“Doaoakeru.”
The doors opened and we went inside. The first-floor lobby had lots of board games, tables for studying, and couches and chairs to sit on. There were even some aerial silks and a few witches were trying them out. Briefly mesmerized, I looked up at the silks. Two witches hung upside down, spinning in circles.
“Pretty, huh?” Kiera said. “Even witches have to exercise.”
“It’s amazing,” I agreed. I’d never seen anything quite like it before.
We walked through the room and toward a large staircase that led up. Headmistress Gregory had told me I would be on the top floor. The first two floors were used for free time and activities. There were rooms with books, games, movies, and supplies for spells. There was plenty of space for homework. Then the top three floors were bedrooms. I was on the fifth floor.
No elevator.
My legs were going to fall off.
“So, how long have you been a student here?”
“A month and a half,” Kiera told me. She glanced over at me. Her dark hair bounced as we walked. It was shoulder-length in tight little ringlets that must have been horrible to try to manage. She pulled the look off perfectly.
“Really? You seem so confident, like you really understand how everything works.” I didn’t want to confide in Kiera just yet and tell her exactly how scared I was of screwing this whole thing up, but somehow, I thought she knew. The new kids always stand out, don’t they?
Kiera shot me a sideways smile.
“Don’t worry, Maxine. You’ll be totally fine. I know it’s a lot to take in, but once you’ve been here for awhile, things are much simpler than they seem.”
“What do you mean?” We passed groups of students studying or hanging out, but no one paid us much attention. That did a lot to calm my nerves. Things would have been much worse if people had been staring at me. Besides, since everyone’s attention was already occupied, I had a chance to sneak glances at the cliques we passed.
“I mean,” she stopped and turned around. Then she jerked her head toward the different groups in the lobby. “There are the gothic witches, the ones who are really into classical looks and traditional magic. Those are the witches who grew up with old magic. They’re rich. They’re also pretentious. That group,” she nodded toward a circle of punk-looking girls. “Is the shifter group. They’re part magic, part animal. Some of them are also demons or angels, but the key element in all of them are shifters. That might be your group,” she looked at me. “If you like to be wild and break the rules.”
“Not particularly,” I mumbled. I was way too used to staying under the radar. I didn’t want to stand out. Not in a negative way. Certainly not in a way that would bring my aunt back to fetch me. I hadn’t forgotten what was important to me or why I was here. I needed to learn where I came from, but I also needed to learn the skills I might need to find my grandmother.
The people who had taken her – and I was still certain she had been taken –wouldn’t go down without a fight. If I wanted to find her, to save her, then I needed to do everything in my power to prepare for whatever battle I would have to fight.
“There are also the fairies,” Kiera nodded toward a group of beautiful princess-looking women. They were all tall, slender, and absolutely stunning. They were sitting in a circle and putting makeup on one another. Not that they needed it. Those girls would look perfect even after fighting in a battle. There was no doubt about it.
“What group do you fit into?” I asked my new friend. There were still other groups she hadn’t named or pointed out. Some of them I recognized from my own high school days. Others...
Not so much.
Although Gram had homeschooled me my entire life, I hadn’t exactly been sheltered from the way things worked. Everywhere I went as a teenager, whether it be the park or the store, there had been groups and cliques designed to let me know that I didn’t fit in.
No matter how hard I tried, I would never fit in.
Gram had kept me sheltered for a long time. She had done her best to protect me and to isolate me from trouble. In some ways, I understood why she did it. In other ways, I realized just how far behind I was going to be when it came to understanding the world of shifters.
“What group do I fit into?” Kiera repeated my question, mulling it over. Then she smiled. “Easy. None of them. Come on.”
We went upstairs. One flight, then another, and another. By the time we arrived at my room, I was panting and sweaty. Kiera looked exactly the same.
“How did you do that?” I asked.
“Do what?”
“Manage to look like we didn’t just have the workout of a century.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Lots of practice. I’m over there,” she pointed down the hallway. “Room 510F.”
“F?”
“It stands for fairy.”
“You’re a…”
Without a word, her wings started to shimmer and sparkle behind her. Kiera smiled at my shocked expression. I’d never seen something quite so beautiful or lovely before. Hell, I’d never seen anything like it before.
“You’re a fairy.”
“And a witch,” she said. “Best of both worlds, I suppose. Might have been nicer to be a shifter, but you know, we can’t win ‘em all. Come on, then.”
We approached my door. I knew that I wouldn’t have a roommate. Most of the students did, but since I was enrolling so late, I had just a single room to myself. I glanced at the spell written on my scroll, the one that let me know how to get into my room for the first time.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered. Boo meowed by my feet, reminding me that he believed in me. It was a good thing because I wasn’t so sure I believed in myself. Coming to Hybrid Academy was quite the adventure, to be sure, but I didn’t know what I was going to do if I couldn’t even get into my own bedroom.
I took a deep breath and focused my energy on the door. It was just one lock. I could do that, right? Anyone could open a lock. Just one little lock. That’s all this one. One lock and then I’d be in my room. I’d be able to try on my new pajamas and look at my textbooks and try to remember what it was like being a student.
“Tatalafaitotoa,” I muttered.
Nothing happened.
I blushed.
Kiera looked at me and back at the door.
“Hmm, try again,” she said. “Maybe it didn’t hear you correctly.”
Another deep breath.
I didn’t want my new friend to know that I’d never successfully done a magic spell in my life. I’d never been able to do anything. I couldn’t levitate objects, I couldn’t create fog, I couldn’t cook dinner. I couldn’t do anything regardless of how small or simple it was.
But I needed this.
I needed this win.
“Tatalafaitotoa,” I said the words again. This time, I was careful to say the words carefully and clearly. Still, nothing happened. Boo meowed, and I knew he felt sorry for me. Damn. I could smell my cat’s pity. My cat. My cat pitied me.
That was just unacceptable.
I tried to think about how Gram would handle it if she was here. What would she do when she was faced with an obstacle she couldn’t overcome?
First, she’d tell me to believe in myself. Yeah, yeah. That was so much easier said than done.
Next, she’d tell me to focus all of my energy. I needed to clear my head. She’d told me that many times. I needed to clear my head and totally center on saying the spell.
The thing about magic, she had warned me, is that it would take everything you had to give it, so if you gave it everything, you needed to be sure.
You needed to be certain.
Then she would tell me to do it.
To go for it.
To pour everything into the whispered words that were designed long ago to make the world a more wonderful place.
A deep breath.
I closed my eyes and held out my hand toward the knob.
I
focused on the doorknob, on twisting it in my mind. I focused on the way the doorknob smelled, on how it worked, on how it was going to turn and open for me.
Then I tried one more time.
“Tatalafaitotoa.”
The door swung open.
Boo hissed and ran into the room as fast as a little mouse would. I just stared at my hand and then at the door. I’d done it. I’d actually done it. I’d done magic.
I looked at Kiera and back at the door. Then I looked at my hand.
I’d never been able to do a single thing before, but this time…
I’d actually managed to make my bedroom door open.
I’d unlocked it all on my own.
Kiera laughed and patted me on the shoulder.
“First time, huh?” She chuckled.
“That obvious?” I asked, still staring at my hand.
“You did a great job, Maxine,” she said. “Can I call you Max, by the way? Maxine is just…well, to be honest, it’s kind of dull.”
“Max is perfect,” I said with a smile.
“Well, Max, great job. You did it. Now all you have to do is that same thing over and over again for the next three years and you’ll be perfectly fine at Hybrid Academy.” She laughed again and went into my room. I followed her close behind.
Awe filled my heart and contentment soaked my soul. I had actually managed to do it. After years of practice, of training, of trying my best, I’d finally managed to do something incredible.
I just wished my grandmother had been there to see it.
She would have been so darn proud of me.
But I pushed those feelings aside as I looked at my new bedroom. It was definitely a standard-issued bedroom. Everything was very economical and plain. It was pretty boring, to be honest. I suppose I thought that a school for witches, wizards, shifters, demons, and angels would be a little more creative in its décor offerings, but I was presented with a plain bed, a dresser, a desk, and a tiny kitchen counter. There was a mini-fridge, a sink, and as promised, a space for Boo. He had a little bed with a nearby food dish and water bowl.
There was even a little closet.
In the center of the space, the floor was covered with a colorful rug. It was the only bright thing in there. It was shades of purple and blue. I looked at Kiera and she smiled.
“This is just for you,” she said. “The colors represent your abilities. Blue for shifting. Purple for magic.”
“It’s pretty,” I said. “What color is your rug?”
“Purple and gold,” she told me.
I went to the closet and opened the door. As promised, there were uniforms hanging neatly in a row. A few pairs of shoes were on the bottom of the closet floor. I had a feeling they’d fit me perfectly without me ever even telling anyone my shoe size.
On the desk sat several textbooks, notebooks, and ink pens.
There was no wand, though.
“No wand?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Nah,” Kiera shook her head. “You have to earn that one.”
“Do you have one?”
“Yeah,” she fished it out of her robes and showed me. “It’s gold. Took me almost a month to get it, but I did it. I doubt it’ll take you as long as it took me.” She winked. “I was kind of lazy with turning in my homework, to be honest.”
“It’s pretty,” I told her. It was, too. I’d only ever seen a few wands before, but they always amazed me. I had always wanted to touch my grandmother’s wand, to run my fingers over the intricately carved wood. She had always forbid it, though. A wand was a very personal thing, she’d warned me. Judging by the way Kiera looked at hers, I’d say Grandma had been right.
“Thanks,” Kiera put the wand away. “So, I guess that’s it. I’m right down the hall if you need anything or if you get bored, you know.”
“It’s almost lights out,” I pointed out. I had already memorized the strict schedule. Kiera smiled and shrugged.
“Well, those are mostly guidelines,” she said. “And besides, what the teachers don’t know, won’t hurt them, right?” She turned to leave, but then hurried back and surprised me with a hug. When she pulled back, she smiled at me. “Everything’s going to be fine, Max. You’re going to be just fine.”
Then she was gone.
And I was alone in my room.
Boo jumped on the bed and I turned to pat him on the head. I sat down next to him and stared at the tiny space.
“Well, Mr. Boo. This is it. The next three years of our lives are going to be spent right here.”
He mewed, but something told me he was just as unhappy about this as I was.
Chapter 7
My first day of classes was rough.
I got lost three times, fell down a flight of stairs, and embarrassed myself horribly by not knowing who the first witch to come up with fireproof robes was. These were things that should have come easy for me, but they didn’t.
The second day of classes was just as bad.
The third day was awful.
But then it was the weekend, and there were no classes, and I got some time to myself.
I woke up on Saturday morning and stretched, enjoying the way the sunlight seemed to cover my entire room. There were blackout curtains in the room and Kiera had taught me a spell for keeping out the sun so I could sleep better, but I didn’t bother with any of that. Part of it was because when I tried to cast the sunlight-dampening spell, nothing happened. The other part was that I hated the idea of blocking out the sun. To me, the sunlight was wonderful. I kept the curtains pushed back so that when I woke up, I could revel in the soft warmth of the sun’s rays.
I’d spent most of my life holed up in a little cabin with my grandma. My time had been spent hiding from the sun and worrying about other people finding me. Not having to hide in this place really was wonderful. It brought me a sort of calm, a sort of peace, that I’d never felt before. Even if someone managed to find me here, what were they going to do? I was surrounded by witches and mages and shifters. There were fairies and demons and Kiera had even mentioned that there was a gargoyle.
Yeah, I was pretty sure nothing was going to get in and hurt me.
In the three days I’d been at the school, there had been no word from Grandmother.
Not a sound from Aunt Erin.
Nothing from Tony or anyone back home.
It was infuriatingly frustrating, really. I had hoped that Erin would have at least sent me a message. Apparently, she was sticking with her “one month of no contact” thing. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t do very much about it. Erin was my aunt, but she was also a witch. I didn’t know where she lived, where she stayed, or what her social media usernames were. This meant that I was alone with my thoughts and my grandmother’s spell book. I could try to find answers by myself, but that’s all I could really do: try.
Maybe Erin was right, and Tony really was a vampire. Maybe he worked for one. I wasn’t sure. I tried not to think about it too much because my new life here at Hybrid Academy was a lot to deal with all on its own. There were so many different things to learn: where the secret passageways were, what the fastest routes to my classes were, and which social group I fit in.
Surprisingly enough, it was “loner.”
Just like Kiera.
She’d introduced me to a few of her friends: Raven, Addison, and Heath. They were all hybrids, too, although their powers differed in strength. Together, the five of us ate lunch each day. It had been the one reprieve I’d felt from classes and the only time I’d felt less alone.
I didn’t tell them about my grandmother.
I didn’t tell anyone.
I just kept hoping and thinking and praying that somehow I’d be able to find her.
After laying in bed for most of the morning, I finally got up and fed Boo. Then I took a shower and got dressed for the day. I brushed my long hair and pulled it back in a low ponytail before brushing my teeth and applying some chap stick. I definitely didn’t look as pretty or pu
t-together as the other witches, but that was okay.
I didn’t have to be perfect.
I just had to be myself.
At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
Whether it was true or not was yet to be discovered. Maybe I’d make it through the year only to find that actually, do you have to have a certain level of perfection to make it as a shifter witch at Hybrid Academy. Maybe I’d find that perfection was overrated. Only time would tell.
There was a knock on my door and Boo practically leapt over to it. He pawed at the wooden door, trying to scratch it open, I guess. Peculiar. Actually, Boo had been behaving very strangely since we arrived at the school, which made me a little uneasy. He’d always been very predictable as a familiar. I’d never had a hard time figuring out what he wanted or what would make him happy. Now, though, he seemed constantly frustrated and irritable. It was getting a little tiresome, to be honest.
“Calm down, Mr. Kitty,” I moved quietly to the door and paused for a second. I almost asked Who is it? But that felt a little strange and awkward. Besides, did it really matter who was there? I was definitely going to open the door no matter who it was, and I didn’t have many friends at the Academy yet. I wasn’t about to be socially awkward around the ones I did have.
I took a deep breath. No one had ever visited me before. Ever. Not before this week. Now, I had one more new thing to deal with. Growing up in the cabin, I’d been an eternal outsider: doomed to live a life of solitude and loneliness, but now? Now I had a chance at something new.
I didn’t want to screw it up.
Oh, I was scared, but I was determined to do things right. If I could wing this, if I could make this work, then I might have a shot at finding out who took my Grandma. If I couldn’t figure out how to fit in at the school or how to do magic or how to shift, well, I’d still be looking for my grandmother, but I’d be doing it without as much hope as I’d otherwise have. Erin seemed to think the Academy was exactly what I needed, and after just a few days, I was beginning to see why. Everyone here had the same goal. Everyone wanted to learn. Everyone wanted to be something more.
I looked at the door and took one last breath. It was time to stop over thinking and start doing. I pulled open the door and Kiera pushed her way inside my room.
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