Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
I fell asleep doing research in the books I’d taken from my study room again, but when I woke up, it was in Aiden’s arms in his bed.
Still fully dressed, and uncomfortable.
I don’t recommend sleeping in jeans.
The ever-present headache from the day before had receded, thankfully, but I wasn’t ready to test it by casting a spell, so I slipped out of his room and headed for my own, intent on having a full shower.
The water helped me feel more like myself, although I still felt like my bones were being pulled on, like waves pulling back into the ocean.
I saw Paige in the hallway as I headed back into my room. “Hey! How was your holiday?” I called to her.
Paige turned white before ducking her head and hurrying down the hallway without a word.
What the hell?
I thought we’d become friends of a sort last semester .
Feeling hurt, I entered my dorm.
Lilia was still asleep, on her back with her dragons curled on either side of her. Professor Wright had announced at dinner that he and the other teachers would be performing the blanket spell later this afternoon, after classes. They had a lot to prepare to bolster the spell, because the professors were also affected by the unnatural lack of ley lines. I looked forward to feeling more normal.
Hazel was awake and dressed, giving attention to one of the many plants on her desk.
I didn’t bother keeping my voice quiet to greet her.
“I’m glad a solution has been found, although temporary,” Hazel said. “I was worried about the magical plants.”
“I’m just glad this happened after Bruce revived Clarissa. Who knows what might have happened to that fruit tree,” I said.
Hazel winced. “Yeah, that could have been very bad. It was rooted directly into the nexus point.”
I paused in drying my hair. “Do you think they’re related? Like, is the fruit tree no longer being needed the reason the ley lines disappeared?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Hazel said slowly. “We would have seen indications of the ley lines fading over time during last semester, not this sudden disappearance.”
Relieved, I continued rubbing my towel over my hair. “That’s a good point. Thank you. What do you think about the connection with the ley lines disappearing in the Dark Ages?”
Hazel shrugged. “It’s not like we have a huge number of texts from that time period.”
“It’s called ‘the Dark Ages’ for a reason,” Lilia put in, following with a yawn. “Maybe everyone slept the whole time.”
“How are you feeling today?” I asked her sympathetically.
“Like I want to sleep.” Lilia pouted, rubbing her hands absentmindedly over her dragons. “These two have the right idea.”
“They’re in a magical sleep,” Hazel pointed out.
“I could be Sleeping Beauty.” Lilia paused. “Do you think Brom would be my Prince Charming?”
I giggled. “Maybe if you asked him very nicely.”
That afternoon, the outside door in the Care of Magical Creatures class was open when I arrived. I didn’t have to wait long to wonder why.
“Class field trip!” Professor Wright said excitedly. He bounced on the balls of his feet a bit as he spoke. “We’re going into the forest to study the creatures there. If you come across a magical creature in pain, put it to sleep, and then attach this portable magic generator to the back of its neck.”
He held up a tiny ball that looked like chewed gum. “These will decompose over time, once connected with a life form, so it won’t harm them. It’ll help until we get the blanket going. Don’t forget to wake the creature before you move on to the next one.”
“How late did you stay up making these?” I asked. He looked tired.
The professor waved off my question. “Animals are in trouble. I had to do something quickly.” He crossed to the door. “Grab a basket and let’s go!”
We filed out of the room to the back of the castle. At the edge of the forest, Professor Wright halted for a moment. “Pair up. Don’t lose track of where you are so that you can find your way back. Remember what creatures you meet. I want a full report on every magical creature on my desk by next class.”
My eyes widened. That had the potential to be a very thick report.
Then the professor raised his arm in the air and brought it down, pointing into the forest. “To adventure! To save the babies!” he shouted, taking off at a run into the forest.
Aiden stared at me. “Does he really expect us to follow him like that?”
Rhiannon, overhearing him, chuckled. “Yes. But you can take a slower pace. He won’t be offended.” She and Bruce plunged into the forest, taking a slightly different path than the professor.
“Shall we?” Aiden said, holding out his free hand to me.
“Let’s go help some animals,” I said, reaching back to him.
The forest was dark and quiet. Although there had been snow in the yard between the castle and the forest, the thick canopy prevented snow from entering much past the first row of trees.
We passed the tree that Bruce had used as his hideout last semester. It looked the same as ever. I had half-expected it to have exploded or something, since the spell was tied into the ley lines. I made a mental note to ask Bruce about that.
“I see tracks,” Aiden said, pointing at the forest floor in the opposite direction.
I eyed the disturbed leaves skeptically. “From other students, maybe.”
Aiden chuckled and tapped the side of his nose. “Smells more animal than human.”
“Is Brom in our class?”
“Brat,” he said affectionately. “You’ll pay for your insolence in my room tonight. If this wasn’t such an urgent mission, I’d take advantage of the fact we’re alone right now and make you get on your knees and service me.”
My breath caught in my throat, my eyes meeting his and seeing my desire reflected back at me. “Tonight,” I whispered in promise.
He nodded once before pointing at the leaves again. “This way,” he said, pushing past the trees. “Get ready with the sleep spell.”
“I’m always ready,” I muttered to myself, following in his wake.
“What was that?”
“What did you hear?” I scanned the forest, but nothing was moving.
“I thought I heard something...”
I moved closer to his back, sweeping my gaze around.
“It sounded like a brat needing her mouth used as a cock-warmer,” he finished with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes and slapped at his broad chest. “Stop it. We’re focusing on the animals right now.”
A squirrel chittered above us, racing along one branch to the next as a second animal chased it. Ignoring the squirrel, Aiden took aim at the predator.
His sleep spell hit true, and the animal fell from the branch above into my slow motion spell, dropping gently into Aiden’s arms.
“Nice one,” he said to me, cradling the little creature.
It looked somewhat like a squirrel, but its face was sharper, with predator’s teeth, and it had bat-like wings.
“What is it?” I asked, frowning.
“Don’t tell me the great Siobhan doesn’t know something,” Aiden teased, placing the magic generator on its spine at the base of its neck and flicking it on.
“Animals are Rhiannon’s thing, not mine,” I said, trying to pretend I wasn’t whining. “I can’t be expected to remember every single animal in that book.”
“You could try at least the ones on the island, maybe expand to Ireland and the UK,” Aiden said.
“There’s so many.” I was pouting, there was no hiding it any longer.
Aiden placed the creature on the ground and we hid ourselves before he woke it up.
The animal scrambled to its feet and was up the tree beside us in an instant as if all that had happened was that it had fallen off the branch.
“That was a craiyon,” Aiden said, taking pity on me. “They’re not usually so fierce.”
“So I see,” I said, watching it groom itself on the branch it had chosen. It then flung itself off, splaying its arms and legs out wide as it glided to the next tree. “Cute little thing.”
“Not a good pet, though,” Aiden cautioned.
I laughed. “I’m not interested in gaining a pet. Two dragons in my room are plenty, on top of the plants that Hazel treats like pets.” We started walking through the forest again.
Now it was Aiden’s turn to laugh. “She does talk to them and pet them, doesn’t she?”
“She says that it promotes healthy growth and good bonding.” I shrugged. “Who am I to argue with a dryad over plants?”
“Good point.”
“Are those broken branches?” I asked, pointing overhead. “What could cause that?”
Aiden frowned, his head tipped back. “A big beast. Normally, those aren’t airborne.”
“Could it be a hurt dragon?” I wondered. “Are all of ours in the stables?”
“I haven’t heard about a missing dragon, but maybe it hasn’t been noticed yet,” Aiden said thoughtfully as we followed the debris field.
We avoided walking under any trees with loose branches.
“That looks an awful lot like blood,” I said quietly, pointing at a black smear on a tree at eye level.
Aiden sniffed it, not getting too close, and nodded. “You’re right.”
“Maybe a griffin,” I said thoughtfully. “A wild dragon would have caused a lot more damage, because of their size.”
“That’s true.” Aiden rubbed his free hand through his hair. “I hope that whatever it is isn’t hurt too badly.”
“Look, a rabbit!” I whispered, pointing out the yellowish puffball at the side of the path. One of its ears twitched and it turned to keep us in its sight.
The motion revealed that the smudge of black on its forehead was actually a horn.
“That’s not a rabbit,” Aiden hissed. “Sleep!”
The not-rabbit fell asleep, tipping over on the path.
“How do you know about these creatures?” I asked, crouching over the beast. “What’s this one called?”
“It’s an almiraj,” Aiden said quietly. “Common enough in the UK. Its horn is useful in potions.”
“I don’t think I realized that the powder I use in potions came from a living creature,” I said with a frown. I stuck the magical ball behind its head and turned it on. “I’m not sure I like that.”
“Fortunately, these creatures shed their horns in winter during their maturity. This is still a teen, of sorts,” Aiden said. He woke the almiraj once I’d hidden us. It reacted similarly to the craiyon, waking and immediately taking shelter. “It’s easy enough to collect the horns and no creatures are harmed.”
“That’s a relief,” I said. “Now, where’s that blood trail?”
Aiden put his hand on my arm and shook his head. “We have to head back, I’m afraid.”
“But—” I protested, upset. “What if it needs us?”
“We can come back after class and pick up the trail.”
“Or we could just continue now,” I begged. “This is our last class of the day.”
Aiden shook his head. “Then Professor Wright will come after us, you know that.”
I pouted. “Okay, but right after we check in, we come back.”
“I swear.” Aiden lifted his hand, two fingers stuck together like he was a boy scout. “I’ll even set up a magical beacon to guide us right back here.”
He was as good as his word. As soon as we had checked in with Professor Wright, we slipped back outside and hurried down the path to where we had left the beacon. I’d grabbed a handful of the magic generators, just in case we ran into any more magical creatures that needed help.
Dusk had fallen in the short time it had taken to return to the forest, the shadows of the trees stretching wider and crisscrossing the path. I used a drop of magic to give myself night vision, but knew I’d have trouble seeing with it soon. Eyes could only take vision spells for so long before they deteriorated. The spell, not the eye.
We continued following the trail of blood and damage until we reached a wide stretch of trees that looked like they had exploded outward.
Aiden put one arm out to hold me back, and I peeked over his elbow, swallowing hard. Two large shapes were huddled on the ground on either side of the clearing.
“I want to be sure they won’t hurt you,” he whispered.
“Try a sleep spell,” I suggested.
The closest, and smaller, shape was first. I saw no movement, not even a relaxation, and I drew in a sharp breath. “I think that one’s dead,” I said.
“Stay cautious,” Aiden said, creeping forward.
I followed behind him, keeping one eye on the monstrous shape on the other side. If it was still alive, it was asleep. I skidded on something slippery and Aiden caught me.
“Don’t look down,” he hissed.
I did anyway, and what I saw made me blanch. “That’s an awful lot of blood.” The ground was almost black with it. I saw shapes within the blood, and once I saw the beast on the ground, I recognized the shapes as what should have been within its body.
The stench hit me a moment later and I gagged.
“That direwolf isn’t going anywhere,” Aiden said grimly. “What could have taken it out?”
“I’m almost scared to find out,” I whispered. “You’re sure it wasn’t a shapeshifter wolf?”
“Quite. The ears are different. Besides, it would have shifted back once it died,” Aiden said bleakly. He cast sleep on the larger beast and we walked over to it, careful to avoid tripping hazards.
“Oh wow,” I breathed, once we could see the creature clearly. It was cat-like, blood smearing its white-purple coat. Its wings were draped brokenly around itself, covering a lot of the damage. “Beautiful,” I said, looking at its majestic face, ignoring the blood dripping from its fangs. “Should we bury it?”
Aiden raised his eyebrows. “I don’t have enough magic left in me to create a grave big enough.”
“You’re right.” A tiny sound met my ears and I looked around. “I shouldn’t have asked, I’m sorry.” The sound came again, but Aiden was crouched down and lifting the wingtip of the creature before I could say anything. I peeked over his shoulder and gasped.
A very tiny kitten was struggling to extricate itself from its mother’s body, drenched in afterbirth.