Spellcaster Academy Box Set

by Jenetta Penner

  “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” Despite my own fear I kept my voice calm for her.

  “What just happened? What were those things attacking The Side of Magic? Morelli were fighting them, too.” Rosalee panted.

  “Black Mist Wraiths. I think you just saw our future.” Ahead of us a wooden door formed out of nowhere. “There. We can leave!”

  When Rosalee turned to look at what I was seeing, her knees weakened, but I caught her before she could fall. Her eyes darted to the battle scenes still going on around us. “But the Morelli are evil . . . why would they be fighting with us?”

  “Because things are not always what they seem.” My chest tightened with emotion and I let Rosalee lean her weight on my shoulder. This was no small feat since she was quite a bit taller than me and seemed to be drained of any magic or energy. I started moving us toward the door, but something called me back. Compelled, I twisted back to the visions still playing behind us. This time I saw a girl fighting with all she could muster. White magic burst from her hands into the sky, but her power wasn’t strong enough. A wraith dove and consumed her body. I sucked in a breath as I felt the lifeforce leave her. The girl was me.

  I was going to die.

  I shook my head, hitched Rosalee higher on my shoulder and yanked her toward the door in spurts. She moaned softly as her feet dragged and caught at the ground. Finally reaching the exit, I twisted the handle and we stumbled through the opening. As the door slammed shut behind us, I saw we had returned to the conference room.

  Aspen, Emiko and Holly raced our way.

  “Josy!” Aspen cried.

  Holly tried to take Rosalee from me, but the other girl immediately straightened and pushed Holly away.

  “Just trying to help,” Holly said, raising her hands chest-high in surrender.

  Rosalee glanced to me, eyes full of questions. She quickly averted her gaze and went to have a seat. Emiko followed and sat beside her, but of course Rosalee waved her off, too.

  Aspen came to my side. “Are you okay?”

  I peered up at his beautiful face. “Honestly? I have no idea.” What had just happened? Did I see myself die? I scanned the room and found that Mrs. North was gone, but my spell book was right where she had left it at the head of the table.

  Chancellor Sterling and Mr. Bay hurried toward us.

  “Are you injured, Miss Barrows?” Chancellor Sterling’s brow furrowed with concern.

  I held my hand in the air to stop him. “I think we’ll be fine.”

  The chancellor nodded. “Mrs. North helped us to see some changes that need to be made at the Academy.” He held out his hand and gestured for me to sit. “But it would be helpful if you and Miss Loriss could tell us more about your experience, if you feel up to it.”

  Chapter 16

  Knowledge is Truth.

  Heaviness pulled at my body as I stared down at the words on the statue’s base, lightly dusted with snow. I barely cared about the cold but absently tugged the collar of my coat closer around my neck.

  Archer Borealis, founder of the Borealis Academy of Magical Arts were the words above it. I was surrounded by statues of all the important witches and wizards on The Side of Magic that had influenced the Academy over the centuries.

  Honestly? I didn’t want knowledge right now. Knowledge of my own death tugged at my heart. Who wants to know when they’re going to die? I couldn’t tell any of my friends. It would worry them too much, and I didn’t want to make anyone else feel like I did. I also hadn’t felt up to talking about seeing my mom in the vision. So far, my emotions had been too tender. That meant I hadn’t asked Professor Magnolis about this secret society at the Academy Mom had told me about. Rosalee hadn’t spoken to me for a week, but she also hadn’t said anything mean either . . . so something had changed there.

  The day’s last light faded into darkness, and a few stars twinkled above. A soft padding approached across the snow.

  I’m sorry I haven’t told you more about your past before now. Nine’s voice came into my head. The visions are only going to become stronger.

  “You shouldn’t be out here yet. Someone might see you.”

  The Academy is not going to kick you out. They can’t now, and that means they’ll ignore me. I just won’t do anything stupid like bite the Chancellor, and everything will be fine. Plus, no one comes out here anyway. Nine leaped to the base of Archer’s statue and gazed up at me. Your mother had visions, too.

  “I know.”

  Of course you do. He raised a paw and licked the snow from it.

  Before I could say anything else, Aspen rounded the building and made his way into the statue garden. His hands were stuffed into his coat pockets, and he wore his knit cap pulled over the tops of his ears to keep out the cold. He was leaving to go home for winter break tomorrow, just like almost everyone else but me.

  I sighed.

  Well, I’m off. Nine jumped onto the snowy ground, his tail held high in the air. I’ll leave you to each other.

  I glared at Nine. “You know it isn’t a good idea for Aspen and me to hang out alone with each other . . . the curse, you know. And we need to get around to a conversation about my mother.”

  Don’t worry. We’ll talk soon, but I have mice to round up and Aspen has something he needs to share with you.

  “Did you let him know I was out here?”

  Maybe I did, and maybe I didn’t.

  I didn’t get out another word before Nine scampered off into the near darkness.

  “Bye, Nine,” Aspen said as the cat passed him.

  I took a deep breath, held it for a second and let the air out to settle my nerves. “Nine said you have something to tell me?”

  Aspen came closer. “I do, but first I wanted to make sure you were okay before I left. You’ve been pretty quiet the last week.”

  “I’m just trying to take everything in. There’s going to be a huge war, and no one really knows how to stop it.” I raised my hand and allowed white magic to spark in my palm. Electricity tingled my arm. “And this takes a bit of getting used to.”

  The corners of his lips turned up in a small grin. “I can imagine, but it’s good to see that you’ve been able to embrace your new magic.”

  “So, what did you want to tell me?”

  Aspen trained his attention on the ground for a moment and slowly brought it back to me. “Josy, I feel something for you that I’ve never experienced, and that’s not going to change, curse or no curse.”

  My stomach twisted. There was no way I was going down this path with Aspen. I liked him way too much to risk his safety.

  “We can be friends. I’m fine with that.” I bit at the inside of my lip because I was lying. Aspen was right. But I’d seen myself die, and I would not lead him to the same fate because of the curse.

  “If being with you means just friendship,” he said, “I’ll accept that, but it’s not what my heart tells me. Honestly, can you tell me that’s what you want?”

  “Aspen . . . we can’t do this.”

  He winced. “Before you make your final choice, there’s something else you need to know.”

  “What?”

  Aspen let out a long sigh. “I haven’t told you everything about my magic and family.”

  “You mean about you being the first Rivers at the Academy? You told me that.”

  “You might want to have a seat for this. What I have to say might change things.”

  I turned back to the statue and dusted the snow from the stone base. Worried about what Aspen might say, I sat.

  “My ancestors are not from The Side of Magic. They weren’t even witches and wizards.” Aspen shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.

  “Where were they from?”

  “The Other Side.”

  I gave him a quizzical look. “You mean that they were Commons?”

  He glanced up. “In a way, but not exactly.”

  “Then, what were they?”

  “Animal shifters,” Aspen admit
ted.

  I laughed nervously. “What’s the big deal? You shift all the time using your magic. The school even teaches shifting in the upper classes.”

  Aspen sat next to me. “I don’t mean shifting via magic. I mean shifting because it’s in my DNA.”

  I didn’t understand what he was getting at. A few months ago I would have been shocked to find out that true animal shifters existed, especially among Commons, but these days I thought almost anything was possible. “And why is this a secret?”

  “Because true shifters are outlawed and killed if discovered. They’re too dangerous and unpredictable. Witches and wizards who control their shifts are one thing. True shifters have too much animal nature and can’t be trusted.”

  “But you do control your shifts with magic . . . don’t you?” My heart beat wildly in my chest. Aspen could be killed because of his nature?

  Aspen leaned his elbows on his knees and stared at the ground. “After all the generations we’ve been here, hiding in plain sight, I was the first in my family to fully control my shifts. Even with the danger of execution, we came here because we could blend in better—it was impossible with Commons. With practice my ancestors figured out how to control enough small magic to fool everyone . . . but I’m different. I mastered both. My father saw my gift when I was young and spent everything he had to enroll me in the best schools to learn powerful magic and become a wizard. That’s how I ended up here on scholarship.”

  “But if true shifters are outlawed, isn’t it risky for you to be at the Academy?”

  He shrugged. “My family’s dream has always been to seamlessly transition into magic society. That way we don’t have to hide anymore. Maybe I can do that for them.”

  “Well . . . I lived among Commons, so I’ll accept you for whatever you are, but I don’t understand why you’re telling me this now.”

  Aspen blew out a breath. “I can’t be entirely sure, but over the last week, I’ve been studying, finding every bit of information I could. Since my ancestors are not from here, the curse may not apply to us—just like it wouldn’t apply if you loved a Common. Spells are very specific.”

  Hope leaped in my heart, but I had seen my death, and I couldn’t put Aspen through that. “It’s still so risky.”

  Aspen’s blue eyes sparkled under the moonlight and stars. “There’s something else.”

  “What’s that?” I asked breathlessly.

  He took my hand and intertwined is fingers with mine. “Because I’m a natural wolf shifter, my bond to you is permanent. It’s the nature of my people. I’d die for you, Josy, and if you’ll have me, I’ll be loyal to you until the end.”

  “You won’t like the way it ends.”

  “I’ll take that risk.”

  It was as if the world stopped, and everything around us fell away. I swallowed the heart-sized lump in my throat. Without another thought, I leaned to Aspen, and my cold lips feathered across his, which were somehow still warm. Without missing a beat, he snaked his hands around my waist and pulled me into a fervent kiss that I didn’t resist—couldn’t resist. My entire body tingled with electrified magic.

  The future was not going to be okay. I knew that. I wouldn’t survive to share a long life with him.

  There would be a battle between the realms, and too many people were going to die. I’d seen it. I’d seen and felt my last breath.

  But if Aspen and I couldn’t have a happily ever after, we could at least share this moment.

  The Shadow Pack: Episode 4

  Jenetta Penner

  Chapter 1

  We sped down the road, and for the first time in months I felt free. I leaned back into my headrest and enjoyed the cloudless afternoon. The snow had subsided for a few days, and much of it had melted. The road was completely clear, although there was still some snow packed along the sides. Other than Eagle’s Height, I hadn’t been off the Academy campus since I’d arrived and honestly had started to wonder about the cities on The Side of Magic. But going off campus with my white hair had never really been an option, and how was I going to get transportation, anyway?

  I ran my hands over my legs and my favorite pair of old jeans. It would be good to be out of my uniform for several weeks. I didn’t have a lot of clothes from my life on The Other Side, but I enjoyed settling back into them—more than I would have thought.

  “You never told me you had a car.” I gazed around at the pristine interior of the 1965 black Mustang hardtop. The seats were leather, and the ancient-looking push button radio played some song I’d never heard. Must have been a tune from The Side of Magic. The heater blasted, keeping us toasty.

  Aspen shrugged from the driver’s seat and changed gears with the stick shift. “There’s no need for it at the Academy, so I just keep it in storage until I have to drive home for the holidays and summer. My family doesn’t leave our town very often, so I need to have a car to get back and forth.”

  Out the window the evergreen trees had grown even thicker than at Borealis, and we were still gaining elevation. The increased air pressure had given me a slight headache, but I knew it would pass. Growing up in Montana I was accustomed to that type of thing. Aspen had told me that his hometown was off the beaten path, and since I hadn’t seen any signs of civilization for an hour, I believed him.

  “Is it from here or The Other Side?”.

  “Pretty much all the cars and trucks are imported from The Other Side. Dealers have worked out agreements with The Four Points to bring them over here for citizens.”

  I wrinkled my brow, trying to visualize how that might work. I barely knew how anything worked on this side. “Do they drive them straight into Mrs. West’s junk shop?” The day I first arrived at the Academy I had noticed how big her shop was when we went down the back hall to her library. Maybe there was even more to the West Coast doorway than I’d thought.

  Aspen chuckled. “Not that I’ve seen it, but I’ve heard that the South Doorway is quite a bit larger than the other three. It’s the most common port of entry for imports and immigration to and from The Other Side.”

  “Sounds complicated . . . and expensive.”

  “It’s not really . . . just the system that’s been worked out. Somehow The Four Points make it function without a lot of chaos. I saved from summer jobs to buy Midnight.”

  “Midnight?”

  “That’s what I call her—the car. She was a bit of a junker when I got her, but I bought a book on fixing old cars and taught myself.”

  Of course he did.

  “Does she run on magic?” I said, almost joking.

  Aspen chuckled. “In fact, she does. The fuel is an environmentally friendly potion that only needs refueling around every two thousand miles. Way better than gasoline. And with the little I drive I only have to mix it up a couple times a year.”

  A large wooden sign appeared on the right: Tumbling Falls, ten miles.

  “We’re almost there,” Aspen said. “Just in time for lunch.”

  My heart leaped in my throat and I involuntarily gripped the edges of my seat. “Have you told your family that I’m coming?”

  Aspen’s lips quirked into a slight smile. “Yes?”

  I widened my eyes. “What do you mean, yes in the form of a question?”

  He paused for a moment. “I told them I was bringing a friend home for winter break who had nowhere else to go. My dad is a sucker for that kind of stuff and doesn’t want anyone to be without family for Christmas. My mom, on the other hand—”

  My heart crept into my throat. “What do you mean?”

  “Once she gets to know you, she’s going to love you, but my mom is more cautious. She’s had a very hard time even letting me go to magical schools all through growing up. The risk of us being found out is a pretty big deal.”

  I pulled on my long braid and held it into the air. “Do they know about this?”

  “That you’re half Morelli? Or about your braiding skills?”

  I smacked him on the shoulder
. “Yes, that I’m half Morelli!”

  Aspen pursed his lips. “Not exactly. But in my defense, my family are all outsiders, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

  I tucked my braid into my gray sweatshirt and tossed my hood over my head. “Yeah . . . maybe it shouldn’t be a big deal, but it will be. You can’t just spring this on your family.” I twisted to Aspen and waited for a response, but he just drove on silently.

  “I guess we’ll see how it goes,” I finally said. “You might be turning us around and driving me back to the Academy . . . and without lunch.”

  Aspen wrinkled his nose. “We’ll also need to convince my brother.”

  “You have a brother?” How did I not know this? I rubbed my temples to ease my quickly worsening headache.

  “Yeah, Clay. He’s a year older than me.” Aspen reached over and took my hand. “Look, Josy, my parents always knew it would be a risk to send me outside of Tumbling Falls for school. I thought I was willing to keep to myself and just make academy life about getting my education, but I want more than that. I want you . . . if you’ll have me.” He flashed his gorgeous blue eyes my way for a second before returning them forward.

  My insides basically melted into a goopy puddle and I bit my top lip. “I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t want this between us.”

  A goofy half-smile stretched his lips, and he adjusted his backward baseball cap.

  Rustling came from the back seat, and I turned to check it out. The zipper on my duffle bag was sliding back, and before I could get a word out, a pair of black, furry ears popped from the opening.

  I snapped my hand back from Aspen’s as quickly as I could and drew it onto my lap.

  “Nine? What are you doing here?”

  Trying to breathe, apparently. The cat pushed his entire head, then body out of the gap.

  “What did you hear?” My mind flashed to my conversation with Aspen.

  Not much. It sounds like you two have pillows stuffed over your faces from inside there. Why? Did I miss something juicy?