Coach Bloodgood blew her whistle. “Everyone who is going to the infirmary, stop chatting and go. Everyone else, back on your brooms. We’re going to practice falling safely again so we don’t have another repeat of today’s injury.”
Damian looked from me to Erin, then sighed. “Fine, you can come. Maybe you can grab our brooms.”
Erin nodded and gathered all the gear from Damian and me, along with hers, then hurried after him. He strode up the trail out of the field as if I weighed almost nothing.
Once we were out of earshot from the flying class, Damian cleared his throat. “Time to start talking. Where have you been all day? For that matter, where were you all weekend long when you told your parents that you were sick? I had to cover for you when they called me to check up on you. Said you’d fallen asleep while we were watching movies but I’d been making sure you’d gotten enough fluids.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, glancing away from him. “You didn’t need to lie for me.”
“That’s what friends do.”
“I haven’t been a very good friend, though.” I shot a look at Erin. “To either of you.”
“No, you’ve been a total flake,” Damian said. “So like I said, you owe me an explanation. If you feel like telling this random girl, too—sorry, what’s your name again?”
“Erin,” she said brightly. “I’m Ms. Murphy’s daughter. We’re in Earth together.”
Damian raised his eyebrows at me. “Well, I know how much Brie loves learning Earth magic.”
“Would you shut up for a minute and let me talk?” I took a deep breath, trying to figure out how much I could tell him. Technically, I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone else about my mission for the Queen, but I’d already gotten in enough trouble for keeping secrets.
Besides, Damian was my best friend and the person I trusted most in the world. And Erin, although I’d only known her for a few months, could really help me out of this jam. Might as well spill everything because I was tired of lying.
I told Damian to set me down on a bench. We’d need longer than the walk up to the nurse’s office for me to explain everything. I told them all that had happened since I came to school, starting with Loki’s offer to let me study Water magic despite being assigned to Earth.
By the end of it, both Damian and Erin’s eyes were wide with shock.
Damian shook his head at me. “I always knew your lack of experience with girls was going to get you into trouble. But a mermaid? Really? Talk about classic bad ideas.”
Erin leaned forward. “And you’re really going to make a potion that can turn you into a mermaid, swim down to their city, and try to steal the charter back?”
“It’s all I can do,” I said with a shrug.
“But you’re going to get locked up in school,” Damian pointed out. “Like, the minute the assistant dean finds out you’re back, he’s going to send you to your room or something. You are in major trouble and it’s only getting worse.”
I nodded. “So I guess I’ll need your help to break me out again, too.”
Damian grinned. “It’s about time we got up to something wild.”
Erin shifted nervously. “I’m not sure I should get involved,” she said, biting her lip. “I mean, if I do something this bad, it could get my mom in trouble, too. I don’t want her to lose her job because of me.”
Damian glowered at her. “You already know too much. You’re either with us, or we have to take you out to keep you from squealing.”
I elbowed him. “What are we, the mob?” I turned back to Erin. “If we don’t do something, the merfolk will take over the academy, and your mom will lose her job for sure.”
“I guess that’s true.” Erin nodded to herself. “Okay, I’m in.”
Damian put his hand out. “So we’re a team?”
I placed my hand over his, and Erin put hers on top. “Go, team!” I yelled, like I was about to compete in a swim meet instead of go on a dangerous mission to confront deadly mermaids.
“Go, team!” they echoed.
As Damian picked me up again, I grinned. It felt so much better to have friends on my side. After months of shouldering this burden alone, I was finally getting some help.
The nurse at the student health center didn’t do much for me. He checked the ankle, said it was most likely a sprain, and wrapped it up in a bandage for support. Then he gave me crutches and a painkiller. I was supposed to stay off it as much as possible, ice it for the pain, and get it looked at again if it started to swell up. Otherwise, there wasn’t much I could do except wait for it to heal.
Great, just one more thing I needed to worry about. At least I didn’t have to be carried everywhere. The crutches were tricky to balance on, but I managed to get from the health center to the administrative building. Damian hovered nearby in case I needed a hand, while Erin still carried my stuff. I made sure to thank them for their help.
The assistant dean’s secretary said he was busy, but Yamasato saw me through the window and came out to collect me. He escorted me into his office, kicked his tanuki out of the room and told my friends to wait outside, then locked the door behind us.
“Where have you been all day?” he said, trying to loom over me. “I have been trying to keep this quiet, but it’s very difficult when you just disappear from campus. Security went to your dorm room only to find it had already been ransacked. Trying to cover your tracks?”
He didn’t offer me a seat, but I wasn’t going to wait. I rested my crutches against the wall and eased myself into a chair with a sigh. Walking around on one foot was hard work, and my shoulders were already getting sore from supporting my weight. Too bad I couldn’t get the guardian dragon to heal me again.
“Well?” Yamasato said impatiently. “Explain yourself!”
I held up my hands. “You’re right, I ransacked my room, but not to hide any evidence. I was looking for my unlocking charm. Turns out, someone else took it and used to open your safe. They’re trying to frame me for the theft.”
Yamasato leaned against the front of his desk and folded his arms. “How convenient for you. Do you know who?”
I nodded. “That’s what I left to find out. I also know where the school charter is, and why they took it.”
His eyes narrowed. “And who took it?”
I hesitated. It would be easier to tell him everything, but I had a feeling he was going to blame me either way and refuse to let me help. “I can’t tell you that,” I said with a shake of my head. “But if you give me a few days, I can try to get it back.”
“Out of the question.” Yamasato stood up. “It’s far too powerful to rely on a child like you to recover it. Tell me everything you know and I will get help from the proper authorities.”
“The authorities have ignored the reports about this problem before.” I folded my arms and stared back at him, unaffected by his attempt at intimidating me. He was nothing compared to the other things I faced today.
Yamasato groaned. “If you insist on being stubborn, then you leave me no choice.” He pulled out a form from a desk drawer and started filling it out. “You are hereby suspended from all classes and confined to your dorm. I’m also confiscating your broom because you flew it off school property. If you don’t tell me everything by the end of the week, I’m still calling your parents and expelling you from school.”
“Fine.” It wasn’t much worse than what he’d told me that morning. Missing more classes would tank my grades permanently, but I couldn’t worry about my GPA when there was so much else on the line. By Friday, I’d either have the school charter back or I’d probably be dead. The merfolk wouldn’t spare my life if they caught me.
He finished the form with an angry stab of his pen and marched to the door. “File this immediately,” he snapped, handing it to his secretary.
I got back up on my crutches and hobbled my way after him. “Erin,” I said, nodding at the brooms she held, “would you please give my broom to the professor?”
Yamasato snatched the broom out of her hands. “That’s Assistant Dean Yamasato,” he said. He scowled at my friends. “If I find out either of you are involved in this plot, you’ll be expelled along with Brie.”
Damian batted his eyelashes. “What plot, Assistant Dean Yamasato?”
Erin swallowed, her eyes darting back and forth. “We’re just trying to help Brie with her hurt foot.”
“Get out!” Yamasato screamed, pointing at the door.
I apologized to his secretary for causing such a fuss and slowly walked out. Damian held the door open for us and waved at the assistant dean with a sweet smile.
“So, locked in your dorm?” Damian asked when we were all outside.
I nodded. “That’s fine because I’ve already had a long day. I’m going to write down everything I remember—” I glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot. “From the recipe. And then I’m going to bed. But if you guys still want to help, come by tomorrow when you’re done with classes.”
“I can skip a day of class,” Damian said cheerfully. “I’ll bring you breakfast.”
Erin coughed. “My mom will kill me if I miss the magic classes in the afternoon, but I can cut out a few in the morning if you really need me.”
I shook my head. “That’s nice of you guys, but I don’t want either of you getting in trouble, too. We can talk over breakfast but the main work will wait until school is done.” If I couldn’t go to class, I was gonna catch up on my assignments just in case I ever got out of suspension.
“Fine,” Damian said with a sigh.
I smiled at both of them. “And thanks again, guys. This means a lot to me.”
I was supposed to be confined to my dorm, but I thought I could take my time getting there. We stopped by the dining hall and took our dinner to go with us. Samantha was in our room and glared at my friends, so they left me there with the food. I jotted down notes while I ate and collapsed into bed.
Tomorrow, we’d see how far I could get in this crazy plan.
21
The next morning, Damian kept his promise to bring me breakfast, and then he joined me for his lunch break, too. His company cheered me up and we got caught up on things we’d missed out on while I spent weeks moping over that horrible mermaid. I swore to him that no matter what relationships I might have in the future, I’d never neglect my friendship with him again.
Erin stopped by early in the day, just long enough to get the list of ingredients from me. She promised to collect as much as she could during her breaks.
It was hard to concentrate on studying when I was alone, and I also felt exhausted from yesterday’s adventure. I took a long nap in the afternoon. I woke up when Damian and Erin came knocking on the door.
I checked the hallway to make sure no one else had come back to the dorms after classes. Most people didn’t bother visiting their rooms until after dinner, but we needed to be sure that no one could overhear us. Thankfully, my floor looked deserted and there was no sign of Samantha.
None of us were in potions class and I couldn’t unlock Samantha’s desk to take her supplies, but Erin had brought a cauldron. She set it up on a hot plate in the middle of the floor and passed me a bag.
“I think everything’s in there.” She sat down cross-legged across from me and shifted nervously. “You’d better be the one to add it, though. I don’t want to screw things up.”
It was hard for me to sit on the floor with my injured ankle, but Damian eased me down onto the beanbag chair and kneeled next to me. I took a deep breath and looked over the ingredients. I’d been reviewing what I’d learned from Samantha’s notes from her Water classes, but I’d never actually tried to brew a potion myself.
“Loki said the order was really important,” I said. I was careful not to use his true name. “First, the cauldron should be clean and set over a low flame.”
We all leaned forward and looked inside. The cauldron seemed clean enough. I switched the hot plate to its lowest setting and saw the coil glow faintly as it heated up.
“I hope it doesn’t matter if it’s not a real flame,” Damian said. “We’d never get away with having an open fire in this room.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.” I pulled out a glass vial from the bag. “Is this the fresh sea water?”
Erin nodded. “I gathered it at the main beach which had a few surfers hanging around. I would’ve felt better in a bigger crowd, but at least I wasn’t the only human there, so maybe the merfolk didn’t notice me?”
“They shouldn’t have any reason to suspect you’re helping me,” I said with a shrug. I unscrewed the top and dumped it all into the cauldron.
Next came the sea glass. I had a small collection that I’d found at the beach over the years, so I selected a nice blue piece and dropped it in. I had crystals from class, so it was easy to find the labradorite, which was used for transformation in alchemy, and jet, to protect my emotions from mermaid magic. They sank to the bottom of the liquid and sat there.
“This doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything,” Damian complained.
I swatted his arm. “Shh, you’ll break my concentration.”
The next ingredient was in a plastic package from the grocery store—dried seaweed. It expanded in the water and intensified the salty scent. The other herbs were in cloth bags, collected from the school’s garden. Mugwort, bay laurel leaves, spearmint and rose petals. Their scents filled the room as I unwrapped each one and dropped them in.
“Elderberry syrup,” I read aloud from a handwritten label. “Not fresh elderberries?”
“You can only get those in the summer,” Erin pointed out. “My mom gathers them and makes her own syrup so she can use them year-round. It’s the best way to preserve them.”
I should have remembered that from the herbalism class, but I hadn’t thought about it in months. I squeezed a few drops into the cauldron.
“And finally, wormwood,” Erin said, nodding to the last items in the bottom of the bag.
I pulled out a glass jar. “These look like sugar cubes.”
“Ooh, like absinthe!” Damian reached into the bag and pulled out a slotted spoon. “How fun.”
“Absinthe? Isn’t that the alcohol that makes you crazy?”
“That’s an exaggeration,” Damian said in a lecturing tone. He seemed to know what he was doing as he balanced the slotted spoon over a little glass cup. He took the jar from my hand and placed a sugar cube on top of the spoon. “Anyone have some water?”
I stared at him. “Have you had absinthe before?”
He nodded. “It’s not my first time with the Green Fairy. You don’t drink a lot, like, to get you drunk. Usually in the US, they won’t serve it with wormwood, which is the ingredient that really messes with your head. But if you know the right people, you can get it from Europe.” He pointed to the sugar cube. “It’s in the sugar. The absinthe goes in the cup first, then you pour water over the top to make the sugar dissolve and it all mixes in the bottom.”
Erin passed him a bottle of spring water. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want fresh water for this.”
“Loki didn’t explain all of this,” I said with a sigh. “Did he just assume I’d already know how wormwood works?”
“We’ve never covered it in class,” Erin said with a shrug. “Since it’s technically illegal.”
Damian had cracked open the bottle, but he stopped and glanced at Erin. “Then how did you get it?”
Erin smiled. “I know where my mom keeps the extra ingredients. The ones she gets from the black market.”
Damian giggled and nudged her. “So this isn’t your first time breaking the rules. I like it.”
He tipped the bottle carefully and let just a trickle of water drop onto the sugar cube.
I was about to protest that you needed warm water to melt sugar, but the cube started to dissolve. Within a minute, all the sugar had dissolved into a cloudy liquid in the glass.
Damian smiled and handed the cup to me with a flouri
sh. “You do the honors.”
I poured the sugar mixture into the cauldron and stirred the whole thing three times clockwise, then turned off the burner. “Now we wait for it to cool, bottle it up, and head to the beach.”
“Sounds good.” Damian reached for another sugar cube.
I smacked his hand and took the jar back. “Hey, no getting drunk in the middle of our mission.”
He rolled his eyes. “Spoil sport.”
Erin put the jar back in the bag with the remnants of the other ingredients. “I have to put this back so my mom doesn’t get suspicious. She might not notice if only one sugar cube is missing, but she’ll definitely know if we eat all of them.”
She’d also brought a large bottle and a funnel to help me collect the potion. I smiled at her gratefully. I didn’t know how I’d pull all this off if it wasn’t for her help.
No sooner had we sealed up the potion than the lock clicked in the door. I shoved the empty cauldron and the hot plate under the bed quickly while Damian jumped up and stretched to block me from view.
Samantha came in the room and stared at us. Then she sniffed the air. “Something smells funny,” she complained. “Were you guys smoking weed in here?”
Damian snorted. “You definitely haven’t been in downtown Santa Cruz if you think that’s what weed smells like.” He swaggered over and leaned down so his neck was right in front of her face. “I’m trying out a new cologne. Take a closer whiff.”
“Ew, get away from me,” Samantha said, backing out into the hall. “Can you get your weird friends out of here? I need to study.”
Erin and I had finished hiding all the evidence by then, so I struggled to my feet. “It’s okay, we were just leaving.”
Samantha tapped her foot as we all walked out the door and gave me a weird look as I passed her on the crutches. “I thought you were confined to the dorm?” she said archly.
The Reluctant Witch: Year One (Santa Cruz Witch Academy Book 1) Page 18