Draiochta Academy: All Genres Academy Anthology

by BBB Publishings

  The door opens and my two besties barge into the room carrying a few trays laden with food.

  “Cock blocking much?”

  I mutter annoyed by their intrusion and I don’t miss the amused look on Colin’s face.

  “Hey, how’s our patient? Do you feel any better? Or has Max

  managed to bore you to death?”

  “We thought you might be hungry and asked Mrs Patmore to give us our dinners to take here, so we can all eat together.” Finn adds directing a sardonic smile towards me. “What are you doing on the floor, dude?”

  Choices

  Lena

  Today’s been one of the most confusing days of my whole life.

  And it’s not just because that football knocked me out making me hit my head.

  It’s mostly because of Max, Colin, and Finn. At first, I thought that they were being nice to me only because they felt guilty about the accident but now they’re acting weird to say the least.

  It all began with Max asking me to the Samhain ball and then I swear he was about to kiss me.

  Now the three guys seem to be fighting each other for who gets to sit

  near me and when Finn literally tries to elbow Max out of the way to try and feed me a cookie, I can’t ignore their odd behavior anymore.

  “Ok guys, I really appreciate your kindness but you don’t have to feel obligated to keep me company or ask me to the ball or—”

  Colin interrupts me.

  “Who asked you to the ball? I was gonna ask you when we said

  goodnight ...”

  Finn’s silver eyes sparkle with outrage at his bestie’s words.

  “The fuck you were! I was gonna ask her as soon as you guys decided to leave ...”

  Max smirks satisfied, folding his arms over his chest and I can’t help

  but notice how the muscles in his biceps flex and ripple under his golden tanned skin.

  “Too bad I already asked her and Lena said yes. And I didn’t ask you because I feel guilty. I have been looking for an excuse to talk to you for ages and what happened today gave me the chance I was looking for.”

  Colin and Finn don’t seem deterred by the finality in Max’s words and Finn has a stubborn light in his gaze when he says that it doesn’t matter who asked first.

  “I wanna take you to the ball just as much as these two do. You have options now. Who do you wanna go with? Choose, pretty girl.”

  I freeze in terror when three sets of eyes land on me with expectant gazes.

  “I can’t. I can’t choose. I like all three of you. I have for a while. And I guess that the only solution here is not to go with anybody. I don’t wanna cause a fight among you and it’s either that or I go with all three of you.”

  The guys look at each other as if there was a silent conversation going on among them.

  Are they telepathic witches?

  I suspect that they’re just used to making joint decisions since I’ve always seen the three of them together.

  After a moment, Max’s face opens up in a genuine smile that makes his dark blue eyes sparkle like gems.

  “I guess then there’s no other way: Lena, you just got yourself three dates for the Samhain ball.”

  And just like that, the tension dissipates and the guys stay to finish the movie, all huddled around me on the bed.

  It’s hard to explain the feelings of happiness and contentment that blossom in my chest but I don’t question it.

  After the loneliness and the loss I’ve experienced multiple times in my life, I cherish the feeling of not being alone.

  And having the company of the three best looking guys at the Academy, is definitely something I barely even dared to dream about.

  The credits roll on the screen, and I can’t stifle a yawn and the guys notice that curfew is in ten minutes and get up reluctantly.

  I walk them to my door and when I offer Max a hug goodbye, he

  surprises me by pulling me into his arms and crushing my lips with his. His kiss begins with the softest pressure of his smooth and warm lips

  and when I don’t move away, Max presses harder and I feel the tip of his tongue tease the seam of my lips.

  This is my first kiss but I know what he wants and I don’t hesitate to let him in. I follow his lead with total abandon.

  His tongue is firm and gentle as it tangles with mine while his lips keep teasing me with their soft touch.

  “Goodnight, Lena.”

  He whispers while I can still taste the slight hint of caramel that his

  mouth left behind.

  I don’t have a chance to say anything back because Colin takes my hand and pulls me towards him for a kiss that’s just as exciting as Max’s but not as gentle.

  His lips pry mine open and as his tongue strokes mine, I can feel is barely repressed passion.

  I’ve been observing these boys for years and I noticed that Colin is the most impulsive out of the three.

  “Sweet dreams, Lena.”

  It’s Finn’s turn to kiss me breathless and his kiss is playful and hot like

  the red haired boy.

  When his lips leave mine, his big hand cups my jaw and his minty

  breath dances on my sensitive lips.

  “Wow! Kissing you was a hundred times better than I’ve ever

  imagined.”

  He touches his lips to mine again but we immediately jump away from one another because of a loud slamming noise coming from my room.

  We all turn to look for the source of noise and we notice that the window has slammed shut.

  “Huh, that’s weird. I tried everything to close that window earlier. But it’s good that it’s closed, the nights are starting to get chilly. Goodnight, Lena. See you tomorrow morning at breakfast.”

  His blue eyes lock on mine as he squeezes my hand and walks away followed by Colin and Finn.

  I shut the door behind me and lean against the solid wood, still trembling from being kissed by the boys of my dreams.

  Jessica

  There’s knocking on my window and I nod towards Sandy to go and open it.

  Mandy steps inside and shivers, hugging her arms around her middle. “Why do I always have to be the one who turns into a gargoyle and

  spies on Lena? I’ve been doing it all week and you two never even offer to go.”

  I roll my eyes at my bestie: Mandy and Sandy aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, if I have to put it gently.

  But they’re easy to manipulate and control, so I tolerate their

  constant, annoying chatter.

  “Because your element is air and you can use your powers to fly. Fire

  wouldn’t be of any help here and neither would earth. And because of curfew, flying is the best way to move around the academy undetected. So, suck it up, buttercup!”

  “Yeah, suck it up.”

  Sandy giggles at her twin sister and I throw a withering look her way: I hate the way the twins always have to echo each other or someone else. It’s as if they didn’t have their own thoughts.

  The only difference between the two red-headed, stick-thin girls is that their magic is tied to different elements: air for Mandy and earth for Sandy. And they’re respectively crushing on Colin and Finn.

  “So, what took you so long? You know that if I don’t get my eight hours of sleep, I get cranky in the morning.”

  Mandy’s face contorts into a frown as if she was scared of saying what’s on her mind and that makes me even more furious: I hate wimps.

  “Spit it out, Mandy! What the fuck did you see in Lena’s room?” And what she says is much worse than I thought. Max asked that pathetic orphan witch to the ball!

  “And then they all kissed her. Like, French kissed her. All three of

  them. So that bitch is going to the ball with our guys!”

  I swat my hand at her like one would with an annoying mosquito: their constant chatter makes it hard to think.

  There must be something I can do to nip this in t
he bud.

  I’ve liked Max since middle school and I won’t let that little plain

  bitch steal him from me.

  I knew that her transferring here as a full-time boarding student

  would be a problem. I’ve caught Max looking at her a few times, when he thought that no one was paying attention.

  “We must do something about it. We can’t let her steal my guy!” Sandy and Mandy protest in unison.

  “You mean ‘our guys’ ... don’t forget that she’s going out with Colin

  and Finn too!”

  I roll my eyes at them: I couldn’t care less about their crushes but I

  guess it’s good that we have a common problem, so they’ll help without asking for anything in return.

  “Whatever! We need to put an end to this before it even begins! Think! I can’t always be the one to get us out of trouble!”

  But I know that’s the sad reality: the downside of having easily led, simple minded friends is that I have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to thinking.

  As it’s easily demonstrated by the moronic ideas my friends come up with: “Let’s cast a jealousy spell! Like this, the guys will start fighting among each other.”

  I shake my head at Mandy.

  “Too risky! You know you can’t create or extinguish feelings. You can manipulate events to try and make a feeling change but you can’t really change someone’s heart. And those three agreed to all be her date way too easily. So I doubt that would work.”

  “Hmm, let’s see ...”

  Sandy is flipping the pages of ‘Greatest Hexes And Curses’, our history textbook.

  “Come on, Sandy! Be a little more imaginative! You won’t find

  anything in a textbook! We need to really make Lena undesirable to them.”

  Mandy perks up at my words:

  “How about we make her gain two hundred pounds and give her

  pimples?”

  I don’t even dignify that suggestion with an answer.

  “You know that physical spells only have a temporary effect. We aren’t dealing with humans here, girls. We’re dealing with other witches and we need to find something that creates a real obstacle to whatever feelings are developing between Lena and each of our guys. Something powerful enough that they can’t easily find a counterspell.”

  An idea forms into my mind and I know exactly where to look.

  “We need to go to the magic library. I know there’s a book kept under

  lock and key. We’ll find what we need in there.”

  Mandy and Sandy gasp at my words.

  “But Jessica, we can’t! That book is kept locked for one reason. It’s full of dangerous spells. Black magic ...”

  She whispers the last part as if only saying it out loud could cause

  trouble.

  But I made up my mind: the reason why that kind of book is kept

  under lock and key is that the elders don’t want us to have access to real magic. This is what weakened the magic community: that we stay hidden, that we practice our magic in secret and stay away from any real, life-altering magic. Which, if you ask me, is the only reason to be a witch in the first place! We could have those powers to subjugate humans, to walk the earth as the dominant species, rather than hiding.

  Even Draiochta has a normal, ‘respectable’ façade: to the outside world, it looks like any normal, albeit very selective private academy.

  Obviously, the humans don’t know that to be accepted here, you must be a witch.

  I’ve already decided how to get rid of Lena: we need something powerful and final.

  “My mother keeps the magic key to open that tome in a safe in her office. Mandy, you know what to do.”

  “Why do I always have to be the one who does all the unpleasant or dangerous stuff ?”

  “Because you’re the only one who can fly? Duh!”

  I say with an eye-roll.

  Sandy intercedes on behalf of her twin.

  “But I’m pretty sure that your mom must’ve protected that key with a spell. It can’t be that easy!”

  I smirk at their hesitation: that won’t be a problem.

  “Have you ever wondered why my mom has such a lowly position in

  the ranks of the Supreme Council of the Covens of North America? She isn’t that powerful and I happen to know what the flaw in her magic is. It’s vulnerable to black pepper. Just a pinch of it and any of her spells will dissolve in thin air.”

  “But won’t she have asked for help with protecting that book if it’s so dangerous?”

  Goddess, I hate when those two speak together!

  “No, she keeps that a secret and she doesn’t want to be ridiculed by

  the council.”

  I toss her a little sachet of ground black pepper from the cafeteria: I

  keep a whole supply of it for whenever I want to break the rules and do stuff she won’t allow.

  She thinks her ‘parental spells’ keep me in check. But a pinch of black pepper is the equivalent of Mary Poppies’ spoonful of honey when it comes to my mother.

  “Go on, Mandy! We’ve no time to waste!”

  Romeo And Juliet

  Lena

  “Ok, I think this is it! Thank you guys, I’m sure we’ll get an A in magic biology. Mr Lockwood will be impressed.”

  I shut the heavy tome we used for our research about magical sea creatures and a cloud of dust escapes the old pages making me sneeze.

  Finn passes me a tissue with a little smirk on his face.

  “What?”

  “You’re so damn cute when you sneeze!”

  “I doubt it. There’s no way one can be cute while sneezing, seriously.” Max intervenes.

  “I agree with Finn, you’re fucking adorable.”

  Colin grabs my hand, pulling me towards him.

  “So adorable that I could eat you up.”

  And he presses a lingering kiss on my cheek, dangerously close to the

  corner of my mouth.

  We immediately hear Mrs Stockton, the head librarian clearing her throat with evident disapproval as she happens to pass our table wheeling a cart laden with returned books.

  “May I remind you that this is a library? You need to be quiet.” But her disapproving gaze is focused on Colin’s hand, linked with mine.

  We apologize and thankfully, we don’t get thrown out of the library,

  nor get detention this time.

  “I’m sorry gorgeous.”

  I smile at Colin and I can’t help the feeling that his heated gaze stirs up in my stomach, where a swarm of butterflies seems to have taken permanent residence since all the guys kissed me goodnight last week.

  After the day of the magic football incident, and they all asked me out to the Samhain ball, the guys have started to show up outside my room in the morning to walk me to breakfast.

  They sit with me at every meal and in every class we share.

  We’ve had midterms exams all week, so there hasn’t been any chance to be alone or hang out like we did last week, but we crammed for our tests together and I absolutely love spending time with them.

  I haven’t been able to stop thinking about their kisses since the other night and I hope that tomorrow night, after the ball, the guys will kiss me good night again.

  Colin must be on my same wavelength though because he grabs my hand and runs towards the deep end of the library, where the books no one ever checks out are kept and where we’ll be out of sight and earshot from Mrs. Lockwood.

  I hear footsteps behind us and notice that Max and Finn are following us all the way behind a tall bookshelf.

  The three boys surround me in a semi-circle and I’m barely keeping the urge to squirm under their heated gazes under control.

  Colin is standing in front of me, his green eyes sparkling with desire as he inches closer and closer to me.

  “Lena, I wanna kiss you so bad! I was trying to be good and wait until tomorrow night, but if I don’t feel th
ose soft lips against mine, I think I’m gonna explode.”

  Max and Finn are each on one side of me, staring at me with equally hot gazes.

  “Let me kiss you, baby.” Max.

  “Me too, sweet girl.” Finn.

  I nod, feeling heat rise to my cheeks and leaning against the bookshelf in search of support because my knees are starting to feel weak as a hot, throbbing need starts collecting between my thighs.

  The three boys take one collective step towards me and that is when all hell breaks loose.

  I hear a fluttering of wings when I spot a huge bat flying over my head.

  A sprinkling of shimmering black powder falls on me and my body feels instantly as cold as ice.

  The boys instinctively take a step back and turn when the bat crushes against the shelf in front of us, knocking some books off and turning back into its original form: Mandy, another senior I don’t particularly like. None of us has the chance to ask her what the commotion was all about, because Jessica and Sandy appear with a poof that causes smoke and sparks everywhere.

  “Ausculum Letalis!” (Translation: Lethal Kiss) At her words, I feel that coldness seep deeper into my body and clench my heart in a vise-like grip.

  I struggle to breathe and when I inhale deeply, the cold turns into a

  searing heat that travels from my chest cavity up to my lips where my skin crackles with electricity and then whatever happened seems to cease its effect and I feel normal again.

  But things must be far from normal because the boys gasp in horror and they’re definitely looking at me.

  I’m about to ask what’s going on when I spot flames behind Jessica and I point them out.

  The headmistress’s daughter starts screaming: “Someone deal with it!” Mandy snaps her fingers and a swoosh of air blows onto the fire,

  making the small flames grow higher and brighter.

  “Fucking idiot! I said deal with it, not blow on it! I need a fucking

  water witch in my inner circle, seriously!”

  “Extingue!” (Translation: Extinguish)

  I whisper and the flames go out.NJessica folds her arms over her chest and looks at me with an evilMsmirk on her overly plump lips.