Spellcaster Academy: Episodes 1-4 (Spellcaster Academy Omnibus)

by Jenetta Penner

  “What are you talking about, Rosalee?” I asked and pulled the door shut after my friends exited. No need for Rosalee to start asking questions about Nine or Merrygold.

  “I saw you last night,” she accused.

  My heart picked up its pace. Saw us do what?

  “Of course you saw us last night.” Holly straightened her back, making herself taller than Rosalee. “We saw you in the hall, too.”

  “I don’t mean that.” Rosalee crossed her arms over her chest and threw out her hip. “You left the dorm in the middle of the night.”

  My pounding heart nearly stopped. Why would have Rosalee have seen us at that time of night?

  “In that storm?” Emiko wrinkled her nose. “Why would we go out in that? It would’ve been freezing out there.”

  Rosalee blinked at us several times before she spoke. She wasn’t buying Emiko’s diversion. “Yes, the whole thing seemed pretty stupid to me—having a guy in your room after curfew and then the lot of you sneaking out on one of the year’s worst nights.”

  When none of us said a word, she continued. “But I couldn’t sleep and watched as all four of you climbed out the window into the freezing cold weather. I didn’t think much of it, but when I heard that the library had been broken into this morning, the first thing I thought of was you.” A wicked smile stretched at her lips.

  I was right. The chancellor did know that someone was in the library last night.

  “Not one of you can afford to make mistakes like that. You know people get expelled for less. If I were you, I’d just turn yourselves into Chancellor Sterling and admit the entire thing. Maybe you could even take the fall for your friends, Josy.”

  Tension pulled at my chest. As much as I hated to admit it, Rosalee was right that none of us had a very big margin of error. I was possibly dangerous with my uncontrolled Morelli magic; Aspen was on his scholarship and Emiko came from a family with ties to the Directorate. It was just a guess on my part, but likely she hadn’t told her parents yet that she was friends with a half Morelli. They would probably disapprove of her breaking into the library. But I couldn’t allow Rosalee to see any of my nervousness. “We’re just headed out for an early breakfast. That’s all.”

  Rosalee moved her gaze to my friends. “You two really could do better.”

  Holly flared her nostrils but somehow held her tongue. I think even she knew that engaging Rosalee right now was a really bad idea.

  “I’m hungry. So we’re leaving now.” I licked my lips and walked past Rosalee. Holly and Emiko joined me.

  “And your loser boyfriend is outside waiting for you,” she said from behind.

  I gritted my teeth and grabbed Holly’s arm so she wouldn’t turn back to say anything we all might regret.

  Just as Rosalee had said, Aspen was waiting for us on the already-shoveled sidewalks.

  “Rosalee saw us leave the dorm last night,” I hissed as I got closer to him. I buttoned the top of my coat to keep the cold off my neck.

  “What?” Aspen’s eyes grew wide.

  Holly joined us. “And she put together that it was us in the library.”

  Emiko whispered, “I’m not certain, but I think Rosalee was just trying to trap us—see if we’d react to her.”

  “To be safe, I think we should just go to the dining hall for now,” I said. “I don’t want to give Rosalee any reason to think I was lying. We can try to find out what the chancellor knows later.”

  Each of them nodded in agreement, and I waved them ahead. But we hadn’t taken two steps when Chancellor Sterling rounded the corner of a building and headed straight for us.

  His wrinkled forehead and downturned mouth did not project happiness.

  Chapter 12

  The four of us sat staring at each other in the conference room near Chancellor Sterling’s office. I closed my eyes as shivers prickled at my spine from the memory of the last time I was in here—with the Directorate. It would have been so nice to put them out of my mind and move on with everyday life, but I knew that wasn’t going to be possible. Something about my Morelli magic had allowed me to see through them. For some reason, they were hiding their identities. If I managed to open that Morelli spell book in my room and master the magic inside, I could only guess that my responsibility to discover the truth would grow.

  Aspen rubbed his temples as if he had a pounding headache and Holly was unusually quiet, while Emiko wrung her hands together. She likely had her own anxiety to work through, as well as being able to feel each of ours. I couldn’t even imagine how empaths focused on anything else with other people around.

  I flinched when Chancellor Sterling’s voice sounded outside in the hall, joined by another male voice I couldn’t identify.

  “What should we tell him?” Emiko leaned in and whispered.

  The Chancellor hadn’t said much apart from instructing us to go to the conference room. He said nothing about knowing we had been in the library. I could still hope that we were only in here for breaking curfew and maybe the fact that Aspen was in my room after hours. But how likely that was, I couldn’t be sure—it was probably wishful thinking.

  “You shouldn’t tell him anything.” Rosalee’s suggestion that I take the fall for my friends stuck in the forefront of my mind. They were willing, but I did drag them into this whole thing. If it weren’t for me coming to the Academy, they all would have just gone on with their lives . . . then again, they might be dead from the Morelli attack. I shimmied that thought away. This was still my fault.

  “We have to tell him something, Josy,” Emiko sat up straighter in her seat.

  “I’m not letting you three get kicked out of the Academy simply because you made friends with me.” I kept my voice down.

  “Well, we’re not letting you take the blame for this, Josy.” Aspen stopped rubbing his head and locked on to me.

  “I’m not either,” Holly added. “If we don’t stand up for what we know is right, then maybe no one will. You needed to find that book.”

  The book . . . what would the chancellor do if he knew about it? I was only really allowed to stay at the Academy in hopes that my ability to absorb the magic of others might help defeat the Morelli. If Chancellor Sterling knew I was trying to learn true Morelli magic, he might think that I was going to do something evil.

  The space between Emiko’s brows pinched. “I can’t let you do this either. I don’t care what happens to me.”

  Their sentiment warmed my insides, but reality set in. “You will care if you get expelled.” I turned my attention to Aspen. “Think about your family. I’m sure they are so proud of you.”

  He ran his hand through the side of his hair. “They’ll get over it, and I can work on improving my magic somewhere else.”

  I twisted my lips in frustration. Why wouldn’t they listen to me? Shaking my head, I opened my mouth to say so, but the door flung open and in walked Chancellor Sterling.

  Directly on his heels was the librarian, Mr. Bay. Chancellor Sterling shut the door and locked it. Mr. Bay rounded the long table but didn’t sit.

  The chancellor crossed his arms over his chest and finally spoke, “Josy. It was reported that you and your friends were out past curfew last night during the storm. Mr. Bay believes that you and possibly several others entered the library last night after closing hours. And don’t even bother asking how he knows.”

  Mr. Bay bored into me with his beady eyes. That man loved his library, and I’m sure his magic specialty had something to do with sensing we’d been there. He was very protective of his book babies. I should have known better.

  I stared blankly at Chancellor Sterling. These accusations were all true, but should I admit them?

  “It was my fault,” Aspen admitted out of the blue, and my heart sank. “I knew about a small opening to the attic and convinced them to let me try out my shifting magic skills to see if we could get inside. It was totally stupid, and I don’t know why I did it. Don’t hold them responsible for me trying to
show off.”

  I slammed my hands onto the table and pushed up to stand. The chair legs screeched over the flooring. “That’s not true. This was all my fault. I needed . . . something in the library and I convinced them all to help me. I know that I never should have gone there!”

  Chancellor Sterling crinkled his forehead. “I don’t care what the Directorate said. This is a punishable offense. We will not tolerate breaking and entering.”

  If he only knew this had been my third time.

  “I am very disappointed in you, Mr. Rivers.” Mr. Bay crossed his arms over his chest.

  Aspen released a frustrated sigh but had nothing more to say.

  The chancellor turned his gaze to Emiko and Holly. “Would you two like to tell us about your involvement?”

  Emiko slowly stood. “Yes, Holly and I were involved. But you don’t understand—"

  “Of course I understand.” The chancellor cut her off. “You two are taking this opportunity to rebel against your well-respected families. You need to reconsider your choices if you have any chance to remain at the Academy.”

  Holly’s cheeks grew red, and I knew she was on the verge of saying something she’d soon regret.

  But before she had the chance, the air in the room changed, almost as if it were electrified. The hair on my arms stood on end when someone appeared at the head of the table. Mrs. North.

  My eyes widened at the sight of her. Why was she here? I flitted my attention to my friends, but the looks on their faces showed as much surprise as mine must have.

  Mrs. North wore a flowing chartreuse dress that nearly hit the floor, and instead of a large hat, she wore her dark hair up in an elaborate updo complete with rainbow jeweled combs on each side. When she sat at the head of the table, her dress flared out the side and unless I saw wrong, a bit of magic sparked at the air.

  Emiko lowered herself back into her seat, as did I.

  Mrs. North released a long sigh. “This entire situation is becoming extremely messy when it doesn’t need to be.” Mrs. North turned to the chancellor, who still was no more than two feet from the door, clenching his jaw. She gestured toward the chairs. “Please, everyone have a seat.”

  My heart pounded against my rib cage. What was going on here? Mrs. West had told me that The Four Points were neutral. But this was not Mrs. West; this was Mrs. North. And maybe Mrs. West had said that to trick me into telling her why I was in her junk shop . . . or the West Coast doorway, or whatever.

  Without a word, the chancellor and the librarian took seats at the long table. They knew exactly who she was.

  “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you people from The Side of Magic can be so blind. You never seem to actually speak to one another, and when you do, it’s about the completely wrong topics. I’m quite annoyed at the entire thing.” Mrs. North leaned her elbows on the table and laced her fingers together. Her long fingernails were painted purple. As she moved, the color shifted to match her bright green dress, then back to purple.

  Mrs. North’s lips pursed in frustration. “The winds are changing, and the only way you people are going to survive is to work together. Maybe, Chancellor Sterling, you should instead be asking Josy and her friends why they were in the library. What was it they were searching for?” She snapped her fingers and the book with the gold lettering, Spells of the Ancients, appeared in her hand.

  My heart shuddered. How’d she get that? It was under my mattress!

  Mrs. North laid the book on the table and trained her eyes on me. “Now, you are going to dislike what I’m about to do immensely. But each of The Four Points sees more than any of you could ever dream. So, you will have to trust my judgment.”

  I had no idea what Mrs. North was about to do, but whatever it was sank a brick into my stomach.

  The plump woman stood gracefully and raised her hands. Magic swirled in her palms, and the sparkles expanded and floated to her left, forming an oval of light. She snapped her fingers, and within the oval stood a very confused-looking Rosalee.

  Rosalee darted her attention around the room and stopped at me. “Why am I here?”

  “Because, dear,” Mrs. North said, “I believe you are the missing component in Josy coming into her magic.”

  Chapter 13

  The air seemed to suck from the room, and for several seconds, Rosalee stayed nearly frozen. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head. The confusion swirling in her green eyes ranged from terror to intense anger.

  No one spoke. Emiko slumped back in her chair, and Aspen had his hand covering his mouth. I couldn’t quite tell if it was in horror or if he was finding some sort of dark comedy in the situation. Holly balanced on the edge of her seat like she was immersed in an intense movie and needed a big bowl of popcorn to round out her experience. I didn’t know what to do. My stomach twisted like a wrung-out towel. It was a little like we were all waiting for a red-haired geyser to explode and no one wanted to miss the show. Even Chancellor Sterling and Mr. Bay were speechless.

  Finally, the geyser burst.

  “Is this a joke? You have got to be kidding me!” Rosalee finally screeched at Mrs. North. “This dirty Morelli is going to be the Academy’s death. Why doesn’t anyone else see this! Josy Barrows has done nothing but break the rules.” She swiveled her head to Chancellor Sterling. “She nearly killed me, and you people did nothing about it! Why is she even here? I still think she had something to do with Professor Lakeshore’s death since there is no way he died from natural causes. My family will hear about this insult!”

  Mrs. North sat with a calm if slightly annoyed expression but silently allowed Rosalee to speak her piece.

  “Miss Loriss,” Chancellor Sterling finally said, but Rosalee kept on with her ranting. “Miss Loriss,” he tried again. “Do you even know whom you are speaking with?”

  In all the craziness Rosalee obviously had no idea she was talking to one of The Four Points. She was too wrapped up in her hatred of me to even see it.

  I wanted to be completely offended by Rosalee’s words—dirty Morelli. What was she talking about? Rosalee didn’t even know me! What had I ever done to her? Other than nearly landing on top of her when I came through the portal on my first day . . . and using her magic against her in fencing class. I flared my nostrils. No matter how much I had grown to hate Rosalee, I hadn’t meant to do those things! And I didn’t kill Professor Lakeshore—although he may well have died protecting Holly and me. Everything was so complicated.

  “Miss Loriss.” Mr. Bay even tried to stop Rosalee, but at this point, it didn’t seem she would ever stop.

  Emiko was nearly curled up into a ball from all the emotions flying around the room, and Holly had a comforting arm around her shoulders.

  As Rosalee spewed her verbal venom, my stomach twisted into a tighter knot, and I caught Aspen’s gaze. Anger at Rosalee’s words tightened his jaw. Without warning, a faint blue glow sprang up around him. Aspen was going to turn himself into a wolf!

  Without thinking, I jumped to my feet. “Stop it, Rosalee!” I shouted before Aspen did something stupid and really got himself kicked out of the Academy. I darted my eyes back to him, and the glow was gone. He’d backed down.

  “Ladies!” Chancellor Sterling yelled. “This is not appropriate behavior for the Academy.”

  I ignored him and continued toward Rosalee.

  “Don’t you tell me what to do, Josy!” Rosalee balled her hands into fists. “What’s going on here is ridiculous. Ever since you arrived, this Academy has been a circus! And I’m not going to stand for it anymore! If the chancellor doesn't take action, then I will!”

  A million things I wanted to say to Rosalee were running through my head. The vast majority of them were awful and would certainly not have improved the situation. Plus I didn’t want to stoop to her level. I just knew that I needed to protect my friends, and she wasn’t worth my effort. I held my hand up and waved her away dismissively and started to turn from her when a hand clutched my shoulder
.

  Mrs. North stood between us, her other hand on Rosalee.

  Rosalee finally stopped speaking. She stared at Mrs. North for a few seconds and her eyes grew wide with realization.

  “You’re Mrs. North!” The words came from Rosalee’s mouth in a high-pitched squeak.

  I backed away from them and returned to my seat.

  Mrs. North sighed. “Yes, my dear. So, I need for you to have a seat and listen to what I have to say next.” She kept hold of Rosalee’s shoulder but gestured with her other hand to an empty seat across from me, next to Emiko.

  Rosalee eyed me but did as Mrs. North instructed.

  Emiko inched away from Rosalee and closer to Holly.

  “This nonsense is what I’m talking about when I say you people rarely focus on the right things. That is exactly what got you in this mess to start with.” Mrs. North’s lips formed a thin line. She picked up Spells of the Ancients by the spine and waved her hand over the top. It fell open and floated from her hand. “These spells have been closed up for far too long without someone to speak them.” She dropped her hand and left the book suspended.

  Mr. Bay squinted in interest. “That is a Morelli spell book!”

  “You are quite correct, sir,” Mrs. North confirmed.

  “Why would we want to use a Morelli spell book?” Mr. Bay leaned closer to the table, trying to get a closer look. “That’s the type of thing we want to keep out of the Academy.”

  His words hit me square in the chest. I was the type of person they wanted to keep out.

  Mrs. North settled her gaze on me, and that act seemed to lift the burden from my heart. “I am well aware this Academy is still rooted in the past, just as the entire Side of Magic is. But change must start somewhere, and it already has.” She looked at each of my friends. “Miss Barrows has made ties here and people have accepted her for who she is, even celebrated it despite the personal risk to themselves for doing so. The Four Points have met and decided that we no longer want to be neutral in this matter. The rift between the Morelli and the people of The Side of Magic has gone on long enough. It has caused too much pain and now threatens to spill over into The Other Side. We cannot have this. And now that there is a solution, we must take action.”