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“Of course.”
I stepped closer to the mirror, so I was almost nose-to-nose with my reflection. I had to admit that the uniform did flattering things for my figure. The pleated green pinafore emphasized my new curves. The cute Peter Pan collar of the undershirt softened what could have been a sexy outfit into something more innocent. The stockings and Mary Janes pushed the ensemble closer to ‘provocative’ but didn’t step over the line into what my mundane high school friends would have termed ‘trampy.’ I’d left my hair loose and wavy around my face. All in all, I looked... good. Confident. Ready.
I pulled my hand free of Lorcan’s, pressing it to his chest instead. There was no movement beneath the skin of my palm, which was exactly what I counted on. My magic corresponded with the element of air. I thrived on calm atmospheres, meditation, and communing with nature. But since time was in short supply, meditation or a leisurely stroll through the garden were out. Instead, I focused on that stillness inside Lorcan, as I had once before to ground a spell. I let my intention fill the void until I could summon enough power to back it. It was the basis of all witch magic.
Intent, incantation, issue forth.
I reached for the mirror and murmured, “Aperi ostium ut transirem.”
I met with resistance for the fourth time in as many minutes, but this time, the glass gave, just a little. It still felt like it was pushing against me, fighting to remain solid, but it had wavered, just for a moment. Emboldened, I pushed further, literally elbowing my way into the damn thing. It was less like stepping through a curtained doorway, like it should have been, and more like trying to struggle through a narrow gap between brick buildings, but I was moving. I sank into the mirror inch by hard-won inch, until just my fingers and face remained free. Lorcan gave them an encouraging squeeze before releasing me.
“Good luck,” he said.
“Auf wiedersehen,” Olga called.
“Don’t get stuck in the mirror,” Hellcat grumbled.
“And be safe!” Wanda called after me.
I smiled as I sunk all the way into the mirror. Blood Rose was an academy full of witches, fae, demons, vampires, and any other monster you cared to name, all packed into one far-flung castle.
I had a sneaking suspicion that ‘safe’ wasn’t in the tarot cards for me.
***
The room beyond was dark. Which seemed wrong. Wasn’t I supposed to arrive inside the headmistress’ office directly instead of ending up... wherever I now was? My short-lived feeling of victory dribbled away like yesterday’s potions, leaving me tired and discouraged. So much for making it on time. I’d managed to flub the spell. Again. Sigh.
I forced myself to breathe, and my heart began to slow. Squeezing through the narrow gap had given me an acute sense of claustrophobia. Next term, I’d insist on taking the backroads.
My hearing was piqued, waiting for some clue as to where I was. With any luck, I’d be close enough to the office that I could slip in without being tardy. Wherever I was had to have a door, so I stepped forward, my movement slow and cautious.
My fingers met a narrow plank of wood. Something rattled as I touched it, and I froze in place. Was there someone inside this place with me? Was the headmistress watching my every move from a shadowy corner and chuckling to herself over how bad my magic was? It was absolutely something I could picture a witch doing.
Like I said, we’re petty people.
But no. The sound died away a moment later, leaving me in the dark stillness of the room. I cautiously moved my hand along the plank and let out a breathless little shriek when my hand touched something rough and scaly that moved.
I backpedaled quickly, hitting something hard. There was more clanking, and something actually fell from above, hitting my head with a dull, painful ‘thunk’. It hit my foot on the way down, sending a streak of pain up my ankle. I bit back a curse and hopped on one foot. With more narrow planks digging into my back, I reached out and gripped what I was fairly sure was a broom or mop handle. So, I could hazard a guess as to where I’d ended up—a storage closet of some kind. I must have banged into the shelves.
A moment later a light clicked on, leaving me blinking spots from my eyes. When my vision cleared enough, I found myself in a five-foot-by-five-foot room lined with shelves. Bottles of every size, shape, and color had been arranged in neat rows. Potions ingredients were stashed in glass jars and stored near the top shelf. I’d been fortunate enough to knock over a copper kettle, instead of one of the tinctures. There was no telling what could have happened if I’d spilled a potion on myself.
The scaly thing I’d touched turned out to be a snake. A huge, undulating gray-brown snake that had reared up from its resting place on the shelf. My heart leapt into my mouth and choked my words. I mean, what the hell was I supposed to say after coming face-to-face with a supernaturally large Black Mamba? It wasn’t that snakes scared me. Two of Wanda’s sisters had snake familiars, but those had been rat and garter snakes. Deadly to their chosen prey, but too small in comparison to a witch to be any real threat, even though, as familiars, they grew to be larger than their natural counterparts.
No, I was scared of this snake. It wasn’t every day that you stared down one of the fastest and deadliest snakes in the world. The ordinary black mamba was around fourteen feet long. This one was twenty, at least, and more muscular than any snake I’d ever seen before.
Its tongue flicked out restlessly, tasting the air around me. It tilted its head to one side, considering me as I tried to understand what in the world it was doing in a closet. When it spoke, its voice was a low, sibilant hiss, too alien to be easily classified as either male or female.
“So,” it mused. “You got through in time. Curious.”
“Is it?” I managed. I still sounded breathy, but I’d found my voice. Go me. And I managed to release the handle of the broom, leaning it carefully against the wall.
“Quite. You have no idea how seldom little witchlings manage it. I’ll have to keep an eye on you.”
Oh, hell no. I didn’t want this snake keeping its anything on me. The sooner I could get away from its dark, probing gaze, the better. Just as I was about to turn on my toes and hightail it out, the words the snake said finally punched through my overwhelmed mind, and a wash of irritation banished the choking fear.
“Are you saying that was a test?” I asked and couldn’t keep the indignance out of my voice. “That the headmistress was... keeping the portal door closed so that we’d all turn up late?”
“Yes,” the snake said simply, tongue flickering with every word. “She can be difficult when she chooses to be.”
