by Casey Morgan
The wolf shifter behind me was hard as a rock by now, and he was quietly stroking himself in languid motions, using his other hand to assist Jasper by pressing circles into my clit. I came quickly like this, rocking my hips into their hands. I was a mess of moans, and I didn’t come down until the boys relented their work on me. Jasper pulled his fingers out with a slick sound and placed them at my lips, whispering, “Suck.”
I did as I was told, and I kept his ice-blue eyes in contact with my own until I let his fingers free from my lips with a pop. Cade groaned from behind me, and I could feel him pumping himself. Poor boys, they deserve to get off too.
I turned myself around and started kissing Cade, slowly clambering on top of him, pushing his chest down so that he was lying flat, one tan hand still slowly teasing the head of his own cock.
“I want to ride you, baby, is that okay?” I asked, moving my hips in gentle circles, allowing my wetness to get all over his lower stomach, and to just kiss the tip of his dick.
Cade let out a whimper and nodded. Not such a big bad wolf now. I loved the power I had over both of them. It was intoxicating, really.
Jasper knelt beside us and pulled his shorts down. As I sank down onto Cade, I busied my hands with Jasper’s dick, jerking him off at the same pace as I rode the wolf shifter.
It didn’t take long for all three of us to cum again, and I leaned over to catch Jasper’s seed in my mouth when his hips began to thrust into my hand. Full on both ends, I felt blissful, and I laid on top of Cade for a while, letting my heart rate come down.
My boys seemed pleased enough, and they didn’t press about the dream again, so I was content. I drifted back into a light sleep, the sunlight from the window casting warm shadows over all three of us.
Chapter Three
I needed to stop at my dorm room before heading to class. The dream about Drew was still fresh in my mind. It weighed heavily in my steps. My feet dragged behind me, and it slowed me down significantly. By the time that I managed to make it to my dorm, Angie had already left for class.
I quickly gathered all of my books and my potions notebook into my bag. I remembered that I had some coffee left over, so I chugged the remainder that I had stored away and left the room. I hoped that the little bit of caffeine would be enough to motivate my limbs to move fast enough to get to class on time.
Potions Class wasn’t too far away, so I managed to get across the green in more than enough time. As expected, Angie was already at our table when I walked in. Most of the class was already there, but a few students were trailing behind me. I sat down next to Angie and let out a sigh.
She raised her eyebrows at me and teased, “Rough night?”
I playfully smacked her shoulder. “Actually, yes.”
“Trouble in paradise?”
“Not... not really. But I thought that I was going to be late.”
Angie gave a small smile. “Nah, Professor Goldwin isn’t even here yet.”
I looked up at the front of the classroom to find that the little professor was, in fact, not there yet. I let out a small breath that I hadn’t been aware that I was holding. Even though the worry of being late to class was gone, the dream still occupied my thoughts and my worries.
I knew that I shouldn’t let it bother me too much. After all, it was probably just a dream. But something about the way that it played out just didn't sit right with me. The way that the boy grew into Drew. The way that he was falling in front of me. The way that he was reaching out for my help. And most sickening of all, the way that I couldn’t help him. It honestly made me queasy.
I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I looked over and met Angie’s concerned eyes. Their softness slowly pecked away at the low walls that I had built around me. Although I didn't want to worry Angie with only a dream, maybe I should. As her best friend and as Drew’s sister, it would probably be best to talk to her about it.
“Hey, Ruby,” Angie said, “I can tell something is bothering you. What’s up?”
I decided to tell her. “It’s just that... I had a dream.”
“A dream?”
“Yeah, about Drew. He was falling as I was flying, and he reached out to me.”
“Falling?” Her voice sounded worried. “Drew was?”
“Yeah, he reached out for me to help him and our fingers touched, but I couldn't catch him.”
Angie didn't respond. I was expecting her to say something, anything to help. Even a question about the dream would’ve been considered normal. However, the silence hung over us like a weight. I tentatively raised my head to look at her. To my surprise, Angie stared straight ahead at the front of the class, her eyebrows furrowed, and her hands clasped tightly together in front of her. I reached out and placed my hand on top of hers.
“Angie? You okay?” I asked.
She seemed to snap out of it when I touched her and looked at me with concern laced throughout her features.
“Ruby,” she started. “I’m actually a little worried. I haven’t been able to get Drew to show up.”
As a ghost with nothing better to do, Drew pretty much followed his twin sister around. The fact that he was gone gave me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“What? Isn’t he always hanging around you?”
“Usually, yes. But ever since last night, he hasn’t shown his face, moved anything, bothered me, or made any indication that he was with me.”
“Isn’t that a problem?”
Angie tilted her head thoughtfully. “Maybe... I mean, sometimes he does disappear. I try to make it a habit to not worry too much.”
“Then what’s the problem?” I asked, trying to find comfort in her words.
“Your dream. I don’t like the way that he was falling. I don’t like any part of it, actually.”
I opened my mouth to answer, but the door to the classroom swung open, and Professor Goldwin scurried into the room. He climbed the small stool that was placed behind his desk and got into the position in which he normally taught. I began to open my notebook, expecting him to begin lecturing. Instead, another person walked through the door and shut it behind him.
Murmurs spread throughout the class as Professor Bigsby also walked up behind the desk. The polar bear shifter towered above Professor Goldwin, despite the latter being on his stool.
“What is going on?” I whispered to Angie.
Before she could answer, Professor Bigsby spoke up, “Well, Ms.Thrushmoor, quite a lot is going on.”
Embarrassment settled in my chest, and I felt my cheeks swell with a blush. I was pretty sure Professor Bigsby hated me.
Professor Goldwin cleared his throat, and everyone quickly turned their attention from me to the front of the room. “Instead of our normal class, we will have a lecture,” he explained.
A student raised his hand, and the professor gestured towards him, “What will we be learning about?”
“You see, Professor Bigsby and I were walking around the basement of the academy looking for old administrative records when we came upon a small treasure.”
Professor Bigsby continued, “We came across a Magic Freezer.”
Goldwin interrupted, “Does anyone in the class know what a Magic Freezer does?”
The entire room sat in silent stagnation. Not a single student moved in fear of being called on. Personally, I had never heard of anything like a magic freezer, but I couldn’t risk saying it out loud on the chance that it was common knowledge.
I couldn’t have my classmates knowing that I had that gap in my magical knowledge. Most were unaware that I had just learned about magic and the fact that I could practice it a few months ago. Answering questions in class was always a gamble for me, so I slowly got good at avoiding getting called on.
Hopefully, I could just disappear.
“Ms.Thrushmoor,” Professor Bigsby asked, “could you answer the question?”
“M-Me?” I stammered.
“Is there another ‘Ms. Thrushmoor’ in the class?”
>
I grimaced when I realized the situation. I had to come up with a somewhat-intelligent answer, or my classmates would figure out what a magic-newbie I truly was. Although I felt like an idiot, I really needed to push past it quick. The key phrase in Magic Freezer was ‘Freezer’ so it was a reasonable conclusion to assume that it kept something cold. I had no other ideas, so it’s what I went with. I looked to my side and saw Angie give me a sympathetic smile.
“A Magic Freezer keeps something cold,” I stated with as much courage as I could muster.
I waited for a response, any response. Verbal or nonverbal. It took a few moments, but eventually the class erupted in snickers. My stomach fell. I was definitely wrong, and it was common knowledge. I looked shyly up at the professors, and I could tell that neither of them was pleased.
“No need to be a smartass, Ms.Thrushmoor,” Professor Bigsby snapped.
I sunk down further into my chair as my cheeks turned red. The answer was wrong, but I didn’t think that I was being a smartass. As I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into embarrassment, Angie put her hand over mine.
“A Magic Freezer,” she spoke up, “Takes the magic out of something.”
Professor Goldwin and the rest of the class turned their attention to Angie. “Could you elaborate, Ms. Birch?”
Angie perked up. I smiled at her as she began to delve deeper into her answer. It was always nice to watch her display her passion for magical objects. I was always impressed with her expansive knowledge of the subject.
With a smile, she continued, “Whether it’s a person, object, room, or whatever, a Magic Freezer can suck the magic out. They were banned back in the 1920s after one of them sucked ghosts out of a graveyard. This, of course, caused all the decomposing bodies to rise from the ground and reanimate like zombies.”
My eyes widened at the prospect. Zombies? Was something like that even possible? I knew that magic itself was new to me, but the idea of dead bodies rising up just seemed totally absurd. Although Drew existed, and that meant that ghosts existed. So maybe zombies weren’t so farfetched.
As I was staring off into space, imagining zombies, my vision suddenly started spinning. The classroom in front of me fazed out of focus until I saw the tower from the night before.
As soon as I realized where I was, I looked down. Drew was once more below me, plummeting towards the ground.
I didn’t hesitate this time. I extended my arm and tried my very hardest to grab for his hand. I strained myself from my shoulder all the way down to my fingertips. I reached and reached and reached. Finally, my hand made contact with his. But the moment that it did, the world around me began to rattle and shake. Even though I was already falling, I felt some form of stability rips itself away from my being.
Suddenly, I was back in the classroom, laying on my back on the floor with my chair on its side. Black dots started to swim in my vision. Before everything completely disappeared, I could hear Angie screaming my name.
“RUBY!”
Chapter Four
The only thought that filled my head for a while was that I was in pain. My body ached. My head throbbed, but I was strangely comfortable. I was warm and wrapped up in a snug position. My arms were held down by my side, and I couldn’t move them as freely as I wanted to. I was a bit confused at this, but my first priority was to figure out what was going on. I needed to get my eyes to open. It took a moment, but I was finally able to pry my lids apart.
The world was fuzzy for a few moments. I tried to blink the haze away. Starting with the edges and making its way to the center, clear vision was returned to me.
To my surprise, the first thing I saw was an old crone staring down at me—her face contorted and her lips twisted into a sadistic smile. The most jarring aspect about her was the lack of an eye. Although the eye that the old witch did have was wide and overbearing, the lack of the other was what scared me the most. The space where it was supposed to be was hollow and cavernous. Jagged scars crawled out from the socket and teased me for my lack of knowledge as to what happened to the organ that used to reside there.
Before I could form any sound or movement in response to what I saw, the old crone lifted her mangled hand into view. Resting between her gnarled fingers was a silver spoon. Peaking over the rim of the spoon was a toxic green colored liquid. I watched as it moved closer and closer to my face, threatening to be shoved into my mouth. I shook my head violently in response. I didn’t want whatever the hell it was. I wanted an explanation of what was going on. I was incredibly uncomfortable and needed answers before I did anything.
The old crone must have seen my apprehension and responded with a disapproving tsk. I was relieved as she moved the spoon of liquid away from my face. Her brows furrowed in disappointment, and she opened her mouth to speak. “You better take the medicine,” she creaked.
Medicine? There was no way that something that toxic and unnatural looking was medicine, let alone something that was supposed to be good for me. I shook my head in response, and she seemed to grow angrier.
“You’re in the nurse’s office, I’m the nurse, so you have to take the medicine,” she continued.
“No.”
That was all that I managed to say, my voice was rusty as if I hadn’t spoken in days.
“Either you take the medicine, or I will be forced to call Headmaster Thorn.”
I once again shook my head. This whole situation didn’t make any sense to me, and I refused to be intimidated into doing something that I didn’t want to or be a part of something that I didn’t understand.
I watched carefully as the old crone hobbled her way across the room and wandered out the door.
It was only when she disappeared that I tried to move again. I realized then why my arms hadn’t moved so freely previously, they were tied down. I was tied to the bed. The situation only seemed to be escalating. What kind of nurses’ office tied students down so they couldn't move?
I tried to sit up in order to get a better vantage point of my bindings. The moment that my back left the warm cot, I could feel my head throb in protest. The world around me began to spin with no mercy. My vision faded in and out of reality until I could once again make out the image if Drew plummeting to the ground.
Out of instinct and retaliation, I laid back down on the bed. It took a few seconds of me just taking deep breaths, but eventually, the image disappeared, and the view of the ceiling was returned to me. After I was sure that I was back where I was supposed to be, and that I was truly in the nurses’ office and not falling off of a tower, I decided to look around.
The clinic was clean and seemed pretty organized. Files were stacked neatly, there were disinfectant materials placed off to the side, and even a few more cots that were made up precisely across the room.
The only indication that this nurses’ office wasn’t like all of the normal human ones throughout the country was a large shelf on the opposite side of the room. It was almost overwhelmed with different sized and shaped bottles and tubes. Each of them was filled with a different color and consistency of some sort of potion. Most of them looked like muck from the side of the street or sewage collected from the swamp down the hill. The thought of the old crone trying to feed me some sort of medicine would return, and I was gladder than ever that I didn’t allow myself to try it.
Before I delved too deeply into my own thoughts, the sound of two pairs of footsteps echoed off of the walls. I could hear the two distinct voices of Headmaster Thorn and the old crone enter the room. They were both making their way over to my bed, and I wasn’t too happy about it. I really didn’t wasn't Headmaster Thorn near me, but in my current condition and situation, there really wasn’t anything I could about it. I eventually just gave up any hope of escape and sunk deeper into the bed.
“Nurse Harpy,” Thorn addressed the old crone, “go fetch Angie Birch, I’ll keep an eye on Ms.Thrushmoor.”
I was less than thrilled to have alone time with the headmaster, but he did
n’t seem any more excited than I was. He glanced down at me with narrowed eyes at the sight of my predicament. I wasn't sure if it was out of spite or pity, but he made his distaste known.
“You have a new trial,” he stated.
“W-What?” my voice cracked.
The ugly headmaster had already tried to throw me out of Ironwood twice. I wasn’t sure why he hated me, but I had met every challenge he had set. Honestly, it was getting old.
A smile curled over Thorn’s lips. It made him look like a giant toad. “I didn’t even have to come up with it this time.”
From the silence that settled between us afterward, he made it clear that he wasn’t going to elaborate. I continued to lay there, tortured by the atmosphere. I almost couldn’t believe it, but I was practically wishing for Nurse Harpy to return. I kept my eyes trained on the door in hopes that she would walk back in.
To my utter joy, someone did enter. I smiled as Angie rushed into the room and immediately made her way over to my bedside. Nurse Harpy followed behind her, but with no particular emotions driving her feet forward.
“Oh my god, Ruby,” Angie whined. “Are you okay? Does your head hurt? What about your body? Why did you pass out? Can you talk? Can you think okay?”
“Angie!” I interrupted. “I'm fine, please slow down.”
“Sorry, it’s just that you took a nasty fall off your chair.”
“I’m just a little bit sore, but that’s all.”
We had so much to talk about, but the two of us were immediately distracted by Nurse Harpy walking around and gathering what looked like supplies for a scrying spell. She carefully filled a black bowl with water, grabbed a crystal on a chain, and hobbled her way over to my bed.
Headmaster Thorn leaned over me. I decided that whatever was going on, it would be best if I just stayed still.
Harpy placed the bowl of water on my chest and began to chant with Headmaster Thorn. His hand waved the crystal over the bowl, and I could feel the power seep through the ceramic. They were scrying. Although I was a little upset that they didn’t initially explain what was going on, I was still curious as to what they were going to find out.