by Sarina Dorie
A flicker of mirth flashed through his eyes. “My point is that you were coddled. Your teachers didn’t allow you to fail. You need to make mistakes—hopefully ones that don’t get you or anyone else killed. That way you will learn from your blunders and try harder to succeed. Vega is the kind of teacher who isn’t afraid to fail those who earn it. I thought she would be good for you.”
“That isn’t what I need. I need magic so students don’t hex me like Hailey did when she glued me to the ceiling last semester—or when she hexed me that one time I was chasing after her, Balthasar, and Ben. Or when she pushed me into the pit. I didn’t have any magic to defend myself.”
“Hailey pushed you? That’s interesting.” He tapped his trimmed nails on the polished wood of his desk.
“Yes, she did. Students here don’t respect me because they know I don’t have magic. They think I can’t do anything to them.” I was easy pickings for them—and Fae.
“I have a suspicion your pupils will believe otherwise after today. They witnessed you tame minor demons into submission.”
“Really? Those were demon hands? I thought they were lost souls. Or lost hands.”
He gave a noncommittal shrug. “More importantly, I can see I worked in vain to be a good example to you as your mentor. On one account, I should have instilled greater wisdom in you not to be … foolish. On another, I can see I have failed to teach you the importance of humility and modesty, as witnessed in your flagrant display of showy ‘heroism’ and tacky humor.” He sighed overdramatically, but his eyes twinkled. Was he teasing me? His eyes hadn’t twinkled when he’d chastised Vega. “It was my hope to hand you that bag and frighten you into asking for my help.”
“You did scare me, and I did ask.”
“By ask, I mean beg. I thought you would promise to do anything, including to tell me why you’d done such a foolish thing—and agree to never let the hands out again.”
I nodded, wanting to show him I could be good. “I promise I won’t let them get out of hand again.”
He leaned back in his chair, ignoring the pun. “Again, I can see I’ve failed as your mentor. You are ever the impossible pupil to predict. I can only hope you’ve learned your lesson.”
I bit my lip, fighting the chagrined smile threatening to reveal itself. “I guess I could have sacked the hands in a little less showy way that didn’t call so much attention to myself, but what do you expect when my first mentor is a Merlin-class Celestor and as humble as they come?”
“Touché.”
It felt like the conversation was over. I stood to go.
He stood as well. “Not so fast.”
He lifted his hand, and the air rippled, a wave surging past me. Behind me a blue wall wavered between me and the door. It was his soundproof spell. That meant he intended to say something secretive.
He leaned forward. “I want to know how you released the hands from the pit.”
I laughed, nervous energy percolating through me. “Are you saying you don’t know how I did it?”
“I’d imagine it wasn’t with a cleaning spell or a fire spell.” He raised his eyebrow. “That means it must have been with your affinity.”
I covered my smile with my hand, afraid my embarrassment about my sexy massage was about as subtle as the beam of a lighthouse on a moonless night. “How about this? You tell me something I want to know, and I’ll tell you something you want to know?”
He grimaced. “A bargain. Of course. I see you’re learning from Vega.”
If I was going to put my neck out there and embarrass myself, I meant to get something equally good out of it. “Tell me how my mother solved the Fae Fertility Paradox.”
“No. Ask something else.”
“Tell me about my mother.”
He sat down in his chair and crossed his arms. I thought he might actually be considering it.
“No.”
There wasn’t anything else I wanted from him. Well, besides learning magic. Or maybe a kiss, but he’d already made it clear he wasn’t going to do either. Plus, I wasn’t going to be the kind of woman that manipulated a hot guy into kissing her. I reminded myself I was going to save myself and all my kisses for Derrick.
“Thanks anyway,” I said. There were other things I had to do today. Clean up the cafeteria and see if there was any food left on the tables for one.
I started toward the door.
“I’ll tell you what I did to convince Vega to tutor you. There’s power in knowledge. You would know one of her weaknesses. Perhaps her only weakness. You might need it.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Vega’s Kryptonite?
Thatch was going to tell me my nefarious roommate’s secret? There was something that made her human and vulnerable? It was too good to be true. It had to be a trick.
I considered how much I would like to know the location of the crack in Vega’s armor. He certainly knew how to tempt me. Logic won over.
“You don’t know Vega’s weakness,” I said. “If you did, you would have exploited it.”
“Indeed. I tried. The fault lies in my execution.” He leaned forward, his tone confidentially quiet. “I agreed I would do something for Vega, but I lacked the finesse needed to please her. Like you and the subject of physical education, there are some skills—very few—that I lack. This is one of them.”
“What’s that? Emotion?”
“Yes. Enthusiasm.” He spoke with such bored indifference it was hard not to laugh.
It wasn’t a good bargain. He might tell me he had promised to do something horrific like watch her kill puppies. I wasn’t going to be able to convince her to tutor me or be nice to me if it meant I had to feign enthusiasm while doing that. With oaths, wishes, and bargains, it all was about gaining the upper hand and arranging the terms to one’s own advantage.
Still, I wanted to know about her secret vice.
I tried to use what Vega had taught me about bargains to my advantage. “How about this?” I asked. “You tell me Vega’s weakness. If she gets all Samson on me when I cut off her hair, and I’m victorious, I’ll tell you the secret of the hands.” The secret of the hand job, more like it. Heh. I tried not to laugh at my own private joke.
“Very well. I shall share with you the secret to taming Vega’s heart. It’s a magic phrase that will make Vega worship you if you can say it with enthusiasm—if you can mean it. The answer to all your problems.”
“Yes?” I leaned forward.
“Tell her this in your most enthusiastic way: it don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing.”
The words had a lyrical, rhythmic sound like a chant. It sounded familiar.
“Is that a spell?”
“If you sound enthusiastic enough, it will have the power of a spell.”
I repeated it.
He frowned. “You aren’t even trying. See if you can sound more … zealous, passionate. It will make her like you better if you can sound genuine.”
Like me? That was too much to hope for. Still, the idea that Vega and I could actually become friends enticed me.
I repeated it to myself and wrote it down on a scrap of paper so I wouldn’t forget it. The spell didn’t make a lot of sense. I couldn’t see how this was going to help me win her over.
“Don’t fail.” Thatch stared into my eyes, the intensity of his own unsettling. “If you do, Vega will loath you even more than she does now.”
There was no way that was possible.
I hurried to my room, dressed, and I went directly to the library. With the chaos of earlier, homeroom was canceled, which gave me a little more time. I looked up the words Thatch had told me in the card catalog and books in the school library but found nothing to hint at what would happen when I chanted them.
I found Vega in our room after I returned after the library, now dressed, sitting at the desk. I shouted out in my happiest enthusiasm. “Vega, if you don’t got that swing, it don’t mean
a thing!” In my excitement, I said the phrase out of order.
“You’re such a fucking bitch! Don’t patronize me.” She stalked toward me, her eyes red and puffy.
Had she been crying? Had Thatch said something that had hurt her feelings? Maybe about her being an inept teacher. The idea of anyone hurting her feelings was in itself shocking. I didn’t think anyone could say anything that would pierce her thick skin.
She pointed a blood-red nail at me.
I backed away. “I wasn’t trying to be mean. I thought you would like—”
“Who told you that? Thatch? That fucktard.” She whipped out her wand and aimed it at me. “Haven’t you ever heard roommates are meant to be seen, not heard?”
I shook my head. “Vega—”
“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.”
Purple light flashed. Fire lanced across my face. I saw stars. When I woke on the floor, I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. My moan sounded muffled in my throat. I tried to gulp in a mouthful of air, but I couldn’t. My lips were sealed together.
Vega had glued my mouth closed.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Me and My Big Mouth
I should have known Vega’s secret weakness wasn’t as easy as repeating a few simple words. I was too humiliated by messing up the phrase to go to Thatch to fix my mouth.
Instead I went to Josie. I found her in her bedroom. Her eyes went wide when she saw me. “What happened to your lips?”
I mumbled a response that sounded like, “Mmmm ma ma hmm.”
Josie pulled me into her room. “Who did this to you? Your students?”
I shook my head. If only I had the Ruby of Divine Knowledge. I could have saved myself from any curse or hex thrown at me by enemies—or students.
Josie’s dark eyes narrowed. “Thatch?”
In a way he had helped me do this. If he hadn’t told me what to say to Vega to try to make friends with her, she wouldn’t have hexed me. But the fault was my own. I should have spoken slowly, more carefully, to recite the words right.
“That bag of dicks!” Josie withdrew her wand from up her sleeve. “I should have known he would do something like this sooner or later.”
I shook my head at her, trying to tell her he hadn’t hexed me before she stormed into the dungeon and cursed him.
“What?” she asked.
I gestured to my mouth and shook my head again.
“Let me fix your mouth so I can understand you.”
She waved her wand over my face, chanting words in Japanese. My skin prickled. Green and pink stars danced before my eyes. I breathed in cherry blossoms and springtime. Josie closed her eyes, her brow furrowing. As her spell faded away, she stared in horror. I tried to open my mouth, but I still couldn’t.
I turned toward her mirror. She tried to block my face from view, but it was too late. I’d gotten a good look at myself. I screamed—or would have if I could have opened my mouth.
It was bad enough my lips had been sealed closed, but now my mouth had disappeared as well. A blank expanse of skin had replaced my lips.
“I’m sorry. That should have worked.”
Tear filled my eyes, and I started to hyperventilate. Josie knew magic. She was supposed to be able to help me.
“I would ask Pro Ro for help, but I have a feeling he isn’t going to do any favors for you,” she said. “What about Vega? Is she around? She could undo this.”
I vigorously shook my head. I didn’t doubt Vega could undo this. Not that she would. I pointed more adamantly to my mouth—or where my mouth was supposed to be.
Josie frowned. “Khaba or Jeb could probably help, but Jeb is away trying to raise funds, and Khaba is in Lachlan Falls buying snacks for the kids. I hear something happened at breakfast.”
Did she seriously not know?
Josie and I played the equivalent of charades as I tried to suggest other faculty who might be able to undo Vega’s spell. Professor Bluehorse and Coach Kutchi were unavailable because they were on the other side of the school, out by the greenhouses and stables. I had a suspicion Jackie Frost disliked me too much to help me.
That meant I had to go to Thatch. I imitated his haughty expression. It took her about three seconds to catch on to whom I meant.
“For real? You want to go to him? Didn’t he do this to you?”
I shook my head.
She shrugged. “Okay, but I’m coming with you. I don’t trust him.”
I took her hand. I was thankful I had such a good friend. Being a nice person almost beat being a good witch.
As we made our way through the dungeon, I heard Thatch talking in his office to someone. For once he wasn’t stern or scolding. He cooed like he was talking to a baby. Josie and I exchanged glances. Either Thatch was under a spell, or something else weird was going on.
“You’re a good girl, aren’t you, Priscilla?” he murmured.
We found Thatch in his office standing in front of his pet crow. He’d removed the top of the bird cage and was stroking her head. She nuzzled his hand affectionately. It warmed my heart seeing him smile warmly at another living creature—even if it wasn’t human.
He replaced the wire cage. His smile disappeared as he turned to Josie and me. “As if one of you isn’t bad enough… .”
Josie pointed an accusing finger at him. “You need to fix this right now, or I’m going to tell Jeb what an unprofessional ass-hat you are.”
He sat in his chair. The bored indifference he worked so hard to keep in check was replaced with surprise as he truly looked at me. “Merlin’s balls. Now what have you done to yourself?”
“So you didn’t do this to Clarissa?” Josie asked.
“Mmm-mmm,” I said, shaking my head, since I hadn’t been clear enough the first or second time I’d tried to tell her.
“No, but now that you mention it, I wish I would have thought of that ages ago. It would have solved a number of my problems.” His eyes twinkled as he said it.
“Are you going to fix her?” Josie demanded.
He chuckled, the sound hollow and mirthless. “Fix her? No one is capable of doing that.”
I crossed my arms.
“If it’s not one problem you get yourself into, it’s another. Let’s see what it is this time.” He rose and waved a hand in front of my face. “Hmm. Celestor magic, either Pro Ro finally decided to have his revenge on you or… .” He inhaled. “No, I smell Vega. I see you didn’t show her a worthy amount of … enthusiasm.” His brow lifted in question.
I pointed to him accusingly.
“Oh, no. Don’t blame me for your botched attempt at using Vega’s weakness against her.” His eyes narrowed. “Why is there a hint of Amni Plandai magic on Miss Lawrence as well?”
Josie shook her head. “No idea.”
“Please say you didn’t try to fix Miss Lawrence yourself?”
Josie shook her head again. Even if I could have spoken, I wouldn’t have given her away.
He took his seat. “Do you have any photographs of yourself? I’m going to have to see a picture of your mouth if you want me to give you a new one.”
I nodded. I had some selfies on my cell phone. Thatch removed his watch from his pocket and sighed. I hurried toward the door.
“Such a nuisance,” Thatch muttered.
The words stung. I shouldn’t have cared what he thought, but I did. I didn’t want to be that coworker always asking for favors. Or worse yet—for him to think of me as an inept witch and a witless pupil not even worthy enough to learn magic from him.
Josie accompanied me as I retrieved my phone from my room. Thank goodness Vega wasn’t in. She’d left a book open on the desk and had handwritten a spell onto lined paper, but she was nowhere in sight.
I brought my phone to Thatch. He sat behind his desk with his sketchbook open.
I still didn’t have a battery for my phone, so I held on to it as I scrolled through photos to show h
im.
“Of course. You would bring me your likeness on an electronic device.” He scowled as he said it.
Did he want me to punch him? Was he naturally crabby and ornery, or did act that way in the hope he would annoy someone enough that they would inflict pain on him, and he could use that as an excuse to use pain magic? If that was the case, I wasn’t going to be sucked into that game.
But it was tempting.
Josie whispered. “You’re probably going to sap his powers.”
If only she knew the true effect of electronics and that he was a Red, she wouldn’t have been so concerned.
“I am a powerful Celestor,” Thatch said. “Electronics will only drain a small amount of my magic.”
He reached out to take the phone, but I held on. If I didn’t, the electricity would go out.
His eyes met mine. “I have no intention of inspecting your naked selfies from the Pit of Lost Souls, if that’s what you think.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. I released the phone. Without my awareness funneling my affinity into the phone, the screen went blank. His eyes narrowed with understanding. He was the one who had taken my batteries in the first place. He handed it back to me without comment.
I restarted my phone with my magic and opened the photos again. This time as Thatch took the phone from me, I felt the magic thrumming in his fingers as they brushed against mine. The hairs on the back of my arm stood up with static electricity as he took the phone. He made several sketches of lips in his sketchpad.
I trusted Thatch’s artistic ability after the paintings and drawings I had witnessed him create in the past. At the same time, I wouldn’t have put it past him to give me an ugly mouth as a practical joke.
Thatch went to his supply closet and removed a jar that appeared to be empty. He snapped his fingers, and the glow of the chandelier faded, leaving us in darkness. The only light came from the jar that I had mistook as empty. It danced with lights.
Josie gasped. “Is that… ?”
Thatch unscrewed the lid. “Yes.”
“Mmm?” I asked.
He didn’t answer. Of course he wouldn’t. He wanted to torture me.