Tears came to my eyes as I gritted my teeth and tried to steady my breath. How could he kill himself?
Feeling Dracian squeeze my hand, I looked down at it before pulling away gently. My eyes blinked rapidly as I turned from him and ran to the boy, who was sprawled on the ground, blood pouring from a hole in his temple. He had threatened to kill us, even tried to, but he didn't deserve to die like this. No one did.
Touching his hand where it rested on the grass, I sucked back tears. Footsteps sounded around me before a finger tapped my shoulder.
“Please, step away from the boy. We'll need to interview you. Now.” The professor looked sad as he glanced at the blood which had turned the green grass brown.
“It wasn't her fault,” Dracian said loudly. “He was a magic addict who wanted to know her invention to sell on the black market.”
“It's true,” Isabel called, producing the notes that I'd received from him. “He was blackmailing her, I have proof.”
Helissa stepped forward, in front of the gathering crowd. “He threatened to kill Toby and blow up the school if she didn't meet him alone. Of course, he killed Toby before she had the chance.”
Tears dropped from my eyes as my friends came to my rescue. Ever since my parents had gone, no one had ever been on my side. Until now.
“Very well,” the professor said, dismissing everyone with a wave. “Get back to your dorms. The ball is over.”
Grunts and moans resounded as Mrs Hinley sent me and Dracian with the rest.
We walked close together, not looking at one another. I couldn't be mad at him, he had helped me to stop the snake-killer. Not that I had wanted the boy dead, that hadn't been my plan at all.
“Thank you,” I whispered to him as Helissa and Isabel threw their arms around me. He nodded before he disappeared into the crowd.
My friends squeezed me before stepping back and linking their arms in mine, leading me into the throng of people.
“It will be okay,” Isabel said, following my gaze as I glanced back at the dead boy. “You managed to solve the first mystery of the academy.”
“Maybe,” I replied, trying not to let sadness engulf me. “But, at what cost?”
Turning back to the crowd, I stiffened when someone started to scream.
People pulled apart as a female student fell to the ground and started to seizure.
Professor Seaton was beside us in moments, bending to examine the student as she went still.
My whole body shook as I stepped away from Helissa and Isabel. Somehow, I just knew what had happened. Eyes turned to me, wide and judging.
No matter how hard I pretended that the whole academy didn’t believe it was me, I had to face facts as Professor Seaton looked up and voiced what we already knew.
“She's been drained of magic.”
My whole world collided as my best friends moved to stand by my side.
The other students whispered as accusing stares stabbed into my soul. I was officially an outcast in an academy full of witches who already hated me. And now, they believed I was draining witches of magic.
If I didn't adopt a thick skin and agent skills right away, I might be thrown out of the Undercover Witch Academy for good.
Undercover Witch Academy: Second Year
By Rachel Medhurst
Copyright 2019 © Rachel Medhurst
Please note that the author is English so spelling is in British English.
Chapter One
“What do you mean you can fool anyone?” Mrs Hinley said, clicking her bright red nails on Professor Seaton's desk as she leant against it.
Clearing my throat, I questioned my choice of words. Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have claimed that I was the greatest Illusionist witch of all time. It did sound a little arrogant, especially considering I was in the headmaster's office to proclaim my innocence of draining other witches of magic.
“Let's concentrate on why we're here,” Seaton interrupted. “We know that you have an extraordinary gift, Alishia. We want to encourage you to use that gift, but obviously we need to rule you out as a suspect.”
Why did the students have to be so careless with their magic? Surely, they must have got themselves into situations that led to their loss?
“I understand, but I'm not sure how I can prove to you that I didn't do it? I had an alibi for the others, but I was in the thick of it when that girl went down yesterday.”
I had to admit to myself that it did look suspicious, especially after a boy had killed himself right in front of me. The whole of the school would blame me for his death as well as the students losing their magic. I had to stay strong and focused if I wanted to be smart enough to clear my name.
The professor rubbed his stubble as he got up from the wooden chair behind his desk and went over to the stone fireplace. An ancient mirror hung above it, the glass stained with a bizarre dark colour.
Looking down into the flickering flames, Seaton shook his head before he glanced at me. “Show us how your magic works, Alishia, so we can understand you. We invited you to the academy with the view to help you use your abilities to become an agent. I have every faith that you can build on what you've lost. However, there's no point in me wanting something for you, if you don't want it for yourself.”
Licking my lips, I dropped my gaze to my shoes. They were plain black with a slight heel. Very formal to go with my uniform. Well, my skirt. I still had on my T-shirt and leather jacket. Had to rebel somehow.
Did I want to show them who I really was? Was I ready to put myself out there and declare that I did in fact want to become an agent? After I had dealt with Dracian and his murderous ways. He might have been there for me, but I had to remember what he had done.
“I want to become an agent,” I said slowly as I looked between them. “I’ll show you how I use my father's creation to gain magic. Hopefully, you'll see that I don't need to steal the magic of others.”
Mrs Hinley pushed away from the desk and came to me, her eyes searching mine. “We trust you, Alishia. We've run tests on your magical imprint. Well, we couldn’t quite trace your imprint because your own magic doesn’t leave one, but there wasn’t any trace of the others’ magic within you. If you had stolen it, we would’ve been able to tell. However, the academy board will want more evidence.”
Crossing my arms over my waist, I thrust out a hip. “And what evidence can I provide?”
My insides burned at the injustice of my predicament. I had come to the academy for a fresh start - and Dracian chasing - but so far, I hadn't been able to do anything productive. Even Dracian was slowly winning me over to his side, which had to stop. He had killed my parents, I had to avenge them.
“Show us what you can do. I’ll write a report,” Seaton said. “After that, we may ask you to help us with the investigation. It will be good training for you.”
Nodding, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my zapper thing - I had to find a proper name for it - and held it up.
Professor Seaton came over, his gaze glued to the plastic contraption. It looked a little like a Taser gun, probably built on the same principle.
“What's that?” His voice was gruff as he reached for it.
Snatching it away, I tutted at him while wagging my free finger. “I wouldn't if I were you, unless you want to be a chargrilled witch steak. This thing will fry anyone who touches it. Anyone but me.”
Mrs Hinley blew out a held breath as she watched me with her painted eyes. She blinked slowly, her head shaking back and forth. “You are a wonder, child,” she muttered. “Please, show us how it works.”
Part of me was too afraid to press the button in front of them. I had never shown anyone other than my father what I was capable of. Would they think I was a crazy-arsed witch, wielding electricity, or would they take me seriously? I know I would doubt me if I wasn't already me.
“I press this button and the charge of electricity filters into my body.” Demonstrating by pushing the button, I steadied myself as
my muscles clenched before releasing. The charge shot through me, making me shudder.
“That will kill her!” Mrs Hinley gasped as the sound of electric voltage buzzed through the room.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I focused on assimilating the current into my veins so it could transform into magic. Once my body was ready, I opened my eyes and put the zapper away. The teachers stared at me open-mouthed as I reached out and created a bunch of flowers, offering them to Mrs Hinley. As soon as she took them, they melted away to nothing.
“They're not real,” she muttered.
Shaking my head, I bit my tongue. Well, duh, I was an Illusionist witch. Everything that I created fell apart at some point. Nothing I did was real. Why did that thought make me want to give up now? I may as well have had my gravestone engraved already. Alishia Jones - useless witch who couldn't even spell a real bouquet of flowers.
Ugh, depressing.
“Can't you see?” Professor Seaton's eyes were wide as he tapped his finger across his chin. “Your ability to cast magic, but not leave an imprint, is priceless.”
Maybe I wouldn't be useless after all. He had seemed impressed with the way I could handle Toby, the familiar, and not leave my magic behind.
“You can change the face of agent investigation, help other Illusionist witches become phenomenal in a field they've never had access to before.”
“I would like that,” I muttered, trying not to show the burst of excitement that exploded in my chest.
Mrs Hinley took my hand and closed her eyes. Feeling into me, she used her own magic to test mine. Pushing against me, she somehow analysed what my imprint felt like.
“How long does it last?” Her eyes opened, staring directly at me.
Clearing my throat, I gently took my hand away. Sharing my secret was hard. I hadn't told anyone outside my family about my magic, except Isabel. How did I know I could trust them? Would they ship me in to the institute?
“It drains as I cast magic, so it will last all day if I don't do any spells. The size of the spell makes the difference in the length of time I have magic in my body.” Wringing my hands before me, I watched Mrs Hinley as she went back to the desk.
“I've heard enough to convince me that you're innocent,” Professor Seaton said. “You may leave.”
My heel was turning when the sound of an alarm blared from the corner of the room. We all looked at the speaker before Seaton snapped to attention.
“That's the fire alarm.” Rushing to the door, he threw it open.
Mrs Hinley was close behind, dragging me with her. As soon as we entered the corridor, the smell of smoke filtered up my nose. The fire was real this time.
“Go, evacuate all students.” Pointing towards the entrance hall, Seaton rushed back inside his office.
Mrs Hinley looked down the corridor, towards the teaching rooms. Classes were still suspended so there shouldn't have been anyone in the rooms, and yet, she hesitated.
“I'll go and check the classrooms whilst you find out where the fire is coming from,” I offered.
A gust of smoke billowed out of a classroom nearby. Mrs Hinley burst into movement, running towards it, her high heels clacking on the wooden floor. Following, I put an arm over my mouth to protect myself from the billowing smoke.
“You need to get outside,” Mrs Hinley ordered when she noticed that I had followed her.
“I might be able to help!” My reply was met with a frown.
Shaking her head, Mrs Hinley placed a hand over her mouth and peeked through the glass of the classroom door. A gasp escaped her before she coughed, bending low to rid herself of the smoke she'd inhaled.
“I can use water,” I shouted over the fire alarm.
The sound of rushing students poured from the entrance hall. Footsteps alerted us to company. When Dracian reached us, Mrs Hinley grabbed my arm and pushed me towards the door.
“Do the spell from out here, now.”
Looking through the glass, I searched for the fire, but couldn't see it. The whole room was full of smoke, the cloying cloud making it hard to see anything.
“It might have started upstairs,” Dracian said. “I'll go see.”
Before either of us could respond, he had run towards the stairs that led to the classrooms above.
Mrs Hinley attempted to shout at him to return, but he was gone.
Coughing, I turned to her and grabbed her wrist. “I have to go inside. I can't put the fire out when I don't know where it is.”
The high-pitched whine of sirens came from outside. Mrs Hinley took my arm and pulled me away from the classroom. When we were down the corridor, she pushed me towards the entrance hall where several students were trying to get out of the front doors.
We both plunged into the crowd, following the flow out of the building. Some students were coughing, including me. My insides quivered as I stumbled down the steps and turned to look at where the smoke escaped from several windows. My heart almost stopped when I spotted the flames on the second floor. The glow of orange came from two of the windows.
“It's the infirmary!” someone shouted.
Shit, there were several people in there, hardly able to move with the loss of their magic. And now Dracian was up there.
I had intended to find the firemen and let them know where the male witch had gone, but they were too busy setting up their equipment.
“Alishia!” Isabel called me from the back of the crowd, pushing her way through to me. “Are you okay?”
Shaking my head, I cleared my throat. “Dracian is up there. He went to see if the fire came from upstairs, and it-”
“We've got to go and find him!”
Nodding, I let Isabel drag me back into the building. The students who saw me glared, their accusations evident in the negative energy they sent my way. I had to ignore them if I wanted a clear head. They probably suspected that I was pulling a stunt with my illusion magic. Hello, why would I bother when we didn't have any classes already? I would have nothing to gain from freaking out the whole academy.
“That way!” I pointed towards the stairs on the left, away from the entrance hall.
Dracian had rushed up them, not listening to Mrs Hinley when she’d asked him to stop.
There were hardly any students left in the hallway now, the eerie fog was the only thing filling it up.
“There's a lot of smoke over there,” Isabel said, waving her hands.
Two masks appeared in her palms. Handing one to me, she placed the other over her head. Doing the same, I stepped beside her as we made our way down the classroom corridor and to the stairs. Billows of smoke came down, almost dancing in a non-existent breeze.
“If they're still up there, they're going to be very unwell,” I muttered loudly.
“Or dead,” Isabel replied, pulling my hand as we ascended the stone steps.
Breathing deeply, I tried to calm my racing heart. What if she was right? Were we about to find a dozen dead bodies?
A shout from behind made us speed up. The firemen were on their way. That was good. In fact, why were we still attempting to reach the other witches if the firemen could do it? Continuing could be suicide.
“We should let them handle it,” I called to Isabel as we reached the second floor landing.
When a scream resounded from the infirmary, we ducked our heads under the smoke and rushed across the hallway, pushing through the doors.
A gust of smoky wind swirled as we searched the room with our gaze. Bright orange flames licked the walls on the far right side of the room. Two beds were already engulfed, the material burning bright in the darkness.
“Dracian?” we both shouted, listening for a sign of life.
Coughing came from the left hand corner of the room. Treading carefully in the dark, we felt the way with our hands and feet.
“Who’s there?” My words were muffled through the mask, but I asked again, coughing when smoke filtered through a tiny gap.
“I can’t help her,” Drac
ian’s strained voice reached my ears.
Following the sound of it, I got on my hands and knees. The visibility was a lot clearer lower down. I was able to make out the shadowy form of two people. Grabbing Isabel’s leg, I guided her towards me. She dropped down to join me, gasping when she saw Dracian holding on to a girl who wore a scorched nightgown.
“Let’s tell them where they are,” I shouted to Isabel as the thudding footsteps and cries of the firemen rang throughout the room.
Jumping up, we both shouted. “Over here!”
A yellow helmet appeared through the thick smoke as the sound of high pressure water exploded in the room.
“Is there only two of you?” the fireman called back.
Shaking our heads, even though he couldn’t see us well, we both gestured wildly to the students on the ground.
“There’s two people on the floor. They’re in a bad way. We didn’t check the rest of the room.”
Shaking his head, he asked his colleague to take us away. We followed, holding on to the fireman’s hands as he guided us to the door. A flutter of activity drowned everything else out until we were back in the hallway.
“There’s several sick people in here,” one fireman called, gesturing to a room on the other side of the corridor. “Someone must have dragged them out or they managed to escape.”
Glancing at one another as we were guided downstairs, Isabel and I choked out a sob. Dracian had hauled the students out of the infirmary. He must have encouraged them all to move, helping the ones that were still too weak to do it on their own.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, the firemen turned to us. “You better take off those masks, the other students will think we gave them to you. Where did you get them anyway?”
“Erm, we… we had some in science glass,” Isabel stammered.
“You shouldn’t have taken it upon yourself to risk your life. That’s our job.”
Dropping out gaze to the floor, we made sure to look suitably remorseful. Not that I felt that inside. Oh no, if Dracian Dread could be a hero and help others, I could too. Although, he had been a true hero, I had just wanted to help. I wasn’t afraid of the fire. But I was afraid that the students above us might die. The thought made me shudder.
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