Per Braden’s instructions, I held a clear vision of the closet door in Vicky’s bedroom in my mind as I touched the end of my staff to the door—crisp visualization was supposed to be crucial to opening an accurate and stable breach.
Braden had assured me that it was all perfectly safe, but as I opened my eyes and stepped toward the door, I strained to block out Chancellor Singh’s grim warnings about magical travel gone wrong.
The white, slatted closet door had not changed in appearance, and disappointment mingled with the anxiety and fear that roiled in my stomach as I reached for the knob. As soon as I pulled the door toward me, however, I knew the spell had worked.
The familiar, flowery fragrance of Vicky’s bedroom wafted through the open door. My anxiety and fear were replaced with eager anticipation as I stepped through the breach into the light.
Vicky pulled her face away from Eric and her eyes went wide as she turned toward me and screamed. Eric snapped his head around to find the source of her agitation and matched her wide-eyed shock. He let out a yelp as he fell flailing from the pink-quilted bed and landed on the carpet with a thud.
My own expression could not have been much different from theirs, given the fact that I had just walked in on my two oldest friends locking lips. As shocking as that was, it must have been a mild surprise compared to me walking out of Vicky’s closet. Understandably, I was first to recover my wits enough to speak.
“Wow, guys. I’m gone three days and you’re already making out?” I shook my head as a wide grin spread across my face.
Eric glanced up at Vicky from the floor and grinned back at me. “Pretty awesome, right?”
Vicky kicked him hard in the shoulder before bounding off the bed and enveloping me in a crushing hug.
Chapter 11
“Meena! How long have you been in my closet?” Vicky peered around me at the closed closet door. “You haven’t been in there the whole time you’ve been gone, have you?”
“Of course not.” I glanced at Eric as he gathered himself off the floor. “Good thing, too. Who knows what I would have been forced to witness?” I smirked as Vicky followed my gaze to Eric. Her face flushed a deep red.
“We haven’t really done anything.” She glanced away and her blush intensified.
I raised an eyebrow and looked at Eric.
“We totally did it.” He grinned and flinched as Vicky punched his arm. “What? We did.”
I chuckled as they sat back down on the bed and I flopped onto the fluffy bean bag chair in the corner. “How long has this been happening?”
Vicky grimaced and glanced away. “Well, things did not go well with Chase at that party you blew off.”
“Yeah, who could’ve guessed that the guy named Chase would turn out to be a total douche?” Eric rolled his eyes and scowled.
“And, I don’t know.” Vicky put her hand on Eric’s knee, and he covered it with his own. “Eric was kind of a hero, actually. And I guess it just sort of… happened.”
“Wait… how on earth did Meena just walk out of your closet after being gone for three days, and we’re sitting here talking about us?”
Eric and Vicky fixed their gazes on me.
Panic gripped me as I remembered about the string tied to my ring back in Braden’s room. My eyes shot down to my left hand and came to rest on the silver loop of string around my middle finger. The end of that string should logically have stretched back to the closet door and my class ring on the other side. However, it was no longer there. I waved my right hand under my left and felt a faint resistance right under my middle finger. I didn’t understand the process, but to the best of my knowledge, everything seemed okay.
“Meena, what the heck is going on? I thought you took a bus ‘west’ and weren’t coming back until Thanksgiving. Why did you just come out of my closet?” Vicky furrowed her brow and cocked her head. “But also, you have to tell me where you got that magnificent cloak.”
They both watched me intently, waiting for an explanation.
“Okay, so, I know this is going to be really hard to believe, but I promise it’s completely true. After you guys left the Quaker on Monday, this weird guy came in, and…”
I unleashed a breathless regurgitation of everything that had happened since they had left me at the Quaker Diner on Monday afternoon. At the conclusion of my tale, they exchanged a doubtful glance. They whispered together, and Eric nodded his head toward me. Vicky turned to me with a reluctant smile.
“Meena, we think you need to get some help.” She came over and took my hand as she knelt next to me. “First, you jump on a bus without saying good-bye and go who-knows-where for three days, now you’re spying on Eric and me in my closet? I mean, that’s weird, yeah, but you think you can do magic, too?” She patted my hand. “I know your grandmother’s death has been hard on you, but this is not okay. We’re really worried.”
“She’s right, Meena.” Eric slid off the bed and scooted over to sit in front of me. “You haven’t been yourself since your grandma died. Let someone help you.”
“Guys, this is real.” I pulled at the fabric of my cloak. “Does this look like something I would buy?” I jerked my head at the staff on the ground to my right. “Am I the type to carry around sticks and play pretend?”
Vicky’s eyes watered. “That’s why we’re so worried about you.”
“Okay, I guess it’s pretty hard to believe.” I shook my head. “I didn’t really believe it either, until I saw it.”
I grabbed a pen out of the cup on Vicky’s desk and set it on the ground. I closed my eyes as I searched my memory for the gestures that Professor Wilkins had taught us that afternoon.
“Okay, ready?” Eric and Vicky shared a hesitant glance before turning their attention to me. “Now, watch the pen.”
I performed the simple series of gestures with my left hand and waved my right hand over the pen, obscuring it from view.
“Whoa, cool!” Eric stared incredulously at the spot where the pen had been just a moment ago. “How’d you do that?”
“No, not cool.” Vicky elbowed him in the ribs. “This is more concerning, if anything.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Who have you been hanging out with the last few days? Magicians are really sketchy.”
“Oh, you have no idea.” I rolled my eyes as Eric moved his head around, trying to find the pen.
Vicky’s intense gaze remained trained on me. “This is serious, Meena.”
“Okay, watch that spot.” I pointed to the obscured pen.
Eric hadn’t taken his eyes off the spot since the pen had disappeared, but I had to wait for Vicky to pull her harsh stare off of me. When she did, I unclenched my left fist as I dashed my right hand through the air, and the little blue pen reappeared on the ground.
“Awesome!” Eric threw up his hands and beamed at me. “Well, I’m convinced. Meena is magic as heck.” He looked hopefully to Vicky, but her expression was still suspicious.
“Enough tricks, Meena. Tell us where you’ve really been, and why you were in my closet.”
“Ugh.” I groaned as I threw my head back. “You’ve known me since the sixth grade. Have I ever done anything like that before?” I jerked my thumb toward her closet.
“Well, no.” Vicky chewed her lip and shrugged. “But there’s a first time for everything. A lot of mental illnesses aren’t symptomatic until early adulthood, and sometimes intense grief can cause psychotic breaks.”
“Great, so glad AP Psych was the one class you actually paid attention in.” I rolled my eyes again and racked my brain for some way to convince her I wasn’t crazy.
“Psh, I learned that on Criminal Minds.” Vicky stuck her tongue out at me and waggled her head.
I wished I could show them the ward of mitigation I had learned in Martial Magic, but I couldn’t remember all the finger positions, and the last thing I needed now was to make a big thing of waving my hands around in front of me to no effect. If that happened, I couldn’t blame them for questioning
my sanity.
I considered running back to get Leia or Oliver to back me up, but then we’d have to go back to Braden’s room and somehow tie their rings to the string, which I didn’t even know how that would work.
I smacked myself on the forehead as the obvious answer hit me.
“Okay, I know a way to convince you for sure.” I grabbed my staff and headed for her closet door.
Vicky blew out an exasperated sigh. “Great, she’s going for the closet again.”
“Come on, just let me try this one thing.” I jerked my head toward the closet. “Then, if you’re not convinced… well, that will stink to have my best friend think I’m crazy.” I shrugged. “But hey, at least you’ll have Eric to comfort you.”
Eric nudged her, and she raised herself reluctantly from the floor.
“Okay, so, just a normal closet, right?” I opened the door. “Bit messy for some people, maybe. But normal for Vicky.” I indicated for them to look inside.
Vicky glared at me and exchanged a doubtful look with Eric before peaking in at the mess of clothes.
“Yep, normal closet.” Eric grinned at me eagerly, and I could tell he was holding back a joke about her messy clothes.
“Right, good. Now.” I closed the door and said a silent prayer that my magic wouldn’t fail me. “If I open that door again and it just looks like a normal closet, I will not hold it against you for thinking I’m crazy. Heck, I might even start to think I’m crazy.” I grimaced. “But, if I open that door and there’s a whole different world on the other side, then will you guys believe that everything I just told you is one hundred percent true?”
Vicky looked to Eric out the side of her eyes and pursed her lips before shrugging.
“Fine, yes, whatever you say. But after you show us my messy closet again, will you please admit that you need help?” Her brow wrinkled with sincere concern.
“Deal.”
I turned to the closet and cycled through the series of hand positions with my left hand while I envisioned Braden’s closet door. As I completed the last gesture, I touched the end of my staff to the door and exhaled.
“Ready?” I turned toward Vicky and Eric, who stared at me with a mixture of concern and fascination.
Eric nodded, and Vicky slipped her hand into his.
I cracked open the door and peeked inside, and let out a massive sigh of relief when I recognized the dresser in Braden’s room. The silver string running from the looped end around my finger to my ring on Braden’s nightstand was once again visible, but I tried not to give the puzzling concept too much thought.
“Have a look then.” I pulled the door open wider and stepped back to let Eric and Vicky see.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Vicky almost sounded disappointed that I wasn’t crazy, but I didn’t blame her. It would probably be easier on everyone if I was.
“Whoa! So cool!” Eric responded with his usual enthusiasm, and I had to stop him from rushing forward.
“Wait!” I held out my staff to block the doorway. “This place is really serious about their secrecy, and as you can tell from everything I told you earlier, the magic world is pretty messed up. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you guys to get involved. Maybe not at all, but definitely not until I know more.”
“Oh, come on!” Eric dropped his hands to his sides. “You can’t just open a magic portal and then not let me go through it. That’s cruel!”
“You okay, V?” I leaned forward to catch her attention as she stared rapt into the closet-portal.
One corner of her mouth rose in a smirk as she glanced sideways at me. “Is that a boy’s room?”
“Uh, ah, yes, actually.” I clenched my staff as a prickling heat crawled up my neck. “He’s not there, though. He just let me use it to get here.”
Vicky squinted and pointed into the open door. “Well, I think there’s someone in there.”
“What?” I slipped in front of her and peered around the door.
I scanned over Braden’s dresser with the large mirror on top, but a twitch of movement drew my eye to the right. A dark shape flitted across the gap of Braden’s half-open bedroom door. Braden wasn’t supposed to get out of the hospital until at least the weekend, but if it wasn’t Braden, who was in his living room?
“I have to go.” I darted back to the bean bag chair and grabbed my backpack. I wrapped Eric and Vicky in a huge double-hug. “I love you guys. I’ll come back as soon as I can.” I released them and turned toward the door.
Vicky grabbed my arm as I pulled away. “Wait, Meena, what’s going on? Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you should stay.”
I glanced back at her wide, earnest eyes. The corners of her mouth were drawn down by worry. Eric wore a similar expression. It pained me to see my friends so concerned on my behalf, and it was a tempting thought to stay somewhere I felt safe and comfortable and loved. But if I stayed here now, I might not ever make it back. Whoever was in Braden’s dorm could find my class ring at any moment and sever my tie to the campus. Even if I managed to make it back somehow, I’d probably be expelled for removing my ring again and sneaking off campus.
“I’m sorry. I can’t. I’ll be back soon, I promise.” I willed myself not to look back as I slipped back into Braden’s bedroom and carefully pulled the door shut behind me.
Chapter 12
Rustling issued from the living room on the other side of Braden’s cracked bedroom door, as if someone were rifling through a large stack of papers. I crept to the nightstand and slipped my class ring on, untying the silver string and stuffing it in the pocket of my jeans. There was no way I could risk opening the closet door again with someone in the living room.
I froze as a drawer slid open in the living room and a deep, rough voice cursed.
“Damnit! Where the hell did that little bastard put it?” More papers shuffled.
“Maybe it’s not here,” another male voice answered, this one thin and devious. “How do we know Billings even gave it to him?”
Billings?
My breath caught in my throat, and I was sure that the men in the next room would hear the pounding of my heart. I dropped to the carpet, crawled to the dresser, and leaned my back against it. They had to be talking about Lucas, but then what were they doing in Braden’s dorm?
“Well, we’ve already been through his room a dozen times. The file isn’t there.” The gruff voice slammed something in frustration. “He had to have given it to the Thomas kid. Those two were thick as thieves.”
“In the literal sense, apparently.” The reedy voice snickered. “Shame they had to go and kill the poor fool, though. Would’ve made our jobs much easier if they’d taken him alive.”
A lump formed in my throat at the word kill. Definitely not an accident, then. Or suicide. Murder. I clasped my hands together to control their violent shaking.
“You know how young wizards can be. All piss and vinegar and no brains,” the gruff voice grunted, and I pictured him shaking his head. “Kid just wouldn’t let it go. He was intent on being a hero.”
“Ugh, morality.” The shrill voice gagged. “What a waste.”
“Plus, he cost the Professor his live specimen.” Gruff grunted again and opened another drawer. “The Professor was not about to let that stand.”
“True, the boy did make a nuisance of himself. But is there not still hope to recover the beast? It’s not likely to get far in its present condition, especially with the bounty of wards the Professor put in place around the campus for this very purpose.” The reedy voice grew louder. “Would it not be better for us to have the boy to question?”
Confusion twisted through me as I grappled with the implications of their appallingly casual conversation. Could a Broken Wand Academy Professor really be responsible for Lucas Billings’ death? And what in the world was this ‘beast’ they mentioned?
“Of course it would.” The owner of the gruff voice exhaled a long sigh. “But you know how the Professor gets. He’s very�
�� passionate.”
“Yes, so passionate that he did not even bother to properly dispose of the boy’s body.” The man with the reedy voice sighed and sucked his teeth. His tone drooped reflectively. “Alas, it is not the henchman’s place to question his master. I suppose we must do our duty to the best of our abilities with what resources we do have.” His voice brightened. “Shall we check the bedroom, my voluminous compatriot?”
The bottom fell out of my stomach.
“Go ahead, I’m going to sweep the desk again.” The man with the gruff voice grunted as a drawer banged open.
“Suit yourself, fellow,” the reedy voice responded, and the volume and clarity of the voice betrayed his proximity to the partially open door of Braden’s bedroom.
Panic crawled up my throat as I glanced frantically about the room. I might have time to dive under the bed, but the devious men didn’t seem likely to overlook such an obvious hiding spot in what was sure to be a thorough search of the room. I might be able to fit through the window, but I doubted I could get it open before the man with the reedy voice came in and discovered me. The closet faced the same downfall as under the bed. There certainly wasn’t any time to set up another breach, which would require me to leave my ring behind, anyway.
I saw only one option. I pulled the hood of my cloak as far down over my face as it would go, then grasped my staff and gathered myself into a crouch, ready to pounce.
The door swung open, and a small man with a long, sharp nose and short brown hair stepped into the room. I let him get a few paces in before I sprung from my position.
“What the—” He turned toward me, but his exclamation was interrupted as I swung my staff as hard as I could, a meaty crack issuing through the room as my staff crashed into his forehead.
“What was that? You okay in there Hobbes?” the gruff voice shouted from the living room as I darted past Hobbes’ sprawling form, the shock of the blow reverberating through my forearms.
Broken Wand Academy Page 20
