Trans Witch: College of Secrets Read online

  Dean Wheeler's smile widened. "Of course it is. For students and staff. How would we keep SOAM a secret if you walked in here a man and walked out a woman? There's no mundane scientific explanation for such a thing. Transformations, especially permanent ones, are strictly forbidden. Except in cases like this, when it is for the good of SOAM security. This is why this is the only time I may offer this to you, Lily. Let us make you a new reality as a woman, elsewhere, and leave all this behind you."

  Lily shook her head. "Again, I'm already a 'real' woman, Dean, whether you recognize it or not. I won't lie to you; such a magical transformation of my body is something I would want. But not something I need. Not badly enough to abandon my wife, my family, and my life. That's the kind of thing that the medical profession used to force upon transgender people when they transitioned. Not anymore. These days, we have the option of informed consent. We can transition openly, or not, as we please. Those of us who are out about it, help change hearts towards us. So, I can't take your offer, Jackie. I won't."

  "Then I have no choice. I will have Professor Hartman wipe your memory of the Fourth Facet—"

  Lily interrupted. "You can't even say 'Leviathan', can you, Jackie?"

  Something ignited inside of Dean Wheeler's eyes, and for a moment, Lily thought the woman was going to slap her, or worse. Instead, she hissed, "Shut up. We'll wipe your memory, and then, you'll join your precious Penny. And no one at SOAM will remember either of you ever existed."

  The Dean stood and opened the door. "We're ready for you, Professor Hartman."

  Hartman entered; his face grim. "Very well. What are we doing this time? Just a trim, forgetting about the Fourth Facet? Or a closer shave, forgetting SOAM?"

  "This time?" asked Lily.

  "Oh yes, this isn't the first time we've had to do this. You just keep coming back, as your wife did. It's tiresome, and likely will have to end the same way."

  Hartman glanced at Dean Wheeler but said nothing.

  "I don't believe you," said Lily.

  The Dean smiled with her lips, but not her eyes. "You don't have to believe me. Why do you think it took you over two weeks to stumble into SOAM? How do you think I found the Fourth Facet meeting in the planetarium so easily? We've done this all before, dear."

  Something hardened inside of Lily's stomach, and she said, "If that's so, how is this any different? I'll just do it again, as many times as necessary to find Penny and get away from SOAM entirely."

  "I wish I could believe that to be true, that you'd both go away and leave SOAM alone. But the Charter is clear; we may not leave loose ends like that laying around."

  Lily's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't sound right. It seems like there's more to this than that. You're afraid of something else."

  The Dean shrugged. "No matter. I'm tired of having this conversation. Professor Hartman, could you also make her forget Professor Wizard Penelope Shelley?"

  "No!" shouted Lily, leaping to her feet. "Please, not that! It would be the cruelest thing to take even my memories of Penny away from me!"

  Hartman sighed. "I beg to differ. If you no longer remembered her, you wouldn't keep torturing yourself by trying to find her, when we can't allow that to happen. I believe that you'd be much happier that way. Unfortunately, that's beyond my abilities, without consent."

  "You're not getting my consent for any tampering with my mind!" said Lily, anxiety rising within her once again.

  Hartman allowed himself a small smile. "Yes, I get that. No one wants to have memories taken from them. But we have to consider the greater good of keeping SOAM secure. Exposing this place would destroy it. Can you justify your wants versus the needs of so many others?"

  Lily frowned. "In a heartbeat. I want my wife back, and my life back. I didn't ask to be a part of a wizard college. I was forced into it, by the same Charter you keep quoting. Everyone here was. No one gives full consent; the options we are given are 'join us or have your mind wiped'. Can you justify that versus the free will of every single person here?"

  "Enough!" snapped Dean Wheeler. "Just get on with it, we have the others to process as well."

  Professor Hartman turned to face the Dean. "Why not just transform her and put her with the other Professor Shelley and be done with it?"

  Dean Wheeler sighed. "I suppose I could. But she's made a bigger mess, involving students and mundanes. Her disappearance might be necessary as well, but for now, we need her to stop searching while we track down those other loose ends."

  "That makes sense," said Hartman, turning toward Lily. "Okay, this will hurt, so I suggest you make yourself comfortable."

  The Dean and Hartman blocked the single exit from the small exam room. Beyond that, she knew the ogres guarded the outer door. Assuming she could escape all that, she had no way to prevent this from happening all over again. So, she sat in the chair and said nothing. She gripped the arms of the chair as Hartman velcroed restraints over her arms. She fought back panic as he lowered the crystal dome upon her head.

  "Now, please, try to relax while I begin," he said, peering into her eyes.

  Lily felt the world recede from her, as though she watched herself on television. The distance helped some, it wasn't her mind being manipulated, it was someone else. The woman in the chair twitched, and while Lily knew there was pain, it wasn't hers, it was the woman in the chair's pain.

  Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

  Then, like a hot wire being pulled through her brain, the pain reached her. Memories played out in vivid reality in her mind's eye. There was the Moraine Planetarium and the members of Leviathan.

  Gone. What had she just thought of?

  Now she watched herself fleeing the ogres, wearing her disguise.

  Also gone.

  Next, her glitter scene with Monty and the flame, in Phantasms class.

  Gone.

  The woman in the chair struggled and cried out, somewhere nearby.

  And then, a sound, also nearby, interrupted the agony of memories being pulled out of her with surgical precision. The absence of pain washed over her in a blissful wave, and all Lily could do for a long moment was bask in it.

  The sound repeated. This time, Lily recognized it as a sharp knocking at the door. Her eyes fluttered open, and she watched Professor Hartman and Dean Wheeler exchange a look.

  Dean Wheeler pushed open the door to reveal Lily's sister, Ellen, holding a computer tablet.

  "Oh my God, Lily, what are they doing to you?" exclaimed Ellen, her eyes wide.

  "The same thing we're going to do to you momentarily," said Dean Wheeler. "Maldink! Kertoh! Grab her! She's next!"

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  "I don’t think so," said Ellen. "You can't touch me, at least if you know what's good for you," said Ellen.

  Both the Dean and Professor Hartman laughed.

  Dean Wheeler said, "Oh my, a mundane is threatening us, Miles! Whatever shall we do?"

  "Ellen! The potion!" cried Lily.

  "I don't need it. They're screwed if anything happens to me," said Ellen, holding up the tablet for Wheeler to see.

  Dean Wheeler squinted at the little screen. "This looks like a spreadsheet. I don't see how—"

  "I work in the Bursar's office," said Ellen. "I have access to a lot of Moraine University's accounting systems."

  "Really? You're threatening me, the Dean of the School of Applied Metaphysics, with numbers? I'll have you fired."

  Ellen smirked. "No, I'm threatening the School of Applied Metaphysics with a full budget audit. I've already put the request in the system. Unless I make it out of here with my mind intact, it will go into effect tomorrow morning when Tabitha gets into the office."

  "Tabitha?" Dean Professor Wizard Jackie Wheeler's smile vanished completely.

  "Tabitha Williams, Assistant Vice President of Accounting at Moraine. We have lunch on Thursdays. She's got a lovely wife and two teenaged adopted kids. Adores Lily and Penny. T
his audit request is already waiting for her, She Who Holds the Purse Strings. I can retract the request any time before she sees it. And I will if you do exactly as I say."

  From her chair, coming somewhat back to her senses, Lily laughed.

  "This is an outrage! We've had an understanding with the University at the President's level for decades!"

  Ellen smiled. "Maybe so, but why does the 'Philosophy Department' need so very much money to operate? What are all those 'vacant' parts of the campus being used for? But more to the point, why is the 'Philosophy Department' forcing its students and staff to swear secrecy surrounding what goes on there? I think Tabitha and the President will find your answers to that absolutely fascinating. I'm sure the Moraine Daily Herald will want to know about those answers as well, once an anonymous tip goes out by email in the morning."

  "She's got you there, Jackie," said Lily.

  Dean Wheeler seethed. "What is it that you want?"

  Ellen shrugged. "For starters, restore my sister's memories and let her go."

  Professor Hartman moved to release Lily. "Your memories will return shortly, Professor Shelley; I didn't complete the process."

  Lily stood up and took a stumbling step forward past her captors, but found she needed to hold onto Ellen for support as the room spun about her head. Her sister put her arm around her to hold her steady.

  "Next," continued Ellen, "You will release the three other people you have tied up here."

  Dean Wheeler scowled as she flicked her fingers and the magical ropes fell to the floor.

  Lily chimed in. "Penny! Ask her to release Penny!"

  Ellen nodded and looked at Wheeler.

  Dean Wheeler shook her head. "Impossible. She is not held captive at SOAM."

  Lily looked at Shanice, who said, "She's telling the truth."

  "Sorry," said Ellen, touching Lily's shoulder with a sad expression on her face.

  Wheeler and Hartman exchanged a look, then the Dean spoke, her face blank. "Any other demands?"

  "That's all for now," said Ellen. "But let's just say, I expect no harm to come to my sister, her friends, or myself."

  "And in return, I require your word that you will retract that request for an audit, and to not leak any information to the press."

  "That's fair."

  "Your word, madam?"

  "Yes, you have my word, if I have yours."

  The Dean nodded. "Yes, you have mine as well. And now, I'm supposed to let you just do whatever you want?" said Dean Wheeler, crossing her arms.

  "Pretty much," said Ellen, as Jesse joined her in supporting the still groggy Lily.

  "Get out of my office," said Dean Wheeler.

  "It's my office," said Professor Hartman, with a weak smile.

  Dean Wheeler shouted now. "Get out of my sight! All of you!"

  Librarian Bucher had already opened the outer door and was motioning for Shanice and Naille to leave before her. Ellen and Jesse guided Lily out the door. Bucher followed behind, but Hartman slipped out before she could close the door.

  "What do you want?" the Librarian asked Hartman.

  From inside the offices, Dean Wheeler could be heard to yell, "Maldink! Kertoh!" and the ogres squeezed into the office without harassing those who had just left.

  "Me? I want to get away before she explodes," said Professor Hartman. "You all may have won this battle, but it's not over. Jackie doesn't let anyone get away with one-upping her. If there's a way to get around your blackmail, she'll find it. Meanwhile, I need to lay low. Heads are going to roll, and I like mine where it is, thank you very much!"

  And with that, Professor Hartman trotted off down the hall with his shoulders scrunched up as though he expected to be shot in the back.

  Lily regained some of her senses. "Ellen, you're a genius! Thank you so much for saving me. For saving all of us!"

  Ellen squeezed her in a one-armed hug. "You're my sister. No one messes with my little sister! So, what's the plan now? Can we go get Penny now, wherever she is?"

  Lily looked around the hallway. Afterimages trailed everything as her eyes scanned the people surrounding her. "Well, we could, but I'm going to need Monty for that. Didn't you manage to bring him?"

  Ellen shook her head. "I just felt the need to rescue you, first. But I asked Zach to pick him up and bring him here."

  "But Zach doesn't know about SOAM. And he can't get in here without help," protested Lily.

  "Right," said Jesse. "That's why I asked Cam and Hannah to meet him at your classroom."

  "Do you think they'll be able to pull him through like I did Ellen?"

  "I doubt it," said Bucher. "I suspect it'd take Leviathan magical intent to pull in a mundane like that."

  Ellen frowned. "So, how'd Jesse bring me in, then?"

  Bucher shrugged. "Probably because you've already been here. That or Jesse has some latent Leviathan talent. I wouldn't doubt it."

  Jesse smiled and put her hands in the air on either side of her head. "Beats me! I never joined a Facet because I've never been better at one kind of magic than another. I'm majoring Wizard History; it's fascinating and it doesn't take a specific magical gift to excel."

  "So, let's go meet Zach at that entrance," said Ellen.

  "Wait!" cried Lily. "My purse! I need my purse!"

  "Your purse?" asked Naille. "It's in Hartman's office, I saw them take it from you."

  Lily ran a hand through her hair, scowling. "Damn it! I need something from it. Is there any way we could get back in there?"

  "Well," said Naille with a weak smile, "I could probably get away with it, once she and the ogres leave. I have some skills Wheeler doesn't know about. Like opening locks."

  Lily shook her head. "We need it now. There's a key inside that I need."

  "A key?" asked the elf, raising an eyebrow.

  "It's a crystal key. Given to me by a friend. I made him a promise, and I just know that it's important that I keep that promise, or this is all going to be for nothing."

  Ellen stared at the office door. "I mean, maybe I can push her for it?"

  Bucher shook her head. "I wouldn't. Letting her know you need that is going to give her leverage on you, and then your threat isn't going to have power over her. I think Naille's plan is best. Go get Zach while Naille waits out Wheeler. I'll see what I can do to distract her."

  Lily shook her head. "No. Librarian, I need you in the Library, along with Shanice. Jesse, can you have Aiden meet them there?"

  Jesse pulled out her phone and tapped at its screen. "Got it."

  "Naille, bring my purse to the Library when you get it."

  The elf gave her a thumbs-up.

  "What about me?" asked Ellen.

  "You stick with me and Jesse. There's safety in numbers, and everything depends on me getting Monty to the Library before Wheeler strikes back."

  Ellen nodded. "Sounds good."

  The others nodded agreement, and everyone but Naille went separate ways down the faculty hallways.

  "Do you think I should put on the bracelet?" asked Ellen. "You know, just to blend in better?"

  "If you want," said Lily. "But at this point, I don't think it matters. Wheeler and the ogres know that disguise, so if anything, it's going to make you more of a target. But with your little insurance policy, there's not much the Administration can do to us."

  "If it's all the same, I'd like to have it on. It's fun to look like a college student again," said Ellen.

  Lily rolled her eyes. "Whatever makes you happy, sis."

  "Professor Shelley! A word with you, please," came a voice from ahead of them as they passed through a portal.

  Lily blinked. Secretary Sample stood ahead of them, a sour look upon his face.

  "You can't touch us, Sample," said Lily. "Check with Wheeler and see."

  Secretary Sample nodded. "Yes. I have heard."

  "So soon? How?"

  The Secretary allowed himself th
e tiniest of smiles. "We wizards have cellular phones too."

  Lily frowned. "Oh. Gotcha. What do you want?"

  "I wondered about your plans for the future," he said. "Once we are past the current situation. On the one hand, your threat expires in the morning, and you shall have to think of a new way to keep control of the Administration. On the other, you could break your word. You are new here, so I should warn you that breaking your word to a wizard, especially one of the Dean's power, is unwise, to say the least."

  Lily took a step towards the Secretary. "What's that supposed to be, a threat?"

  Sample held up his hands, palms facing Lily. "Not at all. I just wondered which way the winds shall be blowing in the morning. I have my future to think of. Continuing to serve Dean Wheeler, or to plan for a rather chaotic future. As much as it pains me to say it, I know which future I prefer."

  "Which future would that be?" asked Lily, placing a fist upon one hip as she stared at the man.

  "Why take the mystery out of the future?" asked Sample. "Let us just say that a wizard such as myself has contingency plans no matter what happens, and I shall remain on top. I do not give you nearly as good odds. The Dean is quite clever and has much power to bring to bear. If you only knew, you would never have attempted any of this."

  "Ignorance is bliss," said Lily, her smile hiding the beginning chills of worry creeping over her.

  Sample scowled. "If you truly believe that, then you're a fool, Professor Shelley! Do you think Jackie charmed her way to the position of Dean? Do you think ignorance and luck got her to where she is? Do you think she'll give up such power at the slightest threat from a mundane? Do you think no one's thought of this before? If you haven't got more of a plan, then she's already won."

  Sample's pocket buzzed. He pulled out an older model of cell phone and peered at it. "In fact, I'd say you are in check already," he said to Lily. "You shouldn't have stopped to talk with me, I'm sorry to say."

  The Secretary held up his phone for Lily to see. The image on the screen showed her nephew held aloft by his armpits, one ogre on either side of him.

  Chapter Twenty-Four