The woman came out from behind the counter and walked toward me.
“Why is the outside all gone?” I pleaded.
“Dear thing.” She gently raised her hand and stroked my still-wet hair. “You have had a terrible day. Let’s start again, and perhaps we can get to the bottom of this problem.”
My breath shuddered as I fought to stay upright.
“My name is Mrs. West. And you are?”
“J—Josy Barrows.” The admission came out in a pathetic whisper.
Mrs. West reached for the cat crate and took it from me. She placed it on the ground next to a basket of weird, spiny dried plants covered in dust.
“Good, good.” She walked over and bent to retrieve the letter. While I stood there and shook, not wanting to glimpse the nothingness outside the open shop door, she studied the words on the paper for a moment and then returned her attention to me. A kind smile turned up the corners of her lips again, and she handed the paper back to me.
“You see, Josy Barrows, this is no ordinary letter. It’s an invitation.”
I shook my head in confusion. “An invitation?”
Mrs. West nodded. “Your cat led you to the West Coast doorway, and Olivia Spinner is your . . . password. No, more like a key to open it.”
From behind Mrs. West, Nine finished up his meal and let out a satisfied meow. And if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought he’d said, “Finally.”
Chapter 3
My brain was screaming for me to grab Nine again and run. But where was I going to go? There was nowhere to go.
Mrs. West left my side and walked to the shop’s open door. My stomach tensed at the nothingness outside. She clutched the handle and pushed the door shut with a click.
“This must all be so confusing,” she muttered before turning back to me and smiling kindly. She ran her hands along the front of her muumuu and checked a silver watch on her wrist, studded with large, probably fake, diamonds. “But we don’t have much time.”
I glanced around the shop. “Why not?”
Her lips flatlined. “Because we simply don’t. I’d love to sit you down for tea and explain everything, but you will simply have to receive your education when you arrive.”
“Arrive where?” My eyes flitted to Nine, still seated on the glass countertop, but he was too busy batting a feathered pen to the ground. He was no help. I shook my head in disbelief at my thoughts. How would my cat be of any help anyway? He was a cat!
Mrs. West hurried past me again and grabbed Nine. “Welcome to The Middle. Now, follow me.”
“The Middle?”
She didn’t answer. I reached for the cat carrier on the floor, but before I got there and without looking my way, Mrs. West said, “You won’t be needing that.”
I growled in frustration and clasped the handle anyway.
“Have it your way.” Still clutching my cat, Mrs. West walked directly into the opening with the no admittance sign above it. “Come, come.”
Despite my roiling stomach, I hurried after them into a low hallway with dim overhead lighting and cardboard boxes stacked to the ceiling on each side, leaving only a narrow pathway. The carrier and the bag slung over my shoulder bumped the boxes, making passage between them nearly impossible. I really should have listened to Mrs. West when she said not to bring it. I had no idea how the woman’s plump body slid through the opening so easily, especially with a cat in her arms, but somehow, she did.
My heart thudded against my ribcage as we kept moving through the tight space for a much longer trip than I would have expected. How far does this building go back?
Finally, we reached a plain wooden door flanked by more stacked boxes. Over the top of the door frame was mounted a blue and silver crest with the initials B.A. in the center.
“Here we are.” Mrs. West released Nine. He leaped to the floor and meowed at the door as if asking to be let in. “You must be patient, Nine.”
A sudden thought dawned on me. What if this lady was completely insane and took me back here where no one knew I was, then murdered me or locked me up? It was a completely plausible idea.
But before I had a chance to explore my potential nightmare any further, Mrs. West flung the door open. Instead of a tight hallway stacked with boxes, there was a massive library with books on dark wooden shelves that must have extended at least twenty feet into the air. Sconces with small flames lit the room.
I stood motionless, mouth agape and peering through the opening.
“Step in my child, or you will lose your window of opportunity.” Mrs. West took my upper arm and gently guided me through the door frame. “Registration may already be closed, in fact, and you have none of your paperwork completed, but that is not my responsibility. The registrar will have to take care of all those minute details. I’m only your guide for this part of the journey.”
“Registration?”
Mrs. West quirked her head to the left. “Yes, my dear, for the Borealis Academy of Magical Arts . . . on The Side of Magic.”
My mind swirled with confusion. The Side of Magic? This had to be a dream . . . or nightmare, or whatever, but definitely not real. I kept my bag over my shoulder but finally set the cat carrier down. I let out a nervous laugh since she must be joking. “So, I’m going to some sort of spellcaster academy?”
She smiled. “No, my dear. It’s much more than just spellcasting.”
I stared. Apparently, she was not joking. Her smile faded when I said nothing. “I assume you will have a lot of catching up to do, Josy Barrows, but hopefully Nine here will be willing to help whenever he can.”
I stared at Nine, who was perched in front of a smaller bookcase, peering up at it.
A million questions whirling through my mind, I opened my mouth, but before any words exited, Mrs. West raised her hand toward the top shelves near the ceiling and snapped her fingers. A book with a brown and golden spine wiggled its way from the shelf and floated down to Mrs. West’s hand.
I stepped back and my eyes grew wide. How was this happening?
She repeated the process three more times until a stack of four books rested in the crook of her arm. The blue and silver book on top read Introduction to Spellcasting.
Without a word, Mrs. West lobbed the books into my hands.
“What am I going to do with these?” I managed while fumbling to keep the stack balanced.
Mrs. West released a frustrated sigh. “When you attend school, you need books. I know everything seems to be online these days, but you will not find that option at Borealis Academy of Magical Arts. It’s as you kids say, ‘old school,’ but you’ll get used to it soon enough.”
I stood there staring at her for what seemed like an eternity. My ability to suspend disbelief was being tested. Hardcore. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of Borealis Academy of Magical Arts, and I have no idea why I’d be enrolled.”
She shrugged. “All I know is that you are enrolled in the Academy at birth. And unless something drastic happens, every student will receive their invitation at the proper time, even if you live on The Other Side.”
“The Other Side?”
“Yes, the regular world. Where there is no magic.” She pulled my letter from her pocket and handed it to me. “Your invitation was highly unusual. But those who charm the words do what they can to encourage”—she paused, seemingly to consider her words—“difficult cases to make the journey.”
“Difficult cases?” The idea that I was somehow a difficult person offended me greatly and made me forget all about the ridiculousness of this situation.
A gentle smile fell onto her lips. “I’m sure you are lovely. Without knowing your whole story,” she glanced at her watch again, “which we have no time for, I can’t say why the letter was written as such.”
Before I could say another word, Mrs. West spun to the bookcase Nine was patiently waiting in front of and gestured to it. “You need to be on your way. Where is your key again?” She waved
her hand in the air, and the small bookcase slid to the left, revealing an ornately carved wooden door. Above the brass knocker were the carved words “Borealis Academy of Magical Arts.” Under the knob where the keyhole should be, there was instead a brass slot.
“The rest is up to you.”
“Me?”
“Yes,” she said. “I can’t do this for you. Firstly, by tapping the knocker three times, you will implore the door to open. Wait for a second and then quickly slip the letter into the brass slot as a key. You will only have one opportunity. If the door decides that the key is invalid, then . . .” She shrugged and didn’t finish her sentence. “Just begin.”
As if compelled, my feet seemed to take on a life of their own and walked toward the door. When I got there, Nine stood and rubbed around my legs. Once again . . . he didn’t seem worried.
I raised my hand and took hold of the metal knocker. After lifting it, I tapped it one time to the plate below. The result was a metallic echo—nothing special or out of the ordinary.
“Don’t be shy,” Mrs. West encouraged.
I lifted it one more time, repeated the tap, and then again.
“Now the letter.”
I made sure the folded letter was flattened and stuffed it into the slot under the handle.
Behind me, Mrs. West released a long sigh of relief. “Well, that’s done. All you need to do now is try the handle.”
I glanced around at her as Nine raised up and pawed at the door. Mrs. West nodded in encouragement.
Slowly I reached for the handle, afraid to touch it. What if it was hot? What if it electrocuted me? And worst of all, what if it was still locked? With a held breath, I turned the handle. It didn’t budge. My heart, which had been lodged in my throat, dropped into my stomach.
“Try harder,” Mrs. West urged from behind. “It’s old and sticks sometimes.”
Why didn’t she tell me that in the first place? Maybe she was just lying for the sake of my fragile emotional state.
I released my breath and gripped the handle tightly. I didn’t believe that any of this was happening, but there was no way I was going to fail at opening a door. With all my might, I twisted the handle, and without warning the knob gave. The door flew open, and something unseen sucked both me and Nine into the darkness.
“Congratulations!” Mrs. West’s now faraway voice called from above as we tumbled through open space.
I wanted to scream, but nothing came from my mouth. Suddenly everything brightened but blurred, so I still could not make out our surroundings until the moment a great set of double doors appeared from nowhere ahead of us. The same carved words, Borealis Academy of Magical Arts, were inlaid in the wood, and I knew we were going to slam into them in about two seconds. Instinctively, I threw my hands to my face and opened my mouth to release a scream that never came.
Peeking through my fingers, I watched as the doors flung back and Nine and I slammed to the walkway with a thunk. My bag flung off my shoulder and landed somewhere to my right, and my books hurled from my hands to who knows where. Flanking the walkway was green lawn and in the distance were several stone buildings. Overhead the sky was bright blue.
Nine leaped to his feet and shook his body. I was not nearly as fast.
“The doors are now closed to the current semester,” an unseen voice announced. “If you have not visited the registrar to complete your enrollment, please report to the Ironhaven Auditorium immediately.
Panting, I raised up on my hands and knees. Quite a few students—well, I guessed they were students; they were dressed in uniforms—stood gawking at me but keeping their distance.
Slowly I stood and attempted to straighten out my damp, rumpled clothes.
One tall girl with red hair and what looked like a permanent scowl held my Introduction to Spellcasting book in her hand. Wearing a green and blue plaid skirt and a white cotton shirt, she stepped my way, and Nine opened his mouth to hiss.
She eyed Nine and then glared back to me as I pushed my long, colorless hair away from my face and reached for the book. “I’m sorry about the—”
“First, you try to kill me with your books, and then your rabid cat threatens me.” The girl tossed my book to the ground, forcing Nine to leap backward. “Introduction to Spellcasting, huh? You should have learned the basics years ago.”
My heart pounded, and I had no clue what to say.
“And I thought they weren’t allowing your kind in here anymore . . . too risky.”
“My kind?” The words tumbled from my lips.
She reached out and flipped my hair back over my shoulder. “The white hair. It’s a sure sign of trouble. Everyone knows that.”
Uneasy muttering came from the other students, and my legs quivered. My hair color had always been difficult for me. Grandma said it was beautiful and special. But she was my grandma. What else was she going to say?
But risky? Trouble? I had no idea what that meant.
The redheaded girl raised a brow and shrugged. “You’d better get going. And you need to report your mangy cat. They are not allowed here.” With that, she turned and waved at several students to come with her. They snapped to attention and followed her as if she were some sort of queen bee. The rest scattered, leaving me to clean up my mess.
My hands shaking, I peered down at Nine. Et tu?
The black cat blinked slowly and then turned to regard the bag and the splayed-open textbooks scattered on the ground.
I’d help and all, but you know—he lifted a paw into the air—tiny paws and no opposable thumbs.
Chapter 4
I stared wide-eyed at Nine, too shocked to say anything. Then I glanced around to see if anyone else heard a cat talking and I wasn’t just going insane. But all the onlookers who were here just a moment ago were gone.
“Please make your way to Ironhaven Auditorium if you have not yet seen the registrar for check-in,” the unseen male voice announced again.
Time’s a-wastin’, Nine’s voice came into my head again.
Barely taking my eyes off him, I gathered up my bag and the four books from the pathway where we’d landed.
“What’s going on?” I muttered under my breath, feeling much like I’d just tumbled down the rabbit hole to Wonderland. But instead of a white rabbit, I had a talking black cat.
Nine trotted along beside me. I think Ironhaven is up a little farther, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been to the campus.
“Wait, you’ve been here before?” I hiked up the books to keep them from tumbling out of my grasp.
I lived here for four years with your mother when she was a student.
I stopped in my tracks. My mother was a student here?
And your father.
My mind reeled with questions. Why hadn’t I known any of this? How long ago were they here? Mom didn’t even have me until she was twenty-five. But the question that popped from my mouth was the most useless one of all. “How old are you, Nine?”
The cat let out a snort. I don’t have a name like Nine for nothing.
Without any additional explanation, Nine bounded ahead, forcing me to focus on my surroundings. A handful of students all dressed in uniforms walked in the distance. Lush grass carpeted the grounds, and old two- and three-story brick and stone buildings lay ahead of us. Most were capped with spires. The sky over them was bright blue and dotted with fluffy clouds—the complete opposite of the weather in Los Angeles when I’d left.
Still gazing at the sky, I took a step forward and right into a body. I gasped and managed, “I’m so sorry!”
A woman, likely in her late fifties, with kind, blue eyes and dark hair cut to the chin, stood in front of me. The corners of her lips curled into a smile as she studied me up and down, finally landing on the clump of bedraggled hair hanging over my shoulder. “You must be one of the last arrivals.”
My stomach tightened. “Yes. How’d you know?”
The woman crossed her arms lightly over her chest, pulling her
black blazer buttons taut in the process. “First off, you seem a bit lost.” She tipped her head to peer slightly over my shoulder. “Second, you’re carrying what appears to be light luggage. And third, you don’t have a uniform yet.”
I trailed my eyes to my gray sweatshirt and jeans with a rip in the knee. And not the in-style kind of rip: the kind where you’ve worn your jeans too many times and can’t afford a new pair. I knew I must be a sight.
I didn’t mean for it to happen, but a whimper escaped my throat.
Without hesitation, the woman uncrossed her arms and placed a hand just behind my shoulder. “Let’s get you straight to Ironhaven and checked in.” She joined me at my side and slid her arm across my back, piloting me down the path. “Can’t have any of my students feeling out of place.”
I glanced around to search for Nine, but he was nowhere in sight. He always had been a roamer, and I’d have to assume I’d see him again around dinner time.
“I’m Professor Magnolis.”
“Josy,” I mumbled.
Her smile turned wider and revealed a set of perfect white teeth. “Josy, we’ll get you fixed up immediately.”
Along the way, we received a few stares from other students and what were likely staff but finally made it to a tall stone building with two gargoyles flanking the entrance. The stone sign above the doorway had the words “Ironhaven Auditorium Est. 1638” chiseled into the face.
Professor Magnolis led me through a foyer and into an auditorium with several hundred red fabric seats. Her voice echoed as she spoke in the nearly empty space. “There are occasional music and drama presentations in here as well as academy-wide meetings, but today we are finishing the registration process.” She glanced around. “And you seem to be the last arrival.”
I wanted to blurt out a hundred questions to her, but instead, I simply nodded.
She led me up the stage’s stairs to an old woman seated behind a desk. The woman had gray hair pulled into a tight, low bun and glasses set at the end of her nose. Overhead light from the stage’s rear flooded onto her back, and a halo of light shone around her. A lamp on the desk cast a yellowish hue.
Spellcaster Academy: Episodes 1-4 (Spellcaster Academy Omnibus) Page 2