All she needed was to just…
Believe.
And then she kicked.
She kicked out her legs and knocked the little cauldron over.
Al’s screaming let Cara know she was successful, and she managed to turn her body around enough to see two things.
First, the potion had spilled onto the stems of the ruby flowers. They were already starting to melt. The stems were no match for the strange potion and would be completely obliterated very soon.
Second, the flames that had engulfed the cauldron were now free and were starting to spread. It was slow, but it was still happening. The jungle would be destroyed.
The flowers would not come back next year.
Unless Al could act quickly, which Cara didn’t think she could, this would be the end of the potion that threatened to cause so much chaos, and no matter what happened now, Cara could die knowing that she had done everything in her power to stop this evil thing from happening.
She hadn’t acted quickly enough to save herself or her husband, but she could save their daughter.
She had to.
“What have you done?” Al screeched, but it was too late.
It was over.
Chapter 1
Present Day
"This isn’t what I ordered,” Kiera laughed, looking at the little apple that had appeared in front of her. It was no bigger than a quarter, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t edible. There was simply no way. My friend had done her best to create something delicious and sweet. Luckily, she had a great attitude and didn’t seem to mind when the spell didn’t exactly go as planned.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” I waved my wand over the apple. Instantly, it grew bigger. When it reached normal apple size, I waved my wand again and it stopped growing. “Bon appétit,” I said, gesturing toward the fruit.
“Thanks,” Kiera reached for the apple she’d managed to work into existence, and she took a bite. “Perfect,” she said with a sigh. She smiled, leaning back against her chair. The wooden chairs at Kiera’s home were hard, but comfortable. No matter how many times I visited, I couldn’t figure out why. Maybe her mom had set some sort of cushioning spell. I wasn’t sure.
Henry laughed at the satisfied expression on our fairy friend’s face. Kiera was one of the happiest people I’d ever met in my life. I knew that her time at Hybrid Academy hadn’t always been easy. As a fae, she was often viewed as one of the “weaker” hybrids around, which I’d never understood. Kiera was not only strong, but she was absolutely gorgeous, as well.
She was stunning, in fact.
And she was kind.
“Hey, I want one, too,” Henry said. “I’m hungry, and I love apples.” He gestured to the space in front of him, which was empty, indicating that he wanted an apple or two to eat.
“No problem,” Kiera motioned to me. “Have Max make you one. Apparently, she’s quite the magical chef.” Kiera smirked as she bit into her crispy apple once more. So apparently, our study session was quickly turning into a magical dining session. That was fine by me.
“I wouldn’t call myself a magical chef.”
I couldn’t make much of anything, to be honest.
“Then what would you say?” Henry smiled at me, and I grinned back at him. It was totally silly, but damn if he didn’t make me feel like a princess.
Was this what having a crush was like?
A boyfriend?
I still didn’t really know how Henry and I worked together or what our relationship was. Ever since I found out that my familiar was actually a shapeshifting cat, things between us had been a little unpredictable.
Sometimes our relationship felt like it was the same as it had always been.
Other times, it felt a little more…unusual.
“I can make a picnic lunch,” I said. “I made you one last year.”
“It was delicious.”
“But I can’t seem to make much more than sandwiches,” I frowned at my wand, as though it was the problem. Really, the problem was me. I knew that as I practiced magic and continued to learn and grow and expand my skills, I’d be able to do a lot more with magic than I could now. My skill set had grown immensely since I’d started studying at the academy a few years ago.
Now I could do just about anything I set my mind to. In fact, Kiera, Henry, and I had spent the entire summer practicing our skills together. We’d worked through set after set of spells and practice activities. Kiera had come to stay with me at my aunt’s house for almost a month, and now I was staying at her family’s home for a short visit. Henry had spent most of the summer at his own family’s home, but he’d managed to sneak away long enough to come visit me and Kiera. Next week, he’d come back as Boo-the-cat and stay with me at Erin’s house until it was time to leave for Hybrid Academy.
Then he’d accompany me as my familiar.
“You can do it,” he said. “Just close your eyes and focus.”
“What should I make?”
“Doesn’t matter. What sounds good?”
“Pizza.”
“Then think about pizza.”
I closed my eyes and imagined the pizza I wanted to create.
“Large. Cheese. Pepperoni.”
I opened my eyes, waved my wand, and whispered a quiet spell. A poof of smoke shot out of the end of my wand, jolting me back, and I tumbled off of the chair. Kiera and Henry were instantly by my side, pulling me and helping me up. I never had to worry about being alone as long as I had them. Even when we were doing things as simple as practicing spells, they had my back.
“Did I get it?” I asked, looking anxiously at the space where I’d shot the spell.
We all looked over nervously, but I didn’t see what I wanted to see, which was the pizza. Instead, I saw a pile of soggy dough, some cold cheese, and a slice of pepperoni. That’s right: just one slice. Disappointment threatened to take over, but I tried to encourage myself inwardly. It was just my first try, right? I had plenty of chances to get this right.
“Hey, it’s fine,” Kiera clapped a hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah,” Henry agreed. “You got this, Max. Just try again, okay? We’ll sit with you until it happens. It won’t take but a few more tries.”
I wanted to give up, at least a little. It would be easier than trying again and being forced to feel embarrassed over something I couldn’t really control. The thing about magic is that it was sort of like learning to play a song. As a kid, I’d tried to learn how to play piano. My music teacher had lasted all of three weeks before she’d given up on me because I just couldn’t seem to grasp the flow of the music.
Later on, I’d tried again with a new teacher, and she’d told me something I would never forget.
“You have to listen to the notes, Max.”
“I’m listening,” I protested, growling at her.
“Max, you’re listening here,” she tapped my forehead. “Listen with your heart.”
I had been so upset with her. I’d felt so wronged and hurt that she didn’t think I was paying attention to the way the song was supposed to sound. I had been paying attention. I’d been working overtime to try and figure out exactly what it was that she needed me to do, but I just couldn’t seem to do it.
Later that night, long after she’d left, long after my Mom and Dad had gone to bed, I’d sneaked downstairs to the piano, and I’d sat there. I’d stared at the keys and the sheet music and as quietly as I could, I started to play the song. I closed my eyes for a minute, took a deep breath, and then played.
And I realized what she meant.
Because that time, when I played the song, the words suddenly took on new meaning. I cleared my mind, and I just focused on making something fantastic. I didn’t worry about the mistakes I would inevitably make. I didn’t worry about how silly I would look trying to hit every key. I just played.
And something happened.
The song, which was one I’d heard a million times, seemed to take on a life of its own, a
nd as I played, I began to realize that no matter what happened, I was doing my best, and I was giving it my all.
It was in that moment that I realized what she had meant.
Now, sitting with my friends in Kiera’s family’s living room, I thought about that moment and what it meant for me.
“Magic is like music,” I said. “You have to speak the words from your heart.”
Kiera smiled, and her wings came out, fluttering around. Kiera’s wings had been coming out on their own quite a bit lately. She’d taken to wearing tank tops so she could have them out and as free as possible. At Hybrid Academy, we always wore our robes everywhere, and Kiera didn’t really like advertising the fact that she was a fae. Yeah, everyone could tell by the color of her robes what kind of hybrid she was, but she was still a little shy about showing her wings.
“That’s beautiful,” she said.
Henry placed his hand on my shoulder and looked at me.
“Try again Max.”
“Okay.”
I closed my eyes, cleared my head, and visualized the food I wanted. I felt like trying to create pizza again. Surely, I’d be able to get it if I tried again. I couldn’t mess this up twice in a row. Not really. I closed my eyes, waved my wand, and whispered the spell as clearly as I could.
A poof of smoke popped from my wand again, but this time, when I looked, the product I’d created loosely resembled a cheese pizza. It still wasn’t quite perfect, but it was at least a circle this time, and there was even sauce on it.
“Closer,” Kiera said.
“Much closer,” Henry agreed. He turned to me and motioned to my wand. “Try again, Max. You got this. You can do it.”
I tried again.
And again.
Nothing.
Over and over, I waved my wand, and over and over, my friends told me that they believed in me. It was a strange feeling to have that sort of unending support. It made me feel wildly uncomfortable in some ways and absolutely fantastic in others, but despite the fact that my friends were right there, I still couldn’t seem to grasp it.
I had created an entire pile of terrible foods, but I still couldn’t focus my energy enough to create what I really wanted to, and that was a problem. As a witch, I needed to be able to be precise in my spells. Every potion, every enchantment, and every herb had to be absolutely precise. That was the most important thing about witchcraft. Everything had to be just so.
“You can do it,” Kiera said.
“I know you think I can,” I said. “But I think I need a break.”
My body hurt from constantly pushing myself. It had been close to an hour, I thought. Wasn’t that long enough to practice casting spells that didn’t work?
“Another shot,” Henry said. “Give it one more go.”
“Close your eyes for a second,” Kiera said. “And focus.”
I closed my eyes.
I let all of my worries and stresses just fade away for a minute. It was a skill I hadn’t perfected, but learning to clear my mind had been an important part of coming into my powers. If I could calm down and just focus, I could get this.
I tried again.
Nothing.
It was a good thing Kiera’s parents weren’t home because they’d definitely think we were being mischievous or weird. It’s not that they weren’t supportive of us practicing our skills, but they were also fans of cleanliness and organization. By my tenth try, there was a stack of dough, cheese, and sauce that would definitely take some work to clean up.
Kiera saw me eyeing the pile reluctantly and she shrugged.
“Don’t worry about it. That’s why there’s no carpet in here. Do you know how many times my siblings have messed up spells in here? Don’t worry about it.”
“Try again,” Henry said. “You’re so much closer than you were a few minutes ago.”
“I don’t know. I’m tired,” I said. I looked at my wand and back at the pile of food. Maybe this just wasn’t my thing. I’d gotten a lot better at magic, but food spells had a mind of their own.
“You can do it,” he said.
“Just try,” Kiera urged.
“Peer pressure, much?” I laughed, but it was a tense sort of laugh. I was getting close to reaching my limit as to how much magic I could handle in a day.
I nodded, pushed my shoulders back, and closed my eyes. I tried to clear my head as much as possible. Instead of thinking about whether or not I’d be able to do it, I thought about my friends and how much they believed in me. I thought about how much I’d learned since I started school at Hybrid Academy. I thought about how far I’d come.
I thought about how much I had been able to accomplish in just a few years.
And then I waved my wand.
This time, everything felt different. I could feel it deep inside me: the magic. It swirled around inside of me, just bursting to come out. When I whispered the spell, this time, there was force behind the words. It felt like my heart was exploding into a million pieces and when I moved my wand, the magic was free.
The food appeared.
Instantly, I knew this was it.
I knew this was the time that I’d finally gotten it right.
Kiera and Henry both just stared at the food. Then they turned and looked at me.
“You did it,” he whispered.
“Dang, wolf,” Kiera laughed. “Nice work.”
I looked at the pizza, and a deep sense of satisfaction washed over me. Right now, the world didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I had a lot of issues to deal with and a lot of problems. Hybrid Academy’s fall semester would start in a few days and I’d be starting my third and final year at the school. Things would get crazy, the way they always did, but I’d finally be able to really solidify my understanding of magic. I’d finally be able to really understand what it meant to be a witch.
And it all started right here.
Creating the pizza wasn’t just about creating a pizza.
It was about visualizing something I really wanted and being able to create it just the way I hoped. It was a heart-shaped pizza with garlic crust and basil tomato sauce. It had extra cheese and star-shaped pepperoni on top. It was everything I wanted it to be. Creating it was different from creating sandwiches or food baskets or picnics. It was different because it was so very precise and so very specific.
And if there was one thing I’d learned since starting at Hybrid Academy, it was that specifics mattered.
A lot.
Saying a spell in just the wrong way could make or break your magical career.
A wrongly-uttered enchantment could cause you to be completely destroyed.
It could ruin everything.
It was so very, very important that each part of a spell be absolutely, totally, completely flawless, and that’s what they were teaching us to accomplish.
Today, I’d managed to do that.
Today, I’d done something incredible.
Today, I’d given myself a much-needed confidence boost, and hell yeah, that made me feel pretty damn good.
“Nice work,” Kiera grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite.
“Perfection,” Henry said through a mouthful of pizza.
I reached for my own slice and shrugged.
“It was nothing,” I said. Then I took a bite, and sighed.
Perfect.
Everything was going to be just perfect.
Chapter 2
It was going to be my final year at Hybrid Academy. I had a lot of mixed feelings as we walked into the huge castle on the first day of our last year. Kiera and I were both more confident this year. Henry, as-Boo-the-cat, sat in my arms as we went inside for orientation. Aunt Erin accompanied me, as always. Kiera’s family couldn’t come this year, so she rode along with Erin and me.
Grandmother stayed behind to work on some magic and spells, but that was okay. It had been a good summer spending time with her. We’d loved every minute of getting to catch up together. Having her be lost for the bet
ter part of two years had been strange. In some ways, I felt like I’d grown up so much while she was gone. In other ways, it felt like we had never been apart at all.
We’d spent so many nights just talking long into the hours of darkness.
Sometimes I still found it hard to believe that she was okay. Grandmother was okay. Everything was going to be fine. We were going to be fine. No matter what else life threw at us, we were together again, and everything was going to be okay.
At least, it had felt that way until this morning.
Now summer was over, and my final year of school was going to start. With it came many questions that were still unresolved.
Why was the vampire king after my family?
What involvement did he have in my parents’ disappearance?
Why was everyone so intent on getting the spell my parents had been working on?
And what really happened?
What happened to my Mom and Dad?
Grandma, Erin, and I had spent the summer working with the coven to try to find answers, but we kept coming up short. Things never seemed to make sense. We’d stressed ourselves out, worn ourselves thin, and lost sleep worrying about how things could have been. Grams had been writing furiously in her spell book ever since she got back, trying to figure out a way to make the spell reversible. We’d found out last year that my parents had disappeared while looking for a spell that could cause people to turn into shifters.
What we hadn’t known was that once someone drank the magical potion, they’d not only turn into a shifter, but stay as one.
The potion offered a one-way trip to Animal Land, and apparently, it wasn’t a very fun one.
At least, that’s what we had gathered.
My professor last year had been working on a potion that would cause people to shift back to their natural form, but it came with some nasty side effects and he had turned out to be a pretty nasty person in general.
I hoped against all hope that this year, life at Hybrid Academy would be a little more…simple. I could use a break and I could use a reprieve. I really didn’t want a repeat of the last two years where I’d learned a lot, but also almost gotten killed.
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