Professor Hudson sighed and leaned toward Professor Fowler. “Then we’re never going anywhere. We’ll all die right here in these seats.”
The noise level began to drop almost immediately, but there were still several girls toward the back who whispered and giggled loudly. It was even more obvious since everyone else was silent. Professor Hudson took a deep breath and patiently waited, trying to let the driver come to his own place of Zen and get them back to the school. However, after about ten more minutes and the annoying echoes of student shushing each other, she flicked her wand by her knees, calming the driver down.
He blinked and relaxed his shoulders, then reached forward and started the bus. Everyone cheered but he didn’t even notice. He was in his own blissful place. Professor Hudson smiled and sat back, looking at Professor Fowler.
“He seems to have changed his tune,” she said, raising an eyebrow and glancing down at the wand in the professor’s lap.
She quickly put the wand in the inside pocket of her coat and crossed her arms over her chest.
“You can judge me all you want, but being trapped in a bus with all these magical teenagers sounds like the worst kind of hell I can imagine. I’d rather spell the guy than claw my way out of here, hurting people in the process. It happens once a semester. It’s not a magic thing, actually. It’s a ‘too many hormones packed into a moving tin can’ kind of thing.”
“Hey, I don’t blame you at all. I was considering a spell that sewed their mouths shut, so it’s probably good that you beat me to the punch.”
14
After everyone got back to the school, they all went into the cafeteria for ice cream sundaes. Although Alison and Izzie were ready for a quiet walk, they wouldn’t skip out on Ice Cream Day. It was everything to them, and they’d waited all summer to make their own sundaes again. The only person who didn’t come along was Luke, who excused himself so he could get some sleep before another day of tryouts. He was exhausted from being up all night, the tryouts themselves, and the restraint he’d had to show at the battle in the Roller-O-Rama. The last thing they’d needed was for him to wolf out in a pair of roller skates. It would have been disastrous. Amusing, but disastrous nonetheless.
The rest of the group sat around enjoying their ice cream and replaying Emma’s harrowing attempt to save Izzie’ s life. She was still in the medical clinic, and the teachers had said they couldn’t visit until the next day. She was resting comfortably on whatever pain medication they had given her. As each one finished, they excused themselves for bed until the only three left were Izzie, Alison, and Tanner. Tanner rubbed his stomach. He had a smudge of chocolate on the corner of his mouth. Izzie motioned to him so he would know, and he wiped it quickly away.
“You ladies going to bed?”
“I think Izzie and I are going to grab some girl-time and go out for a walk. It’s the Faery Festival tonight. The faeries from Oriceran visit for one or two nights and they have like a ritual dance and flight to wish luck on the plants and animals for wintertime on Earth. They do it on Oriceran too, but they started coming to Earth as well since winters can be so harsh here.” Izzie was stoked, but even more so because she got to hang out with her best friend.
“Sounds....interesting.” He chuckled. “Then I will leave you two and go to bed.”
“Goodnight.” Alison smiled as he kissed her cheek.
Izzie and Alison finished their sundaes and headed quietly outside, not wanting anyone to follow them. Headmistress Berens had told Izzie about the faeries, knowing she and Alison would venture out there to enjoy the show. They trekked through the courtyard and over the hills until they reached one that overlooked the orchards below. Alison could already see the glow of magical energy floating through the branches, as well as flashes of energy that she figured were small portals the faeries used to travel from Oriceran to Earth.
The girls sat down on the cool ground and Alison brought her knees to her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs. Izzie leaned her head on Alison’s shoulder as the faeries appeared, fluttering through the branches of the fruit trees and swirling through the air in a show of sparkling blue, purple, and green lights. The faeries were prepared for a fun evening exploring the old forests of Charlottesville, and casting magical luck spells on all the foliage to shroud it from the coming frozen winter.
Izzie sat up and crossed her legs in front of her, leaning back on her hands. “I wonder what it’s like to be one of those faeries? They are so beautiful.”
The faeries were some of the loveliest creatures on Oriceran. They were only about five inches tall, with delicate wings that glowed different colors. They had cherubic faces and wore little green outfits, kind of like Tinker Bell.
“I bet it’s a blast, flying through the air, always singing, always happy.”
“Mara said that some years the Queen of the Faeries comes to the celebration. Her light shines gold, and brighter than any of the other faeries out there. When she sings the trees and grass bend toward her, drawn to the natural essence she puts out.”
“That would be neat to sense.” Alison smiled. “Do you think she will come tonight?”
“I think it depends on what kind of winter she thinks we are going to have. She usually only comes when it will be a bad winter.”
The girls sat there for a good part of the night, watching the faeries play and listening to them sing as they cast their spells over the grounds. Alison loved it. She watched their energies swirl together, shooting across the air. It was what she imagined shooting stars looked like, only way cooler with the bright colors and careful, graceful movements.
To Izzie it was calming, something that made her feel like there was still some good in the world, even if it had come from another one. She didn’t remember ever seeing a faerie before, but she loved the pictures of them in Mara’s books. When Mara found out, she made sure to let Izzie know about the castings that year, and Izzie had been waiting patiently for that very night.
The songs of the faeries were comforting too. The music was mild and carefree, and their voices floated through the air like soft flower petals.
Izzie sighed. “I feel like if they put out an album, I would never stop listening to it. It makes me feel like I could never do harm to anyone or anything.”
Alison giggled. “That’s the song of the faeries. It’s supposed to do that. They sing because they love to, but also because it stops their enemies or anyone from hunting them down for a tasty snack. My mom used to tell me stories about them, and how she made friends with some of them as a kid.”
“That’s so cool.” Izzie smiled and shook her head. “I hope I can visit Oriceran one day.”
“Tanner goes sometimes,” Alison replied. “Or he used to. I can’t remember what he told me.”
“You really like him, don’t you?” Izzie smiled.
“I do, and it kind of came out of nowhere. When I saw him that day in my meditation and again in real life, I knew there was a reason for it. I knew the planet was trying to tell me something. When I sat down with him, it was like instant comfort. There was this draw, and I couldn’t beat around the bush. I felt comfortable telling him everything.”
“That’s how things are with Luke.” Izzie sighed. “Like we can say anything to each other, and it doesn’t matter since we won’t judge. When I saw him that night as a shifter, I seriously got lost in his eyes. For a moment, we were the only two people there. I thought maybe it had something to do with his wolf, but from what I’ve read about them, they don’t put off any magical attraction. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like we were meant to be there together.”
“You don’t have to try. I totally get it.”
“Anyway.” Izzie giggled, catching herself getting a bit too mushy. “Are you glad that we are one grade higher this year?”
“Yes! Not that it’s that much different. We still have to deal with the asshole upperclassmen, but at least the classes are more interesting.”
; “And all the extracurricular stuff like the play. Oh, speaking of that, you never told me what you are going to be doing for the talent show.”
“I’ve actually never told anyone.” Alison smirked.
“What do you mean?”
“I kind of have this hidden talent, and the only person who knew was my mother. I haven’t even told Shay or Brownstone.”
“What is it? Can you like play the wine glasses or juggle while balancing on one hand, all of which would be even more impressive if people knew you were blind.” Izzie giggled.
“True.” Alison laughed. “But it’s none of those. Actually, it’s simple. I can sing.”
“You can sing? Are you serious?”
“Yeah, and I know it’s not crazy, because Emma told me about your heavenly voice that broke hearts all over the auditorium.”
“Yeah.” Izzie scoffed. “Right before I almost broke bodies with my uncontrollable temper tantrum.”
“Meh. If nothing else, it gave you some street cred.” Alison laughed.
“So what kind of stuff do you sing?”
“Anything really, but my favorite is like 20s to 40s blues and jazz.”
“Whoa, that’s impressive.”
Alison laughed, pretty sure that was exactly the response she was going to get. She pulled herself to her feet and turned to face Izzie’s soul.
“How about I give you a little taste? You can tell me if I should forego my debut on the stage.”
“Oooh, yeah, sing for me! What are you going to sing?”
“I’ll sing one of my favorites, by a jazz singer name Connee Boswell. It’s called The Object of my Affection. I think Dean Martin sang it too, but I like the girl version better.”
“Of course.” Izzie laughed.
“Okay, here goes.”
Alison put her hand on her stomach, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She wasn’t nervous, not around Izzie, but she had never sung in front of anyone except her mother—and that had been a long time before.
“The object of my affection can change my complexion
From white to rosy red…”
Izzie’s mouth dropped open as this voice erupted from Alison’s body. It was almost like there was another woman inside her singing the lyrics. She was completely and totally surprised and wanted her to continue.
Izzie closed her eyes and swayed back and forth to the song, loving it, especially with the hum in the background. She opened her eyes when she realized it wasn’t just the sounds of nature, but the faeries. They had stopped singing when they heard Alison and started to hum along with her singing. Izzie laughed and shook her head as the faeries flew up to where the girls were and started flying in brightly colored circles around them, their wings twinkling and sparkling wildly.
Alison opened her eyes as she sang the chorus, really feeling it deep down in her soul. She smiled, focusing on the energy of the hundreds of faeries who flew around her. They sang with her, giving her a background, and made the moment perfect. When she finished the last note of the song, the faeries fluttered their wings loudly and hovered for just a moment before flying back down to the orchard. Alison sat back down beside Izzie and both the girls let out deep breaths, followed by a chorus of giggles.
“At least you know that there are hundreds of faeries out there who will stop doing their magic just to listen to you sing.” Izzie laughed.
“I know, right? That was absolutely insane.”
“Well, I think you know the answer. You are going to rock it out there on that stage.”
15
Time was rolling by, and the season quickly changed to fall. Everyone was enamored with the colors shimmering in trees across the grounds. The leaves fluttered in wild colors: oranges, yellows, and browns. It was absolutely gorgeous outside, with bright blue skies and the perfect cool, crisp breeze blowing across the courtyard.
Everyone enjoyed walking outside with a warm coffee in hand before heading in for breakfast. The sounds of boots and shoes crunching through the leaves echoed all around them, and the crew was determined to enjoy it while it lasted. In Virginia fall lingered, gradually bringing the icy days of winter up the Blue Ridge Mountains of Albemarle County. Alison and Izzie opted for hot chocolate, and they sat on one of the benches staring at the people.
Ethan was busy helping Horace trim the hedges for one of the last times before winter, and it was obvious that he had no idea what he was really doing. It wasn’t volunteer work, that was for sure. It was punishment for pulling a magical prank on one of the freshmen. He’d been practicing for April Fool’s, which was still months and months away. He thought every prickly stick that jabbed him in the hand was worth it after seeing the look on the freshman’s face when the pictures in his textbook popped out and ran down the hallway. Remnants of the spell—mostly little paper-like creatures that lurked in the corners and grabbed unsuspecting students’ ankles— could still be found all around the school.
Mara and the other professors had worked tirelessly to round them all up, but the student refused to come out of his dorm room for two days afterward, too afraid the paper dragon would breathe paper fire at him again. It might have been paper fire, but it had set the collar of his robe aflame.
“Seriously, I am pretty sure that things are going to go well for me this season,” Luke said as he walked across the grounds with Peter.
They both looked at Ethan as they passed and gave him a thumbs-up. He lifted his shears in the air triumphantly, only to have Horace grab his arm and pull it back down to the bushes. The guys laughed and continued walking.
“You really seem to love this sport. I mean, I think it’s cool. It’s like a virtual D&D or something. I just don’t have the athletic prowess to play the game.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of like that in a way. I don’t know. I just love how it tests your mind and your body at the same time. The tryouts are so long, though. I feel like they are endless. I just want to get to the field behind the mansion and into a real game, even if it’s just against my teammates. The whole getting-used-to-the-feel-of-the-game thing is getting old. I’m used to it already.”
Before lunch, the group had spells class with Eleanor Hudson. It was the second-year version, and they were super-excited about it. The first year was basics, but this year they had actually started diving into some harder spells. They started today’s class with a spell to get their juices flowing. tThey were to move different objects from one podium to another.
Aya was a champion at this and didn’t even have to pull magic in to do it. She had been doing it with her dolls her entire life. The rest of the class had varying degrees of success, but unlike most classes, no one made a complete mess or dropped anything. Even Ethan was successful. This time he actually focused on what he was doing instead of sitting back and ignoring the details. After the disaster the year before when he couldn’t get the statue cloaked he’d started paying attention, at least in those two classes. In others like history he fell asleep most days, and the rest he spent whittling pieces of wood under his desk.
About halfway through the class, Professor Hudson raised her hand in the air to get everyone’s attention.
“Okay, class, since you are doing so well at this, let’s move on to a harder spell. This one will help you read magical trails, which can tell you where the being is going. It’s a form of tracking that is used almost daily by bounty hunters. For the spell, everyone, no matter how you muster your magic, you focus on the trails, release a thin fog, and say the casting either out loud or in your head. The words are ‘Trackius Beings.’”
Everyone started attempting the spell, and Alison stood next to Izzie, watching her soul and the energy flowing from her magic as she easily picked it up. Izzie saw the trails of many different magical beings, but because it was the school, there were almost too many to focus on. They shimmered and moved, different colors signifying different magical beings. She slowly turned in a circle, fascinated by them all. As she went past the door she st
opped, noticing a dark magic trail in the hall, spotty and a bit older, but definitely from the current school year. She followed it out of the room and crouched, running her finger across it.
“What do you see?” Eleanor asked, following her into the hall.
“It’s a dark trail,” Izzie replied.
Eleanor looked at Izzie with concern for a moment, then did her own casting, lighting up the trail for everyone to see. She was curious about it, and wondered if it had any connection to the things that had occurred in the town. As the dark trail shimmered into view, Mara walked out of one of the classrooms and did a double-take. She slowly walked forward and looked at Izzie, realizing she had been the one to find it.
“What intruder has been on the grounds?” she whispered to herself. “And what does Izzie remember that opened this up for her?”
Eleanor looked up and saw Mara standing there, her eyes narrowed, staring at Izzie with interest and concern. It wasn’t a look of fear or suspicion, but one of caring and question. It wasn’t the time to approach Mara about it, but she made a mental note to look into it later. Something was going on, between the dark trail and Mara’s reaction, and though she knew it probably wasn’t her business, she was a professor at the school and wanted to know what they might be facing.
“Izzie,” Eleanor began, standing up. “What did you see leading up to the dark trail?”
Izzie stood up before answering. “Um, there were several light magic trails, and then it went blank for a few moments, and then the dark trail went through, and then a pause, and then more light trails.”
“Okay, and did it give you a feeling?”
Izzie shook her head. “No, not like dark magic usually does.”
“That could mean that the trail is older, not from the last week or so.”
She questioned Izzie while trying not to draw attention to them as the other students practiced inside, but she needed answers to try to figure out who the intruder was. They hadn’t been inside the classroom, so the culprit wasn’t in there and it certainly wasn’t Izzie. If she were a toombie, she would know she had the darkness and could have very well been looking at her own trail. That settled Eleanor’s nerves a bit.
Wary Is Her Love_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 9