Page 4 of Elmwood Inclusive Magic Academy
We all land together, outside what I assume must be the main entrance, although it’s hard to tell. There are scatterings of other groups as well, and a long gravel driveway. I stumble as I disembark.
“Lydia, Astrid!”
I turn to see a large man disembarking from a limo nearby, his arms outstretched. He has intense light eyes and dark blond hair streaked with white.
“Tudor, so good to see you again.” My moms take turns kissing him on both cheeks. Self-conscious, I fumble a bit with my hair before giving up. There’s no way I look presentable after two hours sitting in the wind, but hey, maybe it’ll add to my witchy allure.
“And Millie! And…oh, but this must be your beautiful daughter. It’s Magdalena, isn’t it?”
“Just Maggie,” I mutter, holding my broomstick awkwardly as he pecks me twice on my cheeks. I can’t help stiffening as I feel his fangs graze my skin. I note the absence of a heartbeat or any human warmth. A vampire.
“Tudor Thornblade,” he bows his head slightly to me, “and this is one of my progeny, Hallie Johnson.”
He gestures to a girl standing behind him, about my age. I can tell immediately that she’s a vampire too, now that I’m looking for it, but she’s the most unpretentious vampire I’ve ever met. She stands on the gravel road, beaming delightedly and unabashedly, as though it’s her first day on a reality TV show. She wears square-framed glasses and her loose natural hair forms perfect coils around her beaming face.
“Hello, I’m Hallie!” she squeals, as though she hadn’t just been introduced. She holds out her hand and I shake it. It’s strange how cool her skin is, but I suppose I’ll get used to things like that.
“Maggie.”
“Aren’t you so excited? I can’t believe we’re here at last,” she trills, gazing romantically at the haphazard academy beside us. “Isn’t it so beautiful? Tudor sort of told me what it would be like, but it’s nothing compared to actually being here!”
“Uh, yep, it’s pretty great.” I glare at my moms, who are now deep in conversation with Tudor Thornblade as they all head toward the academy entrance. Their presence draws stares and murmurs from the other groups nearby. I can forget about keeping a low profile now.
“You’re the first witch I’ve ever met,” says the young vampire, latching onto my arm as we follow our parents. Are vampire creators like parents?
She continues, “Youarea witch, right? I saw you all come in on your broomsticks. Little wobbly, huh? But I guess you’ll get better after you take the flying class. Youarein the flying class, right? I’m in it, too, of course vampires don’t usually fly with broomsticks…”
I’m not used to so much exuberant friendliness directed at me, and I really don’t want to make small talk. But Pan pokes me on the cheek, whispering, “Be nice.”
“Um, yeah, actually, I am in the flying class.”
“Oh good! It’ll be nice to know someone,” she beams. “Honestly, I’m a bit nervous. I was only turned a few months ago, and this is totally new to me. I had no idea about witches, and vampires, and shifters and everything. I mean, I sort of knew, but I thought it was all legends and fairy tales. Then I was bitten, and the next thing you know, I’m sleeping all day and can’t stand the smell of garlic!”
Listening to her, I actually feel a bit less nervous too. Maybe it would be nice to have someone I know around here. Even though she talks a mile a minute, she doesn’t seem like the type to laugh at someone for falling off a broom. It couldn’t hurt to have an ally.
“Does garlic actually neutralize your powers?” I say. “I’m sorry if it’s rude to ask, I don’t know too much about vampires.”
She smiles widely, her two sharp fangs pointing out, “Not at all! I don’t know much about witches, either. As for garlic, nah,it’s just irritating, but doesn’t really hurt us badly. It’s silver that we have to watch out for.”
“Oh! My mom uses silver a lot for spells,” I muse, thinking of Astrid and her protection charms. “But she’s never told me much about it.”
I suddenly realize how much I don’t know about magic, and I panic slightly. Hopefully everyone else is on the same level. At least this vampire seems to be. Maybe I can get away with it if I lay low and don’t draw a lot of attention to myself. At least I’ve had lots of practice doing that.
Hallie keeps talking as we follow my moms and Tudor Thornblade into the academy. The castle seems even more enormous and formidable from the inside, with huge slabs of stone for walls and torches lighting the way. All around us are new students and their parents (Creators? Alphas? Covens? I really should have done more research). It’s a hodgepodge of broomsticks, cauldrons, familiars of every kind, and suitcases floating through the air. The shifters are all in their human forms, so it’s hard to distinguish them from witches, but I can spot a few vampires with fangs and a notable pallor, and a few magical beings with features I can’t place. There’s a flock of students with long, tangled hair and skin with greenish undertones. They walk self-consciously and don’t blink at all. I try not to stare.
There’s a massive entry that leads into an even bigger hall. It’s surrounded by hundreds of lit candles and smells powerfully of incense. Somehow, the hall is perfectly circular. In the very center is a raised stone dais with a wooden altar, covered by a velvet purple cloth. It’s also covered in candles and a large, worn book.
Rows of wooden chairs are circled around the dais, facing it. Most are already occupied.
“I’m going to go sit with Professor Vyas and the other teachers.” Lydia kisses me on the forehead. “I’ll find you afterwards.”
We manage to find five seats pretty close to the dais. There’s a large pentagram etched into the purple fabric covering it. A large barn owl is now perched on the altar, calmly observing the gathering crowds.
“I’m so glad the castle is being put to good use again,” says Millie from the end of the row. She must have noticed Hallie and I gazing starstruck around the hall. It’s absolutely massive, and lined with enormous clear windows right up to the ceilings. It shouldn’t be possible, how could there be windows on all the sides of the room?
“The covens won’t fight over the building if it’s being used as the academy,” says Tudor. “This place is too powerful to have one group laying claim to it.”
“It was that bear shifter who lived here, wasn’t it?” Millie muses. “Unusual for a shifter to want so much indoor space.”
