Chapter 7: Cassandra

That evening when I retired to my room, I had the first of several bizarre dreams.

I suddenly found myself entering a grand ritual room where a man sat at a desk, facing away, reading a book. Everything in the small room appeared old, some items in disrepair. A bookshelf like the one back home lined one wall, the titles written in a language I didn't understand. A candelabra stood tall next to the desk, the ten candles struggling to light the room. A stack of books sat at one edge of the desk, threatening to fall over. The room was exactly what I had imagined a ritual room to look like which meant the man could be only one thing, an archmage.

The man turned, the book closed, the jewels embedded into the cover shimmering. He wore a blue robe with decorative shoulder guards. He reached for the staff leaning against his desk, the jewel-covered book in his other hand, and stood. Like the book cover, his staff also glowed from jewels of different colors.

"You're a grand archmage," I said, and he nodded. "What's your name?"

"My name is not important, young lady, but your name is," he said. "I've waited a long time for you to come to the academy. A very long time." As he came around the desk, he towered over me, his eyes gray and wise. His white hair, whiter than it should have been for a man I guessed to be middle-aged, reached past his shoulders. His nose was short and didn't match the other features of his face. He spoke softly but with a dire tone.

"I don't understand. I'm nobody. Just another student here to learn." For some reason I guessed he knew of my past and the devastation that followed me like a noon-day shadow.

He moved closer, using his staff to help him stand. For a moment I thought he might hand me the book, but when he saw my eyes fall upon it, he pulled the book away. "Your parents knew," he said.

"What? You knew my parents?"

"They knew you were brought into this world to stop an evil that has been growing over time." Tiring, he leaned against the desk, and the stack of books tumbled to the floor. "Edius knows you're here. He'll seek to steal your powers as he has done other students." He began to fade, and I moved toward him. "I'm glad you're finally here, Cassandra. You are the only witch capable of stopping Edius. The fate of the academy and the other witches and warlocks rests in your hands." And then he was gone.

"Cassandra? Cassandra, wake up!"

I bolted up and pushed Braeden away.

"Hey!" he said. "Come on or you'll be late for class." He looked at his shoulder where I'd shoved him.

I threw back the covers, got out of bed, and changed clothes while Braeden looked away. Not for the first time did I want him to turn around and look at me, to tell me how beautiful I was. He'd said it before but only in passing, as if he were embarrassed he was attracted to me. I wanted him to see that I'd grown from the child he knew to the woman he needed to know.

I finished changing, and we raced through the dormitory, nearly bowling over other students. I was hungry and thirsty and needed to pee, but Braeden was hellbent on us getting to class on time. We entered the building with only minutes to spare, rushing into the classroom and grabbing our seats. Ruby Thompson, our tour guide from the previous day, entered right after we did, the smile on her face letting us know her day was going better than yesterday. She sat next to me, and I hoped it was a start to a long friendship.

"Sorry about yesterday," she whispered. "Your friends goofing off during the tour kind of put me in a pissy mood." She offered her hand. "Let's start over. Ruby Thompson."

I shook her hand. "Cassandra Clarke," I whispered back. "A witch whose reputation obviously precedes her." We giggled at my remark. I nodded at the four young men in front of me. "They aren't my friends. Well, Braeden is."

Ruby leaned closer. "But they definitely want to be. I think they come as a team or not at all."

I glanced at Dash, Kyler, and Oliver and smiled. Each were different in his own way, but I somehow felt a kinship with all three. A feeling I couldn't shake. It had started the first day when we entered the admin building. I had actually enjoyed Dash putting his arm around my shoulder. Kyler holding my hand was more than a friendly gesture.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen," the woman entering the room said. "I'm Professor Zena. I'll be your Hexes and Potions instructor for the semester. My rules are simple. Pay attention and don't kill me or one of your classmates." She walked around the room, handing us each a login ID and password. "The glass device on your desk will be your savior this semester. I suggest you login now and save your information. Miss class, it's on you to find out from another student what hexes and potions you missed. I will not repeat myself. Have I made myself perfectly clear?" In unison, we acknowledged that she had.

Dash leaned over and whispered something to Kyler, nodding at Professor Zena's bottom as she walked toward the chalkboard.

"I hear everything in my room, Mister Bancroft." She turned, now morphed into a wolf, large and brooding. She padded toward Dash, and he leaned back in his seat, watching in horror as the large wolf approached. A strange smell wafted through the air, and I thought for sure he shit his pants. Zena snarled, and saliva dripped from her jowls. Nobody had mentioned we had a shapeshifter as an instructor. Kyler watched with amazement and a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, ma'am," Dash said, scared, still leaning back, his arms raised in the air.

When Zena stopped snarling, I thought it was over. Dash relaxed and then she bit into his desk and tore a chunk away, tossing it across the room. Before the piece hit the floor, she changed back to human form, her point well given, well taken.

"Are we good now, Dash?" She ran a finger beneath his chin and turned away. Dash again watched her bottom but said not a word. He glanced at Oliver who shook his head for Dash to stop.

Along the walls of the classroom were eight mixing stations, each with a variety of containers: beakers, boiling tubes, and flasks. Each station also had a heating element protruding from the wall, the small blue flames only a wisp. I hoped the class was more advanced than the dissecting frogs we did in high school.

"I need you to break into three groups," Professor Zena said.

Dash joined Kyler, I joined Braeden, and Oliver joined Ruby.

Professor Zena turned to the board and began writing. I noticed Dash had given up on watching her behind.

"Did you hear?" Ruby whispered as she removed a beaker from the shelf and placed it in front of her. "Four more students had their powers stolen. Headmaster Eliphas is interviewing the students now. They went into town and when they returned, nothing - no elements, no hexes. They'd completely forgotten how to mix potions."

"There's a town nearby?"

"Yes, but we now have curfew," Ruby whispered. "We must be back before nightfall every night."

Professor Zena turned from the board. "Our first potion will be a simple healing potion. It will heal any scar you might have. Physically not emotionally." She pointed at the three ingredients. "Mix in this order."

Braeden and I poured the three ingredients into a beaker in the proper order and bent down to watch the colors change. A modest amount of steam rose from the beaker. I glanced over to see Oliver leading Ruby, concentrating so hard I thought his head might explode. He had an intelligence that made him adorable. Ruby glanced at me and shook her head. Dash and Kyler were laughing, not measuring the ingredients according to what was written on the board. That was when I had my first suspicions the two were going to be goof-offs all semester long.

"We did it right," I said to Braeden. I needed the first potion to work without a hitch. One good win would prove to everyone I wasn't as bad as my reputation.

Braeden nodded. "The past is in the past," he said. "Let's show these suckers what we can do."