by Logan Jacobs
“No,” I answered, “thank Satan.”
“Were any of them killed or taken as a hostage?” Akira snarled and clenched her fists. “I fucking hope so.”
“Theodora said they shadow ported right out of the office as soon as the professors rushed in,” I explained, “so, no.”
“Broom fucker!” Akira growled and banged her fist on the table.
“Are we going to seek revenge?” Penelope asked with a raised, orange eyebrow.
“Theodora didn’t approve of the notion at this time,” I sighed. “So, that would be another no.”
“Why not?” Nyx asked as she leaned closer toward me. “If I were her, I’d want to tear that treacherous school apart, brick by brick.”
“She must think it’s a waste of time and energy right now,” I responded. “We’d do better to practice our own defenses and prepare for an even greater attack.”
“That certainly makes sense,” Vesta purred before taking a small bite out of a cherry. “I’m inclined to agree with her.”
“But what can we do to help?” Faye questioned as she looked around the table. “Is there anything we can do, master?”
“Get some rest,” I said as I began to eat my dinner as quickly as possible. “I’m going to be going over the premonition book tonight. Theodora wants me to teach the class, and I’ll read until sunrise if I have to.”
“Can you even do that?” Beatrix asked as she brushed a strand of golden-brown hair out of her dark eyes. “I mean, I understand time is of the essence, but can you really retain so much information overnight?”
“Especially defense against elder magic,” Nyx added. “Those ancient texts were forbidden for a reason, or did you forget?”
“Hey!” Penelope interjected, and her brown eyes narrowed sharply. “Are you forgetting who you’re talking to?”
“Carrot head has a point,” Akira agreed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Cole has been able to conquer anything and everything thrown his way. If you were a part of the coven, you’d know that.”
Akira’s words echoed in my mind as I stared at the women who were not a part of my unholy, immortal coven, and I especially found myself deeply fixated on Nyx, with her velvety blue skin, small, protruding red horns, and piercing plum colored eyes. At that moment, I realized she would make an excellent addition to my coven, and I vowed to make her mine.
It would only be a matter of time.
As the others quietly discussed the possibilities of tomorrow’s class, I quickly finished the rest of my plate and then stood up to briefly address the others.
“Take it easy tonight,” I reminded them. “We’re going to have another long day ahead of us tomorrow, and I want each of you to be on the top of your game. You did well out there today.”
“Thank you, master.” Faye blushed.
“Yes, thank you, master,” Vesta added as she tossed back her gleaming, green hair. “We appreciate your confidence in us.”
“And we’ll continue to make you proud,” Morgana said with her chin raised high and determined.
“No matter what,” Penelope agreed.
“I have no doubt.” I smiled as I looked at each beautiful and willful witch at the table. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
I quickly left the table, and as I headed toward the doors, I could feel countless pairs of eyes on my back, but I chose to ignore the feeling and head straight down to Theodora’s office. When I pushed the door open and stepped inside, I was shocked to see the chaotic mess before me. Her beautiful wooden desk was shattered to pieces, and her books were splattered all across the floor. The window at the back of the room was broken, too, and it looked like a complete war zone.
I took a deep breath, stepped over the clutter, and then began to move the artifacts on the fireplace mantelpiece. Luckily, not one of those belongings had been touched or harmed, and finally, when I moved the golden clock, the fireplace made a low grumbling sound before the stones began to rearrange themselves. Cool air blew in my face as the icy opening presented itself to me, and there, lying in the middle of the secret passageway, was a tower of crimson-colored books. It would have been easy to miss, but with my sharp eyes, I immediately spotted the books’ dim outlines.
“Found you,” I whispered to myself as I stepped inside the dark, narrow alley. Then I pulled out my wand and lifted it above my eyes. “Illuminana.”
My wand glowed brightly as I ventured toward the books. I only needed to find the text on premonition, so after a minute of scanning the golden writing on each cover, I found what I was looking for.
“Ancient spells of premonition and foresight,” I read aloud. “Bingo.”
I took the heavy book and left the others in their hiding place. I assumed Theodora only pulled them out whenever a professor needed them for a class, so I promised myself once I finished studying, I would return the book to its rightful place.
I left the cold tunnel and then closed the entrance to prevent the icy wind from blowing air through the already chilly office. As soon as the stones rearranged themselves back into their prior position, I aimed my glowing wand at the fireplace.
Motus.
A small ball of fire flew from my wand and then erupted in the hearth, and as the room began to heat up, I stared at the mess on the floor and focused on moving the books and clutter back to their usual spots.
“Motus,” I repeated aloud.
In the next moment, the hundreds of scattered books hovered back over to the unbroken shelves, and goblets and other artifacts rearranged themselves back onto different surfaces. The only things that remained untouched were the ripped velvet chairs and Theodora’s desk, and I wondered for a moment if I could rearrange the broken bits and pieces back into place.
There was only one way to find out.
“Motus,” I echoed.
Slowly, the broken bits of furniture began to rumble and then reposition themselves in the air. Bits and pieces of flying wood started to stick together, like a giant puzzle, and even shards of colored glass spread all across the floor started to assemble themselves back together again.
As soon as the materials stopped moving, and all was quiet, I pulled back my shoulders and stared at the improvement before me. Everything was back in their rightful places, and it seemed like nothing had happened at all.
“Perfect,” I muttered to myself.
Now that everything was tidied up, I took a seat by the fireplace and opened the dusty book. Clouds of smoke rose into the air, and after I waved it away, I placed the heavy book on my lap and then stared at the first chapter. The illustrations were made of gold and crimson ink, and they were all incredibly intricate and detailed. Each spell and potion appeared to be incredibly challenging and unlike anything we’d covered before. The dialect was slightly different for certain spells, too, and I knew deep down tomorrow was going to be a challenge, but I didn’t let that deter me.
We had to push ourselves, now more than ever.
I continued to read until it felt like my eyes were going to bleed and boredom would kill me, but then I found myself completely immersed in a specific chapter. It explained how to perceive the weaknesses, desires, and disabilities of ancient elder creatures, as well as any other being, and I couldn’t stop reading. I thought it was both useful and fascinating, but eventually, sometime in the middle of the night, I felt the urge to get up and stretch my legs. So, I placed the book carefully on Theodora’s desk and paced slowly around the room. I stared out the window, and then my eyes fell toward the forest, and I thought about Alexander and if he’d be up for some premonition practice. I desperately needed to get out of this office for a while, and if I was going to take a break from reading, then I needed to be practical. Besides, if I wanted to teach to the best of my abilities, I’d need to practice the craft and not just read about it.
I turned away from the window, opened the fireplace back up, quickly placed the book back onto the pile, closed the opening, and made my way out the door a
nd to the common room. Since it was sometime in the middle of the night, all the familiars seemed to be in a deep, peaceful sleep, and I smiled when I spotted Silvia and Alexander curled up next to each other by the fireplace, while the others had found their own spots somewhere on the sofas.
I slowly and quietly approached the sleeping Alexander and then lightly tapped on his head.
“Hey,” I whispered, “Alexander, wake up.”
What? he groaned, and even in my head, his voice was thick with sleep. It’s still dark… isn’t it? What the hell do you want?
“Yeah, it’s dark, but so what?” I murmured. “It’s never too early or too late to practice some forbidden magic, am I right?”
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, he growled.
“I’m dead serious,” I answered. “Come on, get the hell up. I need you as a backup to practice something new.”
Fiiiiiiiiine, he whined before he gently pulled himself away from the sleeping Silvia. The things I do for you.
I watched as he stretched out his paws and his back legs before extending his massive black, leathery wings. His glowing red eyes met mine, and then his lips pulled back into a small smile.
“Ready?” I grinned.
Fuck, yeah, he said, what are we waiting for?
I chuckled as we both headed for the door, and we made our way through the corridors, past the grand front doors, and toward the towering, black iron gates as quietly as possible.
So, what’s the plan exactly? Alexander asked as we headed for the forest. Are we just going to wander the grounds while you practice your magic, or what?
“I just read about ancient premonition magic,” I explained. “I want to see if I can successfully wander through the woods predicting who or what is in my path… but more importantly, I want to find a creature I know nothing about and see if I can defeat it.”
But can’t you do that already? Alexander asked. I thought you could predict danger before it happened.
“This is a little different,” I said. “With this spell, I can summon beings to my will, and also peer into the weaknesses and desires of any creature I cross… just trust me, I know it sounds complicated, but you’ll understand when you see it.”
When we entered the black thicket of the dark woods, I pulled out my wand and kept it extended in front of me. It lit the way as we trekked through the forest, and Alexander flew closely by my side.
I can’t believe we’re out here looking for danger when we could be snuggling with our women, Alexander grumbled.
“I’m sure these woods don’t possess anything I can’t handle,” I whispered. “Stop being a little pussy.”
I’m not! he barked back.
I chuckled under my breath but kept my eyes and ears on high alert. I knew looking for danger seemed like a foolish thing to do, but it was the only way to test out my abilities and see if I was truly capable of teaching tomorrow’s lesson. As I listened to every chirp, growl, and subtle noise around me, I thought about the book. I’d learned how witches had been able to sense the smallest elements in the earth, such as dying roots or spoiled vegetation. It was all about being able to manipulate the elements and open my mind to everything surrounding me. I could even cause trees to split open or flowers to sprout from the earth if I wanted to.
All it took was practice and patience.
For now, though, what I wanted to do was find a creature I knew nothing about and see if I could defeat it by sensing its one true weakness or desire. The incantation required to detect disadvantages and desires from an unknown creature was a seemingly simple one. I just had to open my mind and recite the word ‘apertum.’ Then my mind would become one with my surroundings. It seemed easy enough, but it was known to cause witches to spontaneously combust, and I didn’t fancy the idea of having my head explode like a ripe melon.
So, I had to be careful when using it.
I still don’t know what we’re looking for, Alexander sighed.
“We’re looking for something mysterious,” I explained as patiently as possible. “I’m trying to see if I can find something I’ve never seen before, and then use the incantation to learn everything about it in seconds… wait, stop.”
What? he asked, and there was a trace of panic in his voice.
“There’s something in that tree over there,” I said slowly, “I can feel it.”
Alexander hovered a little closer to me and then squinted his ruby-red eyes in the direction I was pointing.
I stared long and hard at the tree trunk and studied its bark, the leaves, the dirt beneath it, and I knew, something dark and cruel lived within its confinements.
What is it? Alexander asked.
“I’m not sure,” I responded.
Well, you’d better find out… and quickly.
In my mind, I saw the silhouette of something that resembled a beastly sized man and a ghoulish goat. It was a faun, if I recalled correctly. I remembered seeing pictures of the creature in the Book of Beasts, but I never read the entire chapter.
“I’m pretty sure we’re dealing with a faun… and a pretty large one at that,” I replied with a small smile.
So, you know how to kill it? Alexander asked.
“Nope,” I said. “I may know what a faun looks like, but I have no idea how to defeat one.”
How’s that a good thing? Alexander cried out in a clear panic.
“Because it will give me a chance to practice the spell,” I replied coolly. “Just fucking relax, will you?”
Before Alexander could snap back at me, we heard deep, cackling laughter, and then the tree bark slowly split apart. Out from the opening sauntered a towering, pale-skinned hoofed man with curled horns on the top of his head and long, greasy silver-green hair. His eyes were bright, piss-yellow, and there were deep red carvings all over his leathery skin. He only wore a loincloth, and his chest was muscled, toned, and tattooed with markings.
When his eyes met mine, his thin lips pulled up into a small smile, and then he chuckled again.
“Well, well, well,” he croaked. “I must say… a late-night dinner seldom comes wandering into my neck of the woods.”
“Hey,” I warned with my wand extended. “Stay back, or I’ll blow you to fucking pieces.”
He stopped in his tracks, and as I stared into his yellow orbs, his smile only grew.
“What?” the faun laughed as he took another step closer toward me. “Are you afraid?”
Cole? Alexander groaned. What the hell are you doing? He’s coming right at us… should I kill him or not?
“No,” I replied to both Alexander and the faun.
The creature took another step closer toward me, and I could feel greed radiating off his body like an overpowering stench. I needed a clearer indication of what he wanted or feared because I knew it wasn’t just my blood he craved, he also yearned for something else.
Something far more valuable.
So, I stared at the beast, and then, without breaking eye contact with him, I uttered the incantation in my head.
Apertum.
Suddenly, a wave of information hit me all at once. I sensed gold, jewels, the most beautiful furs, lavish banquets, grand balls, glittering diamonds, and majestic paintings. So, this fucker craved riches.
But at the same time, I could also feel his deepest fears… which turned out to be the sun.
I smiled to myself because I was beginning to form the perfect plan. This faun would be an ideal creature to keep within the castle for practice, since I’d never seen his species before, and I knew the professors would appreciate a new addition to their collection. So instead of killing him by summoning the sun, which would take up too much of my time and energy, I’d lure him back to the castle.
“Why are you grinning like a mute fool?” the faun growled before taking another small step toward me.
“I know what you desire,” I said, “it’s riches… gold, diamonds, jewels, and silver… correct?”
“And so, what of i
t?” he snarled. “I don’t suppose you’re carrying something valuable with you? Maybe your little pet has a gold tooth? I’d love to rip his jaw open and find out.”
Cole, Alexander whimpered in a concerned voice. I don’t like this.
“No, we don’t have anything valuable on us, but I can lead you to great, majestic riches,” I explained as I ignored Alexander. “All you have to do is follow me.”
“Is that so?” he growled before he took another step closer toward me.
“Keep your distance,” I warned him. “I’ll kill you in a blink of an eye if I have to.”
“Now, why would you so generously offer me riches?” the faun asked in an amused voice. “Doesn’t seem right to me... especially when you keep threatening to kill me.”
“The gold I speak of is locked up in a castle,” I lied. “I need someone to help me break inside… we can then split the treasure. Or, I can kill you here on the spot. Your choice.”
“Oh?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Hmmm, is the castle nearby? I never walk farther than I have to, dinner comes from my bark and branches, since I feast on birds and worms. This tree is all I know, and I seldom leave its warm confinements, unless I have to.”
“It’s not too far behind me.” I grinned. “In fact, it’s just a short walk.”
“Well, perhaps I can help you out, then,” he said, and his yellow eyes flashed with greed.
Got him.
“That’s what I thought,” I chuckled. “Alright, come with me… but stay where I can see you. I’ll tell you where to go.”
The faun chuckled under his breath as I gestured for him to move forward, and he squinted at me and then licked his thin lips as he marched ahead with his back slightly hunched forward.
What the hell are you doing, Cole? Alexander asked.
“You’ll see,” I mumbled under my breath.
“What did you say?” the faun asked as he slowly turned around to face me.
“Nothing,” I said, “I’m just mumbling to myself.”
“And I thought I was crazy,” the faun muttered as he shook his head.
I ignored his comment and kept my wand aimed at his back as we moved onward. He was a slow creature, but it didn’t matter. If anything, it bought me a little more time to fully formulate a plan. I’d lure him down into the forbidden dungeons and then stick him into one of the cells. I’d fight him if I had to, which would probably be the case once he figured things out, but I wasn’t worried about that. I just needed to test out my knowledge, and so far, things were working out smoothly. If I could keep up this farce, we’d make it back to the dungeon with no problem.