by Logan Jacobs
The headmistress sighed and rubbed her forehead like she was trying to massage away the problem, and then she took a seat by her fireplace and looked in the flames as if the answer laid there.
“I don’t know, Cole,” she murmured after a minute. “The risks are too great.”
“Please, Headmistress,” I implored. “This is our only choice… you have to have faith in your students. We can do this, and I’ll help in any way I can.”
Theodora’s eyes gazed into mine, and she slowly shook her head. At first, I thought she was going to reject me once again, but then she coyly smiled, and relief flooded through my body.
“Only you could make me even consider such an option,” she chuckled under her breath. “Alright… we can try it your way.”
I tried to contain my smile, but it was useless. I could feel myself grinning from ear to ear, and Theodora waved at me as if I were some kind of irritating fly.
“Stop being so smug,” she huffed, and she smiled as she turned away and focused on the flames again. “We have no idea what we’re really getting ourselves into.”
“No, but we’re about to find out,” I chuckled.
Theodora abruptly stood up from her chair, smoothed out her skirts, and then cleared her throat.
“Well, let’s get down to the library before I change my mind,” she said with a determined nod. “Come along.”
I grinned, nodded, and then followed her as she headed out the door and down into the hallway. As we made our way through the empty corridors, though, something started to gnaw at me, and I couldn’t shake the feeling off. It took me a moment to realize I was worried about the High Court. They’d granted Theodora permission to practice advanced, professor-level spells, but I never recalled them granting her permission to teach from the forbidden texts.
Was I about to get her into severe trouble?
“Headmistress?” I asked as we passed by the glaring portraits of former Scholomance witches. “I probably should have asked you this next question before…”
“Hmm?” she hummed without turning to look at me. “What is it?”
“Will you be punished for this?” I questioned. “I mean, will Mara or any of the women from the High Court reprimand you for my decision?”
“No,” Theodora answered after a long moment. “They were overly impressed by you during our visit, so I highly doubt it. Should they find out we’ve been using forbidden, ancient magic, I doubt they would blink an eye. Not when they have bigger things to worry about.”
“Alright.” I nodded.
If she was sure, which sounded like the case, then I would let it go.
We continued to walk down the corridors in comfortable silence, but by the time we reached the library doors with the gold chain, I could feel that something was wrong. It was a deep, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, which I couldn’t push away, and the longer I stared at the door, the more my head began to ache and pound. It felt like tiny needles were pricking my entire scalp as I winced and took a small step back, and Theodora immediately noticed.
“You feel it, too?” she asked in a soft voice.
“What is it?” I groaned as my head continued to throb. “Satan, my head feels like it's going to burst.”
“Someone was in here,” she whispered and placed a hand on the door. “Someone with ill-intent.”
“Fuck,” I hissed before I pulled out my wand. “Do you think they’re still inside?”
“No,” she answered after a long moment. “They’re gone… but something still feels wrong. Come on, we’d better find out what. Wands up and eyes peeled.”
I nodded in agreement as Theodora muttered an incantation under her breath and then took aim at the door chain. As soon as the golden clasp fell apart, she gently pushed the door open, and a cold breeze hit us both in the face.
“Keep an eye open,” she muttered.
“I’ve got two,” I whispered.
The headmistress chuckled softly as we took a step deeper inside the pitch-black library. Clouds of dust and mothballs hung in the air like flecks of slow as we ventured deeper, and it was nearly impossible to see.
“Illuminana,” Theodora hissed.
The tip of her wand immediately glowed, and it cast a small ray of light along the book spines that towered all around us. Together, we slowly gazed around the library, and I tried to sense where the forewarning was coming from. It was apparent someone had been in here, and they’d been looking for something because countless books were cluttering the floor, but why did it feel as if an invisible threat was still dangling in the air? Yes, the library was in a state of chaos, but it didn’t seem like any of the books were seriously damaged.
“Shit,” I murmured, “seems like someone was looking for something.”
“Indeed,” Theodora sighed as we stared at the scattered books. “Satan, the warlocks must have found a way to break through the barrier… bastards.”
Suddenly, my heart began to violently hammer in my chest, and the world started to slightly spin. I knew where the foreboding feeling was stemming from, and it took me a moment to find my voice again.
“Headmistress,” I said slowly, and it was like my tongue was made out of sandpaper. “Where exactly do you keep the books on elder magic?”
She stopped moving, and when I aimed my light at her, all color had drained from her beautiful face.
“Oh, unholy Satan,” she gasped as her pale blue eyes widened with terrible realization. “No, no, no!”
I’d never seen the headmistress appear so agitated before in my life, and it made my stomach do flips and turns as she whirled and sprinted through the dark, cluttered library. She frantically mumbled to herself as she twisted and turned through the shelves, and finally, when she reached a large empty bookcase, she cursed and banged her fist against the shelf.
“They’re gone!” she shouted. “I can’t believe it! How did I not think to even check before?”
“Fuck,” I hissed under my breath. I was at a loss for words because I had never seen her so distressed before. I knew I had to choose my next words carefully, so I took in a deep breath before I said what was on my mind. “Well… we don’t have another choice, do we? We have to get them back.”
Theodora whipped around to look into my eyes and then slowly began to shake her head.
“Cole, just how do you intend to do that?” she whispered in an unsteady voice.
“Shadow port me and my coven to Mors Academy,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster. “We’ll find the stolen books and return them.”
“You wouldn’t even know where to begin looking,” she argued. “The Mors Academy is just as expansive as Scholomance.”
“I’ll use my premonition skills to locate them,” I insisted. “You know my skills of foresight and intuition exceed any other student’s here. I know I can do this.”
“Cole,” she breathed and pursed her lips, “I just don’t know about this… I know I’ve sent you on countless missions before, some more dangerous than others, but I just have a terrible feeling about this.”
“Look, Headmistress… the warlocks must be weak right now,” I pushed. “They don’t even have a headmaster, and we have countless hostages. How much of a threat can they be? They won’t be expecting us to hit them back this quickly.”
“We have no idea what’s going on behind their walls,” Theodora sighed. “They could have elder gods roaming the halls for all we know.”
“Have you tried to peer into their school since this all happened?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “Through premonition?”
“Yes,” she acknowledged, “but I haven’t been able to see a damn thing… which is a strange notion on its own. I’d rather be able to see the potential danger lurking within their domain than nothing at all. Silence can be deadlier than anything else.”
I sighed and then looked back at the empty shelf. I knew our only course of action was to steal back the books, whether Theodora agreed or not.
“You know what needs to be done,” I said after a moment.
“Yes,” she sighed, “I’m afraid so.”
“We should inform the others,” I replied quickly. “The sooner we leave, the quicker we can begin advanced classes and preparation.”
“Indeed.” She nodded. “Alright, let’s head back to your common room.”
I followed the concerned headmistress out the door and into the hallway, and as we passed through the corridors, my mind raced with concern. Theodora was right, we had no idea what the hell we could be facing, but we had to get those fucking books back, no matter what.
When we reached the common room door and stepped inside, all eyes turned to us. Morgana was reading by the fireplace, and Penelope and Akira seemed to be in a deep discussion while Faye played with the familiars and Vesta brushed her long, green hair.
“Good evening, ladies,” Theodora greeted as she strolled inside.
“Headmistress!” Morgana gasped as she slammed her book shut and then stood up.
The rest of my coven also stopped what they were doing and immediately gave Theodora their full attention.
“How are you all doing?” Theodora flashed the women a small, wan smile. “Faring well, I hope.”
“It’s been a rather peaceful evening--” Vesta began until the headmistress interrupted her.
“Well, that’s all about to change, I’m afraid.”
“Err, with all due respect, Headmistress,” Akira responded after a moment, “why is that?”
“It would seem our most valuable books have been stolen from the forbidden library,” Theodora explained in a calm and steady voice.
Morgana gasped the loudest and then covered her mouth with her hand.
“Oh, Satan,” the brunette said in a shaky voice. “How did the Mors students break into the library? I mean… I’m assuming it was them, correct?”
“Per usual, you are correct, Miss Morgana.” Theodora nodded. “I do not know how they broke through the barrier, but that’s not my primary concern at the moment. Retrieving the books is.”
“And you want us to do it?” Penelope questioned in a faint voice.
“Yes,” Theodora confirmed. “It was Cole’s idea to use the books for practice, and now that they’ve gone, we’ll need our finest students to retrieve them. Are you up to the task?”
“We’d do whatever our master commands of us,” Faye said as she stepped away from the familiars.
“Well, then,” Theodora replied with a small smile, and she was clearly pleased by the redhead’s response. “You’d better prepare yourselves. I know you’ve been through countless adventures before, and I’ve pushed you to the limit, but we have no idea what is going on behind Mors’ walls. There could be elder gods roaming their hallways for all we know. So, I want you all to work closely together and watch out for each other.”
“Of course, we will, Headmistress,” I said before any of the others could respond. “We’re always looking out for each other, aren’t we?”
“Always,” my coven answered in unison.
I stared at the five remarkable women and then thought about the Mors Academy. Theodora was correct, we had no idea what we would be facing, and I realized we could use reinforcements, so I slowly turned to look at the headmistress and met her pale blue eyes.
“Whatever it is you want to ask me, Cole,” she began with a small smile, “just ask.”
“May we bring others with us?” I asked. “I think it would be wiser to take a larger party.”
“I agree,” Theodora answered after a long moment. “Who did you have in mind?”
I thought of Beatrix and the twins, and for some reason, the blue-skinned Nyx also popped into mind. From what I could tell, the former Vipera witch was calm, cool, and collected, and she would be the perfect addition to our mission.
“Nyx, Ivy, Iris, and Beatrix,” I said after a long moment.
“I’ll summon them right away.” Theodora nodded. “Once I do, I’m going to shadow port you into the Mors dungeons. It’s the only place I can think of that will be secluded, especially since nightfall is nearing.”
“Right,” I answered with a tiny nod.
“Now, just a moment.” The headmistress smirked before she snapped her fingers, and a cloud of smoke erupted in the middle of the room.
In the next moment, Nyx, Beatrix, and the twins were standing in the room, and each one turned to look at each other in pure confusion.
“Whoa… am I hallucinating?” Nyx was the first to ask. “One minute I was in my room chilling, and the next…? What are we doing here?”
“Cole has asked you to join him on a very important mission,” Theodora calmly responded. “You will need to venture within the walls of the Mors academy and retrieve a collection of highly important books which were stolen from us.”
“Excuse me, Headmistress?” Beatrix asked with eyes as wide as dinner plates. “I’m not sure--?”
“It’s a direct command from yours truly,” Theodora cut in sharply. “No questions or arguments, please, it will only waste time. Understood?”
“Yes, Headmistress,” the women responded in an obedient, but slightly embarrassed, tone.
“Excellent,” Theodora answered with her chin raised. “Now, you must all be quick and be careful. I expect to see you back here soon.”
I nodded in agreement before Theodora took a small step back and then looked at each of us before she snapped her fingers again. A deep purple cloud swarmed around the room, and then we found ourselves tumbling and turning through the air. My stomach was doing summersaults, but the feeling didn’t stem from the shadow porting. There were knots in my stomach because I was nervous and hesitant, but still, I vowed I’d do whatever I needed to in order to find those books and return safely to Scholomance.
Chapter 7
By the time the world stopped spinning, we crashed on a cold stone floor, and when the purple mist cleared, I glanced around the small, pitiful dungeon we found ourselves in. There were only a few cells plastered against the right side of the room, and thankfully, each one was empty. There were no windows along the gray, granite walls, and water dripped from the cement ceiling and caused a small, irritating echo to vibrate through the pathetic prison. It was basically empty, and the only thing to indicate someone was once in here were the stains of dark blood along the walls and a rotting pile of bones in the corner.
“Fuck,” Akira grunted as she stood up. “Will shadow porting ever get easier?”
“Does it matter?” Penelope sighed. “I think we’ve got bigger problems to worry about.”
“What’s that foul smell?” Vesta questioned as she scrunched up her face in disgust.
“Again, I think we have more crucial concerns.” Penelope rolled her brown eyes.
“Yeah, like why the hell did you drag us here?” Beatrix demanded as we all slowly stood up and then dusted ourselves off. “I was having a perfectly pleasant evening until Theodora randomly summoned us to you.”
“Oh, shut the hell up,” Akira grunted as she shot the honey-brown haired witch with a spiteful glare. “You heard the Headmistress, we need to collect the stolen books. Sorry if that ruined your quaint little evening, princess.”
“What books?” Ivy asked as she furiously brushed a blue strand out of her face.
“Ancient, forbidden books that include magic against the elder gods and their creations,” I explained. “Look, we really don’t have time to give you the full story. I just need you all to be quiet and follow my lead.”
“I can’t believe I agreed to this,” Nyx groaned as she looked around with dismay and disbelief. “This sucks pixie ass… I could be smoking in my room right now instead of dealing with more drama. What a draaaaag.”
“It’s not as if you had much of a choice,” Beatrix sighed dramatically. “When the headmistress asks you for something, you know deep down it’s not an actual choice. Especially when her precious Cole and his obedient coven are involved.
”
“True,” Iris agreed before she swept a pink streak of hair out of her face. “If Cole and the coven are involved, then we must all drop whatever it is we’re doing and obey their every whim and command.”
“Good point.” Ivy nodded. “I’m honestly a little sick of it--”
“Hey, here’s an idea, how about you all stop bitching and get your shit together?” Akira suddenly snarled, and each witch shot her an appalled look. The black-haired witch then tossed her hands up into the air and sighed. “What? There’s no point in complaining… it’s just a fucking waste of time and energy, and your voices are seriously grating on my nerves, so can you shut up unless you have something important to say?”
“Uhhh, excuse me?” Nyx frowned. “Like, who the hell do you think you are--?”
“Stop,” I said in a firm voice. “Everyone be quiet… the last thing we should be doing is arguing in the dungeon of the fucking Mors Academy. We need to work together and focus, for fuck’s sake.”
My coven turned to look at me with obedient eyes and tightly pressed lips, and even the women who weren’t a part of my coven looked at me and meekly bowed their heads.
“Apologies, master,” Akira mumbled before she stared down at her feet.
“Yeah,” Penelope sighed. “I’m sorry, too, master.”
“It’s fine,” I answered after a moment, “but like I said, we just need to keep our heads together if we’re going to get out of here alive and with those books.”
“And the first thing we should do is get out of this dungeon and begin searching,” Nyx sighed as she lazily pushed back her long, deep sapphire blue hair. “Right?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I need a minute to gather my bearings… everyone be quiet. Not one peep.”
“Yes, master,” my coven answered while the others mumbled their mutual agreements.
“Okay,” I said before I closed my eyes. “Thank you.”
Then I took in a deep breath and tried to gather my thoughts. I knew I’d have to use my sense of premonition to figure out exactly where the books were located, but Theodora was right, this place was massive. I could feel it as I tried to focus on my surroundings. In my mind’s eye, I could sense countless corridors and possible pathways, and not one of them was showing me a clear path to the books. The more I concentrated, the cloudier everything became.