“I’d like the class to take the next ten minutes to read through the bullet points of the treaty. When you are done we will all switch and have a little fun doing some basic spellcasting.”
The class cheered and Mrs. Hudson laughed, then erased the words from the board. She sat down at her desk and flipped through her lesson plan, making sure she had verbally touched on the most important parts. The details they could study on their own. They were only allotted a certain amount of time per class, and there was a lot to cover with the first-years.
When the ten minutes were up and the last of the students had finished reading, Mrs. Hudson stood at the front of the class. She waved her wand in a circle and produced a small orb of light, then put out her palm and bounced the orb up and down. She finally tossed it at Ethan, who had dozed off. It hit him in the nose with a shower of sparks and he woke up, swatting at the sparks that rolled over his desk.
The class laughed as he panicked before looking up at Mrs. Hudson with a sheepish grin. She shook her head, unable to hold back a smirk, and did the spell again, this time saying the incantation aloud.
“Fizzing Bulb,” she chanted, swishing her wand.
The light raced around the room and back to her palm, where it disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“All right, class, groups of eight and try the spell with each other.”
11
The girls plus Peter, and Ethan formed their group. They looked around the classroom and the others had done the same, navigating toward those they had met during the first day. They were all excited to try the new spells—and spells in general—though Kathleen couldn’t help but scoff at the simplicity of their practice spell.
“I guess everyone has to start somewhere, right?”
“Very true, Kathleen.” Mrs. Hudson had walked up behind her, catching Kathleen off-guard.
“Mrs. Hudson, I just meant that some of us are past orb creation, that’s all.”
“Well, then, this should be a breeze for you.” She smiled and pulled a tall blond headed boy up next to her. He looked nervous, but there was something kind behind his eyes. “I would like you all to meet Luke, who is without a group. He will be observing so he can understand the technique for the finals and beyond.”
“You aren’t doing magic?” Emma tilted her head to the side.
Alison already knew he wouldn’t be, since she could read it in his soul. His cheeks grew a bit red and he looked down, scuffing his shoe against the floor. Mrs. Hudson cleared her throat.
“Luke here is a shifter, so no, he won’t be doing any spellcasting.”
Everyone slowly nodded and she walked away. They opened their circle enough for Luke to join, but none of them said anything to him. Shifters tended to be stronger and faster than most, and because they lacked the ability to do actual spells they put their energies into sports. Luke was no exception, and the group shied away from him.
In both the magical community on Earth and on Oriceran, shifters were thought of as second-tier magical beings. Most of them started out as ordinary human beings and were turned into shifters by some sort of dark magic, but there was no going back once the creation was complete—and once they carried that gene, their children, grandchildren, and those down the line also ran the risk of becoming shifters. Luke had been born that way, another jock in a long line of wolf-shifters.
These creatures could be very helpful, since their animal was usually strong-willed, vicious when needed, and able to withstand strong magical blows. But because they held only the ability to shift, they were shunned. It also didn’t help that when they shifted they became massive scary wolves, which frightened the magical and non-magical alike. That was how the human tales of the werewolves had begun, the biggest difference being that typical shifters didn’t hunt human prey—and most of them were pretty decent when one got to know them.
Kathleen stepped forward and cleared her throat, causing Ethan to roll his eyes. “Let me go first.” Ethan stepped in front of Kathleen, smirking at her. “You can’t always be the superstar.”
“Fine, whatever.”
Ethan decided to use his wizard side, not wanting a glow from his elf half if it could be avoided. He swirled his wand for a moment to gather energy and pointed his wand at his palm, creating a small orb. He bounced it around in his hand for a moment then sent it out, focusing his intention on Kathleen, who wasn’t paying attention.
The orb hit her face with a crackle and hiss and she grabbed her nose, glaring at Ethan. When she pulled her hand away the tip was sooty from the orb. She narrowed her eyes and growled, stepping up and swirling her wand to create an even bigger orb. The smile faded from Ethan’s face and he stepped back, putting his hands up.
“It was just a joke.”
“It hurt,” she ground out.
Kathleen took another step forward and sent the orb spiraling at his face. Right before it hit him, Luke caught the orb bare-handed and crushed it to dust. Kathleen gaped as the dust settled into a pile at Luke’s feet. The shifter took a step back and nodded at Ethan, but Ethan shook his head and brought him in for a pat on the back.
“Thanks, man. She just about took my head off my shoulders.”
“Whatever..” Kathleen rolled her eyes, flinching as Mrs. Hudson walked up behind her and put her hands on her shoulders.
“Let’s make sure we keep the orbs small, yes?”
“Sorry.”
The girls took turns creating small orbs and sending them spiraling at the guys, including Luke. They weren’t fond of him, but they could tell he was used to that reaction and none of them wanted to purposely make him feel bad.
When it was Alison’s turn, she was nervous stepping into the center of the circle and pulling the energy into her palm. She was able to pull a small amount of energy but couldn’t form an orb, and after a few minutes, she stepped back. She didn’t feel bad, though. At least she had accomplished something.
Ethan stepped up and rolled up his sleeves, ready to do it again, only this time they would all get a taste of their own medicine. He created a small orb and sent it out, nipping Kathleen in the cheek. The orb didn’t dissipate this time, but it skipped to the next person, then the next until finally everyone except Alison had tasted Ethan’s wrath. They were laughing hysterically. When he was done he stepped back, giving the floor back to Kathleen. She looked at Peter, who was digging in his pockets, and gave him a glare.
“All right, all right, make the circle tighter,” Peter whispered to the group, not wanting Mrs. Hudson to overhear. “I’ve been working with science and magic since I was a little kid and I can cast this cool spell.”
Kathleen raised both eyebrows in irritation. “And?”
Peter smiled and pulled out a vial of aluminum flash powder, which he dumped in one palm. He clasped his wand tightly in his other hand and pulled an orb, letting it roll around in the powder, then whispered something under his breath too quietly for anyone to hear and held his palm out flat. The orb morphed into a tiny Gnome, who broke off chunks of energy and pelted everyone in the circle with it. The Gnome chuckled and disappeared into thin air, leaving a group of stunned magical kids.
“That was awesome,” Ethan gasped. “Do it again.”
“All right, but you better tell me if the teacher looks over here.”
Peter did the spell again, this time holding the Gnome for a lot longer. The little beast threw tiny balls of light around the room, zapping every one of his classmates. When Mrs. Hudson turned around to see what all the ruckus was about he slammed his hands together, extinguishing the energy before it got him in trouble. He loved working with science and magic; to him there was nothing better, although others thought it was risky and dangerous.
Mrs. Hudson gave the group a knowing stare. She was sure they were doing something sneaky, but she hadn’t been quite fast enough to catch them in the act. Peter backed out of the middle of the group and stood next to Alison, trying to hold back his laughter. Alison liked Peter; he had
an awesome soul, he didn’t take himself too seriously, and he wasn’t afraid to try something even if imminent death or a very painful mistake would be the result. Alison couldn’t help but admit that he was pretty talented. She was impressed and was glad he was on his way to becoming one of her closest friends at the school.
Max Regency only stood about three feet tall, but he made up for his lack of stature with his demeanor and snazzy dress. He was a Gnome; one with some seriously strong talents. He walked to the front of the class in a white button-up, suspenders, tie, dress pants, and a pair of boots. In his right hand he held a glass of whiskey, the same one he had filled early that morning. Everyone thought he drank because he was so deep in thought, but in reality, he barely imbibed any of the liquid he carried around all day. Gotta make up for being a Gnome by being a badass magician.
Max was the Channeling Energy teacher, a skill that came in especially handy for elves. They pulled their energy from the ground, and from those around them. The class was a way for the witches and wizards to learn something new about doing magic without the use of a wand. He stood and looked at the students, thankful he had an audience for once. He had spent half the class time talking about philosophy, but finally got to the real deal—he helped each person channel their energy, control it, and send it back out again.
Several of the witches gave it a shot, half envious of the elves and the other half seeing them as a threat to their powers. Either way, everyone but Luke was given a chance to show how well they could channel their energy. Alison had a special advantage, she was completely in touch with the energy around her, since she used streams of energy to compensate for her lack of sight. She had never tried what he was talking about, but she knew it was the key to gaining control over her magic. Just knowing that, and knowing how close she was to it, she got cocky.
“Very good, Ethan.” Max patted Ethan on the shoulder. “All right, who’s left?”
Ethan stumbled back to his seat and sat down hard due to the exhaustion channeling brought. At the same time, he realized how much more he could do if he were able to calm his emotions rather than let them get the best of him and his magic. The others nodded in approval at Ethan, which made him proud. Max scanned the class and stopped at Alison.
“Alison, we haven’t seen anything from you yet.”
Alison nodded and stood up, breathing heavily with nerves. As she walked past Emma, the girl reached out and grabbed her arm, smiling to remind her not to be nervous. Alison returned the smile and made her way to the front of the room.
When she reached the front Max stared at her for a moment. He saw something he hadn’t seen before, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. This girl was powerful, he could tell, but he could also tell that she had no idea what she was capable of. He wanted to ease her into the channeling since it was in her best interest, but before he could she was already knee-deep and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The magic flowed through her, unlike anything any of them had seen before.
12
Alison wanted to impress her new friends. She wanted them to see that she was more than just a brave girl with no tricks. She had been through so much, and the rush of impressing these people would be what she needed to start moving forward. What Alison didn’t realize was just how hard it would be to control the energy.
She stepped up, as Max Regency cautiously stared at her. She could see the souls of all the students in front of her, her friends’ souls being the most familiar. There was an air of curiosity in the wavering energy around each person. None of them knew what to expect from the pretty little silver-tipped girl at the front of the class.
Before Max could give her instructions, she closed her eyes and focused. Her arms and fingers tingled, and waves of warmth rushed up her legs and through her veins, gathering in her belly. She just felt warm, but she was putting on a display of magic that left her classmates speechless. Bright rays of light burst from her belly, and she looked like a star on its way to death.
As the energy grew stronger, the other students put their arms up in front of their eyes to shield them from the light. Alison had never felt her powers before, but it was like they were guiding her at every step. She wanted to release the energy, but she didn’t know how. Show me, her voice whispered in her mind, and while outside there was a storm, inside she was calm and collected.
The next feeling started as a tingle in the tip of her finger and began to move down her arm and across her chest. She waited for it, feeling it, knowing it would lead her to the next step. As it touched her stomach she could feel the energy trying to force its way outward. She let out a deep breath of air and released, pushing her shoulders backward and her stomach out. She lifted so high on her toes that only the tips touched the floor.
Max yelled her name as light burst from her stomach and swirled around the classroom. The students gripped their desks as the metal legs scraped across the floors and the room began to spin, slowly at first, but picking up speed. Books flew off shelves and pictures crashed to the floor in a massive pile of broken glass. When Max reached up and grabbed her arm to rein her back in, he could feel the energy flowing through her.
When Alison released the energy the weight lifted from her chest and air returned to her lungs. All she could focus on was the magic; everything else was just background noise. She could hear Mr. Regency call her name, but she couldn’t focus enough to respond. Suddenly a hand clamped down on her arm and pulled her back to the ground. She opened her eyes wide, following the light swirling from her body and racing around the classroom. That was when she realized she had flipped the classroom completely around.
“How do I fix this!?” She was afraid, and had no idea what to do next.
“Just follow my voice with your energy around the room. Don’t move too fast or too slow, just follow the voice.”
Alison shook her head and closed her eyes again, still feeling the magic bursting from her. Mr. Regency spoke quickly but firmly, leading her energy around the room counterclockwise. Slowly the room began to turn, everything in it making its way back to the correct position. He was grounding her; showing her that her magic could be controlled. When everything was back in place, all she had to do was stop the energy.
“You channeled it, now let it go.” Max kept a firm hand on her arm.
Alison took in a deep breath and pulled the magic back, forcing it down her body, and back into the ground beneath her feet. Suddenly there was silence. Alison opened her eyes and stared at the shocked students, who were sitting perfectly still. After a few more moments of awkward silence, Kathleen stood up and threw her arms in the air.
“That was awesome!”
The class erupted into cheers, filling Alison’s heart with affection. Kathleen knew full well that it hadn’t been awesome. It had been dangerous as hell to be out on a limb like that with the teacher at a loss for words, but that didn’t stop her from being there for Alison. When the cheers had quieted Alison turned toward the Gnome, feeling a little more than light-headed, then stumbled backward and grabbed the desk. Max walked toward her, putting out his hand.
“Are you all right?”
“I feel… Just tired.” Alison’s eyes rolled back and she began to fall forward, and Peter ran up and dropped to his knees, catching her before she hit the ground. He quickly turned her over on her back and looked down at her face, completely calm. Mr. Regency checked her vitals, which were all normal, and looked at Peter.
“Give her a moment. She will come back to consciousness on her own.”
After a few minutes, Alison moaned. Her classmates still sat silently, waiting and hoping that she would be okay. Alison opened her eyes and looked up at Peter, and then at her teacher. She sat up slowly and rubbed her head, unsure what had just happened.
“Take your time.” Peter smiled down at her.
The bell rang and everyone got up slowly and made their way out of the room, but Alison still sat there trying to get her head to clear. She had done
something she hadn’t even known she was capable of, but now she was left with the magical hangover.
Kathleen, Izzie, Emma, and Aya whispered to each other in the library, worried about whether Alison was alright. Classes were over for the day and they were there studying, waiting to see Alison. They wanted to see if everything that happened was normal for whatever type of magical being she was. It was a bit hard to take, considering the first time she did magic she had spun their classroom around and then fainted.
Ethan walked into the library and looked for the girls, then worked his way through the room and sat down at their table. He pulled out his notebook and leaned his head on his hand, trying to stay hidden when he talked. He knew Gnomes didn’t play games and the librarian wasn’t going to let them get away with chatting it up in study hall.
“They sent me out,” he whispered. “I don’t know if she is okay.”
Someone cleared their throat next to Ethan and he slowly looked over, coming face to face with Leo. Ethan plastered a huge smile on his face and looked down at his book, pretending to study. Leo cleared his throat again.
“No talking in here.”
“Yes, sir,” Ethan replied, making the zipper gesture across his lips. “Lips sealed.”
Just then Peter walked through the door of the library with Alison. She looked much better than she had when they’d left her in the classroom; the color was starting to come back to her cheeks. The girls stayed silent, waving for her and Peter to join their group. Leo Decker narrowed his eyes, his red poppy still blowing raspberries. He could sense the power in her, which was greater than most of the magical beings in the school. At the same time, he understood she had no idea what kind of power she had inside her, or how to use it.
Izzie pulled out the chair beside her and Alison smiled, sitting down and putting her books in front of her. She glanced at the other girls, who gave her sympathetic glances. Behind her she could hear whispering, and she could see Scarlett’s familiar energy out of the corner of her eye. She did the best to ignore them, but when Scarlett tapped her on the shoulder she had no choice but to turn around.
Dark Is Her Nature Page 7