Outcast: Spellslingers Academy of Magic (Warden of the West Book 1) Read online

  When I reached the start of the bridge, I noticed a woman coming toward me from the other side. Her hair was white-blond and she walked with a regal air. Ugh. She was using a cane. I couldn’t let her get caught in the crossfire. I glanced at the rushing river below. If I jumped, I knew I’d be fine. My only concern was that there would be witnesses. I didn't want anyone dredging the river for me.

  The woman continued walking toward me. Her stride was surprisingly purposeful for someone who needed a cane, as though she were coming to meet me. Then I noticed her cloak. How had I missed that before? Forget that it was a humid eighty degrees outside. The woman was wearing a cloak made of blue-grey feathers. Regal and eccentric.

  I sprinted toward her. Maybe she’d think I was simply out for an evening run and let me pass without incident. The three shifters had no beef with her. They’d likely be too intent on catching up to me to harm her.

  As I closed the gap between us, I realized that the woman was smiling at me. Like she knew me. I couldn’t pass by. Instead, I skidded to a halt in front of her.

  "Encountered a spot of trouble, have we?" she asked in a friendly manner.

  "What gave it away?" I panted.

  She cast a curious glance over my shoulder. "Oh, I don't know. Perhaps the three werewolves barreling down on us."

  I balked. "You know what they are?"

  She nodded. “Naturally.”

  I gazed at her with renewed interest. Despite her cane, her skin was smooth and unblemished. Her green eyes twinkled at me with amusement. How was she not terrified out of her mind right now?

  "I can't let them take me," I said.

  "I do not believe they intend to hurt you, child,” she said. "I do, however, believe they intend to bring you to the nearest prison. It seems you have broken one of the cardinal rules of magic. No point in denying it. I felt it myself, which is why I’m here now.”

  I didn't have time to argue. The only thing I knew right now was that I didn’t want to be taken by these burly shifters.

  "Can you help me? If they take me, I'm as good as dead," I said.

  Her expression turned sympathetic. “With magic like yours? Yes, child. I can help you." She extended her arms, opening the feathered cloak until it was wide enough to accommodate me. "Step inside, and you shall live."

  2

  The feathers were warm and inviting, and I instinctively snuggled against them. Without warning, it felt like we were falling into an endless void. A swirl of colors dotted the inside of my eyelids and, for a fleeting moment, I wondered whether I’d made the right choice.

  "You may open your eyes now," the woman said.

  They snapped open, and the first thing I saw was a huge lake in front of me. Massive stone buildings lined the backdrop. I felt like I'd stepped back in time to a medieval village.

  I blinked. "Where am I?"

  "It seems I've brought you home with me," the woman said. "This is Spellslingers Academy of Magic, and I am its chancellor, Lindsey Tilkin. We have much to discuss, Miss…?”

  "Bryn," I finished for her. "Bryn Morrow."

  Chancellor Tilkin smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bryn Morrow. I had been meeting a friend for a late supper. I certainly hadn't expected to run into you. My visits to the human world are generally rather lackluster."

  I stared at the stone buildings over her shoulder. “A school for magic?”

  Chancellor Tilkin followed my gaze. "That's right. You haven’t heard of us?”

  “No, I’m sorry.”

  “No need to be sorry,” she replied. “Why don't you come with me and we'll get you settled?"

  “Are you okay to walk that far?” I asked, motioning to her cane. The wood was simply carved with grey-blue tips.

  The chancellor glanced down. “Ah, this isn’t a walking stick, Miss Morrow. It’s my staff.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “I’ll show you.” She gestured to my bare feet. "Starting with a pair of shoes. What size do you wear?"

  "Seven," I said.

  Chancellor Tilkin pointed the staff at my feet and spared me one last glance. “Will sneakers do? They don't suit me, of course, but I get the sense that you do a lot of running."

  "Sneakers are fine, thank you," I said.

  She made a slight jerking motion with the staff, and a pair of blue sneakers appeared on my feet.

  “Cool.” Even though I’d performed bits of magic over the years, this was the first time I’d ever seen someone else do it. The moment was surreal.

  “The staff can also be used as a weapon, though I find I’ve lost my taste for combat in my advanced age.”

  I muffled a laugh. I couldn’t picture this regal woman in any type of combat. “You don’t seem very old.”

  She winked. “You’d be surprised.”

  “Does the staff do anything else?” I asked.

  “The staff doesn’t do anything,” she corrected me. “I do. The staff simply obeys.”

  The mention of things that obey jolted me. “My owl," I said suddenly, and scanned the dark sky above. "Will Icarus be able to find me?"

  Chancellor Tilkin stared at me intently. “An owl, you say?"

  "Yes, he's my familiar," I said.

  "I see," she said vaguely. "Fear not, child. Your familiar will find you here. They have a sixth sense when it comes to us.”

  “You have a familiar?”

  Her expression brightened. “Naturally. A gorgeous ginger cat called Hestia. You’ll meet her soon enough, whether you want to or not. She has a way of making herself known.”

  I didn’t have much experience with cats. Until Icarus came along, I had no personal connection with animals. My mother had felt strongly about no pets. They only served as an extra burden when you lived a life on the run.

  I stroked the voluminous feathers of the cloak. "What’s this made of?"

  "It is one of my most prized possessions," the chancellor said. "The falcon-feathered cloak allows me to travel between worlds in an instant. It has been in my family for generations. It helps to keep my travels off the record, a necessity from time to time.”

  “Like tonight,” I said.

  “Most certainly,” she agreed. “If we had come to the school the traditional way, we would've had to stop and report our entry with the Order of the Edge, and then I wouldn’t have been able to smuggle you in."

  "Will I get you in trouble?" I asked. I didn't want anyone to be in hot water because of me. I'd managed to keep my head down my entire life. I didn't want to start making waves now, just because I decided to use magic.

  She placed a hand on my shoulder. She was a good six inches taller than me, a fact that I’d only now become aware of. "I am the chancellor of this academy. Head of the Board of Regents. You need not worry about my well-being, but I thank you all the same." Her hand dropped to her side. “Come, let us speak privately in my office. The air is far too close out here.”

  As we walked along the lake path, the view of campus left me speechless. Each building seemed more impressive than the next. Arched windows and wide entrance steps. A purple flag embroidered with a golden ’S’ atop the highest turret. With its gateway and towers, the academy seemed like part stronghold, part academic institution.

  “You’ll find the residential buildings on the eastern side, facing the lake,” the chancellor said. “Excellent sunrises. I highly encourage you to take time to admire them.”

  “Are the residential buildings like dormitories?” I asked. My mother had mentioned dorms as part of her college and medical school experiences.

  “Yes, they also include the great hall, the dining room, and the house of worship.” She pointed her staff to the right of us. “Over here, you’ll find the library, the museum, and the staff offices.”

  We passed through the gateway and headed right. The chancellor's office was located at the end of a long corridor. If I had any hope of finding my way around here, I’d need a detailed map. With its plush textiles in blue-grey h
ues, the office seemed to match the chancellor’s elegance.

  An orange-colored cat rested on the marble mantel of the fireplace. She glanced up when I entered, as though taking the measure of me. Hestia, no doubt.

  “Choose any chair, child,” Chancellor Tilkin said. “They’re all equally comfortable, or so I’m told.”

  I chose a tufted settee lined with throw pillows. My body felt heavy with fatigue.

  “Now, tell me about the magic you used tonight," the chancellor said, braiding her slender fingers together.

  "I was trying to help a family," I said. "Their car swerved to avoid hitting a cat, and they were going to plunge into the river. I had to do something.”

  "And, so you decided the best course of action was to turn the entire river into an iceberg?” she said.

  "I didn't stop to think about it," I said. "I just reacted. They had two little kids in the car. Their dad just came back from a tour of duty overseas."

  She studied me for a quiet moment. “Did you know the family?”

  “No, they’d been customers in the restaurant where I worked. I’d only seen them this one time.”

  “Then why help them?”

  Hestia lifted her head to look at me, as though awaiting my answer.

  “Because they would’ve died,” I said.

  “People die every day, child,” the chancellor said.

  “Yes, they do.” I couldn’t keep the sadness out of my voice. “That family needed help, and I was in a position to help them, so I did.”

  “I see. You must have known that your actions would put you in danger. The practice of magic in the human world to that degree is a serious offense.”

  I shook my head. "I don't know anything about what's illegal in the human world," I said. "It's the only place I've ever lived. I try not to use my magic at all. It was only because of the circumstances…” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  "Oh?" The chancellor's curiosity was piqued. "If you didn't know it was illegal, then why would you attempt to hide it?"

  I shifted in my seat. "I didn't want to draw attention to myself. I know it isn't normal to have the powers that I do."

  The chancellor leaned back in her chair, her green eyes narrowing. "Who are your parents, Miss Morrow?”

  "My mother was Jenny Morrow. She was a human. I mean, not magical." My heart ached as the memory of her flooded my mind. Her bright smile. The determined set of her jaw. "She was a doctor."

  "I assume by your use of the past tense that she is no longer with us," the chancellor said.

  My gaze lowered. "She died four years ago," I said. "An ice storm. She was scheduled to work the night shift at the hospital. She lost control of her car and crashed." It still hurt to say the words no matter how much time had passed. If I’d been there, I could’ve saved her. I could have turned the ice back to water. Instead, I was home, doing nothing at all. “They say she died on impact. No suffering.”

  “Small mercies.” Her expression softened. "And your father?"

  "I never knew my father," I said. That much was true.

  "But you knew he was magical," she said, more of a statement than a question.

  I nodded. "My mother told me that much about him."

  "And you’ve had no formal training in magic?"

  "No, none. My mother used to find me books in the library, but they never seemed to cover anything specific to my abilities," I said.

  "You are a sorceress, Miss Morrow," the chancellor said. "A sorceress with very raw, very powerful magic at your disposal."

  I frowned. "How do you know?"

  "For one thing, you’ve had no formal training. If you had, we might classify you as a witch. Your talent is innate. As for the raw power, do you know how much magic it takes to freeze an entire river in a matter of seconds?" She cocked her head. "No, I suppose you don't. It's quite a lot, Miss Morrow. It's a blessing that you’ve taken to avoiding magic. You could pose quite a threat in the human world without guidance.”

  I stiffened. "I'm not a threat. I would never hurt anyone."

  "No, child. I wasn't suggesting that you would. I simply meant a threat to the order of things. That's why the League was after you."

  “What’s the League?”

  "The three werewolves following you," she said. "They were with the League of Local Paranormals. They’re the first responders to magical acts in the human world. I'm not sure why they were all three shifters. Each team is required to have at least one magic user in case there’s a need to subdue the culprit." She shrugged. “It was a Saturday night. I imagine standards were lax.”

  If the werewolves worked for the League, then that meant my father hadn’t sent them. "What would've happened to me if they’d caught me?"

  "As I told you, they would have taken you to a holding cell in this world until you were tried for your crime," she said.

  “And then I would've gone to prison?” I asked.

  She heaved a sigh. "Quite possibly."

  "Then why did you take me with you?" I asked.

  The chancellor smiled. “You’re one of us, Miss Morrow. A caster. A slinger. The academy is always on the lookout for new talent, and you certainly seem to have that in spades."

  "So this is like a university for magic people?" I asked.

  "It's not as simple as that," the chancellor said. "We’re a feeder school for the AMF, the Agency of Magical Forces. That's the main law enforcement organization in the paranormal world. There are other schools worldwide like ours. We all provide the AMF with capable agents upon graduation. Most students here have already had basic magical training. You’d need to catch up, of course, but you’re clearly more than capable.”

  I tried to wrap my head around this new information. "So, if I stay here and study magic, I would eventually work for this agency?"

  "Some students move on to other organizations or positions of power, but most begin their careers in the AMF. I happen to have an opening for a warden trainee."

  "A warden?"

  “A Warden of the West. They tend to handle most of the Western Hemisphere. We've divided the world into four quadrants: North, South, East, and West. Our students go on to serve in all four, although not all schools are as accommodating. There is some overlap, of course, as is inevitable with multiple groups. If you decide to train here, you would eventually serve as a warden. It's a very prestigious title, I assure you."

  I’d never been part of anything official in my life. Not a school. Not a company. All of my restaurant jobs were under the table to keep me off the books. It seemed to me that I risked my identity if I stayed here.

  "What will happen to me if I decide not to stay?" I asked.

  "I suppose I might feel obligated to turn you over to the League," she said. "It won't take them long to figure out who aided you in your escape. If I say that it was part of a training exercise gone awry, I might be able to persuade them to sweep the matter under the proverbial rug." She hesitated. "If you choose to leave, however, you would no longer be under my protection."

  In other words, the League would find me—if my father didn’t find me first.

  It didn’t seem like much of a choice. "It looks like you've recruited a new member, Chancellor. What happens next?"

  She rose to her feet. “Come now, you must be tired. I'll see you safely into a room for the night, and tomorrow we shall discuss your future."

  My future. I’d never given it much thought, beyond six to twelve month intervals. That life, it seemed, was officially over.

  3

  The chancellor escorted me to a room in the western building called ‘the bunker,’ where transfer students stayed before they were assigned to a room in the residential wing. The room was clean and sparsely furnished with a bed and a nightstand. It was much better than an alleyway.

  "Sleep, child," the chancellor said. "You’ll be safe here. We shall provide more suitable accommodation tomorrow." The door closed behind her with a gentle click.


  I stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling for the next two hours, my mind whirring. I’d left all my belongings behind. Even my toothbrush. Although I didn’t own much, it was still unsettling to leave behind everything I owned in the world. It would take more than a pair of blue sneakers to make me comfortable here.

  When I finally succumbed to sleep, I dreamed of feathers falling from the sky. I didn't know whether they belonged to Icarus or the chancellor's cloak. They drifted to earth like snowflakes, soft and beautiful. I stood on the ground below and watched them dance in the air around me.

  The next morning, a knock on the door woke me abruptly. "You awake in there?" an unfamiliar voice shouted.

  I bolted upright. "Who's asking?"

  "Are you decent? The chancellor says you have no nightclothes, so you either slept in the buff or in the clothes you arrived in. Before I open this door, I’d like to know which it is.”

  I stared at the closed door. "I don't sleep naked."

  “Good.” The door opened to reveal a stout woman with rosy cheeks. "Nothing wrong with sleeping in the buff, mind you. It's our natural state, after all. I only wanted fair warning.” She examined me closely. "My name’s Hazel Hazeldine,” she said. “I’m Chancellor Tilkin’s secretary. Her right hand, if you fancy those sorts of metaphors. She sent me to fetch you for breakfast."

  "Hazel Hazeldine?" I repeated. Who would do that to a child?

  She placed a hand on her plump hip. "Hazel's a family name. They liked it so much, they used it twice."

  “Okay then," I said, and jumped to my feet. "Ready when you are.”

  Hazel gave me an appraising look. "A go-getter. I like that, especially when it comes to food. This way, miss. We’ll get you in there before the crowd. You don't want to be scavenging for leftovers after the fourth years have been through. They’re the hungriest of the bunch. Fieldwork messes with your appetite, it does.”