Nicole burst through the door suddenly, beaming. 'I just had the most amazing day,' she kicked the door shut behind her.

'Me too,' said June.

'I made a table disappear and books float. But the book hit a snag. It got mixed up with a life potion and then it bit this other girl. She didn't like it, but I couldn't hide my satisfaction after she intentionally tripped me just to look good in front of her older sister's friends.' She threw herself across her bed, sighing. 'Sorcery is my favorite subject.'

June thought about what Audrey said about Sorcery. 'Is Cazoom still teaching?'

'Yes!' Nicole sat up excitedly. 'He must be really old; he taught my dad and he probably even taught my grandfather – but he's amazing – and I'm sure he'd teach many other generations to come – my dad is very skilled in Sorcery because of him – Oh my gosh!' Nicole had spotted Alexia. 'Is that a water horse?'

'Yes, it is,' said June proudly, looking at Alexia herself. 'I got her from science class.'

'Wow,' Nicole breathed. 'What other creatures did they have?'

'Lots,' said June, reminding herself of the pulchritudinous environment. She suddenly remembered a question. 'I wanted to ask you. When I was going to History I saw a ... mermaid class? I think they were picking gems from the lake.'

'Yeah, it must be Talents. In the third or fourth year, we begin to learn about gems and magical stones.'

'Oh,' said June. Gems are very important in Comikaycrest, Audrey spoke. There's one at the heart of Winterwell called the Wintersoul Gem; it's the source of the magic in Winterwell. Remove it, and there'd be disaster.

Nicole got busy with her homework, so the conversation ceased. Slightly drowsy, June went out to the balcony, and gazed longingly at the ocean. She wanted to dive head first in it, feel the motion of the waves, and let it take her away. When she was younger, Audrey took her to Bearlake beach very often. This was when June had begun to develop her water manipulating skills. She remembered vaguely the way her palms used to glow when she was near water; how fascinated she was by it; how Audrey explained to her that she was powerful. She remembered the day when she had caused a freak wave and almost drowned an entire family. She was dangerous too.

June smiled to herself. She loved her aunt more than anything in the world. But one thing fidgeted with her mind; she saw it clearly every time like it was happening right now. There was one moment; June was barely six years old, experimenting with her duplication ability; the house was filled with a reckless June refusing to sleep, when finally, Audrey caught her and huddled her into her bed.

Giggling from the way Audrey was tickling her, she asked, 'Why don't you use your powers?' Audrey instantly stopped playing, and her expression turned so cold, June would never forget it. She had stared into a point in the distance, her eyes clouding over. But she held back, cradling June's face in her hand, she said: 'I have only one power. And that is being your mother, father, aunt and any other family member that you will ever need. Understand?' From that point on, June had not dared to ask another question on the matter.

Now, as June stared at the sea, all these memories flashed to her. Beside her on the floor, Alexia neighed. The wind had picked up, blowing against her hair and skin, cooling her.

Then suddenly, June heard a rather annoying, beeping sound that seemed to be echoing from the depths of their walls. It sounded nearby to her; turning around, she looked at Nicole, who frowned back at her.

'Can you hear that?' June asked.

Nicole sprang up from her bed. 'Yes, I can.'

'Where is it coming from?'

June strained her ears to find the source, and as it became louder, the sound led her to Nicole's bed side drawer. Quickly, she opened them one by one; the sound rang at its loudest – and then she found where it emanated from; the last drawer where a flashing button on the inside said 'push'.

'Should I?' she asked Nicole, who was standing next to her, looking at the button, expressionless. Nicole didn't reply after a few seconds.

'I don't know,' she sounded confused. She went closer to examine it. June tapped her feet; the beeping sound was now getting on her last nerve.

'Just do it.' June argued.

'No you do it.'

'Why must I?'

There was a loud neighing coming from Alexia and she shoved herself between the two and approached the red button. She stamped her hoof on it.

Nothing happened.

'This must be a little prank.' Nicole said walking away. 'Stuff like this happens all the time.'

June frowned. She looked around the room and gasped. 'No, it isn't – look!' She pointed to a spot on the wall just above Nicole's lamp.

A hologram appeared from it where a message was displayed:

Nicole snorted. 'Jump into the last drawer? Is this a joke? It has to be.'

'Maybe or maybe not,' said June, intrigued. 'Let's jump in and find out.' She turned to look at Nicole's expression; it wasn't very encouraging.

Nicole frowned. 'Have you lost your marbles?'

June shrugged. 'Don't you want to at least find out? You'll never know until you plunge into the unknown.' Audrey's own words.

'Or it could be nothing,' said Nicole quietly.

'But you're not answering my question.'

Nicole sighed. 'Yes, I would like to find out.'

'So, will you jump in with me?'

'I guess but –'

'Alexia, you stay here – Okay, on the count of three – one ... two –' She grabbed Nicole's hand, 'three!'

June laid out the drawer on the floor and stepped into it.

They slid into a tunnel of darkness. Nicole shut her eyes and took deep breaths to prevent her from feeling nauseas. June, who was a few meters ahead of Nicole, could spot a little light.

Then, finally, they landed into a soft material.

'Ah! Miss Price, Miss Fox!'

June heard a voice. The mist disappeared from her eyes and she saw a young man; his eyes crinkling up in a smile. 'Nice to see you have accepted our invitation. Welcome to The School Beneath!'

June looked around.

She was in one of the hundreds of glass cubicles, placed along the four walls of a large hall. Hordes of people moved about; there was a plaza of counters at the central area. Several telephones rang.

'Err, and who are you?' Nicole asked.

'I am Charlie Hendrix, your escort until – uh, well – until you graduate from here.'

June frowned. 'And by that you mean...?'

'Like logging you onto your office,' Charlie said blasely, 'and your training.'

Nicole's jaw dropped. 'Logging onto our office?'

'Training?' June grinned.

'Okay,' he held out his palms, 'I should explain from the beginning.'

*

'We train Enchanted High students who we think have potential; in the future, you can use this on your admission form when applying for jobs. This was an idea from Treatonhaven's Agency of Skilled Warlocks.'

Nicole's eyes popped out of her head. 'Did you say –'

'Yes, Treatonhaven runs this secret underground training facility, in search of young and skilled people who could potentially join their agency.'

Nicole swallowed and straightened her posture. 'I'm in.'

June looked at her, confused. 'What's Treatonhaven's Agency of –'

'It's a secured facility,' Nicole told her, struggling for words that would be great enough to describe it. 'It's like a – a spy agency – and they have agents, warlocks, who tend to top secret dealings in Comikaycrest –'

'Like the FBI?'

'What's an FBI?'

'Ladies,' Charlie interrupted, 'You may decide after our first round of training if you'd like to join this program or not.'

June looked at Nicole, who looked back at her questioningly.

They were in one of the offices, a grey room with dark, polished wooden flooring. There were two slick silver office desks, occupied by a matching chair. On each table was a golden template with June and Nicole's names embedded on it. A single door led to a bathroom. For guests, there was a mustard L-shaped couch at the corner. Paintings covered the walls, filling the room with the soft sound of the ocean, and the scent of flowers.

'The training starts at Level One,' Charlie explained. 'we'll teach you how to sharpen your senses, and make the best use of your abilities. Occasionally, we could send you to a mission – kind of like an outside world task that tests how well you've been comprehending our training.'

June and Nicole were silent.

'And we can't forget the gadgets,' Charlie added.

At this, Nicole's eyes lit up. 'Gadgets?'

'Oh, yes,' said Charlie, 'especially transported from Treatonhaven.'

Nicole turned to June, excited. 'Okay, let's do this.'

'Would like to see around first?' Charlie suggested.

They agreed.

*

June had never been to a place with as much doors and corridors as The School Beneath had. She felt like they were in a maze; the walls all looked the same, grey and dull, and the doors were white. As they walked past each door, she wondered what was behind it. There was no label or sign that said this was the 'Meeting Room', or that was the 'Gymnasium'. Audrey had never mentioned the place; Charlie said it was their first year offering this opportunity.

They turned yet another corner.

'Charlie, what are all these rooms?' June asked.

He didn't pause his pace. 'I don't know,' he said. 'I've never been inside most of them – can't remember my way half the time. But they're all chambers; some store things, others are jinxed with a certain climate – this one –' he paused, 'if I remember correctly, is where they keep the special cases. The mad souls.'

'The mad souls?' June asked.

'Yes,' he nodded. 'They keep the souls in a jar, and seal it with a cork. Placed up in rows of shelves. Bit old fashioned, if you ask me, but it works the best.'

Nicole's expression was frightened. They followed Charlie.

'All this is beneath your school, by the way,' he continued, 'I'm not sure what classroom is above us at this moment – probably the assembly – no, the library – this is the Accuracy room.'

It was the first room they had come across with a long, rectangular glass window. On the other side, they could see a woman firing bullets at a doll. But when June looked closely, she saw that it was not a doll, and the thing the woman was aiming for was very much alive. Before she could say another word, however, she witnessed the creature burst into dust after being hit with a bullet. It re-appeared at the back of the room, laughing maniacally.

'Demons,' said Charlie. 'They're dead, so they don't feel the bullets. But they sure do laugh a lot. Don't worry,' he added when he saw Nicole's horrified expression, 'we keep them behind one of these doors. Feed them and everything. They're content.'

And Charlie continued to walk before they could ask him what the Demons ate.

A few corridors later, they came across another woman; she was very attractive, with bouncy blonde curls and blue eyes.

Charlie shook her hand and introduced June and Nicole. 'They're potential recruits from Enchanted High.'

'Good evening,' she shook Nicole's hand. 'Scarlett Anderson,' she paused, holding June's hand. Her eyebrows creased in a frown. It disappeared as soon as it came.

When she was out of sight, Charlie whispered, 'Level Five Agent, directly trained by several Treatonhaven facilities. Best there is.'

Nicole nodded. 'What's so special?'

'Her abilities,' said Charlie. 'Healing, sonic scream. Very useful in missions. Some say she has a sixth sense for the future or past. Others say she can talk to the dead. Lots of rumors.'

'Don't you have any powers Charlie?' asked June. She did not see his expression.

'Let's not talk about that,' he replied, moments later.

*

At last, they reached another door and June realized that it was their office.

Charlie leaned against Nicole's desk. 'That's it for today. Its eight-thirty. No student is allowed out of their dorm room after nine on school days. Enchanted High rules.' He gestured to the door. 'To get back, you return to the hall you entered in. The glass cubicles transport you to your destination. There's a menu to choose from. The decision to join our organization is entirely up to you. You've seen the place – well most of it. And I've told you about our training. Like I said,' he paused, 'it's your decision. We have other Enchanted High recruits here.'

June didn't want to miss an opportunity to learn, to experience something new. But without Audrey whispering in her mind and advising her, she felt confused. She agreed anyway. 'I'd like to join.'

Nicole pitched in. 'Me too. Mostly because of the gadgets.'

Charlie beamed. 'Amazing. I will get the official documents sorted. We'll begin with your training the next time I alert you.'

He led them back to the main hall, into separate cubicles, and taught them how to use the menu. June saw a list of all the rooms in Enchanted High; cafeteria, library, gardens ... Charlie selected girl's dormitories and typed in their room number. June did not expect the transition to occur so quickly. In a blink, she was back at room one-zero-nine.

It was dark.

June switched the light on. 'Alexia?'

A sleepy blue horse crawled out from under the bed. Alexia neighed, shook herself, and sat on the carpeted floor.

Nicole yawned. 'Everyone's asleep. Let's call it a night.'

June peeked her head into the passage; the dorms looked different at night, the sculpture were sinister shadows. The moon and stars was displayed through the glass roof. The shrunken heads snored loudly. Kendal was speaking in his sleep.

'No, mama,' he murmured, 'no ways in hell. I wouldn't – naw. I like being a doorknob at a magical school.'