“Those cupcakes did,” Sara said.
Everyone fell silent, knowing how much the cupcake incident had hurt her.
She followed with a huge laugh. “So, if those cupcakes could come to life, why not garden gnomes?”
Her friends joined in the laughter. It was good to see her so carefree.
Chapter Thirty-One
Horace’s Golden Retriever barked loudly. The groundskeeper sighed and headed toward his dog which constantly sniffed and circled a small bush at the edge of the forest.
He closed on his pet and looked down. “What do you have there, boy?” He knelt, and the dog sat on its haunches next to him.
Dust covered crushed, cracked green glass. Horace tugged on it to pull it out of the ground. It was a twisted pair of Arc Eighty-Eight glasses.
“Is anyone out there?” he shouted.
A few birds fluttered away from tree limbs, but no one answered.
Horace scratched his dog behind his ears. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Mara frowned at her tracking orb. It showed no color changes, not even a hint, but there was a faint push-back that concerned her. It didn’t feel like any blocking spell she’d ever encountered. She looked around the trees and then over her shoulder at her companions.
Xander’s pinched expression revealed his thoughts about his own tracking orb.
Bruce crouched low and examined the ground. “Any luck?”
Mara shook her head. “Nothing.”
“And you’re sure it’s Jordan?”
“None of the students or staff have seen him in twelve hours. He’s also the only one unaccounted for.”
The FBI agent rose and dusted his hands. “And we’re sure he didn’t simply run?”
She released her tracking spell. “If that were the case, the wards would have detected him. He doesn’t have the skill to get through them all.”
“Then that means he’s still on the grounds.” Bruce stepped deeper into the forest and searched for obvious tracks but found none. “Let’s be honest, though, between the forest and all your little secret hidden rooms, he could be a lot of places. If magic doesn’t work, maybe we should try an old-fashioned search and rescue sweep. With all the students we have here, we could cover these woods easily.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Xander cast a spell to highlight footprints. Dozens of glowing sets appeared and overlapped in a jumble. At least they knew one popular spot for students. “Until we know what we’re dealing with.”
“Meaning what?”
He canceled the spell. “Meaning I’m a dark magic instructor. I train them to defend against dark magic, but I also know many of them aren’t as resourceful as Raine Campbell and her friends. I think it’s a poor idea to send all our students out when something or someone might be out there.”
“No,” Mara insisted. “Not with the new wards. No one got in here. But—”
A slight breeze ruffled the branches and leaves of the nearby trees.
“But what?” Bruce looked at the two magicals. “I’m the only person here not doing spells. If you know something, let me know. You’re used to finding people using magic. I’m used to using investigation. Maybe I can provide some insight.”
“There’s an odd feedback on the tracking spell. It doesn’t feel like dark magic, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.” Mara shrugged.
Xander peered around before he cast a general magic detection spell. The area glowed brightly from the branches of the nearby trees.
The agent raised an eyebrow. “What does all that mean?” He gestured to a gleaming bush.
“Nothing, really. Only that students have used a fair amount of magic around here recently. That’s the problem with magical tracking. If you can’t track someone specifically, it becomes pointless. It’s not like the old days. The background magic is too high, especially in a place like this.” He released the spell and slipped his wand into his jacket. “It’s inadvisable to risk the students. The staff should search.”
Mara pursed her lips. She’d hoped they could get through a semester without an incident, but hope didn’t always become reality, even if a powerful magical wanted it so. “I think it’s best that we keep the students in the dorm until we find Jordan. I won’t take any chances.”
Dorvu soared above the grounds and circled every time he spotted an odd shadow. The silly dogs had tried to invade his campus last semester, and now, a student was missing. Horace had told him the wards should stop new invaders, but that hadn’t helped them before. The School of Necessary Magic was the dragon’s home, and he would defend the students from any and all threats, whether they came from inside or outside the walls.
He moved on to another section of the grounds and swooped low but found nothing—no black dogs, no strange wizards, and also, no missing Jordan. The professors, library gnomes, and even some of the kitchen pixies were spread out across the campus, tiny specks beneath him but easy to recognize, even from high up.
The dragon circled toward the place the boy’s broken glasses had been found. He flew in an arc for a moment and stared at the forest before he dropped altitude. Now closer, he noticed several broken branches near the top of a tree, but he couldn’t go much lower or closer without crashing into the dense canopy. It was time to find someone smaller and wingless to follow up.
Mara stared up at the broken tree branch. Dorvu had been right. “Elias? Do you get anything?”
In wolf form, the shifter sniffed at the ground and emitted a low growl. He shifted back to human form. “No. Whether that’s because it’s not there or it’s been covered up, I can’t say. I smelled it on the base of the first tree, but I lost it after that.”
Xander frowned. “If someone carried him in the air, he wouldn’t have left a scent.”
“True.”
Mara, Bruce, Elias, and Xander had followed a line of broken branches. The shifter transfiguration teacher had discerned many other humanoid scents, but as they traveled deeper into the forest, these had lessened. Their tracking spells constantly failed, all with the same strange feedback.
The professors’ fear grew steadily with each minute. They all knew how quickly a threat could snatch or harm a student. During the last outbreak of dark magic, one student had been rendered comatose and it’d taken the wisdom of the Great Library gnomes to find a solution.
They had no proof that Jordan had been snatched by dark wizards, but they also didn’t have the boy.
“I’ve got something,” Bruce shouted.
The professors all ran toward him. Jordan lay in a bush, a nasty gash on the side of his head, but he was still breathing. He sprawled over a large tree branch and it was obvious that it had broken underneath him, possibly in a fall of some kind.
Xander cast a quick tracking spell. This time, it functioned normally with no feedback. “Huh.”
“Let’s stabilize him and get him back to the school.” Mara knelt by the boy and shook her head. “And hopefully, he can tell us what happened.”
Jordan stared at his hands, afraid to look at the headmistress as he sat in a bed in the nurse’s office. He didn’t like that the FBI agent loomed in the corner and didn’t care that the man was at the school to help Raine. He’d heard rumors that Agent Connor was looking for magical troublemakers for a government list. The Wood Elf had tried to ask Raine about it last year, but she’d only gotten mad and said that the idea was stupid. Still, that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.
Mara folded her arms and sighed. “I need to know what happened, Jordan. There are some strange things we still can’t explain.”
“I was…playing Arc Eighty-Eight.”
“Yes. I figured that much out myself.” She gave him a stern look. “But you’ve personally already been banned from playing Arc Eighty-Eight, despite Librarian Decker trying to cover for you during the library incident—and even he took your glasses.”
“I got new glasses in the kemana. I figured that as long as I p
layed away from the school, I’d be fine and I wouldn’t get caught.” He groaned quietly.
“Fine. Just tell me what happened.”
“Something…I can’t remember.” Jordan touched the side of his head distractedly. His wound had already been healed but he still winced. “I think something was chasing me in the game—a boss monster—and I tried to use my camouflage, but I forgot that the game doesn’t care about your actual real-life magic. Then I freaked because if the boss monster got me, I would lose so much stuff and experience, and…I ran. I thought I saw…I can’t remember. Something that made me stop. I tripped and fell. The last thing I tried to do was send my glasses back to the school, but I screwed the spell up, and then I hit my head. I can’t remember anything else.”
“You’re not to leave your room except for meals or class for two weeks.” Mara unfolded her arms. “It’s bad enough that you broke the rules, but you almost got yourself killed for a silly game.”
“Yes, Headmistress.”
She didn’t like to be harsh, but she needed to set an example before someone else got themselves seriously hurt or even killed. With a polite nod to the nurse, she stepped out of the room.
Bruce fell in beside her. “I can’t say that I have magic truth spells or anything, but for what it’s worth, I think he’s telling the truth.”
“I believe him,” Mara said with a frown. “That’s not my concern.”
“What is your concern?”
“The fact that our tracking magic didn’t work until we found him. I thought it might have something to do with the game, but he didn’t have any glasses—Horace found them broken. It’d almost be more comforting if we had found traces of dark magic.”
He gave her a knowing nod. “When the gates opened, I felt the same way in a different context.” He turned a corner with Mara as they headed back to her office. “It didn’t matter how dangerous the criminal, as long as they were non-magical, I knew how to handle them. For the FBI, magic changed everything.”
Mara looked distant for a moment. “That’s the problem. This is a magic school. Magic should change little, even unusual magic.”
“What’s your plan then? Do you think it’s the game?”
“We’ve examined those glasses thoroughly—other sets and his broken pair—when we were looking for him. There’s nothing unusual about them. They aren’t that different from the glasses we use in our driver’s ed. Still, something has to be done, but I don’t want to punish other students for one’s misbehavior.” She stopped as a group of chattering sophomores walked across a connecting hall in the distance. “Fortunately, fewer students are playing. All fads have their time, especially among young people. We’ll further restrict the allowable playing area and make it clear that students will be punished if they break the rules.” She scowled unhappily. “A ward chain to detect the glasses might be in order to keep the students away, but any more incidents, and I’ll ban the game entirely. I haven’t done that already because all the other players have complied so well with the rules.”
The sophomores disappeared around a corner. There were still too many questions about what had happened to Jordan. A mystery could be entertaining, but not when it threatened a student.
Chapter Thirty-Two
A flowing and slowly changing orange-red sky decorated the ceiling, a setting sun on the horizon that would never actually set. The students beneath swayed to the music. The current song was a slow pop-infused orchestral piece taken from a popular movie from about ten years back about the ill-fated courtship of an elf and a princess from the Danish Royal Family. It was loosely based on a real story, though the Danish Royal Family had objected strenuously to the film.
Raine danced in a flowing yellow gown with a multi-tiered skirt, and Cameron looked dashing in his eighteenth-century military dress uniform, complete with tasseled epaulets. She felt like a princess dancing with a dashing prince. She was happy that she’d suggested the theme.
Philip grinned from ear-to-ear despite the awkwardness of the huge ruffle around his neck, and he managed to move well in his high boots. Sara had chosen a more minimalist approach in a flowing, elaborate blue tulle gown and sash.
Evie wore her hair swept up in a twist, along with a dark-green grown with an embroidered bodice. William’s silk tunic ensemble read more Middle Eastern than his date’s Celtic style, but both smiled as they danced. It was the company more than the coordination they cared about.
Royal glamor, as Raine had intended, was very much up to the individual’s discretion. Some boys wore simple tuxedos with an added sash. Others took the challenge like Philip had. For the girls, elaborate layered and stiff gowns from medieval Europe mixed with colorful saris, among others. One senior girl danced in a modified twelve-layer exquisitely patterned ancient Heian Japanese gown, only able to not trip because of her use of magic to hold the massive train up. An exquisitely patterned dress with glowing panels represented an obscure elf fashion tradition from millennia past. Some students drew on their own heritage while some honored the heritage of others.
Raine smiled at Cameron, her hands around his neck. “Be honest. Do you think this is dumb?”
“What? You look beautiful in that dress.”
She blushed. “I meant the whole dance. It was my idea, and Kerry has told me more than a few times that if things went badly, she would make sure everyone knew that.”
The shifter laughed. “Be honest? Those are tricky words.” He nodded to a nearby couple. “Everyone looks like they’re having a good time. It’s a good way to relax after everything that happened with Jordan. Even Kerry looks like she’s having a good time.”
Raine thought Kerry’s high-necked gown and tight, dark bodice looked more evil sorceress than royal glamor, but it fit the girl’s personality.
“I’m simply glad it’s going well.”
Cameron smirked. “By the way, did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
“Notice what?”
He nodded at her dress. “You’re beautiful in it, but come on? Isn’t that the dress Belle wore in Beauty and Beast? Or at least something very close?”
Raine blushed. “She ended up with a prince. It’s royal glamor-related. And I’m a lot like her. I like books.”
“I’ll gladly be the Beast to your Beauty.”
Across the room, Philip had trouble looking at anything but Sara. He couldn’t get over how he was dancing with her and how pretty she looked in her dress. They didn’t talk much. Instead, they enjoyed each other’s company and the music.
Adrien stood in the corner and sipped his punch. Satisfaction over all his happy friends filled him. They deserved each other. They were all honorable, noble, and loyal, and better friends than he could have ever hoped for. In truth, they’d make better royalty than many of the so-called royals on Earth or Oriceran. Few measured up to King Oriceran with their wisdom and restraint.
Christie made her way to the punch bowl table, a small plate in hand with one of Evie’s delicious raspberry tortes on it. “You’re not dancing, Adrien.”
The elf sipped his drink and waited for Christie to blurt out something else, but she merely smiled and waited for him to say something. That surprised him, even if he noticed she was tapping her foot. “I’m enjoying watching dancing more than dancing. I have to be in the mood. Tonight, I’m not.” He considered that for a few seconds as he drank more punch.
She nodded toward Sara and Philip in the distance. “What do you think about that?”
“The inevitable shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who pays attention.”
“That’s one way of putting it.” Christie laughed, the sound light and airy. “And what about you?”
“What about me?” He frowned slightly in confusion.
“Aren’t you now the lone holdout from your circle?” She leaned closer to whisper, “I’ve heard some people call you the FBI Trouble Brigade. I’ve told them to cut it out, but you know how people can be.”
“If it’s inten
ded as an insult, it means nothing to me.” The elf finished his punch and set his cup down on the edge of the table. “I’m going to be a Guardian. I will protect the innocent people of France and will seek trouble, far more trouble than we’ve dealt with here.”
“You’re always so serious. William and Cameron lightened up, but you’re still…you.” Christie waved a hand. “Sorry. I don’t want to be mean. But it’s interesting to see how everyone’s changed. They have girlfriends and lightened up. I wonder if you will when you get one.”
“I won’t,” Adrien said and watched Raine and Cameron for a second.
“You won’t lighten up?” Christie smirked.
“No, I won’t get a girlfriend. Most of my friends are still figuring out their futures. Raine is the only one who has the kind of focus I have.” The elf’s gaze followed a witch in a yellow dress for a moment. “The logical move would be for me to wait and marry another Guardian.”
She sighed, took a bite of her torte, and rolled her eyes toward the back of her head. “This is soooo good. You should have some. I wish I could have some of Evie’s sense-blend desserts, but I understand that Evie and the Baking Club couldn’t do that for an entire dance.”
“I already had dessert.” He pointed to a few remaining slices of cake on the nearby table. “It was good.”
“Back to what we were talking about, though, do you seriously hope you’ll simply meet a Guardian?”
“Why not? Plenty of people meet others on their jobs.”
Christie shook her head. “I’m just saying you have a special opportunity here. Don’t pass up the idea to have fun and enjoy yourself.”
“You don’t understand, Christie. I am having fun. I am enjoying myself. That merely means different things to different people. I like being with my friends. I like Louper. I like class.” The corner of his mouth turned up in a sly smile. “When my parents first decided to send me to this school, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, even though Etienne was already here.”
Oath Of The Witch: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (School of Necessary Magic Raine Campbell Book 4) Page 14