“So you have a chance to admire the view,” he said when I tried to carry at least one thing.
And he was not wrong. My neck hurt after seconds from my trying to crane and take in every detail around me.
The architecture was astounding, all gothic and stonework, just like Edgar’s home. Gargoyles clung to the rooftops, too and I wondered what had been built first: Edgar’s home or this school. Both looked old, very old.
“How old is this school?” I finally asked.
“Old,” was Edgar’s reply and I huffed. “Just wait until you meet Elsa. She’s the headmistress here. She used to be a teacher, back when your mom attended but has since moved up in the world. I think headmistress suits her quite well.”
“Course she knew Mom,” I muttered worriedly. “I hope they got along.”
“Are you kidding? Everyone loved Mahlia, Elsa included.”
The main building was pretty empty; we only passed a few curious teenagers I assumed were students, decked out in street clothes.
I supposed with it being a weekend, most of the students were either in their dorms or out doing extracurriculars. The school seemed normal enough, and we rode the elevator—which took me completely off guard—up to the top floor of the main building, the sixth floor. This was where the headmistress’s office was, and I was shaking by the time we reached her door.
This floor was pretty eerie, to say the least. It was decorated a lot like Edgar’s home—ancient artifacts lining the hall, red carpets, and historical paintings depicting some rather gruesome looking battle scenes with mystical creatures thrown in.
“I see you, and the headmistress have similar tastes,” I said, as we walked down the stretch of hall that led to a private office.
Edgar laughed, and he tapped on the large double doors. “Trust me, soon enough, so will you.”
I was staring at him, confused, when a voice from inside the office had me tugging at a strand of my hair and me wondering if I could postpone this meeting a bit longer and get my nerves under control.
“Come in,” a woman’s voice called.
Edgar burst in, full of energy. “Elsa,” he called happily, leaving my luggage outside in the hall.
I heard the woman inside murmur a reply, but my feet were frozen.
My heart pounded, and I was dizzy, but then Edgar called my name, and I had no choice, but to cautiously step into the office.
The space was basically a giant library with more books than I’d seen at Edgar’s house. They were stacked on top of each other haphazardly on the shelves and in the corners of the room, even covering half the large desk set back by the massive windows open to the afternoon breeze. Beyond the window was a large stone balcony overlooking the grounds and I almost smiled, amused to see more gargoyles decorating the railing.
“So, who have you brought me today?”
I swallowed hard and held out a hand, unsure of what else to do as the woman approached me.
I tried to speak, but her penetrating stare stopped the words in my throat, and eventually, I let my hand fall lamely to my side.
The headmistress seemed a bit more youthful than I had imagined, considering she was a teacher when my mom attended, but her dark brunette hair was graying slightly, pulled back in a severe bun that looked like it hurt.
I imagined working with kids all day every day did that to a person.
She wore a tight black jacket with a black and red polka dot pencil skirt. Her lipstick matched the polka dots perfectly, as did her nails. She walked once around me in a circle and tapped one bright red nail on her chin as she studied me closely.
“You know, I should be furious with you,” she said as she turned from me to face Edgar.
He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “You know me, famous for last-minute favors.”
Her sudden glare of annoyance said she didn’t like that answer and inwardly I groaned.
Clearly, this woman already had it out for me.
She motioned to the two chairs in front of the large desk. “You can both sit while we discuss our current predicament.”
“It’s not a predicament,” Edgar argued lightly as we sat, me trying hard to ignore this woman who appeared happy to judge my every move. “It has been a while; shouldn’t we catch up first?”
Her eyes broke from me at last, and she shot Edgar a rather menacing glare. “It has been a while, Edgar, and to think that after all this time we only speak because you insisted on a favor.” Her voice practically hissed.
Oh my God, she doesn’t want me here, I thought in horror.
I knew it. This was all a horrible mistake, and Edgar was going to realize he was stuck with me and then what? I wasn’t even sure what to say in my defense to this woman who didn’t even know who I was, so I kept my lips firmly shut and let my great uncle figure it out.
“Now, Elsa,” Edgar said with a smile. “This would have been a much more pleasant confrontation if you had just granted me my favor, to begin with, instead of my having to—”
“Go to the board behind my back?” Elsa snarled. “When I said she wasn’t ready, I meant it. She’s not ready, not after what I was told.”
I was shaking. I felt both nervous and a bit of anger toward this woman—was I really so unwelcome? And, for what reason? Wasn’t ready for what? Some rich boarding school? If she was going to be this snobby about it because I grew up broke, then I wasn’t sure I wanted to be here anymore.
“Don’t be so cruel, Elsa,” Edgar said. “She’s here, and now you are going to have to deal with it. There is no going back, not now, and you know it.”
Elsa glanced at me, and I stiffened. Without breaking her stare, she asked Edgar, “How much does she know?”
Edgar just shrugged. “I thought I’d let you figure that part out.”
Elsa barked a bitter laugh. “You haven’t told her a thing, have you? I don’t like mortal-raised leeches in my school, not after the incidents we’ve had to deal with in the past, Mahlia’s daughter or not.” Her gaze slipped to the necklace I still wore.
With that comment, I raised my hand to it on instinct. My brain was still trying to comprehend the insult she’d thrown at me too when she pointed at my face from across the desk.
“Can you fly a broom?” she asked.
“Um,” was all that came out of my mouth. “I’m sorry, what?”
“What is the importance of a witch’s artifact?” she spat out next.
I just stared blankly at her for a moment before working up enough courage to respond. “Is this a joke?” I looked at Edgar. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but this isn’t funny at all.”
Elsa’s face grew slightly pale and softened. “Did you even tell her what sort of school this was before bringing the poor girl here?”
“Should I have?” he asked. “Honestly, I thought she would think I was crazy if she didn’t see some sort of evidence.”
“Evidence you could have provided,” she stated.
“Not quite as charming as yours,” he teased. “It’s good to learn on one’s feet.”
“I’m not playing show-monkey.” She rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you just let me handle your grandniece. I already have a student administrator picked out for her who is on his way. I can see that you have left everything for me to fill in the poor girl on.”
“His way?” Edgar questioned, bristling. “You couldn’t have found a nice young girl to do it?”
“Trust me, she’ll be just fine.”
I was not so distracted by wondering what it was I needed to be filled in on to not notice the way my great uncle had just barked at the idea of a guy leading me around campus. A part of me wanted to smile at that. It was nice to have an adult male relative react that way.
“Yes, his way,” Elsa said. “Jared Winchester III.”
Jared Winchester the Third? Who names their kids like that anymore?
“Winchester. The Third. Ah,” Edgar said as though it was something prestigious. “Tha
t will do.” He rose, and I did the same, wondering what was going on when he gave me a hug and stepped back. “Give me a call once you’re settled in. I’m sure Elsa will take good care of you.”
“Wait, you’re leaving?”
“It’s best I do, before Elsa loses her temper and does something she’d regret.”
“Don’t think I would regret it,” Elsa muttered.
“You’ll be fine, Everest, just remember, everything you’re about to learn is going to tell you exactly who you are. Who you’re meant to be. You’re safe here. You’re home.”
And, just like that, he left me with the crazy woman who just a moment before was asking me if I knew how to fly a broom.
An awkward silence filled the office after Edgar left, and I slowly turned back around and took my chair again. I wasn’t sure what was going on or what I was supposed to think of this woman now looking at me with an intrigued stare.
Trying just to fill the silence, I spoke out of that anxiousness. “So, Uncle Edgar tells me you taught my mom back in the day?”
“An excellent student,” Elsa said simply, and her eyes darkened with sadness. “It’s a shame, what happened to her.”
I frowned. Apparently, everyone in the state of Virginia knew my mom’s business. “She’s doing fine,” I snapped, but then swallowed hard, wondering if we were even talking about the same thing. “What ah, what do you know about it?”
“Just as much as you do, I’m sure.” Her voice softened slightly, and she lost the attitude for a moment. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry because I know that’s not true, about her doing fine. Listen, Everest… you’re going to learn a lot about your mom here. She was… a bit of a legacy. The students are all probably perfectly aware of your mother’s condition, and I just want to warn you upfront. Children, especially high schoolers… they can be cruel.”
“You sure have changed your tone all of a sudden. I thought I wasn’t welcome in your precious school. Why is that?”
I hardly ever lost my temper, but I didn’t like when people acted two-faced. And Edgar up and leaving me irked me, and seeing Slade at the mall was still on my mind. Then this weird talk of brooms and witches… I was quickly running out of patience for people not being straight with me.
“Because you don’t know what you are,” Elsa let the words linger for a moment.
I blinked blankly at her. “What I am? What does that mean?”
She folded her hands on her desk and leaned forward. “Do you even know the name of this school?”
“No, I don’t, actually,” I said slowly, realizing Edgar had never told me anything about this place except it was a great school and Mom came here. “I don’t think it came up.”
“Draekson’s School of the Arcane,” she said.
Silence met her words before I snorted, amused by this joke she seemed content to keep carrying on. But she remained serious. “No, what… no. Magic isn’t real.”
“Yes, it is,” she said so sure of herself, I was concerned for my sanity.
“No… not. It’s just all stories and fairy-tales. This is all a joke, right? A prank you play on new students?”
This was insane. There was no such thing as magic or witches…
I narrowed my eyes as something over Elsa’s shoulder caught my eye. At first, I swore it was a bird, but the closer it grew, the larger it became, and my eyes widened as I jumped up from my chair.
I pinched my arm, thinking this was all another dream, and I was still at Edgar’s place, but then the giant red dragon was pumping its wings right off the balcony too small for it to land on.
My mouth dropped open, and I sputtered incoherently as Else turned around.
“Of course, he would do this,” I heard her sigh, and she opened the large windows behind her desk. She stepped aside, and the dragon began to shrink in size until it was able to land fully on the stone, but it kept changing shape and size.
I pinched my arm again, but still, my eyes remained open, and my arm was starting to throb.
The dragon drew its wings in and shook out its head with a roar that turned into a grunt as the red dragon that just scared the crap out of me a few seconds ago turned into a guy about my age.
He grinned as he stepped into the office, while Else planted her hands on her hips, and tapped the two of her pointed shoe, annoyed.
“What?” he asked innocently.
I let out a gasp of some sort.
He turned to me and grinned wider, but then his smile fell when I staggered backward a few steps. “Oh, hello.”
“Jared Winchester, you are not above school rules. I’ve told you not to fly up to my balcony when called to the office a thousand times. You are utterly ridiculous, and you are setting a terrible example for the other students.”
“Sorry, Headmistress, I just wasn’t able to stretch my wings this morning.”
I listened to their exchange and then my vision went black, and I saw the floor come racing up to catch my face.
TWELVE
EVEREST
There were voices around me, but I couldn’t remember what was going on.
I’d been somewhere… an office, and there was a lady. She was rude.
I grimaced, hoping she was not one of the voices, but the longer I listened, the more I realized she definitely was. But that other voice, that was a guy.
I frowned. Why did I know his voice, too?
“Honestly, Jared, you see what chaos you’ve caused? This poor girl has no idea what this school even is, and you have just knocked her unconscious!”
“I didn’t mean too, honest, Headmistress. You said new student,” Jared, the guy the dragon had turned into, said sounding worried. “I thought she was like everyone else.”
“Well, she is not.”
A breeze moved back and forth over my face, and I figured there was no point acting like I was still passed out any longer, though I did convince myself the dragon I saw wasn’t a dragon. Couldn’t be. That would be insane.
I popped one eye open, then the other to see the headmistress, Elsa, yeah, that was her name, waving a wad of papers like a fan over my face.
“Uh, hi?”
“Oh good, you’re awake,” she sighed in relief. “How do you feel?”
She helped me sit up on the floor where they’d apparently left me, and I stared from her to Jared, and back again. “Fine… I think, but what uh, what happened?”
“You had a bit of shock I’m afraid, no thanks to Jared here.” She scowled at him one more time for good measure, but I wasn’t really in the mood to laugh. She held out her hand, and I took it as she helped me to my feet.
“Right, sorry, I guess the last few days just finally caught up with me,” I said, laughing nervously as I glanced out the open windows behind her desk. “I could’ve sworn I saw a dragon.”
Elsa and Jared stared pointedly at me for a long moment, and my smile fell as I shook my head. “Just take a deep breath, Everest, I know this is a lot to accept.”
“What?” I grew dizzy again and staggered back until the back of my legs hit the edge of a couch, and I promptly sat on it. “No, that’s not… that’s not possible! Dragons are not real!”
Jared cringed as he tilted his head. “Actually, it is. You weren’t seeing things. I’m the dragon you saw. You going to be alright?” He reached out a hand as if to shake mine, and I jerked away from him, not ready to just believe him.
“You both are crazy, you have to be crazy,” I whispered, holding my head as I rested my elbows on my knees. “He dropped me off at a crazy farm. That’s great, just great!”
He whistled loudly. “Wow, I’ve been called lots of things before, but insane? Have you not been around many dragons or something? I mean I know we’re not visible all the time, but pretty sure you should know what they are and not freak out over it.”
“Freak out? What’s not to freak out about? You seem to believe you’re a dragon and apparently this is a school of magic!”
I rose and pace
d frantically around the office, sure I was about to lose what little sanity I had. When I whipped back around, Jared and Elsa were both watching me worriedly now, him leaning in to whisper something to Elsa.
“No, she’s never seen shifters,” Elsa replied loud enough for me to hear.
“Shifters, wait, what the hell is a shifter?”
“I’m a shifter,” Jared replied simply, as if this was not the weirdest conversation ever. In the entire history of conversations.
“I thought you were a dragon,” I shot back, not believing what just came out of my mouth.
He rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms, his lips pursing in a way that I found obnoxious and attractive at the same time. I gave my head a hard shake when his right brow arched, and a smirk lifted those lips.
“Dragons are shifters.”
“Oh right, because everyone knows that.”
“You should, if you’re coming here for school. You’ve really never seen a dragon before? Ever in your lifetime?”
I shook my head furiously again and glanced towards the door. If I ran fast enough, maybe I could catch up to Edgar and we could get out of here, but then Elsa was moving towards me, cutting off my chance of escape, unless I wanted to try the window. But I was pretty sure I was not a shifter, or dragon, or whatever, so what good would the window do me, anyway?
“She hasn’t,” Elsa said to Jared, but kept her eyes on me, as if afraid I would make a run for the window anyway. “Jared, this is all a bit new for Everest. Take a step back, would you? You’re making the poor girl nervous.”
He took a step back as requested, but had a curious look about him as we observed each other.
Despite how our first meeting started off, I took a few seconds now to see what this guy… dragon, whatever… was made of.
He was well-built—handsome with chestnut brown hair and eyes to match. Not at all like the giant flying dragon I had just seen. As if he knew what I was thinking about, he flashed me a charming grin, and my cheeks grew hot before I looked away. There was something very innocent about it that was simultaneously mature.
Mortal Raised (Ever Witch Book 1) Page 9