by Tiegan Clyne
“Yeah, well, with Dakuwangas, it’s true.”
It’s true of some Darkblood witches, too, but baby-eating was always frowned on in the Hemlock family. I know that others in the Mandrake clan haven’t always been so circumspect, so I just keep quiet on the subject.
“What are you going to display?” I ask Alice.
She shrugs. “I have no idea. I’m open to suggestions.”
Sirena’s looking across the room, and she says bitterly, “How about some sort of process that turns assholes into decent princes?”
I follow her gaze to find Erik standing with Aurora. She has her back against the wall and he’s facing her, his palm flat on the wall beside her head. I think I know why Sirena keeps coming back to our room in tears, and my hands start burning. I want to toast them both.
Alice sighs. “I don’t think that’s possible, at least where he’s concerned, but it does give me an idea.”
“Good luck,” Sirena says, tearing her eyes away from her obnoxious betrothed. “I’ve got to get to my competition.”
“I’ll go with you,” I tell her. I kiss Alice on the cheek, careful to get rid of the hex that’s building up in my fingertips before I touch her. Alice nods to me, and we silently agree that Sirena needs some support right now.
“Good luck to you, too.”
Sirena sighs. “Don’t worry. This won’t take long. We’ll come back to see you as soon as I’m eliminated.”
Professor Merlin comes over to take charge of Alice, and we continue on toward the library, where the spelling bee will be taking place.
There’s not much of a crowd here to watch this competition, because, honestly, who cares? Mrs. Beauty, predictably, is in charge of this one, and she sweeps Sirena away and stands her up on one side of the room near an illusory waterfall. Even though the water spray is only a magical effect and isn’t real at all, it still seems to soothe my friend’s jangled nerves. I find a seat near her, wishing I’d brought my cloak. It’s a little chilly in here. It suddenly dawns on me that each corner of the castle has been decorated to represent a different element. The auditorium is fire and the library is clearly water. I wonder what the rest of the school will be like.
Where there’s Beauty, there’s Aladdin, and he’s in the crowd, watching our school librarian with dewy eyes. He looks pale and tired, and just a little thin. Something is obviously going in with him. But what?
Damn it! Sympathy, again. The white magic that Lucifer put into me is really exerting itself today.
The competition starts, and Sirena misspells the first word she’s given. It’s deliberate, and everybody knows it. It’s an easy word—mutatio—and she mangles it. Beauty looks disappointed but Sirena obviously couldn’t care less. She abandons her place in line as soon as she’s disqualified and grabs my hand.
“Let’s go,” she says. “I want to see what Alice is doing.”
When we get back to the common room, the place stinks from all of the brewing and distilling that’s been going on. Lockwood comes in to have a look, and he grimaces. A quick flick of his wand improves the air quality, then he confers with Professor Merlin, who probably didn’t notice the smell. He’s spent so many years in his own alchemy lab that his nose is probably permanently numb.
In the corner, Erik, Gideon, Aurora and her bimbettes are collecting, and they grin and start talking amongst one another when we come in. Sirena makes a point of ignoring them, and we go over to stand near Alice’s table.
She looks up and smiles, looking almost relieved. There’s a green smudge across her forehead and her black bob is looking a little frizzy from the steam coming off her alchemy rig.
“Hi,” she greets. “How did it go?”
“I blew it,” Sirena answers promptly.
“On purpose.”
“Whatever.”
There are students from both schools hanging out in the common area, lounging on couches and talking. There’s actually a little mingling going on between some Everafter types and the Nevermorians, but there’s a queasy feeling in the air. Nobody is comfortable.
While Alice busies herself with her display, which seems to be about distilling pure quicksilver from mixed ingredients, I listen to the chatter around us. People are excited about the feast and Masque, as well as about some of the competitions still to come. There’s a predictable division of interest, with female students talking about their Masque gowns and male students obsessing over the Flick game that’s going to be played.
“What are you going to wear?” Sirena asks me suddenly.
I hesitate since I haven’t really thought about that yet. “I don’t know. I don’t have any ballgowns or anything.”
“We can fix that. I can go home and get you something. I have a billion in my closet back home.”
It’s a sweet offer. “I don’t want to be any trouble, and I’ve already borrowed so many clothes…”
“I’m going back to get mine, anyway. I might as well bring back one or two other gowns while I’m at it.” She laughs. “Who knows? Maybe we can start a tradition of dressing up for dinner.”
I snort. “The food here isn’t worth dressing up for.”
A wave of murmurs and fear sweep through the room. I turn to see what everybody’s so concerned about. Fenris, Cassim’s hellhound, is striding into the room, the black smoke that wreathes his body twisting around him as he moves. The Everafter students recoil, terrified of the demon, and the Nevermorians give him a wide berth. Lockwood turns to face him, and Fenris goes straight up to our headmaster. A silent communication follows before Lockwood nods and follows Fenris back out of the common area.
I guess Cassim wants to have a chat.
We watch the demonstrations for a while, and when the judging is over, Alice lands in second place. She’s disappointed, I can tell.
“You beat all of the other Everafter competitors,” Sirena tells her, trying to cheer her up. “And three of the Nevermorians.”
“Yeah…”
“Well, in my mind, you’re first place all the way,” I tell her, gently rubbing her shoulder.
She nods and smiles. “That’s all that matters to me.”
It’s time for the professors’ illusion competition—the one face-off no one wants to miss. The auditorium is packed when we get there and the only open seats are in the very back row. Luckily there really aren’t any bad seats in the house. We claim the open spots in the back and sit down to watch the show.
The professors are evenly matched, and the illusions they create are truly spectacular. There are breaching whales, flying dragons, headless horsemen, miniature armies fighting bloodless battles, and an entire Traveler caravan. I’m so impressed and also a little humbled. I thought I was good at illusions, but this shows me just how much I still have to learn.
The last contestants step onto the stage, and the audience erupts with cheers and applause. It’s going to be Lockwood versus Cassim! This is going to be epic.
They take up positions on opposite sides of the stage, facing one another. Professor Nightingale comes onto the stage and stands between them. He raises his hand and speaks.
“The illusion contest is over. Now, by request of Headmaster Cassim, you are about to witness a spell duel. Do not replicate what you are about to see. The guest will have the first spell.”
Alice grabs my wrist. “A spell duel?”
Sirena whistles. “This should be good.”
Professor Nightingale leaves the stage. Cassim nods to Lockwood, who nods back. Our headmaster steels himself to receive the first spell and Cassim doesn’t disappoint. His opening volley is a ball of green fire that hits Lockwood in the chest. He’s momentarily engulfed by the emerald flames, but then he shakes it off as if it’s nothing more than dust. He gives Cassim a ‘fuck you’ smile and casts his response. Black vines grow out of the floorboards and wrap around the Nevermore headmaster’s legs, crawling up his body like tentacles. Cassim dispels them, but not easily. I can see a flicker of surprise i
n his face. I’ve never seen my covenmaster surprised before.
With a sweep of his wand, Cassim conjures a black bear that lumbers toward Lockwood, growling. The thing stands on its back feet and it’s easily eight feet tall. It reaches out to slash at him, and Lockwood conjures another bear, a white one, which grapples with the first one. Lockwood’s bear grabs Cassim’s bear by the throat, and the black bear gurgles. Blood splashes out all over the white bear’s fur and the black bear winks out of existence. The students from Everafter go wild.
Cassim is pissed now. If I know him, and I do, he’s going to start fighting dirty. His eyes narrow into slits and he casts darkness over the stage, plunging both of them into artificial night. In the air above them, a full moon appears, and I can feel the pull of its power. It’s like a real moon but smaller, and I look around the room to see if anyone is being affected by it. If there’s really a werewolf here at Everafter, he’s going to be having a hard time right about now.
There isn’t enough time for the artificial full moon to have much of an effect. A blazing sunrise fills the stage, and then the headmasters are visible again, facing one another. Lockwood is glaring at Cassim like he wants to pull his liver out through his asshole. Cassim looks smug, twirling his wand between his fingers, then he swings his arm like a sword, and a huge cut appears across Lockwood’s stomach, slitting open his robe and the clothing underneath. He grits his teeth and responds with a ball of force that hits Cassim right in the face. My covenmaster’s nose breaks and starts bleeding, and Nightingale rushes in to stop the bloodshed.
“A draw!” he shouts, holding up his hands. “A draw!”
I’m disappointed. This was just starting to get interesting.
Lockwood and Cassim don’t shake hands. They nod to one another again, then they leave the stage and head into opposite wings.
“Wow,” Alice breathes. “That got intense.”
Sirena shakes her head. “They must really hate each other.”
I think that’s probably an understatement.
Day two of the festival is pretty boring compared with the first day. There are demonstrations of elemental control by the fourth years, and Professor Mulan and a professor from Nevermore called Hagah put their respective teams through physical defense demonstrations. To my surprise, Christopher is part of the team, and it turns out that the meek little prince of Fantasia wields a pretty mean quarterstaff.
The things you learn.
Students from the two schools still keep their distance from one another, but there are a few isolated instances of cross-school conversations. Even Sirena, who’s been afraid of the Nevermorians, makes an exception and strikes up a conversation with a warlock over lunch.
Day three finally dawns with the promise of interesting times. Today will feature conjuration displays and familiar races, with the feast later tonight. Tomorrow will be the Flick game and the Masque.
While I wait for the girls to get ready for breakfast, I hold Broin on my wrist and stroke his soft black feathers. —Are you sorry that you’re not going to be taking part in the familiar competition?—I ask him.
He makes a rough sound that’s the raven equivalent of a snort. —No. I have better things to do.—
—Like what?—
He hops up my arm to sit on my shoulder. —Like anything but familiar races. How degrading!—
Broin flies to the windowsill and looks out. He’s been keeping watch ever since the contingent from Nevermore showed up.
—Do you see anything interesting?—I ask him.
He shakes his wings and refolds them. —The red-wing blackbird. It’s trying to look in the room.—
—That’s no natural bird. I’m not even certain it’s a familiar.—
—No. It’s not, and neither am I.—
Broin sounds grim and determined. I want to talk about this in more depth, but Sirena and Alice get their shit together and it’s time for breakfast.
—I’ll keep watching for it,—he promises me, —and I’ll figure out what it really is.—
—Thank you, Daddy. I can always count on you to protect me.—
We go to the cafeteria for breakfast. The selection is just as pathetic as it normally is and even the Nevermorians are underwhelmed.
Prince Biff, that bastard Erik and the Poser Posse are all huddled together at the same table, watching us when we come in. That can’t be a good sign. Across the room, Lockwood is talking to one of the professors from Nevermore, but he’s keeping an eye on the cafeteria. He’s always watchful. Masterful.
Fuck, that’s hot.
I go to the buffet and prepare my usual bagel. The lunch lady never fails to give me a disgusted look. Little does she know the things Darkbloods like to eat. This is normal compared to what Grandma used to cook for dinner. I can see why Redera became a vegetarian. Chicken feet boiled in a sheep’s stomach was hardly a Sunday dinner to brag about.
As I pour a glass of water, a wave of magic sweeps past me, and I look around to see what’s happened. I can’t tell what caused the feeling, but it puts me on edge. My self-defense instincts are kicking in, which tells me that there’s something unpleasant going on. Across the room, Lockwood raises his head and sniffs the air. He must have felt it, too. There’s not supposed to be any casting without authorization, and someone just broke that rule. It wasn’t dark magic, so I know it wasn’t a Nevermorian. That knowledge doesn’t do anything to make me feel better.
As soon as Lockwood turns his back, there’s another rush of magic, and a bucket appears over my head and upends. Blood splashes down onto me, coating me from head to toe. It goes into my hair, my eyes, and my mouth, and my clothes are soaked in it. The whole room explodes into laughter, and Erik and Gideon high-five one another.
“Goat blood for a Darkblood!” Erik chortles.
I shake with rage. “Reditus!” I shout at them, and the blood lifts up and flies across the room, where it smacks the conspirators in their stupid faces. Aurora screeches, and Cinder nearly faints. Some of the onlookers applaud my counterhex, and Lockwood marches over to me with murder in his eyes.
“Are you all right, Miss Hemlock?” he demands, the words almost a growl.
I’m shaking with rage, but I nod anyway. “I’m fine.”
Lockwood’s jaws are clenched, and he storms over to the miscreants. “All of you! To my office. Now!”
They obey him immediately, scrambling onto their feet. He marches them out of the room, and Gideon casts one nasty look at me over his shoulder. My little piggy is going to need some correction, it seems, and soon.
I brush my hands over my clothes, which my spell has cleaned of unwanted gore, and look with disgust at my breakfast where I dropped it onto the floor. I can still taste blood even though my spell has erased everything. It makes me feel sick to my stomach. Yes, Darkbloods eat weird things, like cheese and chocolate on bagels. But we’re not monsters. We don’t even sacrifice goats anymore. It’s actually insulting to do that when our Dark Lord is part goat.
Hansel appears at my side, grinning. “Amazing counterhex,” he congratulates.
His sister, Gretl, is standing just behind him. “I couldn’t have done that.”
“Are you all right?” Hansel asks in a quiet voice.
“I’m fine. And it was just instinct.” I remember a bit of gossip and ask, “Hey, aren’t you the ones who said there’s a werewolf here in Everafter?”
They look at one another, shocked. Gretl stammers while her eyes fill up with tears. “It… it was… it was terrible…”
Great. A cryer.
Hansel puts his arm around his sister. “She was terrified. We were outside on the full moon, but inside the gates, gathering night jasmine for a potion.”
There’s night jasmine? I’ll have to ask Quasi.
He’s still talking. “While we were outside, there was a howl, and then we saw it.”
“A w-… a w-…” Gretl tries.
“A wolf. And it was inside the gates.”
/> I’m pretty certain this isn’t the same story I heard before, and I relegate them to the ‘unreliable kook’ category.
“Wow. That’s scary.”
“Terrifying.” Hansel looks at his sister. “She’s still shaken up.”’
“I can see that. Boy, I hope nothing serious ever happens to her.”
I walk away with my food, leaving them and their switching stories behind. What can I say? I can be a bitch sometimes.
After breakfast, the girls and I go to watch the elemental control demonstrations. Everywhere we go, people point at me, and some of the Nevermorians laugh. Looks like the blood prank was a big hit. I’m so annoyed I could spit.
The demonstrations are interesting, but only for a little while. I’m starting to get bored. Sirena is fascinated, though, absolutely enraptured by the water element displays. When the show is over, she stands up and looks at us.
“I’m going to go pick up those ballgowns,” she says. “And we should go back to the room and get ready for the feast tonight.”
It sounds like a good idea. We get up and head toward the girls’ dormitory tower, and we’re almost halfway up the stairs when Lockwood’s eagle flies in and lands on the railing. It looks at me and squawks.
“Looks like your presence is being requested,” Alice says nervously. “I hope this isn’t about the prank this morning. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I sigh, but inwardly I’m excited. “I’m probably in trouble for the counterhex. We’ll see. Don’t wait up for me.”
I follow the eagle back to Lockwood’s office, hoping that we’ll have a little alone time at last. It’s been days, and I need the pain that only he can dish out. I take the steps two at a time and knock on his door, which is somewhat ajar. The eagle just flies in ahead of me.
“Come in,” Lockwood says calmly.
I push open the door and step in. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
I stop short. Cassim and the Snow Queen are sitting in his office, and it’s clear that they’ve been waiting for me. Fenris growls in my direction.
