by Holly Ice
You shouldn’t hide. Just because you don’t know everything, does not mean you are inferior.
I blinked at my raven. He stood on the edge of my desk, his beak pointing at my nose.
I don’t think I’m inferior. I’m overwhelmed. All these people, this new place. I couldn’t even find the classroom. And now I ken they’re going slow for me.
Witch life will be an adjustment. That is normal. You are doing well.
I scoffed under my breath. Well. Right. What a glowing compliment. Do you have a name, raven?
I do, but I cannot share it.
Then what should I call you? I can’t keep calling you raven.
Lyall will suffice.
Suffice. What kind of word was that?
Rufus cleared his throat and waved his hand over the white wall behind him.
A series of short sentences appeared, formed by a gel-like blue gas which settled into letters and words, easily visible against the bright background. He spoke along with the note-like word accompaniment. I should be impressed, but it was a magical slideshow. Why not do it the old way and save energy?
‘Witches are one of the sentient races within the supernatural community on Earth. Like vampires, shifters, and demi-fae, we are descended from the full fae which once inhabited this world, and humans.’
Never mind the magical slideshow, this was getting interesting. This meant I had fae blood in me. But like fairies, or like the greater world of fae?
Rufus waved his hand, and a family tree for supernaturals appeared with fae at the top and the other races below, separated into sentient and non-sentient. Non-sentient didn’t have any sub-categories marked, at least not yet, but I was sure it’d include barghests. Those things weren’t much more than a fierce survival instinct.
‘Fae retreated from this world many centuries ago due to mankind’s mass destruction of nature and wildlife, particularly during the industrial revolutions. The fae are far more attuned to aether than ourselves and couldn’t live in a place with too much industry. It left them pained, like a discordant noise screeching in their ears and bubbling through their blood.’
Kaylee raised her hand. How had I missed her in my mad search for this place? How had she found it?
‘Yes?’ Rufus asked.
‘How do we know how it felt for the fae if they all left?’
Rufus smiled. ‘When the portals closed, some fae stayed behind. Mostly non-sentients who weren’t shepherded out in time, but also a few sentients who are closely linked to humans, such as the banshees. It is from them and their descendants that we know how uncomfortable a home Earth came to be. They say it grows worse each year. Some even speak about finding a way back to the fae world.’
He swiped a hand over his writing. It disappeared. A pentagram replaced it. Each tip was a different colour. Red, blue, green, yellow, and a rainbow-like fusion of hues that reminded me of the flash at the initiation.
‘Most of you will have heard of elemental magic. This is what witch magic is based on. Fire is red, water is blue, earth is green, and air is yellow.’
Did that explain the yellow glow around Kaylee’s floating suitcase on our brief tour?
‘And the multi-coloured part?’ Kaylee asked, raising her hand even as she asked the question.
Rufus didn’t seem to mind the interruption. In fact, he smiled. ‘All colours, or a rainbow-like gradient, is for spirit. But most important is the circle around the pentagram. This represents aether, the web or energy pool which everything living or dead returns to.’
Is aether another element or sentient? Mel had said aether chose our familiars so it didn’t seem the same as the other elements.
Think of it like magic’s fuel.
‘There are two kinds of magic: instinctive, and intentional,’ Rufus continued. ‘A witch’s natural connection to the aether powers instinctive magic, but this is limited to subconscious magic such as a fight-or-flight reaction. Intentional magic is far more versatile, but it requires your familiar to channel their superior connection to the aether.’
So I’m reliant on their potions to speak with you and to do proper magic?
Yes, that summarises his argument.
Argument?
Lyall picked through his feathers, straightening them.
Are you here to help me or drive me insane?
Living in an insane person’s head wouldn’t be much fun. I heard the damned smirk in his voice.
* * *
My next lesson, Elemental Strengths, was a floor down in the same tower, so was at least easy to find, though descending the spiralling steps with the other students pushing me to descend faster was far worse than the climb. I kept a hand flat to the wall to balance against the steep drop.
When we reached the next floor, the other students hurried through the open door to the classroom, but I paused outside. Shane was leaning on the doorframe.
‘Shane, isn’t it?’
I tried to ignore the way his muscles bunched beneath his thin shirt, the casual way his jacket dropped from his broad shoulders. And the ruffle to his black hair. Okay, I failed. The guy was droolworthy.
And his familiar – shit. His familiar was a large cat, its fur light grey with streaks of white and black. Its lazy, half-lidded eyes tracked me with a wildness in their golden core, barely leashed, as if it was accusing me of something or wondering how I’d taste.
Shane’s eyebrows raised, and his familiar tilted a tufted ear towards me. ‘You’re the girl I met on the stairs yesterday.’
‘Bianca.’
He smiled. ‘Interesting familiar you have, Bianca. A raven, was it?’
‘Can’t you see him?’
‘Of course. But you had us all going for a minute, thinking you might have a human familiar like that throwback roommate of yours. What was her name?’
‘Kaylee.’ Hadn’t he asked about her last time I met him, too?
‘Right.’ He pushed off the wall and touched my arm. ‘Better get inside, no?’
He slunk into the classroom, his familiar padding behind him, and I realised I was the last person out in the hallway.
I huffed. I couldn’t be late to every class.
He really affects you.
I glared at Lyall’s beady eyes. I don’t need your commentary.
Oh, but I think you do. Be careful with him.
Oh, I was well aware that Shane screamed bad choices, heartbreak, and duvet-scrunchingly good sex.
And damn it if the only seat still available was directly behind him. I’d have to look past broad shoulders and block out the delicious pine-and-mint scent that clung to him for the whole hour of… what was this class again? Right. Elemental Strengths. If lust was an element, he had it in spades.
I tried my best to focus on the young, petite teacher, but it was hard. Shane’s frame filled my vision, and his pen had this scratchy squeak, drawing me back to my droolathon.
This was pathetic. What was it, six months since the last man I took home? Far too long. Maybe Shane would go for a quick roll in the sheets, or a few rolls. I didn’t have to fall for the playboy or like his strange questions about my familiar to fuck him. Then I could put him behind me. I’d done it before.
My raven squawked, jolting me out of my daydreams.
Shane glanced back with a slow, sexy, smirk and then faced front. Like he knew what he did to me. Oh, a cat suited him just fine.
Lyall flapped his wings. Get your head into this lesson. Knowing your strengths is important.
Can I magic away my attraction to him?
No. But you must have some willpower.
Some. But did he see this guy? I bit my tongue and scooted my seat to get a clearer view of the teacher.
She’d dressed down in black jeans with holes in the knees and a green plaid shirt, and she’d hung a grey leather jacket over the back of her chair. I couldn’t see from where I sat whether it had a patch from her school days or not, but I’d bet it did.
Her name, Daria Li
ne, floated behind her, but not in the gas-like form the other teacher used. Her words were a trail of sparks that constantly refreshed, like sparklers writing the words over and over, embedding them on my eyelids. Her familiar, another young woman rocking a dark, revealing dress, leant on the desk. Charismatic and confident with hourglass figures, they drew most of the boys’ eyes like glue.
But not Shane. I hid my grin behind my hand. His attention was firmly on the notebook in front of him. What had so caught his attention?
‘Continuing from Rufus’s lesson, at least if it hasn’t changed like it hasn’t for the last five years, witches are better at some elements than others. This lesson will identify your strengths. And no, spells aren’t needed to find out. Look to your familiars.’
Most students faced their familiars, and a few had that frown of concentration which suggested they were listening to their guides.
‘Enough. I’m the teacher today, not them.’ Daria laughed at her own joke. ‘Depending how sarcastic your new friends are, they may already have told you what I mean. For Animalis witches, it’s their form you should assess. Are they at home in water, snow, forests, or deserts? And what do they symbolise in folklore? Some of these affiliations will be less obvious than others. Cognata witches should study their familiar’s temperament. Work with a partner to guess their strengths. I’ll check on your progress in a few minutes.’
She sat on her desk and swung her legs in the gap below.
I preferred working through a problem by myself. Partners or groups complicated things and made marking less fair. And who was I going to work with anyway? I scanned the students for potentials, but Kaylee had already cosied up to another Cognata witch. So much for any comradery I’d built there. No doubt that’s how she’d found the first class, too.
I jumped at the ghost of a touch on my calf.
The cat was by my foot, head tilted back to watch me.
Shane’s hands rested on the back of his chair. And that straddling pose gave me far too many ideas.
‘Uh, so, you wanted to work together then?’ I asked. Like an eejit.
His cat wasn’t watching me anymore, though its ears twitched when I spoke.
‘Yes, I think so,’ he said.
‘Why?’ It came out before I could stop it, but I couldn’t take it back.
‘Throwbacks intrigue me.’
‘Are you from an old family?’
‘I am.’
‘That must make learning all this easier.’
He shrugged. ‘It’s not the advantage you might think. I’d rather have a blank slate.’
‘Why?’
‘Witches can have certain… expectations.’
‘Like what?’
His shoulders tensed, and he nodded to his familiar.
‘They don’t like your cat? Why not? It’s gorgeous.’
‘She is a Canadian lynx.’
‘Well your Canadian lynx is gorgeous, then.’ I rolled my eyes. How specific was this guy?
Shane bristled. ‘What do you know about your familiar’s elements?’
Wow, okay. Back to business. Did I hit a sore spot? ‘Didn’t Daria want us to assess our partner’s familiar?’
‘If you insist.’ He propped his chin on his hands.
I swallowed hard. He was pin-up sexy without even trying.
‘What can you tell about my familiar’s elements?’
His lynx tilted her head.
I licked my lips. ‘Okay… well, her colouring suggests she’s at home in the snow and rock.’
‘Which means?’
‘A water element? Or maybe air.’
‘Both, yes. Good. What’s the next strongest element? You should look beyond appearances.’
That had to be a hint. I thought earth next for the rock, but I couldn’t get away from that deadly look in the lynx’s eyes. She was ferociously protective and wild, like her very glare could burn… ‘Fire.’
‘Why?’
‘She looks like she wants to eat me.’
His deep laugh was so smooth. ‘Yes, Mira often looks like that. But you’re right. She has fire, too. Most predators do.’
I smiled, glad the awkward tension was gone. ‘That leaves earth and spirit.’
‘Which order should they go in?’
‘Well, she lives on the earth, so I suppose earth first? But I don’t ken what to look for with spirit.’
‘Good. Want to know more about your familiar?’
I don’t trust him.
‘Sure. I’d love to.’ Why the hell not?
He’s sizing you up.
That’s a bad thing? Seemed more like he was flirting to me.
It might be.
Going to tell me why?
And silence. Perfect. I’d have to find out for myself if it was something that Lyall couldn’t say, or if he was being obstinate on purpose.
Shane rubbed his hands together and leant over the table, almost nose to nose with my familiar, which made me uneasy. Why did he need to be so close? It reminded me of the way he’d inspected us after the initiation. Like something was wrong with us.
‘Your familiar is an odd one. From your initiation, I was sure you’d have a human guide.’ He looked askance at me.
‘Why?’
‘You saw. The orb was shaped like human legs, and then changed, as if aether hadn’t decided what you needed.’
‘I don’t ken what you want me to say.’
He turned back to Lyall. ‘You must have a strong spirit element.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Spirit governs messages between the known and the unknown – think mind manipulation, clairvoyance, prophecy. And ravens are messengers of death.’
‘Should I be guarding my thoughts?’
Shane smiled. ‘No. Spirit magic that strong is almost unheard of in modern times. Now, what else… air magic seems likely.’ He sat back. ‘I heard you fought a barghest to get here?’
‘So they said.’ How had word of that gotten out to the other students? Were throwbacks that interesting?
‘Quite an achievement. They’re vicious creatures.’
‘Thank you?’
‘How did you do it?’
This felt like an inquisition. ‘I don’t know. I didn’t see. It was on top of me and then metres away. They said I threw it, or pushed it?’
‘Metres? With a barghest? You’re sure?’
I nodded.
‘Well, then I’d say air is your first strength. To push a creature of that weight and determination so far away, it has to be. Remarkable.’ He eyed me, devouring every little expression with a thoughtful tilt to his brow.
I couldn’t decide whether I was flattered by his interest or annoyed. ‘Anything else?’
‘Fire.’
‘Why? My creature doesn’t look like it’s going to kill you.’
‘No, but you have a fire about you.’
‘How so?’
I wondered if he knew what went through my head every time I looked at him. I hoped not, because that’d either be convenient or mortifying.
‘You glare at things that annoy you and respond with snap, like you’re unable to hold yourself back. That’s fire.’
He got all this from a few minutes alone with me?
‘Since ravens can’t swim, I suspect earth will be your fourth element, and then water. So that means air, spirit, fire, earth, water, in that order.’
‘Excellent, Shane, as expected from a McKee,’ Daria said.
Shane rolled his shoulder. ‘Bianca did well, too.’
‘I missed that, but I’m glad.’ The teacher smiled at me and then and moved on to the next grouping.
Of course he’s a McKee. He has the colouring.
I’m sure I’ve heard that name. Was it the head’s?
Yes. They’ll be related. McKee is an old family in the witch world. They used to have influence in most continents.
I hadn’t put the two of them together more than anyone else,
but now that I thought about it, they both had black hair and a similar height and build. Though McKee had a human familiar and seemed more straight-laced. Shane looked more at home in a rock band than a school office.
The teacher returned to her desk. ‘Okay, that’s everyone. Next you’ll be reading into each element’s strengths and which kinds of magic this will help you with. Start with chapter three.’ She dumped a huge pile of textbooks onto the first student’s table. ‘Take one and pass the others back.’
Shane handed me a book. His fingers brushed mine, sending a shiver along my spine and heat to more private places. ‘I enjoyed partnering with you, Bianca.’
I could only nod. My throat had closed off. Partnering with me. Oh god. I needed to get him out of my system. Stat.
Chapter 7
My head was swimming with magic theory by the time dinner swung around and my stomach was growling. I headed straight from class to the ground level to find out if they did a castle level evening meal after the continental spread of cold meats, cheese, bread, and fish they had for breakfast.
My nose could’ve led me there. I smelt gravy, roast potatoes, meats, cheese, fresh veg dishes. Everything good in the world. And on entering the main hall, I was swept away all over again by the scale of a meal in this school. Huge banquet tables, four running the length of the room, all neatly laid with shining cutlery and fresh floral centrepieces, were laid thick with food.
And in the first hint of integration I’d seen so far, houses hadn’t claimed a table each. Instead, small groups of Cognata or Animalis and the occasional mixed group scattered around the room. Familiars hovered, perched, leant, and sat, all around the witches. I blinked. Like the initiation, something was moving everywhere, all the time. The familiars doubled the student population and made every room seem cramped.
I found a seat by the far-left wall where a decent-sized gap in the people and familiars beckoned, and helped myself to small portions of every dish.
Kaylee settled in beside me.
‘Hi.’ She filled her plate. ‘How’s your day gone?’
‘Wild. How did you even find the first class?’ I wasn’t convinced leaving me out there wasn’t a joke on the new kid.