The dragon lowered her head a little farther so her nose touched mine. “Boop!” she whispered, then she pulled back with a giggle. “Got it in one guess. I’m Lhanath.”
Everything I’d heard about the guardian dragons was that they were serious and dedicated to their jobs of protecting the gates. I’d never expected one to boop me on the nose.
“Nice to meet you… Lhanath,” I said, pronouncing her name carefully. “I’m Brie.”
“I know who you are,” Lhanath said with another giggle. “You’re here to find your patron, Loki? We had a bet going about you. Hang on, let me call him.”
She stepped back, her heavy body making the ground rumble, and turned her head into the mists. I didn’t hear any call, but after a brief pause, she looked back at me. Her lips curved up in what I hoped was supposed to be a friendly smile, but it showed a lot of her teeth.
“Loki will be here soon. He couldn’t hear you from your world, but he told me to keep an eye out for you.”
The Faerie Realm always felt surreal, but this place felt even more weird. I couldn’t see any trees or the sky at all, just gray swirling mists. I must still be in the Veil between the Worlds. I was afraid of getting lost, so I stayed put, sitting on the ground. It was nice to just be stationary and not hurting for a few minutes.
A few minutes later, Loki stepped out of the mists in a bright green suit. He caught a glimpse of me, rushed over, and kneeled at my side. “Are you alright? Lhanath said you were hurt. What happened?”
I patted myself to check my injuries and shook my head. “She already healed me.” I cocked my head to one side. “She also said you two had a bet going about me?”
Loki whipped his head around to glare at the dragon who looked away. “She likes to play games. Some dragons like riddles, but Lhanath has a gambling problem. I promise it’s harmless.”
“Hey!” Lhanath lowered her head down next to both of us. “You only say that because you lost.”
I folded my arms. “Tell me what the bet was.”
Loki grimaced. “Well, we were guessing how long it would take before you tried to force your way through the Gate when it wasn’t open. I thought you would have done this months ago.”
“Why?”
Lhanath’s lips curled up again in what looked like a draconian smirk. “Because your mother did the exact same thing when she was your age.”
“Rosa was sixteen,” Loki pointed out. “Brie here just turned seventeen.”
“Wait, Mama Rosa went into the Gate when it was closed?” I couldn’t believe my ears. “She’s always lecturing me about how dangerous the Otherworld is and not messing around with the Gates!”
Loki nodded. “She had to learn the hard way. And have you noticed that she can actually cross whenever she wants?” He rolled his eyes. “Yet she gives me the same lecture if I show up on the wrong day.”
“That’s so unfair! Why can’t anyone do it, then?”
Lhanath looked behind her into the mists. “Technically, the path isn’t open. If you tried to go in there right now, you would get lost for years—maybe even forever.”
Loki pulled out a chain from under his shirt and showed me a golden dragon scale. “This helps us find the way through. Perk of being a gatekeeper.” He gave me a stern look. “But it’s not to be used frivolously. You haven’t explained why you’re here, Brie.”
I glanced up at the dragon. “Um, I’m not sure if I should tell her. It’s sort of about the Queen’s business.”
Lhanath’s tail, which had been wrapped around her feet, twitched with annoyance. “I work for the Queen, you know.”
Loki nodded. “Anything you have to tell me, you can say in front of her.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and stood up, even though the dragon was still looming over me when I sat. It just felt weird to be on the ground.
Then I launched into everything that had happened with the mermaids. This time, I didn’t hold anything back. Gabriella had broken my trust, so I wouldn’t keep her secret any longer. I was embarrassed to admit my relationship with her, but I was also relieved to tell the truth at last.
Loki and Lhanath listened to everything patiently without interrupting or scolding me for my mistakes. When I was finished, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my chest. I didn’t realize how bottling up my problems had been hurting me for so long. Now I had finally told the adults what was wrong so they could handle it, and I was off the hook.
Loki patted me on the shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot,” he said. “I wish you had told me sooner, so I could have warned you. I was planning to speak with you on my next visit, but I thought it could wait until the Gate was officially open on the Spring Equinox.”
“That’s a month away,” I pointed out. That was also the end of the winter quarter, when I’d be home on spring break. If I’d tried to handle this on my own, I would have failed all my classes and probably gotten kicked out of school for bad grades.
“I didn’t realize how quickly things were developing.” Loki pursed his lips together. “Time runs differently in my world, and I forget how fast mortals can move—mermaids as well as humans. The plots of immortals can take centuries to develop and unfold.”
“In other words, don’t play chess with a Fae. They can take years to make a single move,” Lhanath said.
I snorted. “I wasn’t planning on it. But anyway, you’re going to fix things now, right? Because if I don’t clear my name, the assistant dean said I would be expelled by the end of the week.”
Loki smiled. “I’ll point you in the right direction, but you’re the one who’s going to fix it.”
“What!” I looked at him to see if he was joking, but I couldn’t tell his emotions at all. Merfolk were good at hiding their true feelings, but no mortal could match a Fae’s magic. “There’s no way I can beat a mermaid. She almost drowned me.”
Loki shook his head. “You won’t take her in a direct confrontation. You’ll just turn her own tricks back on her—sneak into her home and steal the school charter.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You know her home is probably at the bottom of the ocean?”
“Which is why I can’t go there.” Loki pointed at himself. “Fae stay on the land. The merfolk have the oceans. Just like humans and Fae have their separate realms, so it is between Fair Folk and the sea dwellers.”
I frowned. “There aren’t ocean Fae in this realm?” I realized I’d never seen an ocean in the Otherworld. “Do you not have oceans?”
“Merfolk rule the seas in both realms,” Loki said with a shrug. “It doesn’t seem to make a difference to them which side of the Veil they’re on, and they have their own ways to cross in the water.”
That was news to me. Merfolk were less like humans or other magikin than I realized, but if they could live on both sides, then they weren’t like Fae, either.
“Wait. If they belong in the water, why do they care about a human school on land?”
He smiled. “Now you’ve asked the important question. I wondered the same thing myself.” He leaned closer. “See, this is what I wanted to warn you about. They were kicked out of Mexican waters for attempting to take over a magikin school in Mazatlan.”
A magikin school and a witchcraft academy. My confusion deepened. “Merfolk don’t need a school to study magic, though. They’re immersed in it from the moment they’re born.”
“But who signs the school charters?” Lhanath’s voice rumbled overhead.
I jumped. The dragon had lifted her head on her long neck, and her tail was twitching with irritation again. I swallowed hard, thinking about her words. “The dean of the school and the local Fae court?”
Loki gasped. “The Queen!”
I grabbed his arm. “The Queen signs the charter?”
He nodded. “She gives direct permission to each school, not any of the faeriekin.”
Lhanath looked around at the surrounding mists, then bent her head and whispered, “When the Queen
signs a document, it contains powerful magic. She’s bound to keep her word, no matter what.”
“So if they control the school’s charter…”
“They can force the Queen to give them the land?”
Loki nodded. “They would own it.”
“But that still doesn’t explain why they would want the land in the first place.”
“Hm.” Loki stroked his chin, even though like most Fae, he had no facial hair. “Maybe they want to stay warm during the winter.”
I snapped my fingers. “That’s it. They have to migrate south in winter because it’s too cold, but in Mexico, the other merfolk don’t trust them. They must like our school because it’s still close enough to the ocean.” I nodded. “So we have to get that charter back, or the witches lose the academy. Tell me what to do.”
I thought I would go with Loki to his house to work on the plan. He told me that it would be harder to go all the way into the Faerie Realm and come back. Also, he couldn’t guarantee that he could get me back within a reasonable amount of time. According to him, when my mom pulled this same stunt of forcing her way into the Gate before she had her gatekeeper powers, she was lost for twenty-four hours.
Lhanath said we could stay in her home, which was this little clearing in the mists between the worlds, and then she’d guide me back safely. So we sat down on the field of clover again and Loki explained everything to me. He had a potion recipe that could help me reach the underwater city.
“I’d help you make this myself, but we don’t have any ingredients here.” He pointed to the ground. “This clover isn’t even real, it’s just a manifestation by the guardian for your comfort. You’ll have to find everything yourself when you get back and make the potion.”
For once, I didn’t have a notebook or anything on me to write with, so I had to memorize everything he said.
“This potion is very dangerous and technically illegal,” Loki said. “Transmogrification is something you don’t undertake lightly.”
“You mean you’re going to change me? Just so I can breathe underwater?”
Loki shook his head. “Not just breathe underwater—I’m going to turn you into a mermaid. That way, you can enter the merfolks’ city without looking suspicious and you’ll be a stronger swimmer.”
My eyes widened. Normally I’d jump at the chance to feel like a real mermaid, but trying to fool the others and sneak into their home sounded really dangerous. “Won’t they know that I don’t belong there?”
“Keep your distance so no one can get a good look at your face,” Loki warned. “It would be less risky if I could turn you into some other kind of sea creature, like a jellyfish, but that’s way too advanced. Besides, I’m not sure how long it would take you to learn how to swim like a jellyfish. The mermaid form is the closest one to your human shape, so it’s the easiest transformation.”
That made as much sense as anything else going on right now, which wasn’t saying much. I was reeling from all the revelations today, but I couldn’t stop to dwell on it. I had to focus on doing the next thing or I’d be totally overwhelmed.
“Remember to add all of these ingredients in the right order,” Loki went on. “You must start in a clean cauldron over a low flame. First, sea water, and it should be fresh. Don’t just mix salt into fresh water because there are other things in the ocean and you can’t miss them. This may be risky to get because if you go back to the ocean before you’re ready, the mermaids might see you and try to lure you again.”
I nodded. “Maybe I can get a friend to help me.”
“That would be safest.” Loki went on with a list of plants, stones, and even sea glass. By the end, it sounded disgusting.
“And I’m supposed to drink this?”
He nodded. “The whole thing. Don’t try to strain it, everything must go into the bottle. And remember to do it in the water. It will be hard to get into the ocean after you’ve transformed, and it happens quickly.”
“How long does it last?”
“Until you come back to land.” He raised a finger. “Unless a mermaid breaks the enchantment. Their magic is still more powerful than yours, and if they see through your disguise, they’ll force you back into human form.”
I gulped. This sounded more dangerous by the minute.
The dragon cleared her throat. “It’s getting late. I should take her back now.”
“Wait.” I grabbed Loki’s arm. “Is that everything I need to know? Just drink the potion and swim out to sea? How will I find the mermaid city, let alone figure out where they’re hiding the charter?”
He shrugged. “I’ve never been in a mermaid city. You’ve got more experience in the ocean than I do, so you’ll have to figure it out for yourself.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. It sounded insane. But I didn’t really have a choice. Either I tried to get the charter back and save the school, or the merfolk would take over the academy and I’d get arrested for helping them.
“Okay.” I let him go and turned to Lhanath. “Thank you both for helping me. I’m ready to go back.”
Lhanath pointed into the mists. “Follow me.”
Loki stayed behind in the clearing and waved. “Good luck! If anyone can do this, it’s you!”
That wasn’t very encouraging, but it would have to do. I followed the dragon back into the swirling chaos of the Veil between the worlds.
20
I stepped into the eucalyptus grove and looked around. It felt like the human world, but I couldn’t be sure. There were still gray clouds covering the sky and no people around. But there was something lying on the ground. I walked over and picked it up.
My broom. I blinked in surprise.
A voice whispered in the back of my mind, Your broom couldn’t cross the mists. You shouldn’t try to fly in the Otherworld, anyway, because your magic doesn’t work the same way there. But I kept it safe for your return.
I looked around, but I didn’t see any sign of the dragon. Somehow, I could feel her eyes on me. I raised my broom and smiled. “Thanks,” I said aloud, hoping she could hear me.
There was no reply, so I walked out of the grove and mounted my broom again. “You’ve done a lot of work today,” I said, patting the handle. “Sorry for doubting you for so long. Could you take me back to the school now?”
The broom rose eagerly into the air. We were only a few miles from the school, without any chance of humans seeing us out in the woods. I didn’t have to worry about hiding in the clouds. Still, the breeze was chilly, and it felt like the daylight was growing dimmer. I wondered just how long I’d been gone.
If I survived the next few days, I’d have to talk to Mama Rosa about her adventures in Faerie. I knew Granny Rose was keeping secrets from me until I was older, but it seemed like my mom hadn’t told me everything, either. Loki only dropped hints, so I’d have to question her directly. What other exploits was she hiding from me?
But first, I had to save the school. I used the trees to mask my flight as I flew over the wall. I’d hoped to look for a secluded area to land in, but the broom took me back to the main practice field.
As soon as we got close, I could see other students also flying around on their brooms in drills. Coach Bloodgood saw me, too, and she blew her whistle, waving me down frantically.
I panicked and tried to pull the broom up before she could catch me. Instead, the broom plowed into the ground and I tumbled off. My right ankle twisted underneath me and my vision went white with pain.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying on my back with Coach Bloodgood standing over me with most of the other students hovering nearby. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head.
“Well, it looks like someone finally got over her fear of flying,” she said. “Class, this is why I told you not to fly over ten feet until you gained more control. Can you stand, Brie?”
I sat up carefully. Nothing seemed broken, except for my ankle, which felt like it was on fire. “It hurts,” I said, wincing.
The coach bent forward and poked my right ankle, which made me suck my breath in to keep from screaming. “Looks like a sprain,” she said, straightening up. “Go to the school nurse to get it checked out, then report to the dean. There are consequences for breaking the flight rules.”
There would be consequences for missing another day of school, too, but I wasn’t going to admit that to the grumpy coach. I tried to get to my feet and hobble toward the nurse’s office, but I couldn’t rest any weight on the right one. I’d already been through worse that day and a little sprain seemed like a baby injury compared to almost being drowned by a mermaid. That didn’t make it hurt less! It didn’t help that the other students were standing around staring, but the coach hadn’t told anyone to escort me, so they didn’t move.
Until Erin rushed forward and grabbed my arm. “Here, I’ll help you.”
I turned and looked at her in surprise. She’d avoided me since I hurt her feelings, so why was she trying to help me now? “Thanks, but I might be too heavy for you.”
“Get out of my way,” Damian’s voice came from across the field as he pushed through the crowd of students staring at my crash landing. He stopped in front of me with a look. “Where you been all day, bitch?”
I’d never seen him look so mad at me. But then, I’d been blowing him off a lot lately to spend more time with Gabriella, and he knew I was keeping secrets from him. “I’ll tell you somewhere else,” I said, glancing back at the coach.
“She needs to go to the nurse,” Erin said firmly. She draped my arm over her shoulders and put another arm around my waist. “It’s okay, you can lean on me. I’m stronger than I look.”
Damian sighed dramatically. “Here, I’ll take her.” He shooed Erin aside, then picked me right up off the ground like I was a baby. “You can explain on the way.”
Erin stepped in front of him. “I should go with you guys. If you need healing herbs, I know where to get them.”
The mention of herbs made me perk up. There were a few rare ingredients Loki had told me about for the potion, and she knew magical plants better than I did. “Yes, please come with us,” I said, giving her a warm smile. Right now, I could use all the help I could get.
The Reluctant Witch: Year One (Santa Cruz Witch Academy Book 1) Page 17