2
“Did you guys learn any cool magic this summer?” Ethan asked, facing the others as he backed out the door of Starbucks.
“No, just enjoyed my time in Paris,” Kathleen replied.
“I tried some new Earth Magic spells; even mixed in a few old gadgets. Found a VHS player online and did some pretty interesting things with it. Only blew something up like four times this summer,” Peter declared proudly.
Kathleen snorted. “I’m surprised your parents don’t send you to camp.”
“Wow, moving up in the world.” Aya laughed.
“Well, I learned a new spell. Doesn’t do anything spectacular, but I thought it was cool.” Ethan slid his wand to the tip of his shirt sleeve, looking around as they passed a group of humans.
“I don’t know if you should do that,” Aya warned. “We aren’t on vacation anymore, and you know the rules.”
“I know, no magic when normies are around. Meh, have a little fun,” Ethan scoffed. “Besides, we aren’t actually off vacation until we set foot on school grounds.”
Aya cringed as Ethan bit his lip and flicked his wrist, sending a spiral of white light from his wand. It floated over the sidewalk, sizzled, then disappeared.
The school emblem appeared in front of Ethan on the sidewalk, lighting up with every step he took. Little crests formed one right after the other, invisible to the normies. Aya was about to congratulate him when the ground shook slightly under their feet.
The group stopped and looked at each other, momentarily worried. Slowly, a small crack opened along the concrete, and the ground started to crumble in front of them. Aya grabbed Ethan’s sleeve and tugged.
“Stop it, turn it off.”
Ethan looked wide-eyed at the ground and back at Aya. “I don’t know how. I only learned how to cast it, not counter-cast it. That class is this semester.” He groaned.
“Oh, two moons!” Kathleen winced, backing up from the crumbling concrete.
The spidery crack worked its way toward two middle-aged witches and a wizard, who had grim faces as they pushed their way through the crowd. The witch in the middle flicked her wand, creating a bubble around them that shielded them from the view of the normies. The wizard swirled his wand and the normies detoured around them without even realizing it.
Quickly the group cast a spell in unison, stopping the concrete from breaking apart any farther. The witch in the center swirled her wand over her head, spreading a blanket of light across the ground. The teenagers watched wide-eyed as all the crumbled pieces knitted themselves back into place and the concrete sealed itself back together.
When the sidewalk was mended, the witch released the shield and the three glared at the group with their hands on their hips. The woman in the middle, an older witch, arched an eyebrow at Ethan. Ethan slid his wand back up his sleeve and kicked at the ground, embarrassed.
“I know you’ve been away from school for a while, but you are back and in our town. We have successfully kept this place quiet for decades.”
The wizard firmly nodded his head. “We would appreciate it if you showed some restraint and responsibility when you are here. The headmistress would have all of you cleaning bathrooms by hand for a year if she knew you were casting in a public space. No magic, actual scrubbing!”
The younger witch, who had been quiet, patted the man on the back and smirked. “Oh, lighten up. I remember what it was like to be a teenager and own a wand, and I’m pretty sure you do too. What was that wand, a dogwood? You must be from around these parts.”
The wizard nodded curtly at the kids and walked off with the older witch; the younger witch winked at the teenagers as she caught up with her friends. Alison and her friends were starting out with an adventure, barely avoiding trouble on their first day back at school.
Aya stood next to Alison at the bus stop and squeezed her elbow. Alison smiled, sensing the excitement in Aya’s soul. She was just as happy to be back as Alison was. “Kathleen looks a little lost,” whispered Aya.
“I would be too if I had spent the entire summer in the streets of Paris, eating cheese, drinking wine, and looking at art.”
Aya giggled. “Staring at boys.”
“This place might not be so exciting for her anymore.”
“Here comes the jitney,” Ethan said with a weary sigh. “Back to reality.”
Aya laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Cheer up. It won’t be so bad. We aren’t freshmen anymore, and you have months to plan for April Fool’s Day.”
He smiled, perking up a little as the bus came to a stop in front of them. The driver opened the doors, and one by one they climbed aboard. Alison followed Aya to the middle of the bus and squeezed in next to her. She put her suitcase by her feet and slid her backpack off, placing it on her lap. The bus lurched forward, picking up speed, and headed toward the school.
They rolled by the University, students running across campus to greet their friends, and parents nervously sending their grown kids off for their first year of college. Others played frisbee on the Lawn.
They wove down the winding road, passing expansive horse farms with southern-style mansions perched atop rolling green hills. They turned onto a narrow road that ran under the canopy created by the overhanging branches of the old-growth oak trees bordering both sides of the pavement. Alison could smell the fresh-cut grass and horse farms from the partially open window in front of her. It was familiar and comforting, and she felt all the tension and anxiety start to melt away.
The bus slowed to a stop in front of the large wrought iron gates with the crest of the school welded to the top. Alison stood up, slung on her backpack, grabbed her case, and followed the rest of the students off the bus and out onto the road.
The bus had to make several trips to pick up more students from the Starbucks, and it carefully turned around and bounced back down the curving road.
Aya and Kathleen walked on either side of Alison, following Peter and Ethan as they went through the arch onto the school grounds. The courtyard was packed with students, the newbies on the right surrounded by their parents and all their things, and the older students on the left, talking excitedly about their summers. Peter lifted an eyebrow and looked back at the girls.
“I’m so glad I’m not a newbie anymore. I don’t know if I could take another year of practical jokes from the upperclassmen.”
Aya looked at the frightened expressions on the freshman’s faces. “Did we look that nervous our first day?”
“I know I didn’t,” Kathleen replied. “But I remember very well a nervous-as-hell expression on your poor little face the first time I saw you.”
Alison looked at the souls milling about to find Izzie’s familiar energy, but she didn’t see her anywhere. She knew that Izzie was already here, since she had stayed at the school with Headmistress Berens. Alison sighed, figuring she was inside getting the room ready or something.
A group of juniors stood by one of the old oak trees in the courtyard talking about their summer vacations. “I had an internship at one of the banks in the kemana.”
“That’s lucky,” a girl responded. “I had an internship with my father at a marketing firm for humans. Talk about boring.”
“I went to Oriceran for several weeks, and then Sanibel Island back here on Earth to enjoy the beach. I’ll do my internship next summer.”
“I worked at the Dairy Queen in Tappahannock trying to save money,” another responded. “It sucked, but at least I’m not dead broke this year.”
Alison’s group walked through the center of the courtyard toward the front doors. Amelia, the girl’s dorm manager, waved at them, excusing herself from a conversation with one of the nervous parents. The girls stopped and smiled, and Emma joined them, nudging Aya.
“Ladies,” Amelia said. “It’s so good to see you. You all looked rested and ready to start a new year.”
“We are.” Emma smiled. “Are we in the same dorm as last year?”
“Oh,
yes, you are. You’ll stay there until you graduate. That reminds me, the headmistress is looking for all of you. She wanted to see you in her office as soon as you arrived.”
The girls looked nervously at each other, and Kathleen wrinkled her nose. “Any idea why?”
“I don’t really know. Something about the condition of your room,” Amelia replied distractedly, waving at one of the professors. “Just go ahead over there; she’s waiting, I have to help direct the freshmen.”
The girls smiled and nodded, exchanging curious looks. None of them had any idea what it was about, but they were not looking forward to finding out.
The girls stood in the wide entryway of the school talking to some of the other students. Alison was still looking around for Izzie, but her friend was nowhere to be found. Neither was Tanner, but they had barely exchanged texts or calls over the summer. Alison had been so busy with her training that she only occasionally thought about him.
“Hey, ladies.” Professor Fowler smiled, her red hair in a messy, frizzy bun on the top of her head. “Headmistress Berens wanted to see you before you settled in.”
“Yeah.” Emma sighed. “We are about to go to her office.”
Professor Fowler nodded and walked quickly off, frantic energy swirling around her.
Kathleen looked at the other girls and shrugged. “We might as well just get it over with.”
They made their way down the hall and stopped outside of Headmistress Berens’ office. Kathleen glanced at the others, shaking her head.
“Don’t look guilty already. We don’t even know what this is about.”
“Can’t be anything good,” Emma grumbled.
Kathleen raised her chin and straightened her back as she faced the ornate doors in front of her. She lifted her hand, but before she could knock, Headmistress Berens called out.
“Come on in, girls. Don’t just stand in the hall.”
Kathleen shook her head and glanced at the others, not sure how the headmistress managed to do that every time. She opened the door and the girls took one step inside, bunched together nervously. The headmistress put some papers in the filing cabinet and looked at them.
“All the way. I won’t bite.”
They stepped in farther. Alison closed the door and walked up next to Aya’s nervous energy. Headmistress Berens sat down behind her desk and tapped her fingers, glancing at Izzie, who sat in a corner chair looking more than unhappy. Alison leaned forward, sensing Izzie’s presence, and smiled sweetly at her.
“I am wondering exactly what happened to your room, because when we went in this morning to deliver linens, it was torn up from top to bottom.”
The girls glanced at each other. “Maybe it was the squirrel that was in the boy’s dorm last year.”
“Right, so a mad squirrel got into the mansion without setting off any of our spell alarms, went up the stairs—specifically to your room—closed the door behind it, completely ravaged the space, and then dove out the closed window into the yard?”
Kathleen sighed and rolled her eyes, raising her hand. “We found an egg at the beginning of last year,, so we brought it back to the room.”
“It hatched?” Emma asked excitedly.
“We thought it was dead or petrified or something,” Kathleen added.
Alison and Izzie kept their mouths shut. They had felt the life force in that egg, and knew very well that it had not been dead. “I thought you put it in the barn?” Alison whispered to Izzie.
“I did, but I was afraid, so I put it back in your drawer before I left and closed the door. I figured it would be fine.”
“Well, that was not only reckless but completely against the rules.” Mara sighed. “Now, I will let you in on a little secret. I knew the entire time you had that egg up there.”
“You did?” Emma asked. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“I wanted you girls to learn the lesson on your own,” she said sternly. “Normally this could get you suspended, but I gather from the astounded looks on your faces, that you did. Nonetheless, you will be responsible for cleaning up the dining hall for the next week… at every meal.”
The girls groaned, but Mara held a hand up, silencing them. “Maybe next time you will know not to bring random creatures up to your rooms. Now, go on, get settled in and join us for dinner. Yes, you will be cleaning up tonight.”
Mara looked down but glanced up as the girls sulked out of the room, trying to hide a smirk.
3
Izzie walked to the dorm room door and took a deep breath, then pushed it open. She had been there when they found the disaster, but hadn’t seen it since Mara had gone in and fixed the damage.
The girls filed into the room and looked around, dropping their suitcases beside them. Most of the damage had already been repaired, except for a few scratches on the side of the desk and rake-marks along the closet doors.
“Those claw marks are too big to be a squirrel, that’s for sure.”
“Maybe a really big raccoon. That was what we should have said.”
“She already knew. It was a dragon. Yeah, a dragon…”
The marks definitely belonged to a young dragon, which didn’t surprise any of them.
Izzie looked at Emma and tapped her on the shoulder. “Could we switch beds? I’d kind of like to be near Alison.”
Emma smiled in understanding and nodded. The girls started to unpack and put their things away, not saying much to each other. Shay had helped Alison pack so she would know exactly where everything was, and the girl lined it up perfectly in the closet on her own. When they were all done, Izzie sat on the edge of her bed waiting for Kathleen.
“I think we should go look for the dragon,” Kathleen said, surprising everyone. “What? I didn’t agree to keep that egg in the drawer all semester last year and have it wreck our room not to get a good look at it after it hatched.”
“Yay, brilliant idea!” Emma cheered.
“Haven’t you seen it, Izzie?”
“The headmistress had me staying with her in the mansion, and it was hard to get away without her noticing.” She held up her hands, shrugging. “I had no idea about our room. She kept that one to herself, but it explains all the looks I got.”
They hurried to put away their empty cases and headed out. Aya shut the door behind them. They threaded through the masses of students and parents who were still gathered in the entryway saying their anxious goodbyes.
The girls crossed the courtyard, ignoring the stares of Claire and Scarlett as they marched through. Once they crested the hill, Izzie latched arms with Alison and squeezed her hand.
“So good to see you. Sorry I couldn’t meet you guys when you got here. Headmistress Berens was holding me prisoner until she talked to you guys.”
“It’s all right. I’m just glad to see you.” Alison smiled.
“We should start down at the stream where we found it,” Kathleen yelled, taking off across the fields for the woods.
They picked their way through the brush and down to the creek, walking over to the edge of the gulley. They were disappointed as they stared at a pile of rocks and stones covering the entrance to the cave. Aya put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.
“It looks like someone did that on purpose.”
“Probably the headmistress,” Kathleen guessed. “Probably smart, though, because any clueless freshman could fall into the cave, never to be seen again.”
“Well, what about the other side of the forest?” Emma asked. “Or maybe in the orchard? There’s probably still fruit on the trees.”
Kathleen shrugged. “Might as well give it a shot. Get in a little fun before we turn into maids.”
“I wonder if they’ll let us use magic?” mused Aya.
The other girls shook their heads at her in unison.
Alison and Izzie wanted to see the dragon, even though they were enjoying the nice cool breeze that blew through the canopy of the trees. They headed back out of the woods, everyone stop
ping in their tracks as they hit the tree line. Horace looked at them with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
“Well, look who it is…all my troublemakers.”
Izzie smiled broadly and waved. “Hey, Horace!”
Horace nodded at her and tapped his foot on the ground. “What could the five of you be doing out here just after you got back?”
“Just going for a walk?” Kathleen choked out.
“Right, a nice leisurely walk through the woods? That might have been believable from, say, Izzie and Alison, but you, Kathleen?” He tilted his head to the side. “Try again.”
“We’re looking for the dragon,” Izzie blurted.
The others looked at her. “What? It’s obvious he knows we’re up to something.”
“Ahh, that little fellow. Yeah, I’ve been keeping an eye on him since his mad dash from your dorm room. Have you named him yet?”
“Hardly,” Kathleen grumbled. “We haven’t even seen him yet.”
“It’s a he,” squealed Emma.
“He’s in the cooler parts of the forest near a small cave. There is a lot of small game over there, which is perfect for him right now. He has quite the appetite, and they grow really fast during this period. Since he isn’t too fond of the hot weather, he spent several days in the dampness of the cave. He’s okay, though. I made sure of that for you. I figured you would be worried once you got back.”
Emma smiled excitedly. “What does he look like? Does he have a personality?”
Horace laughed and rubbed the back of his sunburnt neck. “He’s a plump little guy, with bluish-grey scales that shimmer in the sunlight. He’s a Silver Dragon, which from what I’ve heard is very rare, especially on Earth. In fact, he might be the only one on Earth. Mara said you can barely ever find one on Oriceran, and that’s if you are really looking for them. I’m not sure how you got your hands on one, but we are hoping he stays here on the property when he gets older. You know, so that we can watch out for him.”
“That’s so strange.” Aya shook her head. “If they are so rare, and he’s the only one on Earth, how did his egg get here?”
Wary Is Her Love_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 2