My fingers tightened around my trembling wand until my nails gouged into my palm. The orbs flickered—no, I realized with a sharp gasp, they blinked. They were not tiny balls of energy coming after me. They were a pair of animal eyes reflecting the moonlight.
The silhouette of the wolf gradually differentiated from the shadows all around. It moved slowly toward me, dragging its injured hind leg with the same slithering rustle of leaves you’d expect to hear from a large snake. The shaggy beast passed through a beam of moonlight, which illuminated the dark stains around its slender muzzle.
I gulped as an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. One of the men who had chased me—the other one had called him Lem—was still crumpled lifelessly beside the tree my magic had thrown him into, but what had become of the other man, Hobbes, after I’d refused the mysterious voice’s order to kill him with my staff-turned-blade? Is that why she was upset with me? Because the wolf had to finish the job instead?
“Is this your wolf?” I asked, and for the first time I realized how silly it probably was to be speaking aloud when I had no idea who else might be lurking in the woods and listening. But speaking my questions made the answers seem more real and less like this was all just the result of some hopelessly broken part of my brain.
The animal cocked its head. “I am the wolf, Meena.”
“Oh,” I said simply, because somehow this turn of events was neither the strangest nor the most upsetting thing to have happened to me all day. “So, uh, how did you know my mom?”
The wolf squinted her glowing yellow eyes. “Did you understand what I said?”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re a wolf. I can talk to animals now. Wolves anyway. I get it. Must be a Proteus thing.” I motioned with my wand for her to go on. “Now tell me about my mom.”
“Not all animals. Not even all wolves.” Her ears twitched. “Just me. Or perhaps others of my bloodline…” The voice trailed off then as the ears drooped ever so slightly.
My neck ached from being twisted to the side, so I carefully shifted to face the creature, perching on my toes but not yet standing up. Even though she had commanded me to earlier, it somehow seemed rude to tower over someone like that mid-conversation.
“Your bloodline?” My thumb stroked the smooth grain of my wand as though searching for a trigger to rest on. I was wary of the subject of blood after what Braden and I had witnessed in these very same woods just the other night. A cult ritual. A cold-blooded murder. Who was to say the wolf wasn’t involved in all that? The men who’d chased me into the forest certainly were, and though in my terrified state I had only half understood what they were saying earlier, I remembered now that their boss was apparently also searching for this animal.
The wolf lowered her haunches to the ground and curled her fluffy tail around her massive front paws. She gazed at me through half-lidded eyes. “Your mother and I grew up together, Meena. As children, Kim and I performed a seemingly innocent ritual to become ‘blood sisters.’ Pricked our fingers, pressed them together, that sort of thing. We had no idea it would actually work, but that’s how you can hear me. As far as I know, you’re the only witch that can.”
A chill worked its way up my spine and down my arms, lifting all the little hairs with goose pimples. I swallowed hard. “Your… fingers?”
The wolf looked away and then back to me. “Yes. Once upon a time, I had those. Ten, to be exact. Same with toes. Blonde hair and brown eyes.” Somehow, I could hear the rueful smile lost behind the wolf’s expressionless muzzle. “Funny though, that’s about all I can remember of my own reflection.”
“Some witch turned you into a wolf?” I asked softly. There was something so mournful about the wolf’s words that I felt tears stinging the corners of my eyes. Or maybe it was just that she had reminded me of the fact that I could no longer remember what my mother actually looked like, only her photographed image, which really wasn’t the same at all.
“Not exactly.” The wolf stood abruptly, looking over her shoulder. “Someone is looking for you.”
“What? Who?” I strained my human ears for the sound of approaching feet or calling voices, but heard only the normal noises of a moonlit forest. “Good or bad?”
The wolf looked at me, parting her jaws enough to let her tongue loll out in something like a smile. “If you can figure that out around here, you’ll be way ahead of me.” Her mouth snapped shut and her whole body shivered. “I must go. Tell no one that you saw me. And when you disobey me and tell your friends, at least have the decency not to tell them that we spoke.”
“Wait, what?!” I cried out as I finally scrambled to my feet. “You can’t go! You have to finish the story! I have so many questions! Who were those men? Why were they looking for you? Do you know what happened to Lucas? What’s going on at this school?” By the end of my frantic string of questions, my voice had drawn out into a whine that was annoying even to my own ears. But she couldn’t just leave without telling me anything useful.
“There’s no time for all that. We can’t be seen together, Meena,” the wolf—Rhea, I reminded myself—growled, shooting me a fierce look. “It wouldn’t be safe for either of us.”
My foot stamped the dry leaves. I was behaving like a petulant child and I knew it, but I was tired of being in the dark about so many of the events in my own life. If my grandmother was a witch, if my mother hadn’t really died in a car accident… then what could I believe to be true about anything?
“But I need to know—”
Rhea’s pointy ears flattened. “If there’s anything I think you need to know, I’ll know where to find you.”
And with that, she clumsily bounded around me, still partially dragging her injured hind leg. What was she thinking? She couldn’t possibly outrun anyone else tonight on that mangled thing.
“Wait!” I shouted. “You need help. My friend is a healer. Or do you… do you need a vet?”
The wolf shot me a withering look over her shoulder as a wry chuckle filled my mind. “I’ve had enough witch doctors for one lifetime, Meena. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll drop in to the first vet’s office I come across. I’m sure that will go well.”
“But your leg—”
“Will heal.” As if to prove her point, the wolf made a mighty leap into the shadows between the trees and disappeared, leaving me alone in the clearing once again.
A cool breeze rippled through the trees, conjuring up a thousand eerie whispers. Wisps of hair blew across my mouth, and I spit them away before brushing them back behind my ear. High above me, the clouds parted, and the clearing brightened with sudden intensity, enough to make out the limp form of the man lying next to the big tree. Bile rose in my throat. If he were dead, his blood would be on my hands.
Indecision plagued me as I fidgeted with my class ring. I had an overwhelming desire to rip the thing off and plunge into the woods after the talking wolf who claimed to be my mother’s magical blood sister, but if someone had noticed the men chasing me, perhaps help was on the way. In which case, it would be foolish to do anything but stay put and allow the searchers to find me. At least I wouldn’t be in danger of getting more lost that way.
Of course, there was also a good chance that the people looking for me were connected with these men, in which case, staying put would be as foolish as lying down on a silver platter with an apple in my mouth.
Clutching my wand, I made the decision to compromise and find some place to hide either until I was found, or the sun came out.
But then someone tapped me on the shoulder.
Chapter 2
Before my ears even registered my own scream, I spun to face my attacker, slashing out with the only weapon I had—the delicate wand I had no idea how to use the right way. There was a sharp crack and a surprisingly strong reverberation up my arm as wood met bone. The tall shadow that had crept up on me gasped and stumbled backward, clutching his cheek.
“I’ve got more where that came from!” I announced loudly, jamming the t
ip of my wand into the center of his chest. I felt the soft give of flesh shrinking in between two ribs, and the hand fell away from the shadow’s face to brush my wand aside and clutch his left pec.
“Ow!” the man whined. “Stop it! What do you even have there? A pencil?”
“A pencil?!” I shouted with indignation. “This is a wand, and I’m not afraid to use it!”
“Sure you do,” the man scoffed, but there was something almost friendly in his tone now. It unnerved me even more. “Now what is that?”
He reached for my wand arm, but I whipped it behind my back. “Don’t you touch me! I’ll blow your arm off!”
He eased away from me, chuckling now. He moved his hand to the back of his neck. “Yes, I did hear something about you being good at that.”
The smooth voice finally cut through the fog of adrenaline shrouding my mind and matched up with a familiar face from my first day on campus. The moon had slipped behind another cloud, obscuring the handsome features of the Chancellor’s nephew, Dasharath Singh.
Well, actually I was just assuming that was his last name. He had only ever been introduced to me by his first, and he had quickly shortened that to Dash when we were away from his important aunt. But familiarity didn’t mean much. I had also seen him laughing with Serenity’s hateful crew during my bathtub in the dining hall debacle.
“Dasharath,” I said coolly as I tucked my wand into one of the deep pockets of my cloak. “Is there some reason you tried to scare the crap out of me just now?”
“Students who don’t do what’s good for them deserve a good scare now and then.” His tone remained playful, and he touched his cheek. “Case in point.”
“I hope you get a good scar,” I shot back.
His teeth flashed white in the dark. “My aunt is one of the most powerful healers among all witchkind, so I wouldn’t hold your breath over it.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “Why are you here?”
He mimicked my pose. “Because you are, of course. Now, tell me why that is.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
His teasing smile faded. “Meena, I’ve been sent to retrieve you by the Chancellor herself. She… became aware, shall we say, of some suspicious activity on your part.”
He arched an eyebrow, inviting me to explain myself. The only trouble was that his words had been so vague I wasn’t sure what to explain. But I was sure that was his intention. This was a carefully set trap in which I was supposed to catch myself by making a desperate confession. My bluff wouldn’t be called that easily.
“I’m going to need you to be more specific, Dash. I’ve done a lot of suspicious things tonight. Visited my friend in the infirmary. Went to his room to find him some, uh, fresh underwear.” I wasn’t sure why mentioning Braden’s underwear made my cheeks heat up, but I immediately wished I’d gone with socks. I doubted Dasharath could even see the silly blush, but if he could, it wouldn’t help sell my story. I quickly shrugged. “And then I came for a walk. I was just headed back when you ambushed me like some sort of… of… ruffian.”
“Ruffian?” His lips quirked into a smile again. “That’s the sexiest thing anyone has ever called me. I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed you’re so intimate with the drifter’s underwear. Tell me, is he a boxers or briefs man?”
“I’m not… and that wasn’t… Ugh!” My fists clenched. “Leave me alone!”
Dash made a tutting sound and shook his head. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. I’m supposed to escort you back to my aunt’s office, where you can give a full account of your adventures this evening.”
“This is ridiculous.” I took a step back, distancing myself from the radiating warmth of his body—which was also radiating a pleasantly spicy cologne. I didn’t want to take his flirtation seriously, but still, the thought that someone might be disappointed that I was with someone else had me flustered. A feeling which only grew when I remembered that I was not, in fact, with someone else. Not even close. He had flustered me into believing my own lie! I was definitely not intimate with Braden’s underwear and had no plans to be.
I caught myself biting my lip as the thoughts running through my head foolishly shoved all the more important matters aside.
Dasharath took a step back also, straightening into a more formal posture with his hands behind his back. “Very well. I shall have to summon her here. Then she can see for herself that body lying over there.” He nodded his head toward the big tree.
“What body?!” I shrieked, overselling my shock by several decibels as I whirled around to face the probable corpse.
“Ah-ha!” Dash cried, and I felt my wand whisked right out of my pocket. “Where did you get this?”
I whipped back around and clutched his wrist as he held my brand new wand in front of his face. He tried to lift his arm, but I sank my fingernails into the soft part of his wrist, and the second his fingers loosened, I reached up with my other hand and snatched the wand back. I let go of his wrist and took a long leap backward, training my wand on him.
“Meena, whose is that?” Dash said in a low voice, moving toward me like I was some kind of wild animal. “You shouldn’t have that.”
“It’s mine.” I glared at him. “Don’t come any closer. I don’t like thieves.”
“Impossible.” Dash shook his head slowly. “You haven’t even been here a week. You can’t possibly have a wand yet. It’s not allowed.”
Not allowed? I thought back to my first day when Dash himself had explained how wands only focused the magic that’s already inside us. And what else had he said? Something about a test? And that I wouldn’t get mine until at least my second year here. He hadn’t said that was because we weren’t allowed to have them sooner, but given all the others rules meant to keep our magic in check, it made sense.
What would happen if the Chancellor saw my wand? Would she confiscate it? Lock it up in some vault until next year—or the year after? I gripped the wand like my life depended on it. No one was taking away this last gift from my grandmother. Not even the Chancellor herself.
“Meena,” Dash said, drawing out the first vowels like he was speaking to a small, naughty child. “Whose wand is that? Is it that man’s? I can help you if you just tell me the truth.”
I wanted to trust him. I liked his easy smile and his soft brown eyes and his cozy, inviting scent. But all of those things only made it hurt more to remember him laughing with Serenity at my expense.
So I threw my head back and laughed, waving the wand at him.
“Ha! You should see your face! You think this is real?” I held the wand vertically before me. “It’s just some stick I found. I was trying to scare that guy.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “Of course it’s not a wand.”
Dash’s eyebrows knit together. “It looks like a wand.”
“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I know how to pick a good stick.”
His head tilted to the side in a way that made another blush creep up my face. That hadn’t sounded quite right. I swallowed my embarrassment and lowered the wand. We stood there locked in an awkward stare down.
“If it’s not a wand, then why are you still holding onto it?” Dash asked at last.
“Because…” I folded my lips into my mouth and racked my mind for a good explanation. “Because it’s pretty.”
“Because it’s pretty?” He snorted. “Well, it looks too much like a real wand for you to keep. Fake wands are not—”
“Let me guess. Allowed?”
He nodded and crossed his arms.
“Fine. Then I’ll get rid of it.”
“That would be for the best.”
My fingers caressed the smooth wand. “Right now?”
“Mmm-hmm.” He jerked his head to the side. “Go on. Give it a pitch.”
Sweat prickled my brow as I lifted the wand and gestured toward the woods. “Over there?”
“Anywhere you please.”
Dasharath smirked. “As soon as you’re ready.”
I took another deep breath and raised the wand over my head, begging my grandmother for forgiveness and good luck in finding it again. Her face floated behind my eyes, giving me a look of sharp disappointment. I was pretty sure that was just my imagination punishing me for getting in this situation, but still it made my heart seize up and my fingers seemed to lock around the wand.
“Do it,” Rhea’s voice boomed inside my head, startling me in place.
“What’s wrong?” Dash asked, taking a step toward me.
“Nothing!” I yelped, and then I hurled my wand, my last physical link to my grandmother, into the dark forest.
A sharp pain stabbed my heart, but I resisted the urge to clutch at my chest. I had to make Dasharath believe it was just a stick, even if the loss of it felt like dying. I made myself stand tall and lifted my chin. “Happy now?”
Dash stared into the woods in the direction my wand had flown. “I guess you weren’t lying.”
“I’m not a liar,” I said through gritted teeth. The pain in my chest was excruciating.
“But if you were lying, and that was your wand…” Dash moved closer until his warmth was once again filling my personal space bubble. He lowered his head until his lips were near my ear, sending strange shivers down my spine. “Then you’re an idiot.”
I recoiled, fighting the urge to add a scratch to his left cheek.
He straightened up, chuckling. “But you’re cute, either way.” And then he had the audacity to run his fingers down a strand of hair hanging in front of my ear. “I meant what I said, Meena. I’d be very disappointed if you were really on underwear-grabbing terms with that drifter.”
“It’s not like that,” I said, my voice barely more than a breath. “He just… needed them.”
Broken Wand Academy Page 22
