“Anna?”

  “Well, well, if it isn’t the bitch who slept with my boyfriend,” she replied.

  “What?” said Marley, at a loss for words. “I would never —”

  “Is this you feinting remorse?” said Anna with a sneer as long as her new legs. “It doesn’t suit you, Marley. Although, nothing really does anymore. Tell me, when will all your accomplishments be enough? When you don’t have to lie and steal your way through everything?”

  “Anna —”

  “Don’t try to defend yourself,” said Anna. “Whatever fake friendship that you thought we had — it’s over. I’m done with you.”

  Ding!

  “What do you know,” sneered Anna. “My Reflect post already has 300 likes. Hashtag #Marley’sAWhore!”

  Anna strutted off, leaving Marley feeling utterly defeated. What kind of person was she in Mirrorville?

  Marley continued to walk down the hallway as her fellow students snapped pictures with their phones, laughing at her behind her back. Her phone wouldn’t stop with notifications letting her know that Anna’s hashtag was trending. So, when Marley finally arrived at Potions Class, she was already in a bad mood. She sat behind this dude with arms as muscular as a young Dwayne Johnson. He was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt with a letterman’s jacket laying on his desk. His hair was short, buzz-cut short, and a SkyBoard was sticking out of his backpack. The dude turned to look at her. Marley only recognized him the minute she saw his eyes.

  “Armie?”

  “You say that as if you’re shocked to see me?” he smiled. “I’m hardly hiding. Though, you look like you wish you could.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to know any spells, would you?” asked Marley.

  “Those aren’t my specialty,” said Armie. “I saw Anna’s post.”

  “Who didn’t?” sighed Marley.

  “Yeah, gossip spreads at this school like wildfire,” said Armie.

  “Look, I know that this is going to sound weird,” said Marley, “but am I really as bad of a person as Anna says?”

  “Well, you should have never slept with Anna’s boyfriend,” said Armie, “but didn’t you feel bad afterwards?”

  “I hope so,” said Marley.

  “That’s... not the answer I was looking for,” said Armie with an anxious smile. “How can you not know how you felt or feel?”

  “I’m sort of having an identity crisis,” said Marley.

  “Weird,” said Armie. “You’re acting really weird.”

  “Why?”

  “This is the longest conversation we have ever had,” said Armie. “Not that I’m complaining about having a better relationship with my girlfriend’s family.”

  “So... we’re not friends either?”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Armie shrugged. “I don’t hate you. It’s just that you’re usually too busy powdering your nose to notice that I exist.”

  “But you still tried to talk to me,” said Marley. “Why?”

  “It... it just felt like the right thing to do,” said Armie. “I guess it’s because you’re Reyna’s sister or something like that.”

  “Yeah,... something like that,” said Marley, smiling. She couldn’t help it. Somehow, someway, deep down, part of Armie remembered their friendship and that could mean her friends wouldn’t be gone forever.

  “Good morning, class.”

  Mitchell entered the room. He walked up to the blackboard and threw a vial of potion on it. Then, all of a sudden, Mitchell’s name appeared on the blackboard behind him in white chalk.

  “For those of you who are unsure of which potion I just used, my name is Mitchell Watkins and I will be your temporary Potions Instructor.”

  Armie raised his hand.

  “Yes, Mr...”

  “Sitwell, Armie Sitwell. What happened to Ms. Librick and... are you the Sleepwalker’s brother?”

  “Ms. Librick has decided to retire and yes — Jeb Watkins is my younger brother,” Mitchell gritted his teeth on answering the latter. “Is that going to be an issue, Mr. Sitwell?”

  “I just don’t see why a Sleepwalker reject should be teaching us,” said Armie, smugly.

  “Oh, is that all,” Mitchell smiled a grin that made Marley grimace. Surely, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt Armie... would he? “I will admit that I have my shortcomings, but I’m sure someone even as perfect as you do as well. Why don’t we put that to a test? Mr. Sitwell, will you come up here and grace me with your presence?”

  “Sure,” said Armie as he got up and joined Mitchell in front of the class.

  Mitchell took another vial of potion out from his briefcase and poured it on his desk. In a puff of smoke, a set-up similar to a chemistry lab appeared on it and everyone else’s desks.

  “So, Mr. Sitwell, I take it you know Queen Ella’s theory on freezing solutions, don’t you?”

  “...Of course,” said Armie, a little less smug.

  “Good,” said Mitchell. “Because we’re going to use that theory to create Quick-Freeze Pellets to turn that plant on the windowsill into an icicle. By memory, understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” said Armie.

  “We start... now!”

  Armie started brewing his potion madly, mixing everything he could find. While Mitchell simply took his time, gently stirring over a Bunsen burner. In fact, it took Mitchell five minutes after Armie finished completing his pellets.

  “Alright,” said Mitchell, after each of their pellets had hardened. “Time to test them out. You first, Mr. Sitwell.”

  Armie looked at his pellets nervously, before throwing one at the plant. Instead of freezing it — the plant burst into flames!

  “Now, now, that’s not how it’s done,” said Mitchell as he threw one of his pellets at the flaming plant. At first contact — the plant and the entire windowsill had frozen completely. Mitchell turned to Armie. “Queen Ella’s theory is that to make a freezing solution of any kind, you must mix in potion ingredients at a below zero temperature over an enchanted, sub-zero flame. Something you didn’t know, but the rejected Sleepwalker did. Now, go back to your seat as the rest of the class opens their books to chapter thirty-five and try to succeed where you failed.”

  Mitchell was the last to leave the classroom, and Erica was already waiting in the hallway.

  “How could you do that?”

  “I thought improving young minds was our job,” replied Mitchell, “or has that part changed since I’ve been gone?”

  “You humiliated that boy in front of the whole class,” Erica glared at him. “All of it because he injured your ego.”

  “I only taught him an important lesson,” said Mitchell. “No matter how great you think you are — there will always be someone better. It’s best that he learns that now and never forget it.”

  “Is that what you learned in your absence,” said Erica. “This isn’t Shard Prep, where we insult and bully our students.”

  “What are you insinuating,” said Mitchell, his eyes flaring.

  “You’re not getting the job,” said Erica. “Get out of my school.” The power dampening cuff flew off of Mitchell’s wrist and into Erica’s hand. “I should have known, a person like you could never change!”

  Marley followed Armie the rest of the school day to all of her classes. Thank the Lord, that we have the same schedule, she thought to herself. Marley enjoyed her lessons and was actually pretty good at them. Witches Throughout History was vastly more interesting than mortal history. The teacher spoke about how the mysterious angel had blessed the three relics with their own blood and sparked the first race of witches and wizards in much more detail than Mitchell went into. It turns out that the mere touch of these relics could change a mortal into a magical being.

  That explains a lot, thought Marley. The lesson reminded her of how she blasted the Shaxera back in Mercynville for the first time. Marley was itching to try it again and cast actual spells. Her first opportunity came in the form of Spellcasting Structure. Apparently, in this class, Marley was a star pupil. Her instructor, Mr. Malis, asked her to conjure a ball of self-sustaining light. Knowing that energy manipulation was her magical gift, Marley tried her best to concentrate to activate her magic. Nothing happened. The class started to snigger, except for Armie. He was still reading his potion book, which was hidden underneath his desk. Marley felt as if she wanted to die on the spot. Not once in her life of singing in front of a crowd had stage fright engulfed her. She had always been able to perform... until now. But just as Marley’s heart began to race faster — both her hands quivering horribly — energy started to pulsate from her ring. The same hand that bared the Golden Ring.

  “Amazing,” said Malis. “She’s not even reciting the incantation!”

  The energy formed into a ball of light, just as Marley hoped it would. Only the ball didn’t stop growing. It grew bigger and bigger, encasing the entire classroom with light where it blinded everyone.

  Put it out — NOW — OR YOU’LL KILL EVERY DWELLER IN HERE!” Malis yelled.

  Marley’s mind filled with fear. Dwellers? They can die if they’re exposed to too much sunlight, Marley’s mind was screaming: I have to stop this! I can’t kill a Dweller! I can’t!

  Marley tried to stop the ball of light, but nothing she tried worked, only succeeding in her entire body starting to tremble.

  “Mr. Malis — you have to stop it — I —”

  “I CAN’T!” he shouted. “ONLY THE SAME WITCH WHO STARTED THE SPELL CAN END IT!”

  No — no — this can’t be happening, thought Marley.

  Then — the light started to leave the room — Mitchell was standing in the center of the class, shielding a small witch from the light. He was teleporting the light outside the school.

  “Marley — think about the love you have for your father and why you’re here — concentrate on that love and use it to calm the light!” yelled Mitchell. “Hurry — I can’t keep this up for long!”

  7

  Sisters

  Reyna knew that something was off. Things that had always felt normal to her now felt... alien. Ever since she woke up today, the world seemed to be, from her point of view, blurred. Like every time, she tried to take a doomed selfie too quick before the camera came into focus, and it came out horrible. You couldn’t even tell it was her in the picture, and that’s how Mirrorville looked to her. Distorted. Her father seemed less masculine than he should, and the whole city felt larger than she was used to. Though, not everything was a different feeling. She was still one of the nieces of the great Patterson Timmons. The defender of Mirrorville. Boy, has that always sucked.

  Willis had always strived for his daughters to be as great as Patterson. Luckily, though, most of that pressure had been handed down to Reyna’s perfect sister. Marley. She was the overachieving girl who had always thought that her crap didn’t stink. Reyna didn’t care if Marley was the perfect daughter or witch. Reyna had never wished for that kind of life. Could you imagine the pressure of having to be completely perfect all the time? Reyna couldn’t. No. She was happy with the life she had.

  Reyna loved wearing comfy clothes and not caring about having to look like a life-size Barbie doll. She wasn’t the greatest student, but she loved every B- she received. Where Reyna thrived was SkyFly. It wasn’t just a game, it was her way of life. It was a simple enough idea, a team of five witches and wizards fly on SkyBoards, trying to capture the enemy team’s flag hovering on the other side of the field. It was similar to the mortal game Capture the Flag. Only each team was allowed to use a variety of spells to eliminate the opposing team.

  Reyna was the fastest player on the team and part of the offensive line. Her team had always participated in a three-tier tournament against the three other schools in Mirrorville. Xenon High (the worst players in the league), Artemis Academy (a medical school), and, finally, Shard Prep (the snobbiest bunch of viscous assholes). Every year, Reyna’s team made it to the final round against Shard Prep, and they always lost. But this year would be different, this year would make all the difference. They would win, Reyna would feel that gold medal around her neck. She and Armie would make sure of it. Armie always came through for her and now that he was team captain, winning was possible.

  BOOM!

  The school grounds shook, interrupting Reyna’s thoughts. It must have been one hell of a misfired spell to cause an explosion that could reach Brighton Park. Reyna had arrived there early to prepare for SkyFly practice. Reyna ran across the street and devastation met her eyes.

  Jeb felt like shit. He had been punched and kicked fifty times today... if only that was unusual. Sweat dripped from Jeb’s brow as he continued to spar with Francis. Jeb kicked the general’s ribs as hard as possible. He heard a bone snap as a result, but that meant nothing. For, in a few seconds, the general’s bone was healed. The magical gift that had been entrusted to Francis was enhanced healing. Meaning, nothing could hurt this gigantic pain in Jeb’s ass. They were fighting with elongated wands which were similar to the mortal world’s bow staffs except with arrow heads at the end, once activated. But the main difference was that the tips of the wands were lit with mystical energies that could singe a person’s skin on contact.

  Francis jabbed his wand into Jeb’s shoulder, pinning him to the wall.

  “Lay off!” shouted Jeb. “This — is — just — TRAINING!” He screamed the last part as the wand started to burn a hole through his shoulder. Francis yanked his wand out with a coldness that didn’t suit him. His eyes had turned pitch black and any amount of warmth or caring had left him. Jeb stared at him, trying to decipher the cause. “What’s going on with you?”

  Their conversation was cut short as an alarm sounded. The general’s eyes resumed their usual shade of green. He turned to the computer screen, sweat dripping rapidly down every inch of his body as he rubbed a bright-red tattoo in the shape of a sun on his right arm. Something strange for a Healer, thought Jeb as he watched Francis type on the keyboard.

  Jeb pulled out a vial of healing potion and poured it on his shoulder. The pain quickly subsided. He then straightened up, walking over to Francis.

  “There’s been an explosion,” Francis mumbled.

  “Where?”

  “Mirrorville High School.”

  Marley felt as if she would never be able to breathe at a normal rate again. She knew her heart wasn’t supposed to be beating as fast as it was, but that was a small comfort. Because, right now, Marley was staring at a hole in the classroom wall. Mitchell’s advice had worked, but not soon enough to stop the damage to the ancient building’s structure. The ex-janitor was examining the Dweller girl, who was lying still on the floor. Marley prayed that she was just unconscious.

  “Is — is she okay?” Marley stammered.

  Armie bent down next to Mitchell. Mitchell, ignoring Marley, turned to him.

  “What’s her name?”

  “Niki Zeren,” said Armie. “She’s on the SkyFly team with me. Does she have a pulse?”

  “Barely,” said Mitchell.

  Principal Erica ran through the door, her face was as pale as a ghost.

  “Mitchell — what happened?”

  “Mr. Malis tasked Marley Timmons with a spell far too complex for someone in her age group to master. The result was a near-fatal explosion. Do you see those burn marks on her arms and face? They’re signs of the Dweller Curse Effect, which means the light exposure is combatting every cell in her body. We need to preserve the cells that haven’t been brought into battle yet.”

  “I can do that,” said Armie. “I’m a mimic.”

  “Armie!”

  Reyna ran into the classroom.

  “You can’t,” she said. “You know what happens when you use your gift. Summoning the gifts of others drains your soul’s essence — you could die!”

  “We don’t have a choice,” said Armie, inclining his head sadly at the Dweller. “I’m the only one who can save her.”

  “Oh, my god,” said Reyna. “It’s Niki.”

  “That’s why I have to, Reyna,” said Armie. “Am I just supposed to let our best friend die?”

  Mitchell rolled his eyes as a bottle of potion appeared in his hand. “If I may be so rude to interrupt this fascinating scene from everyone’s favorite teen-soap opera — I know I can stabilize her without anyone needlessly sacrificing their lives. Armie, give me a piece of your hair — Reyna spit into this potion — Erica place a fingernail in the potion after Reyna’s done.”

  “Is that a Fusion Potion,” Erica asked Mitchell.

  “Yes,” said Mitchell. “So, if you want to save this girl — do as I ask.”

  Reyna, Armie, and Principal Erica all complied. The ingredients dissolved inside the bottle as the potion started to bubble. Mitchell poured the potion down Niki’s throat and as he did, the burns started to heal. Niki’s eyes flickered open.

  “Armie? Reyna? What’s... what’s going on?” said a weakened Niki.

  “An idiot screwed up,” said Reyna, glaring at Marley.

  “We need to get her to the Dweller Hospital,” said Erica.

  “They don’t have the means to treat her there,” said Mitchell. “We’ll have to bring her to the Highgrounds Clinic.”

  “She’s not allowed up there,” said Armie. “None of her kind are.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” said Reyna. “If she needs to go there, then she goes.”

  “I’ll take her,” said Marley. “We can use my Scorch.”

  “You’ve done enough,” said Reyna.

  “It would be too slow anyway,” said Mitchell. “She may be stabilized, but still needs more extensive treatment. I’ll teleport her there.”

  “Take her now,” said Erica.

  “You got it,” said Mitchell. He picked up Niki, cradling her in his arms. Before he left, though, Mitchell whispered in Marley’s ear. “Wait for Jeb.”

  Mitchell then vanished with Niki in the blink of an eye.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10