“Mark, I know you’re not in the history department, but Zoe and I have a project idea that we’d like to discuss with you. Hopefully, you’ll be interested in joining us. If you have a few minutes now, we can give you a general outline,” he gestured at Zoe, who closed her mouth and managed to avoid appearing caught off-guard, and nodded at Mark.
“Okay, that sounds interesting,” Mark said. “If you’re heading back to your office now, I’ll walk back with you.”
George gave Melanie an apologetic grimace. “I hate to steal all your guests, but it’s rare to find a convenient time for all of us and I’d like to take advantage of it.”
“Of course,” Melanie responded with a strained smile. “I understand completely.”
He nodded at Morgan Ammon. “Morgan, it was good to see you.”
The president returned the nod, but her eyes shifted suspiciously between Mark, George, and Zoe. A sudden chill ran up Zoe’s spine. She almost sprinted out of the conference room
Zoe waved good-bye to Sarah, who barely glanced up, as the three of them left the office. Susan Barker and the wayward student were nowhere to be seen. Zoe followed George and Mark down the stairs bouncing with anxiety. She wanted to get away from the building and grill Mark and George with all the questions rocketing around in her head. Once beyond the range of Shelby’s noxious cloud, the anxiety didn’t dim, but now there was an additional degree of relief propelling her bouncing steps. She glanced back to make sure that Meredith had not followed them out and turned to the two men.
“Okay, what the hell just happened in there? I didn’t imagine that I felt scared, angry, and upset, for no real reason, did I? I walked by the other day, but this was like, ten times worse.”
“No, you didn’t imagine it,” Mark assured her. “I felt it too. I haven’t run into anything like that before.” He turned to George with a questioning look on his face. “Have you?” he asked.
George stared at the ground as he walked. “Yes, I have,” he sighed. “Mark, what do you feel in the Air?”
Mark frowned. “When I focus on the building, the air around it tastes and smells sort of moldy, but there’s no specific source.” His eyes were unfocused as he thought back. “It was stronger in the provost’s office and got stronger when the president walked into the room. There’s a deep wrongness in the air around her. She carries it with her. Once we were back in the hallway, I didn’t feel it as strongly.”
George’s expression turned grim.
Zoe stared back and forth between them. They were talking about magic as if it really worked. Mark and George had both revealed that they were an Air and Earth mage respectively, but now, listening to them, it struck Zoe that while she might not have fully comprehended, or even believed, what was going on, Mark and George clearly accepted that magic was at work.
“It’s dark magic, and it’s not from a mage,” George answered Mark. “It’s active witchcraft.”
Zoe’s mouth fell open. She started to ask George what he meant but the dark expression on his face choked off her words.
The three of them walked on, a deep silence falling. They reached the point where Mark would head toward Davis Hall, and George and Zoe would continue toward Cooper and the parking lot there. They stopped, and Mark glanced back.
“Here comes Meredith. We’re supposed to be discussing a project. Zoe, let’s just go to your office.”
George did not look back. “He’s right, we don’t need Meredith asking questions right now.” He continued walking towards Cooper Hall. “I know you have questions, but I have some for you as well,” he said to Zoe.
“Okay,” Zoe said. “But I’m not sure I have any good answers for you. I’m not a mage.”
“Don’t be so certain of that,” came the cryptic response. “But my questions are more prosaic.” George smiled. “How well do you know Sarah Riley? Can you suggest meeting for coffee or a drink on a weekend? What we encountered in Shelby reeks of witchcraft. I’m betting that President Ammon, Melanie, and Meredith are part of a coven that’s using Shelby Hall for their main base of operations. There are a lot of odd nooks and crannies in some of the older buildings on campus and they make useful hideaways. Sarah might be familiar with some of them…at least in Shelby.”
Zoe nodded hesitantly, still taking it all in. “Ohhh-kay. Sarah lives in the city, not that far from me. I can have coffee or a beer with her on the weekend. We’ve done that before.”
It was George’s turn to nod. “That sounds like a good idea. But, even in the city, be careful that no-one you know sees you. Oh, and keep an eye out for urban wildlife.” He turned toward the parking lot. “I’ll leave it to you two to distract Meredith with a discussion of our ‘project.’ Have a good weekend and I’ll talk with you later.”
Zoe and Mark walked back into Cooper Hall and Zoe’s office, followed at a distance by Meredith. Staring at the cracks in the sidewalk, Zoe replayed the conversation Mark and George had about magic and witchcraft in her head and tried to fit it into the world as she knew it. It was possible that Mark and George were just messing with her, but then there was Rowantree and her cats. She hadn’t imagined those conversations, nor had she imagined the noxious feeling of dread given off by Shelby Hall. She returned to some of her earlier questions – why had Rowantree and Alder decided to talk to her? And, what did it mean that her cats were Watchers? Damn. My research actually has real-world implications. My research. This is a WTF moment!
Zoe’s thoughts circled back to the earlier conversation with her mother. She had always disliked Zoe’s choice of a research area. No amount of arguing that Zoe found it interesting had moved her mother. Once Zoe had made the mistake of telling her mother that she felt like she had an affinity for researching the history of belief in magic. Her mother had glared at her. “Don’t say that! That can’t be possible!” she’d snapped and stalked off, muttering. Zoe swore she’d heard “…just like your damn father.” Remembering the conversation gave her pause. Am I going to have to track down Dad? She hadn’t had any real contact with her father in a few years. Hell. This is just getting more like some bad soap opera. Our heroine has just discovered the existence of a dark family secret and is forced to confront her estranged father. Shit.
Chapter Six
The day after her foray into Shelby Hall and the provost’s office hour, Zoe had a full day of teaching. It began with her history survey course. She arrived in the classroom a few minutes early to deal with the computer and get set up for the lecture. In the middle of her class prep routine, Declan Jin hesitantly approached. Looking up from her notes, Zoe smiled at him.
“Hi, Declan. How are you doing?” Her previous worries about him resurfaced. He had dark circles under his eyes and was biting his lower lip. His body language screamed stress and lack of sleep. But then, she reminded herself, that was almost universal among students.
“Um...hi, Dr. O’Brien. I’m okay. Um…I had a question for you. If that’s okay. It’s about yesterday.” His voice was low, and he stared at the backpack he held in his hands, rather than look her in the face.
“Sure. What’s up?” Zoe had wanted to talk to Declan about the incident in the provost’s office but wasn’t sure how to approach him. He was a nervous kid and she didn’t want to spook him, but his reaction to Susan Barker yesterday had been odd. Susan’s grip had not been noticeably hard or out of the ordinary. Why had he winced in pain?
“Um. Well, I…uh…can you, like um…talk to Dr. Wardmaster for me?” The last few words came out in a rush. Why did he want to talk to George? Was this just the usual student fear of faculty or something else? She was suspicious of everything now.
“Well, sure, but you can just go to his office hours if you need to talk to him about a class or anything else,” Zoe smiled again. His eyes darted up to her face and he hesitantly smiled back.
“Um…no, I…like…wanted to ask him…” Another student walked up behind Declan and waited to talk to her in turn. Declan swiveled his head
around toward the new arrival and then back to Zoe.
“Um...never mind. Okay…um…thanks,” he muttered and clutching his backpack moved to his usual seat in the back corner of the room.
At the end of class as students hurried out, Zoe tried to get Declan’s attention as he moved toward the door with the crowd. She called and waved to him, but either he didn’t hear, or he deliberately ignored her. He kept his head down and his pace never slowed so she couldn’t tell which it was. Zoe walked back to her office pondering the earlier conversation with Declan. Why did he want to talk with George? More precisely, why did he want her to speak to George on his behalf?
She was a few feet from her office door when the familiar and now dreaded sharp footsteps, this time accompanied by Meredith’s voice at full volume, sounded behind her. Crap. She’d almost made it to the relative safety of her office.
“What the hell was George up to yesterday with his comment about students needing more help? What was he trying to say?” The question came without preamble, and the tone was sharp and accusatory. Zoe unlocked her door and busied herself with dropping her bags and keys before turning around to face Meredith.
“Hi, Meredith. I think he was just saying exactly what he said. Some students need a little more help with things, at least in the first year or so, than others do. He’s used to mentoring, and he tends to give advice almost without noticing.” She bit her tongue to keep from saying anything more.
“Well, he sure as hell doesn’t need to mentor me! I’m not like you. I’ve got tenure and I’ve been teaching for almost twenty years now!” Meredith’s voice rose.
Zoe ignored the implied insult and made a calming motion with her hands. “Okay! Okay! Why are you yelling at me? I didn’t say anything.” Wow. George must have hit a sore spot with his comment. Zoe renewed her internal vow to do whatever it took to stay on Meredith’s good side, or at least her neutral side, until she had tenure.
Meredith lowered her head into her hands and drew a deep breath, visibly calming herself. When she raised her head enough to see over her fingers, her eyes had a strained look and her smile was forced despite her efforts at calming herself.
“I’m sorry. It just made me angry. Men. Always assuming women don’t know what they’re doing. As if.” She took another deep breath. “But that’s not what I wanted to ask you about. That kid that barged in yesterday, Declan Jin. He’s in your survey course, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is. Why?” Zoe laced her fingers together to stop the shaking in her hands. Her anxiety levels always went up when she had to face Meredith. What was she getting at?
“Is he causing any problems in class? Like I said yesterday, he doesn’t pay attention very well, and he isn’t a very good student.” Her tone suggested she wanted bad news about Declan. Most faculty advisors sought out good news, not bad news about their students. It was true he was not doing very well in class, but Zoe came to Declan’s defense despite that, mostly because Meredith was acting like a bully and that attitude always pissed Zoe off.
“No, he’s fine. A bit quiet, but he’s doing okay. I’ll get a better idea after their first exam next week.” She gave away the least amount of information possible. Poor kid had enough problems with Meredith as his faculty advisor and working in the poisonous air of Shelby Hall. No wonder he was so nervous about talking to her earlier.
“Well, okay. But if he does anything off or weird let me know. Since he’s my advisee and he’s working in the provost’s office, I want to make sure he doesn’t embarrass me in front of Melanie.” Leave it to Meredith to make a student’s struggles all about her.
Zoe nodded. Meredith gave her a hard look and stalked back to her own office. Zoe plopped down in her chair staring blankly at her computer screen and started breathing again. Should she let George know about Meredith’s comments about Declan? What did those comments have to do with anything? Why was Meredith so concerned about making sure Zoe had a poor image of Declan? Why was she suddenly seeing magical influence in practically everything? A few days ago, she would have brushed everything off as administrative stress she didn’t need. Now? Now, though…I have to figure out how I’m going to work through all of this…this…whatever it is.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a light tapping on the door frame. Bringing herself back to the present, she saw Declan standing in her doorway looking very nervous. His hands were knotted together as he twisted them back and forth.
“Hi. Um…I thought I’d…um…come ask you about some of the…um…stuff we talked about in class today,” he muttered looking sideways down the hall towards Meredith’s office.
“Of course. Come in, sit down,” said Zoe, indicating the chairs in front of the desk.
Declan came all the way in, turned around and carefully closed the door behind him. Zoe raised an eyebrow at this precaution and he blushed and stammered.
“Um…I-I…uh…um…I just like…um…like didn’t…like want Dr…um…Cruickshank to see me.”
“Okay. What did you want to talk about? I assume this isn’t really about class?” Zoe smiled at him, hoping to put the kid at ease.
Declan sat down and fidgeted with his backpack strap. “Well, it is kinda…um…I know you teach a class on like…um…magic and witchcraft. Is that stuff real?” The question came out abruptly.
Zoe studied him, her mind racing. Why would he ask that? Was he a mage? Was that why he wanted to talk with George? Did he think she was one because she taught a class on magic? She didn’t know where he was going with the question, and she didn’t want to give anything away, so she reverted to the trusted faculty stall, turn the question around on the student.
“Do you think magic is real?” she asked.
“No…yes…I’m not sure. There’s a lot of stuff I can’t explain, and Shelby Hall feels really weird. My mom says that magic…well, never mind. But…”
“Hey, Zoe, sorry to interrupt your work, but I have a question for you.” Meredith’s voice accompanied by knocking and the rattle of the door handle sounded through the closed door. Declan abruptly went still.
“Oh, shit,” he whispered and vanished.
Zoe stared, frozen to her seat. Declan was no longer sitting in the chair in front of her desk. His backpack was still visible, sitting on the floor next to his chair. The knocking became insistent. She leapt up, grabbed the backpack and threw it under her desk.
“Thank you,” came a whisper from the chair. Zoe started. She cautiously reached out her hand and encountered Declan’s sweatshirt. He hadn’t left, he’d gone invisible. Her mind spun frantically.
“Move to the other seat!” she hissed. She didn’t want Meredith sitting in the nearest chair and landing on an invisible, yet still very present, Declan. Something moved and the seat of the second chair depressed slightly.
“Hang on, let me get the door,” she called to Meredith. Thank God she routinely kept it locked.
Opening the door, she stood in the middle of the doorway, blocking Meredith from the office.
“What’s up?” It took all her effort to keep her voice steady.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I thought I heard voices. Is somebody here?”
“No. I was watching a video for class. That must be what you heard. What’s up?”
Meredith stretched her neck out to peer into the office, “Nothing, just had a questin for you. How well do you know Mark Davis?”
Zoe was caught off-guard by the question. Meredith continued to crane her neck, peering around Zoe into the office.
“We’re working on that project together, and we’re friends. Why?”
“Oh yeah, that project. What is that anyway?”
Zoe’s mouth went dry. “Well, it’s looking at some political stuff and historical stuff. His field and mine and George’s.” Well that was certainly vague and stupid enough.
“Okay. Never mind. Just curious,” Meredith gave a little wave and turned back down the hall.
“Wait. That’s what y
ou wanted to ask me? Why?” Zoe called after her.
Meredith waved again without looking back and turned into her office. What the hell was she up to? Zoe waited until Meredith disappeared back into her own office. Then and only then did she close her door. She turned around and leaned against it with a relieved sigh. A tentative cough made her open her eyes. She jumped at the sight of Declan sitting in the second chair.
“Damn! Don’t DO that!” she swore, keeping her voice to a harsh whisper.
“S-sorry! I-I didn’t mean to scare you!” His eyes widened and his voice was low. “But I p-panicked. I’ve mostly figured out how to control it, but when I get really anxious I just…um…do things….” he trailed off, wringing his hands.
“This is why you wanted me to talk to Dr. Wardmaster? And, is this why you asked me just now if I thought magic was real?” Declan was clearly as freaked out, if not more so than Zoe.
He gave an agitated nod.
She drew a breath. “Okay. Yes, I think magic is real. And, yes, I’ll talk to Dr. Wardmaster for you. If you’re sure you don’t want to do it yourself?” This was just getting weirder by the minute.
His head jerked back and forth in the negative.
“Please. I…I…can’t. My mom said…” he was becoming even twitchier.
“Okay. Okay. But I want to talk to you later. You’re not in trouble,” she added hastily, seeing his hands start to shake. “I just want to talk to you. I won’t tell anybody about anything you tell me. I promise.” She kept her voice low and steady, as if she was speaking with a frightened young child.
Declan took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. Thank you,” his voice was barely above a whisper.
“Great. Here’s your backpack. Don’t go invisible when you leave but do be quiet if you don’t want Dr. Cruickshank to spot you.”
Zoe grabbed the backpack from under her desk and handed it back. Declan got up from the chair and for the first time, looked directly at her. There was gratitude and fear in his eyes. He nodded again and quietly opening the door, stepped out into the hall and disappeared from her view. Just to make sure he hadn’t gone invisible again, Zoe stuck her head out of the door and saw his retreating back heading for the main staircase. What kind of mage could go invisible? She really needed to talk to George or Mark. Especially Mark. Why had Meredith asked about him? The question had clearly been a pretext for getting into Zoe’s office. She must have heard Declan’s voice when he first showed up, and with Meredith there was no such thing as an innocent question. Had she somehow seen Declan? Was Meredith a mage? Was she a witch? Well, “Okay, was she a witch in the magical sense…But, first, she had two classes to finish prepping and teach.
Academic Magic Page 6