Basics of Spellcraft (Ember Academy for Young Witches Book 1)

by L. C. Mawson

  Black sparks danced over my skin as I tried to sit up. “Mr Stiles... He tried to help me when I broke through, and I...”

  “I know. Don’t worry, Amy, he’s fine. A little bruised, but fine.” She looked over the sparks and I followed her gaze, frowning.

  “I don’t know how to stop them.”

  She sighed. “Normally when Witches break through, they don’t get access to all of their powers at once. Even if they’re powerful, it’s not this explosive. But I suppose the block means that you’re going to get all of yours immediately.”

  “So, I won’t be able to control them?”

  She gave me a reassuring smile. “I didn’t say that. You might just have to learn fast. For now, you need a wand. It will help you focus. If you’re feeling up to it, I’ll call Gail over. She should have some spares lying around.”

  I nodded, just wanting the sparks to stop.

  Auntie Jess took her wand and stopped the healing spell she’d been casting on me. The room suddenly felt cold without it.

  Thankfully, Auntie Jess reached over to the other chair, and retrieved a familiar cuddly toy.

  “Mr Fluffy?” I asked as she passed him over. I held him tight to my chest and felt the now familiar magic of my sister within.

  I held him tighter.

  Auntie Jess smiled. “I brought him along, just in case.” She then nodded to a mug on the table with the same runes as the ones from the main school.

  I conjured myself a coffee as Auntie Jess went to wave her wand, though she hesitated before she did.

  “Amy, before I call Gail here, I just wanted to ask... When you broke through, Willow had to lower her suppression magic to get your attention...”

  My stomach twisted at the memory. “Yeah, I remember. What was that?”

  “Elves value beauty greatly, and so have woven it into the very fabric of their species. The effect on other species can be... intense. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

  “I’m fine.” I knew that it wasn’t a convincing lie.

  “Are you sure? You know that you can talk to me about anything, right?”

  “I’m sure.” Again, the lie wasn’t my best, but thankfully, Auntie Jess just looked me over before nodding, not pressing me further.

  She flicked her wand, causing a spark of pink light to appear.

  I put Mr Fluffy down, hiding him in the cushions, and a moment later, Gail walked out of thin air and into the room.

  She turned to me with a smile. “So, Amelia, I hear you’ve finally broken through.”

  I nodded, huddling around my coffee.

  Gail looked me over and then sighed, folding her arms. “Well, admittedly, I thought it would take longer than this to break through the block. And that it wouldn’t be so explosive. Tell me, Amelia, is there anything you can think of that might have helped?”

  Auntie Jess answered for me. “We’re not sure what it could have been, Gail. Perhaps being around magic had more of an effect than we thought?”

  Gail sighed once more, clearly not happy with that answer, but she nodded. “Well, it’s not as if I know enough about the block to suggest an alternative, so I suppose that we’ll just have to be content with that explanation. In any case, with the block now gone, we have more pressing concerns. The block was apparently hiding quite a bit, Amelia, including just how powerful you are. But it is now evident that your introduction to your powers will be far from gentle.”

  Auntie Jess stood up to face Gail properly. “We know. Which is why I called you. She’s going to need a wand, and I figured that, as I don’t have a family one to hand, you could give her a basic one for now.”

  Gail frowned. “Or you could just ask me for your old wand back.”

  Jess stared at her for a moment, her cheeks turning pink. “I... I didn’t think you’d kept it.”

  Gail raised an eyebrow. “What? You thought I’d thrown it away? No, Jessica, it’s been collecting dust in the bottom of a drawer. I’ve not been clinging to it – we both knew that it was a promise you were never going to follow through on – but I haven’t gotten rid of it. I’ve just been waiting for you to ask for it back. In all honesty, I had wondered why you didn’t ask when Nightingale broke through, but I suppose it makes sense if you thought I’d gotten rid of it.”

  Jess seemed lost for words, but thankfully Gail turned to me and a wand appeared in her hand. She walked over and passed it to me.

  “This was your grandmother’s wand. You will build your own in time, but this will help to focus your magic for now.”

  I nodded and took the wand in my hands. The second my fingers closed around the wood, I felt relief wash over me.

  Before, my magic had been rattling around inside me, aimless and restless.

  Now, it was focused.

  I could feel it.

  Direct it, if I wanted to.

  And I wanted to. I wanted to finally feel the magic within me, under my control.

  But Gail placed her hand over the top of the wand, directing it down to my lap. “Maybe don’t try anything just yet. You’ve got magical exhaustion, and you don’t want to make it worse. But your timetable has now been adjusted. I’ve put you in beginner magical classes in the afternoons.”

  I smiled, a little annoyed at having to wait, but glad that the wait was no longer indeterminable. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. Learning magic is why you’re here, after all. And then there is the question of your room. I’m assuming you’ll stay here while you’re exhausted, but when you’re ready to return to the dormitories, you will be moved to the building for those who already have their magic. I have noticed that you’ve been spending a lot of time with Natalie. She doesn’t have a roommate at the moment. Would you object to sharing a room with her?”

  I shook my head. “No, not as long as she’s fine with it.”

  “I’ve already spoken to her, and she’s happy to have you. But for now, I’ll let you rest.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  I spent most of the rest of the week sleeping.

  In all of the excitement of finally breaking through to my magic, I hadn’t realised exactly how exhausted I was.

  I’d realised my exhaustion on the day after I’d broken through, when I’d found myself barely able to make it to the toilet without passing out.

  Thankfully, Auntie Jess kept me fed and supplied me with frequent healing and restorative potions, so that by Monday morning, I was still a little unsteady on my feet, but I was more than ready to return to classes.

  Especially if I was going to start learning magic.

  Gail came to pick me up that morning – just a little while before breakfast – and lead me through to my new dormitory building.

  “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Still a little weak, but I’m fine to be in classes.”

  She nodded. “Well, be sure to eat, and when you ask for drinks, ask for them with a hint of restorative potion. You’re probably sick of it, but you won’t notice the taste of a little in your coffee and it will keep you on your feet.” She sighed. “In all honesty, I would prefer that you take another day or two to rest, but if you’re as stubborn as your aunt, I doubt you’ll agree to wait.”

  I shrugged, having to admit that she was right there. “So, you two have known each other a long time?”

  “Since we were children.”

  I got the sense that she didn’t want to elaborate more, and we reached the dormitory building before I could ask any more questions.

  “This building should open for you now, and the other one won’t without an invitation. Come on, I’ll show you to your room.”

  I nodded and we headed inside. I breathed a sigh of relief as we passed a few students in the corridors, and most of them were around my age.

  I hadn’t wanted to use the social spaces in the other dormitory building when all the other students had seemed twelve at most.

  Gail brought me up to a room on the secon
d floor before knocking on the door.

  “Just a minute.”

  A moment later, Natalie opened the door, her shoes in her hand.

  Gail smiled. “Natalie. As we discussed, Amelia will be your new roommate.”

  Natalie stared at her for a moment before responding. “When none of her things were moved into the room, I assumed that she’d said no to the idea.”

  “Ah, apologies, I should have confirmed. No, I simply chose to wait until Amelia was back on her feet before moving her things. That isn’t a problem, is it?”

  “No. Of course not.”

  “Then I shall leave you two and let you get to breakfast.”

  She turned and left, and I rocked back and forth on my heels, waiting for Natalie to say something.

  Thankfully, she opened the door and allowed me in.

  “I guess I should introduce you to the room.” Natalie shrugged. “It’s probably the same as your old room, to be honest.” She nodded to the bed by the window. “That one’s yours, but could you keep the blinds closed? The windows are treated to prevent me from burning – and I have a sunblock potion to deal with being outside – but prolonged exposure still isn’t good for me.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, no problem.”

  She smiled, though it was muted, even for her.

  “Something wrong?”

  “Huh? Oh, no. Nothing. Just...” She bit her lip. “Amelia, are you sure that you’re okay with sharing a room? It’s not too weird or anything?”

  I shrugged. “No, we’re friends. Why would it be weird?”

  In truth, I suspected what she was trying to hint at.

  That it might be awkward, given our past... encounter.

  But we’d agreed to forget that, hadn’t we?

  Or at least, we’d agreed to just be friends, and neither of us had even really acknowledged what had happened out loud.

  We’d acknowledged that something had happened, but neither of us had given it form beyond that.

  Which seemed as good as agreeing to forget it.

  But being awkward about sharing a room wasn’t forgetting it.

  It was the opposite of that.

  So, which was it?

  What did Natalie actually want here?

  To talk about it?

  I wasn’t sure that I could handle that...

  But Natalie just frowned at me for several moments before nodding.

  “Okay. Fine. It’s not weird. Come on, let’s go down to breakfast.”

  SINCE I’D BROKEN THROUGH, most of the time I wasn’t sleeping, I was eating.

  I had hoped that that would slow down – or that my ADHD medication would start suppressing my appetite again – but I found myself piling my plate with more food than I would have contemplated eating in the past.

  I frowned, a little embarrassed at that, until I turned to see Natalie’s plate, piled similarly high.

  Did she usually eat that much?

  I looked around at the plates of the other girls, and while the younger ones had reasonable portions, everyone older was eating about the same as me.

  I decided to just accept my mountain of food – or rather, my growling stomach decided to accept it – and we made our way over to our usual table.

  Lena grinned as we approached. “Someone’s magical metabolism has kicked in. Willow said you broke through, but no one else has heard anything but rumours.”

  I frowned as I sat down. “Didn’t Natalie tell you?”

  Lena turned to her friend with an accusatory glare. “No, she said that we shouldn’t speculate until we knew more.”

  I turned to Natalie. “But you had to know that I had broken through if Ms Griffin suggested that I should be your roommate.”

  “That was only after I’d spoken to Lena, and I spent the weekend at home.”

  Lena’s glare lifted as she smiled. “Wait, you two are sharing a room? Nice! Natalie’s been missing a nicer roommate. Plus, me and Charlotte share a room, which means that we can all hang out in each other’s rooms without worrying about roommates getting annoyed.”

  Charlotte turned to me. “So, how do you feel? Breaking through can be quite strenuous.”

  I shrugged as I focused on my food. “I’m exhausted, but I’m sure that I’ll be fine. Especially once I start magical classes this afternoon.”

  Before anyone could ask me anything else, Willow approached the table.

  My mouth went dry and I tried to ignore my heart thundering in my chest.

  Her suppression magic was up again, but I still remembered how she looked without it, and it was a difficult vision to shake.

  She gave me a small smile and it was like being hit by lightning. “Amelia. Hey. I wanted to see if you were okay after last week.”

  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak coherently if I opened my mouth.

  “Right,” Willow said, looking away. “Okay, well, I just wanted to see if you were okay, and I guess you are. I’ll see you around.”

  I failed to suppress a groan as she turned and left.

  Could I have acted any more like a fool?

  Lena raised an eyebrow. “Someone caught our half-Elf friend with her suppression down, didn’t they?”

  My cheeks burned as I picked up my coffee. “That obvious, huh?”

  “Yup. What happened?”

  I shrugged. “Nothing, just... I panicked when I broke through and she was worried about me exhausting myself. She thought it was the best way to get my attention.”

  Natalie frowned. “She shouldn’t have done that. Amelia, be careful with her, okay? Whatever you feel for her now... It’s not real and if she tries to pretend that it is, she’s just toying with you.”

  I glared at her. What was she implying? That I liked Willow.

  Was she just assuming that because I’d kissed her once when I was drunk, I would fall for every girl who smiled at me?

  One drunken kiss didn’t mean that liking other girls was something I did regularly.

  Or at all.

  This was just weird Elf-magic, and it hadn’t even affected me like that at all.

  These butterflies in my stomach were for other, non-crush-y reasons...

  Literally any other reason.

  “I don’t feel anything for her,” I eventually said, cursing Natalie for bringing this up in front of the others, where I couldn’t just say what was on my mind without admitting to what had happened over the summer. “It’s nothing, I was just unsettled by it, that’s all.” I sighed. “Can we just talk about something else? Please?”

  Thankfully, Natalie nodded, letting it go.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I barely paid attention the rest of the morning, my mind too focused on speculating what exactly my magical classes would entail.

  “I wonder what I have next,” I said as I sat down for lunch.

  Lena raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you checked your timetable?”

  “No, I figured a new one would appear, just like my old one did. But it hasn’t yet.”

  Charlotte shook her head. “Actually, the new timetable should have replaced the old.”

  I frowned as I pulled my old timetable from my bag, finding that it had, indeed, changed.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Introduction to Magical Self-Defence? Wait, they have self-defence classes here?”

  Lena shrugged. “It’s like magical PE, but way less terrible.”

  “Do they really think that we need self-defence classes?”

  “I mean, you were the one attacked by Demons.”

  I grimaced. “Yeah, but I didn’t think that it was that common of an occurrence.”

  Natalie gave me a reassuring smile. “It’s not. And the class is optional. I’m not sure why it’s on your timetable. First term classes are usually the basic classes you need to catch up on, and then anything that plays to your strengths.”

  “Ah, okay. That makes sense then.” I smiled, glad that I wouldn’t be as behind here as with other magical classes.

&
nbsp; Natalie raised an eyebrow at my confident tone. “It does?”

  I smirked, not wanting to give away my secret so easily. “Yeah, it does.”

  Lena shook her head before turning to Natalie. “I mean, you’ll find out soon enough anyway. Aren’t you in the same class?”

  Natalie nodded. “Yeah, I suppose.”

  I was careful with my lunch after that, making sure that I didn’t eat anything that was going to upset me too much in my next class.

  Not that it was difficult to be careful with how my excitement agitated my stomach.

  By the time the bell finally rang, and I made my way to the gym with Natalie, however, my excitement had morphed into nerves, my stomach twisting in on itself as it occurred to me that my confidence might not be as earned as I thought.

  Being good from a Human standpoint probably meant nothing when it came to magic...

  Natalie led me through to the changing rooms as we arrived, and I saw a cubbyhole with my name on the bottom and a pair of purple shorts and a lilac t-shirt inside.

  I sighed as I grabbed them before turning to Natalie. “A PE kit? Really?”

  She gave a small, wry smile. “I know, it’s not exactly flattering, but it’s just for now. Once we’re used to fighting in clothes that won’t restrict us, we’ll move to clothes that do, so that we’re never caught unaware.”

  I supposed that the logic made sense, but that didn’t make me feel any more comfortable with the clothes.

  I pulled them on quickly before turning to Natalie, seeing that she had been even faster at getting ready than me.

  “Vampire speed,” she explained, presumably figuring out why I was staring at her.

  Though my confusion was only part of it. The rest was the realisation that she had been lying when she’d said that the kit didn’t look flattering on her.

  “Come on,” she said as she stood up. “We should head through.”

  “What about shoes?”

  “Again, we’ll add them with real clothes, but it’s barefoot for now.”

  I nodded, following as we made our way through to the gym.

  We were some of the first students to arrive, as everyone sat at the front of the gym, in front of the woman who I assumed was our teacher. Her bronze skin covered extensive and large muscles, which paired with her height made her a rather imposing figure, her black hair cropped short and her black eyes examining us closely as we entered the room.