Haven
“And it looks like some of our last auditioners have arrived!” Quinn announced from the front of the auditorium as Griff and his crew entered the on-campus auditorium. Windsling chirped approvingly from the professor’s shoulder. “ Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry, Slingy. With acting chops like yours, you don’t even need to audition.”
Griff smiled as Quinn met him in the center aisle with a hug. “Thank you for everything, Quinn. I mean it. And I’m sorry about how recklessly I acted yesterday.”
“Hey,” began Quinn, “we’re all still here, right? Well, the good guys, anyway.”
“You smell way less crispy than yesterday, Doc,” Uriah teased as he pulled Quinn into an embrace.
Quinn shrugged. “I suppose technically I have my sire to thank for the super-healing,” he said with a friendly wink before turning to Pruitt and Darcy. “Don’t suppose you boys are trying out, too, huh? I could use the extra student talent.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Pruitt said as he patted the professor on the back. “But thanks for keeping everyone safe yesterday.”
“Oh, don’t be shy,” Quinn gave Pruitt a hug of his own. “I’m always here for you guys, even if I usually end up being just another person you have to save.”
Quinn turned to Darcy, who gratefully wrapped his arms around him. “You think one of Windsling’s bat friends can help me out with the whole wanting a familiar thing?” Darcy asked.
“Well, I never thought I’d say that bats were my thing, but…well, they’re my thing. Sorry, kid,” Quinn said with a smile. “You know, what about that cute little wolf cub we pulled out of that book?”
Darcy shrugged. “I don’t think he’s house trained.”
“Uh, yeah,” chimed in. “I’m taking care of Lykos until we can figure out how to get him back to where he belongs.”
“ Still around, I see ,” Old Mother Madge said to as she appeared from behind the stage curtains.
“Whoa!” turned to greet her. “For now, yes.”
“I won’t keep you long, , but my scrying has uncovered something important,” Old Mother Madge said as she fumbled through a large bag hanging from her side and pulled out a small stack of papers. “Take these. My business card is somewhere in there, too, if there are any questions, but just remember that?—”
“I know, I know,” nodded, folding the notes into his pocket. “ Only the first scry is free. ”
“Very good,” the witch said with a smile.
“Old Mother Madge! What are you doing here, you penny pincher?” Griff asked. “I mean, not that I’m complaining. Just didn’t expect to see you on campus. In fact, I thought you hated being so close to the university.”
“Oh!” Quinn stuck his pointer finger in the air. “I almost forgot to mention. Because of the absolute chaos happening in higher ed administration right now—what with the untimely death of yet another university president—I’ve appointed Madge here as the community voice for my audition panel. She’s helping me call the shots.”
“Glad to see you two are getting along,” said Uriah, sarcasm evident in his voice as he gave Quinn a friendly pat on the back.
“I’m just here to make sure no one is using magic to help them with their lines, Mr. Black,” Old Mother Madge said before clearing her throat. All the emotion drained from Uriah’s face, almost as though he was caught red-handed.
“Look, we’ve got one more audition and then you guys are up. Sound good?” Quinn asked as a woman entered the auditorium with a script in her hand. “You gentlemen have a seat somewhere in the back and I’ll call you up when it’s time for you.”
Old Mother Madge and Quinn hurried down the aisle to greet the student who just arrived. Darcy took a seat near the back, where Griff quietly ran lines with Uriah.
stepped out of the auditorium and into the hallway, pulling out the stack of papers given to him and anxiously fumbling through them. When he found what he was looking for, he pulled out his smartphone and took several photos of the relevant pages.
“Hey.” The voice of Pruitt caused him to jump, dropping the stack to the floor. “Whoa, didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Sorry. My n-nerves are a little high, I guess,” sighed as he bent over to pick up his notes.
“I’ll bet they are.” Pruitt took this moment to give ’s arm a friendly squeeze. “Let me help.”
Pruitt grabbed for the nearest sheet, a hand-drawn map with specific coordinates written at the top. In the center of the map, a crude-looking depiction of a house was circled. “So, this is what I think it is, huh?”
nodded as he reached for the page in Pruitt’s possession, then dropped his hand. “I’m guessing it’s important to you, too.”
Pruitt ran his tongue across his lips, deep in thought. “It is, don’t get me wrong,” he finally said, handing the map back to . “But it’s no longer my destiny. That’s right here.”
“With Griff and Uriah,” said solemnly, nodding as he stood up and offered his free hand to Pruitt, who took it.
“With Griff and Uriah,” Pruitt nodded as helped him up.
“H-how do you think I find out what my destiny is?” asked, shuffling the papers nervously back into his pocket.
“Someone very important to me once said this: We cannot control our fate, but we can mold our destiny.”
let out a long sigh. “And what does that mean?”
Pruitt smiled, putting both hands on ’s shoulders. “Well, I’m no expert, but I think it means that we have to follow our hearts—and that the rest will sort of fall into place.”
smiled and nodded before embracing Pruitt. “Thanks, mate.”
Surprised at first, Pruitt hugged back.