by Jami Klein
“Squawk!” I said. Hmmm. So much for being able to speak in bird form.
Stefan shook me off and I hit the ground hard as a human.
“That hurts less. The shifting back. You’d think it would hurt more.” I babbled to the ground.
“This is a clan matter. The FBMI do not need to be involved.”
Coach Kramer sighed. “Fine, then. Can we either get on with it or give me back my phone so I can tell Magee we’re going to be late?”
Someone tossed him his phone and he walked away muttering about how teenage shifters were a pain in the backside.
“Her bracelets are gone,” Serena shrieked.
Oh no. I should have remembered the illusion. But I had flown. I shifted into a bird. A raven, even.
“State your terms,” War snarled at Janine.
“No terms. Lola Bragg is innocent. That one,” Janine pointed at Serena. “Hexed the bandage and slipped it into Lola’s kit.”
“Liar. She’s controlling you like she tried to control War.”
I picked up my head. “Witch, if I wanted to control someone, I’d start with you.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Well, she asked for it. I could always use that as my defense. “Tell the truth,” I barked, putting all my anger and fear and the residual pain from the shift into it.
Serena flew backward and landed on her butt.
“Get up,” I commanded.
The wolves sank low and got into a defensive crouch that could lead into an attacking pounce.
Shakily, Serena got to her feet.
“Did you hex the bandage?” Janine said.
Serena clamped her mouth shut, but she was unable to stop her head from bobbing up and down in a yes motion.
“Did you put it in Lola’s kit?” Janine continued.
Again with the yes bobbing.
“Why?” I asked, stunned.
“Because I hate you,” Serena had tears streaming down her face.
“Why?” I asked again.
“Because your father broke my father’s mind.” She sobbed.
Famine shifted back to human, secured his towel around his waist and put his arms around Serena.
War gaped at her. “What did I ever do to you?”
“I didn’t think it would be you. It was supposed to be him.” Serena pointed at Stefan. “But he’s impossible to take down. I wanted her to bandage him and have him turn against her.”
“Why?” It was all I could say. I stared down at my hand and wondered why there weren’t talons. Where were my black feathers?
“I wanted you to be vulnerable. I wanted you to be afraid. So you would know what it’s like to have your father and your world torn apart.”
“I know that feeling. It’s happened to me.” My skin itched. I couldn’t bear this human meat shell a moment longer. My neck cracked as I rolled it around my shoulders. I didn’t like being on the ground.
“Poor little Lola.”
“Is the wolf clan satisfied?” Janine droned.
“We are,” War said grudgingly.
“Are the witches satisfied?” Janine turned to Tracy.
Tracy nodded.
“I am not satisfied,” Serena said. “I won’t be satisfied until she is neutered and as mundane as a cabbage.”
“Get used to disappointment,” I said and burst back into a raven again. It didn’t hurt this time. It felt free.
“The unkindness will watch out for our own. We will return to the Jewel Academy as is our blood oath and make sure Lola does as well.” I heard Janine say, but then I was flying faster than I ever dreamed possible. My brothers and sisters joined me, and no one tried to stop me. No one tried to force me into being something I wasn’t.
I was unkindness and I always would be.
***
Headmistress Magee was waiting for us in the courtyard amidst the gargoyle statues. It was late that night after the football game. I was exhausted, but at peace. All my questions were quieted and could wait for another day and time. I was still a witch, but somehow, I had also been a raven shifter.
All my life, I never realized. Never felt the call to shift. If I hadn’t come to Jewel Academy, I may have never known. The night felt unworldly, like I was finally a part of something greater. Something ethereal that couldn’t be touched by man or magic.
I shifted back into human, fully clothed directly in front of Magee. The rest of the unkindness scattered to their nests. Dorms, I corrected. It was hard to shift back into what I had been before, so I didn’t try. I was still Lola. Only a little bit more. I looked up at the night sky longingly, but I was tired. My wings ached and I just wanted to crawl into bed.
I didn’t fear the bracelets anymore, though. I held out my hands to be shackled with them again, but Magee just smiled at me.
“I didn’t join a coven,” I said.
“Perhaps you’ll lead one. In the meantime, I think you have been made aware of the great power you wield with your mind and the consequences of using it.”
“I have,” I said.
“I told you when you first came here that I believed in rehabilitation. You still have a lot to learn and I don’t think you would thrive at a place like the Coven School for Girls. You will not be required to be shackled, but you will remain here until you graduate.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” I said. “I belong here now.”
Epilogue
The mundanes had a great scare during the haunted hayride to Hellion Falls. A lion harassed the wagon, being beaten back by a pack of wolves. Vampires flitted among them, flirting and menacing, depending on their mood. And at the end of the wagon trail, a coven of thirteen witches danced around a cauldron of candy and summoned a giant grizzly bear, who smelled like green gummi bears.
Then candy, popcorn balls, and apple cider was shared before the crowd went home. And if a few humans had lost a pint or so of blood or had been frighteningly made aware of how powerful a shape shifter was against a mere mortal, well that was the risk you took when you consorted with monsters. The Enforcers watched it all and made sure it didn’t get too out of hand.
The witches took off their black hats and robes and split back up into their individual covens to celebrate Samhain in their own way. Tracy’s coven held a séance. Priscilla’s coven built up a bonfire and danced around it. Serena’s coven tended the gardens and gave thanks to the harvest and welcomed winter.
I was going back down to the Archives and light white candles all around the restricted section. This time I wasn’t going to be alone. The unkindness would be with me, and I asked Stefan and Andrei if they would join me. We weren’t a pack, not yet. But we were friends.
Maybe my father and Delia would appear and answer questions. Or maybe they were in the Summerland visiting loved ones. It didn’t matter. I’d get the answers to my questions sooner or later. But I was done letting my need for answers control my life.
With the lighting of the candles, I let the negatively burn away. I had entered a new chapter in my life right now and the old one was shed like the cocoon on a butterfly.
Lola’s adventures continue in City of Emeralds. Exclusively on Amazon….
Jewel Academy Book Three: City of Emeralds
Jewel Academy Book Four: Ocean of Sapphires
Jewel Academy Book Five: Blood of the Ruby