I opened the bathroom door. "You don't look so good."
"I'm not really feeling well. I had a crazy dream last night," I explained.
"Really?" Her eyebrows raised. "Was it just a regular dream, or was it a portend?"
"What's a portend?" I asked.
"It's like a sign. Usually, it means something bad is going to happen." Her eyebrows knit together in concern.
Unbound: Mage's Academy I Page 8
