Oath Of The Witch: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (School of Necessary Magic Raine Campbell Book 4)

by Judith Berens

  Agent Connor nodded carefully and maintained his calm expression despite being pleased with what he had heard. “And you’re sure? You’ll be a trailblazer, out in the open with your abilities. Some in the agency will be happy you’re there, but there will be some who resent you or don’t trust you because you’re a magical.”

  She stared back at him with a defiant look. “That’s all the more reason for me to join the FBI, then. Magicals and non-magicals need to work together. I know it won’t be easy. Even if I wasn’t a magical, it’d be hard to join the FBI.” She shook her head. “The PDA does important work, but it’s like you’ve said in your lectures. The more magicals who go into places other than the PDA, the easier things will be for everyone, magical or not.”

  “I’m glad someone’s listening when I talk. I’m also glad to hear all of that, Raine. I needed to be sure. You’ve been at this school for a while now, and I wouldn’t have blamed you if you changed your mind about going into the FBI.”

  “No. If anything, it’s the opposite. If you wanted me to swear an oath to join the FBI right now, I would.”

  The agent laughed. “The FBI doesn’t generally require oaths from teenagers, but I’ll keep that in mind.” He returned to the dining table. “Also, while we’re being so honest with one another, you’re not caught up in any trouble this semester, are you?”

  Raine blinked, worried. “Trouble? What do you mean?”

  He sat and set his coffee mug down. “Missing druids, wizard cultists, that sort of thing. I understand that sometimes, you need to check into things yourself, but you and your friends are still minors. I’ve tried to work a lot more closely with the headmistress, and part of that involves keeping an eye on you since you’re my responsibility.”

  “I’m not in any sort of weird trouble. At least not yet.”

  Agent Connor barked out a laugh.

  The only thing she could think of was Sara talking to Hap, and the ferret hadn’t done anything besides chat with her. Maybe with Arc Eighty-Eight keeping everyone busy, there wouldn’t be any big trouble that semester. Although with the headmistress on the verge of banning the game, Raine could easily see some sort of underground Arc Eighty-Eight smuggling on the campus.

  She laughed herself. “It’s not like we’re not allowed to have a quiet semester.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Matt threw himself in front of the firebolt blasted from the giant, flame-covered salamander. It resembled its non-magical cousins, but it happened to be several yards long and could spit magical flames. The fire-intensive Louper quarter-final match began to get on his nerves, and they’d not even spotted a single player from the opposing team, the Dallas Fireflies.

  Flying flame imps, a deep-voiced pixie who spat smoke and flame, and several boiling mud traps had been their direct enemies in the match thus far.

  The shifter grimaced and stumbled back but kept the monster’s attention mostly on him.

  The ground shook, and the three large volcanic vents that surrounded them billowed smoke, ash, and burning rock. Unlike their qualifier match, their tracking spells worked this time and they knew they were close to the end of the match. They only had to make it through the rocky terrain and grab the token.

  Adrien and Etienne rushed toward the salamander, their swords drawn and coated with a layer of enchanted frost. Cody and Daniel circled from the other side and fired a few quick blasts of ice to distract the huge beast.

  The salamander stormed forward and hissed. It coughed out another firebolt, this time at Cody. The wizard’s shield absorbed the impact without failing.

  With the monster’s back completely exposed, the elves took their chance. They attacked with no yells or shouts and nothing to make the enemy aware they were coming. They both thrust their blades into the salamander’s body at the same time.

  The creature reared up and thrashed furiously. The brothers released their swords and rolled out of the way. Cody and Daniel threw their ice blasts, but it wasn’t necessary. The salamander collapsed and succumbed to its sword wounds.

  Matt pointed toward a jagged field of rocks laced through with thin streams of lava. He had to keep reminding himself that they wouldn’t die if they fell in. The intense heat made it seem otherwise.

  “We’re almost there!” he shouted. “Keep in mind what they said before the match. There is still some sort of special surprise coming up, but we can win this match. We can show the Fireflies what the Cardinals are made of and go to the semi-finals. Then we’re all but at the championship.”

  Cody summoned a new tracking orb. The team raced over the rough terrain toward their target and dodged spouts of steam, ash, and rock.

  Four of the Fireflies appeared behind a nearby hill.

  “Go for the token, Cody,” Matt ordered. “We’ll hold them here. It looks like they already lost a player.”

  The wizard rushed forward while the rest of the team broke into two groups composed of Adrien and Etienne and Matt and Daniel.

  The four Fireflies, two witches and two wizards, raised their wands. Rocks ripped from the ground and swirled in front of them and denied the Cardinals a clear view of the opposing team.

  Matt growled and hurtled through the pebble and rock tornadoes, his eyes yellow. Daniel strengthened his shield and followed his team captain.

  More debris swept into the area, which made it completely impossible to see the Fireflies now.

  Adrien and Etienne sprinted silently around the side of the rock storm.

  The elves ran several more yards before Adrien cast a quick burst spell and flung himself forward. He landed a little rougher than he’d planned, but his shield took the brunt of the damage.

  The burst spell had taken more out of him than he’d expected, and he wiped the sweat off his forehead. To throw a quick burst or two in class when he hadn’t used any other magic was trivial. But after a long Louper match where he’d already fought and expended magic, the spell was draining. He began to better understand why a magical might not simply burst constantly around the battlefield.

  His brother soon joined him with a quick burst. Their movement put them beyond the edge of the rock barrier. Three of the Fireflies stood on the hill to maintain the spell. Matt and Daniel emerged from the rock storms, scratched and half-blinded from their direct approach.

  The four Cardinals barreled up the hill and flung a few stun spells as they ran. The Fireflies’ shields absorbed the spells with minimum effort, but other players released their rock tornado spell and backed away.

  “There’s only three. One of them broke away,” Matt shouted. “Does anyone see the other witch?”

  “No,” his teammates shouted.

  “Adrien and Etienne, go help Cody,” Matt ordered. “This is a distraction. Daniel and I will handle them. You worry about the token. Monsters, obstacles—all of them are to distract us. We have to get that token. Nothing else matters.”

  With a growl, he shifted into his four-legged form and loped up the hill while Daniel laid down cover with spells to fling rocks and shatter them near the Fireflies.

  The elf brothers ran off in Cody’s direction. He was a mere outline in the distance now. Another tremor shook the ground and almost knocked everyone off their feet.

  A huge roar cut through the air and virtually drowned out the dull background rumble of the volcanoes. The ground cracked, and a column of flame erupted from below. More rock shifted, and a huge, red, scaly maw poked through.

  Matt threw his head back and howled in frustration.

  “That’s not fair,” Adrien muttered.

  A massive red dragon pushed slowly from the earth. The beast looked like it ate Dorvu-sized dragons as a light snack between lunch and dinner.

  “Concentrate on Cody,” Etienne shouted. “I’ll try to distract the monster.”

  “How?” asked Adrien, his face calm but his mind boggled by the sheer size of the new obstacle. He’d never faced anything like it during a Louper match.

  �
�By being very, very annoying,” Etienne explained. “We both know I can do that when I feel like it.”

  Adrien chuckled and sprinted on. His brother slowed, turned, and summoned a blade in each hand.

  Daniel and Matt continued their charge up the hill as the Fireflies attempted to retreat from both the approaching Cardinals and the new dragon.

  The red beast emitted a bone-shattering roar and launched a huge fireball toward the hill. Matt spun and pounced on Daniel to shove him down. The fiery missile exploded around the Fireflies and knocked them in several directions.

  Etienne used magic to fling his swords toward the dragon. They bounced off the creature’s thick hide, but the attack accomplished its intended purpose. The beast roared again and turned its huge head toward the elf.

  Adrien closed on Cody and his heart thumped painfully. He realized something was wrong. The wizard lay motionless on the rocky terrain and ropes of rock bound his hands and feet.

  A blast of steam blinded the elf for a moment, and he stumbled and fell as the ground rumbled. Etienne, Matt, and Daniel continued to draw the dragon’s attention, and the three Fireflies on the hill seemed out of commission.

  Adrien scrambled to his feet and looked around for the other two Fireflies. They couldn’t assume the enemy team had lost any players they hadn’t personally seen eliminated.

  “I can do this,” he murmured to himself. “But I have to not let them surprise me. Just like during the qualifier.”

  He strengthened his shield and continued his sprint toward Cody who lay face down. Adrien didn’t care if the token was nearby. He couldn’t bring himself to leave a teammate in a restraining spell.

  Something exploded in the distance. An eruption of rock headed directly toward him and he gritted his teeth. He needed to think of something and fast or he would join the incapacitated Cody.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Adrien shouted the burst incantation with even more extra emphasis on the second syllable. He flew forward and the rocks barely missed him as he cartwheeled toward his downed teammate. His shoulder slammed into the ground and his shield absorbed much of the blow, but he knew he’d be sore the next day without a trip to the nurse.

  He scrambled to his feet and extended a wider shield in front of him and Cody. He dispelled the restraining spell, and the rocks disintegrated around his teammate.

  The other boy rolled to his side and snatched his wand up. “Thanks.” His eyes widened at the dragon in the distance. “I knew I didn’t want to see what was making all that noise.” He summoned another tracking orb. “It’s close.” He pointed at a concentration of huge boulders that formed a natural maze, complete with what might be called a roof. “Over there. I was ambushed by a witch, but I don’t know where she went.”

  “To the token.” Adrien helped the wizard up. His gaze swept the area for the opposing team before he ran toward the boulders.

  Cody hurried after him and winced with pain from some of his cuts and bruises.

  The red dragon continued to blast flame as Matt, Daniel, and Etienne alternated between ineffectual attacks and quick movement to avoid annihilation by the big “surprise” of the quarter-finals, but they still did better than the Fireflies.

  Adrien and Cody arrived at the rocks. A huge alchemical symbol for mercury was etched on two boulders that formed a natural entrance. The symbols for salt and sulfur were smaller and near the bottom on either side.

  “Is that some sort of puzzle?” The elf frowned and rushed toward the entrance. A blue field shimmered and hurled him to the ground.

  Cody slowed and frowned. “The Fireflies?”

  “No, I don’t think it’s them.” Adrien pointed to the symbols. “Do you know what I hated most from my first month of potions freshman year?”

  “Potions exploding in your face?” The wizard continued to look around for other monsters or players. “That’s what I hated. It took two months for my eyebrows to grow back after one did exactly that.”

  The dragon roared again in the distance and continued to vent its rage against the Cardinals. The elf knew they didn’t have much time. There was only so long they could distract such a monster.

  “Having to memorize five different sets of alchemical symbols with their alternative meanings.” Adrien pointed at the symbol for mercury. “These are Paracelsusian in style. Remember? Mercury is mind, salt is body, and sulfur is spirit.”

  “Meaning what?”

  He walked to the boulder, put his hand on the salt symbol, and cast a mild healing spell. While he wasn’t great at that kind of magic, he hoped it would do. The symbol lit up. He placed his hand on the mercury symbol and cast a minor memory recall spell, hoping it would be enough. The other symbol lit up.

  Cody grinned. “We’ve got this, Adrien.”

  The elf placed his hand on the final symbol and tried to think of what counted as a good use of spirit and decided to push raw magic energy into the stone. The final symbol glowed and the entire rock structure shook and rumbled. Some of the boulders shifted position.

  Adrien and Cody backed away and watched as all the rocks rearranged themselves into a gigantic, four-legged walking pile of boulders. It wasn’t as big as the dragon, but it still towered over the two players.

  The creature took a single ponderous step that shook the ground and many rock formations that still littered the area.

  Cody grimaced. “How do we take down something like that?”

  “We don’t.” The elf glanced at the dragon. It still spat fire, so that meant at least one person was keeping it busy.

  The boys continued to back away. The rock monster took another step forward.

  Something glinted in the distance on a smooth, flat-topped rock. It was the golden token.

  Adrien’s eyes widened, and he pointed. “Matt said we don’t need to win against any of these monsters. We only need the token. Let’s go on either side.”

  “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  The boys rushed away from each other and tried to circle toward the token. Impact tremors from the rock monster tripped them, but they rose and pushed forward to close on the prize. A quarter-final win was only yards away.

  A rope of light swirled from behind one of the remaining boulders. The tip wound around a rock and hurled it in their direction.

  “What?” Adrien and Cody both shouted at the same time as they ducked.

  A dark-haired witch in a Fireflies uniform stepped out from behind the boulder with a huge grin on her face. The light rope stretched from her wand.

  Adrien summoned another burst and flew toward her, but it was too late. She snatched the token and held it up.

  The Cardinals had lost their quarter-finals match.

  The team all wore solemn faces as they marched away from the field after the final declaration of the results. Their season was over. It wasn’t like they expected to win the championship, but they at least wanted to get there. With it being Matt’s last year, most of them had been hopeful.

  The new players looked particularly glum, even if they hadn’t been allowed to play in the game.

  Matt smiled broadly and clapped. “Great game, guys. Great game.”

  The others blinked and looked at him.

  Adrien frowned. “But we lost. Our season’s over. Your and Etienne’s season is over. You’ll never play a regular match at the School of Necessary Magic again.”

  “So?” The shifter took the time to look each of his teammates in the eyes. “We played well. Really well, and that’s with all the weird surprises they had this time. Dragons? Giant rock monsters? Even the terrain was extra nasty. And each and every one of you never gave up, not until the other team had the token.”

  Grins broke out on Cody and Daniel’s faces.

  Etienne nodded cautiously. “He’s right. If we’d played poorly or were stupid, that’d be a reason to be angry, but we did our best and we had a great season. Many teams didn’t even make it this far.”

  “Yeah, like Orono,�
� Cody said and laughed.

  Matt walked over to Adrien and clapped him on the shoulder. It reminded the elf of what happened with his brother when he’d been picked as team captain.

  “Winning’s nice.” The shifter dropped his hand. “But I love Louper because of you guys. It’s been a great four years for me, and the only thing that bothers me is that I didn’t get to spend all four years with all of you. It’s up to you now, Adrien. We were knocked out this year by Dallas. So knock them out next year.”

  “Revenge?” The elf grinned.

  The captain chuckled. “Sure. If it makes you feel any better, most of their team will graduate this year, too.” He pointed to Hilda, Jackson, and Carlos. “And you’ve seen it, too. They’re already showing a lot of potential in practice.”

  The freshmen were all surprised and a little embarrassed at the attention.

  “I know.” Adrien nodded to Matt and then his brother. “I promise you I won’t let you down. I’ll do my best in my last two years to make our Louper team as great as it’s been with you.”

  Matt pumped both his fists in the air. “I think we should have an end-of-season team party down in the kemana.”

  Hilda sighed. “But freshmen aren’t allowed in the kemana.”

  “You seriously haven’t snuck out the entire year?” Matt was shocked.

  The girl blushed and looked away.

  Matt grinned at Adrien. “Let’s show them how it’s done, then.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  A few days after the Louper match, Sara smiled as she looked at Hideki’s painting. It’d come out well, even if it was bizarre and outside her normal aesthetic preferences. At least she thought it came out well. It represented everything he’d mentioned in his dreams from the strange shifts in architecture to the multiple dragons.