by Sarina Dorie
My heart dropped to my stomach at Jeb’s words. Surely this had to be a joke. This couldn’t be real. From his unsmiling face, I knew he wasn’t kidding.
“But—the school year isn’t over. Who will cover my classes?” I grasped for any excuse to keep me on just a little bit longer.
Tears filled my eyes. How could he do this to me? Didn’t he understand how much I loved it here? I wanted to be a witch. I wanted magic. Just when Thatch had agreed to help me and I was starting to feel like I was a real teacher, Jeb wanted to fire me.
And yet, how could I blame him? He was right when he said my presence kept endangering the students.
“Any idiot can teach art for a couple days,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It’s just a subject we use to keep freshmen occupied so they ain’t stirrin’ up trouble. Kids need an easy class—somethin’ to keep them from feelin’ overwhelmed their first year. That’s all your class is.”
I pounded my palm into my fist, wishing I were smashing it into his face. “No, that’s not all my class is. Studies have shown that students who take art classes show greater creativity and problem-solving skills than those who—”
“I don’t want to hear any of that Morty science nonsense about studies. We both know how biased those folks are runnin’ their experiments.” From the way he waggled his eyebrows, I didn’t know if he meant my mother’s experiment or mine with the kiln that had resulted in the golem and the need to make the deal with Elric in the first place.
It was hard not to loathe someone firing me, but I could sympathize with his logic about student safety. Someone condescending who looked down on my passion as frivolous fluff—that I couldn’t tolerate.
“Ali and Puck will cover your classes,” Jeb said.
Ali Keahi, his secretary? Oh God! Those poor kids.
“It’s only for a few days. How hard can it be?” He hooked his thumbs into his belt, looking more than ever like a cowboy. “Boy, I sure feel better. I wish I had decided that last year before people started dyin’.”
“Loathing” was too mild a word for what I felt. I stood, more than anything wanting to blow something up in his office with magic—namely him. Something stirred inside my core, magic wanting to break free. It quickly smoldered out, but the rage continued to percolate in my veins.
This man wasn’t the kindly grandfather wizard I had always seen him as. But perhaps I had suspected as much when I’d learned he’d tried to cover up the fact that Julian Thistledown had been a Fae and a pervert preying on students at Womby’s.
My desire to punch Jeb in the face deflated when I thought about my students and how much I loved them. I wanted to be a good role model for them. I would be a good person and a good witch. I was not my biological mother. I wouldn’t reward his callous remarks with undignified comments, blows, or lightning in his face.
“May I leave?” I asked.
“Nope. You sit down. I ain’t done with you yet,” Jeb said.
Someone knocked on the door.
“I’m in a meetin’,” Jeb hollered.
Mrs. Keahi opened the door wide enough to fit her witch hat through as she poked her head in. “An urgent letter just came for you.” The old woman held up a shimmering white envelope.
As if the coating of magic on it wasn’t enough to alert me that it was from a Fae, the curling cursive script gave away it was from Elric.
Jeb waved a dismissive hand at his secretary. “I’ll take a look at that in a minute. We’re almost done here. I have a few more details to go over with Miss Lawrence.”
Her heels clattered across the room as she deposited the envelope on a stack of papers in front of him. Mrs. Keahi whispered, “You need to read this. Now, sir.”
He grimaced and shook his head. All the while he peeled back the flap of the envelope and pulled out the letter. Mrs. Keahi hovered pensively at his elbow. Her gaze flickered to me. For once it wasn’t loathing I saw in them, but eagerness.
Jeb read the letter. “Well, bowl me down with a herd of wild unicorns. This has gotta be a trick. A Fae trick?”
I sat at the edge of my seat, wondering what Elric had done. Something that wasn’t going to get me in worse trouble, I hoped.
Mrs. Keahi whispered. “The shipment arrived this morning, along with an apology note for keeping Miss Lawrence from getting back before curfew. He says he didn’t agree with our curfew, and his Fae nature got the better of him. He played a trick on us by enchanting her to fall asleep. He didn’t realize it would be taken so seriously.”
Hope sparked in my chest. Elric had come to my rescue!
My initial relief shifted to annoyance as I considered Elric’s trickster nature. He was the reason I was getting raked over the coals by the principal in the first place. I wondered what the shipment was. Would it be enough to save me from being fired? I forced myself to be patient, to listen, and not to draw attention to myself. I wouldn’t act out like the troublemaker the principal thought I was.
“Well? Where’s the first note? I want to see it,” Jeb said.
“Yes, sir.” Mrs. Keahi scampered out of his office.
Jeb held up a finger in stern warning at me. “I don’t want you to think this gets you out of hot water, young lady. I ain’t changin’ my mind. You’re still a danger to this school.”
Mrs. Keahi rushed back in and handed Jeb the first note. Jeb read it and then reread the second letter.
“Where is it now?” he barked out, sounding none too pleased.
“It’s around back behind the kitchen. All the foods are canned or bottled in plastic. Some are in glass. They all come from the Morty Realm. They’re well preserved and will last. Nothing is enchanted or poisoned. I checked myself.”
Jeb threw the letter down on the desk. I couldn’t decipher Elric’s ornate handwriting from upside down, but the note wasn’t long. Both letters were only a few sentences.
“I don’t owe that yellow-bellied pixie nothin’. He wants to give us apology presents, let him.” Jeb glowered at me. “It makes no difference. I already made up my mind.”
I’d never seen him behave this unreasonably before. If he wasn’t a powerful Celestor who could weave the most difficult magics, I would have thought he was under a spell.
Mrs. Keahi toed the rug. “I’ve already put him on your calendar for a meeting today.”
“Cross it off. I ain’t meetin’ him.”
My chest ached with the rise and fall of hope. Thatch had tried. Elric had tried. Even Mrs. Keahi, who had always disliked me, probably on account of my mother, also was trying.
“At least consider it. What he’s offering would save the school quite a bit in cafeteria costs.” She cleared her throat. “I already told him you would meet with him.”
“Then untell him. I ain’t the kind of principal who’s gonna take bribes from a damned Fae. What do I look like? The former headmistress?” He cast a disgusted glare my way.
I’d had all the insults I could take for one day. What did it matter if I stopped being polite and sensible and proper? I was getting fired no matter what.
I stood. “My biological mother was an excellent teacher and an outstanding headmistress before she turned evil. She loved this school and did everything she could to make sure students succeeded. She raised money for this school, making bargains so that Womby’s would stay open and students wouldn’t be snatched. She used the rules of the Fae system so she could play at their games and outwit them. If it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t have had Mr. Khaba.”
Jeb jumped to his feet, shaking a fist at me. “If it wasn’t for you, Mr. Khaba would still be here!”
I remembered what our former dean had told me. “No. If you had paid him to work here instead of treating him like a slave, he would still work here. Just because he was a slave to his lamp, didn’t mean he needed to be a slave to the school.”
Jeb gestured wildly with his hands, knocking his hat from his desk. “The sch
ool couldn’t afford to pay him. We had to cut corners somewhere. After all them Fae scallywags have done to us over the years, no Witchkin gives a God damn if it’s a Fae who goes without pay.”
Rage built inside me. “And where are you going to draw that line? Are you going to enslave Mr. Pinky because he’s a sasquatch so technically he’s also Fae? Or the unicorns in the forest? Interesting how the presence of a sasquatch and a djinn don’t desensitize students and make them docile to Fae, but Elric does.”
Jeb’s face turned pink. “Elric is a prince in one of their blasted courts. He’s got power like all get-out. I would rather rein Khaba back in and enslave him again than bargain with the Silver Court to keep someone like you here.”
Mrs. Keahi backed away.
“Someone like me?” I asked. “Someone who can be the ticket to save this school from financial ruin? If you want to keep this school running, you could easily do so by asking me to negotiate a higher price from Elric. You could demand that he provides security for the school or that he contact Khaba to come back. If you were willing to use some common sense instead of letting your pride rule you, you could ensure the Raven Court stays away—who coincidentally hasn’t attacked our school or students since Elric and I started dating. You could use this to your advantage, but instead you complain where the money is coming from because Elric is Fae.”
I lifted my chin. “I’m the only thing keeping this school running right now. Go ahead and fire me. Take this job and stick it up your left nostril. I’m not going to stay and keep letting you take advantage of Elric’s generosity—not unless you hire Khaba back and pay him—and me—next school year.”
I felt very proud of myself for that. I waited for him to give in.
Jeb’s mustache rolled back into curls and straightened, sticking every which way. “Get out of my office. I ain’t letting you tell me how to run this school.”
He’d called my bluff. I turned and left.
I had tried and failed. I didn’t know how much time I had left before the principal kicked me off the school grounds.
This was the second time at Womby’s that I had packed up my classroom before the school year had ended. I stood alone in my classroom, gazing up at the posters with the artwork of Frida Kahlo, Michelangelo, Gustav Klimt, and inspirational teacher quotes. I considered taking them down, but the walls had been so barren without them. This place needed color and art to make it feel like an art classroom. The kids here needed this.
I opened the drawers of my desk, surveying the art supplies and office supplies I’d bought with my own money or that I’d scavenged from the thrift store. The new supplies Elric had gifted me with were arranged neatly in rows in the closet. I didn’t need to take any of that with me.
My dorm room was just as inconsequential. The only things of any importance were my clothes, and even those could be replaced. My chance to work at a magical school and learn how to restore and control my magic . . . that was priceless. I couldn’t pack that in a suitcase and take it with me.
I trudged through the halls, passing students but not seeing them. Once I’d made it to my dorm room, I stared around in a daze. Most of the room was Vega’s decorations.
I’d almost gotten used to her homicidal Downton Abbey décor. An old-fashioned cuckoo clock rested on the wall between the beds, not so different from the one my grandma had in her house, but this one screamed.
A small but well-made rug in an Art Nouveau style had been spread between the door and bed. The flowers and geometric designs formed a giant skull. An Oriental dressing screen stood in the corner to the side of the window and desk. I had once thought the imagery showcased a Japanese cherry tree with red blossoms. Upon closer inspection, I’d seen the jagged branches impaled small birds and butterflies on spikes. The red “blossoms” were actually splatters of their blood.
A plant hung from the ceiling in the corner near the desk. When I neared it, the Venus flytrap jaws snapped at me. On top of one wardrobe my roommate had set another potted plant and a marble bust of herself.
Tears filled my eyes when I thought about how many memories I’d had in the room: getting to know Vega, being tutored by Vega, and the everyday occurrences of trying not to be killed by Vega. I packed up my clothes. I couldn’t fit it all in my suitcase and weeded out the dresses I’d ruined with art supplies.
Vega strolled in, dressed in flapper casual with her hair returned to her twenties-style bob, while I was trying to decide which shoes I intended to get rid of. “There you are. Two words for you: staff party. Nothing says the school year is over like hard liquor.” She placed a hand on her hip. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t tell me you’re getting all emo because you’re going to miss those little brats next week.”
I flung my arms around her and hugged her. “I’m going to miss you. I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again. Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me. You were a great roommate.”
Vega pushed me off her. “What are you sniveling about?”
“Jeb fired me because I missed curfew.”
She tsked. “I’ve missed curfew loads of times. He’s never fired me. In fact, he only gave me after-school duty once as a consequence.”
“It’s because I caused people to die, and the Raven Court keeps coming back because of me, and I’m a danger to students, and Khaba left after I freed him, and Jeb doesn’t want to bargain with Elric because he’s Fae and—and—” I started to hyperventilate.
“Oh,” she said. “I suppose I didn’t do all of those things. Yeah, you’re fucked.”
I sobbed harder. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
She sat down on her bed and patted the mattress next to her. This was a first. I sat beside her. She placed an arm around me in a sisterly gesture.
Awkwardly, she patted my shoulder. “It could be worse. You could be drained by the Raven Queen.”
“What do you think is going to happen to me once I leave? The school’s wards were the only thing stopping her.” The Raven Queen’s level of evil made King Viridios and the Silver Court look like a group of amateurs. She was a Fae I didn’t want to mess with.
“True.” Vega snorted. “Looks like you really are screwed.”
Misery hung over me like a dark cloud. My hand instinctively stroked the stones of the amulet Elric had given me. Two of the glowing emeralds were unspent, magic still contained within them. The feel of their warmth brought me comfort, knowing I could use their magic if I needed it against the Raven Queen.
But it was better if I didn’t call Elric for help. If I used up the two remaining wishes, my soul would belong to the Silver Court. I’d already used up one wish when Elric had saved me from the golem. If only that wish he’d granted me could have extended to my students lives as well. If it had, I’d never have needed to make a sacrifice to him as tithe to save their lives. I was lucky he’d agreed to my offer to give him my heart.
I would find another way to get myself out of this mess without resorting to any more favors from Elric. I needed to stay at Womby’s so I could regain the full strength of my magic and learn to control it. Only then would I be safe from the Raven Queen.
“How am I ever going to learn magic to protect myself if I’m fired?” I asked Vega. “I need this job. And I love my students here.”
My students needed me. What would Imani do without me? She was a Red affinity like me. I needed to help her learn her powers in secret. And then there was Maddy with her siren magic that the other teachers held against her because they didn’t understand what it was like to have a kind of magic that lured men to her whether she wanted them to or not. But I did.
Hailey had only just started to improve in her reading skills and grades because I was tutoring her. Trevor was too young to be in high school, but he needed to learn to control his powers. They didn’t have any place more suitable for him so they’d given him to me for four periods.
I needed this school, and
these students needed me. Who else would look out for them if I was gone?
Vega tapped her high heel against the bed frame, thinking it over. “Well, I suppose I can put in a good word for you at the Lady of the Lake School for Girls, but it’s unlikely they have an opening for an art teacher.”
I nodded. I didn’t want to tell her I doubted her old school was going to listen to her recommendation to hire me after Jeb gave them an earful about what a troublemaker I was.
“You’re good with magic,” I said. “Don’t you have something that can remedy this situation? A way to turn back time or make Jeb listen to reason? You translated that spell in Old High German, didn’t you? Couldn’t we use that to—”
She shoved me away with enough force that I fell off the bed.
“Bitch, please. That spell is for resurrecting the dead and creating life,” she said indignantly. “I’m not wasting it on you.”
But she hadn’t resurrected the dead with it. I resumed my seat, but farther from her. “You still need the rest of the ingredients to make it work, don’t you?”
She studied her nails. “Have you told Josephine Kimura and Felix Thatch yet?”
“No.” I suspected she didn’t have a dragon egg or unicorn semen if she wasn’t answering my question.
Vega asked, “How long have you got before you have to leave? The end of the week?”
“I think today.”
“I can’t say it’s been fun, but . . . I don’t hate you as much anymore.” An abashed smile crept over her lips. She hugged me. “Say your goodbyes while you can, darling.”
I went to Josie Kimura in her classroom first. Books floated around her and sorted themselves into separate piles.
She twirled a long strand of black-and-orchid hair around her finger. “What’s up, buttercup?” She adjusted her black nerdy glasses but didn’t look up from a checklist on a clipboard.
I told her the news. The books dropped to the floor with a staccato of thuds.
She threw her arms around me and wailed, sending her lacy lavender witch hat flying. “No, it isn’t fair! I thought it would be so fun for us to be roommates next year. Just when I make friends with someone, why do you have to be taken from me? I got free tickets to a concert too. I wanted us to go together.”