A few fish swam past but nothing intimidating or dangerous-looking.
Dnai had been right. The narrow tunnels would have made it difficult for her to navigate. It occurred to her that the girl might previously have had trouble in a similar situation.
She glanced behind her and realized she’d been the only one to choose her tunnel. Perhaps she should return. They hadn’t really specified any real winning conditions, but she was motivated more by curiosity to keep going than any concern over winning their diving competition.
A few more minutes passed, and the blue had noticeably faded from her breathing sphere. She was about to turn when she noticed a faint glow ahead and couldn’t resist moving forward. Perhaps it was some sort of fish trick, which might prove interesting.
Another minute of swimming brought her to a cavern filled with a soft green light above the water. She surfaced, canceled her spell, and took a deep breath.
“Huh. Interesting.”
Glowing rocks covered the walls of the surprisingly vast cavern and provided the illumination that had lured her there. Two small tunnels led out in addition to the one through the water, and both looked large enough for a person to fit through. Thick clusters of stalactites hung from the ceiling. Water dripped steadily from several of them, and the stalagmites on the ground suggested that they had been there for a long time.
Raine caught movement from the corner of her eye and she spun that way, her wand up. A small glowing jellyfish-like creature floated through the air toward one of the tunnels and a quiet buzz accompanied its flight.
“Huh. That’s cool.” She smiled and turned to point it out to Cameron before she remembered that he wasn’t in the cavern with her and sighed. “That’s right.”
She took a few splashing steps until she was completely out of the water. Her soaked clothes dripped around her feet. She looked from one tunnel to the other and curiosity poked in the corner of her mind. One foot followed another, and she stopped and looked around before she reached the exits.
It wasn’t FBI training that stopped her but experience on her many semester adventures. She felt like she was being watched.
“Asher? Cameron? Sara? Kelly? Philip?” she shouted. Her voice echoed in the cavern but no one replied.
Raine cast a shield spell and frowned. “Is anyone there?”
Again, there was no response.
She stared at the tunnels and shook her head. “I’ve watched enough horror movies not to wander into weird tunnels by myself,” she muttered. She sighed and shook her head before she cast a new air bubble.
The additional tunnels would have to wait. For all she knew, there could be mirror cats in there—or something worse. With her luck, there was probably a floating zombie jellyfish waiting to try to eat her in the darkness.
She waded back into the water and pondered the anatomical features of a zombie jellyfish.
A few minutes later, she emerged in the main pond. All her other friends were on the surface, including a worried-looking Cameron.
“I was about to go looking for you,” he growled and his eyes flashed yellow. “You took way longer than anyone, and I thought…” He sighed. “Well, we didn’t know what happened. What took you so long? Did your spell last the whole time?”
Raine nodded toward the water. “The underwater tunnels open into a cavern. I recast the spell there. Plus, there were some other tunnels, too, and weird gleaming rock and a floating jellyfish that glowed. Except that was in the air.” She shrugged. “It was interesting and I wanted to explore more, but I felt a weird vibe so I came back.”
“Smart move,” he said. “You should always trust your instincts. They haven’t failed you yet, even all the way to knowing something was up with Madelyn.”
Asher scooped some water in his palm. “Oh, it was probably only a hungry water dragon you woke up. He’s there to show you that not all dragons are like Dorvu. He needs blood and flesh!”
She laughed. “I’d be impressed if a fully-grown dragon could fit down there.”
“It’s probably best to leave it alone for now,” Adrien called. “If there are weird creatures inside, you don’t know how dangerous they might be.”
Raine nodded. “Fair enough. It’s not like the cavern is going anywhere.”
Sara floated toward them. “You found a whole new cavern and worried us. I guess that means you win the contest.” She splashed water in her face. “Now, let’s see if you can win the water war.”
Finn frowned from the shore on the opposite bank. He stared intently at the ground. “We should get going.”
“Why?” Cameron asked, his brow furrowed in concern.
The wizard squatted and pointed to the mud at the shore. “Because there are footprints here that don’t belong to us.”
“It’s probably from Professor Powell or the others,” Raine said.
Finn shook his head. “None of us walked around on this side.”
Adrien swam toward him. “You said you had a weird vibe, Raine. Maybe there was someone else in that cavern. Finn’s right. We should go.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Professor Powell and Professor Hudson both frowned as Raine finished her explanation while seated at one of the camp tables. The other students added a few other details, including Finn. Even Professor Kaylis looked worried, but Professor Tarelli appeared to be excited.
The huge smile on her face could easily have made someone think it was her birthday.
The Nygan professor bounced a few times. “Don’t you realize what you’ve found? Do you have any inkling at all?”
“I think we found trouble,” Raine said crisply. “I honestly don’t know, Professor. That’s why we’re telling you.” She glanced at the two professors from her school. “I’ve learned to not keep information from the experienced magicals who might be able to help me.”
Professor Tarelli shook her head. “No, no. You don’t understand. Those weren’t jellyfish you saw, and they aren’t trouble.”
“Huh? Sure. I understand that they floated in the air and aren’t normal jellyfish. Wait. Why do you even care about those?”
The professor sighed. “You still don’t understand. It’s what those creatures represent. They are a kind of commensal magical creature that is normally associated with much larger creatures—almost exclusively so. It’s a particularly special find, especially because of the implications for what else we might find in the area.” She rubbed her hands together with obvious enthusiasm. “Their presence here suggests there’s something around that is considerably more impressive than skimmers. There might even be a Kraken.” She scratched her cheek and squinted. “Or even something much larger. No, no. That’s impossible. We’d know. It obviously has to be sea-based, though. I think we would have detected signs of anything that large that lived or nested on the land as we’ve at least sampled most major regions of the island. Hmm. So many possibilities. Oh, how wonderful. You have such good luck.”
Raine winced. “Wait. A Kraken? Now I’m really glad we didn’t try to swim in the ocean.”
Several other students grimaced.
“Yes! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? There shouldn’t be enough magic for that kind of creature to currently survive on Earth, but this might be a special case.” Professor Tarelli sighed with contentment. “Good job, Megan. You have a good nose for finding unusual things. I see why they like your CIA Berserker Brigade.”
She didn’t even bother to correct the professor about her or the squad’s name. Instead, she sighed and shook her head.
A Kraken? She had thought the mirror cats and zombie trees were bad enough, but now her wonderful vacation island might have a Kraken prowling the seas around it. All her hard-earned relaxation had vanished.
Her breath caught. She was missing something else much more important. Her heart thundered with a new impetus that might be anticipation. There were different ways to enjoy the island. She’d let the lazy pace focus her on one way and ignored the obvious.
Professor Powell held a hand up. “I’m far less concerned about any theoretical Kraken than the footprints the students found—and the fact that Raine felt like she was being watched in that cavern. That has implications, and they don’t involve large sea monsters. The students can deal with animals and even magical animals, but people are more complicated, especially if they are who I think they are.”
“What do you think?” Raine asked. “Another survey group? Maybe they simply forget to tell you or they’re eco-tourists.”
Professor Kaylis sighed and shook his head. “No. It was made very clear to me that we would be the only ones on the island. If it were another survey group, they would use the cabins and the dock, not go in and out of ponds in the center of the island. Besides that, travel to this island is restricted. Because of the magical interference, they couldn’t have portaled in easily. Unfortunately, I’ve been worried about another possibility, and the evidence suggests my concerns were well-founded. Alas. Things are about to get complicated.”
Raine frowned and fixed him with a challenging look. “What concerns, Professor?”
“This is an island filled with rare magical animals, especially if you’re talking about limiting your supply to Earth. Some of the creatures here may very well not exist anywhere else on Earth, and it would be difficult to import them from Oriceran without considerable trouble.” Professor Kaylis paced as he spoke, his demeanor tense and serious. “Whenever you limit the supply of animals, one deadly and unfortunate possibility always arises. It’s simple supply and demand.”
Adrien narrowed his eyes. “You’re talking about poachers, aren’t you?”
“Exactly, my boy. Poachers.” He stopped pacing and nodded toward the forest. “Many of these species are extremely valuable on the black market, either whole or for their individual parts. If there are poachers seeking magical animals, they will be very dangerous men who understand both the risks of the animals and the risks of getting caught, especially by certain Oricerans who take an even dimmer view of that sort of activity than many Earth groups and governments.” He looked at the other professors. “I recommend that the students only go out with a professor until we can firmly establish what’s going on. It’s too much of a risk otherwise. Such men are dangerous. I’ve dealt with them before.”
“Agreed,” Professor Powell said. “We’ll need to establish if there are poachers, and if so, we might need to contact the government so they can handle it.”
Professor Hudson nodded her agreement. Professor Tarelli mumbled something about Kraken habitat ranges and didn’t seem to be aware of the other conversation.
“I’m sorry.” Professor Powell smiled apologetically at the students. “You lost your mazeball and now, you’ve lost your pond.”
“Do we have to leave?” Raine asked, her tone even. “I’d hate to take off early.”
“Possibly. The earthquakes are unpredictable, but at least we know they won’t attack someone out of greed. We’ll have to see what happens.” He shrugged. “But we can’t make any promises either way.”
She nodded and tried to keep the smile on her face. Her heart pounded and her palms were sweaty. It was a genuine mystery. She had enjoyed her time on the island, but her old instincts now kicked in and demanded that the mystery be solved and the criminals caught. While she wouldn’t go against the professors, she could help them when they went out.
There was no reason to leave and have the government solve everything. Four trained magical instructors and fifteen students would be more than enough to stop a few poachers.
Professor Kaylis cleared his throat. “Is that clear to everyone? For now, we’ll need you to stick close to camp unless you’re with a professor. I know it’s an inconvenience, and I hope I’m wrong, but I won’t disrespect you by pretending that poachers aren’t a serious concern. I can’t stress how dangerous these kinds of men can be.”
The students all nodded, their faces etched with concern. Raine did her best not to grin.
Cameron eyed her, suspicion in his eyes. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Don’t get too excited. We won’t run off and do anything without the professors.”
She nodded quickly. “I know.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Xander sighed and shook his head as he studied the shoreline. The students’ footprints were there, but there was no sign of any others. He sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly.
Eleanor stared at the mud and scowled uneasily. “Do you think they misinterpreted what they saw? Mistook one of their own footprints?”
“No, I don’t. They might be overeager, but they’re not fools.” He narrowed his eyes. “I think that whoever they almost bumped into was smart enough not to attack a large group of students and also to try to cover their tracks in case said students alerted their professors.” He squatted for a closer look. “And in my experience, people only cover their tracks when they have something to hide.” He barked out a sudden laugh. “I would know.”
She looked at him like he’d lost his mind. He could understand her reaction. Even though she’d always been respectful of him despite his past, she could never really understand on the same level that Mara did.
“You’re wondering why I’m laughing?” Xander asked.
“The thought did cross my mind, yes. This doesn’t strike me as an even sardonically amusing situation, but I’m open to having my mind changed.”
He stood and smiled. “It was simply that I tried to decide who has the bad luck in this situation.”
“Bad luck?” Eleanor glanced into the water. “What do you mean?”
“Everywhere those kids go, trouble follows them, even when they don’t actively look for it.” He turned slowly in search of anything unusual or odd magical sensations. There wasn’t anything beyond the normal high background magic of the island. “It’s been like that from the beginning. At least with Alison and Izzie, the trouble involving them made sense given who Izzie truly was. But with these kids, it’s like the universe is determined to prove something to us. Or at least that’s one possibility, but they’re not the only ones who get themselves in trouble.”
“And what’s the other? Are you talking about the OAAS students?”
“No. Not them at all, but that’s a third possibility.” His jaw tightened. “I meant someone else from the School of Necessary Magic. There’s only one professor who was poisoned in the last few years when leaving campus. If there is such a thing as bad luck, maybe I’m as much as a cause as they are. I find trouble exactly like they do.”
Eleanor scoffed. “You can’t honestly believe that, Xander.”
“I can’t say that I do, but I also have a hard time totally not believing it.” Xander crouched at the water’s edge and his boots sank into the soft mud. “We still don’t know who poisoned me. I know it doesn’t have anything to do with poachers who might be on the island, but I can’t say I don’t think about it often, especially because Mara made serious sacrifices to save me. Until we get to the bottom of that, there’s a threat. I don’t care much about the possible danger to me, but I don’t want those kids dragged into something that has nothing to do with them.”
“Why would they get dragged into something like that?” She looked confused. “Whoever poisoned you didn’t target any of the students.”
He stood and pointed his wand at an untouched patch of mud and cast a revelation spell. The thin outline of a boot appeared. “Ah, here we go. They were smart enough to literally cover their tracks but still not thorough enough to think about us coming in with our own magic.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” She folded her arms over her chest. “What does danger to you have to do with Raine and her friends?”
“Did you see Raine when we were talking?” He shook his head and sighed.
“What about her?”
“She tried to hide it, but she was excited. I’m certain of it.”
Eleanor nodded. “We’ve inculcated a certain attitude
among all the students—a certain independence—and she and her friends have taken that to another level, but isn’t that a good thing? She’ll train for the FBI soon. They aren’t the same children who started school three years ago. They’ve proven themselves. I’m not saying we throw them to the lions, but we also can extend them some trust.”
“Not the same kids?” Xander snorted. “They damned well are. Yes, they aren’t young children, but they are still children. I’m proud of how well they have handled themselves, but I also know that if dark wizards show up to kill me, those kids could suffer, exactly like when the dark wizards showed up last time.” He frowned. “If only I’d known the truth, maybe I could have done something.”
“You don’t know that. None of us know that. The only people to blame for those incidents are the dark wizards behind them.” She stared at him, her gaze evaluating him before she nodded. “And that’s who you think poisoned you? Dark wizards?”
“It makes the most sense. They’re probably afraid to attack the school directly because they know we’re too fortified now.” He cast another revelation spell and found a different boot print. “I’m not saying they plan to attack the school. I’m saying this is probably something personal from my past, and I don’t want any student to suffer because of it. I’ll handle my own mess and problems. No more sacrifices on my behalf.”
“And what do you plan to do, then? I can’t believe you’ll leave the school. I don’t say this for your sake, but I do honestly believe you’re an asset to the school. Mara certainly does.”
He allowed himself a smirk and a quick laugh. “I’ve finally earned Mara back after losing her. If I leave now, I might lose her again. No, I can’t leave, but it also means that when I get back to school, there has to be some way I can look into this or draw out whoever was responsible.”
Untouchable Witch: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (School of Necessary Magic Raine Campbell Book 7) Page 13