A Class of Conjuring

That evening when I retired to my room, I had the first of several bizarre dreams.

I suddenly found myself entering a grand ritual room where a man sat at a desk, facing away, reading a book. Everything in the small room appeared old, some items in disrepair. A bookshelf like the one back home lined one wall, the titles written in a language I didn't understand. A candelabra stood tall next to the desk, the ten candles struggling to light the room. A stack of books sat at one edge of the desk, threatening to fall over. The room was exactly what I had imagined a ritual room to look like, which meant the man could be only one thing, an archmage.

The man turned, the book closed, the jewels embedded into the cover shimmering. He wore a blue robe with decorative shoulder guards. He reached for the staff leaning against his desk, the jewel-covered book in his other hand, and stood. Like the book cover, his staff also glowed from jewels of different colors.

"You're a grand archmage," I said, and he nodded. "What's your name?"

"My name is not important, young lady, but your name is," he said. "I've waited a long time for you to come to the academy. A very long time." As he came around the desk, he towered over me, his eyes gray and wise. His white hair, whiter than it should have been for a man I guessed to be middle-aged, reached past his shoulders. His nose was short and didn't match the other features of his face. He spoke softly but with a dire tone.

"I don't understand. I'm nobody. Just another student here to learn." For some reason I guessed he knew of my past and the devastation that followed me like a noon-day shadow.

He moved closer, using his staff to help him stand. For a moment I thought he might hand me the book, but when he saw my eyes fall upon it, he pulled the book away. "Your parents knew," he said. "What? You knew my parents?"

"They knew you were brought into this world to stop an evil that has been growing over time." Tiring, he leaned against the desk, and the stack of books tumbled to the floor. "Edius knows you're here. He'll seek to steal your powers as he has done other students." He began to fade, and I moved toward him. "I'm glad you're finally here, Cassandra. You are the only witch capable of stopping Edius. The fate of the academy and the other witches and warlocks rests in your hands." And then he was gone.

"Cassandra? Cassandra, wake up!"

I bolted up and pushed Braeden away.

"Hey!" he said. "Come on or you'll be late for class." He looked at his shoulder where I'd shoved him.

I threw back the covers, got out of bed, and changed clothes while Braeden looked away. Not for the first time did I want him to turn around and look at me, to tell me how beautiful I was. He'd said it before but only in passing, as if he were embarrassed that he was attracted to me. I wanted him to see that I'd grown from the child he knew to the woman he needed to know.

I finished changing, and we raced through the dormitory, nearly bowling over other students. I was hungry and thirsty and needed to pee, but Braeden was hellbent on us getting to class on time. We entered the building with only minutes to spare, rushing into the classroom and grabbing our seats. Ruby Thompson, our tour guide from the previous day, entered right after we did, the smile on her face letting us know her day was going better than yesterday. She sat next to me, and I hoped it was a start to a long friendship.

"Sorry about yesterday," she whispered. "Your friends goofing off during the tour kind of put me in a pissy mood." She offered her hand. "Let's start over. Ruby Thompson."

I shook her hand. "Cassandra Clarke," I whispered back. "A witch whose reputation obviously precedes her." We giggled at my remark. I nodded at the four young men in front of me. "They aren't my friends. Well, Braeden is." Ruby leaned closer. "But they definitely want to be. I think they come as a team or not at all."

I glanced at Dash, Kyler, and Oliver and smiled. Each were different in his own way, but I somehow felt a kinship with all three. A feeling I couldn't shake. It had started the first day when we entered the admin building. I had actually enjoyed Dash putting his arm around my shoulder. Kyler holding my hand was more than a friendly gesture.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen," the woman entering the room said. "I'm Professor Zena. I'll be your Hexes and Potions instructor for the semester. My rules are simple. Pay attention and don't kill me or one of your classmates." She walked around the room, handing us each a login ID and password. "The glass device on your desk will be your savior this semester. I suggest you login now and save your information. Miss class, it's on you to find out from another student what hexes and potions you missed. I will not repeat myself. Have I made myself perfectly clear?" In unison, we acknowledged that she had.

Dash leaned over and whispered something to Kyler, nodding at Professor Zena's bottom as she walked toward the chalkboard.

"I hear everything in my room, Mister Bancroft." She turned, now morphed into a wolf, large and brooding. She padded toward Dash, and he leaned back in his seat, watching in horror as the large wolf approached. A strange smell wafted through the air, and I thought for sure he shit his pants. Zena snarled, and saliva dripped from her jowls. Nobody had mentioned we had a shapeshifter as an instructor. Kyler watched with amazement and a twinkle in his eye. "Yes, ma'am," Dash said, scared, still leaning back, his arms raised in the air.

When Zena stopped snarling, I thought it was over. Dash relaxed and then she bit into his desk and tore a chunk away, tossing it across the room. Before the piece hit the floor, she changed back to human form, her point well given, well taken. "Are we good now, Dash?" She ran a finger beneath his chin and turned away. Dash again watched her bottom but said not a word. He glanced at Oliver who shook his head for Dash to stop.

Along the walls of the classroom were eight mixing stations, each with a variety of containers: beakers, boiling tubes, and flasks. Each station also had a heating element protruding from the wall, the small blue flames only a wisp. I hoped the class was more advanced than the dissecting frogs we did in high school.

"I need you to break into three groups," Professor Zena said.

Dash joined Kyler, I joined Braeden, and Oliver joined Ruby.

Professor Zena turned to the board and began writing. I noticed Dash had given up on watching her behind.

"Did you hear?" Ruby whispered as she removed a beaker from the shelf and placed it in front of her. "Four more students had their powers stolen. Headmaster Eliphas is interviewing the students now. They went into town and when they returned, nothing-no elements, no hexes. They'd completely forgotten how to mix potions." "There's a town nearby?"

"Yes, but we now have curfew," Ruby whispered. "We must be back before nightfall every night." Professor Zena turned from the board. "Our first potion will be a simple healing potion. It will heal any scar you might have. Physically not emotionally." She pointed at the three ingredients. "Mix in this order."

Braeden and I poured the three ingredients into a beaker in the proper order and bent down to watch the colors change. A modest amount of steam rose from the beaker. I glanced over to see Oliver leading Ruby, concentrating so hard I thought his head might explode. He had an intelligence that made him adorable. Ruby glanced at me and shook her head. Dash and Kyler were laughing, not measuring the ingredients according to what was written on the board. That was when I had my first suspicions the two were going to be goof-offs all semester long.

"We did it right," I said to Braeden. I needed the first potion to work without a hitch. One good win would prove to everyone I wasn't as bad as my reputation.

Braeden nodded. "The past is in the past," he said. "Let's show these suckers what we can do."

"Now, using your dropper, find a scar on your body and place two potion drops on your skin."

I rolled up my sleeve and found the three-inch scar from the surgery I had at three when I fell from a tree. "You do it," I said to Braeden and handed him the dropper.

Braeden held my arm steady and filled the dropper from the beaker. He looked into my eyes, and something passed between us. We'd been friends since I was seven and never had anything so powerful passed between us. I think we both knew at that moment our friendship would soon be changing. "Ready?" he asked and winked. Braeden placed the first drop on the scar, and it sent a tingling sensation along my skin. He looked at me again. "You okay?" I nodded. I glanced at the other three men who were our age, who I was beginning to be drawn to. I nodded at Braeden, and he placed the second drop on the scar. The scar turned red and then evaporated.

"We did it," Braeden said and touched my hand.

"Yes, we did," I whispered.

"Because we're a great team," Braeden said softly. "You can do anything, you know that? Don't let the past determine your future."

I nodded, and then the two of us turned to watch the others.

Oliver had Ruby's foot on the counter, her pantleg rolled to her knee. He had his hand on her leg, and his face turned red. The scar had to be a foot long. Then I noticed the scars on her arms. She had a story to tell. Luther filled the dropper and then placed two droplets on the scar. Ruby's scar turned red and then vanished. She looked toward Professor Zena who had returned to the board, writing out another potion.

"Do my arms," she told Oliver.

Luther placed two droplets on each of the scars, and they quickly vanished. I'd not learned much about Ruby yet, but I sensed she had internal scars that she wished she could potion away as well. We all had secrets, and I was sure my classmates had some good ones.

Dash and Kyler continued laughing. Their beaker still sat on the counter; the color of their potion much different than the color of ours. Dash showed Kyler a scar on his shoulder, but Kyler shook his head.

"Dude, don't screw this up," Dash said, and looked at me. He knew it would take only one time for them to mess up and then they were the laughingstock, not me. I hoped the best for them. Well, maybe not.

"I got this, Dash." Kyler grabbed the beaker from the counter and slowly sipped.

At first, nothing happened. The two laughed and Dash took the beaker to have his own sip. But then Kyler's face fell slack. He doubled over and dropped to his knees. He looked up at Dash, horror in his eyes. He opened his mouth and all we heard was, "Ribbit."

"Oh, shit," Dash said and stepped back, dropping the beaker on the floor. The shattering of glass did nothing to pull everyone's attention away from Kyler. I held back a laugh but wasn't sure how long I could hold back another. Professor Zena approached, a smile on her face as if to say a lesson well learned. "He'll change back eventually," she said. "Class dismissed. Please read the first two chapters in your hexes and potions book."

"He's turning green," Oliver said. "Somebody, do something!"

And right before our very eyes, Kyler became a small frog. And not just any frog. He'd done the potion up really good. He was fat and covered in warts, his head three times the size of a regular frog's head. Ruby covered her mouth and not from shock. She wanted to laugh as well.

Dash moved to his knees and scooped Kyler into his hands. "Oh, man, you look like shit. Come on, I'll take care of you. We'll get some flies or some shit for you to eat."

Kyler croaked again, and we all jumped back, Dash holding him out at arm's length.

We followed Dash and Kyler from the classroom, each of us holding back a laugh, listening to Dash comfort Kyler. I imagined Kyler had tried at some point to change into a wolf, and it had failed.

Braeden and Ruby fell in line behind Dash, the two talking about the students who'd had their powers stolen. If powers had been stolen then that meant whoever had taken them was becoming even more powerful.

I thought back to the dream I had of the archmage and his warning. He said I would be next. But he also said I'd been sent to stop this Edius person. I could hardly control what little powers I had, so how was I supposed to stop a witch or warlock with such supremacy?

"Hey," Oliver said, bringing me back to reality.

"Hey," I replied. Oliver had a charmingly goofy way about him, though everything seemed to be black and white to him. Everything he said or did was said or done in a methodical way. We had a connection, but I wasn't sure where it was coming from.

"You're always hanging back," he said. "You need to put your past behind you and show everyone your leadership." He pointed at the others. "They'll forget all that other stuff soon enough." He laughed. "I think we'll be busy with Kyler for a while."

I shook my head and almost laughed. "I don't know. It's not really who I am. I've never been a leader and just kind of done my own thing."

"But it's who you should be." He moved closer as we walked side by side. He motioned toward the others again. "We were talking before you entered class." He shyly looked away. "Well, we were wondering if you felt the same pull toward us that we feel toward you? It's an odd question, I know."

"Not odd at all," I said. "I understand what you mean."

"Statistically speaking, do you believe in love at first sight?" he asked. He saw my confusion. "Too much like a fairy tale?"

I shrugged, not knowing how to reply. I did understand what he was trying to get at.

We passed a servant and he glanced back, nodding. "Those guys are a little creepy," Oliver said.

I stole a glance and said, "Yeah."

"I've heard rumors about the servants," he said. "Some people think they know how the students lost their powers. Others say maybe they were the ones who did it." He shook his head. "I don't think so, even though they are the eyes and ears of the academy. Yeah, I think we keep our eyes and ears open." Oliver left my side and joined the others, Dash still trying to comfort Kyler. Kyler's tongue whipped out at a fly and then chewed the prized insect.

"Sorry, everyone, I've got duties in the admin building," Ruby said. She patted Kyler on his little green head. "Hopefully he changes soon." She dropped back to me and whispered, "They're all yours now. Don't do anything I wouldn't." She waved at the guys and then headed in the opposite direction. Our friendship was heading in the direction I had hoped.

I watched the guys for several minutes, feeling excitement that the three and the frog kept looking back at me. Oliver had been right. There was a strong attraction growing. Of course, I had a thing for Braeden, but he'd settled for just being friends. But why on earth was I feeling intensely close to the others? Not really the thoughts I should have been having the second day at the academy.

Braeden looked at me again, this time not smiling. Something on his face, the way his eyes burrowed into me. I shrugged and tried to catch up, but he shook his head. While the others talked to Kyler, Braeden motioned toward the dorms. "What?" I mouthed quietly, wanting him. Desiring him. The academy was changing me in some way. Though I wanted to be the best witch ever, I also wanted intimacy. Wanted to be touched. I suddenly struggled to breathe, closing my eyes and hoping to calm whatever was rising up. I took a deep breath and gathered my senses, finding peace. When Braeden looked back again, I started forward, stopping when he waved me back without the others seeing. He pointed at the dorm once more, and this time I did as he asked, glancing back as the guys stopped.

I entered the dorm alone, wondering what Braeden had planned.