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

by Judith Berens

  “You can’t leave,” the fairy shouted, and to their surprise, she fell to her knees. Panic rather than arrogance took over her face. “No!”

  Philip rushed through the portal, followed by Sara and Evie. Raine sprinted through, and Cameron followed. William threw a few more fireballs before he flung himself through. Adrien stared at the queen.

  Maeve fell to her knees. “No. Don’t abandon me. I can’t be alone. Not again.”

  The elf leapt through after one final look at the self-declared Queen of New Arcadia. He couldn’t help the pity that filled him.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  The next day, Raine and the others all stood in the headmistress’s office. Professor Powell and Agent Connor stood on either side of the desk, pride on both their faces.

  “Kayla, Emily, and the others are all making a full recovery,” the headmistress explained. “When those orbs re-entered our world, the victims immediately began to improve according to the nurse. It seems Maeve wasn’t lying when she said she had their minds. Perhaps she even had their souls.” She offered them a reassuring smile. “Let me make it clear that I’m not happy that you all had to confront her like that, but you saved your fellow students’ lives. They wouldn’t have survived more than a couple of hours.” She sighed. “I don’t know if I’d have let you do that, Raine, had I known what would happen, but I can’t argue with the results.”

  “What happened exactly? Who was she?” Raine glanced at her friends. They all remained as puzzled as she was about the entire incident.

  “We’re still investigating that. We’ve double-checked the wards and some other things, but we’re confident that she didn’t come in from the outside.” The headmistress nodded at Professor Powell.

  He stepped forward. “I won’t lie to you and tell you we understand everything about what happened, but based on what we’ve been able to discern, we believe there was an unusual magical self-magnifying resonance that fed back into the glasses used by the students here. The best way to describe it is that they collectively became alive, and Maeve represented the mind of the glasses.”

  “Kind of like my cupcakes?” Sara asked.

  Professor Powell looked thoughtful. “If only. Those things were…unusual, but they lacked the magical power that Maeve demonstrated. You weren’t simply in a simulated environment like Louper. She somehow made her own world, as unstable and limited as it was. It took all the professors, gnomes, and most of the pixies to generate the magical power necessary to open that portal, and even then, if you hadn’t acted as quickly as you did, we might not have been able to save you.”

  Cameron folded his arms. He didn’t care about the details as much as the threat Maeve represented. “And she’s gone?”

  “All her magical residue is gone. We don’t know if it was because of our portal, your actions, or simply time. A magical mayfly, perhaps. Whatever she might have been, she’s gone.”

  Raine couldn’t help but feel bad about that. Perhaps if they’d had more time, they could have convinced Maeve to give the other students back or figure out some way she could exist in the real world.

  Agent Connor cleared his throat. “We’ve contacted the manufacturer, and they will pull Arc Eighty-Eight. No one seems to know why it happened here and not in other places, but the risk is too great. The PDA will investigate, but you don’t have to worry about that. We’ll deal with them.”

  “For now, concentrate on the rest of the semester,” Headmistress Berens suggested. “I hope you can get through the last month and a half without any trouble.” She laughed despite the bizarre situation. “I almost believed you’d get through the semester without any problems but thank you for your help.”

  Raine didn’t feel like it’d be a good time to mention to the headmistress that they’d been involved with Hap and the Red Coat Society even before the Maeve incident. She and the others smiled, headed out into the hallway, and walked away.

  “No movies featuring any kind of fairies for a while,” Philip suggested.

  Sara laughed. “Maybe we should head down to the kemana to celebrate my magic fully awakening.”

  Cameron nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. Of course, knowing Raine, she’ll get us wrapped up in another mystery.”

  “As long as we can continue to save the innocent, I don’t mind,” Adrien said.

  “I need to grab some herbs anyways.” Evie pursed her lips as she made a mental list.

  William pointed with his thumb toward the headmistress’s office behind them. “Do you think she has a point?”

  “About what?” Raine smiled as Cameron took her hand in his.

  Philip glanced at them and took Sara’s hand.

  “We’ve not managed to get through a single semester without some of kind of big trouble, and I’m not even counting stuff like the other Ifrit being jerks,” William said.

  “You’d hate it if we had a normal semester.” Philip scratched his chin. “Maybe I should get us some business cards printed. FBI Trouble Squad: For when your school is too boring.”

  Mara stood at the knock on her cottage door. Weariness infused every single muscle in her body. They’d spent days probing the school’s wards in search any signs of Maeve’s magic or any other hole in the school’s defenses. To her surprise, the parents of the affected students didn’t pull their children from the school. Instead, they reasoned that it was the makers of Arc Eighty-Eight and not the School of Necessary Magic who were at fault.

  The PDA’s initial contacts had been annoying and bureaucratic, and Bruce ran interference with them, but it was all but inevitable that they’d send an agent to campus next semester. Given everything that had occurred at the school, she wasn’t so sure she even minded.

  Mara opened the door, unsurprised when Xander stood on the other side, a bottle of wine in hand.

  “What’s the occasion?” She eyed the bottle with a weary smile.

  “All our students saved and the school secured.” He moved over to her dining table and set the bottle down. “I think a lot about what will happen in the future with those kids.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. They’re already very impressive, and they’re only sophomores. It’s one of the aspects of this job I love—seeing these young people with great potential. With all the chaos and misunderstanding that still happens in the outside world, it’s good to know the next generation might be up to the challenge.”

  Mara glanced at the bottle. “You’ve not already started on the wine, have you?”

  Xander raised his wand. With a quick flick, the cork popped out and he caught it before it fell. “No. Cynicism is something that can be fought, and maybe I’ll allow myself to fight it a little for a few days.”

  She headed into the kitchen for two wine glasses. “The last few years have produced some impressive students.” She filled the two glasses.

  “You should be proud, Mara. You’ve built this place into something great. I know I was dubious of an officially government-sponsored magic school in the beginning.”

  Mara took a sip of her wine. “So I recall.”

  “But I was wrong. We’ve laid the foundations here for major changes. Raine Campbell might be the start, but she won’t be the last.” Xander lifted his glass. “To the future.”

  “To the future.”

  They clinked their glasses together.

  “And what about our future?” He raised an eyebrow.

  She laughed. “Did you give that whole speech simply for that segue?”

  The wizard gave her an impish grin. “You’ll need a truth spell to find that out, but the question stands. I want to try again. Neither of us is going anywhere, and I don’t think the feelings are, either.”

  “Are you sure it wouldn’t be a huge mistake?”

  “Of course not. Life’s nothing but mistakes.” He gulped some wine. “All we can do is learn from them, but I’ll tell you this—no matter what happens, I will never regret you, just as I didn’t regret you befor
e. I only regret what I did.”

  Mara set her glass down and smiled. He did the same and leaned forward.

  Their kiss was everything they both remembered.

  Raine dragged her suitcase along, Cameron at her side.

  “Uncle Jerry said you can stay with us for a couple weeks if you want.”

  “Will he sit there with a shotgun the entire time?”

  She laughed. “No, Agent Connor has vouched for you.” She turned and waved at Sara and Evie who waited near the circle drive with their own suitcases for the jitney and Mrs. Beasley to arrive.

  The other two girls walked over to the couple.

  Evie wrapped Raine in a hug. “I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you, too.”

  Sara hugged her as well.

  Raine pulled away and smiled. “Will everything be okay?”

  “Yeah, fine. My family’s actually really sorry for how they treated me according to their message. I think they tried to do tough love and it went too far. I’m not happy about it, but I understand where they were coming from. Given how supportive they’ve been of my art, it’s hard to stay mad at them.”

  Evie looked around. “Where’s William?”

  “Still packing,” Cameron explained. “So is Philip. Raine said her goodbyes to them in the dorm. They both said they’d be down in fifteen minutes to catch the jitney with everyone else.”

  “It’s okay, I’ll see them on the platform.” Evie frowned. “Did Adrien and Etienne already take off for the train? I know he said yesterday that he was leaving first thing.”

  “Yeah. I wonder if Adrien will be okay without his brother here next year.”

  Raine smiled brightly. “Sure he will. He’s got the FBI Trouble Squad.”

  As if summoned by her invocation, Agent Connor pulled up in his car and honked once.

  She hugged all her friends one last time and kissed Cameron on the cheek. “Don’t get in any trouble without me. Any of you.”

  Sara winked. “No guarantees. I’m actually thinking about working on my prank game over the summer.”

  “I think those Tricksters awakened a monster.”

  “Maybe.”

  Raine waved one last time and rolled her suitcase over to Agent Connor. She opened the back door and tossed it in before taking a seat in the front.

  The agent looked at her. “You’ve said all your goodbyes?”

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  He pulled away and headed toward the glamored gate in the distance. “How are you feeling?”

  “About what?”

  “Heading back home.”

  Raine rested her cheek against the window and sighed. “That’s the thing, Agent Connor. I’m not sure where home is anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I love Uncle Jerry, but every time I leave the school, I can’t wait to get back. Is it my home now? Or is Grand Rapids?”

  “That’s hard to say.” He slowed and moved to the side as another car came down the road. “There’s nothing wrong with establishing new connections. That’s a lot of what growing up is, Raine—establishing new connections and facing new challenges. Oh, by the way, don’t think you get the summer off from FBI training. I have all sorts of case files and mock investigations for you, especially since you won’t be distracted by all your magic classes.”

  She grinned. “You’re acting like that’s a threat instead of something to look forward to.”

  “Everyone likes an eager trainee.”

  The other car passed them and she looked to the side for a moment. A dark-haired girl stared out the window, and Raine could have sworn she had two different colored eyes. Her stomach tightened and she thought of Maeve, but the other girl was out of sight in seconds.

  She put the encounter out of her mind. It wasn’t like crazy tutorial fairies were the only people with heterochromia, and the girl definitely didn’t have jade skin. Besides, it didn’t matter, even if she wasn’t imagining things.

  “Oh well,” she mumbled under her breath. “Nothing crazy ever happens in Grand Rapids.”

  Magical criminals have been seen near the School of Necessary Magic causing a cold case to reopen.

  The story is far from over. Raine’s adventures continue in Cold Case of the Witch.

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  Dark Is Her Nature

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  Must be able to handle teenagers with special abilities.

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  Author Notes - Martha Carr

  January 27, 2019

  I’m sitting at the car wash watching two guys through the window struggle to remove the dog hair while a delightful four-year-old is telling me all about her family, the house alarm, where the ice cream is in the fridge and that her mother never brushes her teeth. She has a chocolate shake that she says is like ice cream, which I’m on board with. Her dad is across the room eyeing me, but she’s reassured him I’m not a bad guy. I miss this age – so full of wonder at everything in the world.

  I put some of that aside years ago when I became a single mother and bills were everywhere and it became such a habit to have a backup plan to the backup plan that I forgot, just a little, what it was like to look at the world with open arms. Well, this is the year I reclaim my inner magical. That starts with believing in myself enough to let go of the day job.

  It’s finally here! I turned in my notice and starting in March I’ll be a full-time author. Okay, I was already a full-time author, but there won’t be a full-time day job as well. So there may just be time for a life. (And a new series – hello Peabrain Adventures… maybe make it into a universe all its own.)

  It’s been a long time coming – about 30 years in the making and I can honestly say I don’t regret any part of my career. That’s what I’d go back and tell the younger version of me – it all adds up to a wonderful life, just enjoy it. Let go of the worry and stay present in the moment. In my long career I’ve gotten to do some remarkable things, jump out of a plane after someone I was interviewing, meet a lot of people who are changing the world with humility and grace, and interact with so many readers who have taken me in like I’m part of the family. Nothing to regret about any of that.

  Yeah, the financial side of things skittered along but somehow, I made it work even as a single mother of the Offspring, even going through cancer so many times, even when we had so little – we celebrated everything. There’s something to be said for knowing things work out and I can be happy even with very little. Of course, moving into my dream house last year – not bad either.

  Franky, the sudden death of my wonderful sister, Diana in October spurred me on to go live my dreams. Funny it wasn’t the bout of cancer (7th time) this past summer. It was seeing how absolutely wonderful she was and knowing Diana never quite realized it. I’ll do it for both of us.

  And it’s a continuation in gratitude for the gift that Michael Anderle gave me when he said, “Hey, you want to create a universe?” It’s actually been his encouragement (‘Go DO IT Carr!) to go out and do the Peabrain Adventures on my own.

  I’ll be turning 60 this year and I’m looking forward to every minute of the new decade. I plan to trust more, wonder what could go right, get out and see more of you (maybe the Decatur Book Festival in September – East Coast Fans), and occasionally get a milkshake. More adventures to follow.

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  January 8, 2019

  THANK YOU for not
only reading this story but these Author Notes as well.

  (I think I’ve been good with always opening with “thank you.” If not, I need to edit the other Author Notes!)

  RANDOM (sometimes) THOUGHTS?

  DO IT CARR!

  I’m blessed to have amazing people around me as we build a future of stories, sharing them with everyone who would allow us into their personal lives.

  I am an entrepreneur by personality. It took me some time to realize that for a large part of the population, that isn’t true.

  I create stuff, I want to send it out into the world and I’d like to get paid for those things I create so I can go and create more. It became a rapidly revolving job description to try a new idea for a business all of the time.

  When books hit, I doubled down so fast it might have made a few heads turn.

  When I see others who have the skill to write books and tell fabulous stories I can’t help but encourage them.

  Martha has been talking about her Peabrain Adventures for a LONG time. There have been an extensive amount of discussions on this series, Some good, some bad, some interesting and some flat out hilarious.

  But, it wasn’t until Martha had one of the artists do some covers for her that I felt she was on the right track and I could better see her vision.

  (Before that I kinda considered it a hallucination. But don’t tell that to Martha.)

  Now she has multiple covers finished or almost complete. She has her own ‘posse’ to promote her books as the works her fingers off to concoct the stories.