“You’re certain?”
“Absolutely certain. I want to help.”
He can’t hide the relief in his eyes.
Nodding, he gestures toward the stone steps. “Go ahead, then. I’m right behind you.”
“Is there a password or anything?”
“Only your desire to enter the Academy grounds in peace. If you’ve got malicious intent, you’ll be stopped at the barrier. Captured, to be precise.”
“Good thing I have a jail-breaking, fear-spelling, mental magicks professor on my side.” I offer him one last grin, mostly to show him there are no hard feelings about the boundaries thing, but also to show my gratitude. Not just for saving my life—for all of it.
Whether Dr. Devane realizes it or not, bringing me to Lala’s was a gift. The shower, the delicious meal, the chance to breathe and laugh a little and soak up the sunshine after spending so many days in that dank, grimy hellhole…
Whatever’s waiting for me at the Academy, however my life will change after I step through its magickal gates, I know I’ll remember my last day onthisside of the world as a good one, thanks to him.
“Miss Milan?”
“Stevie. You can call me Stevie.”
Without waiting for a reply, I turn away from him and ascend the stairs. The magick intensifies as I get closer to the archway. It’s similar to the magick surrounding Lala’s house, but instead of gentle fireflies dancing across my skin, this magick is pure white light, enveloping me until I’m literally glowing, bathed in beautiful light.
I can feel it assessing me, like a sentient being. And then, just as I’m getting used to it, it releases its grip. The portal widens ahead, revealing a glowing pathway into the campus.
I close my eyes, take a deep breath. And then, carrying nothing but the clothes on my back, a belly full of tacos, and the fond memories of a life that no longer exists, I step through.
Thirteen
STEVIE
Now that I’m presumed dead, the population of Tres Búhos is down to 1,287 souls. We’ve got a library, one grocery store, and a credit union. There’s an ice cream parlor that does buck-a-scoop nights, and down on Hidalgo Road, a drive-in movie theater that shows back-to-back 80s flicks on Friday nights.
It’s a small town, sure. The kind they write country songs about. But I never realized just how small it was until this very moment, standing at a fountain in the center of the Arcana Academy campus.
My entire hometown and everyone in it could fit on this one square. There are more people milling around the fountain than I’ve ever seen gathered in one place before, including the time at Sancho’s Bar & Grill when Dave Staub won two grand on a lotto scratch-off and offered to pick up everyone’s tab for the whole weekend.
Massive, gothic-style buildings dominate the landscape, like something right out of a black-and-white horror movie. You’d think the architecture would look out of place in the desert, but everything is built right into the surroundings, as if the campus was carved from the sandstone itself.
The fountain itself is a work of art—a giant sculpture representing all four suits of the Tarot. The chalice is in the center, with a wand and sword crossed before it. A pentacle hovers above, slowly rotating as water overflows from the chalice.
I must look like a total tourist with my mouth hanging open, but I don’t care. I can’t even wrap my head around how amazing this place is.
“The campus was modeled after the original Arcana Academy in Great Britain,” Dr. Devane says, appearing right behind me. If anyone noticed our sudden arrival at the fountain, no one seems to think it’s odd.
Devane places his hand on the small of my back—in an appropriate, professorial sort of way, of course—and leads me around the fountain.
“The architects had to make modifications for the desert environment,” he continues. “So what we’re left with is an old world meets old west motif. An odd mix, perhaps, but it works.”
“It’s breathtaking.”
“You were right at Lala’s,” he says. “The Academyistaller in person.”
I laugh, slowly turning in place to take everything in. It’s impossibly large and sprawling, buildings and rock formations and saguaros and sculptures intermingling like one big natural landscape. There are so many nooks and crannies to explore. My fingers are already itching to climb on everything.
“Is the Great Britain campus still there?” I ask, jogging to catch up as Devane leads us away from the fountain. “I thought this was the only Arcana Academy.”
“Oh, no. There are six campuses throughout the world, though ours is the largest, and one of only three still actively teaching students, along with Paris and Copenhagen. Buenos Aires and Tokyo are used as magickal research facilities only, and the original campus in London now serves as headquarters for APOA—the Association for the Preservation of the Occult Arts.”
