by L. C. Mawson
Lena just continued to give her other friends ‘I-told-you-so’ looks.
Natalie gave a small sigh before turning to me. “I apologise. I should have thought to say that we tend to spend break in the library. There is a small coffee bar there, and it’s quiet.”
I frowned. “They let you have coffee near the books?”
“They’re enchanted for protection. And sound dampening spells allow us to talk. None of us thought to tell you that we would be there, and we also didn’t get your phone number. We should remedy that now. I’ll add you to the WhatsApp group.”
I blinked away the tears threatening to form in my eyes as relief crashed over me.
If they were adding me to the WhatsApp group, that had to mean that they wanted to be my friends, right?
That they weren’t just being polite.
I brought out my phone to allow her to add me, trying to play it cool and not show how much it meant to me.
“Yeah,” I said, still doing my best to seem as if their acceptance wasn’t a surprise – no, I was a totally cool kid who made friends this easily all the time – “I actually found it weird how everyone had their drinks in classes and stuff. Not to mention their phones.”
Charlotte nodded as they made their way through to the dining hall. “Yes, I suppose that would be a shock. We should have explained more, but there wasn’t much time this morning.” She turned to the others. “I was going to get a sandwich today. Does anyone want anything else?”
The others shook their heads.
She turned to me. “And how about you, Amelia?” She waved around the room. “There are various tables around the hall with different foods. I’m craving a salmon sandwich, but we could go somewhere else after the sandwiches.”
I shrugged. “As long as there’s something vegetarian, I’m fine.”
Natalie nodded. “There are plenty of supernatural food restrictions, so there are always options for any restriction you could imagine. For example, I can eat little outside of raw meat when not consuming blood.”
“Really? How does that work?”
Lena held up her hand. “Nope. I do not want a supernatural anatomy lesson just before I eat.”
“Okay,” I said, feeling a little guilty for not thinking of that before I asked, but Natalie gave me a reassuring smile, and my cheeks heated.
Dammit, what the hell was wrong with me? Why was I reacting to her like this?
Was it just embarrassment?
If it was, then I needed to get over it. If she didn’t remember, then I couldn’t risk jogging her memory.
I refocused on the food, as it turned out that, yes, they did have vegetarian sandwiches. Quite a few, in fact, all on really nice baguettes.
I hesitated over the egg and avocado sandwich, though.
Natalie smiled, presumably guessing at the cause of my hesitation. “We grow all of our own vegetables here. We have to know how to grow potion ingredients outside of their native climates, so we grow everything else here as well. Magic kind of deals with the environmental impact and labour practices.”
Charlotte sighed. “It’s a shame that Humans react so badly to learning about magic. And that there are so few of us. Even during the Seventh Alternate Timeline, it took years for us to get close to improving agriculture on a large-scale.”
Natalie raised an eyebrow. “Actually, that was more to do with Human stubbornness than our lack of numbers. We wanted to use our magic to make food more accessible. But the landowners wanted to take home all the profits from reduced labour costs. And they wanted to trade environmental sustainability for more of said profits. We refused to work with them until they changed their attitudes.”
Lena rolled her eyes as we all got our food and left, heading for the same table we’d sat at for breakfast. Was this their table? Was I part of a friend group that had their own table now?
“You don’t have to show off because you’re the top of your History of Magic class,” Lena said as she dropped her plate onto the table.
Natalie shrugged. “I was merely informing you.”
I chimed in as we sat down. “Um, what’s an ‘Alternate Timeline’?”
Lena groaned. “Why do you have to ask all the heavy and boring questions about magic, Lia? Why can’t you ask about how to use your wand as a flamethrower or something?”
“Because that hasn’t come up in conversation yet,” I said with a shrug, trying not to show how much her comment stung.
Natalie must have picked up on it, however, as she glared at her friend. “Have you ever thought about toning down your brashness when you first meet someone until you’re sure they know that you’re not being malicious?”
Lena frowned. “What do you mean? Of course, Lia knows I’m not being malicious. I shortened her name and everything. I only do that for people I like.”
I smiled. “Well, I promise to ask about more cool stuff if you bring it up more.”
Lena smiled back. “Don’t worry, I will. The second I’m out of here, I’m joining the Guardians.”
I frowned, the name familiar. “You mean Caroline’s team?”
Lena stared at me. “You know Caroline?”
“I only met her once.” I decided not to mention the exact circumstances, sticking only to what Auntie Jess had told Gail. “But my Auntie knows her.”
“She’s a hedge Witch, right?” Natalie asked. “It makes sense that she might have worked with the Guardians from time to time. Some covens accept their help, but, well, it’s diplomatically murky waters. Caroline Raven was exiled from the Underworld years ago, so covens who deal a lot with the Demonic Crown can’t be seen to be too involved with her. And the Council of Light don’t like her because she’s a Demon.”
“Then who do the Guardians work for?”
“No one,” Lena said proudly. “They’re there for all of us in the middle, who wouldn’t have traditionally been supported by the Underworld or the Council.”
Charlotte gave a hum of disagreement. “Even if they weren’t traditionally supported by them, the Demonic Crown have broadened support in recent years. Aren’t they the biggest funders of this school?”
Lena rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but with a monarchy, that only lasts as long as the Queen does. Who knows if the Princess will grow up to be any good at her job?”
I kept out of it, only understanding half of the conversation, and not wanting to bog anyone down with questions.
But then Lena turned to me.
“So, what are you thinking, Lia? Feeling any inclination towards Dark or Light magic, or are you going to stay in the middle like me?”
Charlotte snorted. “You’re not in the middle, Lena. You show a clear preference for Dark magic. And Amelia doesn’t have her magic yet, so she won’t know.”
“The ideological middle, I meant. Which she is free to join me on.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know enough about magical politics to say.”
Natalie smiled. “Well, when it comes to making a decision, it would perhaps help if Lena articulated her point better. The Guardians aren’t in ‘the middle’ of Light and Dark. They transcend it. They don’t care about factions or bloodlines, they just want to make sure no one is left behind when other groups do start drawing faction lines. But I am not attempting to persuade you. I don’t think you should have an opinion on these things until you understand them more.”
I tried not to take that as a slight, especially when I had just admitted that I didn’t know much about magical politics, but it was hard with all my hackles rising. “Well, I’d be caught up sooner if I was actually allowed to attend afternoon classes. I don’t get it, why can’t I attend theoretical lessons even without magic?”
Natalie gave me a sympathetic shrug. “I don’t know. But I agree, it doesn’t seem fair.”
I sighed before deciding not to whine too much. It had only been a day, after all, and I didn’t want my new friends to think that all I was good for was complaining. “I guess I can use the
afternoon to catch up on my A-Levels.”
Chapter Eight
I checked my phone, sure that it must be late into the night.
But no, I hadn’t even been studying for an hour yet.
And ‘studying’ was an exaggeration. It was more like staring into space as my mind jumped between what had happened with the attack, thinking over everything I had learned about magic so far – which was frustratingly little – and brainstorming ways to figure out what kind of curse my mum was under.
If I hadn’t been paying attention, and I couldn’t focus enough to study this afternoon...
I could afford one day. I was far enough ahead from my summer studying to afford one day.
But if it was more than one... What if I was this distracted for the next week? Or two?
If I fell behind, I would never catch up, and I certainly wouldn’t be able to catch up once I started learning about magic.
What if I failed my A-levels and couldn’t even get into the local red-brick uni?
What if I couldn’t get into uni at all?
I stood up, closing my textbook.
If I couldn’t focus on my work, my mind would choose to focus on my anxieties instead.
I needed to do something else.
I was tempted to open my laptop and start up a game of Civ, but I knew that while it would likely distract me, I would be giving up completely on getting any work done this afternoon.
As much as I knew I probably wouldn’t get any done anyway, I wasn’t ready to give up on it so completely.
I groaned. It would be so much easier if I was learning about magic, instead of boring Human stuff.
Not that I found my chosen subjects boring in and of themselves, but it was as if they chose the most boring parts of it to teach us for our exams.
Sometimes, when I needed the kick, I would look up the parts that interested me on Google Scholar and remind myself why I was interested in the subjects in the first place.
I just had to get through this part first.
But I couldn’t deny that I would much rather be learning about magic.
I frowned, looking down, out of my window, to the building Natalie, Charlotte and Lena had headed to earlier.
Yes, magic classes might not be on my timetable yet, but surely there wouldn’t be a problem with me going early and just observing?
And if it kept my attention, then the afternoon wouldn’t be a total waste.
Not to mention, if I knew more about magic, I would probably understand more about what happened to my mum.
That made the decision for me, and I grabbed my bag before heading out of the room, though I paused and picked up my Bluetooth keyboard.
If they were going to let me use it, I wasn’t going to pass that up.
I headed out of my room and straightened my back as I realised that I was skulking.
I was still in the dormitories. I was allowed to be there. It wasn’t as if I was confined to my room or anything. And if anyone asked where I was going, I could just say the library.
I headed downstairs, only to pause at the sound of people in the common room.
Shouldn’t they all be in classes?
But then I remembered that these were the dormitories for people who had yet to come into their magic.
No one here had afternoon classes.
Maybe someone else had tried to join in the magic classes early before. Or maybe I could find a study partner to keep me on-task with my Human work for now.
I peered into the room and froze as I looked at the girls within.
No one looked over twelve, and they were young twelves at that.
What was it Victoria had said?
Fourteen is late, sixteen is an aberration.
And it looked as if no one else in the school was even a little bit late.
No, no one else here had even hit puberty yet.
I headed out of the room, stalking towards the magical classes building, determination in every step.
If I was so late into my magic, I should be able to sit in the classes so that I wasn’t so behind my peers when I finally broke through.
Of course, once I got into the building, I had no idea which room I should try.
Obviously, I would prefer to be in a class with my new friends, but I had no idea which classes any of them were in.
I peered through the small window in the door to one classroom.
No one seemed to be practicing magic yet, all just sitting and listening to the teacher talk. She was tall and had a kind smile that I could barely see through her mass of curly dark hair.
I was about to knock on the door when I heard a voice from down the hall.
“Hey, you’re Amy, right?”
“Amelia,” I corrected, having grown attached to using my full name, before turning and freezing at the sight in front of me.
At the crimson eyes and the chill that went down my spine.
“You’re a Demon,” I blurted out as he approached, and I caught a glimpse of the school badge pinned to his shirt.
He was a teacher.
He gave a sheepish shrug before pushing a loose strand of hair back into his long ponytail.
Only the image didn’t look right. I blinked, my eyes struggling to focus, and for a moment, I could have sworn that there was a streak of white down the front of his hair, and a tattoo on his wrist.
But a moment later, they were gone.
“Yes, I am. Gail- Ms Griffin needed a new History of Magic teacher on short notice, and I decided to volunteer. Plus, there are more than a few Witches here with Demon blood.”
I nodded, but his words did nothing to soothe the panic coursing through me.
“I’m Mr Stiles. Ms Griffin mentioned that you would be starting this year, but she also said that you didn’t have your magic yet.”
I nodded once more, not trusting myself to speak.
“Well, what are you doing here, then? Did you get lost?”
Part of me wanted to explain why I was there, but I didn’t trust this Demon.
So, I just nodded.
“Well, come on. I’ll escort you back to your room.”
I wanted to argue, but the words wouldn’t come out right, so I just nodded once more.
“Shy one, huh?”
I shrugged.
“That’s fine. I’m used to shy.”
When it was clear that I wasn’t going to say anything, he continued.
“This isn’t my first teaching gig. Plus, my... My partner’s on the shy side, too.”
I tried not to frown, but it was hard. It was obvious that he was censoring his words there, but why? Why was he lying to me, and why had he looked different before?
I tried to focus on him once more, glad that he was looking straight ahead so that he wouldn’t notice my staring.
Once again, my eyes struggled to focus, and I got another flash of white hair and a clearer look at the tattoo.
It looked almost like a dog chasing its tail.
“I guess it must be hard to come to this school all alone. I was in a similar position when I was around your age, but I didn’t have my aunt there with me. And I was more than eager to leave home. Being the youngest sibling is always hard, don’t you think?”
I was about to say that I wouldn’t know, but I was cut off by a gasp of pain, my head feeling as if someone had thrown a harpoon through it.
“Are you all right?” Mr Stiles asked, stepping closer to me.
I backed away. “I’m fine. Just a headache.”
He frowned. “Maybe I should take you to the nurse instead.”
“It’s fine. I’ve got paracetamol in my room.”
“You know, magical painkillers are a little more effective.”
I shook my head, and thankfully, he relented.
“Okay, well, here are the dormitories. I would escort you inside, but I think it’s best if a male teacher stays outside. There aren’t many male Witches, and I don’t think any have enrolled yet. Ho
pefully when Gail expands the school to other species, the gender balance will even out.”
I just nodded and said, “Thanks,” out of habit more than feeling, before heading back inside.
Part of me was tempted to try to return to the magical classes once Mr Stiles was gone, but my headache refused to budge as I made my way to my room.
I loaded up a game of Civ once I was there, waiting for the painkillers to kick in.
I only looked up from my game when there was a knock at my door, and I realised that it was around dinner time.
I went to answer, only to be taken aback by the teacher whose class I had almost interrupted.
She had the same kind smile as before and coupled with her peach cardigan and light brown dress, it instantly had me at ease. She had a pin just like the other teachers attached to the collar of her cardigan.
“Are you Amelia?”
I nodded.
“I’m Ms Maltere. I saw you outside my class earlier, and I was wondering if you needed me for anything.”
I shrugged, wondering if my request was going to seem silly. But still, I wouldn’t get anywhere if I didn’t ask. “I know I’m not supposed to join magical classes until I have magic, but I also know that I’m older than most without magic. I want to catch up.”
Ms Maltere’s smile widened. “Students who are eager to learn make my job worthwhile. I would love for you to sit in on my classes, but I’m afraid Ms Griffin is quite strict about her structure. For now, I have brought you one of my favourite magical texts. If you’re new to magic, you will likely need a study partner to understand it, but if you can find one, I would suggest starting with this book, and then I’ll give you a list of books in the library to continue with your studies.”
“Thank you,” I managed, staring at the book as she passed it to me, almost afraid to touch it. It looked ancient.
“Don’t worry, it’s spelled to prevent damage. But this is one of the original copies. The library copy has been... edited. There is a belief that some magic is too intense for young Witches, but I do not believe in withholding knowledge.”
I smiled. “Me neither.”
“Then I think we’ll get on just fine. I look forward to finally having you in my class, Amelia.”