Chapter 20
Once I leftthe school building, it took only a matter of seconds to transport myself to Wellspring via the mirror.
It took longer to find the bowling alley. I hadn’t exactly been paying attention to my surroundings when Aiden had brought me there for our date, and the house looked like every other house in the town.
Fortunately, Jim was bringing in supplies from the ferry and I ran across him in the street.
“Can I help you with those?” I asked him, pointing at the bags he was carrying.
“Thanks.” He squinted at me. “I remember you. Aiden’s girl, right?”
“That’s right.” I accepted one of the bags, which were lighter than they looked. “I have a problem that I hope you can help me with.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Jim replied. He led me behind one of the houses to a back door. “We want the produce to stay their normal size,” he explained. “Only the front door has the shrinking spell on it.”
“So if we enter the house in any other method, we would stay our usual size?”
“Exactly.” He pushed the door open and led me inside. The kitchen was regular sized, for a restaurant kitchen. Jim opened one of the large refrigerators and started filling the shelves. “There’s another spell on that door from the kitchen, but it works much faster than the main door.” He indicated one of the exits.
“Why not cook with the large produce when you’re tiny?” I asked, distracted a moment from my goal.
He chuckled. “We tried that. It doesn’t work as well. The flavors just aren’t there in the same way.”
I nodded thoughtfully.
“So, what can I help you with? A class project?”
“Sort of. I need to understand how the spell on your door works to shrink a person.”
“Ah. I’m afraid we don’t know,” Jim said apologetically. “I inherited this house; it’s been in my family for generations. My father told me that Master Blackthorn, the one who made the school, put the spell on the door.”
My eyebrows rose at the mention of his name. “Did he leave a record somewhere? In case the spell was damaged in any way?”
Jim shrugged. “I’m not sure. You can look through the diaries of my ancestors. There might be something in there. The spell has never wavered, so we never bothered to check.”
“Yes, please,” I said. “I’m in a bit of a hurry. I need to be back before dinner.”
“Right this way.”
He led me out of the kitchen and down a hall. Everly was crocheting on a comfortable looking couch in their living room.
“Hello, dear. What brings you around here at this time?” she asked.
“She’s interested in the shrinking spell on our door,” Jim said, going over to the dark bookcases that lined one wall. He opened the sliding door at the bottom of the first one, squatting down so he could see. “There are several journals from before that time,” he said, gesturing to me to come over. “My ancestors created each journal by hand, working the leather themselves and engraving it with the year.”
“We’d be looking for 1664, or as late as 1666,” I said, crouching down beside him. “These are gorgeous.”
The leather-bound volumes were each several inches thick, similar to my grimoire. I wondered if my ancestors had made it by hand as well.
“Here you go,” Jim said, pulling out a volume that read 1650-1700.
I took the heavy book from him. “And you’re sure I’m allowed to read this? It’s your family’s history!”
“Of course! We’ve got nothing to hide. And if you do happen across a secret, let me in on it, will ya?” He winked,
I chuckled. “Of course.”
“Have a seat,” Everly said, moving the afghan she was making off the couch beside her. “Jim will make us tea.”
“I will, will I?” Jim said, amused.
“Please?” Everly said, batting her eyelashes at him.
Jim leaned over the couch and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before he left the room with a bow. “Your tea will be ready in a few minutes, ladies.”
It was sweet to see how much the couple obviously loved each other, after so many years.
“How did you two meet?” I asked, getting comfortable on the couch and curling my legs to the side.
“He was already working here when I arrived at the academy,” Everly said, a faraway expression on her face. “I met him in second year, once we were allowed to come to Wellspring. It was love at first sight.” She blushed slightly. “The academy let me continue my classes even after the birth of our child. I would commute by mirror, running back and forth multiple times a day to nurse her while Jim looked after everything here.”
“Sounds exhausting,” I said.
“It was.” Everly nodded. “But I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.”
“That’s sweet.” I had been idly flipping through the pages of the book I was holding, noting the dates at the top of the pages, but I stopped suddenly in May 1664. “Oh, there was a wedding at the castle.”
“That would be Master Blackthorn,” Everly said, peering over at the pages. “He met his wife at school, but not here, obviously.”
I read aloud,
Clarissa Wilde, now Blackthorn, is a beautiful bride, naturally, but it was her joy which was infectious at the nuptials. Even young Master Blackthorn was seen smiling, something which was rare to see before this day indeed. I wonder how much of it was because his family didn’t approve of his intended.
“That’s sad that his family didn’t approve of Clarissa. I thought they were more open-minded,” I said, frowning as I turned the page. “Aiden’s family doesn’t fully approve of me, you know.”
Everly raised one eyebrow. “It wasn’t so long ago that courtships like yours were discouraged.”
“Do you disapprove?” I said, tensing slightly.
“Not at all, my dear.” Everly reached over to pat my hand. “We are all the same in here,” she tapped her head. “And even more importantly, in here.” She pointed at her chest. “Who we fall in love with shouldn’t be affected by our outward appearance.”
“Exactly.” I continued reading aloud,
Master Blackthorn has announced his intention to create a school for all, with Mistress Clarissa as his co-head. We cheered for his decision, but there are others in Wellspring who are angry that our lord has wed a beast, and will be bringing even more to the island. I fear for the peace here, and have gone to warn Master Blackthorn of the idle whisperings. He laughed them off, but thanked me most graciously.
I flipped to the next page, heart in my throat,
Mistress Clarissa was found in front of the castle this morning, her body solid stone. Any attempt to return her to her usual state has failed. Master Blackthorn is beside himself with despair. He’s called in experts in every field, hosting them in the castle. I heard that many of them were his teachers at his academy. The Wildes arrived later this afternoon, which tells me that this is very serious indeed. I am saddened by the actions of what I suspect are my neighbors.
“How awful,” I murmured, turning to the next page.
September 1666: Master Blackthorn has made an interesting request of us. We granted it, naturally, but our home is now tied to the dark forest in an unusual way. He has placed a spell on our front door, so that anything that enters by that portal would shrink to the size of an ant. It has allowed us to increase the dimensions of our home beyond our wildest dreams, and we are able to store provisions for many. Unfortunately, any edible content does not taste quite right afterward, but during a hard winter, none shall complain. As for the spell that ties the door to the forest, he did not explain how it worked, only that if it should go awry, to follow these steps to fix it within a fortnight, else something terrible should befall the academy, the isle, and all who live here.
My gaze skipped over the steps that were required, and I gasped. “Everly, Jim said that nothing had ever gone wrong with the door spell. But when did you notice that it took longer to shrink a person?”
Everly frowned. “It was about two years ago now, I think. Right when the new semester started.”
“In my first year…” I said thoughtfully, trailing off. “Yes, that makes sense. Can I make a copy of these steps, please?”
Getting approval, I cast the spell to copy the words, lifting them off the page. They hovered in mid-air while I dug my grimoire out of my purse and made it the appropriate size again. I flipped to a blank page and the spell drifted down to attach itself to its new home.
A snippet of words on the next page caught my eye, and I read on, but silently,
Master Blackthorn has vanished into the dark forest. It has been a fortnight, and nobody has seen neither hide nor hair since. His mother is driven to distraction, but his cousin seems to know more than he lets on. He’s the Headmaster of the academy now, as the young Master passed it on through legal means. Search parties have gone out, but none have been successful. In my estimation, Master Blackthorn will be found when he wants to be found and not one moment before. The spell he cast on our door holds well and is a source of great entertainment to our neighbors. This house shall be passed down in our family and the secret guarded well. We are loyal to the Blackthorn family and shall be forevermore.
“Thank you so much for your help,” I said, closing both my grimoire and the journal. I felt a little sick; if my suspicions proved correct, I had been trusting the wrong person.
Jim entered with the two mugs of tea. “Are you leaving already?”
“I’m afraid so. Dinner is in a few minutes, and I have an appointment I can’t miss,” I said. “Thank you so much for the offer of tea.”
“We should probably get ready for our own dinner, then,” Everly said, putting her crochet work to the side and stretching her arms.
“Thank you,” I repeated, hurrying out of the room.
My heart was in turmoil. I understood why Master Blackthorn had done what he’d done back in 1666, but if I was correct…
I took a deep breath. “I have no proof,” I muttered to myself as I left the house. “Yet.”
Mirror travel brought me back to the front of the academy. The pedestal where Clarissa Blackthorn had stood was empty. I tried not to think about the fact that she had been a real person the whole time. For over three hundred years! I pinched my lips tight to hold back the lump in my throat.
You got this.
Just go into the cafeteria and tell him that you know what he’s up to—
No, you need proof first.
I sat on the bottom step. A breeze shuffled the leaves around my feet and made me shiver. I pulled the grimoire out of my purse again, opening it to a tracking spell that I had marked as potentially reworkable to find a person. Professor Reynolds had said it wouldn’t work unless I had a part of the person I wanted to find, but for today, I didn’t need to rework it. I could use it as is.
It was a little more complicated than I thought at first, but soon I had a vial, which I had transfigured from a leaf, filled with a drop of pure power. All I had to do was attach it to my target. Somehow. Without him noticing.
This is going to backfire spectacularly,I thought grimly. But I had to try.
I dusted the seat of my pants off with shaky hands when I stood. “Wish me luck, Clarissa,” I whispered to the non-existent statue. Despite only knowing her name for a short time, I felt connected to her in a way. Maybe because we were both tied up in this mystery.
After the quiet outdoors, the bustling foyer was a shock. All the happy, chattering students standing in small groups were almost confusing. As I made my way through them, I overheard snippets of conversation. Everyone had their own theory about the missing statue, the most outlandish being that she was responsible for the kidnappings and she was using the victims to bring herself to life.
I swallowed hard. That last one sounded a lot like my fears manifested.
My gaze skipped over our usual table before I realized that Paige was sitting there alone. I made my way over to her.
She looked tired.
I fought down the odd mixture of annoyance and embarrassment burbling inside me as I sat beside her. “Who are you accusing today?”
Paige sighed. “Nobody. Nothing makes any sense. The victims aren’t connected in any way, other than they are all fire beasts. Hazel excluded. They come from different backgrounds, they are different years, they have different studies. I’m sorry.” She put her head down on her arms and her shoulders shook.
I patted her arm awkwardly. “It’s not your fault. You tried your best.” I saw my friends heading toward me. “I might have a lead,” I whispered quickly. “Can you cause a distraction?”
Paige raised her head. “I think I am most uniquely qualified to do that.”
I swallowed a laugh, coughing slightly. “I think you’re right.”
“Ready to go see Professor Dunlop after dinner?” Bruce asked, sliding into the seat next to me.
“So ready,” I said, my stomach turning. Hopefully, I wouldn’t need his spell.
“I can’t believe I didn’t see it before!” Paige shouted suddenly, leaping up from beside me. Her face was red. “You’re the kidnapper!” She was pointing directly at me.
“What?” I asked, gaping at her.
“You’re always trying to point me in other directions. I bet you killed Richard, too!”
Bruce put his arm around my shoulders, and I gripped his hand firmly. “Leave us,” he ordered, fury in his tone.
Once my shock wore away, I realized she had caused the perfect distraction. I took advantage of it.
Paige left, and Bruce turned me to look at him.
“Nobody believes that of you,” he said fiercely. “I’ll meet you at Dunlop’s office. I’ve got to go, but I will see you later.”
I nodded silently and watched him leave the room, the bright trail of magic clear in my vision.