Page 1 of How To Summon A Memory
Chapter 1
Ethan
I pressthe handle and the fire extinguisher spews foam all over the lab table. Tanner, one of my students, stands with his hands behind his back and a glum look on his face.
“Sorry, prof,” he mumbles.
“Is anyone affected?” I ask as I wave the fumes from the potion gone wrong from my face and try not to breathe in the acrid air.
The half a dozen students all shake their heads, and as I look on,myhead spins. But I push on, like I always do. I’m practically immune to these beginner potions, aside from a few headaches when they go wrong.
“Does anyone know why the potion backfired like that?” Florence, my best friend and co-teacher, asks. Their long dark blonde hair is braided and wrapped around their head. They wear a calf length dress with a cute pumpkin pattern. Black ankle boots and a silver belt complete the look. Flo always loves to dress for the season and we’re inching closer to Halloween and my birthday. How cliche, a witch born on Halloween.
They drop a hand to my shoulder and steer me towards the front of the classroom, where we share a single behemoth of an oak desk.
Lettie, an advanced student who shouldn’t even be in this class, raises her hand. “A drop of sweat made its way into the ingredients, messing up the proper components.”
“Good catch,” I say as I yawn, starting a chain reaction through the class. I plop into the chair behind the front desk and scrub at my face. I haven’t been sleeping well.
Lettie preens at my words and nibbles on her bottom lip as she eyes me. Every year since I started teaching at the ripe old age of seventeen, students try to catch my attention. And every year I turn each of them down.
Unlike Universities out in the human world, it’s not frowned upon to date the students. In fact, students are encouraged by family to hook themselves a teacher since we’re all from prominent families, either here in Hex or any of the other towns just like it. We’re hidden behind veils and seals created by witches and demons to create a town safe for the likes of us and any other supernatural that wishes to live in peace.
Florence stands next to me and places their hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Everyone also knows Flo and I are engaged. Technically.
Neither of us wants it and never has. We love each other to the moon and back, but doesn’t mean we want to tie ourselves down with each other.
For one, I’m gay. For two, Flo is non-binary, which isn’t a problem, and neither is them being aroace. All they want is to finish their teaching contract, then set up shop for hedge witchery. That’s what they’d be doing now if not for their family forcing them into teaching.
I, on the other hand, have always been passionate about magic and teaching it. We make for a good teaching team. For the most part.
“What would have been a good counter to the sweat had Tanner caught the mishap in time?” I ask the class.
“It depends on the potion.” Lettie bats her lashes and her cheeks go pink. “Tanner was working on a protectionpotion. He could have countered the saltiness of his sweat with a few grains of sugar to neutralize it.”
“Perfect,” Florence says, making Lettie’s face sour.
I have to bite back a snort. I don’t tease the students because it gives them the wrong idea.
“But—” Lettie focuses on me. “He could have added a variety of things. Like I said, it depends on the potion.”
I nod and address the entire class. “How about we get the table cleaned up and everyone start again? Finals are next week, and we want everyone to be able to do each of the potions on the list without a problem.” I raise said list from the desk. Each potion is child’s play for most of the students in this class, yet they all opted to take it because ofme.
Ethan Speller. Sole offspring of former Speller coven leader Aiden Speller. Nephew of Drake Speller, who almost ran Hex into the ground. The Speller name brings awe, fear, and respect behind it. And apparently people think I’m cute. No one knows if I’ll be strict and fearsome like my father, or a deadbeat who soul tethered some unsuspecting immortal to him like my uncle had. Hell, I don’t even know, except I lean towards kindness as much as possible.
The students clear off the lab table and everything’s reset quickly. Flo and I still have tests to grade and essays to read, not to mention make sure that the potions are done properly. It’s exhausting. I’m just grateful we have resources unlike our human normie counter parts. I couldn’t be a teacher of any sort out in the human world. That’s too much for me, but behind the veils, we’re safe, and well compensated.
Glasses clang softly and the chatter of students fill the air. I put my head in my hands and massage my temples.
“Still not sleeping?” Florence asks softly as they slide into the seat across from me. Concern clouds their face.
“Hardly. I get a few patches of sleep every night, but nothing substantial.”
“Do…” Florence leans in. “Dotheystill show up?”
I nod. “Every time I close my eyes. I’ll be laying in bed, half asleep and then the demon shows up. Just smiling that charming smile of theirs.” The demon in my dreams is gorgeous. All blue skin with big gray eyes. Plump lips. A fun tail that gets darker towards the tip. Horns. And a laugh that fills my heart with joy. But it’s that smile that steals my heart.
“And you still don’t know who they are?” Flo’s brows scrunch together. “Do you ever think it’s something nefarious?”
