by Nissa Leder
I give her a middle-finger. “See you two later.”
As I’m walking down the hallway, Elaine exits a room and we nearly collide.
“Sorry,” I say as I dodge her.
“It’s okay,” she says as she shuts the door behind her. “Where are you off to this late?”
The urge to ask her if she’s my mother sits at the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it. “A friend is going to give me a tour of Wicklow.”
“A guy friend?” Her eyebrow curves.
“Yeah, so what?”
Elaine lifts her hand to her mouth and covers a yawn. “This is your chance to be someone new. I figured you’d want to take this opportunity seriously for a change.”
“I…” Despite the judgment of her statement, her words aren’t in their usual bitchy tone. “I am taking this seriously. It’s just a tour of the academy. We aren’t running away and getting married.”
“Okay. Have fun.”
“I will.” Before she can make me feel any worse, I continue toward the stairs.
Six
Kaz is waiting for me when I get to the bottom of the staircase. He’s wearing distressed jeans and a plain white t-shirt that shows more of his tattoo half-sleeve.
I can’t see much, but it looks like a tribal design of some sort.
“Nice ink,” I say as I stop next to him.
He glances at the tattoo. “Thanks. My dad wasn’t too happy when I got it, but I told him it makes me look tough.”
More like sexy, I think but don’t say. “So, I’m eager to absorb all this wisdom you promised me.”
“Right this way.” He extends his arms down the hallway and we start walking. “I was starting to worry you weren’t gonna show.”
“And miss the chance to learn all the Wicklow secrets?” I joke.
“I don’t know if I know all the secrets, but I do know a good few.”
We walk to the far end of the East Wing and out a side door to an outdoor area. Strings of lights hang above a cobblestone patio. A few benches line the open ground, placed in front of tall rose bushes that enclose the patio.
“This is beautiful,” I say.
The air around us is perfectly still, and the temperature is surprisingly warm for this late at night.
“Wicklow secret number one: the perfect study spot, day or night,” Kaz says. “Every once in a while someone else will be here, but this place is mostly undiscovered by the students. Much quieter than the main courtyard.”
I can’t help but wonder how many other girls he’s taken here. “It’s amazing.”
“It also doubles as a dance floor.” Kaz pulls out his cell phone from his back pocket and plays a techno tune. He takes my hand and starts bouncing.
Not quite the music I was expecting, but I hop around and let him spin me. He twirls me into his body and dips me like we’re doing the tango.
When he pulls me back up, our faces are an inch apart. “That was…unexpected.” I inhale the spicy scent of his cologne.
“A have a personal rule not to waste a perfectly good dance floor.” He grins as he stares into my eyes. “That’s the first of two things I want to show you tonight.”
He releases me and I step back.
Something rustles in a rosebush. I tense, expecting a raccoon to jump out at me. “What was that?”
“Probably just a gnome,” Kaz says.
Is he kidding? I consider asking, but I don’t want to seem too gullible, so I don’t.
Next, he leads me all the way to the opposite end of the academy. We pass a long line of portraits of famous Wicklow graduates, and Kaz points out the dean’s office. Like the hallway that leads to my bedroom, chandeliers light the way.
When we near the end of the long hallway, we stop at a fancy looking door on a curved wall. The crimson-stained door is framed with a stained glass arch.
Kaz pulls out a large, silver skeleton key and sticks it into the lock. He doesn’t turn it, but a second later, something clicks. “Right this way, m’lady.”
We step into a circular room with the highest ceiling I’ve ever seen. Bookshelves twenty-feet tall line the wall, and above them mosaic stained-glass windows are cut into the wall.
The center of the room is filled with colorful plush couches and chairs.
“I thought the patio was gorgeous, but this is spectacular.”
Kaz sinks into a navy loveseat and pats the spot to his left.
I join him. “This is the school’s library?”
It’s as beautiful as I’d have expected, but not very big for such a large academy.
“This is a private library just for special people.” He rests his arm on the back of the couch behind me.
“And how exactly does someone get an invite?”
“You find a key,” he says. “Rumor has it that there are ten keys to this room. Every time a keyholder is about to graduate, he hides his key for a new student to stumble upon. Rumor also has it that there are ten secret rooms like this.”
“Let me guess, it’s your mission to find all ten keys.” I shift my legs and my knee brushes his. A chill shoots through me.
“Well, of course.” He leans back. “I’ve found three so far.”
“Three out of ten. Not bad.”
“But not good either.”
“What are the other two keys to?”
“Aren’t you Miss Impatient?” he asks. “One secret room per date. I think that seems fair.”
“What if the anticipation kills me?” I reach out and gently touch his tattoo. “If I’m dead, I’ll never know the other places.”
He tilts his chin and watches my finger graze his bicep. “One more tonight. And the last one on our second date.”
“I guess a compromise is fair.”
He pushes himself up for the couch. “You’re a sly one, Wren Jacobsen. You convinced me.”
He heads to the door, and I almost regret persuading him to show me another one. Staying on the couch a while longer might not have been a bad thing.
We walk down the empty hallway back to where we met. But instead of taking a staircase up toward the dorm rooms, we take one down to the basement.
“Please tell me you aren’t taking me to some creepy dungeon,” I say.
He stops and drops his arms to the side. “Way to go and ruin it.” His frown flips into a smile. “Just kidding.”
“You jerk.” I playfully tap his arm with the backside of my hand.
“That’s right. You’re a slugger. I better be careful.” He grins.
We continue down a long, dimly lit hallway and pause in front of an iron door.
“Okay, this is seriously creepy,” I say.
Kaz turns his hand upward and closes his eyes until a bronze skeleton key appears in his hand. He glances at me with a grin. “It takes a while, but eventually you get used to using magic.” He sticks the key into the lock and waits for the click. Then, he opens the door.
We step inside to a room smaller than I was expecting.
A long buffet table full of sweets lines the back wall. Someone stands in front of it, using magic to lift a bowl of cookies onto a silver tray. At first, the height makes me think it’s a child dressed in brightly colored clothing, but as my eyes move to its head, I notice the large, pointed ears.
“Hey, Pete,” Kaz says.
The creature turns and grins when it sees us. “Mr. Kaz, you’re back from summer break.” It—or rather he, I think, shifts his attention to me. “And you brought a friend.”
“Pete, meet Wren. She’s Beck’s younger sister,” Kaz says.
Pete’s outfit looks like it was picked out by a blindfolded person from a pile of the most random pieces. Bright red pants with a pair of teal shorts on the outside, a purple and yellow polka dot blouse, and a hot pink bow-tie.
“Oh, Mr. Jacobsen’s granddaughter.” Pete bows.
Even he, whatever he is, knows about my grandpa.
I do my best not to gawk. I have a feeling it would be rude. B
ut it’s hard to keep my expression normal when I’m staring at a creature I’ve never seen before.
Something tells me Kaz might have been serious about the gnome in the bushes.
“N-nice to meet you.” My voice is quiet, but at least I managed to say something.
“Everything looks delicious.” Kaz grabs a chocolate-chip cookie from the bowl and takes a bite. He gives a thumbs up.
“Would you like one, Miss Wren?” Pete asks.
I nod.
A cookie floats from the top row of the tray right to my hand.
“Thank you.”
“I better be getting back to the kitchen. Enjoy the food.” Pete bows and, within a blink, disappears.
“Woah,” is all I can manage. “What…I mean…” I’m not sure the polite way to ask what type of creature Pete is.
“He’s a hobgoblin.” Kaz scoops himself a bowl of pudding. “They keep everything running smoothing in the academy. And stock this secret room for all of us with keys.”
“So, there are more like him?”
Kaz sticks a spoonful of pudding in his mouth and nods.
“And in the rosebush, was that really a gnome?” I ask.
He swallows. “Well, I can’t know for sure. But yes, I’d imagine so.” Kaz sits on the black sectional hugging the back right corner. He pulls his feet up onto the matching ottoman and crosses his ankles. “It’s a lot to take in, huh?”
I grab another cookie and join him. “Sometimes I still wonder when I’m going to wake up, but little by little it’s feeling less surreal. Although, now I’m wondering what other surprises are out there.”
“After a year here, I’m still stumbling on new things,” Kaz says. “It’s a big adjustment from the Ordinary world.”
“You grew up in the normal world like Beck and me?”
“Yep. I had absolutely no clue about magic. I always thought I’d help my dad with the vineyard he owns, but then the day after I graduated high-school, Dad reluctantly told me about Wicklow.”
“Reluctantly?” I cross my right leg over my right and lean back.
“Both my parents came to school here. It’s where they met and fell in love. Just like most Wicklow students, they graduated and became Protectors. But when I was two, my mom was killed by a Dark Sorcerer. Dad immediately withdrew himself from the Sorcery world and started the vineyard.”
“I’m so sorry.” Even though my parents were gone a lot, and my nanny raised Beck and me more than they did at times, I can’t imagine not growing up with both of them in my life. Now, knowing their true profession, I realize how much danger they were always in.
How different would my life have been if I’d known?
“They were planning on raising me in the Ordinary world anyway, so Wicklow was already holding my magic. Dad almost didn’t tell me, but he and my mom promised each other that if something happened to one of them, the other would give me the choice for my own future,” Kaz says. “Once I found out about this world, I couldn’t not be a part of it. Dad’s still mad, but there’s nothing he can do. I chose magic and I’ve never looked back.”
I’ve been on more first dates than I care to count. Some were awful and a complete waste of time. Others sparked a connection but were only okay. Never has someone opened up to me as much as Kaz has.
“Sorry, that was really depressing.” He slides his legs off of the ottoman. “I’m supposed to be showing you around Wicklow, not boring you.”
“You’re not boring me at all,” I say. “It’s nice to think that soon I’ll be as comfortable in this place as you are.”
Kaz glances at the dessert table and guides two more cookies toward us. “One more cookie, then I better get you back to your room. Wouldn’t want you sleep deprived on your second day of class.”
After we’ve chowed down the cookies, we leave.
When we get to the main floor, we hesitate by the staircase.
“Thanks for showing me around,” I say. “But I’m going to hold you to your promise to show me where your last key opens.”
Kaz shifts his weight from his right foot to his left. “I saved the best for last.”
I’m not sure what to do now. Do I say goodbye and head up the stairs. Do I step toward him and pucker my lips?
While I’m frozen in place, uncertain, Kaz moves toward me and leans in. His hand cups the back of my head and pulls my face to his, then his lips graze mine.
It’s a quick kiss, but my entire body tingles.
“Have a good night, Wren.” He steps back and grins.
“You too.” As I head up the stairs to my room, I can’t help but smile.
Everything about tonight was innocent, quite the change from most of the dates I went on in high school.
I can’t remember ever feeling so giddy. It’s like I’m a thirteen-year-old who just had her first kiss.
Olivia is in bed writing in a notebook when I get back to the room. “Date went well?”
“It did,” I say.
I slip into my nightgown and snuggle under the covers.
Today was a good day.
I think I’m going to like it here at Wicklow.
Seven
I manage to make it on time to first period and miraculously not to puke in Combat.
Now, I’m sitting in Incantations, more excited for class to start than I think I’ve ever been in my life.
Professor Belrose sits behind her desk, her face partly hidden behind a book. Her round, gold-rimmed glasses fall down her nose, eyes moving side-to-side as she devours whatever it is she’s reading.
Finally, she glances at the clock on the wall next to the door. “Oh, looks like it’s time to start.” She sticks a bookmark in the book and sets it on her desk before standing up and moving to the middle of the room. “Incantations are the spells used to connect you to your inner magic. All of you possess the spark of Sorcery in your veins, but how well you’ll be able to wield that power will depend on how conjoined the two halves of your soul are.”
She moves to the chalkboard and draws a yin yang sign. “To many, this is a symbol of Chinese philosophy. Yin and yang, opposites in many ways, but connected, create a whole. Magic requires the same unity. Part of you is just a being, the same as every Ordinary out there. You require food as sustenance, water to hydrate, air to fill your lungs. Your magic is earth incarnate in your veins. It’s your connection to nature and something bigger than yourself.”
Some of the students whisper to each other, skepticism written in their expressions. I have absolutely no clue how most people in this world define magic, but from the reaction of everyone else in the room, I’m guessing this isn’t a typical explanation.
“Now, I want you all to close your eyes and exhale your worries.”
A few of my classmates sigh and roll their eyes, but I ignore them. If Professor Belrose can help me connect to my magic so I don’t look like an idiot, I’m going to take any advice she has to offer.
When my eyes are closed, I take a deep breath. Then, as I release it, I relax my muscles.
“Search for the magic in your soul, deep within your core,” she says.
I think back to the energy I felt after Ms. Ballard injected me with the serum. My skin tingles.
“Turn your palm toward the sky, and as you pull your inner heat from your power, repeat the words ardeat ignis in your mind.”
I clench my abdomen and focus on the growing tingle.
Ardeat ignis.
Ardeat ignis.
Ardeat ignis.
“Amazing, Wren!” Professor Belrose says.
I open my eyes and see the glow of magic fire emanating in my hand, just as strong as Ms. Ballards had been on the boat. I glance around the room, expecting to see other students with fire in their hands, but only one other person has produced anything, and hers is more smoke than flames.
“Now, absorb the magic back into your soul,” she says.
I’m not sure what she means, but I envision the fire dissolv
ing into my skin, and it disappears.
Professor Belrose claps. “Remarkable. I shouldn’t be surprised. You are your parents’ daughter, after all.”
No one else says anything, but I don’t miss the glares. They don’t know that up until two days ago, I had no idea magic even existed, let alone that my parents were some kind of heroes in this world. Maybe they’ve defeated darkness and saved lives, but Mom and Dad never came to any of the showings of the play I acted in or Beck’s soccer games. When they were home for our birthdays, we didn’t have intimate family nights or Disney-themed parties with all of our classmates like most kids. Instead, they invited all their friends to some fancy gathering catered by one of the hottest restaurants.
“Everyone, try again,” Professor Belrose says. “Really focus on your breath as you draw from your magic.”
I fold my hands in my lap and wait as everyone struggles to create flames. By the end of the period, two other students have succeeded. Everyone else is left frustrated and mumbling how weird Professor Belrose is. If she can hear them, she doesn’t show it.
“Great job, everyone. Connecting to your magic on a spiritual level is the hardest part, but once you have, performing incantations will come naturally,” she says. “Now, lunch will be later than normal today. All freshmen are to report to the gym for a brief assembly.”
I follow everyone to the other side of the academy.
Ten rows of chairs have been set up in the middle of the gym floor in front of a podium on a small stage. I sit next to Olivia and Micah in the second row.
When everyone is seated, a middle-aged woman in a maroon pencil skirt and matching blazer takes the stage. Her silver hair is pulled into a tight bun, with a few strands falling in her face.
“Welcome, students. I’m Mrs. Waters, Dean of Wicklow, and I’m so thrilled to see so many fresh faces. Now that you’ve made it through your first day, it’s time to discuss your future here at one of the finest magic schools in the country,” she says. “I’m pleased to welcome our very own Sorcery President to discuss some upcoming changes to the academy.”
A tall, salt-and-pepper haired man walks into the gym and takes Dean Waters’ place on the stage. He scans the crowd until his eyes land on me and he smiles. His oval face, thin nose, and deep blue eyes are the exact same as Dad’s. Even the shape of his grin is remarkably similar.