by L. C. Mawson
I looked away, tightening my hands around the strap of my bag.
“Well, everyone has to start somewhere and we Angelborn should stick together.”
I frowned at her. “‘Angelborn’? What does that mean?”
“It’s an older term. We’re rare now, so I suppose most people have forgotten. But in the days when Angels of Life weren’t so rare, people would go to them when they struggled to have a child. If the Angel blessed them, the child would be born with a fraction of the Angel’s magic, making them more powerful than anyone else. I could feel your power as soon as you broke through. Just like mine, though tinged with a little bit of elemental magic. I’m assuming that, as she is the only Angel of Life and certainly the only one with Nature’s blood, Queen Freya was the one to give you her power.”
It wasn’t phrased as a question, and I had no idea what to do.
I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but Ms Maltere had figured it out on her own. And she seemed more knowledgeable about it than anyone else had been.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I don’t mean you any harm, Amelia. I swear. I just know how lonely it can be to be the only one of your kind, and I don’t want you to go through that. Not to mention the difficulty of not having a tutor experienced enough to help you. I had quite a few growing pains when it came to my powers, and I want to help you avoid the same.”
I nodded. She didn’t seem to be lying. “Thank you.”
Her smile widened. “You’re welcome, Amelia. Though, while you don’t have to worry about me, I do suspect that someone at this school isn’t as virtuous. Angelborn attract nearly as much trouble as Angels. Promise me that you’ll be careful, and that you’ll come to me if you see anything suspicious.”
My blood chilled as I remembered my dreams of Natalie being hurt.
And the silver teacher's pin falling to the ground.
“I promise.”
Ms Maltere smiled as she opened the book. “Now, why don’t we start by going over something you struggled with?”
I nodded, wanting nothing more than to put the previous conversation behind me as I flicked through to a page on drawing on external sources to fuel a spell.
“I think I understand the basic premise of this, that some spells require outside components, and that living components need to be bound to the spell, but I didn’t see how it would work.” I moved my finger over to the pattern drawn on the page. “Spells require balance, right? But this wand formation is asymmetrical.”
Ms Maltere’s smile widened once more. “So, you understand the book perfectly, but you have questions?”
I shook my head. “No, the question has arisen from the fact that I don’t understand the book.”
“It’s not a question of understanding, Amelia. You’re fighting the knowledge. Consider the spell again and try to allow your creativity a voice as you do so. Why might the spell be out of balance if all of them require balance?”
“I don’t know, that’s why it doesn’t make sense.” My words came out harsher than I intended, and I took a deep breath, not wanting to yell at my teacher.
“You’re afraid.”
I frowned. “Afraid?”
She nodded. “You’re afraid that if you say an answer, it might be wrong, so you’re not trying.”
I folded my arms and looked away. “But it is going to be wrong, and then I’ll look...”
“Foolish? Trust me, Amelia, I will not judge you for having ideas.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
She paused and looked me over before sighing. “Yes, I believe that you have. Tell me, Amelia, have you learned about binding spells yet?”
“No. What are they?”
“A promise that cannot be broken. Give me your hand.”
I hesitated for a moment before reaching my hand out, wondering just what she might intend to do.
Ms Maltere clasped my wrist with her hand and I instinctively did the same with my own.
She moved her wand with her other hand as the end glowed, using it to draw an intricate lilac symbol over our clasped arms.
“I, Mary Maltere, pledge to never insult or belittle the ideas of my student, Amelia Bennett, or I shall suffer pain worse than death for several moments.”
The symbol burst into small shards of light and Ms Maltere finally released my hand.
I raised an eyebrow “A ‘pain worse than death’?”
“Well, the standard is usually ‘or my life is forfeit’, but that seemed a little drastic for our lesson today. I didn’t want to scare you off with the thought that I might drop dead if I say the wrong thing.”
I frowned. “I also don’t want you to be hurt.”
“That’s sweet of you, Amelia. But I assure you, I’ve suffered through far worse. Now, why don’t you try again to tell me what you think might be the reason for the asymmetrical pattern?”
I turned my attention back to the book, my stomach twisting at the thought of doing as she asked.
But she’d taken away any excuse I had to say no.
There was no reason to be scared.
My anxiety persisted regardless, but I did my best to ignore it as I looked over the image of a spider being bound.
“The life force,” I muttered, before turning to Ms Maltere and speaking in full volume. “The life force of the bound creature completes the spell. That’s what keeps it in place. Rather than surrounding it with the spell, the spell needs it to stay whole. That would make it harder to break, right? The spell will cling to the life force to stay whole.”
Ms Maltere grinned. “I told you that you would be able to get it. Amelia, you are everything I thought you were. An Angelborn with your ability to grasp magical concepts... You could lead our people one day.”
Warmth spread through me at the praise and I found myself unable to suppress a smile. “I... You really think I could be that good? I mean, I’m new to magic, and my parents were Human...”
“None of that matters, Amelia. Trust me. A traditional coven might not have been able to nurture your abilities, but I can help you become the Witch you were always meant to be.”
“What about breaking a curse when no one else can? Can you teach me how to do that?”
“Yes, Amelia, I can show you how to do that.”
I hadn’t realised just how much my hope for my mum had dimmed until she’d said those words, reigniting it into a fire that fuelled me as I turned back to the book. “Then show me.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
I ended up staying with Ms Maltere well into the night, going over every mention of curses in the book.
Nothing seemed to relate to the curse on my mother, but Ms Maltere had assured me that we could keep looking tomorrow.
Before sternly telling me to eat something and go to bed, reminding me that I would be useless tomorrow if I didn’t take care of myself.
But on the way back to the dormitories, I found myself hesitating, and then heading towards my auntie’s house, Ms Maltere’s words about someone in the school being after me ringing in my ears.
Auntie Jess had promised to ask around about Mr Stiles, but I hadn’t heard anything yet.
I bit my lip as I knocked on her door, hoping that she wasn’t already asleep.
Thankfully, she answered the door in her apron and the hot, slightly metallic smell told me that she had been brewing something.
“Amy,” she said with a slight frown. “Is something wrong? It’s late.”
“Sorry, I didn’t realise the time. I was just wondering if we could talk.”
“Of course. Come in.”
She stepped aside to let me in before closing the door behind me and then heading back to the kitchen.
“What did you want to talk about?”
“I just wanted to see if you had found anything out about Mr Stiles.”
Auntie Jess sighed as she returned to her cauldron, stirring the bubbling liquid within. “Nothing out of the ordinary. All of his references check out,
and I can’t find any hint of strangeness. Maybe if I was being particularly suspicious, I would say that he’s too quiet and clean, but that’s not unusual for magical beings who have to hide from Humans.”
I frowned. “So, that’s it?”
She shrugged. “I’ll keep looking, and let me know if you notice anything else, but I can’t follow evidence that doesn’t exist.” She looked me over. “Why? Has he done something else?”
I shook my head. “No, I just... How sure are you that the school is safe? That Maria Brown can’t send anyone after me here?”
“Fairly sure. The school has some of the strongest wards and protections in existence. But, Amy, if you don’t feel safe here, we can leave. I was planning on teaching you myself before the school opened, so we could go back to that plan. I trust your intuition, so if you feel threatened, just say the word, and we’ll be gone.”
I leaned against the kitchen bench, looking down at the texture of the countertop as I tried to decide what to do.
Ms Maltere had warned me that there was danger at the school, so maybe leaving was the sensible thing to do.
But then, Ms Maltere had also promised that she could help me learn how to lift the curse on my mum. What if leaving the school meant leaving the only chance to save her?
“Shit,” my auntie muttered, flicking her wand to lower the flame beneath the cauldron before returning her attention to stirring it.
“What are you making?” I asked.
“Something that I’m hoping will help your mum.”
“You think it will break the curse?”
She cringed. “I doubt it. But I’m hoping that it will keep her strength up. The curse seems to be holding stable, rather than progressively weakening her, but there is a risk that our attempts to lift the curse might cause some strain.”
I frowned. “Is she okay?”
“Yes, of course.” Auntie Jess sighed, running her hand through her hair. “I’m sorry, Amy. I didn’t mean to worry you. This is just a precaution, nothing more.” She forced a smile, but it was weak. “Anyway, we were talking about whether or not you wanted to leave.”
“No,” I said. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”
I had to figure out a way to cure my mum.
Auntie Jess smiled once more, and this time it was a little more believable. “Okay. Did you need anything else? Have you eaten tonight?”
“I... Admittedly, no.”
Auntie Jess shook her head. “Stick the oven on. I’ve got a pizza in the fridge.”
AFTER EATING, I HEADED back to my room to find Natalie still awake, sitting on her bed with a book in her lap.
As soon as I entered the room, however, she looked up from her book.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” I replied as I closed the door behind me and made my way over to my bed, dumping my bag down on the floor.
“So, why did you skip out on tutoring tonight? Willow was at dinner, so you weren’t with her.”
“No, I was with Ms Maltere. She’s offered to help me with my studies, so you no longer have to worry about me taking up your time.”
“You weren’t taking up my time.” She frowned. “This isn’t because of anything between us, is it?”
I mirrored her frown as I made my way over to my bed, sitting down on the edge. “I didn’t think that there was anything between us.”
“There’s not.”
“Exactly. So, this was nothing to do with that. I just think that Ms Maltere is the best person to teach me.”
She nodded, but she didn’t look happy.
I wondered if I had insulted her teaching ability.
“In class today, you and Willow looked... Cosy.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, she was helping me with my Energy.”
“And that’s it? You two aren’t...”
“Aren’t what?”
“Do you like her?”
“As a friend?”
“No. I mean... Do you like her?”
“Yeah. I do. Why?”
Natalie had been more than clear with the fact that there was nothing between us, so why did she care if there was something between me and Willow?
Natalie’s gaze focused down on the book in her lap, though she had closed it, with her thumb keeping her page. “You only like her because of her Elven beauty. If you hadn’t seen her without her suppression magic, you wouldn’t be feeling this way. Don’t let her string you along, Amy.”
I shook my head. “Willow isn’t doing anything. She has already pointed out the effects of her Elven beauty, but I can make my own choices here. I don’t need you to act like my mother, Natalie.”
Natalie still refused to meet my gaze, not responding for a while.
I huffed, making my way over to my drawers to grab my pyjamas.
“You’re right,” Natalie eventually said as I made my way to the bathroom. “It’s none of my business. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said, though I was sure that it wasn’t.
Would we ever be able to salvage a functioning friendship, or would it always be like this?
I wasn’t sure that I could handle the latter. Not with us sharing a room.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next afternoon, I had a Basics of Spellcraft lesson with Ms Maltere and was a little relieved that neither Natalie nor Willow were in the class.
Not that I didn’t want to see Willow, but I worried about things being awkward with Natalie. Or that Willow might have decided that everything I felt for her really was an effect of her Elven beauty.
Natalie had been fine with me, but we also hadn’t really spoken alone. Just at breakfast, break and lunch, when Charlotte and Lena were there to act as buffers.
And they had been doing such a good job of it, I did wonder if they knew just how much it was required.
I sat at the front of the class by myself, deciding to focus on my work, rather than this complicated mess I had found myself in.
Thankfully, Ms Maltere didn’t waste any time getting into the lesson once we’d all arrived.
“Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we’re going to be going over another of the basic, stock spells that every Witch should know. The glamour spell. Now, pay attention and I shall show you how it’s done.”
She turned to her desk and made a zig-zag pattern with her wand over the lamp as she said, “Ciathlo.”
The once red lamp turned blue before our eyes.
She turned to the rest of us. “The spell is always the same, but how you change the object depends on what you’re picturing. And the picturing is the difficult part. You need to hold the image clearly in your mind’s eye, and you need to maintain your concentration. Otherwise...”
The lamp turned back to red.
“Now, if you all take an object from your bag, I want you to try the spell. Just do a simple change like the one I demonstrated.”
I took a black gel pen from my bag and placed it on the table in front of me before imagining a red biro as I cast the spell.
A moment later, a red biro was sitting in front of me.
“Now, Amelia, I did say a simple change.”
The pen turned back as I jerked my head up to see Ms Maltere approaching with a smile.
“That wasn’t simple?”
“Changing it to a red gel pen would have been simple. This was a little more complex. But don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you off for doing better than I asked. Not as long as you managed it, at least. Perhaps I should give you a more complicated task...”
She frowned as she looked over my wand. “I take it that’s a hand-me-down?”
I nodded.
“Yes, as much as I think you could handle casting something more complex, I am worried about you trying with a wand that you didn’t build yourself. You need a deeper connection to it to access your powers to their fullest extent.”
“So, how do I build one?”
“Well, normally your Coven Head would help you. Or a fami
ly member, if you didn’t join a coven. Here, there’s a class to help you, but it would be with the younger children.”
My knuckles turned white as I gripped my wand tighter.
“Yes,” Ms Maltere said, obviously picking up on my distaste for the idea, “I doubt I would enjoy it, in your shoes. But how about we make building you a new wand the focus of our lesson tonight?”
I frowned. “But what about going through the curses in the book?”
“Well, even if I teach you how to lift powerful curses, you’re not going to be able to do it without a wand of your own. And once you have one, I’ll be able to show you how to tap into your powers as an Angelborn to their fullest extent. Which, yes, involves lifting curses.”
I smiled, glad that I wasn’t sitting near anyone else, so it was safe for us to talk about such things. “Then yes, I would be glad to.”
“Though as much as you like the idea of curses, I think we should also look at illusion magic. You might have a knack for it. For now, try casting the glamour on yourself to change your appearance. With that wand, you’ll probably only manage minor changes, but in time, you’ll be able to use the spell to turn yourself invisible. Even to other magical beings.
“And keep an eye out for other glamours. I doubt that you’ll find many at the school, but you never know, and making an effort to seek them out – and even to see through them if you can – will help you to gain a better understanding of them.
“Now, let’s see if you can change your hair colour.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I had to steel myself as I headed to my next class.
History of Magic.
Which meant a class with both Mr Stiles and Natalie, without Charlotte and Lena to act as a buffer.
Though I took a deep breath, trying to assure myself that everything would be fine.
Auntie Jess had said that she hadn’t managed to uncover anything suspicious about Mr Stiles, so maybe there wasn’t anything to uncover.
Maybe the threat I was dreaming about – and that Ms Maltere had warned me about – was something else entirely.