Broken Wand Academy Read online

  “You mean him?” He shifted to the side, revealing Braden.

  He lay on his back, one hand clutched to his stomach. Blood seeped through his fingers.

  I rushed to his side, dropping my stick as I fell to one knee. “Braden!”

  His eyelids fluttered open. “Thought I told you to stay put.” He coughed. His voice was weak, but his tone still retained some of its arrogance.

  “What happened?” I wanted to look at the wound on his stomach, but I didn’t want to take his hand away and remove the pressure. I also feared the sight of too much blood might make me faint.

  “Bastard was pretty quick with that knife.” He gave a weak smile. “I licked him pretty good on the arm, though.”

  “We’re going to get you out of here.” I turned to the other guy. “Help me get him up.”

  “No way, man.” He stood abruptly, glancing about. “I have to get out of here. This is some freaky stuff. People in masks, random fog. You’re on your own. Good luck.” He whirled around and darted off.

  A great whooshing sound filled my ears just as I was about to call after him, and suddenly the fog was gone. The man froze mid-stride.

  We were surrounded by hooded, masked people, most of whom had wands raised in front of them.

  “Ah, another masked crusader.” The tall, slim man turned his beaked mask toward me. “My my, this full moon has blessed us indeed! Two magicians to bolster our ranks. And strong ones at that.” He cocked his hooded head at me. “Am I right in assuming you do not wish to join us? I don’t want to presume, but if you came here with that one,” he gestured to Braden, “I assume you didn’t come seeking friendship.”

  “Uh, no.” I strained to keep the fear out of my voice. “I don’t want to be part of your sick little murder-cult, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  The masked leader clicked his tongue against his teeth. “It’s exactly this kind of narrow-mindedness that has driven us into the shadows. Witchkind used to be strong. We used to take what we wanted without remorse. And now? We cower behind wards like criminals. That is what we seek to do. To put an end to the destruction of our way of life. To bring about a new day for witches everywhere!”

  The masked crowd around us cheered, and disgust knotted my stomach.

  “Please, bird-guy. Please let me go.” The prisoner’s voice cracked with desperation as he pleaded with the leader. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I totally agree, and I think you should be allowed to do whatever freaky stuff you want. Just, please, don’t hurt me.”

  “Silence, human!” The leader’s voice boomed across the clearing, loud and angry. “We are no longer in need of your services.”

  “Hu—” The prisoner’s confused protest was cut off abruptly as the man in the bird-mask swished his wand in a rapid, horizontal movement. The man’s head twisted violently, his neck snapping with a sickening crunch. He slumped to the ground, landing face-down on the dirt and remaining motionless.

  “Holy crap! You just killed him?” I gazed from the slumped man to the masked leader, horrified. “What the hell!?”

  The man in the beak mask waved his hand. “Please. He was but a human. Nothing to fret over.”

  Braden tugged at my sleeve. “You’ve got to get us out of here.” His eyes were intense, wide open, and bloodshot. “Now.”

  “How am I supposed to do that? Like you said, I haven’t learned any magic yet.”

  “You can do it. Just concentrate.”

  “Young witches.” The man in the bird-mask stepped toward us. “You appear before us as a gift. We do not take this gift in vain, so go now with the knowledge that you have served well.” He raised his arms above his head and once again led the group in their otherworldly chant.

  The masked people closed in around us as they chanted, and the air became heavy and hot as they tightened the circle. Every step they took toward us made it more difficult to breathe, and my head grew foggy.

  “Figure it out, Meena!” Braden hissed at me as he gasped for air. His complexion was very pale.

  “Yeah, no problem.” I stared in horror as the circle of masked figures closed in on us, the beaked man leading the slow approach. I closed my eyes and frantically scoured my mind for any possible way out.

  I was totally unprepared for this, and I cursed my stupidity again. Leia and Oliver had tried to tell me that Broken Wand Academy was a dangerous place, and yet I had followed some sketchy characters into the woods alone, without telling anyone where I was going. Really, I deserved this fate.

  As it became even more difficult to breathe, I glanced down idly at my class ring. Lot of good this stupid thing did. It was supposed to help keep us safe, but it didn’t seem like anything could keep people safe here. I should have demanded to leave as soon as I got here.

  A thought struck me then, and I frantically pulled off the ring, gagging as a terrible wave of nausea passed over me. I grasped Braden’s arm with one hand and the magic stick in the other and squeezed my eyes shut. I did my best to ignore the chanting that was practically on top of us now.

  I tried to recollect the feeling of relaxation that had preceded my incident with the bathtub, which I soon found was no easy task with the cacophonous mob and their undecipherable chant. I hadn’t thought that I’d be longing for a cup of Leia’s special tea any time soon, but a mug would’ve come in handy right about now.

  The man with the beaked mask was mere feet away, his wand raised menacingly as if he were about to strike. I shut my eyes again, clamping Braden’s arm and the stick so hard I thought I might break both.

  “Oh, crap! Oh crap crap crap crap crap!”

  It took me a few moments of sitting in silence with my eyes squeezed shut to realize something had changed. I opened my eyes and heaved a massive sigh of relief at the semi-familiar curtains around my dorm’s bathtub. Braden’s head was cradled in my lap. I nearly leaped from the tub when a slender hand pulled back the curtain.

  “You sure do know how to make an entrance, Meena.” Leia stared down at me, her toothbrush dangling out of her open, toothpaste-covered mouth. “Who’s the guy?”

  “This is Braden. Braden, meet Leia, my roommate.”

  His eyes were closed, and he remained motionless.

  “Braden!” I tapped his cheek gently to stir him, but his body was completely limp, his hand had fallen away from the wound on his stomach. His shirt was drenched in blood.

  “He doesn’t look so good.” Leia grimaced as she leaned in and pulled up his shirt, revealing the extent of the damage. Blood streamed freely from what was a deep, gaping gash. “Oof. Not pretty.”

  Nausea washed over me again, and my head spun.

  “Meena?” Leia’s voice sounded very far away, distorted, as if we were underwater. “You don’t look so good, either. You okay?”

  “Uh-huh.” I attempted to nod, though whether I succeeded or not, I couldn’t say. “Totally fine.”

  Leia’s concerned face loomed over me, spinning as the edges of my vision drew together into one tiny point of light. And then my awareness blinked out altogether.

  End of Episode One

  Episode Two: The Forgotten Sacrifice

  Chapter 1

  How in the hell did I get myself into this mess?

  Dry leaves crunched under my bare feet and branches snagged my hair and clothes. My lungs burned and my legs felt heavy and slow. My pursuers crashed through the brush behind me, spurring me on, but no matter how hard I pushed myself, I couldn’t run fast enough. I had no idea who or what chased me, or how I’d even ended up in these woods, but I knew I couldn’t let myself be caught.

  I burst through a thicket into a clearing and glanced back to the tree line. Nothing emerged, but I let out a squeal as I turned forward again and skidded to a halt just feet from a rocky precipice. I peered over the edge as I breathed heavily, hands on my knees. A soft breeze sent ripples across the surface of the dark water far below.

  The leaves stirred behind me and I whipped
around as three masked figures emerged from the woods to my right, wands raised in front of them. I glanced back to the water as they walked toward me. The cliff must have been at least thirty feet high, and I had no idea how deep the water was, but jumping still seemed like the better option compared to facing the masked witches.

  “We’ve been searching for you, Meena. Join us.” They spoke in unison, their voices melting into an amorphous monotone that raised the hairs on my arms.

  Before I could reply, the trees to my left stirred and three large wolves bounded into the clearing, one black, one grey, and one white. The witches didn’t pay them any attention as they continued their slow advance, and the wolves spread into their own neat line, ambling toward me.

  “What do you want from me?” I called out pleading to both groups, glancing between them and the water below me as they drew nearer.

  “Your power, of course. Join us.” The witches spoke in unison again, their discordant chorus even more unsettling than before. “Help us restore witchkind’s rightful dominion over all creatures. Or die, and let your power serve us in death.”

  The wolves narrowed their eyes and curled up their lips, revealing sharp yellowed teeth as low, rumbling growls issued from deep within their furred chests.

  I glanced back and forth between the groups in horror, shuffling back as they approached. I stumbled as I reached the edge of the cliff, several loose stones tumbling down and disappearing beneath the water with a splash. I turned back toward the witches and the wolves. Both groups were nearly on top of me. The witches had their wands raised, ready to strike, while the wolves’ heads were bent low, teeth bared as they prepared to pounce.

  “Jump, Meena! Jump!” a woman’s voice called out to me. No one else was visible in the clearing, but wherever it had come from, I knew the voice was right. It was my only choice.

  My stomach clenched as I peered down at the dark water below me, but I gritted my teeth against the vertigo, and with one last rearward glance at the two menacing groups, I leapt as far as I could out from the cliff edge.

  The bottom fell out of my stomach as my arms and legs flailed wildly. I was faintly aware of my scream echoing across the lake as the water rose up to meet me, and I managed to suck down a deep, frantic breath just before I hit the surface.

  I gasped for air as my eyes shot open and I bolted upright, clutching the sheets of an unfamiliar bed as if they were the only thing tethering me to reality—which they well might have been.

  “Easy Meena. Take it easy, it’s all right.”

  I snapped my head around, shocked to find Leia smiling softly from a chair next to the bed.

  “You’re okay. Everything is fine. Just breathe. Breathe it out, girl.”

  “Bad dream, huh?” Oliver grinned over her shoulder, and winced as Leia gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs.

  “What gave it away, genius?” I narrowed my eyes at him before glancing around the unfamiliar space. The sheets of the narrow bed were rough and white, as was my loose gown. The walls—wait, no, curtains, were also white, and I surmised that I must be in some kind of hospital room. “Where am I?”

  “Medical Wing,” a female voice with a rough Slavic accent said, accompanying the swoosh of the curtain as it slid open. A stout woman that I recognized from the Choosing Ceremony stepped into the space, head held high, and snapped the curtain shut behind her. Her gray hair was pulled into a tight, neat bun, and she wore a boxy, short-sleeved dress with a wide collar and buttons that ran down to the rumpled waistband. Like everything else in the room, her dress, socks, and plain shoes were all white.

  “I am Madam Petrovich, Head of Department of Restorative Magic and Coordinator of Broken Wand Medical Wing.” She glanced at her clipboard and considered me through eyes the color and hardness of flint. “How are feeling, Ms. Song?”

  “Um... okay? Confused, mostly, I guess. How did I get here?” I peered sideways at Leia, but Madam Petrovich drew my attention back to her, speaking as she moved toward me with a diagnostic expression.

  “Your friend summoned us last night.” She turned my palm up and pressed her fore and middle fingers to my wrist. “Or this morning, more like.” She glanced between Leia and me. “She say you and Mr. Thomas are unconscious in tub, need help quick. So we bring you here, to Medical Wing.”

  “Mr. Thomas…” I tilted my head toward Leia and ruffled my brow, and then the events of last night came flooding back to me.

  The hooded figures moving across the lawn into the woods. The woods calling to me, stirring my blood. The man in the beaked mask. The bound prisoner. The knife. The chanting. Braden walking into the middle of it all like an idiot.

  “Braden!” I swung my legs over the side of the bed and pushed myself up, my eyes wide and darting around the room. “Where is he? Is he okay?”

  Madam Petrovich seized me by the shoulders and held me in place on the bed. Her strength was shocking, even given her stocky build. Her thick fingers dug deep into me with a grip both resolute and calm. She seemed to expend no energy in keeping me still as I strained against her with all of my admittedly limited strength, and it didn’t take long to realize that I was not going anywhere with this indomitable woman restraining me.

  “Calm yourself, child. We have him in private room. Mr. Thomas is fine—or he will be, thanks to Ms. Barrett, here.” She relaxed her hold on me as she gestured with her head toward Leia. “He is lucky you have such clever roommate. Not many first years have knowledge to make sterile coagulation poultice.” She raised her eyebrows at Leia. “Much less the necessary herbs at hand in their dorm room. I see already that I make right choice to advise you myself.”

  Leia’s cheeks reddened as she beamed at Madam Petrovich. The grey-haired woman turned her hard eyes back to me.

  “So, tell me, Ms. Song. How is it you come to be unconscious in bathtub, covered in Mr. Thomas’ blood?” I felt Leia and Oliver tense as Madam Petrovich studied me.

  “Ah, well, um.” I glanced toward my friends, hesitant to say anything about last night’s events. “I’m… not sure.” I trusted Leia and Oliver, but I wasn’t so sure about anyone else at Broken Wand Academy.

  “Perhaps you try harder.” Madam Petrovich raised her eyebrows. “It is crucial for health of both you and Mr. Thomas. We must know what happened to provide you best treatment.” She leaned in close and lowered her voice so that it was barely audible. “Anything you say here is confidential. I take my oaths very seriously. Patient information comes to my grave, you have my word. I send these two away so we can speak openly.” She jerked her head in the direction of Leia and Oliver.

  “No, no. They can stay.” I smiled at my new friends. “I want them to stay.”

  It was true. I was grateful for their company, but their presence didn’t keep me from wishing that my oldest friends, Eric and Vicky, were there, too. No one knew me better, and sometimes there’s just no replacement for the effortless intimacy of friends who understand you. From what I’d seen of the Academy so far, it seemed like I was going to need all the allies I could get to survive this place.

  I had to find a way to see them and tell them about all this.

  “Okay.” Madam Petrovich pulled back and crossed her arms over her chest. “So, tell all of us then. What happened last night? Why you appear in bathtub with unconscious boy? How did Mr. Thomas receive this wound?”

  “Are you sure that no one else will hear us?” I glanced between the attentive faces of my two friends and that of the burly woman. “We could be in danger if they did.” I was certain the flimsy curtains were not effective at sealing in noise, and I didn’t like the thought of anyone from the clearing last night finding out that Braden and I had been the ones behind the bandanas.

  “Oh?” Petrovich raised her eyebrows again. “One moment.”

  She deposited her clipboard in a bin attached to the foot of my bed and turned to the curtain through which she had entered. She made some gestures with her hands, the details of which I could not se
e with her back turned to me, then whispered some sort of incantation as she gently placed her hands on the curtain.

  A whisper sighed through the small space as a luminous lacework of unknown figures spread across the fabric of the curtain-walls and over the top of the area, rippling out from the point of contact at Madam Petrovich’s hands in a shimmering wave. The pattern of figures progressed along the curtains on both sides and over the open space above us, finally meeting on the back wall behind me, where they winked out of existence.

  “Ah.” Madam Petrovich turned back to face us and gave a thin smile. “There we go. Ward will ensure that no one outside our little room here will ever know what you say. Now,” she pulled a rolling stool toward her from the corner of the room and settled her considerable frame on it with surprising grace, “will you please tell me what happened to Mr. Thomas so that my team may save his life?”

  “I thought you said he was going to be fine?” I scowled at Madam Petrovich and turned toward Leia as panic and confusion set in.

  “Yes, yes, he will be.” Petrovich patted the air in front of her. “Probably.”

  “Probab” I started to object, but Petrovich held up a silencing hand and fixed me with a stern gaze.

  “He will be fine.” She shrugged, but her eyes did not lose any of their severity. “But he will be more fine if we know exactly what happened. We have idea.” She watched me through narrowed eyes as she spoke her next words. “But, as they say, devil is in details.”

  Something in her tone and expression led me to believe that her choice of words was no accident. Did she already know there was dark magic involved? I wasn’t completely sure myself, but the masked group in the woods had seemed pretty ‘demonic cult-y’ to me.

  I turned toward Leia and Oliver, and they nodded their encouragement, their faces both grave and curious.