by Lena Lockett
“Yeah, the one where the first magic users practiced.” Brandi said with a smile.
I nodded and followed her. I’d heard the stories of the first ones. They were just teens themselves and their magic scared them. They didn’t know how to control what they were given, and it was potent magic. That’s part of the reason they built the school. They didn’t want other kids to feel like that, so Drake Academy was created. Magic has faded a bit since then, but every so often an exceptionally powerful student comes of age. It’s a lame story they pass from generation to generation. I’ve personally never seen anyone that is as powerful as they say, but that was just me.
We pushed through the double glass doors at the back of the school. They opened up to another grassy place, but the energy was different here. It was like it was a warning to stay away, we weren’t worthy.
“It’s just down the path,” Brandi said.
She Started down the hilly area where the trees parted. It was still heavy forest, but the path seemed to stretch out in a way that was calling me, telling me I should be there even as my body screamed to turn back.
I followed her down the path and through the forest. It wasn’t a long walk, but the air was thinner but heavy at the same time. It teemed with the magic that built the school, but something else laid beyond it. Something dark and ancient.
Finally, the trees opened to a small clearing. There were twisted branches on the ground forming a circle around an old stone slab. The leaves had fallen all around the circle, but the inside was bare with nothing, Grass didn’t even grow there.
“This is crazy,” I whispered as we stopped on the outside of the circle.
“Right,” Brandi said. “This is the furthest anyone has ever come. They say you can’t step in the circle unless you have one of the two first Witches blood in your veins.”
“What happens if you don’t?” I said. My eyes glued to the old stone altar.
“I don’t know. Maybe it just keeps you out?”
“Or maybe it kills you,” I said without thinking.
“Dark,” Brandi said. “I didn’t even go there.”
I glanced at Brandi, her eyes glued to the outside of the circle. She bit her lip and I turned back to the altar. Every part of me wanted to step through the circle, to tempt fate and see if I was worthy. It was like I had always been coming to this spot but didn’t know it.
“I don’t think this is a great place to practice,” Brandi said. “There is way more energy here than anyone ever let on. I thought it was just a myth, honestly.”
“Yeah, this is a place of great magic. We shouldn’t be here.” I almost whispered. I couldn’t stay there even if I wanted to, but now I knew where it was and would be sure to come back when I could. Without Brandi.
***
I ran, hard and fast down the hallway. My chest burned with the strain of running so far so fast. The wet ground met my feet as I ran harder. A branch whipped me in the face, the sting barely anything against the pain in my chest. My foot caught a root and I flew forward, my face slamming into the grass.
I rolled over and finally saw the darkness of the sky. It was rolling and hazy, but it was also brimming with energy. I pulled myself up and lost my footing. The darkness pushed me down, grinding me into the dirt. I wanted to scream, but nothing would come out. I closed my eyes and screamed into the dirt.
I startled awake and put my hand on my chest. My heart was beating so loudly, I thought I was going to jump out of bed. I pulled myself up wiped the sweat from my face. I glanced at my alarm clock by my bed. 6am. I was going to need to get up for class anyway so there wasn’t a point in going back to sleep. I decided to take a look at my spell class book. It was a well-worn brown leather book with simply Spells written on it. I’d seen older spell books at home, my mother had her families, but never looked at them. That wasn’t allowed until you went to school or a family petitioned the council. Not everyone got to practice, even if their family was a known Witch family.
I flipped it to the first page and ran my hand down the page and over the fancy words. They were all handwritten and a part of me wondered if someone had actually sat down and written each of these books.
Spellcasting is not for the faint of heart. Only those that understand the consequences of the spell they are casting before they cast it. Spells can be reversed but there will always be a shadow of the spell.
I bit my lip. My mom had always talked about being careful with spells, but this was news to me. No wonder we had to work with more experienced students. If spells couldn’t be fully reversed, we could cause some real problems.
I flipped to the first page of spells. They were simple things, growing plants and changing eye color for a time. I smiled at the thought of having something different for my eyes, but I still didn’t know what kind of magic I’d have. We had a lot of kinds in my family, but very few times did it come out to something they wanted. My mom had simple magic that allowed her to turn lights on and send things to places. My father had much stronger stuff. He was able to sense things and cast spells without even saying a word. I didn’t know the extent of his magic or what the limits might be, but he was pretty powerful to get the position he had.
I can’t disappoint.
I made a face and shut the book. I guess I’d know more when I got my partner. God, I hope he’s not cute.
I fell back on my bed and sighed as the clock turned seven and started beeping at me. I raised my eyebrows and sighed into the air. Guess its time to make a fool of myself.
But first, Breakfast.
***
I walked through the halls avoiding other kids as they laughed and walked passed me. We were all going to the same place, but they must have thought there wasn’t enough for all of us. The way they pushed through like I was in the way. I shook my head. Did they forget this was a school full of magic?
I followed a random boy through the double wood doors into the dining hall where the smell of eggs and bacon filled the air. I felt my stomach growl and bit my lip. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I smelled the food. I grabbed a plate and filled it with eggs, bacon and a cinnamon roll. I couldn’t help myself once I got a whiff of all the food. I glanced around for someone interesting to sit with and Brandi spotted me from across the room. She waved her hand and the smile on her face told me she wasn’t mad about yesterday. I wanted a friend here and she was the closest thing I’d gotten so I bit my lip and walked to her. I sat my tray down beside her and sat down. She was dressed in the school uniform with her light brown hair tied back. She took a bite of her eggs and pointed to the drinks on the table.
“Are you thirsty?”
I nodded and pulled the pitcher of water to me and poured some in my glass before setting it back on the table.
“Are you ready for Spellcasting today?” I said without thinking.
“Meh, I would rather be working on potions, but that’s not a class we get this year,” she answered.
“Potions?”
“Yeah, I like the idea of using chemistry with magic.”
That made sense. Chemistry was two or more things working together, just like a potion would be. Just in a different way.
“That’s interesting,” I said.
“What class are you looking forward to?” She asked as she took another bite.
I took a bite of my eggs and shrugged. I didn’t know what class was going to be my favorite. All I wanted was to get through school and hopefully do something that made my father proud of me. Have to keep that name in pristine shape.
“Want to meet at lunch? It will just be us. I gave those other two a swift kick in the ass. They shouldn’t talk like that. Just because they have their power doesn’t make them better,” she said between bites.
I felt myself smile slightly before I answered. “Sure.”
Just as I finished my sentence, a loud buzz sounded in the room. It was so deafening, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Other kids were getting up and rushing to
the exits as I glanced at Brandi.
“It’s an evacuation,” she said. Her face didn’t seem bothered. “They practice them all the time.”
“Should we go?” I asked, standing.
“Yeah, we’ll get in trouble if we stay out here during one,” she said standing and pushing through the doors. I turned to follow, but my feet didn’t move. I felt a cold breeze slid up my back and over my face. The doors swung slowly, and my ears rang.
I slid my gaze to the window as a black smoke ran into the glass. The whole school shook. I felt my breath being sucked from my body as the smoke snaked through the glass and around the seats in the dining hall. It slammed into the floor and expanded into the entire space. I felt the panic rising in me, but still couldn’t move.
The blackness circled me, and I swallowed hard. This was it. I was going to die in a haze of black smoke and no magic to help me. Everything went quiet and the blackness overtook me.
Three
I opened my eyes and glanced around at the dining hall. I took a breath and glanced around the room. The black smoke was snaked around the pillars, but no one seemed to notice.
“Hey, where’d you go?” Brandi came bouncing up to me and I turned towards her.
“What?” My mind was foggy, like I’d just woken up from a nap.
“You didn’t follow me. You’re lucky they didn’t find you out here. Big trouble if you don’t follow the rules.”
“What was that?” I said, the fog finally clearing from my brain.
“The alarm? It’s a safety thing from when the school would get attacked by rival groups. They still do the drills, but the school has been safe for years.”
“Do you see that?” I said my vision moving to the smoke grabbing the wall behind her.
She turned to where I was looking and then back. Her eyebrows were raised, and she tilted her head. “What?”
“The walls are covered in black smoke.”
“What?” She turned and looked again. “I don’t see anything.” She grabbed my arm. “Come with me, I want to show you something.”
Brandi pulled me through the seemingly empty hallways and up a flight of stairs. She finally stopped at an open pair of doors with an older lady sitting on the other side. She was a plump lady with round glasses and a pale blue dress. Her grey hair was pulled into a bun and she had an interesting green sweater over her arms. She glanced up from the book she was reading.
“Are you here to cause trouble or do some research?” Her voice was low and scratchy like when I’d forgotten to take my cough medicine last winter.
“Just research,” Brandi beamed.
She motioned for us to come in and the entire room changed. The walls became lined with books on everything from transformation to creating portals. We walked along the walls and down a few isles before Brandi stopped and pulled a book from the shelf with a little yelp.
“This one,” she said. “This is the one that I remember talking about the dark smoke.”
I followed her to a small table in the corner. The wood was shiny and interesting to look at. It felt like there was calming magic built into each inch. They probably were, actually. This is a magic school after all.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s history of the school. Do you remember when I told you about the dark magic and light magic being the first?”
“Yeah, when we were out in that creepy part of the school grounds,” I said.
“This was what I was talking about. It’s got all the history, but look at this,” she said as she opened the book to a page with a drawing of the school with smoke wrapping around the entrance.
“What is this?”
“It talks about a time when the dark side of magic was in charge of the school and how bad it was.” She pointed to the spot we’d been. “They said it originated from here.”
“The place we were the other day,” I said. “You don’t think…”
“No, it’s been sealed up and the magic was diluted a long time ago,” she said.
“Then why am I seeing a dark smoke everywhere?”
“I don’t know.” She glanced at her watch. “Crap, we have to get to class.”
“We should find out where this came from,” I said.
“The only place I know of is not in this world.”
“Then we need to find a way to get there,” I said.
***
I made my way into the spell casting class without looking at anything. The grey smoke was everywhere, like it was following me and daring me not to look at it. I could swear there as something watching me in the tangled grey nothing.
The minute I hit the classroom, it was weird. There were too many people in the crowded room and it felt heavy and draining. I slipped passed other students and sat at my desk. I didn’t even notice the guy sitting beside me until he cleared his throat. I glanced up at the dark-haired boy sitting at the table with me. His ice blue eyes met mine and I knew instantly who he was.
“What are you doing here, Link?” I said without thinking.
“I’m here for class. You know, the thing this school is for,” he said with a smile.
“Right, you’re my mentor of sorts.”
“Something like that. I’ll help you not blow up the entire school.” He said.
I bit my lip. A part of me wanted to tell him about the smoke and darkness I’d witnessed not two hours before, but I didn’t know if he’d understand. I couldn’t be sure he was going to take it seriously.
“What’s on your mind?” He said.
I pulled myself out of thought and shook my head. “It’s nothing,” I said.
The teacher started talking about what we were doing today, but I wasn’t hearing any of it really. All I wanted was to get this day over with and figure out what was going on.
“I didn’t see you when the drill happened. Did you end up somewhere else?” He whispered.
This was my chance if I was going to bring it up, I had to do it now. Wait, he was looking for me? The thought crossed my mind as I opened my mouth and I glanced at him. He looked back with his dreamy eyes and I couldn’t think. I cleared my throat and smiled.
“I wasn’t in any of the shelters. I… was in the dining hall,” I finally said quietly.
“You’re lucky none of the teachers caught you. They don’t like when students don’t follow the rules,” he said with a smile.
“I don’t know that it was a drill. I saw something,” I said.
His smile faded. “What something?”
“Dark smoke. It filled the school and it’s still here.”
He glanced around and shook his head. “I don’t see anything.”
“That’s the weird thing. I seem to be the only one that can see it.”
“You should tell the headmaster,” He said still watching me. “He’ll know what to do.”
“I don’t know if he’d believe me.”
“He has to,” Link said. His tone was serious, and I knew something was off.
“Do you know something?”
“I’ve heard rumors of students seeing a black smoke and then disappearing. I don’t want that to happen to you.” He glanced back at the teacher and I sunk back into my thoughts. What if all this was connected? Will I disappear? I bit my lip and absorbed nothing from the class until the bell rang. I had to find our more. Maybe he was right, and I should talk to the Headmaster. He did say if I needed anything, I could come to him.
When the bell rang, I hurried towards the door and bumped full speed into a dark-haired girl that looked to be a year ahead of me. Her perfect straight hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her dark eyes met mine as I rushed to pick up the books I’d dropped.
“Watch it,” she spat as she glanced behind her. Her eyes trailed along the window for a long moment. When she realized I was watching her, she made a face and pushed out of the room. I glanced back to the window to the black sludge slinking along it like it was trying to follow her but couldn’t
. Then it dawned on me. She could see the black smoke too.
Four
“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Brandi said. She was sitting at the edge of my bed. I was pacing in front of the door.
“Yes, I have to figure this out.” And I did. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. This whole thing could blow up in my face and I’d be right back where I started. Or worse, I could be dead. I didn’t know what was behind this smoke and what it could really do to me if I confronted the source, but I had to try.
“We should go to the headmaster,” Brandi said. “He’d know what to do and would keep us safe.”
“Or he could look at me like I’m crazy and tell me to get out of the school.”
“I don’t think he would,” she said.
“No, he might just tell my father. That would be so much worse.” I stopped pacing and shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. We have to go. We have to find out what is going on here.”
“Okay, I’m with you.”
We waited until the school was as quiet as possible. The last thing I wanted was to get caught using the doors. Students weren’t allowed to use them because of the danger they pose to us, but I didn’t care. I had to know what the heck this was and how I could stop it. If I could.
We crept out of my room and closed the door behind us. I followed the long hallway towards the dining hall and through the great room where I’d first experienced this school. We kept passed the doors and into the faculty hall. Their doors were further than ours as students were and the hallway looked like it was even a bit larger. I raised my eyebrows at the long hallway.
“Are you sure this is the right way?” Brandi said quietly.
I nodded and took a step into the hallway. I heard a door close and froze. None of the doors in front of us were moving, but when I looked back. Behind us was a woman with blonde hair in her mid-thirties. She crossed her arms and cocked her head.
“What are you two doing here?” She asked.