Academy of Magic Collection

by Angelique S Anderson et al.

  My heart gave a massive thump as my mother read my name. Soon after Tabitha’s and Phoebe’s names were read off within the same breath. We squealed and hugged each other excitedly, then my friends ran off to find their families.

  Once my mother stopped reading off the list, the people who had been waiting to be called, but weren’t, reacted immediately. Two young men let out roars of frustration and one woman began arguing with her parents about whose fault it was that she wasn’t picked. From those outbursts alone, I thought the council had chosen wisely to deny them entry. Spies couldn’t wear their emotions on their sleeves.

  I trudged through the sea of people to speak with my father, who was beaming at me from the back of the crowd.

  “Way to go, Di-Bear! We always knew you had it in you, but now it’s official! You’re carrying on the family legacy.” He pulled me in for a hug and barely winced when I squeezed a bit too tight.

  “Thanks. I’m just so damn happy its over. That was so stressful!” I grinned. “Are we going to celebrate? Dinner at the bistro?”

  My father snort-laughed. “Of course. Your mother has already made reservations, and Claudia is saving us one of the best seats in the house. It’s an early dinner as your mother figured you may want to mingle with the other students who made the cut. Most won’t leave until tomorrow. Their parents are having too a good time visiting.”

  “Tabby and Phoebe have to get back to Portland, but I do have someone I want to get to know better. In fact, I’d like to talk to him now. I’ll catch you inside?”

  Father kissed me on the cheek and turned to make his way back inside the academy. I searched for Alex and found him standing near the front of the crowd. Someone had just walked away from congratulating him, so I took my chance to get him alone while I still could.

  “I can’t believe I let you beat me,” I teased as I came up behind him.

  He turned to face me and grinned. “It’s kind of amazing.”

  “Is your family leaving?”

  “No. We plan on going into Wandstown tonight and celebrating. Apparently there’s a good steakhouse there?”

  I nodded. “The best. Actually, we’ll be at the bistro just a couple of blocks away. Do you want to meet up after dinner and hang out? Now that the pressure is off, I’d love to show you the town.”

  Discomfort flashed across Alex’s face. “Errr. As much as I want to get to know people at the school, it’s like I said Diana, I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”

  I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just as friends,” I assured him.

  Alex’s anxiety vanished. “Alright, then. That sounds fun. I’d love a local’s take on the area.”

  My stomach flipped. Even if we were just hanging out as friends, I’d take any chance to get to know one another better.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The bistro in Wandstown was small, but it had many of the luxuries you would find in a larger city: escargot, bruschetta, grass-fed steaks, and even a few exquisite vegetarian dishes. The owner, Claudia, took pride in revamping her menu four times a year and serving in a farm-to-table fashion—or at least as much as one could in the wilds of Maine. And yet, despite the finery the bistro projected, the owner always hugged patrons when they walked in the door. And tonight Claudia hugged me extra hard.

  The news of my acceptance into Spellcasters had already spread throughout the village of Wandstown. And while that was cool, after a few courses I was ready to crawl out of the limelight and celebrate a little more quietly.

  Alex was at the steakhouse down the street. After he was done with his meal, we’d planned to walk around the town. I’d show him the old cemetery were some of the ex-spymasters of Spellcasters had been buried and even a spot in the park where a unique type of faerie circle was located—closed, obviously. I wasn’t sure what we’d do after that, but truthfully, it didn’t matter to me. I just wanted to hang out with him.

  Some would say I was on the rebound from Jackson. And perhaps they were right, but what eighteen-year-old girl didn’t want an innocent fling every now and then? Especially with the most distinguished bachelor in our incoming class. And if that fling grew into something more? I was cool with that too.

  The waiter dropped the check at our table and Father placed his card inside the leather folder without even glancing at it. After the waiter whisked it away, Father turned to me and gave me a purple-lipped smile, courtesy of the bottle of wine he and Mother had shared. “So, you’re seeing that Wardwell boy after this?”

  I nodded and told him what I had planned for the evening. Mother had been slightly tense all night, but when Father brought up Alex, she smiled warmly, apparently pleased with my choice of companion—which was really saying something. When I’d told her I wanted to date Jackson, it had taken four long weeks to garner her approval.

  “Just be back by ten,” Father said. “I know you’re eighteen and tonight is a night for celebrating, but—”

  “I know, I know, as long as I live under your roof, I abide by your rules.” I was actually fine with the curfew. After three days of exams, I was pretty tired. Plus I figured that Alex was too much of a gentleman to keep me out that late—even as just friends.

  “That and I’m still concerned about the hole you found. And my loose doorknob.” Mother’s eyebrows knitted together. “Having you home early would ease my nerves until I can get those matters sorted out.”

  Father gave her an exasperated look, and understanding dawned on me. So that was why she’d been strained during dinner. I suspected that Father had asked her not to bring up her worries because this was my night.

  Personally, I thought Mother was being a little paranoid, but I guess it made sense. She had already been on edge after what happened to Father. Add in a couple more strange occurrences and her spy training and suspicious nature was bound to kick in.

  Once our bill was settled we made our way out of the bistro, full and happy. I parted with my parents and walked down the street to wait outside the steakhouse. Unlike most teens, I didn’t have a cell phone and couldn’t text Alex. The devices were forbidden for Spellcasters students, and as someone who grew up within the academy walls, I’d inherited that stipulation. Luckily, it was a nice night and I didn’t mind a little quiet after all the excitement of the past three days.

  Twenty minutes later the Wardwells walked out the door. Once Alex saw me he immediately began apologizing for keeping me waiting.

  I waved him off. “It’s fine. The night is beautiful and you deserve to celebrate with your family too.”

  Alex shot me a grateful smile and turned to his parents. “I didn’t bring my phone, but you guys are just going to the tavern, right? Diana and I are gonna walk around the town. Should we meet back at the tavern at a certain time? We’ll need a ride back.”

  If I had had any real hopes that this night was going to be romantic, they would have been squashed right then and there. A ride home with the parents was totally a romance killer.

  We made plans to meet back at the tavern at 9:30 and split off to stroll the idyllic streets of Wandstown. Lanterns were lit outside shops and restaurants. Occasionally we passed residents and each of them smiled and waved. I’d just shown Alex the cemetery and we were about to enter the park to find the faerie circle when I heard a noise that made my blood freeze.

  “Is that—” Alex paused and his eyebrows furrowed together as he took in the strange sound. “What the heck is that?”

  Although I was used to the blaring noise the town called their siren, I understood his confusion. The siren sounded more like a foghorn than the police or ambulance sirens of other cities and towns. It was also incredibly loud so that the entire town could hear it. And while I wasn’t fussed by the amount of noise, my heart rate spiked at its implication.

  A resident of Wandstown was in trouble.

  I grabbed his wrist. “It’s our emergency signal. We need to get to Town Hall. They’ll tell us what’s happening.”

  Mo
ving fast, we ran down the streets. When we burst through the doors of Town Hall only a few minutes later I was surprised to see that it was already brimming with people. Even elderly Miss Rogers, clad in a nightgown and slippers that reflected her urgency, had beat us here.

  I nodded at two spots in the back row. As soon as we sat down, the Mayor of Wandstown beat his gavel against the podium and everyone quieted.

  “Thank you, residents, for arriving so quickly.” He spoke into a microphone, pausing briefly to adjust the height before continuing. “It seems those already aware of the issue have spread the word efficiently.”

  “Yeah! Sally Parker came banging on my door and said to hurry it up before running off like a jackrabbit,” Old man Elijah called out and twirled his cane in the air. “I’d like to know why I’m missing my programs!”

  “Yes. Of course. Then I should get on with it.” The mayor gulped and the microphone amplified the noise. “It appears that Miss Iris has gone missing.”

  A chorus of gasps went up from the crowd.

  My spine straightened.

  “No one knows the exact time she went missing, but she didn’t show up for work today, which is unusual. She usually pops in to check on things even if she’s not on the schedule. Nor was she at her beloved wine club this evening. It was the ladies of the wine club who called this very meeting, for last night Miss Iris had mentioned she wouldn’t miss it for the world. No one was able to get a hold of her on her cell phone, and she wasn’t at home when one of the ladies went to check. As you might imagine they were all very worried.”

  I bit my lip. Yes, Miss Iris missing her wine club was suspicious. I didn’t know a damn thing about wine, but Miss Iris loved to talk about all the varietals she’d tried when the ladies had wine night. As far as I knew, she never missed it.

  “Does anyone have any information as to where Miss Iris might have gone?” the mayor asked, wringing out his hands.

  No one said a word. A few people, clearly the parents of Spellcasters students who had gotten swept up in the tide of townspeople rushing to Town Hall, looked very bewildered. One of them was a super muscular father with wild brown hair who reminded me instantly of Jagger.

  Jagger . . .

  I stood up. “Has anyone asked Jagger where she went?”

  Everyone shook their head and a few people whispered Jagger’s name as if they’d never heard it before.

  “They’ve been dating for . . . a while, I guess. He’s a shifter. And to be honest he seemed a little . . .”

  “Handsy?” someone supplied.

  “Possessive,” someone else offered.

  “Controlling? Or at least he would be if Iris would let him,” another voice said.

  “Yeah, all those things.” I made eye contact with the Mayor, who was taking this information in with wide eyes. Clearly, he was among the few who hadn’t met Jagger yet. “I think we should probably find Jagger and talk to him. Even if she isn’t with him, he might know where she is.”

  Everyone split off, each having their own idea of how best to help find Miss Iris. Alex stuck with me. His parents hadn’t come to the meeting. I suspected most of the Spellcasters families were at the tavern and the workers had probably left a skeleton crew to take care of the tourists while other servers went to Town Hall to see what the fuss was about.

  Before I’d done it, I hadn’t been sure if bringing up Jagger was the right idea. But almost right away my unease had disappeared. Other residents seemed just as unsure about the shifter as I was. And no one had any solid information on the guy, which seemed strange.

  What had brought him here anyway? Wandstown was a sleepy little place. The biggest draw was that Spellcasters was nearby. But why would a random shifter just roll into town?

  Flashes of conversations in which Miss Iris had mentioned Jagger ran through my mind. Slowly, a thread that tied the conversations together emerged. The shifter seemed taken with Miss Iris’ father.

  I turned to Alex. “Do you know anything about the headmaster who ran Spellcasters before my mother?”

  Alex’s eyebrows knitted together. “I looked him up briefly just in case he came upon the mental exam. Like you said, he was the headmaster before your mother—for an extraordinarily long time too. Twenty years, I think. Before that he was a spy, also like your mother. On his biggest case he took down a ring of shifters, killing most of them. I think he had a personal motive for that one? If I recall correctly, one of the shifters had attacked him before. Other than that, I don’t know much. Why do you ask?”

  I nodded. That was information anyone could find in a textbook on Spellcasters history. However, I noticed that Alex had omitted the fact that Headmaster Bulspot had a daughter—Miss Iris. His lack of knowledge in this aspect of Spellcasters history wasn’t unexpected.

  Miss Iris had always kept quiet—or at least quiet for her—about her relationship to the ex-headmaster because he had enemies from his spy days. But Jagger was too young to have been one of those enemies.

  My gaze wandered over the buildings, to the edges of the woods that encompassed Wandstown. Occasionally, a ward glinted at the edge of town. Usually they were reassuring, but the more I thought about it, the more I had a sinking feeling that the foe we sought already had his claws into our quiet little village.

  My intuition was very strong that Jagger had something to do with Miss Iris’ disappearance, but things weren’t adding up as well as I’d have liked.

  I needed more information.

  Down the street a woman burst into tears and ran across the lane, away from the man she’d been walking with. Another recent run-in with Miss Iris came flooding back to me.

  “I don’t want to go to that dingy old cabin!” Miss Iris had yelled at Jagger.

  My spine straightened as an idea struck. Had he finally gotten her to go to a dingy old cabin? And if so, was it by force?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Wandstown was a secret supernatural town. Only certain humans who were involved with the PIA knew it existed, but even they had to get specific enchantments placed on them before stepping inside the town’s wards.

  But the area hadn’t always been that way.

  At the turn of the century, when the academy was still a school for high-risk human children, there were already a few settlers nearby. One such group was a human family, the Butchers, who claimed their roots in the wilds of Maine all the way back to the eighteenth century. The Butchers were notoriously hard and difficult people who disliked outsiders. When the school became a supernatural spy academy decades later, they were branded as a threat to nearby witches.

  A large-enough threat that the government informed the school that they planned on relocating the family against their will. The headmaster at the time didn’t want the Butchers to suffer, so he offered an alternative solution. Mind witches were brought in and made the process of the Butchers’ exit from the area relatively painless.

  Although the family hadn’t been around for decades, the residents of Wandstown still called the decrepit cabin that had once been their home Butcher cabin. To my knowledge it was the only permanent structure permitted outside the boundary wards of the town. Residents mostly ignored it, checking on the cabin only once or twice a year to make sure no one was squatting inside. It was the perfect place to hideout, so that was where Alex and I headed first.

  “How long did you say Miss Iris has been with this guy?” Alex asked as he batted a tree branch away from his face.

  I shrugged. “I’m not really sure. If I had to guess, I’d say that they haven’t been dating long. She broke up with one of the chefs who works at Spellcasters two or three months ago, so it couldn’t have been longer than that.”

  “So she’s had a lot of boyfriends?”

  My eyes narrowed and I glared at him, sensing judgment in his words. “Even if she did, that’s none of your business.”

  I liked Alex, but still, I did not need him shaming one of my favorite Wandstown residents.

 
Alex held up his hands. “Didn’t mean it that way. I only asked because if she’s had a lot of boyfriends, that would explain why no one really bothered to check this guy out.”

  My lips pressed together. He had a point. Out of all the Wandstown residents, Miss Iris was most likely to welcome a newcomer. And if he was single, handsome, and charming enough, she’d date him too. The other residents had probably just figured that Jagger was all right once Miss Iris started dating him. I wondered if Jagger had stumbled upon her. Or had he actually meant to use Miss Iris as a mark the whole time?

  I was still pondering what Jagger’s motives could possibly be when Alex stopped suddenly. Without a word he bent down and began examining what looked to be a patch of flowers in the meadow about a quarter mile away from the cabin.

  “I don’t really need flowers right now.” My voice was teasing although I was really wondering what the hell he was doing. “We’re kinda on an important mission.”

  Alex shook his head and waved me over. “This actually might be related to said mission. You see how the tops of all these flowers are missing?”

  I looked down. There was a bunch of flowers, all the same type, growing closely together. Within the bunch about twenty stems seemed to be missing their heads. “Yeah . . .”

  “Well, I know exactly what kind of flower this is and what it does to the human body.”

  I cocked my head. “What’s that?”

  Alex stopped fingering a bloomless stem and met my eyes. “When the petals are ground up with water and a few other common ingredients, they make a powerful sleeping elixir. I wonder if someone used it on Miss Iris?”

  My blood chilled. A sleeping elixir? Had someone drugged Miss Iris?

  I had trouble drawing breath. This could be getting more dangerous than I had anticipated. I stared into the woods, in the direction of Butcher cabin. If we went to get help, what would happen to Miss Iris in the meantime?