Chapter 6: The Spellcaster

Willow bursts through the trees, followed closely behind by Evernly. Once they get near me, they freeze. All the blood drains out of Willow’s face and Evernly is just as ashen.

“What happened?”

She whispers.

Wordlessly, I point at the two spots that mark her coat.

Willow fumbles for her wand and sends a quick message to the others. Her eyes glimmer. Mrs. Greycloud appears, the boys standing behind her. They have the same reaction we had. The teacher is the first to venture near Violet, her hands shaking. She presses it onto a small part of Violet’s neck and shakes her head solemnly. She’s gone.

“Violet’s only been dead for a few minutes, about ten before we came here.”

Mrs. Greycloud’s voice is toneless, devoid of any emotions. Small tears leak out, leaving a wet trail. We hover around for a little, unsure of what to do. She waves us away. We mutter quiet goodbyes and Evernly, Willow and I stay silent as we walk to our next classes. Willow breaks off abruptly and offers us a weak smile. Evernly squeezes my shoulder awkwardly and heads off too. I walk to Languages, alone. The teacher for my class is Principal Amara herself, standing tall and proud at the front of the class. The word ‘Squirrel’ is branded across the wooden board. Everyone sits, frozen, afraid to move under the judging gaze of our teacher. The bell had already rung, so we don’t know why she’s waiting, still as a statue. A creak comes from behind me, the door groaning. All eyes land on Milly as she strides into the room.

“Miss Day,” Principal Amara’s voice is cool, “you are fifteen minutes late. I’m afraid you’ll have to go to detention during the free period. Mrs. Greycloud is currently on hiatus, so you’ll be with me.”

Milly doesn’t even flinch under her stare.

“Right, madam,” she replies in an indifferent tone.

We gape at her, and her confidence. Must be her full stomach- that pizza was extremely filling. She slides the seat next to me out and plops down. Principal Amara turns into a human again, regaining movement. She begins to explain today’s lesson.

“As you may see, we will be learning how to communicate with squirrels today. There are quite a few here in Autumn Town and they are one of the more cooperative animals around. Their language is considered easy to learn, so I’ll expect you to ace the test you’ll be given next week.”

She goes through a series of sounds, like a screeching baby bird. It reminds me of when my father would tell me stories about his journeys. All the animals he would talk to. A fox, an albatross, a panda, and even a polar bear! After each story, he would talk me through their language. I smile at the thought. He always said I was a natural. Too bad I’m not as good at socializing as I am making foreign sounds. But, when Principal Amara asks if anyone understood, I don’t raise my hand. She expected no one to translate it, as we’ve just been learning human languages in our younger years. I roll the words over in my head. It makes no sense. There’s one squeak I cannot translate.

“The ‘squeak’ will be targeted. Secure the premises. Initiate extermination when the magic is the highest.”

She can’t mean the shadow hound, could she? Or are there more of them? It sounded like she was speaking to someone else, someone who understands every word. I scan the room, but everyone just looks confused. I paste the same expression on and shake the sentences off. I need to tell somebody all of this. I don’t want to endanger Milly, but I know she’ll throw a fit if she found out I’m up to something without her. The rest of the class goes by smoothly, with Principal Amara having us watch a video about squirrels, projected onto the whiteboard by her wand. The bell rings for the free period, and Milly disappears for her Detention. I wonder what it would be like. For some reason, I feel as if Detention would be in a whole other place, depending on the character of the teacher. I’ll have to ask Milly later. Now that it's free time, my mind wanders off to all the strange things that have happened. I still need to take a look at that journal, confront Janky, find out why I keep having these weird dreams. And the fact that there will be some extermination going on. I whip out a spare notebook labeled ‘Story Project’. This was canceled in place of brewing with the Wishspell Academy boys. Jotting down these thoughts, I already feel a whole lot lighter. I can’t believe all this happened over the course of two days! What if…what if these were all connected? Perhaps Janky would use the weapons for the extermination of the shadow hound, and the journal is about those creatures? That is actually a possibility. There’s only one way to find out. The door swings open to reveal a huge room. Bookshelves cover every bit of the walls, each decorated differently. A table lies in the center, made of oakwood. Master Quet sits there, deep in concentration at some papers. I make out a word. ‘Extermination'.

“Uhh, Master Quet?”

He doesn’t even glance up. Nervously, I knock on the door again, from the inside.

“Shouldn’t you be in class?”

I shift my footing.

“Um, it’s a free period.”

He looks at me and leans back in his chair slowly, arms resting on his chair.

“Indeed it is. Now, what do you need?”

“Uh, I would like to ask a question about a spell.”

“Not a love spell, I hope? There've been a dozen girls coming in already asking about that. I’ll give you the answer. Love spells are forbidden! Plus, love potions work way better. Spells only last for a period of time, while often, potions can last from days to years!”

“It’s not about that. I was wondering if you know something that can… unstick a book?”

Master Quet thinks.

“Like, renew it to its original form?”

I nod eagerly.

“Well, there is one.”

He gets up and strides towards one of the many bookshelves, this one with painted vines. He waves his wand, a powder blue with specks of yellow. Only Masters have a unique wand. Normally, wands are just made from magic blossom wood, since they contain magic in them already. Customized wands are not purely decorative, they're made from an even stronger substance. A book slides out of its position, appearing pristine and untouched. Master Quet flips through the pages, landing on one. ‘The Renewing Spell.’ He guides me through the chant and I thank him when I’ve learned it.

“No worries. Always happy to help a fellow bookworm.”

At that moment, someone bursts into the room.

“Ah, sorry to interrupt Master Quet, but I need your help.”

Master Quet answers wearily, “Yes?”

“I need a love spell.”

He sighs. I take it as my cue to leave and exit the room. I fish out the notebook and cross that task out. As I make my way towards the dorms, someone taps on my shoulder. I close the book and turn around, pasting on a smile.

“Yes?”