Chapter 7 Raven
Raven
Ayawn escaped as I followed the map in my hand. After being here less than a day, I had no clue where anything was. Luckily, I’d found a map in my student folder, as well as a lesson plan.
My first class this morning was The History of Magical Beings, which sounded interesting.
Adam’s library had few history books, so there were significant gaps in my knowledge. While I knew about the origin of the witches and how the original families came from Salem in Massachusetts, I knew very little about other magical species.
Last night’s storm had blown down several trees on the edge of the sports fields. It had started the minute I left the food hall, hungry and covered in tomato soup.
My mood dipped as I thought about that asshole. I hoped he had a shitty day.
But the minute the thought entered my head, my chest twinged. Why did my magic not like me thinking mean thoughts about him? It made no sense. If anyone deserved to be the recipient of my mean thoughts, it was the unfairly handsome mage.
I tramped down a gravel path, trying to ignore the pain in my chest. Was I suffering from heartburn caused by sleep deprivation? The stars knew I hadn’t slept well thanks to vivid dreams about sexy bear shifters and arrogant blond mages.
If I had time during this detention, I’d look for valerian and chamomile to make a sleep potion. It seemed likely the kitchen garden would have a section for herbs.
To my astonishment, the kitchen garden turned out to be way bigger than I expected. Greenhouses stretched along the entire length of the main academy building, filled with vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, and dozens of exotic plants.
Beyond lay a field containing rows of crops.
My jaw dropped. This school was entirely self-sufficient.
There was even a fenced coop and chicken house, where cute, fluffy white birds clucked and squawked in excitement as a small mousy girl tossed grain at them.
When she looked up, recognition sparked.
I’d seen her in the witch’s common room.
I waved and smiled at her. The witch’s peach aura brightened for a moment, then faded.
Just as I was about to walk over and say hello, the teacher who’d given me detention blinked into view, her gray hair braided in coils around her head, making her look like a warrior queen.
Whereas last night in the dining hall she’d worn a blazer, this morning she’d chosen loose overalls and work boots.
I missed my old overalls. There had been nothing suitable for gardening work in my closet, so I’d had no choice but to pull on some sweats with an academy-branded sweatshirt.
“Good, you’re on time.” The teacher hummed in approval. What was her name? Was I supposed to know it?
She half smiled. “You can call me Miss Windborne.” I blinked. Had she read my mind?
“Yes, because your shields are nonexistent. You’ll need to work on them, or the other students will take advantage.”
I flushed with embarrassment. Nobody had ever told me to shield my thoughts before. Stars, had the witches at home been privy to all my stupid thoughts?
Miss Windborne chuckled. “Not unless you were broadcasting them extremely loudly. Most witches need to exert a lot of energy to breach someone’s mind, so weaker witches can’t do it without casting a spell.
Unless your witch friends were powerful, I doubt they’d have wasted their time and energy trying to read your mind. ”
I huffed out a sigh of relief. Thank the goddess. Nobody needed to know about my sexy dreams featuring a certain… I quickly locked my thoughts down, picturing a metal door slamming in my head.
Miss Windborne’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Well done. I’m impressed, Miss Blackstone. You’re more powerful than I realized.”
Huh?
“You shielded your thoughts from me. It takes most witches several lessons to get the hang of shielding, yet you managed it instinctively with no guidance.” She nodded in approval.
“But you lose focus too quickly, so we must work on that.” Her eyes went cloudy for a moment while she thought about something, giving me time to peek at her aura.
Mellow green with hints of blue and gold told me Miss Windborne was an earth witch with a water affinity. Her presence in the garden made perfect sense. Not only could she enhance the plants, but she could also irrigate them.
My magic was fire-based, but I’d always had an affinity for plants too. No earth magic, sadly. I just enjoyed being in nature; I always had.
“My schedule has an opening on Thursdays at 7 p.m.,” Miss Windborne said, interrupting my thoughts. “Come to my office and we’ll work on your shield.”
I nodded enthusiastically. While being blamed for the mess last night had annoyed me, being here was a bonus. Miss Windborne seemed nice, and if she could teach me to shield my thoughts, great. Goddess knew I needed all the advantages I could get.
“We use basic magic to do a lot of the tedious tasks in the garden, like irrigating the crops and ensuring the plants remain healthy, but someone has to harvest them.” Miss Windborne had given me a set of clean overalls, some hand tools, and a trug basket before leading me into the herb garden.
“How familiar are you with herbs and plants?”
“Very,” I replied honestly while admiring all the many rare species that grew here in this sheltered part of the garden.
“Tell me what that is,” she said, pointing to a spiky plant with bright yellow flowers.
“Troll weed,” I replied. “It’s very poisonous, but when boiled in honey and mare’s milk, it’s useful for treating the bite from a moon spider.”
She nodded in surprise. “Correct. And that one?” she asked, pointing to a small leafy plant tucked away in a corner. Nothing else grew around it, which made sense. “Lucifer’s tongue. It kills other healthy plants by sucking the sap from them.”
“And why would we grow such a toxic plant?”
“Because it’s good for drawing out the venom from a basilisk bite.”
“Excellent!” She beamed at me before her eyes went cloudy again.
Did she have some kind of mind link to the admin systems here?
Like access to a magical cloud? When her attention returned to me, she hummed thoughtfully.
“We encourage all students to take on extracurriculars to broaden their knowledge. I’ll arrange for you to join my botany class.
We meet on Monday evenings at 7 p.m. Glynda will tell you more.
” The mousy girl who’d been feeding the chickens walked over, her eyes downcast and her shoulders stooped.
I frowned. Had I unknowingly upset her?
“Glynda, please take Raven to harvest some sage and mint. Then show her where the new beds are. I’d like them tidied up and ready for the seedlings to go in this evening.”
“Yes, Miss.” The little mousy witch nodded and trotted off, her ponytail swaying in the early morning breeze.
“Stay until 8 a.m. and then go for breakfast. I’ll see you back here at 6 a.m. tomorrow.
” Miss Windborne smiled. “Don’t worry, you haven’t upset Glynda.
” Stars, I really needed to fix my shield!
“She’s suffered badly from the attentions of some of the more ambitious witches here, which has made her less trusting.
I’m sure you two will get along wonderfully once she realizes you mean her no harm. ”
With that concerning statement, Miss Windborne vanished, leaving me to stare after Glynda and wonder how on earth I could gain her trust and protect myself from vicious witches on a power trip.