Wolf Spell: Shifters Bewitched #1 by Tasha Black (bearly read books .txt) 📗

“This is me,” she said, indicating a classroom. “See you later. And, hey, Bella?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“If you really don’t want him, I hope you succeed,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about it, and there wouldn’t be a choice at the end if choosing to refuse were actually impossible. Lots of things seem impossible, until someone comes along who’s strong enough to do them.”

I hadn’t really thought about it that way. Up until last week, I would have said that magic was impossible, and now I was surrounded by it. I made those vines move, and if I could do that…

The thought made me feel just a little better about my prospects.

“Thanks, Cori,” I said sincerely. “I appreciate it.”

She blew me an air kiss and I pretended to catch and eat it, feeling more myself already as I continued down the hall.

I arrived at my next class a few minutes later and grabbed the seat beside Anya. Nina and Lark filed in and sat on my other side.

“You’re early, excellent,” the professor said, before we could even greet each other. “We have a lab today, and it’s best to get started right away.”

She handed each of us a small tray with a ring of shimmering metal about the size of a donut.

“What’s this?” I asked Anya.

“It looks like spell-forged mercury,” she said. “Don’t worry. It’s not dangerous.”

“Yup,” Lark said. “Which means we’re doing the sympathetic magic lab today. Professor Batts is famous for it.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Oh, I’d hate to ruin it,” Lark laughed, pushing her purple cat-framed glasses up her nose.

The rest of us looked at each other and shrugged.

More people entered, and the professor handed out more trays. At last, everyone was seated and set up.

“Today we’re talking about sympathetic magic,” Professor Batts said.

Lark looked over at me and winked.

“Does anyone know what sympathetic magic is?” the professor asked.

Lark looked around. When it was clear no one else was going to raise their hand, she stuck hers in the air.

“Lark,” the professor said.

“Sympathetic magic is all about the overwhelming desire of the parts to form the whole,” Lark said.

“Exactly,” Professor Batts said triumphantly. “I couldn’t have explained it better myself. Each of you has a ring of spell-forged mercury. I want you to use the secare spell to split your ring into two equal bodies. Then you’re going to reform the bodies using the simul spell I’m going to note on the board. It’s important when using the simul spell that you focus your energies on the ring itself, and not on other objects in the room. Do I make myself clear?”

There was some giggling, but mostly we all nodded in agreement.

“Very well, have at it,” she invited us sternly.

I bit my lip. I didn’t know the secare spell, whatever that was.

“Oh, Miss Hawthorne, you don’t know the secare spell, do you dear?” Professor Batts asked, leaning over my tray.

I shook my head.

“Oh, that’s fine, love,” she said with a warm smile. “There’s really no point to you worrying about this anyway. Just watch your friends and enjoy.”

She began to take my tray.

“No,” I blurted, much louder than I intended.

She blinked at me in shock, and a few of the other students stared.

“I-I’d like to learn anyway,” I said. “As much as I can.”

“Very well,” she said, a spark of what I thought might be respect in her eyes as she placed the tray back down and straightened. “Anya will show you the secare spell. Just do your best. Primrose wasn’t built in a day.”

In my case, it might have to be. But I hoped not.

I nodded to her and turned back to Anya, who was grinning.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “I just never thought I’d see you standing up to a professor on your third day of school.”

“I’ve seen a lot of things I didn’t expect to see this week,” I quipped. “Including solid mercury. Want to show this to me once before I try to do it myself?”

I wasn’t feeling too confident, but at least the other students had stopped staring and gone back to their own work.

“We’re both going to watch Lark,” Anya said. “I get the feeling this is right up her alley.”

“Ready, guys?” Lark asked, pushing up her glasses with a wicked grin. “Secare.”

We watched as the bar split evenly in two, as if it had been sliced by an invisible knife. She nudged the pieces further apart and began to murmur to them.

First, the one on the left seemed to shiver. Then the one on the right wobbled and flopped itself over.

She tried again, and we watched as the pieces trembled and flopped like fish, but stayed on opposite sides of the tray.

“Almost, Lark,” the professor said encouragingly. “Third time’s a charm. They won’t be able to resist.”

I had a sudden unbidden image in my mind of Luke and me, standing inches apart in that cave last night, trying desperately not to give in to our unspoken desires.

Third time’s a charm.

I really hoped that wasn’t the case with us.

I watched as Lark murmured the words a third time and the two halves of her ring snapped together with a metallic clink.

“Whoa,” I said.

“It’s easy,” Lark explained. “When the bodies really want to be together, all it takes is a little nudge.”

The overwhelming desire of the parts to form the whole.

God, I really was doomed.

22

Luke

I traversed the labyrinth early, hoping to get to the courtyard for Bella before the sunset stretched shadows over the castle. Things could lie in ambush in that sudden darkness.

The headmistress had come to the council herself after our meeting, wearing a velvet cloak, and an expression of fury on her ageless face.

She was plain with her words.

There had been a sloppy break-in at the library, and we had not prevented it. She had allowed us the pick of her young charges for our mates, and we couldn’t even stop an amateur thief from muddying up her marble floors.

I couldn’t say I blamed