by Logan Jacobs
“Let’s get this bitch.” I grinned.
We sped onward and ran down a grayish-green hill and past the black trees and thick, prickly branches that tried to stop us from moving ahead. I was running so fast I could hear the blood pumping in my ears, and my chest felt tight as my heart continued to hammer violently against my chest.
She was nearby. I could feel it.
Well done, human, the carcinus said. You’re getting closer than I thought you would.
I thought I’d have to keep running until I passed out, but then, in the distance, I spotted something red and still straight ahead of me. I stopped dead in my tracks, and Alexander came up quietly behind me.
You can see me, can’t you? she asked. I bet you want to squish me for being such a little pest.
“No,” I muttered, “I just want to catch you.”
Well, you found me… she giggled. I didn’t expect our connection to last this long… there is a strength that lingers in you… one others do not possess.
“What are you talking about?” I asked as I took a small step forward.
The carcinus still hadn’t moved, and I was hoping she would remain still enough for me to catch her.
I’m just a simple creature, with thoughts of my own, she replied mysteriously. What do I know?
“Maybe you know more than you’re letting on,” I replied as I took another small step.
Perhaps, she answered. Even so, I don’t feel like talking to you or returning to that jar, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be on my way now.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” I growled before I quickly raised my wand.
She was about to wriggle away, but I was too quick for her.
“Conligo!” I shouted.
The creature stopped right in her tracks as a blast of light hit her in the back.
Shit, she screeched. Foul, loathsome human!
Nice one, Cole! Alexander squeaked.
“Thanks,” I breathed.
I headed down to pick up the carcinus, and when I snatched her, she remained frozen in my hand. I knew once the spell faded, she would put up a fight, so I held on to her tightly, and Alexander hopped by my side as we made our way back to the professor.
“So,” I said after a while. “What did you mean back there?”
There was no response, and I looked down at the red creature in my hand. She blinked her eyes, but there was no voice in my head.
“Um,” I said slowly, “hello?”
She can’t speak anymore, Alexander replied. I think once you held her, the spell faded away.
“Oh,” I muttered, and I was somewhat disappointed. “Well, that makes sense, I suppose.”
When we returned to the border of the forest, Professor Evanora was waiting there with a small smile on her beautiful face. Her hands were clasped together, and she looked like a goddess on the field.
Then I spotted one of the twins on the ground, and she was twirling grass in between her fingers. I noticed bits and pieces of red crustacean around her, and I figured she accidentally killed her creature before she could actually hunt it down using soul senses. It was the twin with the pink strand of hair, and she glared at me when I approached Evanora with the creature in my hands.
“Well done, Cole,” the pink-haired woman said before I handed her the strange little beast.
“Professor,” I muttered, “that thing… she said something strange while I was hunting her down--”
“Oh, pay no need to that,” she chuckled. “These little troublemakers are known for being tricksters when placed under a soul spell.”
“But--” I started to say until she interrupted me.
“Look, here comes your coven.” She gestured.
I couldn’t tell if she was trying to distract me, or if she was genuinely glad to see they had returned. Either way, I turned around and my face broke out into a smile. My witches each carried a carcinus in their hands, and they’d successfully completed the task.
“Nasty little fuckers.” Akira smirked before she handed hers over to Evanora. “That wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” Faye added. “I might love animals, but this one was just a pain in the ass.”
“Not to mention how incredibly rude they were,” Morgana sighed as she handed her creature off and dusted her hands. “Mine felt the need to continuously call me a ‘beastly little bitch.’”
Akira burst out laughing, and Morgana just rolled her eyes.
“Hey,” I chuckled. “I think the most important thing here is we completed the exercise and made it back before the others.”
“Yeah.” Vesta nodded. “He’s right… we managed to do what we set out to do.”
“Which is why you can stop bragging and return to the castle,” Evanora replied with a small smile. “Well done, you lot. Now, if I were you, ladies, I would spend the rest of your valuable time trying to grow those familiars of yours. The first game is in three days, and you won’t find mice to be all that useful. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for the other group to return, which could be a while.”
“Yes, Professor.” Morgana nodded. “We won’t stop until we succeed.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” The pink-haired woman smiled.
We left Evanora and the grounds to make our way to the library. As the pink-haired professor mentioned, we only had three days to grow the rest of the familiars, and I was worried we wouldn’t be able to in time.
For the next two days, we went to Evanora’s lessons and then spent all our spare time in the study hall. We tried to grow the other familiars, but so far, nothing had happened.
Finally, on the day before the first game, Akira lost all her patience.
“What in the fucking hell?” she cried out as she glared down at her familiar, a squirrel named Damien. “Why won’t they just grow?”
“You have to be patient, Akira,” Morgana said.
“We have been patient,” she hissed. “And what good has it done us? The first tournament is tomorrow, for fuck’s sake.”
“Yelling isn’t going to get you anywhere,” Morgana snapped.
“You know what, Morgana--” Akira growled until I raised my hand up to interrupt her.
“She’s right, Akira,” I said. “We need to be free of all emotion when we do this. You’re completely angry, frustrated, and impatient, and it’s blocking your ability to use soul magic. It’s similar to premonition… you need to clear your mind. Not constantly worry.”
“Can you blame me for being anxious?” she bit back. “The first game is tomorrow!”
“No, I don’t blame you,” I sighed. “But you’re not the only one feeling this way.”
“Whatever,” the black-eyed witch grumbled as she slumped in her seat.
“You’re all stressed out,” I said as I turned to look at the others and forced a smile. “I get it, and I know it’s a difficult feeling to control, but you’re going to have to try and manage your feelings.”
“How?” Akira demanded.
“Everyone take a long, deep breath,” I ordered. “Close your eyes, and just focus on the air around you. Feel the darkness and soak it up.”
My women did as they were told, and I carefully watched them as they sat there, still as stone. Their breasts heaved up and down in a steady rhythm as they took in deep, steady breaths, and I could feel their turbulent emotions through our bond.
“Now, I know it may seem silly, but just try and free your mind from all the chaos that is preventing you from excelling,” I said. “Do not worry about the things you cannot control. Focus instead on the presence around you.”
They remained quiet and kept their eyes squeezed shut. I briefly wondered if this would work, because if it didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to compete with a full-grown familiar. When I felt like the air around me had settled, and their minds had been freed, though, I knew it was time for them to try one more time.
“Alright,” I said, “open your eyes.
“Now, try again,” I whispered. “You can do this.”
The witches slowly closed their eyes again and began to mutter the spell. At first, nothing happened, and I was nearly prepared to give up entirely until my eyes widened in amazement.
Slowly, each familiar started to morph into something else. Akira’s familiar began to tremble and squeal as scales started to replace its fur. It was beginning to change into a baby-sized, blue komodo dragon with bright golden eyes and a bulky tail with spikes on the end.
Faye’s creature continued to grow a long neck as its fur started to shift to white, and it took me a moment to realize it was turning into a ferret.
Morgana’s animal also began to grow, and its eyes turned black as its fur changed from brown to black, white, and gray. A small raccoon had replaced the pathetic little mouse, and finally, Vesta’s familiar turned into a chevrotain, with hooved feet and tiny, curious dark eyes.
Even though the process had caused the familiars to squeak and squawk, none of the witches opened their eyes during the transformation. Perhaps they were afraid to see what laid beneath them.
“You did it!” I exclaimed. “Hey, open your eyes! You did it!”
Each witch slowly peeled their eyes open, as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but when they looked down and saw their familiars’ new forms, the coven couldn’t contain their excitement.
“Oh, Damien!” Akira exclaimed, and a broad grin stretched across her usually sour face. “You look fucking fantastic.”
The blue komodo dragon looked up at the short-haired witch and playfully stuck its tongue out at her, so Akira giggled and scooped him up to look at him more closely.
Morgana started to whisper with her own familiar and shook her head whenever the raccoon said something she didn’t approve of, while Vesta and Faye couldn’t stop smiling as they petted their individual animals.
Well, they did it! Alexander cheered. Nice work.
“Yep, they did,” I quietly replied.
I knew they would.
We were all laughing amongst each other until Morgana’s familiar suddenly jumped away from the table and made a run for it.
“Silvia!” the brunette cried out. “Just where the hell do you think you’re going?”
She ran off and followed after her disobedient raccoon, and we all grabbed our own familiars and bolted after her.
“Wow,” Akira panted, “Silvia is a bit of a bitch, isn’t she?”
“Well, she did say that you and Silvia had a lot in common,” Vesta snickered.
We struggled to not laugh as we followed Morgana down a corridor I was not familiar with and through a small arched doorway. An unsettling feeling coursed through me as we headed through it, though. There was a flight of stone steps leading downstairs to a level I’d never been down to before. Morgana had already flown down the steps and was probably halfway down there, but I had a bad feeling about something or someone who was down there.
“Wait!” I called out. “Morgana, wait up!”
She didn’t listen. She continued to fly down the steps, and we all followed behind her. When we finally came to a stop, we all stood there and stared down the pale stone hallway. There were no paintings down here, which seemed highly unusual. The floors were also bare, and the only thing down here were wall sconces to light the way and plain wooden doors along the walls.
When we spotted Morgana, she was crouched down, and even with her back turned, we could tell she was struggling to control Silvia. When she finally stood up and turned around, she held the squirming raccoon in her hands again.
“Great, you have the little bitch,” Akira breathed. “Can we go, now? Something feels weird about these hallways.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re not supposed to be down here?” a familiar voice giggled.
I saw a flash of blue appear from the corner of the hall, and I realized it was Nyx. Her bright, piercing eyes bored into mine as she smiled at me, but she turned away and focused on Morgana before she broke into cruel laughter.
“Did you have a little trouble with your familiar?” she snickered. “They can be tricky little pests, can’t they?”
“They’re only tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing,” another voice said.
Another witch turned around the same corner and laughed. It was the witch I’d made eye contact with from the banquet hall. She tossed back her long, burgundy hair and grinned a sharp-toothed smile. Her small red horns twinkled under the dim firelight, and she crossed her arms before leaning against the wall.
“You’re going to have to learn to control your beasts before the game,” Nyx told Morgana. “Or, actually, on second thought, maybe don’t. Let us just have an easy win. We all know Scholomance doesn’t stand a chance, isn’t that right, Esther?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Akira growled. “Why don’t you go back to wherever you crawled out from, and we can settle this tomorrow, witch to witch?”
“Maybe you should crawl back upstairs where you belong,” the horned witch spat. “You’re the ones who are trespassing. These halls were assigned for Vipera students, by your own headmistress, so I suggest you make yourselves scarce.”
“Fine, we’ll leave,” Vesta replied. “Try not to worry too much about tomorrow, where we can settle this on the field.”
“Oh, we can’t wait for that,” the burgundy witch giggled. “We’re going to crush you, and those warlock pricks.”
“We’ll see about that,” Morgana said with her chin raised.
“Would you rather settle it now?” Nyx teased.
“Nah, fuck that,” Faye growled, and her green-gold eyes flashed in the dim light. “Come on, let’s get out of here… they aren’t worth it.”
We glared at them one last time before we turned our backs on them.
“Ta-ta,” the Vipera witches cooed before bursting into laughter.
“What a bunch of bitches,” Akira said as we climbed back up the stairs.
“You only met two of them,” Morgana pointed out. “Technically, it was a couple of bitches.”
“Well, two were enough,” the black-eyed witch hissed. “Satan, I wanted to punch both of them in their smug little faces.”
“Just save that anger for the game,” I said.
We were all about to head our separate ways until we heard quick, angry footsteps approaching, and we turned around and saw Vanessa marching toward us in a long deep emerald gown and black boots. She looked irritated, more so than usual, and I wondered if it had anything to do with our little trespassing down at the Vipera level.
“Professor,” Morgana greeted when Vanessa approached us. “Is something wrong--?”
“Come with me,” she interrupted in a firm voice before she whipped around and went through a door on our right-hand side.
We all looked at each other and shrugged before we followed her through the corridor. We flew up a flight of stairs before we reached a massive painting of a beautiful, blonde woman in long, dark robes and piercing blue eyes. Vanessa muttered the spell “templum” under her breath, and the painting swung open and revealed a long, black stone stairwell that led up to another level. As soon as she pushed past an arched, black wood doorway, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
We were staring at a massive living room with an extensive fireplace and a wall covered in books. Deep red carpets covered the sleek wooden floors, and there were black antique sofas placed in front of the fire. A gorgeous and intricate black iron and diamond chandelier dangled from the ceiling, but what really caught my attention was the massive clear window placed in between two narrow staircases. It was the only window in the castle that was large and clear enough to see the grounds down below. The sky was a deep crimson, and purple clouds had drifted over the woodlands.
I was rendered speechless by the magnificent view. I could hardly believe it.
“Professor
?” I began in an awed tone. “What--?”
“These are your new quarters,” Vanessa cut me off in a bored tone. “I don’t care if you like it, but we decided it would make more sense for you all to share a space so I don’t have to keep running around trying to collect you lot. The meeting room is here, as you can obviously see, and Cole, your room is up on the right staircase, and ladies, you are on the left. Have a good night.”
Before we could even say a word, she left and slammed the door behind her.
“Something tells me she didn’t approve of this idea,” Morgana muttered.
“She probably hates that we’re getting special treatment.” Akira shrugged with a grin. “But who gives a broom-flying fuck! Look at this space, it’s all ours!”
“It is incredible.” Morgana nodded.
“Well, as amazing as it is,” I said, “I suggest we take full advantage of it after the game tomorrow.”
“You’re right.” Vesta nodded. “We should probably get to sleep.”
“Goodnight,” I said before I headed up the small flight of stairs and into my own bedroom.
For a moment, I was confused because it looked just like my old room. The only difference was the bed was slightly larger, and so was the bathroom. Alexander, who had been hopping by my side, sprung up onto the bed and curled up into a ball.
Nice digs, he said before he softly began to snore.
I was also ready to fall asleep, even though my mind was racing with thoughts about tomorrow. There was no point in dwelling on what I could not control, so I forced myself to fall asleep, and when I woke up the next morning, I smiled to myself.
I was ready to win this fucking game, and all the rest to come.
Chapter 6
I quickly pulled myself out of bed and let Alexander catch a few more winks before I got dressed. Today was the day. It was our very first game, and I wondered what it would be like. I’d dreamt of various scenarios. Some were of dragons in an abandoned castle, and others included mermaids and underwater caves.
It really could have been anything, but with Theodora in charge, I knew whatever awaited us was going to be brutal as hell.