Term One

by K M Charron

  But everything looked the same, especially in the dead of night. It had been difficult enough finding the cavern for the second time in the light of day, but now, with her mother and two Elder witches in tow, it seemed impossible. If she couldn’t find it again, her mother would be livid, and Sydney had embarrassed herself enough for a lifetime. Surely she could do this one thing, right?

  The trees cleared into a small opening, and her intuition told her she was close. She closed her eyes and allowed her senses to expand in the space. “It’s over there.” Sydney did a cursory glance around the area, praying the shifter wasn’t lurking nearby, lying in wait for another opportunity to attack.

  By only the light of the moon, she led them the remainder of the way. She stopped and pointed past the ivy-covered mound. “It’s behind that. The ivy acts as camouflage. The hill dips down about twelve feet or so.” Her voice shook, and she fought to control it. She couldn’t show more self-doubt than she already had.

  Máthair McKellen, Ava’s mother and a woman full of grace, put a gentle hand on Sydney’s shoulder. Tears threatened to spring again, so Sydney pulled herself away from the kind woman’s touch. She didn't deserve such warmth at the moment.

  Her mother and the Elders slowly lowered themselves into the hole, dropping as though standing in a glass elevator. The gentle breeze of magic swept past Sydney as they descended.

  Sydney couldn’t levitate yet and was about to climb down the rope she'd left behind when she was lifted off the ground and landed, albeit a bit roughly, at the bottom of the hole—courtesy of her mother’s magic.

  Her mother stood before her, arms crossed. “Show me.”

  Sydney didn’t have the emotional wherewithal to conjure light in front of them, so she resorted to pulling out her phone. She aimed her flashlight beam at the door, and her legs nearly gave out from underneath her.

  “What is it?” Máthair McKellen asked, her hand reaching out to support Sydney.

  “The binding symbol that was on the door—it’s gone!” Syd cried out, approaching the now smooth wood and running her hands along it. There was no trace that any carving had ever existed. It was the same wood, the same doorknob, the same color and construction, but it was now completely blank. “I don’t understand. It was here.”

  Sydney turned the handle and pushed the door open, flashing her light from wall to wall and then from the dirt floor to earthen ceiling. Her mother stepped in, close on Sydney's heels. There was nothing etched into the dirt. The pentagram, the bones—it was all gone. “I don’t understand! It was here!” Sydney’s vision tunneled. What was happening? Was this some sick game?

  The Elders stepped inside after them. Her mother conjured an illumination spell, and its bright orb hovered above their heads.

  Sydney’s stomach rolled as she surveyed every inch of the room. Something had erased every magical symbol and rune on the floor and walls and removed the bones in the center of the pentagram. There was nothing left, no sign that any of it had ever existed. Her skin broke out in a fevered sweat.

  Seething, her mother said, “Is this some sort of joke?”

  “There were carvings all over here. I swear.” She bounced the light beam around the room again, praying that her eyes were playing tricks on her. “The bones lay in a pile there!”

  “And your word is so trustworthy.” Her mother turned to their companions, “My apologies. It seems my daughter has led us on a wild goose chase.”

  Sydney’s cheeks burned from the Elders’ shocked and pitying stares. “No, I didn’t. I'm not. Ancient magical symbols covered this place. Someone has gotten rid of them all.”

  Athair Elias ran a hand along one of the walls. “There’s no sign that anything was here, although it is odd that a room like this even exists.”

  “Perhaps someone did remove them,” Máthair McKellen said, the same care in her voice as before.

  Her mother’s arm flung out, grabbing hold of Sydney’s arm and squeezing her fingers into the soft tissue. “Or they never existed, and you’re making up lies to cover your misdeeds. Perhaps you have no idea what happened to Langston and Jake, and you’re inserting yourself once again somewhere you don’t belong.” She shook her head, roughly releasing Syd from her grip and making a tsk-tsk sound. “Always needing to be the center of attention.” Her nostrils flared, her face frighteningly shadowed under the light orb. She turned to face the Elders. “I apologize for dragging you out here in the middle of the night.”

  “But I’m not lying. I swear it!” Sydney rubbed the spot where her mother’s nails had dug in. She searched the Elder’s faces for any sign that they believed her. Máthair McKellen reached out to comfort Sydney, but her mother seized Sydney by the wrist, dragging her out of the room.

  “Back to the Nest. Not another word from you.”

  Sydney's mother, still furious, dropped her off in the Nest and left without a word. Syd had no idea where her mother was going, what she was about to do, and right now, she preferred not to know.

  An uneasy suspicion took hold in Sydney’s brain and wouldn’t shake loose. Why hadn’t her mother tried to get inside her head, like she always did? Sydney still wasn't strong enough to keep her out, and her mother would have known with certainty that Sydney was telling the truth. Why had her mother restrained herself from prying this time?

  It was nearly six in the morning and still pitch-black outside. Sydney’s bones ached, and her body buzzed from lack of sleep. She felt like she’d had five coffees, even though she could hardly keep her eyes open.

  Sydney crept into the Armory, where the apprentices were sleeping. They all looked so peaceful and unencumbered. She wondered if the last time she would feel that way was already a memory, never to return. Scanning the floor of slumbering bodies, she saw Ava’s white-blonde hair next to a blanketed heap that she guessed was Khourtney.

  She tiptoed toward them and lay down next to Ava, who stirred before opening her eyes.

  “Where were you?” Ava whispered. “I was worried. Are you okay?”

  Syd slid under the blanket and pulled it up to her neck, not bothering to take her jacket off. She was too freezing to even think of losing a layer of warmth. Every muscle in her body ached. “My mother brought me to the underground room.” The thickness in her throat returned. “The shifter must’ve been there. Every trace of Saskia’s spells is gone. So are the bones.”

  “Why didn’t I take pictures of everything?” She moaned, picturing Langston doubled over and wailing. She had failed him, again. “How are we ever going to trap and bind it now?”

  Then Sydney remembered that Ainsley had some photos on her phone. She’d transfer them to hers. She was determined not to show her mother though, not now, not after everything she’d insinuated tonight, but the photos would help her when they contacted Saskia.

  Ava stifled a yawn. “What else happened? What did your mother say?”

  Sydney grunted. “She accused me of being a liar.” She didn’t want to add the next part, but it was only a matter of time before Ava found out. “Your mother was there and Athair Elias, too.” She swallowed hard. “It was humiliating. She doesn’t believe me, and it’s not like I have anyone who can back me up now. I don’t want any of you involved, and nobody else can know about Ainsley.” She mouthed the name in case the witches surrounding them weren’t as asleep as they appeared.

  Ava sat up, her face washed with concern. “How can she not believe you? It attacked Langston and Jake. Isn’t that evidence enough?”

  Syd shrugged under the covers. “It doesn't matter. She’s not exactly keeping me in the loop.” Sydney snuggled closer to Ava, hoping it would ease the chill in her bones.

  “I’ll talk to my mother.” Ava rested her head against Sydney’s. “I can talk to yours, too.”

  “No.” Syd jerked up. The last thing she wanted was Ava coming to her rescue. Her mother already thought more of her friend than she did of her own daughter. “Leave it until she calms down.”

  Av
a nodded, and Sydney rested back down.

  “Has anyone heard about Langston? How is he?” It was an idiotic question. The shifter had excruciatingly ripped his magic—his entire identity—from him. How could he be?

  “Justin checked in on him a few hours ago. He said Langston wouldn’t talk; he just stared at the wall.”

  Her stomach flipped as if she were on a swing, flying through the air. “This is all my fault. I have to fix this.”

  Ava put her hand on Syd’s arm and looked around before whispering, “Well, Ainsley didn’t give you much of a choice. But now that our parents know, we have to let them take care of it. We have no idea what we’re dealing with, and things could get a lot worse. You can’t keep beating yourself up.”

  Sydney slid her arm away. She didn’t deserve anyone’s comfort. “Who am I supposed to blame then? I could’ve tried harder to stop her.”

  Ava tilted her head, her mouth a soft smile. “No, Syd. You couldn’t have known what was inside, and besides, she was going to open it with or without you. It was an innocent mistake.”

  “Nice of you to say, but we both know that’s bullshit. The door had a magical warding on it. What other hint did I need? I could’ve done more to stop her.”

  “You didn’t know it was housing something dangerous. I would’ve thought it was connected to the Nest somehow, like an off-site practice room or something like that. None of us would’ve predicted this type of entity.”

  “We shouldn’t be talking about this, not here where anyone can overhear us.”

  “Fine, but you’re exhausted. We’ll meet and plan tomorrow. We have the rest of the weekend to think. Try and get some rest.”

  Sydney nodded and closed her eyes, seeing only the pulsating mist and hearing only the echo of Jake and Langston’s screams.

  Ainsley

  “Would you believe it if I told you that this is my first Ashcroft party?” Harper flipped through Ainsley’s closet. “I don’t see why your outfit matters, though. You’ll have your coat on the whole time. Besides, Justin already likes you.” Harper pulled out Ainsley’s black satin formal dress and a blue and green long sleeve plaid shirt. “It doesn’t matter if you wear this or this.”

  Her friend was right about the outfit. Justin wouldn’t care what she wore, and she didn’t even know for sure if he was interested in her that way anymore. Besides, they had much bigger things to concern themselves with. What was wrong with her? Thinking about a guy, albeit a hot guy, when there was a dangerous shapeshifter eating the insides of helpless animals and morphing into unsuspecting people? It was just poor form.

  The thought of going straight to bed seemed more appealing than ever, but she needed to get to the party. When she found Justin or Sydney, she could let them know that the shifter had impersonated Winslow and that she suspected touch was how it morphed identities.

  “Hello, earth to Ainsley,” Harper said in an exasperated tone.

  “What? Oh, sorry.” She felt a slight heat in her cheeks.

  “Anything you want to talk about? This is the third time you’ve zoned out in the last hour.” Harper closed the distance between them and held an azure cable-knit sweater up to Ainsley’s chest. Tilting her head, she said, “I like this one. It brings out your eyes.” Pulling it down, she slumped back onto the foot of the bed. “Does this have to do with your dad? Did you find something on his laptop, after all? I haven’t wanted to ask, but you’ve been acting increasingly weird.” She gave a wry wink, “And that’s coming from me.”

  Ainsley wanted to tell Harper everything, but she decided to go with partial honesty instead. Her dad had liked to say that any convincing lie had some truth to it. “I haven’t spoken to any of my old friends in weeks, and the last few times that I talked to my mom, I had to call her.” Sitting next to Harper, she reached over and collected the sweater from her lap. She stroked it, getting lost in its calming softness. It reminded her of the blanket she’d slept with as a child.

  “I’m sorry, Ains. I know it’s hard. You move away, and everyone you left behind only has to miss one person, but you have to miss them all.”

  “You warned me it would happen. I just didn’t think my mom would be a part of the abandonment.” The truth was, she hadn’t called her mother in weeks, and her mother hadn’t tried to contact her, not even a text or email. It was just more evidence that Ainsley was a painful reminder.

  “And no, I haven’t found anything else on the laptop. Could you try and hack in again? I know you’re crazy busy, but it’s important to me.” She could barely meet Harper’s eyes.

  Harper paled slightly. “Um, about that. I hope you’re not mad, but I took a crack at it last week.”

  Ainsley’s throat thickened, and she could barely swallow. “You what?” Her mind raced with all the possibilities of what could be in there. There was a reason her dad had encrypted them, after all. Oh, God.

  "I know. I probably shouldn’t have done it without telling you first, but I was hoping to surprise you with the news. And I didn’t want to disappoint you if I failed again.” She looked at her hands. “Please don’t be angry. I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy, I swear. I mean, you’d already asked me to do it once.”

  “Yeah, with me there!” Ainsley clarified, but she cut herself off, not wanting to make Harper suspicious. As far as Harper knew, those files were just a mixture of generic work notes and home movies.

  Harper’s mouth opened. “Uh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It seemed really important for you to gain access, so I—”

  Ainsley put a hand up. “It’s okay. I’m overreacting. This is more about me being stressed out than anything you did.” She sucked in a calming breath to steady the shakiness in her body. “Were you able to get in?” She bit the inside of her mouth as she waited for the answer.

  Harper stared blankly at her. Ainsley’s stomach tightened as the air left her lungs. Oh no, she’s seen something.

  “I still can’t break through his firewall.” She looked despondent. “I’m so sorry.”

  Ainsley fought between disappointment and relief. “It’s okay. We can try again later.” She realized now that she might have to fill Harper in on everything after all. She had no way to know what would pop onto the screen once Harper finally got in, and it wasn’t like Ainsley could do this without her.

  Ainsley stood and pulled the sweater from Harper’s grasp. “This is perfect.” She slid it on and bundled up in a jacket, scarf, and hat. She was even wearing a pair of tights under her jeans.

  “So, you’re not mad at me?” Harper asked sheepishly.

  “No, but please wait for me to be there when you try again, okay?”

  Nodding, Harper said, “Cross my heart.” She did her best to look nonchalant as she pulled on her coat. “So, did you say Jax was going to be there?”

  Ainsley kept her voice steady in reply. “He is. But remember what I told you, he and Gabe haven’t been broken up for that long. They went out for a long time.” She didn’t want to say the next, obvious part, but felt it was needed. “And he is … gay, Harper.”

  “I know he dated Gabe, but I’ve also heard that he might like girls too. Sexuality is a spectrum, after all, and besides,” her voice turned frazzled all of a sudden, “three months is practically a year in teen time. I’m sure he’s over it by now.”

  She didn’t argue since she didn’t know Jax well enough to know his orientation with any accuracy. The last thing she wanted was for Harper to get hurt, though, whether it be from a crazy shapeshifter or a broken heart. “Ready?” she sighed, glad to change the subject.

  Harper beamed at her. It was the kind of expression that pulled at Ainsley’s core.

  “Be open, Ains. Tonight could be the night that changes everything, for both of us.”

  She hoped to God that Harper was wrong.

  Sydney

  The November air felt crisp against Sydney’s skin. She inhaled deeply, and the earthy smell of dried leaves relaxed her—well, a
s much as anything could relax her. She’d been grief-stricken since Máthair Bello announced that Langston’s magic was gone.

  How would he ever forgive her?

  Sydney still heard the gasps from Langston and Jake inside her head. They echoed and rattled there, and she had no means to escape them—not music, not meditation, and not sleeping. But doing nothing was worse.

  She needed to be proactive and catch this thing before someone else she cared about suffered. So here she was, on her way to a stupid party in the middle of the woods where the shifter could be hiding in plain sight as any of Ashcroft’s thousand-plus middlings. Going was a necessary evil. She planned to end the shifter’s reign of terror tonight.

  All the apprentices promised the Elders that they would stay inside the dorms tonight, but since Sydney was already lying and hiding so much, why not add this one? She and her friends couldn’t sit idly in their rooms as instructed with the shifter on the loose. Considering Langston’s current state, it hadn’t taken much convincing to get everyone on board to sneak out into the woods. It could be any one of them next if they didn’t stop the entity.

  Sydney, Justin, Ava, Jax, and Khourtney trudged through the damp grass alongside hundreds of other students. That was the wondrous part of an outdoor gathering—no restrictions. The Ashcroft staff turned a blind eye to them, which always surprised her since they seemed to love micromanaging every other aspect of students’ lives. Maybe they figured it was better than students trying to party inside, possibly damaging one of their overpriced tapestries or stuffed birds.

  “I know I agreed to this, but now that we’re here I can’t help but think that this is a seriously stupid idea,” Justin said before they passed into the tree line. “It could be anywhere.”