We? I wasn’t going anywhere with him, even if he held the only map to the maze.
A buzzing sound filled the air as if hornets had been disturbed in the hedges’ shift. I sensed the beat of wings and a poke on my neck. Swatting, my hand brushed something far too large to be a hornet.
Instead of an insect, a large, winged animal thing dodged my blow, whirled out and darted toward Rowan.
“Pixie minotaurs! We’ve gotta go. Come on.” He turned on his heel and sprinted into the maze.
Pixie minotaurs?
I knew what pixies were, little fairies I assumed. And minotaurs were those half-bull, half-man animals from Greek mythology, right? But, the creature buzzing toward me was somehow a combination of both.
Fairy wings flapped in a blur behind a brown body with human hands and cloven hoof feet. Small horns curled out above a twisted and ugly face with human eyes but a bovine snout. Its body was about eight inches tall, so I wondered why Rowan had turned tail and run. I could bat that sucker out of the air with one swat.
He was a coward. Fancy that.
As the pixie minotaur flew closer, I realized it was carrying a small spear-like weapon in one hand. That explained the poke. Okay. I could still deal.
“Come at me, you nasty bugger. I’ll knock your socks off.” I raised my hands, ready to fight.
But instead of ramming at me with its spear, it stopped, hovered in midair, and waved the thing like a wand.
A strange sensation tingled all over my scalp first, then my face and neck, spreading down my body. Horrified, I lifted my hands and watched small hairs sprout from my skin. The same tingling rippled along my collar and under my shirt, giving me a sneaking suspicion that more hair was growing in unwanted places.
“What did you do to me?” I asked, blindly swatting the air as heavy bangs grew down, obscuring my vision. Hair was growing rapidly on every surface of my body.
“Charlie!”
I whirled, pushing strands out of my eyes. Rowan rushed back to me, shooting spells from his fingertips as a swarm of pixie minotaurs flew after him. There were at least a dozen, and they were all firing from their tiny spears. As I watched, Rowan dodged a few, but lurched back as if struck. His eyes went wide as his head began to swell to enormous proportions.
A cry of anger bursting from his throat, he threw both hands up and slashed them sideways, blasting the swarm into a nearby hedge. Then he whirled on me.
“What are you doing? We need to—Oh.” His anger turned to shock and then mockery. “Hit you with a capillum spell, did they? Wow.” He put a fist to his mouth to cover up his laughter.
“You’re one to talk,” I said through the hair, gesturing to the top of his head that had swollen up like Violet Beauregarde in Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.
He reached up, feeling the extended top half of his head.
“This is your fault. If you had run when I told you to, the swarm wouldn’t have gotten me.” He waved his hands and his head shrunk down to its normal size.
I held out my hairy arms, waiting for him to do the same for me. He smirked and offered no such spell.
“Come on, Cousin It. We go this way.”
Great.
Fuming, I followed him. What else could I do?
Holding my locks to either side so I could see, I trailed behind Rowan as we wove through seemingly unending turns. After fifteen minutes, I was sweating, my new hairdo sticking to most parts of my body.
“Why does this maze even exist? It’s a nightmare.” I said out loud, more to the universe than to Rowan.
Still, he answered me in a very tour-guide-esque manner.
“It was a present from Head Dean Erodot to the new Head Dean Fitzpatrick in 1955. It was supposed to be a gesture of goodwill, but in actuality the maze is hexed. Dean Erodot had been ousted because of his role in the vampire uprising and the subsequent fallout, so this was his revenge. The labyrinth is so carefully cursed, no one has been able to remove it. It has moving walls and mischievous creatures that live inside them. Thus, the pixie minotaurs. Thank god, Dean Erodot had a conscience and didn’t want anyone to die.”
“And yet, no one thinks to tell the new student about this?” I shouted. “How do we get out?”
“It’s difficult, but I can do it. Advanced magicians can sense the opening.” He straightened his shoulders as he finished his boast. “And, by the way, the welcome package talks about this and other such places on campus. But clearly, you haven’t bothered to read the material.”
I narrowed my eyes, forgetting he couldn’t see my eye-roll beneath all this hair. I’d read some of the brochures.
“Whatever, just get us out. This spell is killing me.”
Rowan stopped beside me, flexed his fingers and did a complicated gesture. When it was finished, tingling broke out along my body again. Slowly, the hair receded.
I ran my hands down my smooth arms and then my face. The hair on my head was a mess—poor Disha and her curling makeover—but it felt so much better not to be a walking toupee in ninety-degree heat.
“Thanks,” I said reluctantly.
Rowan shrugged. “Don’t mention it. Seriously. I don’t need people knowing I helped you.”
Oh god, he was so insufferable.
He started down another path, and I contemplated running off again. I couldn’t stand another moment staring at his smug face or hearing his rude comments.
When I opened my mouth intent on telling him so, he turned the corner and disappeared behind a hedge. A loud splashing sound was followed by a garbled cry.
Without thinking, I ran around the corner to find him stuck in a hip-deep pool of impossibly blue water that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. As I stared, Rowan sank lower, the water acting almost like liquid quicksand, inching him further down by the second.
His hands scrambled through the gravel at the pool’s edge, attempting to stop himself from being swallowed up, but there was nothing for him to grab onto. Then he began waving his hands as if attempting to perform magic, but it appeared as if nothing was working.
The water drew him in slowly, climbing up to his stomach.
“Rowan, what do I do?” I asked, running up in front of him. He would drown in seconds if I didn’t help, and I couldn’t have that on my conscience, no matter how annoying he was.
He scowled as if my offer of help was an insult. “Nothing. Back up.”
He took a deep breath, held his hands out like a maestro ready to conduct an orchestra and made two large sweeping gestures. But something went wrong. Rowan cried out as if in terrible pain, grasped his chest where his medallion hung, and collapsed.
The water dragged him down even deeper.
“Oh, crap.”
I knelt, grabbed Rowan by the arms, and tried to haul him out. He didn’t budge. In fact, he sunk lower, his chest going under. He’d said this place wasn’t supposed to kill anyone, but it surely was trying. Was this different? Another attack like the lich’s?
I pulled again. Nothing. It was as if there were an equal force working against me.
Glancing around, I didn’t see any rope or branches to assist in dragging him out or at least holding him in place until I could get help. In fact, there was nothing around me but tall, green hedges.
When I glanced down at the water for another solution, a face blinked back up at me. She smiled and blew a bubble kiss.
I did a double take, realizing that there was indeed a creature inside the pool—some sort of water nymph with blue-green scales and long flowing aquamarine hair. Her eyes were glassy opals that shone like sea glass and her teeth, when she smiled, curved inward like an angler fish. Her scaly fingers dug into Rowan’s clothes as if she were attempting to claim him. I had no doubt she was trying to kill him—to eat him or simply drown him, I didn’t know.
What I did know was if I didn’t get him out soon, he would die.
Keeping one hand on his arm, I used the other to try to shake Rowan awake.
�
�Rowan. Rowan, wake up!” I slapped his face, but his head just lolled from side-to-side. He was out.
The nymph laughed at my little attempt, bubbles floating up to the surface, and yanked harder. Rowan slid down until only his head and arms were above the water.
“Stop,” I said, glaring at the water nymph. Angry, I reached into the ice cold water and tried to pry her scaly fingers off. Instead of letting go, she reared back and bit me.
“Ow!” I shouted, yanking my hand up. “Knock it off!”
A shockwave rolled with it. Just like when I’d willed the Shadow Puppet to let me go back at the abandoned building, my intense impulse had some effect on the water nymph. She shivered, eyes blinking rapidly as if she’d been shocked. Her fingers let go of Rowan, and she plunged down, disappearing.
Just as I was attempting to pull him out, the pool exploded in an upward rush of water. I was blasted back, pummeled by the icy spray.
When it was over, the pool was gone. Rowan lay face down in the gravel.
I ran over and put my fingers to his neck. Was he dead? Terrible dread settled over my body, but his pulse beat strong. He rolled over, coughing up water. As he did, his hand patted my arm, then rested on it.
A quiet thank you. I almost couldn’t believe it. Apparently he was only 99.99% douche.
I was drenched to the bone and so was Rowan, but at least the pool had disappeared along with the murderous water nymph.
His eyes fluttered open. When he saw me and how we were touching, he lurched up, pulling away.
“What? I… You…”
“You passed out. I saved your life,” I said matter-of-factly. Then I softened my tone. “What happened? Why wasn’t your magic working? And that spell you attempted… it looked like it hurt. Are you alright?”
He glowered at me, before standing up, brushing wet gravel from his clothes. “It’s none of your damn business, but it was probably your fault.”
Then he whirled on his heel and marched away into the maze.
My fault? His magic had failed him when he needed it must, and it was my fault?
Nope. I was wrong to give him credit. He was 100% douche.
Chapter Eleven
FALL SEMESTER
MID SEPTEMBER
“He did what?” Disha asked, tossing a bag of clothes on my bed.
“He ran off and left me in the maze.” I threw up my hands in a can-you-believe-it gesture.
I’d just finished recounting my time in the labyrinth from yesterday afternoon, including the part where, after I’d saved his life, Rowan ran off and left me to find my own way out. After that, it had taken me two hours to find the maze exit and, by then, I was too pooped to do anything but fall into bed. Disha had showed up at my door at eight AM, dying to know what had happened.
“Why is it so hard to believe that Rowan abandoned me in the maze? I know you think he’s some hottie prince charming, but he’s actually a major douche.”
“Well,” she said, looking conflicted, “maybe you shouldn’t judge him too harshly before you know more about him. It’s not easy being Rowan.”
“Whatever.” I turned to the bed, not wanting to argue. “What are these?” I pulled a frilly pink top and a pair of very expensive-looking jeans out of the bag she’d brought.
“I cleaned out my closet while you were gone.” She waved her hand dismissively at the sack like it was nothing to give someone dozens of designer clothes that had cost her family a small fortune. “Tell me more about the labyrinth. I’ve never gone in there. I heard a freshman nearly died last year. Sucked into a vortex or something.”
“And no one thought to tell me? And forget the stupid welcome package, who reads that anyway?” I said, falling back on my bed. “What other mysterious places exist on campus that might cause my demise?”
“Do you want me to list them all?” she asked, honestly serious.
“Oh, my God. This place is a death trap.” My abandoned warehouse had been safer than here.
“Go back to the part where Rowan was following you. Why would he do that when I’d already told him about having you help us dig up the truth?” Disha tapped her finger on her perfect chin.
“Because he hates me and wants me dead?” I offered.
“If that were true, why would he have run back to save you when the pixie minotaurs attacked?”
I threw up my hands. “Sudden conscience. A wish to rifle through my corpse. I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll just ask him at lunch.”
Man, I envied her ability to make everything seem like it wasn’t a big deal, even murderous classmates and near death experiences.
“Whatever, just leave me out of it,” I said. “Dean McIntosh wants to meet with me at lunch anyway. Probably to ask how it’s going.” I gave Disha two thumbs down. “This is what the Dean will get from me. I’ve had one too many brushes with death to give this place my seal of approval.”
Disha gave my shoulder a playful shove. “What are you talking about? I doubt you’ve ever had this much adventure. Besides, you haven’t seen any of the good parts yet, which is why I’m here, to escort you to your nine AM class, Spells 101 with Dr. Henderson. Hubba hubba.” Disha waggled her eyebrows.
Disha loved Dr. Henderson, and it wasn’t hard to see why—he was the youngest faculty member by at least ten years, coming in at just thirty years old. Yet, he was also regarded as one of the most powerful wizards here. Disha claimed that as a teen, he’d studied abroad with seven of the top ten witches and warlocks in the world, real magical prodigy.
Plus, he was freaking gorgeous.
Warm brown eyes, impeccably styled hair and cheekbones carved out of rock, Dr. Henderson could be a GQ model.
It was hard to fault Disha for her interest.
“Get dressed,” she said, nudging the bag of clothes at me. “I want to snag coffee before class. Mama needs her go-go juice.”
Disha was already dressed in a flowy sundress that showed off all her curves, gold bangles, and a necklace that dipped into her cleavage. It wasn’t lost on me that the full makeup and hair were likely for a certain professor.
I pulled out the least frilly T-shirt and shorts from the bag, opting for my Vans since the Converse were still wet. Bathed in nymph water, yesterday’s outfit didn’t exactly smell lemony fresh. I needed to find out how to do laundry unless Disha had a spell for that.
I could tell she was impatient and wanted to leave, so I ran a brush through my hair and swished some mouthwash, and mentally said goodbye to Trey’s urn, which Disha always tried and failed to ignore, casting furtive glances in its direction. Fortunately, she never said anything about it and respected my privacy in that regard.
As we left and headed to the dining hall, Disha didn’t even gripe about my appearance since she was so eager to pull me out of the door. Once there, we queued up behind a gaggle of sleepy students, some still in pjs and barely awake. The girl in front of us kept wiggling her fingers and shooting them at her face, swearing under her breath every time her spell failed.
Disha leaned over to me. “Noob. She’s attempting an alertness spell but getting the motions all wrong. Plus, this building has spell blockers in place.” My friend rolled her eyes as if to say Can you believe the ignorance of some people?
Yeah, I could. I was so ignorant I’d nearly gotten myself lost in a hexed maze yesterday. I didn’t know about alertness spells or blockers. Talk about freshman ignorance.
Speaking of freshman, I scanned the crowd for Rowan, but didn’t spot him. Maybe he was hiding around a dark corner watching me. Or maybe I was being paranoid. Either way, I was going to keep my eyes open.
We got our coffee and a pastry, swiping our student IDs in the machine near the cash register. It was baffling how some things were magical and some were simply normal, and I had no way of knowing which to expect. It was unnerving to say the least.
Like for instance, when we headed out across the quad and came upon two dudes hovering two feet off the
ground. As we watched, they took turns kicking out, trying to crash into each other while a small crowd watched. One rammed his friend, sending him flailing. The winner threw his hands in triumph and a whoop went up from the crowd.
Disha rolled her eyes. “So immature.”
I had a feeling maturity was kind of her thing, considering who we were rushing off to see.
I expected to head to one of the many buildings reserved for classes, but Disha led me to a circle of trees on the east side of campus. When we got closer, I noticed students filtering up and down a set of stairs that disappeared underground, almost like a subway entrance but cut directly into a freshly mowed lawn.
“Class is down there?” I asked.
Disha slipped into the line, holding her to-go coffee cup in one hand, while adjusting her leather clutch in the other. “Apparently, the magical current is stronger down there. Also, if we cause a cataclysmic rift, it won’t suck up the entire campus.”
“Cataclysmic rift. Sounds fun.” I shouldered the book bag Disha had given me, swallowing hard. This was technically my first class since the lich had tried to kill me yesterday. It was hard to believe, after all that had happened, that this was indeed only my second day of classes.
Disha led us into the underground hallway, which was lit by scores of dancing lights that ran along the ceiling and twinkled like floating fireflies. By the way they swirled, and made me feel as if we were descending into another world, I could tell they were magical.
Another spectacular feature was the images that appeared on the walls as we moved past. Magical billboards displayed recorded messages that changed as we walked by. The first one was an advertisement for the weekend’s school football scrimmage. After that, a male student in a stereotypical jersey held a football and invited us all to the Rumble in the Jungle, a homecoming game that would take place around Halloween. This was followed by an image of Dean McIntosh reminding all not to venture into the lake at night or face drowning and dismemberment… oh, and to have a good day.
I’d never heard a warning about death sound so cheerful. These people were certifiable.
Supernatural Academy: Freshman Witch Page 9