《Incant - A Coven in Atlanta (Short Story)》


 Chapter I - Juniper

    Her sister had dreamt of this moment and here she was incapable of joining in her enthusiasm.


    It was an opportunity of a lifetime for the both of them, both economically by virtue of the potential clientele and the wealth of knowledge to be extracted from the halls of the coven¡¯s current myth-making but these ideas were abstract and bittersweet.


    Yes, the Scarlet Society of Sorceresses was a burgeoning coven with the means to shirk the authority of the Association of Witches and Wizards (a claim she was dubious in believing on the face of it) and yet the material realities of their power was undeniable.


    She¡¯d gone out of her way to market herself and her sister as a couple of capable fledgling Incants from Savannah with enough spunk and experience between them to represent the best of their list of applicants.


    And even then, the conditions she needed to bargain for¡­


    ¡°Come on, June! They have someone traveling here to get us!¡± Magnolia was positively radiant with her blue floral dress and bouncing blonde hair. Unlike June, her skin was much lighter and her eyes shared in that ethereal fog white color.


    Juniper preferred her old eyes but that was neither here nor there.


    They were quite different for blood sisters, with June wearing her dirty blonde hair in a tight bun, a loose fitting black band shirt so faded with reuse and resale that the colors and letters were an incomprehensible mess, jeans, and a pair of worn running shoes.


    The apartment room they had was cluttered with their possessions. More of a mess had been made with Magnolia spinning up a storm to find articles of clothing that ¡®matched her style¡¯ and ¡®made her fit in¡¯ in a way June couldn¡¯t sympathize.


    She¡¯d tried but her preoccupations were of their immediate survival and caring about how one presents to a crowd ranks lower on that ladder for her.


    ¡°Maggie, you¡¯ve got everything you need. I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re getting so worked up over.¡± June attempts to untangle her sister''s anxiety.


    To no avail.


    ¡°June! This opportunity is, like, incredibly serious!¡± Magnolia shouted with exaggerated hand gestures, ¡°We¡¯re dealing with an honest to goodness witch coven! There are like, what, four in what¡¯s left of this country? And we¡¯re being offered an invitation to be members!¡± Her expressions were at once manic with joy and dramatic with despair at the seriousness of their offer.


    She was undoubtedly sure that there were more witch covens across the country but she wasn¡¯t going to correct her sister and dampen her enthusiasm. June was familiar with the pedigree of such an invitation and her general disdain for the AWW made her look at such an offer with more interest, among other things, but it didn¡¯t hold a candle to what she truly valued in life.


    She liked where they lived and the few acquaintances they had in the area. She liked her slice of the river-walk and the bar that still held game nights giving them that sense of community. She liked the hole in the wall sandwich shop that still made food from scratch and always gave her an extra pickle spear.


    They were going to Atlanta to join a bunch of other women she¡¯d never met before to live in a building they weren¡¯t privy to the location of, and for what?


    Juniper managed perfectly fine with her personal hustle and it was better for everyone around that Magnolia didn¡¯t tap into her own.


    What did they need a coven for beyond prestige and connections?


    It was a rhetorical question. She knew that it¡¯d be good for business to connect with the socialites and debutantes in the coven, a condition she¡¯d succeeded in acquiring for herself if her invitation is any indicator, and that her sister would benefit from learning about her abilities with people her own age than from June and the old leering wizard that lived at the pier.


    There was more to it but she focused on the good it¡¯d be for her sister.


    And herself.


    ¡°Alright, if you¡¯ve got everything accounted for, we should get going. I¡¯m not planning to wrangle a traveler to come back here so you better be sure.¡± June warned her sister in a motherly tone.


    Another squeal from Maggie and she was out of the door with her suitcases and bags.


    Honestly the things she did for her sister.


    June carefully inspected the chaos and pulled out her own bags from the mess before locking the door behind them. Maggie bolted off but it didn¡¯t make June worry at all.


    Juniper ran after the increasingly distant silhouette of her sister.


    The air was crisp on her skin and the treetops hid the worst of the sun from the cobblestone sidewalk. Numerous buildings wore their age gracefully, with the encroachment of ivy and moss a foregone conclusion to the dreamy southern city.


    Juniper ran down the streets in practiced ease. She recalled that they were meant to meet the representative of the coven at what remained of the manicured park of the previous era, now a vibrant forest where the planes thinned out.


    Approaching the verdant grove with its pastel colors and shimmering insects, Juniper saw her sister waving and bouncing around and a cloaked figure in a scarlet robe and white gloves.


    Her eyes were wrapped in an ornate white blindfold with golden accents. Her hair was incredibly short, so much so that if Juniper wasn¡¯t familiar with the all-female requirements of the coven and the generous hint of a figure underneath the robes, she¡¯d have confused her for a man.


    The cloaked woman gave June a soft smile.


    ¡°Hello, Juniper and Magnolia Winthrop. My name is Dahlia Antiguarre. It is a pleasure to be your first contact to our illustrious institution.¡± Her voice was deeper than expected with a practiced intonation and silky smooth expression of amusement. The faint gravity of her words and the way she carried herself made June uneasy.


    The Incants that held themselves this way were either overly confident or sociopathic from her experience. Neither a quality she wanted in their teleporter.


    ¡°This is it!¡± Magnolia squealed and hugged her sister for good measure. June was grateful that she was still cheerful and bubbly about the whole situation.


    ¡°Are there any questions you¡¯d like to ask me before I begin casting the spell? Once we¡¯re on campus, I am restricted from talking about certain topics.¡± Dahlia explained.


    Juniper thought it was weird she¡¯d be able to talk freely away from the coven and was immediately reminded of how these institutions maintain a vice grip on their alumni and frowned.


    ¡°How many people are on campus?¡± Maggie asked with stars in her eyes.


    ¡°From my estimations, your current cohort has twenty or so fledglings with the campus-wide population fluctuations dependent on the seasons and events our Matron hosts. If I remember correctly, there are graduates still living in the dorms as they attempt to source positions elsewhere through our private connections.¡± Dahlia answered.


    ¡°Can we leave campus?¡± Juniper asked.


    Dahlia gave her the same amused smirk, ¡°Anyone can leave the institution although I¡¯d advise against it. The location is kept a secret for a reason and we¡¯d hate to lose a fledgling so young in their career.¡±


    Juniper scoffed, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me getting lost. If there¡¯s no rule against leaving campus, that''s good enough for me.¡± Whether her tone was combative or assertive didn¡¯t bother June in the slightest.


    It didn¡¯t look like Dahlia took offense to the attitude either with how that smirk remained.


    Magnolia laughed, ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that Junie! She just wants to make sure that we¡¯re safe is all.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Your safety is of the utmost importance.¡± Dahlia provided an easy canned response.


    For the utmost importance of the institution''s reputation, maybe. And she didn¡¯t think they were above making mistakes go away.


    ¡°Can we talk about the curriculum once we¡¯re on campus? I¡¯d like to know the extent of what we signed up for.¡± Juniper asked.


    ¡°I¡¯d be more than happy to oblige. The two of you look like you¡¯d be able to get the fundamentals down quickly so how about I give you a demonstration of how this teleportation spell works?¡± The practiced and reserved grace she had carried herself with up to this point was momentarily removed and replaced with a burning and brilliant passion.


    Dahlia snapped her fingers and the air twisted. From nowhere, a decorated staff notched down its length in sigils, the head of the implement housing smooth obsidian disks.


    Magnolia stared at the staff with wide eyed wonder but refrained from taking a closer look as the two became mesmerized with the work of the artisanal witch. She used the talon-like end of her staff to carve a circle around them and their possessions. She adjusted the disks, upon closer inspection lined with similar sigils to the staff, and turned to the sisters.


    ¡°Spells, in all of their forms, hold three fundamentals. The first is the claim. We are witches. Conquerors of the magical world and thus we lay claim around our dominion.¡± Dahlia delivered her speech with the intensity of a zealous professor.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    She took a deep breath and muttered a long incantation. Her hand slowly rotated in the air above her head, fingers melting into the barrier between this world and the next. Light was repelled from their surroundings and a sudden chill swept over them.


    ¡°After you make the claim, you make your demands. Neophytes would mistake the mere casting of a spell to be incantation and then results. They miss the forest for the trees. It is not enough to cast and expect actions but to bend the will of the Weave to our whims. We do not bargain or borrow. We have taken this power and it is ours to use.¡± Her voice held a clear mania now.


    Magnolia and Juniper shared a fearful expression but could not lift a finger to stop the spectacle of the trained Incant.


    ¡°And now, for the finale.¡± Dahlia whispered. She flicked her wrist and snapped her fingers.


    In the blink of an eye, the tear in reality consumed them all. Juniper couldn¡¯t perceive the gradient, the interstice between their meeting spot at the park and the front fields of the coven institution.


    Juniper schooled her face stern as she looked around her, the campus having materialized before them. Three crimson pillars scraped the sky from the northern end of the institution. They were nestled within a large building of white wood speckled with brown tones. As she rotated around to catch glimpses of other large buildings, each with some form of pale coating, Juniper made note of the treeline that remained in the background from end to end.


    ¡°The final component to a proper teleportation spell is the most important step of all. It is the follow through, the terminus of our claims. Your will is steel and your eyes are unclouded because you have visualized your destination and have extended your dominion over it.¡± Dahlia ended her lesson with a subdued zeal, clearly winded from the performance.


    Magnolia clapped, ¡°That was amazing!¡± She turned to Juniper, ¡°That was chilling! Oh my goodness, the- it was just, wow!¡±


    Juniper couldn¡¯t keep herself from smiling.


    ¡°Now that I¡¯m on campus, I can inform you of your curriculum. Magnolia, it was deemed by the Matron that your proficiencies as an Incant are lacking and the fundamentals must be instilled within you. Your summer will be spent in the accelerated program with any block in progress grounds for your immediate dismissal.¡±


    What was once joy melted away. Magnolia¡¯s face was equal parts confusion and worry.


    ¡°Juniper, your experience as a delver has been recognized and the conditions requested for your admission to the coven have been approved by the Matron. We look forward to your progress.¡±


    Juniper gave the guide a death glare but they either didn¡¯t notice or didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°I hope to see you two around for the graduation ceremony if the academy doesn¡¯t chew you up first.¡± Dahlia gave the two a traditional woodland witch cackle before walking off to a decadent white building with black windows and magically chromatic garden.


    ¡°Oh my goodness,¡± Juniper turned back to see her sister gawking at the manicured grass around them and the shimmering field of rainbow hues above them, ¡°We¡¯re finally here! Juniper, I just, I don¡¯t know how you did it but this is amazing.¡±


    Magnolia paused.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything unsavory to get us here, did you?¡±


    Juniper broke down in laughter, a cackle that violently cut through the serenity of the academic campus, ¡°That¡¯s what you worry about.¡± She wiped a tear from her eye and gave Magnolia a long and deep embrace, ¡°I just applied for the both of us and posted stars for our tuition. I didn¡¯t have to do anything else.¡±


    She stared into her sister¡¯s eyes. In them was Juniper''s whole world, the remnants of her joy and goodwill.


    Magnolia smiled and returned the hug, ¡°Thank you, June. I¡¯m so happy we were even considered worthy enough to get this opportunity.¡±


    The two stood together in silence.


    ¡°Cough.¡± Interrupting the moment was an olive skinned man wearing a tailored suit with the academy''s whites, golds, and reds. The terms ¡®manicured¡¯ and ¡®fuckwit¡¯ jumped out at Juniper when she laid eyes on him. From the white and gold gloves to the strip of long black hair laying on his forehead where the rest of it was swept back, the man was deliberate in looking like a debonair sleazeball. ¡°I hope I¡¯m interrupting all this. I¡¯m Professor Del Marin and I¡¯ll be tasked with taking you to your rooms.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it that you hope you¡¯re not interrupting the moment?¡± Maggie replied with a raised eyebrow.


    The professor gave them a disinterested look, ¡°Oh no. I assure you that I¡¯m glad to see this display of familial affection mercifully ended for the rest of us. If you want to hug and cry about being here, do it in your dorm room.¡±


    ¡°Tell them to turn around then. If they want to grumble about us, they can do it in person.¡± Juniper dared the Professor to say otherwise.


    He relented, ¡°The Matron did mention one of you was going to be defensive. Should have expected it¡¯d be you from¡­ everything here.¡± He gestured at June¡¯s person before turning his attention to Magnolia, ¡°Let your sister see reason here. We¡¯re on a timetable right now and I¡¯d rather get rid of these duties quickly. I¡¯ll answer all of your questions while we walk. I promise it¡¯ll be fun.¡±


    Maggie pivoted between the two before sighing, ¡°Let¡¯s get a move on, Junie. I don¡¯t appreciate the snark but we should be good about making proper first impressions.¡±


    Juniper glared at the Professor before grabbing her bags. She refrained from grumbling obscenities at the man.


    For Maggie¡¯s sake, she¡¯d behave.


    ¡°Good!¡± He clapped his hands together, ¡°We¡¯re going to be heading to the building down south. Grab your things and follow me.¡±


    He sauntered past the both of them towards another monochromatic building with golden trim and crimson flags. In the distance were a couple of women basking in the sun and holding small chit chat.


    ¡°You said you were a professor. What subject?¡± Juniper asked.


    ¡°My domain is vast and generalized. I¡¯ve been selected to teach this latest cohort of the fundamentals of our craft and hopefully polish those poor muddled things into glimmering representatives of this institution.¡± Professor Del Marin replied with flamboyance and gusto.


    ¡°Why are you a man?¡± Magnolia asked.


    The man paused before finding clarity, ¡°Ah, you mean why is a man here on a campus that markets itself as a haven for young women? Honestly, miss Winthrop, you must be more complete with your questions. Bad contracts are made with sentences like that.¡±


    Juniper rolled her eyes.


    ¡°To answer your question, our wonderful Matron understands the value of having experienced Incants under her belt capable of teaching the next generation with their particular set of skills. Although the institution was founded with the expressed condition of housing and caring for female students, faculty are under no such restrictions. They simply employ the best this world has to offer.¡±


    Maggie suppressed a chortle but Juniper held no reservations.


    ¡°Maybe the best in Georgia, if that.¡± Juniper remarked.


    The professor kept his head held high, ¡°Your words will not wound me, Juniper. I know I am the best and to display a hint of my power would be beneath me.¡±


    She rolled her eyes again.


    ¡°Careful there, teach. Words like that¡¯ll have me think you¡¯re on the cusp of ego strain.¡±


    ¡°June! Be polite. A little boasting here and there isn¡¯t the worst thing in the world,¡± Maggie leaned in close to Juniper¡¯s ear, ¡°And he¡¯s my dang teacher. Please don¡¯t antagonize the man.¡±


    She huffed but made no further comment.


    ¡°When are classes expected to begin and where would I go? My invitation didn¡¯t have anything like a schedule written on it and our transport quickly left us behind after our arrival.¡± Maggie asked.


    ¡°Classes start tomorrow in the main building just over yonder. Take heed of the three old scarlet stone pillars that thrust out of the pristine white building as they denote our commitment to traditional tenets of magical governance and an image you will associate with pleasure should the experience in class be kind to you.¡± He spoke in a roundabout manner but Juniper understood the reverse of such a statement; we would strive towards excellence or be casted away and expelled from these premises.


    Magnolia could only wince at the pressure.


    Juniper spared sympathy for her sister''s sudden predicament.


    ¡°Here we are at the dorm and here are your keys.¡± The professor handed Juniper a golden key with a stark red line running through the length of it. ¡°Do not worry about losing your key. Should this be the case, ask the smith for assistance and they will drain you for their services.¡± He gave them a mischievous smirk.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be necessary.¡± Juniper gave the man a leveled stare.


    ¡°Well, my duties are fulfilled. I look forward to seeing you in class on time, Miss Winthrop. As for you, Juniper, I hope your abilities allow you to find a better personality, because this combative attitude is beneath your beauty.¡±


    Motherfucker.


    Magnolia gripped Juniper tight, ¡°I look forward to learning from you, sir. Thank you again for your time.¡±


    Juniper struggled to get out of Magnolia¡¯s grip but the girl had kept a strict regimen of physical exercises if not to restrain an assailant than to restrain her sister from committing murder in cold blood.


    Once he was out of sight (and out of range for death) Magnolia released Juniper from her grasp.


    ¡°That pompous little shithead.¡± Juniper grumbled, violently reaching for her bags to enter into the ¡®hallowed¡¯ halls of the covens dormitory.


    ¡°June! We expect eccentricities from all kinds of Incants. We don¡¯t have to like the guy¡¯s attitude. We just have to learn from them.¡± Magnolia played soothsayer as she followed behind her big sister.


    ¡°If he makes another comment like that, I¡¯m gonna help him find something alright.¡± She continued to complain but the anger was quick to wash past her in favor of the begrudging respect she was acquiring for the secretive institution.


    The interior of the dorm opened to an expansive common room with subdued displays of the covens colors and symbols. Women wearing robes and summer clothes chit chatted with one another, drinking sweet tea with open books and trinkets. To the outside world, these college age women were the equivalent of nascent weapons of mass destruction and here they were talking about their journeys in the astral and what kind of dinner they were going to wish for.


    Those that pulled themselves away from their personal affairs gave Magnolia a cordial smile, doing their best to avoid the gruff and tumble bodyguard walking beside her.


    They didn¡¯t look like her crowd anyway, the losers.


    The sisters walked down a hall and found their room at the end of it. Juniper had taken note of the elaborate sigils etched into the wood of each door, with paints and embellishments likely added onto by the denizens of the rooms.


    Theirs was a simple wooden door cast in white, the sigils accented with a deep scarlet.


    ¡°This is it.¡± Magnolia squealed. She inserted her key into the knob.


    The sigils flashed softly in the dim corners of the hall before opening.


    The room was surprisingly spacious. On either side of the room were soft looking beds of white cloth and umber shaded desks with accompanying shelf space. There was a window that overlooked the woodlands beyond streaming bright sunlight into their new home.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Juniper failed to find it in her critical heart a fault with their accommodations. The stars were being put to good use then.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Magnolia dropped her bags at the entrance way and ran for the bed. She bounced lightly on the mattress, ruffling the pristine blanket as she rolled around from end to end. ¡°It¡¯s so soft, June. You have to give it a go.¡±


    Juniper smiled, ¡°After we get our stuff in order, Maggie.¡± She dragged both of their bags into the room, letting Magnolia have her fun.


    Unpacking the few possessions she had, Juniper sifted through her documents finding the pair of opened letters.


    She hid them in her desk drawer and piled on clutter above them.


    Her sister didn¡¯t need to know.

 Chapter II - Magnolia

    Magnolia couldn¡¯t remember falling asleep. Yesterday was so full of discoveries and wonders that she just couldn¡¯t handle her excitement.


    Juniper wasn¡¯t even acting crabby about it so she guessed that there were some things her older sister could be surprised by.


    Her heart stopped and her breath was held as she imagined each brilliant moment just a day ago. It was a dream made manifest, the raw power given artistry and form by Dahlia and her queer looking staff. Her mind ran a mile a minute coming up with questions to ask but she didn¡¯t want to make herself or her sister look like a pair of country bumpkins.


    No, all her questions would be reserved for class today.


    Well, the questions her book had failed to answer.


    Dinner time arrived last night with more than just food; one of the stewards of the campus knocked on their door carrying a stack of thick books piled high like a teetering block tower. Juniper picked out her books from the stack and handed Magnolia the rest.


    This was the first time she¡¯d ever seen an enchanted book. Well, that was a white lie. She¡¯d seen another enchanted book owned by Mr. Isaac on the pier but only a glance at the colorful hellfire roasting a skull as the shadows in its background danced chaotically.


    It was an advanced book that she wasn¡¯t meant to be privy to and neither was Juniper apparently. Magnolia didn¡¯t like to keep secrets from Junie but Mr. Isaac promised it¡¯d only cause them more headaches and that he¡¯d be prohibited from teaching her anymore.


    The covers on these books were less extravagant. Some depicted a rendition of the astral interpreted by Incants of various artistic merit, while others didn¡¯t even go that far by just having a sequence of sigils flash on the cover over and over.


    The bit of education she received from Mr. Isaac, she confirmed, was colored greatly by his perspective on the nature of Incants, the Astral Plane, and the Schism that led to what remains of the modern world.


    She poured herself into the opening contents of the ¡°History and Compositions of Incants¡± with relish. It took Juniper yelling and the pangs of hunger to pull Magnolia away from each wonderful discovery.


    Her former teacher had mentioned the Schism as a day of unbridled pain and chaos and the textbook agreed with his sentiments and then some. Neither Juniper nor Magnolia were around for the event and what she could pry out from her sister of her parents and grandparents informed her that they didn¡¯t have a pleasant experience during the event either.


    The book made no mention of the events origin so Magnolia had marked that down as one of her questions of interest for her professor today.


    ¡°Hey, do you want me to walk you to your class?¡± Juniper yawned as she spoke, scratching her face and rubbing the grogginess away from her eyes. The trickling morning sunlight made her sister''s faint brown skin glow with an effortless radiance.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to, June.¡± Magnolia replied.


    ¡°I¡¯d want to, Maggie. I just want you to tell me yes or no.¡± Juniper replied.


    Magnolia shook her head, ¡°No no. I think I should handle this by myself. At least the first day.¡± The anxiety in the back of her mind ratcheted up one notch but she needed to do this. Her sister had already done so much to get them this opportunity and it was here that she could show her that she was just as capable as her sister raised her to be.


    Juniper gave Magnolia a smile that filled her from head to toe with love and warmth.


    ¡°Knock em dead Maggie. If anyone gives you a hard time, show ¡®em what it means to mess with a Winthrop.¡± Juniper flexed her bicep and laughed.


    Magnolia wanted no part in that kind of violence. If someone gave her a hard time, she¡¯d deal with it her own way.


    ¡°Are you going to be home when I get back from classes?¡± Magnolia asked.


    ¡°Depends on whether my classes are interesting enough to stick around for. If not, who knows, but you don¡¯t have to wait for me to get dinner with you and your friends.¡±


    Magnolia smiled, ¡°Friends? Junie, it''s my first day in class. What makes you think I¡¯m gonna have friends over?¡±


    ¡°Maggie, come on. There¡¯s a reason why the rest of the community asked for me through you. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have half that class hanging on your every word by the end of the day and I look forward to seeing it happen.¡±


    Magnolia placed her books down and gave her sister a long hug.


    ¡°Thanks Junie. For everything.¡±


    They didn¡¯t need to say anything else.


    Magnolia left their new home behind to take her first steps forward on a new chapter in her life. Her long blonde hair bounced up and down her shoulders as she walked through the hall and out of the building.


    She made an effort to smile and greet the other witches, taking note of their mood and accessories. Magnolia had foregone wearing the school robes (especially under this oppressive heat) in favor of another sundress that approximated the school''s colors. Most of the other women had made similar assessments of the weather, carrying their various magical implements in matching bags.


    Some even wore hats! The long and pointy sort of hat that she¡¯d long associated with the profession since Juniper handed her that one fairytale book.


    ¡°How do you think class is gonna start this year?¡± Magnolia caught a conversation between a pair of witches just ahead of her.


    They were all heading in the same direction!


    ¡°I dunno but my lovely step-sister mentioned the reputation of our professor and I¡¯m quite unimpressed.¡± The other girl''s voice was drenched in venom for all parties involved.


    Maybe they were just judging Professor Del Marin over his eccentricities and if that was the case, she didn¡¯t feel like his ego was enough of an issue to warrant note. Her former teacher had riddled her with enough stories of other Incants that something as benign as incompetent megalomania was endearing compared to the stranger and deadlier alternatives.


    ¡°My mother mentioned something similar but we won¡¯t find out his supposed pedigree until we¡¯re in class. Honestly these rumors are enough of a black mark to how far this institution has fallen.¡±


    Magnolia frowned. The two hushed their conversations and turned their heads slightly back to look at Magnolia with paired sneers.


    Magnolia refrained from turning away, channeling her sister''s attitude into a combative glare. Their faces recoiled in disgust and their walking pace hurried along. She managed to catch the word, ¡°mongrel¡± in that fast paced rush of sentences they exchanged as they fled.


    She was happy that she¡¯d defended herself but only slightly. This was her first day and the first two people she¡¯d interacted with in an extended capacity were purely confrontational.


    The hesitations quickly melted out of her when she came face to face with the large birchwood double doors of the main academy hall. The three spires that pierced through the building loomed over the students like ancient sentinels. From her perspective so close to the center, their spiked ceilings appeared to scrape the sky.


    Magnolia entered the academic building and was unexpectedly perturbed by the echoes of her footsteps as she walked through the halls. Where she had expected a confluence of bright, young students chit-chatting about their expectations for the day, she found empty corridors and uneasy silence.


    Had classes begun already?


    No. She¡¯d woken up early. Classes weren¡¯t starting for another thirty minutes. Magnolia pulled out a cracked timepiece to double check her previous assessment.


    Taking a deep breath, she attempted to unsettle her nerves and simply walk into class. If the halls held no solace for her then maybe the class would be filled with enough potential friends to see her through these uneasy moments.


    She walked to the classroom''s closed door and gripped the cold golden handle.


    ¡°Knock ¡®em dead, Maggie.¡± She muttered under her breath.


    Magnolia opened the door.


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    The classroom interior did little to assuage the unease in her body, with a grand hall hinting at filling its space with rows upon rows of students made uncomfortably intimate with just a scant nine to account for.


    Dividing lines were already drawn, the two girls Magnolia was behind among a gaggle of three other women. There was a clear head of the group, a confident porcelain woman with jet black hair down to her shoulders maintaining an aura of aristocracy with deliberate and graceful moves.


    Magnolia¡¯s arrival caught their notice. The leader didn¡¯t deem it necessary to look in her direction while the rest of the group laughed directly at her expense.


    This was fine.


    She¡¯d expected that these brilliant minds had gotten access to the covens academic program at various points in their life. They¡¯d probably known each other before taking this accelerated program and were catching up from the last time they¡¯d interacted with one another.


    Maybe there was just a misunderstanding. Yeah, this was something she could smooth over.


    Magnolia straightened herself and walked with bravado towards the front corner of the room. She could see the secondary group of women looking down at her from the back end of the room.


    These were traditional looking witches, in her eyes. They wore deep blue hats with pointed and curled tips along with dresses that shined with streaks of stars. Their faces were obscured with a veil that covered the length of their bodies, a gradient of black around their eyes that dissipated into grays and whites.


    She placed her bag on the desk and faced forward.


    This is fine.


    ¡°Hello.¡± A mousy voice startled Magnolia out of her apprehension. She turned to see a short girl with freckled pudgy cheeks and brown curled hair in all directions. Her spectacles were cartoonishly large, magnifying the light browns of her eyes as she stared expectantly at Magnolia for a response.


    ¡°Oh thank goodness.¡± Magnolia let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Yes, hello. My name is Magnolia Winthrop, but you can call me Maggie. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    The short girl¡¯s cheeks grew flushed and her eyes ripped away from Magnolia¡¯s.


    ¡°I, uh, my name is Willow Pontiere. It¡¯s good to have a f-friendly face around here, M-Maggie.¡± Willow struggled to put her words together, fidgeting with her bag and taking out items as she talked.


    Magnolia chuckled, ¡°Yeah. I still have high hopes we¡¯re gonna all be friendly by the end of things.¡±


    Willow turned to her and-


    ¡°Good morning class,¡± bursting from the door, Professor Del Marin sauntered to the podium in an immaculate white suit with golden trim, ¡°And welcome to the Scarlet Societies final examination of entry. I don¡¯t have to tell you what failure represents, do I?¡± He paused and stared at the class with a voracious glint in his eyes.


    Magnolia looked at the gaggle of girls to her side. They didn¡¯t seem fazed.


    ¡°A little bit about myself. I am a second generation Incant and have slotted a total of five spells with an additional ten inscribed in my grimoire. Before you pry, I will not be informing you of these spells in any capacity and hope to go the length of this semester without using anything more than a shield spell.¡±


    Another pause. He moved away from the podium and hopped down the small stage set for them towards the front student desks.


    ¡°I do not need to know your names,¡± His leveled stare passed across the classroom, ¡°As far as this institution is concerned, you are all fledglings and will be referred to as such. Keep your name to yourself and if you must identify yourself in your classwork, use a pseudonym if possible. There¡¯s nothing more dangerous than an enemy holding your name.¡±


    Oops. Well Willow wasn¡¯t an enemy as far as Magnolia was concerned. Her chest was tightening as the speech continued but it was nothing her sister couldn¡¯t handle and they were cut from the same cloth so-


    ¡°Are you going to get the lesson started?¡± Piercing through the professor''s statements was the regal woman, a voice quite pointed and drenched in contempt. ¡°I¡¯d like to get on with my life while this institution still holds some repute. Although judging by your character, it sinks by the second.¡± Barb after barb, her golden eyes did not pull away from the professor. Her very being was attempting to subjugate the man.


    Any thought of friendship with the woman immediately evaporated. She wanted subjects or peers and Magnolia was painfully aware she¡¯d fall into the former with her current knowledge.


    Del Marin maintained his smile. If he was irritated, he did not show it.


    ¡°The first class is quite short, se?ora. You have your materials to refer to for private study but this first class is meant for questions from the initial reading.¡± the professor elaborated.


    Magnolia felt the air thicken with anticipation. She refused to turn to the side again and watch those women wait for her to reveal herself as an absolute novice.


    She was kind but not blind to the predatory nature of their academic course. Regrettable as it was, she¡¯d refrain from asking her questions now. Maybe Willow would be willing to indulge her.


    ¡°I will take your silence as understanding. Class is dismissed.¡±


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Hey Willow.¡± Magnolia pulled the girl to a far corner of the building, away from prying eyes and ears. ¡°Do you want to study through the semester together? Between you and the rest of our classmates, I¡¯d rather take my chances with someone kind enough to introduce themselves to me.¡±


    Willow''s eyes widened behind her glasses and tears welled up at the corners.


    ¡°Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes.¡± Willow pulled in Magnolia for a hug and she gingerly returned the embrace. ¡°It¡¯s awful Maggie. Trying to do this alone. I¡¯m so g-glad we can work together like this.¡±


    ¡°Well, for the first few nights, I¡¯ll likely be learning from you. I was going to ask the professor some questions but¡­¡± She trailed off.


    Willow nodded, ¡°Yeah, that was a good decision. You don¡¯t really want to look clueless in front of the rest of them. They¡¯ll leave you alone for now while they figure out your level of competency. Bianca is like that and the rest of ¡®em won¡¯t step out of line until she¡¯s come to a decision.¡±


    For now. The thought felt uncomfortable in Magnolia¡¯s head.


    ¡°Is the learning experience like this in all covens?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The Scarlets are all I know and I¡¯ve only known them for about two and a half years. Some of these other women have been in the program since its founding and their parents, progenitors of the whole institution.¡±


    Interesting.


    ¡°So, Bianca and her group. They¡¯re, like, properly entrenched in the coven then? How¡¯d you come across her name?¡±


    ¡°More or less, yeah. By virtue of the coven¡¯s acceptance policies, even people like them have to go through the testing but that¡¯s a formality really. I doubt mommy and daddy would let their kids fail out of being a Scarlet sister.¡± Willow spat her statement with a surprising amount of vitriol. ¡°And as for the name, well she has nothing to fear. Most of the class is already wrapped around her finger and those that aren¡¯t are either disinterested in engaging with her people or are too weak to fuck around with her.¡±


    She looked up from that angered expression and her face paled.


    Magnolia turned around to see what would cause such a reaction.


    Standing just behind them was a tall, pale woman in a white and golden robe that was practically consuming her. Her scarlet hair was braided into a crown and despite the ease of her smile and the perfection of her skin, Magnolia had to repress a reflex to run.


    Her eyes were pitch black.


    ¡°Good afternoon, fledglings.¡± Her voice held with it a reverberation as if multiple women were speaking to the two of them in unison.


    ¡°G-good afternoon, Matron!¡± Willow fumbled to get her words out, performing a curtsy. ¡°Let¡¯s meet at the plaza later, Maggie, see ya!¡±


    Willow abandoned her friend to the paralyzing gaze of the coven''s founder.


    Magnolia couldn¡¯t help but let out a chuckle.


    Shit!


    Would the Matron take it the wrong way? Was she already-


    The Matron smirked and giggled, ¡°A shame, that one. Brilliant mind constrained by a lack of social grace and courage.¡± Her gaze returned to Magnolia, ¡°I hope you¡¯ve found everything to your liking thus far, Miss Winthrop.¡±


    She knew her. The Matron knew who she was.


    ¡°Yes, Miss. I mean Matron. Although there are many things I don¡¯t understand about living in a coven, I¡¯ve found our facilities to be wonderful and the knowledge intoxicating.¡± Magnolia¡¯s tone oozed gratitude and a hint of fear.


    ¡°That is good to hear. I remember the headache that came from corresponding with your sister and the assurances that had to be made for her to even consider this institution.¡±


    It was Magnolia¡¯s turn to laugh, ¡°Yeah, Junie¡¯s definitely a handful when it comes to that kind of stuff.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d expect nothing less from someone like her. The entrepreneurial spirit still lives with the headstrong and foolhardy and yet there¡¯s a measurable amount of intelligence in that one. Shrewd and determined are a dangerous combination in our line of work.¡±


    A pause in the conversation. Magnolia maintained her positive demeanor but¡­


    ¡°Matron, may I ask you a question?¡± Magnolia connected with the woman¡¯s neutral gaze. ¡°What do you see in me? I can understand my sister getting in but I haven¡¯t¡­¡± She didn¡¯t have enough resolve to put her concerns to words.


    The founder¡¯s face softened, ¡°You are here because I expect great things from you. It is up to you to claim that greatness. Your sister is a force to be reckoned with considering the experience she¡¯s accumulated at the threshold of our potential, but inside of you there is so much more that is begging to take on the world should you have the knowledge and power to wield it.¡±


    Magnolia imbibed on each and every word.


    ¡°Given that mind of yours, I know I¡¯ll see you at our final communion. It is an event that cannot take place without you, as far as I¡¯m concerned.¡±


    Magnolia¡¯s heart lit up with the words of encouragement. How foolish she¡¯d been.


    ¡°Thank you, Matron. Your words mean the world to me. I promise I won¡¯t let you down.¡± Magnolia assured.


    ¡°It was a pleasure to meet you in the flesh, Magnolia. Should you find your resolve wavering again, find me in my office and I will lend an ear.¡± The Matron replied.


    Broken from her paralysis, Magnolia sprinted down the hall and out towards the plaza where her friend would be.


    All she had in her mind was the drive to achieve that greatness the Matron saw in her. And to gush at her sister later about what kind of day she had.


    Hopefully her sister fared better with her first day than she did

 Chapter III - Juniper

    Juniper stood at the edge of the woods, the stars and moon bathing her in twilight.


    She¡¯d rather be at the dorm listening to her sister gush about the history in her books or friends she made in class or anything else, but there was a pressing matter that would keep burning a hole within her until she¡¯d addressed it.


    There were no guards to speak of on campus. And from her amateur experience, it meant that they were so good as to not be spotted or the campus really was overly confident with its location to bother keeping around extra muscle.


    Honestly the whole campus came under an overwhelming silence that the belfries would stir to life for the few attendees to bustle to their next destination.


    There were five buildings on campus organized on star points (how cute) along with the central plaza that administrative staff and advanced attendees used to teleport in and out of campus.


    Of the buildings she had a solid guess of their use were their dorm building, the educational building from which those spires pierced the heavens, and the administrative building that their guide walked towards.


    Juniper was unable to walk into the fourth building earlier that day but confirmed its use as an event hall of some kind. Seemed a fancy enough place to hold events considering the domed skylight at the building¡¯s center.


    The fifth building was a complete mystery to her. From her idle observations on the campus lawn, she¡¯d seen slimy eyed executive types walk their way over to said building, incapable of keeping their gaze from sullying the women and the environment around them. It¡¯d be like an institution like this to have top bill degenerates.


    A chill ran up her spine.


    She refocused on the endless woodland clearing in front of her. The darkness so occluded that not even the gentle glow of the night sky above could pierce that veil.


    It¡¯d be just like delving into the other side, she told herself. Her stomach was cloying and knotted in anticipation. Juniper could feel the pace of her heart quicken and the hairs on her brown skin stand on ends.


    She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ripped piece of paper.


    Deep breaths.


    Juniper reached within herself and wordlessly manifested golden threads into her hand. One thread was tied to her ring finger, the string becoming immaterial as she traveled along its length to her campus dorm room. Turning back to the ripped sheet of paper in her hand, she swirled her index finger over it.


    Golden threads unspooled from the pointed digit.


    ¡°Locate this paper¡¯s origin.¡± Juniper whispered to her golden thread. The string coiled at her fingertip before bursting with life through the woods into the unknown. Tugging at the string and finding it was still taut, she returned the ripped sheet to her pocket.


    She took a deep breath and marched past the woodlands threshold.


    Unlike the cool summer air she was relishing in, the woodlands were stale and damp. She suppressed a cough as she walked in the unnatural stillness. Her steps on the wet earth made no sound, twigs cracking underneath her boots with nary a snap or crunch.


    Her eyes adjusted to the low light her golden thread radiated. She could make out the rough outlines of people just out of the corners of her eyes. Like brushstrokes, their bodies muddied into the darkness upon closer inspection and any attempt to angle her path towards her spectating specter was met with an impossible distance between them.


    These must be the unfortunate souls who walked into the woods without a means to find their way out.


    Or the more sorry sort just strolling down the wrong neck of the woods.


    She tried calling out to them. Her voice could not reach their ears or even pierce the oppressive silence around her but something in the world shifted ever so slightly. Motion without sound in the far distance of something large that heard her call.


    Juniper refocused her attention to the thread and continued down the quiet trek through the woods.


    She did not look back to check what had become of her former spot but knew instinctively by the gust of wind on her back that something was there.


    With a blink and a threshold crossed once more, the world around her was once again subsumed by the cacophony of life. Chirping and hooting and howling overwhelming her ears. The pleasant waft of woodland air to filter out the staleness she had once found herself in.


    She followed her thread down the beaten path and onto the jagged streets with its inert mechanical beasts and pockmarked pavement. They¡¯d agreed on a time and, looking at her worn watch hidden in her jacket pocket, she was going to make it with time to spare.


    Juniper walked on the side of the road down the meandering hillside towards a remnant of civilization, the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia. From the vantage point she had, she could even see their infrastructure slowly being revitalized, the heart of the city lit up to repel the creatures of the night and remind humanity of what they once had.


    Of what they¡¯d never reclaim again.


    Her thread was mercifully closer to the edge of their darkness, pointing in the direction of a crumbling cul-de-sac. She tried to keep a professional mindset with this call but Juniper found the secrecy perturbed her more than she¡¯d realized. Skullduggery was common in her field and the stars certainly warranted her end of the bargain be held but the lack of a face to her employer rubbed her off the wrong way.


    It either spoke of weakness on the part of her employer to take ownership of their actions or a request that was going to present more headaches than originally intended.


    Regardless, Juniper was in too deep now to fuss about the ethics. She found herself at the front door of a refurbished suburban home, candles lit at the windowsill giving the place its own ominous orange glow. She knocked once before testing the door knob.


    Twisting it once found no resistance so Juniper walked inside. The candlelight did little to dismiss the darkness around her employers framed photos and paintings. The interior of the building made her rethink whether this person could even afford her services with the way things were.


    And this was with the darkness doing its best to hide the worst of the peeling paint and shattered wooden beams on the staircase.


    ¡°Is that you?¡± An older woman''s voice called out from another room. Her voice was strained. ¡°You¡¯re the delver, right?¡±


    Guess that¡¯s her. The remaining stars in her pocket felt uncomfortably warm now, practically begging to be returned.


    She crossed past what remained of the living room into the kitchen where the older woman sat, body hunched over the countertop table. The fluid glow of the candle gave the woman¡¯s graying hair a pleasant sheen. The age had caused her skin to sag in places, flesh defining the taut muscles she once had. The woman was once a stout firebrand, Juniper was sure of it. Despite the melancholy that hung on her neck like an albatross, there was a burning passion in her eyes that continued to weather the worst this world had offered her, although the spark was flickering.


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    ¡°Do you want some food while we talk?¡± The older woman asked.


    ¡°I ate already,¡± Juniper lied, ¡°Let¡¯s just get the rest of the details now out in the open so we can part ways.¡±


    The older woman frowned, ¡°Didn¡¯t your parents teach you to behave yourself with old folk?¡±


    ¡°My parents weren¡¯t around long enough to give me that lesson. Not like you¡¯re pushing into your sixties anyway.¡±


    There was a reflexive rebuttal that ran through the woman''s mind that died in her throat when the gravity of the statement caught with her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I-I didn¡¯t-¡±


    Juniper rolled her eyes, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter and you¡¯re burning your time with me. Get to the point. Please.¡±


    She added the last bit with as much good will as she could muster.


    The older woman took a deep breath and recomposed herself.


    Round two of this terrible introduction.


    ¡°My name is Miss Smith.¡± She started her statement with a bold-faced lie.


    Juniper repressed a sigh, refraining from correcting her backwards traditionalist beliefs. It¡¯d just derail the conversation again so she let it slide out of courtesy.


    ¡°Miss Smith, you paid me three times my rate in stars to have me enlist into the coven and meet you a few days after settling in that institution. I¡¯m meeting you a day after getting sorted in the facility. You don¡¯t look like the espionage type so I need to know what you want from my involvement in all this or consider our contract fulfilled.¡±


    Another moment of silence as the good Miss Smith turned gears for phrasing and word choice.


    ¡°I need your particular set of skills to find my daughter.¡± The old woman croaked out the tail end of her statement, fanning her eyes in what felt like an overdramatic fashion.


    ¡°Is she a graduate of the institution or did she run away? What-¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t run away.¡±


    A sentence spoken with a firm finality, so cold it caused a tingle to run up Juniper¡¯s spine.


    ¡°Claire wasn¡¯t the kind of girl to run away, least of all from me. We¡¯re all we have left of each other and¡­ and the thought she¡¯d run away just doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    It was Juniper¡¯s turn to turn gears.


    ¡°Alright, assuming she didn¡¯t run away, what are you suspecting and how am I involved in all of this? Try to give me a timeline of her involvement with the coven.¡±


    ¡°Claire was accepted into the Scarlet Sisters last year under their accelerated program. Back when her father was around, may he rest in peace, he¡¯d done what he could to teach her to manage the power inside her. Rotten luck, the kind of spell that¡¯d latched onto my sweet girl, but we all made the best of a bad situation.¡±


    A story as old as the Schism.


    ¡°She does well to practice after her dad passes on but it¡¯s difficult for her to keep the spell in check without their little hunts and we¡¯re both too afraid to have her running in the woods alone. We think about turning to the association first but-¡±


    ¡°Let me guess; spells either too chaotic to reasonably control or too detrimental to their operations to invest resources into her.¡± Open contempt dribbled out of Juniper¡¯s mouth.


    The older woman shared in the vitriol, ¡°They wouldn¡¯t even get us through the application process when they identified the spell in my poor girl! Only options they¡¯d left us with were old crones, charlatans, and the damned coven.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°It was here that the coven offered their services.¡±


    Juniper shook her head. Of course they did.


    ¡°One of their representatives came to us and offered my sweet Claire a seat in their accelerated programs. They sung high praises ¡®bout the curriculum, ¡®bout the friends she¡¯d be able to make, and about the opportunity she¡¯d get being accredited from their institution as a private Incant. Lot of good that¡¯d do for a girl that had the right sense to avoid using her ability once she could master it.¡±


    She¡¯d received the sales pitch herself. It didn¡¯t matter as much to her that she¡¯d receive a license to work as a private contractor because she already had one.


    So they targeted what they did know.


    ¡°So you accept their terms and Claire is off to school. Did she write? Send messages your way? Odd behaviors that made you worry?¡± Juniper pulled out her work pad and jotted down the details of interest she¡¯d received thus far.


    The woman shook her head, ¡°It was some of the happiest I¡¯d seen and heard from her. Whatever they were doing, they were helping her control those¡­ outbursts and although she complained sometimes ¡®bout some of the girls in her class, she got along just fine in her studies. Even came home a few times to study and read to me some of the wild jargon they taught over there.¡±


    ¡°And when did she disappear? Do you have a time of day? A date? Any contact with the coven after the fact?¡±


    The woman snorted with indignation, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t have needed to hire you if the fucking coven was being honest with me. No, I don¡¯t have a time of day or a date but that girl went a week without reaching me and that was enough to tip me off that something had happened.¡±


    Juniper raised an eyebrow, ¡°A week? She¡¯d been consistent in sending a message with you at least once a week and that week she¡¯d failed to send something to you? Was there a significance to this week for her?¡±


    The woman huffed, ¡°It''s what the coven kept leaning on. They kept explaining to me that they have some final exam or what have you where they dive into the other side and my girl didn¡¯t come back. We signed out forms acknowledging the risk but I don¡¯t believe them for a second.¡±


    The dubiousness of the claim was creeping on Juniper¡¯s face enough for the woman to flare her nostrils and stare Juniper down from the incredulity.


    ¡°You don¡¯t get it! They said that she took the exam on a Friday and that doesn¡¯t make sense because that girl would message me on a Wednesday without fail! And she hadn¡¯t then! And the woman to deliver this bad news was an entirely different representative than the one we¡¯d been having contact with up to that point, and reaching her hasn¡¯t been possible either.¡± She huffed and puffed til her face was red and lined with tears.


    Juniper¡¯s face abandoned any semblance of professionalism, opting for a gentle and sympathetic demeanor, ¡°Listen, it¡¯s hard to talk about these things but making the assumption that I don¡¯t believe you or get it isn¡¯t going to help the case. I¡¯d be much the same way if it were any of my loved ones so I get it.¡±


    Her voice quieted down, ¡°I can¡¯t say I wholly believe you because it¡¯d make me a bad delver if I did. What I can say is that we have a couple of lines to go off of here that can help me paint a better picture on the whole situation. You hired me to do my job, not agree with your connection of dots.¡±


    Juniper couldn¡¯t avoid getting serious with her closing statement. The method she¡¯d taken to even take this job put her and her sister at stake and she wasn¡¯t going to burn the place down on a series of hunches from a distraught mother.


    ¡°My daughter could be out there. She could be,¡± Her voice cracked, emotions boiling over, ¡°She could be dead and they don¡¯t even have the decency to give me the truth. To let me know. I know my daughter and she wouldn¡¯t disappear if she wasn¡¯t bound or dead.¡±


    Juniper rubbed the bridge of her nose and let out an exhausted sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take your case and try to ask some questions around the campus.¡±


    Despite the tear streaks and puffy eyes, the core of that mothers face was brilliant with hope rekindled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need the name of that representative you got chummy with to follow that lead and I¡¯ve got some other threads I can possibly follow. I¡¯ll also need something of your daughters, preferably something discreet that I can use for my spell. I¡¯m gonna be dark while finding your daughter in the meantime. If something big develops, I¡¯ll try to let you know.¡±


    Juniper hesitated for a moment before reaching into her pockets to pull out her expensive business card.


    ¡°Scratch the label off the card and write down a place if you wanna reach me. I¡¯ve only got one so don¡¯t use it unless it¡¯s an emergency.¡± Juniper lied.


    The woman held onto the card tightly as she walked out of the room. Juniper could hear rummaging and wood creaking before she came back with another ripped slip of paper and a stitched pink handkerchief with Claire¡¯s name in cursive.


    ¡°This is the name of the guide, or what she¡¯d been willing to offer while handling my daughter''s visits. This kerchief is part of a matching set I stitched for my little girl.¡± The woman balled the objects into Juniper''s hands and held them tight. ¡°Thank you for all of this.¡±


    Juniper uncomfortably pulled her hands free from the woman¡¯s, ¡°You paid for these services and I¡¯ve got personal stake in all of this. Just keep yourself healthy in the meantime.¡± She bit her tongue, trying to avoid making any hopeful comments for the poor woman''s sake.


    The two slipped away from each other soon after and Juniper was left to follow her golden thread back to the touchstone of her life.


    She¡¯d remained dubious of the woman¡¯s claims until the mention of a guide change brought her back to the woman¡¯s side. Her gut was screaming conspiracy and hearsay but Juniper didn¡¯t trust institutions enough to believe they¡¯d be perpetually on the up and up. Moreso a secretive coven with ties to opaque funds and black connections.


    Juniper would tie one of her threads to the kerchief in the morning.


    She¡¯d need to get in contact with the guide and gather information on this final exam to get a complete timeline of the disappearance.


    Preferably before anything untoward was discovered that her sister would get endangered by.


    Juniper bit her lip.


    Guess that offer to attend classes would be made good on, much to her chagrin

 Chapter IV - Magnolia

    ¡°Are you gonna take this seriously or not, Junie?¡± Magnolia asked in exasperation, hands tightly gripping the blanket she¡¯d ripped off of her sister.


    ¡°Maggie¡­¡± Juniper groaned, ¡°It''s too early in the morning for this. Give me back my blanket.¡± Her sister dribbled out the rest of her sentence in a curled ball, shielding her eyes from the sunlight streaming through their dorm room.


    ¡°Just because you don¡¯t have classes yet doesn¡¯t mean you shouldn¡¯t be waking up at a reasonable time. It was hard enough for me to manage these last two weeks with you coming in late and disappearing throughout the day.¡± Magnolia¡¯s voice betrayed a hiccup and a crack.


    Dammit. She told herself she wouldn¡¯t do this.


    What gears were operational in her sister''s drowsy gaze worked to meet Magnolia¡¯s request.


    ¡°Five more minutes and I¡¯ll be up and out, Maggie.¡± Juniper pleaded with her.


    She took a deep breath and gently threw the blanket back on her sister.


    ¡°Fine. If you¡¯re not done getting your last minute sleep by the time I¡¯m done reading through this passage, you¡¯re gonna wake up to a cold bath.¡± Magnolia mustered the breadth of her annoyance but that well was shallow and her sister tried her best to do right by her.


    Today¡¯s lesson was all about slotting and inscribing, much to her excitement. It was hard enough trying to fall asleep without thinking about the extent of the lesson they were going to receive. The history of Incants and the Schism and its impact on society as a whole was interesting but tangential to what Magnolia cared about, and although her texts were extensive in covering the topic of Spells and their impact within Incant bodies, the visual demonstrations that the professor provided were admittedly effective in helping her grasp the topics.


    She reread the passage on spell slotting and aftereffects again. The ramifications of carving out a slot within one¡¯s very being to house a spell; from the levels of exhaustion that came from doing such a thing and the vulnerabilities involved with the process to the physical and mental alterations the spell made when overwriting ones being¡­


    Magnolia looked back at Juniper.


    After Mr. Isaac revealed the kind of quirks he was stuck with from slotting the spells he had in his body, Magnolia kept pestering her sister for an answer on what changed about the both of them from then to now.


    As far as Junie was aware, they got off easy with slight physical and mental changes.


    Juniper found it hard to pay attention to peripheral matters without extensive effort. A hyperfixation on a select number of tasks that were tied to the objects she¡¯d tethered to.


    For Magnolia, well, her changes stared back at her each time she looked at herself in the mirror. They¡¯d be beautiful to her if they didn¡¯t cause her sister such obvious pain, however hard she tried to hide it.


    ¡°Current scholars suggest that this overwriting of physical and mental characteristics on the part of the spell towards the Incant is their method of assimilation and the source of the variance that comes from slotting a spell within one¡¯s body. Incants that have cooperated with their insights on the text of this material state a growing dissociation of one''s identity as their being becomes increasingly saturated with various spells.¡± Magnolia read.


    By the time she finished the rest of the passage, Juniper dragged herself out of bed and shambled towards her dresser.


    ¡°Welcome back to the land of the living.¡± Magnolia said, tongue in cheek.


    Juniper narrowed her eyes at her but said nothing as she undressed herself from her scant sleeping clothes into a black faded t-shirt and jeans.


    ¡°What¡¯s the scoop on today''s class, Maggie?¡± Juniper rested her head on Magnolia¡¯s shoulder.


    The warmth felt wonderful.


    ¡°The topic for the month is all about spell slotting and inscribing and the distinctions between Incants and the rest of the magical oddities of the world.¡± Magnolia repeated the words Del Marin gave her class at the end of last week''s lecture. She suppressed her giggles as Juniper''s breath tickled her collarbone.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Juniper didn¡¯t seem impressed, ¡°I get they¡¯re teaching you the fundamentals but they better be responsible about all of that.¡±


    Magnolia frowned, ¡°June. Running around on the other side isn¡¯t going to substitute the collective experience found in these books.¡± She held the hard covers around her tightly. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll act responsibly while teaching us about this topic and I¡¯ll be able to come home here to teach you all about it.¡±


    If you¡¯re around.


    Juniper pulled away from her sister and held her hands up, ¡°I¡¯m not going against collective experiences or whatever but spell slotting is serious business. I doubt the book covers the aftermath of those who succeed.¡±


    She paused, a shudder running up her spine.


    ¡°And the poor fucks who fail.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring it up in class with the professor then.¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t look at me that way, Maggie. I¡¯m happy that you¡¯re learning all of this stuff. They wouldn¡¯t have considered us if we didn¡¯t have anything of value to get from the program.¡±


    Magnolia raised an eyebrow, ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°What? What but?¡± Juniper stammered.


    ¡°There¡¯s always a but and I can see it on your face, Junie. The coven is offering me a quality education but they wouldn¡¯t do it if they didn¡¯t expect some form of recompense?¡±


    ¡°They got their stars, Maggie, and just by being here, we give them the credulity of being a worthwhile institution. But there¡¯s no ¡®but¡¯ that I have.¡±


    She gave Magnolia a goofy smile.


    ¡°Except there.¡±


    Magnolia relented, giving her own silly smile, ¡°Fine, okay.¡±


    Juniper leaned back in towards her sister and wrapped her arms around her neck. Magnolia¡¯s heart fluttered with warmth and affection.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve been gone so often. I want to hear all about what you learn, okay? I¡¯m proud of you and can tell from the stacks of books all over the place that you¡¯re taking this seriously.¡± Juniper whispered.


    Magnolia¡¯s mood was dampened despite the compliment.


    ¡°I just want my sister around more. Willow thinks I¡¯ve made you up.¡±


    ¡°Is she a friend of yours?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The only one I¡¯ve been able to make in class. The rest of the class is¡­ complicated. Willow and I are in similar boats but she knows more about how the school operates than I do.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a lot of drama but I¡¯m sure you can handle it.¡±


    She could, but that wasn¡¯t the point.


    ¡°Just¡­ just be around more often. I¡¯d like you to at least meet Willow this week and join us for dinner? She¡¯s been dying to meet someone with outside experience and I want to prove I¡¯m not a crazy person pretending to have a sister.¡±


    Juniper pulled away from Magnolia, kissing the top of her head.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet her tonight if the both of you would have me.¡± Juniper promised as she walked towards the door.


    ¡°Heading out already? I thought you didn¡¯t have stuff to do until later?¡± Magnolia asked.


    ¡°Yeah but I think I can get some of that stuff done now and free up my night that way.¡± Juniper replied.


    ¡°Okay. Thank you Junie, I appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll be able to do this all the time, but you mean the world to me, Mags. I think I can do right by you at least today.¡±


    The two smiled at one another before Juniper turned the knob and walked out of the door.


    If her sister was attending to her responsibilities ahead of time, then so could she.


    Magnolia puffed her chest and drew strength from her sister''s promise, excited to learn about the world her sister interacted with for a living.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Magnolia sat next to Willow, staring intently at the chalkboard and the manicured beige three-piece suit Professor Del Marin was pacing around. She restrained herself from looking at the gaggle of women to her right, their leader delivering wordless waves of contempt with a sneer and a gaze.


    Written in bold letters was the topic of today''s discussion; the basics of spell slotting, its difficulties, and the differences between Incants and the rest of the magic population.


    ¡°Good morning, class. Although I believe that the passages I¡¯ve had you read should be rife with information on the subject of today''s lesson, the assessments I¡¯ve been conducting suggest more than a few of you require my verbal guidance.¡± The professor paused and gave the room an easy smile. ¡°My reputation cannot be tarnished by dullards and thus it is up to me to teach you with a more defined touch.¡±


    Magnolia saw Willow roll her eyes as her pencil absentmindedly sketched a simple flower on the margins of her notebook.


    ¡°I¡¯ll begin by asking the class, what is a spell?¡±


    Another pause. No one dared raise their hands to answer the question. A calculated measure as the students scanned one another for the brave soul willing to stand out.


    ¡°That question is too broad.¡± One of the girls pierced the silence from behind Magnolia.


    Del Marin¡¯s eye twitched before returning to an easy demeanor, ¡°Then I will specify for your sake. What differentiates a spell from another denizen of the Astral and to that end, why are spells so important to the Incant?¡±


    This time, the class churned their gears for answers.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t a clear delineation between a spell and a denizen of the Astral from what the text suggests. The parameters we have to make a distinction is the capacity for these creatures to offer their ability to an Incant by way of slotting or inscription.¡± Willow delivered her answer with middling confidence.


    Not her fault, Magnolia thought. All eyes on her and a want to prove her worth would make anyone nervous.


    Del Marin smiled, ¡°I appreciate your input, fledgling. As a freelance Incant, it is a common misconception from our clients that there¡¯s a distinction between the creatures we house in our bodies and the ones we remove from our ailing society. Demons, devils, fey, these are all distinctions we¡¯ve brought into our interactions with these creatures and they reflect these biases as a result.¡±


    Magnolia raised her hand and waited for the professor to nod in her direction.


    ¡°You mentioned just now that we house spells in our bodies. My sister informed me that the process of slotting a new spell was quite dangerous so I¡¯d like to know how that process plays out exactly.¡± Magnolia jabbed her friend lightly in the ribs when she heard a faint snicker from her direction.


    Del Marin considered the question, ¡°Your sister is correct in the danger that spell slotting poses. Not even considering the kind of spell you¡¯re attempting to subjugate and the methods by which that subjugation occurs, once you¡¯ve carved out a place in your soul for the creature, you risk the physical and mental manifestations of their being on your own as well as the instability in casting spells to defend yourself. Incants are left incredibly vulnerable during this process.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just defend yourself with an inscribed object or grimoire? You¡¯d have to be a fucking idiot to leave yourself exposed like that.¡± Bianca gestured at her statement like it was the most obvious conclusion in the world.


    ¡°Well, se?ora, an Incant is certainly capable of using an inscribed object to defend themselves but when you start hitting slots four and above, something as milquetoast as a dagger with a burning edge isn¡¯t going to stop anything. Grimoires require the body to act as a conduit for the power and with the state your body would be in immediately after slotting a spell, good luck getting something as simple as a shield out.¡± Del Marin did his best to shut down the rude girl but Bianca was unphased.


    She scoffed, ¡°If not your own defenses, employing the defense of your consort would be trivial. I understand your experience might not preclude you to have any subjects to take on the duty, Professor, but this is just a gross representation of danger on our behalf to take the power that¡¯s rightfully ours.¡±


    Eyes casted back to the professor, silence so oppressive that one could hear the anticipating heartbeats of their neighbors.


    ¡°Oh, se?orita,¡± He clicked his tongue and shook his head with disapproval, ¡°I can only teach you what my experience and the collective efforts of selfless Incants have on the matter. It is up to you if you¡¯re willing to shirk pride for understanding. Ours is a dangerous profession and it is quite understandable why working with others during our most vulnerable moments would be equal to giving a coworker a loaded gun and asking them politely not to shoot.¡±


    He clapped his hands and like that, the tension was dispersed.


    ¡°Speaking of Incants, we are at the top of the pyramid insofar as the magical community is concerned. The ability to inscribe and slot spells to objects and ourselves respectively is ours and ours alone. There are those below us.¡±


    Professor Del Marin walked to the chalkboard and drew out a pyramid, writing ¡®Incants¡¯ at the tip. Below that was a thin layer.


    ¡°Below us are the pitiable Incompletes. This is a label I¡¯ve given them. Few scholars in our field care much at all for their development and fewer still have existed in our profession to find one in the wild but nonetheless we know of their existence by the knotting that occurs in the astral. These folk wish so desperately to match our blessed gifts that they wish to the Weave for just an ounce of our abilities.¡±


    He paused and nodded at a veiled student.


    She cleared her throat and spoke with a peculiar distance, ¡°I thought this was a rumor that went around during the age of the schism?¡±


    The professor chuckled, ¡°You would be wrong. We were defined by our greed before and that remains even with what the world¡¯s become today. The variations of this group are wide and vast but the constant is that the Weave will answer your prayers whether you have a million stars or a mere one. Anything after that is subject to the laws of chaos.¡±


    He marked a wide section on the pyramid and wrote within the space.


    ¡°And below even those pitiable above are the warlocks and hunters. The warlock, so desperate for power yet so cowardly or calculating as they¡¯d place it, that they bargain contracts with those more sentient spells to harness their strength. Warlocks are blunt force instruments with their spells serving to solve all problems should they find a way.¡±


    There was a narrative element to what she was being told but Magnolia wrote down the information all the same. The fact that there was an entire class of people in magic society that research wasn¡¯t even looking at lit her mind like a wildfire. Regardless of her professors'' conception of their group, she¡¯d grown up around Juniper¡¯s work circle to know the contempt that even freelancing Incants held for their own kind. Those falling behind that standard were more likely to be misunderstood than anything else.


    ¡°I lump the hunters with the warlocks because they are an equal force functioning from an opposite motive. With the displacement of power came those stubborn lot that wished to reinstate order where it no longer belongs. Hunters reject Incants, regrettably at the behest of the AWW, using their magical toys to attempt takedowns of errant Incants. Where the warlock is envious of our powers, the hunter is an oppressive dullard, very willing to use our abilities against us so long as it''s them wielding the power.¡±


    Professor Del Marin let out a suffering sigh.


    There was so much more that the world had to offer and her professor only hinted at the margins.


    ¡°Professor. Will we be covering the upcoming assignment?¡± Magnolia turned and locked eyes with the leader of the veiled group, the girl asking the question turning their watchful penetrating stare towards her.


    A chill ran up her spine and she quickly pulled away from the gravity of it.


    ¡°I need no reminder, my dear student.¡± His voice was fraying at its breezy facade. ¡°To end the lesson on the current hierarchy, below even the hunters and the warlocks are the rest of humanity, clinging to the benevolence of a bleeding heart here in the States for some measure of relevance. And even then, that isn¡¯t always the case.¡±


    Magnolia agreed, textbook accounts of survivors from what was formerly New York or the deep forested villages of Seattle discussing hell made manifest. The schism thinned the barrier between our world and the one of dreams and stars and it didn¡¯t take much prodding at the thin film between it and us to get those terrors.


    ¡°We bring the conversation full circle to those at the top, the Incants. As our astute fledgling pointed out, an Incants arsenal is not just limited to the spells within us. I introduced myself not just with the number of slots in my soul but the number of spells bound to my grimoire.¡±


    Professor Del Marin reached into his suit pocket and acted as a showman. Deftly, he pulled out a burgundy wooden box with golden edges sparkling under the light. With his thumb, he unhooked the clasp of the box and caught the deck of cards in his other hand.


    Squinting at the cards, Magnolia identified that they weren¡¯t made by cardboard or paper but carved wooden rectangles whose backing held elaborate sigils.


    ¡°Another misconception that our kind brings to this line of work is what exactly defines a grimoire. Our old tales might depict a wizard brandishing a book and casting spells that way, like the AWW harken to, but this is asinine for multiple reasons.¡± As he delivered the next section of his lecture, his hands idly shuffled the cards, increasing the speed of the shuffle until it was a clattering blur.


    ¡°The medium in which we bind a spell is important to the spell''s delivery and function. With a book, you cast the spell while reciting a small incantation. For something like a deck of cards,¡± He stopped his shuffling and drew a card from the top of the deck, ¡°Your delivery is very different.¡±


    Professor Del Marin flung the card into the air and the enchanted piece of wood responded by bursting into a blinding white light.


    Magnolia recoiled and she could hear a number of the other students mutter curses and pull away from their seats.


    She blinked once, twice, to get the disks of light out of her eyes. With her eyes adjusting, Magnolia could see the silhouettes of her peers standing in readied positions. The gaggle to her right surrounded Bianca with their bodies and outstretched implements while the veiled group up above held their arms out in a combative stance.


    Even Willow had taken a defensive measure, wielding a staff that had not been with her a moment ago.


    Everyone else had taken precautions for a threat and here she was helpless to defend herself.


    ¡°You may settle down, fledglings. What spell comes out is for my luck to decide.¡± He laughed and laughed but none of the students returned to their seats.


    ¡°You mongrel! You could have harmed us!¡± A familiar voice that Magnolia recognized was part of the gaggle she¡¯d followed on her first day yelled out her grievances in a shrill pitch. ¡°Are you even capable of thinking?¡±


    Professor Del Marin shrugged, ¡°As your teacher, it is my responsibility to teach you these lessons how I see fit and the coven has given me free license to do so. If you have an issue with my methods, you are more than welcome to take it up with the matron of our fine institution.¡±


    They all waited and waited until Bianca took her seat and like dominoes the rest of the students followed along. There was a satisfaction she took in leading the class to a sense of security, her grin wide as she stared Magnolia down.


    Was there something else she wasn¡¯t picking up on?


    ¡°Your upcoming assignment must be taken very seriously as it will define your capabilities as an Incant for the rest of your days. For the next few weeks, you will be preparing your own grimoire with all of the rituals that entails. You must have your grimoire prepared by the start of August or fail on the spot. Class is dismissed.¡±


    Magnolia pushed the doubt aside.


    What she needed now was a hardened resolve to bloom from inside her heart. Magnolia needed to redouble on her studies and apply the knowledge cracked open in dusty tomes to her outside world. She¡¯d craft something all her own and prove to the world her mettle.


    The two friends locked eyes with one another and wordlessly left the room, making their way to Magnolia¡¯s dormitory for a long study session.

 Chapter V - Interlude: Willow

    Willow felt restless in the elegant velvet chairs of her hosts'' common room. It was one of several chairs adorned in a semi circle facing a thick blackwood door with golden accents and a doorknob that was an immaculate pearlescent tone. Likely carved out of something precious, made to languish with the rest of the beautiful things in the manor away from the eyes of the public.


    She felt filthy in the space despite wearing the best her parents could keep nice for her back home; a white ruffled dress shirt, a pair of blue skinny jeans that felt tighter with each squirming motion, and a pair of black shoes with a glossy shine. Despite the shine of her shoes, even the dullest onyx tile outmatched her brilliance.


    Willow jumped out of her seat. She didn¡¯t dare take a step and disturb the silence with her presence. Instead she tilted her body to the side to look at the smaller door she¡¯d been led through.


    Certainly her parents would be ashamed of her if she left from such an auspicious invitation and that nagging responsibility kept telling her to settle down but of the reasons why she was being brought over now, none held good fortune.


    Willow turned her attention to one of the paintings in the room. She felt a kinship with the center of the art piece, a shining rabbit with its head pointed towards the sun and the predatory beasts with their crimson eyes and sharpened fangs bared for the opportunity to devour her if she made a mistake.


    Her gaze shifted as the large blackwood door opened, revealing her host and the source of her troubles. She was wearing a cerulean dress with matching gloves that reached past her elbows and open toed shoes.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Willow. I hope I didn¡¯t make you wait long.¡± Bianca stated in an amiable tone.


    Startled. Willow was confused when the invitation from the Wesley family was delivered to her parents describing their interest in her and her abilities. She was floored with the opulence on display in their main yard and the personal teleporter they had to even access the grandiose mansion.


    But the thought of her tormentor suddenly changing her tune to that of a gal pal had Willow''s stomach in all sorts of knots.


    Bianca seemed unphased by this new development.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m surprised that piece caught your eye. ¡®The Mark of Excellence¡¯ was painted as a gift to my father by the Montauk clan. I¡¯m always struck by the sincerity of it.¡± She walked to Willows side and admired the painting. ¡°What do you see in the scene?¡±


    Willow gulped.


    ¡°I see¡­ a prize worth taking and competitors around me trying to claim what¡¯s mine.¡± Willow avoided ending her claim on a question. They both had eyes to see she was shaking in her shoes but she had the dignity to not let it creep in her voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to bite, Willow.¡± Bianca invaded her personal space with a measured grace. ¡°We¡¯ve been classmates for a while, haven¡¯t we? There¡¯s a kinship there.¡±


    Willow suppressed a venomous chuckle.


    She¡¯d come into this expecting to be asked for something and Bianca was laying it on particularly thick.


    ¡°I¡¯d say that our social circles haven¡¯t overlapped enough for us to interact in a meaningful capacity.¡±


    Understatement of the century.


    Bianca waved her hand around in dismissal, ¡°Regardless of our own personal interactions, we are sisters in the making while under the eye of the coven and that bond is nigh unbreakable. Surely we have common ground there?¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± Willow relented.


    Bianca smiled, perfect white teeth bared for the world to see.


    ¡°Come. I¡¯d like to walk and talk.¡± Bianca didn¡¯t give Willow a choice, wrapping her arm around Willow¡¯s in a hook to drag her towards the blackwood door.


    Her fingers twist the knob and the door swings open. A rush of cold wind moves through Willow. If Bianca felt a chill pass through her, she didn¡¯t so much as shudder to it.


    The hall was extensive, unnaturally so. She could make out a distant end at the other side with the pearlescent knob on the end door acting as a reference point but that glimmer was a distant rainbow star in a sea of white ceiling lights and glass walls.


    Bianca took a nonchalant step forward and Willow was forced to follow.


    This was their domain. This was their power.


    And just like everything else with this family, it was oppressive and impersonal.


    She could feel it writhing beyond the transparent walls in the murky darkness beyond. She could feel the labored breaths of creatures held in captivity. Caged animals throwing their bodies around to break free from their bonds and escape to their corner of the astral plane.


    ¡°Why do you think I invited you over?¡± Bianca cut through the moment''s peace.


    Why had she invited Willow? Should she be honest in her gut feeling that this had something to do with asking for a favor? It¡¯d be presumptuous as she wasn¡¯t even an exemplary student but maybe it dealt with that?


    And if she answered wrong, what would that mean for the rest of her family?


    ¡°To be honest, I think this whole invitation smells rotten,¡± Willow admitted her suspicions, ¡°I think that you want something but I don¡¯t know what it is.¡± She reveled in the unabashed directness of her statement but the dawning hor-


    Bianca smirked, ¡°Your intelligence precedes you, although it wouldn¡¯t take much thought to come to your conclusion. I¡¯ll start us off from the beginning, then. This hall is long and we must walk through it to the end.¡±


    Willow saw the girl adjust her dress and clear her throat. She turned back and saw the door to the common room had become subsumed by darkness, leaving them with only the capacity to reach the other end.


    The amiable facade of her host dropped, supplanted by the dismissive and judgmental gaze she¡¯d come to know her by.


    ¡°There is a quality inherent to our kind, Willow, that I feel due to your¡­ lacking experiences must be made known to you before you cross the threshold into proper sisterhood. A gap in your knowledge that I can elucidate.¡± Bianca started. ¡°You and I and everyone else in that institution are Incants. Weave¡¯s chosen. And despite your lineage coming from a clan of little repute, your name holds enough weight in my family''s circles to make you someone worth advising in the right direction for mutual benefits.¡±


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Fucking cow.


    ¡°Despite your misconceptions, Willow, my family and I have the best of intentions for the wider community of Incants in Georgia. Hell, for the whole host of families of Incants attempting to avoid the bureaucratic boot of the AWW. It was my grandparents that gave patronage to the Scarlet Sisters during the aftermath of the schism and my parents remain a valuable business partner as far as locating and binding monsters are concerned.¡±


    Willow rolled her eyes away from the girl''s gaze but did not interrupt.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only recently settled into this new world order and the hierarchy has clearly chosen for us to be at the top.¡±


    Willow sighed, ¡°What are you getting at, Bianca?¡±


    Her eyes flickered with annoyance, ¡°What I¡¯m getting at, Willow, is the hierarchy. We Incants are at the very top of this new system. Just think of the alternatives.¡±


    She didn¡¯t linger on the thought long. The AWW was working with the remnants of the U.S. government on the founders benevolence above anything else. If that patriotism disappeared, so would the faint threads holding society together.


    ¡°The powerless rabble fear our abilities. So much so that they¡¯re comfortable living with the hypocrisy of using inscribed tools to police our kind so long as it¡¯s them who have the power. A nuisance in the face of our best and brightest because what good is a peashooter against the might of god?¡± Bianca gave her talking points with a rehearsed zeal and pomp. Willow was held captive in more ways than one.


    ¡°And then we have those pitiful Warlocks. Their kind, coveting power so much that they¡¯re willing to wish for the Weave¡¯s good grace or work with the monsters we¡¯re meant to control. At least the first lot don¡¯t debase themselves by indulging in their delusions. Their stockpiles are evidence enough to suggest they know where they stand in the chain.¡±


    Bianca paused. She twisted Willow to face her and their eyes locked.


    ¡°But something you might not have known is that there¡¯s a third group in that category of lesser beings that must be made to know their place.¡±


    Willow gulped. She could put two and two together.


    ¡°What do you want from Maggie?¡± She asked, pulling from her friends past courage.


    Bianca¡¯s face twisted at the mention of her name, ¡°Is that what her name is? She really did crawl out of the bayou.¡±


    Willow¡¯s face reddened. Fuck! Wait, no, she used her shorthand name. She was fine.


    She hoped.


    ¡°She¡¯s my friend and we¡¯ve been working together to handle the course work for this summer.¡± Willow bit her tongue, holding back more vitriolic statements from spilling out.


    Bianca laughed, ¡°That¡¯s not my understanding of the situation. That girl''s fresh spawn in our seasoned grounds and you¡¯ve taken it upon yourself to catch her up to speed.¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want what you want, Willow; status and comfort. Working to help the charity case when you¡¯re in dire need of connections yourself. I mean how much of a strain is your education on your parents?¡±


    Willow dug her nails into the palms of her hands.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    Bianca shrugged, ¡°No, I don¡¯t know everything. I know enough though. I know that your family has scraped by acquiring stars to get you in the Scarlet Sisters. That they are viewing this education as an investment, yes?¡±


    ¡°Fuck off and fuck you.¡± Willow began to storm off ahead of her, hearing a sigh as she walked away.


    ¡°I¡¯m offering you a deal, Willow.¡± Bianca revealed with clear exasperation.


    Willow slowed to a stop.


    ¡°What kind of deal?¡± Willow asked without turning around. There was no harm in hearing things out, if not for herself than for her parents. They deserved that much.


    ¡°I''ll give a good word about your parents to my mother. Spread that name to our connections so you¡¯re not bottom feeding for odd jobs. You¡¯ll be one of us, part of my personal entourage.¡±


    Big social gestures but nothing material.


    ¡°All talk then. There¡¯s nothing stopping you from reneging this deal if I fulfill my end of the bargain.¡± Willow replied.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure we can arrange something.¡± Bianca snapped her fingers and the hallway rubber banded. Willow felt space move through her, a wave of nausea overwhelming her senses as bile rocketed up her throat. She kept the spit up back through grit teeth.


    The distant doorway was now an arms reach away.


    Bianca reached past Willow and opened the door to a private study. The walls were overflowing with books and a cavalcade of relics that radiated magic. The center of the room held a wide desk made of blackwood with white and gold accents. Willow was drawn towards the carved depiction of a crow, its eyes bulbous and vacuous with its wings spread out in flight.


    Bianca took her seat at the other side of the desk and gestured for Willow to sit down.


    She listened.


    ¡°Consider this an example, a taste of the kinds of power you could be adjacent to if you succeed on this simple task for me.¡± Bianca gestured at her opulence.


    Willow winced as she gulped saliva down her raw throat, ¡°This place looks¡­ nice, but I¡¯m still not guaranteed that if I hold my end of the bargain that you will hold yours.¡±


    Bianca nodded, ¡°Of course, of course. Although my word is as good as gold, our interactions haven¡¯t overlapped enough for you to know my deals are guaranteed. Understandable.¡±


    Bianca twisted her wrist in a clockwise motion and conjured a black feathered quill, crimson ink dripping on a fresh spread of parchment on the table.


    ¡°Scrivener.¡± She uttered.


    The only door in the room opened behind them. Willow felt an overwhelming presence enter and despite its prodigious size, it did not make a sound. She saw it round the corner of her eyes.


    A creature with an elongated flesh colored beak stopped behind Bianca. Its neck was thick and wound like a snake''s abdomen and its eyes were large discs of yellow light. Its body was covered in groomed black feathers that reached down its knees, the rest of its leg being a wrinkled length of sinew and talon. The creature lifted its arm and beckoned the parchment and quill with its slender four digits, three nailed tips bathed in red. Bianca relinquished the items freely.


    ¡°Do not pay heed to its presence. It will bind our contract once I¡¯ve given you my stipulations and you¡¯ve accepted the terms and conditions.¡±


    Her mind was blank. What was she getting herself into?


    ¡°I, Bianca Gould, am informing Miss Willow Pontiere of an opportunity. Before she agrees to the terms, I will lay out my request in full and then delineate the rewards.¡±


    This was too much, too excessive, but probably business as usual for a binding family. Respectfully decline the request and make something up to-


    ¡°The request is thus; due to her bonds with a Maggie Winthrop, I wish for Willow to provide them with this charm on the day of the inscription test,¡± Bianca pulled out a simple green bangle with a single twig charm, ¡°And after the test is over, rewards will be dispensed based on the satisfaction of the request.¡±


    ¡°What is this charm meant to do?¡± Willow eyed at the bracelet with suspicion.


    ¡°The charm is meant to affect the girl¡¯s ability to bind a spell into a grimoire or item. The result I am looking for is to see her fail the test or be removed from the institution. I will not graduate alongside her kind. My pride will not stand the insult.¡±


    Willow paused, ¡°I sell my friends goodwill and you have the audacity to offer up something as minor as a good word to your parents and my inclusion in your entourage?¡±


    Bianca sighed, ¡°In exchange for your services, you may name the price of your conditions. Within reason of course. If my idle offer was unsatisfactory, I give you the floor to state your terms.¡±


    Oh.


    The two of them sat in silence, their feathered vigil glaring Willow down with its unblinking eyes.


    ¡°Am I bound by anything I say while that thing is around?¡± Willow asked.


    ¡°Under the observation of the Scrivener, I am held to a higher standard of verbiage and kindfully request you do the same. You may stipulate your conditions freely, knowing you will not be bound to them until it has taken ink to parchment.¡± Bianca fastidiously replied.


    Fuck, was she about to do this?


    ¡°If I perform this task for you, I¡¯d like for my rewards to be the inclusion of my family as a business partner with yours, acquiring a job before this task is complete to showcase good faith on your part. And if I¡¯m included in your entourage, I¡¯d like access to this study, under your supervision.¡± Willow eyed some of the tomes in the room and found the collection to be more extensive than what the library on campus was willing to offer its fledglings.


    ¡°I can meet those conditions if you would include the stipulation in our contract that neither party is to reveal the contents of our arrangement. I¡¯ll allow for an exception to be made between you and your family as well as mine and mine own due to the circumstances of the deal but should either of us reveal the conditions of our deal beyond that circle of our own free will, the Scrivener will void the contract and subjugate the offending party. Should payment not be delivered after the task is complete within a reasonable length of time, I relinquish my freedom as a person to you to do as you wish.¡±


    Willow ticked with a nervous laugh.


    ¡°Are these terms amenable to you, Willow Pontiere?¡± Bianca asked in a neutral tone.


    Maggie would understand. She has a sister that can handle things for her, make life easy. She doesn¡¯t need this. She¡¯d understand.


    ¡°Let¡¯s draft out the contract then.¡±


    Both Bianca and the Scrivener gave her a toothy smile, ¡°Lets begin.¡±

 Chapter VI - Juniper

    This institution was brimming with secrets that Juniper wasn¡¯t equipped to unearth with her traditional methods. Two weeks of investigatory work sunk in people and places with very little to show for it.


    No one on that damned campus was willing to talk to her and those that did weren¡¯t high enough within the social circles to hold anything of value.


    She didn¡¯t have anything to offer besides her services but those who would want to make use of her skills had enough clout and stars in their stores to higher a quality delver over some perceived hodunk bumpkin from down south.


    Accessing records on the vanished clerk also proved difficult.


    With only a name to go off of and her only access point within that department being Daliah, Juniper had run into a fast dead end on that front.


    Her other lead was less frustratingly annoying to deal with but that had its own roadblocks.


    She¡¯d tied her clients thread to one of her fingers and made two curious revelations.


    The first and most curious revelation was that the missing girl was on campus. The thread behaved strangely, becoming slack upon Juniper''s exit from the campus grounds and growing taut while within its boundaries.


    It didn¡¯t lead anywhere specific. No, that¡¯d be too easy.


    Instead the thread dissipated at the threshold of the building that affluent guests were privy to.


    A place she didn¡¯t have access to.


    And taking a glimpse into the astral and where the two overlapped was a compounding of that frustration.


    An annoying revelation that required getting cozier with a tight lipped faculty. A task that Juniper did have a solution for, all things considered.


    ¡°Junie!¡± Magnolia beckoned for her sister, arm hooked around Willow as the trio walked towards the academic building. Juniper picked up the pace, glaring at the crimson spires while she entered the facility.


    ¡°This class is going to be so much fun!¡± Magnolia squealed. She unhitched from Willow''s side and latched onto Juniper¡¯s arm.


    Juniper laughed, ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be embarrassed at these sorts of things? Your older sister is going to be sitting in your class as a guest speaker.¡±


    A condition to her acceptance that Juniper was certain the Matron would have forgotten about.


    ¡°She¡¯s been fixated on this lecture because she figured you were gonna be around to add your experiences to the lecture. Just won¡¯t shut up about how cool her sister is.¡± Willow needled Magnolia in a playful tone.


    Magnolia didn¡¯t respond, merely hiding her face in Juniper''s arm.


    ¡°Honestly I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to add that those big city books haven¡¯t covered. I¡¯ve got experience but isn¡¯t that anecdotal evidence or something?¡±


    Magnolia pulled away from her sister, ¡°There¡¯s a lot of stuff the books refrained from covering, as I¡¯ve come to figure out¡­¡± The joy in her eye flickered before rebounding in brilliance. ¡°And I¡¯m so lucky that at least in this topic, I¡¯ve got first hand experience to look to for answers. And you¡¯re obligated to tell me everything.¡±


    Juniper raised an eyebrow, ¡°Obligated? I¡¯m a guest speaker, not an academic. I¡¯ll answer questions within reason but if you have some dying curiosity, pester me back at the dorm.¡±


    It¡¯d guarantee her trade secrets remained such. And maybe give her sister a leg up on the competition.


    ¡°Just a heads up before we enter class. There¡¯s gonna be a girl that¡¯s going to question your credentials.¡± Magnolia sighed.


    Juniper gave Magnolia a reassuring pat on the shoulder, ¡°She can take her complaints up with someone that gives a shit.¡±


    It was a welcomed change of pace to enter the classroom and let the roadblocks of her investigation recede into the background. She scanned the room from the back to the front, taking note of the clear dividing lines separating the eccentrically garbed women in the back from the tight knit aristocratic group on the right and her lonely and defiant duo on the left.


    Juniper refrained from making a face. Seemed like Magnolia was having a difficult time of her own.


    ¡°Good morning fledglings.¡± Juniper redirected her focus to the slimy man in the crisp white suit greeting the rest of the class. ¡°Today¡¯s lesson is special because we have someone on campus to color our readings with their experience. Let me present, Miss Winthrop.¡±


    Remember to play nice, she told herself.


    Given her impromptu cue, she walked on the raised stage and sat down behind the lectern, letting Del Marin continue with his introductions.


    ¡°What does she have to do with our lesson on the astral?¡± One of the veiled students asked. The rest of that clique whispered to one another in conspiratorial tones.


    Del Marin turned to Juniper and waited with the rest of the class in anticipation for her kind of response.


    Juniper cleared her throat, ¡°I¡¯m a licensed Delver. I¡¯ve doven into the cracks and bends of the astral more times than I can count and dealt with its quirks and denizens when necessary. Whatever your book tells you, I didn¡¯t read it, I¡¯ll do my best to supplement that education with my first hand accounts.¡±


    ¡°This institution is truly going down the drain if our education is being enhanced by foreign rabble.¡± A girl with raised cheekbones and a nasal inflection proclaimed. The rest of the group piled on the laughter.


    Juniper sighed.


    ¡°You remind me of one of my clients.¡±


    The girl rolled her eyes with another chiming in, ¡°I¡¯m sure your kind serves a different breed of clientele.¡±


    Juniper brushed off the insult and continued, ¡°A pair of Incants brought to blustering tears over the disappearance of their daughter. I don¡¯t know what your book suggests about the astral but the one takeaway that I¡¯d give you is that it loves its fill of overconfident kids strutting feathers they¡¯ve no experience preening.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to-¡±


    ¡°Imagine their grief over a botched coronation ceremony, the first slotting that defines us as Incants. For them, it was something simple, their abilities useful in their own right but not exceptionally difficult to wrangle and tame when they awakened to their gift. You,¡± Juniper pointed to the veiled girl that questioned her capacity, ¡°Why is the astral a dangerous place for Incants?¡±


    She rose from her chair, taking in the measured gaze of Del Marin, as she reached the edge of the stage and waited for a response.


    ¡°We are vulnerable on the other side and remain so after slotting, whatever we housed being a passenger in our domain and influencing the malleable space around us.¡± The student responded.


    ¡°In non-book speak,¡± Juniper paused, ¡°The astral is impressionable. Doesn¡¯t take a genius in an academy to understand that much. The issue becomes when we conflate what little we do know with mastery over that landscape.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by impressionable?¡± Willow asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a fluid place. Space is indeterminate and swathes of it function under dream logic. Finding a sliver of the astral on our side of existence can show you that much. Place feeds on the ambient¡­ stuff. People. Places. Objects. It informs the astral what it¡¯s going to look like and how it¡¯s going to operate.¡±


    ¡°What does this have to do with the missing girl?¡± The veiled student brought the conversation back to the example.


    Juniper smiled.


    ¡°The book should also have mentioned that its creatures are masters at molding the space around them. Incants have a lesser form of this power, our domains anchoring a space within the astral like making a claim to the Weave for a hideout but shaping things is complicated. We can only do it as deftly as the spells we bind to our bodies within our domain. What those chucklefucks in the story didn¡¯t realize is that spells have their domains too.¡±


    The obnoxious girl looked at Juniper with displeasure, ¡°Obviously. If that¡¯s the con-¡±


    Juniper reveled in cutting her off, ¡°What they didn¡¯t understand about the astral is what led me to the girl and the Treasure House. You see, slotting goes both ways.¡± She paused and took a measure of her audience.


    Del Marin was nodding at her to continue.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The veiled entourage were attentive. It was hard to tell with their faces obscured.


    The collective royalty group resigned themselves to let her finish.


    Good. She¡¯d make things interesting.


    Juniper reached into her bag and pulled out a brush.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Magnolia made a high pitched noise before placing her hand over her mouth. She knew what the brush was for.


    Juniper began to wave the brush around.


    ¡°My golden thread led me to the Treasure House. A singular tree, gnarled and twisted, stood on the manicured lawn under the velvet sky.¡± Juniper felt this image take shape within her mind and a cloud of pigments coalesced to reflect this. The quality of her artistry was rudimentary but the effect was enough to keep a younger Magnolia enraptured for hours on those troublesome nights.


    ¡°There was a single house on the lawn. The horizon stretched from end to end, with the stars of the astral plane bleeding into the indigo-velvet hues of the creature''s domain. The moon in the sky seemed to drip with a similarly colored ichor.¡±


    The show borrowed more details from her memories of that time. Of the single light that shined like a lure against the darkened backdrop of the domain.


    Of the chimney in its red and black brick and the gaseous creature that dribbled out of its opening.


    Its body was amorphous, tendrils spreading out in the sky like a wound in the world, festering with mouths and eyes and ears.


    ¡°I opened the door to the Treasure House and found a couple of opened rooms amidst an endless combination of living spaces. Those rooms that were visible housed the remnants of people that had been subsumed by the spell. Where they once were bound existed the corporeal shadows burned into chairs and beds and corners of rooms.¡±


    She¡¯d followed her golden thread inside. Felt the tug of the creature attempting to redirect her attention to the trinkets and curios it¡¯d suckered its other guests. It was a sensation Juniper could ignore quite easily, the aftereffects of the spell bound in her body making it difficult to focus on anything other than immediate tasks at hand.


    ¡°I found the missing girl in a sealed iteration of the house. The walls breathed when she did, trembled at a quickening pace when I approached her. Half her body was etched on the wall that I¡¯d found her at, her eyes and mouth agape as the creature took from her. I had to pry the trinket she¡¯d claimed for herself and the spell relinquished us as a result.¡±


    Juniper ran her fingers through the scene and the cloud of pigments dissipated.


    ¡°The creature was still an unnamed thing and tethered itself to its domain to attain the kind of power it had. She had everywhere else in the astral to find a spell worth binding and thought, like her parents before her, that it¡¯d be as simple as solving a riddle to force its submission.¡±


    Juniper avoided looking at Maggie and her eyes.


    ¡°I echo our presenters sentiments,¡± Del Marin interjected, ¡°And refer you fledglings read some of the accounts of first generation Incants that survived the First Dive. If I remember right, our very own matron is a survivor, if you can believe it.¡±


    Interesting but Juniper could see it. That woman had a quality to her that Juniper wasn¡¯t able to pinpoint, a distance that elevated her from the people around her.


    ¡°We already know that the other side is dangerous,¡± another girl declared in an unamused tone, ¡°So why are you two up there not giving us something new to chew on that the books haven¡¯t covered?¡±


    Juniper rolled her eyes, ¡°Nothing I teach you is going to matter because you¡¯re rotten to the core. The foundation, the fear, it¡¯s gone.¡±


    The girl furrowed her eyebrows, ¡°Excuse me? You don¡¯t get-¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t get it. Coddled and arrogant is at your core and nothing I say is going to help that.¡± Juniper turned her attention to the rest of the crowd, ¡°For those that are willing to listen, the biggest piece of advice when running on the other side is to hold fear in your heart. Nothing over there is what it appears to be and your senses will lie to you if you let them. Spells will take advantage of your carelessness so don¡¯t give them an opening. Their challenges can be as simple as a display of combat prowess to as luck based as a coin flip. Observe their behaviors before your approach if it''s something that you can handle. And run the fuck away if you can¡¯t handle it or someone like myself will have to fish you out in a body bag or worse.¡±


    Some of the students registered with the flurry of advice she¡¯d thrown their way.


    The lot she was criticizing didn¡¯t care to dwell on her advice.


    ¡°Thank you, Miss Winthrop, for your lessons on the astral. We will begin discussing your progress on grimoire choices as the deadline for the final exam approaches.¡± Del Marin started his own back and forth with the rest of the class.


    Juniper tuned most of it out as she sat and waited for her opportunity to present itself.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°That was an interesting presentation, Miss Winthrop.¡± Del Marin started to say as the students shuffled out of the room.


    Magnolia and Willow gave Juniper a mocking, pitying glance before walking away.


    The bastards!


    Juniper doubled back to Del Marin, ¡°I just spoke from experience. Felt a little presentation was fine if it got the point across.¡±


    Del Marin smiled, ¡°Well you certainly have a flair for the dramatics. Carrying that tool around with you, you must be great at parties.¡±


    ¡°Work keeps me away from that sort of stuff. Not a lot of friends to make in my line of work that don¡¯t want something out of you beyond your company.¡±


    Del Marin ruminated on his next words, ¡°I¡¯d say that you don¡¯t do yourself any favors but considering the company I keep, you¡¯re much more tolerable, if quite disheveled and uncouth.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± Juniper curtly replied.


    ¡°That was meant to be a compliment, I promise you.¡±


    ¡°Why is it that I don¡¯t believe you?¡±


    Del Marin shrugged, ¡°Believe me or not, that¡¯s your prerogative. Just know that with some makeup and a taming of that wild mane of yours, you¡¯d have your pick of associates.¡±


    Juniper twitched, holding herself from ripping the man¡¯s head off for the audacity.


    ¡°Noted.¡± She struggled to say through grit teeth.


    The two stared at one another.


    ¡°You need something from me, don¡¯t you?¡± Del Marin said in a neutral tone.


    How honest did she want to be?


    ¡°Something, yeah.¡± Juniper admitted.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Del Marin crossed his arms, ¡°What is it that you need? You don¡¯t look like the type to beg for stars so is it a carnal desire?¡±


    Juniper¡¯s stomach lurched.


    ¡°This is business related, you fucking sleeze.¡± Juniper answered with venom.


    He wasn¡¯t shaken up by the vitriol, shrugging and moving past it, ¡°Would this business matter have anything to do with you trying to contact one of the institution''s guides?¡±


    Juniper steeled her expression, ¡°Among other things, yeah. I don¡¯t exactly have the clout to chase after my curiosities and you do.¡±


    Del Marin nodded, ¡°And this guide is business related how exactly? Is this work going to jeopardize the longevity of this institution?¡± The casual, easygoing nature in his voice quickly dissipated into something more serious. It wasn¡¯t an outright rejection but a careful consideration of her request with all of the consequences it entailed.


    ¡°I doubt anything I do will be the crack that splinters this institution. I can¡¯t tell you what I¡¯m doing exactly but I¡¯m doing it for some two-bit client¡¯s peace of mind.¡± Juniper downplayed the mothers involvement in all of this.


    ¡°So you¡¯re taking my comments in stride to use my clout around here to get information.¡±


    ¡°Information and access, yeah. Tried going about things my way and ended up getting stonewalled very quickly. Everyone¡¯s tightlipped and my presence on campus is merely tolerated.¡±


    His eyebrow rose, ¡°Access? I¡¯m flattered that you think I¡¯m a man in high places but I don¡¯t think I could even gain access to guide records if I wanted to.¡±


    Juniper shook her head, ¡°Not there. With enough sweet talking, I¡¯m sure I can find someone to talk about that mystery guide. No, you look like the kind of guy that¡¯d have access to the building in the far corner that esteem looking guests go to.¡±


    ¡°And how exactly did this guide tie to the auction house?¡±


    An auction house? Juniper¡¯s heart sank, mind jumping to the worst conclusions for the end state of the missing girl.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say that my delver¡¯s intuition is pointing me in that building''s direction and I don¡¯t have access. You look like you do.¡±


    Juniper was playing with her cards close to her chest. The man was a sleaze and his allegiance to the coven was pretty clear due to his employment but her only alternatives were Daliah and the damn matron of the institution. Both bad options.


    ¡°Would your inquiries have anything to do with the upcoming gala?¡± Del Marin asked?


    ¡°The what now?¡± Juniper replied.


    ¡°You sly minx,¡± Del Marin smiled as he made connections within his mind, ¡°You¡¯re trying to crash into the gala!¡±


    ¡°I honestly have-¡±


    ¡°Oh you don¡¯t need to play coy, Miss Winthrop. You¡¯re looking for a guide to get you into the private event. Whether for your benefactor or for your own connections, getting into the auction house would make someone from your background an actual piece on the board.¡±


    Juniper blinked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡±


    Del Marin waved away her incredulity, ¡°If all you wanted was entry into the event, all you had to do was ask. Get yourself cleaned up and you¡¯d work as serviceable arm candy for the rest of those investors to draw in.¡±


    Juniper thought about stressing her confusion but refrained. His misunderstanding was her opportunity and clearing things up would only make his cooperation harder to attain.


    She feigned perking up, ¡°Do you really think I can attend?¡±


    Del Marin ate up the act, dialing his ¡°charm¡± to eleven, ¡°Of course, se?orita.¡±


    Juniper made a small prayer to whatever god would listen that she¡¯d have the strength to tolerate the man¡¯s company in the coming days.

 Chapter VII - Magnolia

    Magnolia¡¯s lungs were on fire.


    She took breaths with each thundering step made on the training course. The exercise made her feel at peace, the sweltering sun hanging over her, a friend she¡¯d been well acquainted with in the peaks of summers past and present.


    Sweat clung to her fair skin like dewdrops on morning grass and upon washing away the grime with relish, the malaise that had taken over her mind melted away with it.


    Magnolia looked around the training course and found nothing but somber solitude. The field was pristine and manicured and the practice dummies showed little wear and tear.


    It wasn¡¯t long now before her exam would take place, before she¡¯d have to present her grimoire and bind a spell to her will, before she¡¯d prove to herself and the world around her that she was as capable and confident as her sister was.


    She¡¯d make her proud.


    Magnolia ran back to the base of a tree she¡¯d gathered her materials under and inspected the list again.


    The classroom had ten students to speak of and the institution was kind enough to wrangle or locate the habitats of fifteen different spells of varying grades that the students were expected to bind by examinations end.


    Professor Del Marin would first inspect the viability of their grimoires, their capacity to safely contain spells, and their personal inscription abilities before sending them off the deep end.


    She¡¯d thrown herself with Willow into the books to come up with a vessel suited to her talents and found the options available initially daunting and frustrating. On one hand, Magnolia wanted something that suited her personality. Something innocuous and her.


    On the other hand, she wanted something that was complimentary to the spell that dwelled within her.


    An issue because her passenger had laid dormant within her since she¡¯d slotted the being and no amount of meditation or training seemed to stir it awake.


    Willow had the benefit of proper Incant parents to guide her through her journey. She¡¯d likely carve a staff and keep to the traditions they were attempting to establish as a nascent magical family.


    Talking with Junie about her options led her in the right direction at the very least.


    ¡°What kind of grimoire do you carry around? I¡¯m sort of struggling over here.¡± Magnolia had asked her on a night she was free.


    ¡°You know I can¡¯t tell you that, Maggie,¡± Juniper comforted her with a loose embrace, ¡°But I¡¯m sure you¡¯d want something that defines your path for the future. Most AWW people carry books as their grimoires to fall in line with the perceptions of wizards past. Those with a druidic, natural bent trend towards materials of the earth. You¡¯ll figure out what you want as soon as you know what you want your future in this world to be.¡±


    Her future¡­


    Magnolia came back to reality and grabbed the trinket from within her bag.


    She¡¯d settled on making her grimoire a bracelet.


    At first she¡¯d considered it to be quite childish, using a bracelet with little custom charms to represent the spells she¡¯d plan to house but the more she thought about, the more she realized it defined the sort of relationship she wanted to have with herself, the spells she¡¯d house within and around her, and the people she wanted to associate with.


    Magnolia didn¡¯t want to lose that innocence and wonder for the beauty of the world. She wanted to seek power through friendship and diplomacy if she could help it. As far as jobs around her field were concerned, becoming a freelance binder sounded like something she¡¯d enjoy. It¡¯d allow her to keep her community safe and there was lucrative business in making magical items.


    Finding out which binding families were well-regarded in Georgia made the prospect of researching and committing to an apprenticeship more¡­ tenuous. The thought of having to work with the likes of Bianca caused her stomach to churn. How Willow and her family were even capable of being in the same field as her was beyond Magnolia.


    Which meant that she¡¯d have to leave the only home she knew if she wanted to pursue that career and she wasn¡¯t sure about how strong she was to do it.


    Juniper had always handled the finances, handled putting food on the table, handled practically everything for the both of them when their parents disappeared. It hurt to see Junie stretch herself thin to make ends meet for the both of them.


    Magnolia didn¡¯t even know how dangerous her job was like. Not really.


    Juniper remained cagey about her exploits as a delver. She didn¡¯t have the right to pry, not yet. She¡¯d get that privilege to ask Junie all the questions that¡¯d bubbled within her over the years when they could look and speak to each other as equal peers.


    Magnolia pressed her thumb on the charm she¡¯d crafted for the upcoming exam. A silver mouth with a crystalline talk bubble, like a whisper escaping one''s lips.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Magnolia broke the silence. She stretched her body out and gathered her things.


    Willow was off campus visiting her parents over some business venture they¡¯d recently acquired. She was excited for them but her friend''s good fortune meant Magnolia was spending today entirely alone.


    Juniper, for all of her promises, was gone again¡­


    A thought ran through her head.


    There was a third opinion she could draw from to talk about her choices for the future.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Magnolia entered the faculty building with gusto. There were academics and faculty that she didn¡¯t recognize but they were genial enough to let her walk around without a hassle.


    She ascended the institution''s immaculate steps to the highest point of the building and found what she was looking for.


    The door itself held a similar gravitas to the matron; a white wood door with a windowpane as black as night, red ribbons tied to the stem of the door knob.


    The open room she¡¯d found herself in was equally lonesome. There were no students or faculty to speak of nor a secretary to ask for appointment times and idle chatter.


    Magnolia sat and waited.


    And waited.


    And waited.


    And-


    ¡°This is ridiculous, Maggie. Get up there and knock!¡± Magnolia found the courage in her impatience and pressed her knuckle to the door frame.


    She found no resistance, the door creaking open.


    ¡°Matron? Are you in there?¡± Magnolia whispered through the door crack. She waited for a response and found none.


    Maybe she was meant to wait within her office?


    Magnolia looked back at the empty room before walking through the threshold into the Matron¡¯s private office. She¡¯d expected things within the office to be more whimsical. There were bookshelves to speak of but the spines of the books that called it home were the same dry texts she¡¯d been forced to read to shore up her lacking knowledge on the foundational elements of an Incant.


    There was a window that shined light on the simple brown chair the Matron was expected to sit at. The rest of the lighting came from somewhere ethereal. A cursory examination made her believe the light was conjured out of nothing with its source hidden or absent.


    The desk of the Matron was an undecorated brown slab with flyers stacked on top along with a spool of red ribbons. Taking a peak at one of the flyers, the design looked like a sun or eye with stark lines radiating outward, its colors drenched in blacks and whites.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    The doorknob twisted and Magnolia¡¯s bones jumped out of her skin.


    ¡°Eep!¡± She yelped.


    Walking into the room, unperturbed by the young woman snooping around, was the Matron. Her skin was covered from neck to toe in an oversized red feathered coat that reminded Magnolia of a phoenix. She wore a black veil this time, parted in the center. Her black eyes softened as she took her role as mentor on the other side of the desk.


    ¡°Ah, Magnolia. It is a pleasure to see you again.¡± Her voice maintained that unnerving hiss in its background. Her voice was distinct and yet each syllable was spoken with characters at the periphery.


    ¡°Oh, ah, you remembered me. I, ah, didn¡¯t expect that.¡± Magnolia¡¯s cheeks grew flush with warm blood.


    She was doing a terrible-


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve come to make good on my promise?¡± The Matron removed her veil and allowed her scarlet locks to fall to her shoulders.


    Magnolia froze.


    Shit, what kind of promise had she made that the Matron was still willing to keep her end?


    The Matron laughed. A small thing. Hoarse and deep and guttural and airy. It was a curdling sound.


    Oh no.


    ¡°I take it you do not remember. It is alright, child. The nights have gone long and you have been preoccupied with a great many texts. Your interests in our library have been quite the talk amongst the librarians.¡±


    Magnolia swallowed, ¡°There¡¯s a lot I don¡¯t know about and I wanted to catch up. I wanted to be at even level with the others.¡±


    The Matron nodded, ¡°The resources are there for your use, same for all the others in your class. The fact that you¡¯ve taken to using the facility so extensively is not a flaw, I can assure you. It is a favorable trait to have.¡±


    She accepted the compliment with silence.


    The Matron waited.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m good enough to remain here¡­¡± Magnolia mustered her dark thoughts into a whisper.


    ¡°It seems some part of you remembered my promise then.¡± The Matron replied.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t remember our first conversation, it''s been so long but I was hoping to come back with something to show for the opportunity. Our final exam¡¯s almost upon us and I can¡¯t even get my own spell to stir from its slumber,¡± Magnolia¡¯s breathing became tighter and hot tears started to well up in the corners of her eyes, ¡°And it''s not just you I¡¯m trying to make proud of me. I want to make Junie proud but she¡¯s not around often enough to help me out of my low points. Willow is tied down to me and she¡¯s more experienced than I am by a whole two years!¡±


    No matter how many books she read, how many pages were piled onto her foundation, there was a nagging sensation that brought her to painful shrieks.


    She just wasn¡¯t good enough. She wasn¡¯t getting to where she wanted to go fast enough.


    She was being left behind.


    The Matron¡¯s voice remained neutral, ¡°And is this everything that has been troubling you, child?¡±


    Magnolia wiped her eyes clear and considered the extent of it all, ¡°I can¡¯t talk to them about this. Willow¡¯s already dealing with so much and Junie¡¯s always been cagey about her spell. I have this fear that I¡¯m just not like my sister at all. That she¡¯s just going to be stuck taking care of me forever and I just won¡¯t be able to do anything to get her out of that mindset. And with this final examination, I¡¯m scared I won¡¯t be able to bind this spell to the charm I¡¯ve made. I mean what kind of Incant is capable of inscribing a spell into an object that can¡¯t even call open their own fucking slotted spell?¡±


    A long moment of silence. Magnolia¡¯s cheeks grew flush again.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry for pouring everything out and cursing there at the end.¡± She bowed her head and hoped the worst of her embarrassment was over.


    ¡°Pick your head up, child.¡± The Matron declared.


    Magnolia did not hesitate to lift her head and look the Matron into those large stygian gems.


    ¡°Do you feel better? Letting all of this out?¡± The Matron asked, her face impassive.


    Magnolia mustered the courage enough to nod.


    ¡°Good.¡± The Matron elegantly and effortlessly conjured a flower bulb in her hand with the flick of a wrist. ¡°You have acquainted yourself with the teachings of Heretic Farlow, correct?¡±


    Magnolia cleared her nose, ¡°Yeah? The name rings a bell but I¡¯m fuzzy on the details.¡±


    ¡°Reacquaint yourself then with his material. It is informative to your current predicament.¡± The Matron¡¯s light scolding felt like the agonizing demise of Magnolia¡¯s spirit, her frame receding into the thin fabrics of the chair. ¡°I have personally found his teachings to be worthwhile. Pertaining to your issue, he would suggest reconciling these differences with the Theory of Mental Gates. It is not uncommon that Incants are changed by the spells they slot within their bodies and there are numerous texts covering the sort of machinations of communing with one kind of spell over another or whether temperaments between spell and spellcaster must much for an ideal connection.¡±


    The Matron whispered a word to the flower bulb and it bloomed, ¡°It is when the spell is synchronous with the spell caster that power will manifest and an Incant becomes capable of exerting their force upon the world. Circumstantial evidence supports aspects of this theory, considering that Incants are volatile when slotting a new spell into their bodies and the personalized aspect of slotted spells counter to inscribed spells.¡±


    Magnolia chewed on the lesson, ¡°So you¡¯re suggesting that this spell that I¡¯ve had for years and I have been asynchronous?¡±


    The Matron affirmed, ¡°This would be an answer, yes. Your maturation would be akin to a late bloomer, although the thought of this occurring is alien and would suggest a number of issues with your ascension into our fold.¡±


    Magnolia gulped.


    ¡°Where our Heretic comes into this lesson is with his assessment of Mental Gates. The former theories discuss the method by which Incants acquire power from their spells but Farlow believed that this course of study was insufficient. There were mechanisms, he referred to as mental gates, that were barring certain interactions from occurring within our slotting process. For one, it is most unwise to attempt to slot a spell into one''s body that does not meet or exceed the strength of another spell.¡±


    Juniper had mentioned something like this before when she asked what sort of spells she housed within herself. Her sister only gave her cagey responses onto the reasons for her decisions but she¡¯d been kind enough to reveal that she only had the one spell since becoming an Incant.


    ¡°For two,¡± Magnolia snapped back to focus on the Matron¡¯s lesson, ¡°This theory posits that sufficient duress both physical and mental can lock a spell caster from access to their spell until they become capable of handling the casting process and the aftermath.¡±


    She hung the implication in the air with a pregnant tension so thick, Magnolia felt like she was choking.


    ¡°Although customary to cover the history of one''s casting path up to now, your sister avoided providing the institution details on your pasts. This was expected, considering your sister''s line of work and the vulnerability the both of you share as free agents in a budding marketplace for our kind. If you wish to learn more about your predicament, I would suggest conversing with your sister. Or remain hopeful that your skills outside of this dormant ability will carry you successfully to the final communion.¡± The Matron chuckled in that blood curdling way.


    If this was her attempt at levity, she was failing at it.


    ¡°And what if she doesn¡¯t give me a response?¡± Magnolia asked. It was the likely outcome. She¡¯d asked before about a great many things that her sister was wary in answering and this felt firmly in the zipped lips category.


    ¡°Then defer to your talents as a student of the craft and overcome this adversity in the same way your sister has. Just your work on that grimoire of yours is enough to showcase your ingenuity in the face of unforeseen circumstances.¡±


    Magnolia brightened up, ¡°You really think so?¡± She jingled the item around on her wrist.


    ¡°Your approach to the assignment is satisfactory under my eyes. If one of your many fears is the fear of a botched binding in the heat of the examination, know that your workmanship will not be what fails you.¡± The Matron had assuaged her fear in that flowery speak of hers. The whole conversation had. ¡°I remain steadfast in my assertion that you will find yourself at the end of all of this as a sister, Magnolia. Your kind does not fail. Only experiences setbacks.¡±


    Magnolia jumped out of her seat, and suppressed the embarrassment from the overenthusiastic gesture.


    ¡°Thank you, Matron. I won¡¯t let you down!¡± Magnolia exclaimed.


    ¡°I am sure you will not let any of us down. Remain vigilant in your studies and in your examination. It would be a shame to send your sister to recover you in a body bag.¡± The Matron disengaged from the concentration with another flick of her wrist, moving Magnolia out of the space with a mere wave.


    Body bag¡­


    Magnolia frowned. It wasn¡¯t enough to just have the courage to face the spell in a challenge but to come back alive from the whole scenario. If these were the sorts of issues that Juniper had to deal with, then Magnolia felt it was even more prudent to get a move on with her studies and come out of this experience a capable enough person for her sister to depend on. It was hard enough for her to deal with it all and she had the benefit of the school and Willow and the Matron.


    She¡¯d be all that for her sister. It was the least she could do. For family.

 Chapter VIII - Juniper

    ¡°Hold still!¡± Magnolia cried out.


    It was torture. Pain. Agony.


    ¡°I swear, Junie if you don¡¯t fucking hold still!¡± Magnolia gripped Juniper tight, the few times her frustration has so blatantly erupted to the surface.


    ¡°But it tickles!¡± Juniper shrieked as she wriggled around in her formal collar and dress shirt. She¡¯d wrangled around with the velvet ribbons and buttons and had found herself a tangled mess.


    And with how tangled she was attempting to connect threads to loops where they did not belong, her wonderful sister was doing the good work of unraveling her, brushing at her sides and sending her into fits in the process.


    And those fits pulled tightly on her flesh, causing a non-insignificant amount of pain.


    ¡°I can¡¯t work in these conditions if you won¡¯t work with me!¡± Magnolia used her slender fingers to untie knots and disentangle webs of hastily made mistakes. They were both having a good time at Juniper''s expense.


    At least she hoped.


    It was nagging in her mind that the preoccupation with finding how to get access to the clerk''s records or maintaining connections with her regular job contacts meant spending less time with her sister than she¡¯d like.


    That nagging sensation kept spreading into a wider regret, a feeling that maybe taking her sister to a prestigious coven wasn¡¯t the right move.


    And whenever Juniper scanned the room and saw stacks upon stacks of books with dog-eared margins and notes and sketches, she felt even more guilt for thinking it could be so easy to pull the plug on her sister''s dream of going to a magical school.


    ¡°Ah!¡± A pointed poke at the side of her rib cage brought her back out of her spiral of thoughts. ¡°Hey,¡± Juniper pointed at her sister in mock anger, ¡°You did that on purpose!¡±


    Magnolia rolled her eyes, ¡°I¡¯ve done no such thing. Why, I don¡¯t have the strength to even harm a fly, let alone my dear sister.¡±


    Juniper narrowed her eyes, ¡°When did you get at being such a pain in my ass.¡±


    ¡°Why I¡¯m shocked you could even say that to me,¡± Magnolia threw her arm back in a mock offense, ¡°To your own sister. Your own flesh and blood.¡±


    It was Juniper¡¯s turn to roll her eyes before the both of them broke into laughter.


    The back and forth died down as the last of the tangled mess was neatly picked apart and placed in its proper position. Magnolia helped her set the long blond hair into a groomed bun with a few streaks curling down on her face.


    Juniper looked at herself in the mirror and liked what she saw. A woman in a ruffled collared white dress shirt topped with a black shawl that came down to her elbows, held together by a thick red cord from one end to another. Her pants were a similar shade of black, pairing nicely with a thin black leather belt and golden buckle.


    ¡°Do you think I look nice?¡± Juniper hesitantly asked.


    Magnolia paused, ¡°Are you joking? You look like a stone cold fox in that piece.¡± Her sister brought Juniper in for a warm and quiet moment.


    ¡°Thank you, Maggie. This meant a lot to me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡±


    The two held one another in silence for what felt like forever. She¡¯d missed this.


    ¡°June. Don¡¯t hate me.¡± Magnolia whispered.


    Juniper furrowed her eyebrows, ¡°Huh? What do you mean? Why would I hate you?¡±


    ¡°I just, I¡¯m going to ask you something and I know it might get you in a mood so I just don¡¯t want you to ruin your night.¡± The girl vomited out her words in a nervous flurry.


    She softened her gaze, ¡°Just tell me.¡±


    Magnolia took a deep breath, ¡°Juniper. I want to know about the night I crossed into the astral.¡±


    Her heart dropped. Not tonight. She couldn¡¯t handle everything else on top of this tonight.


    ¡°You¡¯re not ready to know.¡± Juniper attempted to kill the conversation as she¡¯d always done when that rare question intruded into her life.


    Magnolia stomped her foot, ¡°Juniper, I deserve to know!¡± She¡¯d raised her voice. She¡¯d done it before but compounded with-


    Juniper reacted, ¡°You¡¯re still just a kid, Maggie! You¡¯re just not ready to carry that weight. I don¡¯t¡­¡± the rest of the words died in her mouth.


    I don¡¯t want you to carry the weight I¡¯ve had on my shoulders for so long.


    Magnolia¡¯s lip quivered, ¡°I don¡¯t what? You don¡¯t want to be burdened by me? You don¡¯t want me to know because I can¡¯t handle it? I¡¯m still a baby?¡± Hot tears ran down her face.


    Juniper dug her nails into her skin, ¡°Don¡¯t say that!¡± She pulled her sister in tight and felt a torrent of ugly sobs smear on her shawl.


    ¡°Let go of me! I don¡¯t want your pity!¡± Magnolia yelled through the cloth.


    ¡°It¡¯s not pity you stupid girl,¡± Juniper tried her best to fight back her own tears, her own failures, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to drown in the aftermath of that night the way I did. I know you¡¯re capable now but to give you that so close to your exams and, it¡¯s just something I¡¯ve wished I could forget and giving that to you would make me feel so much worse.¡± She fumbled around her words, unable to piece together a cohesive thought.


    ¡°I just want to know now, Junie! I feel like all I do is bring you down and I want to do something! I want to help, I want to be there for you!¡± Her fists feebly slapped Juniper''s chest.


    Juniper caressed the back of her sister''s head and cooed, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything other than remain my little ball of sunshine. I couldn¡¯t do half the things I do without knowing I could come back home to you.¡±


    Magnolia sniffed, ¡°I just don¡¯t feel like it¡¯s enough. You do so much and I just¡­¡± She trailed off, the height of her emotions bringing her down into a thick malaise.


    Juniper sighed.


    ¡°If this is important to you, Magnolia¡­ if it¡¯s so pressing for you to know, I¡¯ll let you know after your examination. And only after.¡± It was bound to happen. If it were Juniper, it¡¯d have never happened at all.


    ¡°Do you mean that?¡± Magnolia perked up.


    ¡°Yes, my love, yes. Just focus on keeping yourself happy and healthy in the meantime. I don¡¯t want to worry about you when you¡¯re out there doing your dive.¡±


    Magnolia settled her head on Juniper''s chest, the pair standing in their chaotic dorm room.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got this.¡± Magnolia whispered.


    Juniper smiled, ¡°You¡¯ve got this too. We¡¯re Winthrops, Maggie. Take no prisoners, leave no witnesses.¡± She tenderly grabbed her sister''s forehead and kissed it. ¡°Now, I¡¯ve got to go. And get these tear stains out of the shawl.¡±


    ¡°Oh fuck off.¡± Her sister meekly chuckled.


    Juniper inhaled. Exhaled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back by morning.¡± Juniper told her sister.


    Magnolia let go and whispered her goodbyes and good luck.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    She impatiently tapped her foot on the soft earth, seeing individuals in fancier clothes intermittently stream into the lit, decadent building.


    Where the fuck was he?


    Juniper took the moment alone and conjured a sliver of her golden thread. She saw it glimmer and shine as it traveled to the borders of the guest building before disappearing past an invisible threshold. The thread remained tight to her pull.


    Whether she found the missing girl or something of her remained to be seen but it¡¯d be the break she¡¯d need. A thread to follow and continue following until her path was no longer necessary.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Del Marin uttered. His face was incredulous in another gaudy arrangement of suit, tie, and pinstripe pants. The colors for today''s event were a textured red suit and golden inseams so it looked like glowing veins underneath the moonlight.


    ¡°Oh? Oh, what?¡± Juniper did not hide her annoyance. She¡¯d been waiting for her accessory to arrive for the better part of half an hour under the humid Georgian night, doing her best to hold still and avoid sweating in her nice clothes.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°I just,¡± Del Marin looked Juniper up and down, ¡° I didn¡¯t expect you to clean up so well. I was wondering which T-shirt and jeans combo you were going to wear for this formal but here you are with a crumb of class.¡±


    The audacity.


    ¡°It is a little too masculine for my tastes but I¡¯m sure your figure will transcend all that.¡± He continued.


    Magnolia, give me the strength not to throttle this man where he stands.


    ¡°Here by the way,¡± Del Marin handed her a golden rabbit mask, one ear tip tucked over the ear while the other stood up and alert, ¡°You¡¯re meant to wear this.¡±


    Juniper raised an eyebrow, ¡°What kind of cult event am I walking into?¡± She grabbed the mask and felt the cool comfort of its ceramic make at the tips of her fingers.


    Del Marin rolled his eyes, ¡°You must understand that there are some guests who do not wish to have their faces shown. Why, even the Matron goes to great lengths to obscure her own face and we hold her in such high regard.¡± He paused and waved at a hunched over elderly man with a cane, face bare unless her eyes had suddenly stopped functioning. ¡°There are also current feuds that we¡¯d like to keep at the door and the shedding of one''s identity in favor of our masked self presents a solution, if, symbolic and reinforced by the behaviors of our peers.¡±


    ¡°That man you just waved at walked in without wearing one of these.¡± Juniper pointed at her rabbit mask and his¡­peacock mask?


    ¡°Use your head, girl. You take pride in that. If we¡¯re wearing these kinds of masks, what makes you think someone else won¡¯t be more elaborate with the dress code?¡±


    She chewed on the thought.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. They¡¯re seriously spending energy walking around like that for a fucking party?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a gala, and yes. Think of it as a showcase of their talents to the big spenders in the room. I mean, we¡¯re both going to be


    showing our feathers in there.¡± He raised his eyebrow suggestively before donning the peacock mask. He extended the crook of his arm and waited for Juniper to accept his invitation.


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Juniper donned her own mask and walked, arm in arm, with Del Marin. Despite his background as an academic and needling demeanor, his body was surprisingly sturdy to her touch.


    ¡°Do you like what you¡¯re feeling?¡± Del Marin whispered in her ear.


    ¡°Get bent.¡± Juniper whispered in return.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. You don¡¯t know if I¡¯d enjoy that and you¡¯re inviting me for a good time.¡±


    ¡°If you take anything from our interactions as playful or flirtatious that says a lot about you and the company you keep.¡±


    ¡°Well for tonight, I¡¯m keeping you as my company. What would that make me?¡±


    Fucking lucky, is what it made him. Useful for the first time in his life was a close second but that kind of maliciousness would be served better for her devout enemies.


    The two passed the threshold of the building, walked up the steps to the elegantly carved doors and it opened to their presence.


    The interior of the building was audacious. It was the first word that came to mind and the further she walked down the hall and gazed at the people and the decorations, she¡¯d found that even that description was insufficient.


    It was altogether too much and caused all of her senses to go on edge.


    ¡°So this is where all that tuition goes.¡± Juniper muttered.


    ¡°And donations too. Don¡¯t forget that there are quite a number of upstart families looking to legitimize this institution as an alternative to whatever those people in the AWW would have in store for us.¡± Del Marin added.


    It was hard to believe that all this glamor was meant to legitimize the institution in the eyes of its investors. Floating crystalline sconces that glittered golden flakes and boisterous reenactments of war bound to pigments and gilded frames felt like an absolute waste. The amount of stars used to create and maintain the energy powering it all felt so incredibly unfair.


    To her. To her employer most assuredly. It was all fucked.


    The two of them continued to walk down the expansive hallway, Juniper stealing glances of well kept individuals making idle chatter with their peers. The moment she felt someone begin to turn their gaze her way, she ducked from their eyes, turning her face down to avoid contact.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Del Marin whispered in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to look these people in the eye.¡± Juniper stressed her concern and hoped the man understood.


    Too much to hope for.


    ¡°They¡¯re your people and we¡¯re at a formal event. They¡¯re not going to bite your head off and even if they wanted to, they won¡¯t be able to do it by staring at your damn eyes.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in a building with a bunch of suped up spellcasters intermingled with whoever the fuck else is important enough to get an invite to this thing and if I fuck around by looking at the wrong person, it could mean the end of my life.¡±


    ¡°You sound paranoid.¡±


    Juniper snorted, ¡°No. Someone with paranoia has nothing to fear. My fear here is warranted. I haven¡¯t gotten to where I am with the skills I have by making myself a target worth considering and I¡¯m not going to change that behavior now.¡±


    She could feel his aura of annoyance grow but was gracious enough to drop it. Whether to avoid making a scene in front of his peers or out of consideration for her feelings, it got her what she wanted.


    The closer they walked towards the main hall, the louder the chatter amongst peers became and the louder the soft strings of a harp weaved serenity and warmth into her body and soul. The musician was incorporeal and the music ethereal, notes disappearing as quickly as they came into her mind that forced her to consider the present as it was happening.


    ¡°Look alive.¡± Del Marin whispered to Juniper before dragging her to a pair of older looking folk in matching matte red bull masks.


    ¡°Jorge! Cassandra! It is a pleasure to see you two.¡± He greeted the strangers with open arms and a noticeable uptick on the inflections in his accent he¡¯d suppressed around here.


    ¡°Oh Manuel, it is such a pleasure to see you here. How are things with you and your mother?¡± Jorge asked.


    Who in their right mind would name their kid Manuel Del Marin?


    ¡°Things between my mother and I are okay thus far. She¡¯s currently trying to vy for my coming home with gifts and sweet talk instead of threats so I believe things are quite good.¡±


    The older woman turned her attention to Juniper, ¡°And where did you find this rabbit? She doesn¡¯t look like the kind of woman you go for.¡±


    Juniper twitched.


    ¡°I am not trying to sleep with her, despite her best efforts,¡± He laughed and his people joined in, ¡°No, this is Juniper. She¡¯s a colleague of mine. Juniper, this is Jorge and Cassandra Castro. They were my gracious hosts once upon a time.¡±


    Juniper bit her tongue to force her to consider her next set of words.


    ¡°Is she a mute? Or does it take her a little longer to run things up to speed. No shame in that if that¡¯s the case. Why I have-¡±


    Juniper interjected, ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s a pleasure but you¡¯re more insufferable than he is.¡±


    Whoops.


    Cassandra laughed, ¡°Well look at that. A woman with a backbone. Color me shocked that our young Marin would surround himself with someone like this.¡±


    What in the world had she gotten herself into.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to leave you three to chat while I make my way over there.¡±


    Del Marin squeezed the crook of his arm into his side, ¡°But we were supposed to look the part together?¡±


    Juniper muscled her arm out of his, ¡°We will but I¡¯d like to talk to people by myself.¡±


    ¡°What happened to your fear of spellcasters?¡± Del Marin asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get over it.¡± Juniper replied before disengaging from that mess. Without a second glance, Juniper made her way to the edges of the crowding hall. She caught bits and pieces of idle chit chat, of strangers asking about the well being of their children or if so and so heard about the tear between our reality and the astral in the Mojave was getting measurably larger.


    Some folk wore masks while others walked around in a facsimile of flesh, their presentation uncanny enough to tip off astute observers on second glance. Those details that tipped her off did little to alleviate her feelings of fear.


    It felt like a feature to their costume that they¡¯d included instead of a mishap.


    ¡°Hey.¡± A short and squat woman called up to Juniper. The woman was wearing a dewdrop for a mask that shimmered in rainbow hues under the white light of the hall. It made the rest of her pristine white dress shine in similar tones. ¡°Del Marin told me to talk to you?¡±


    ¡°Wait what? Why? Who are you?¡± Juniper kept herself from looking back, pressing forward to exit from the growing density of the crowd.


    The stranger followed along, ¡°Well, wait. Hold up. I¡¯m Ophelia and he said that you¡¯d be able to provide insight on my dissertation. He mentioned that you had experience with delving into the astral. A lot of it.¡±


    ¡°Look, whatever he told you about my skills was an exaggeration. I¡¯m sure you have a ton of people in this institution to ask your questions to. Try those guides for answers. They jump in and out of the astral all of the time.¡±


    She¡¯d taken the opportunity to excuse herself and the man had saddled her with a student? This was wasting her time.


    The crowds chattering died down and the lights in the hall dimmed. What was once an ethereal melody became this tangible presence, an announcement of the main event and all the regal bombast that came with it.


    Juniper turned to locate the source amidst the rest of the crowd.


    There was no spotlight to announce her presence. An entourage of acolytes silently created space between the rabble and a spot on the ground.


    Space folded.


    From her point of view, Juniper saw air and light bend into a sandwich and snap back into place to reveal the Matron. She was radiance incarnate, the shades of red on the dress draped over her dancing with its hues and the light that made her look like a living, walking flame bulb. Her hair was held together with a crown and that crown had an accompanying piece in the front for the thick obscuring veil at her front.


    The Matron was overwhelming. It all was.


    Each step she made caused her dress to flicker, leaving glowing motes and crackling embers in her wake.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to welcome everyone to our private gala, both returning guests and those invited by your peers.¡± She announced and the crowd applauded.


    Juniper just felt her blood cool and skin crawl with each syllable spoken. It¡¯d unsettled her then when speaking to the Matron and she remained thoroughly perturbed by the haunting tremor to her voice, as if the stages of her past selves were attempting to claw out of her throat.


    In the silence, the Matron turned.


    She pierced that crowd and looked.


    Looked at Juniper.


    Fuck.


    Juniper panicked, grabbing the students hand, and manhandled her way out of the crowd''s edge into the barren hallway outside.


    Deep breaths. It was a coincidence. She wasn¡¯t looking at you. Her head was pointed in the general direction and you simply felt uncomfortable under it.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Ophelia grabbed at Juniper¡¯s open hand, ¡°You look like you¡¯re about to pass out.¡±


    Juniper fanned air into her face with an open palm, ¡°I just got overwhelmed in there. Not exactly comfortable being around the ah, the host of the event.¡±


    Ophelia nodded, ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t blame you. She feels strange. Like there¡¯s literally more to her, this overbearing gravity.¡±


    Was she sympathizing with her out of genuine concern or was this a way to crack her open for her dissertation stuff?


    ¡°You mentioned back there that the guides would be willing to help but they¡¯re hard to reach and their department¡¯s also elusive.¡±


    Yeah. Yeah they were.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t think he¡¯d suggest you if he didn¡¯t think you were up to the task.¡± Ophelia remarked.


    ¡°Look I don¡¯t know what sort of tall tales he sang about me and my experience but I¡¯m just a self taught delver. If you want your academic stuff, go to someone that can offer that to you because I can¡¯t.¡±


    Ophelia shook her head, ¡°But I have more questions than just delving and he assured me you¡¯d be cooperative if I explained my project.¡±


    She was losing time with all of this nonsense and the impatience was making her attitude testy.


    ¡°Just,¡± Juniper tried to rub the ache at the bridge of her nose and found only cool ceramic, ¡°Get on with it.¡±


    ¡°Okay. My dissertation is on beings in the astral and the layers that demarcate our realm from the other and was hoping you¡¯d give me some insights on it all.¡±


    ¡°Is this not something you can find in one of your books or something? This feels like common expertise.¡±


    ¡°Well, uh, I wanted some firsthand experience to add onto my perspective.¡±


    This was ridiculous.


    A flash of an idea shot through her mind.


    She pressed her hand to her ear and looked down to the ground.


    ¡°Oh. Oh no.¡± Juniper inflected a tremble to her voice.


    ¡°What? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ophelia asked in concern.


    Juniper straightened herself, ¡°I have to go. Something urgent has arrived and I have to tend to that matter. Wait for me at the edge of the crowd if you must.¡±


    Juniper didn¡¯t wait for her response, merely jumping into action to run as far away from the situation as urgency could be feigned.


    The moment she turned back and saw the girl pivot back towards the crowd, Juniper ducked into an alcove and waited.


    Flicking her wrist, the thread appeared. This time it wasn¡¯t blocked by boundaries. This time she was within the threshold.


    And with the silence to reflect on the details of the night, she realized why her senses were on edge and the thread kept disappearing into the void from outside the threshold.


    ¡°Its a fucking domain.¡± Juniper grumbled.


    So many alarms were ringing in her head but there wasn¡¯t time to be afraid. She¡¯d remain alert and do her job.


    And hopefully avoid the source of whatever person or thing had rooted itself so firmly into the building.

 Chapter IX - Juniper

    The building was bigger on the inside.


    It was a moot observation in retrospect, but Juniper hadn¡¯t preoccupied herself with the sheer immensity of the space she was entering when first with Del Marin. Her eyes were caught by the glitz and glimmer of the opulent displays that she¡¯d failed to grasp the size of the hallways and lights and paintings on the walls.


    She couldn''t tell how many corridors she''d passed, how many pristine images she''d note, their frames lightly coated in gray dust. Juniper only knew that she was making some progress because of the growing tautness in the golden thread guiding her to her evidence.


    And the way that the reenactments depicted were altered slightly in detail, vaguely, until there was nothing but a garbled mess of pigments in a facsimile of a battle, its combatants soft and amorphous. Landscapes turned into a brown muddy mess. Uniformed colors distinguishing prince from pauper entirely unrecognizable, identities lost to the reiterative nature of the world she walked through.


    It was always a pain traveling through domains, much less one so thoroughly rooted in the world. The griping wouldn''t help alleviate the growing sourness of her mood. She knew that she had no other option when traversing through the domain, unless she wanted to locate the progenitor of the building and ask for their permission to access a section of the wider space.


    No, she''d take the long way to her answers.


    It gave her time to think of the repercussions of her actions. She didn¡¯t know the parameters of the threshold she¡¯d crossed and whether time was immaterial inside of the building. Domains functioned primarily under the constraints of the astral, which meant peculiarities akin to tropes in dream logic.


    Time was immaterial and yet ever-present. Travel from one point to another felt endless if the traveler paid attention to their route.


    Juniper knew that this parameter was alive and well when she squinted too hard at her golden thread and the hallway began to rotate and twist like an image caught in a pair of mirrors.


    Violence wasn¡¯t off the table and since she was an intruder to the space without the proper invitation of the building owner, she¡¯d be more defenseless than she already was.


    Which left the time question and the issues of escape up in the air.


    What would she do to escape? And if she escaped, what time would it be in the wider world? Would she find herself incapable of making use of whatever she found at the end of the line because too much time had passed?


    No, it was likely that she¡¯d need to do something she hadn¡¯t done since the night Magnolia¡­


    ¡°Fuck this is such a pain.¡± Juniper grumbled.


    Wait.


    Juniper blinked once, twice, and found her surroundings began to adopt that muddy pigmented nature that the art pieces had. Her string held firm but the space was shifting and shifting with a purpose.


    The elaborate wall trims and framed paintings melted into the background and in their place came the rattling of chains, the wet drips of water on damp gray stone, and the haunting melody of the harp she¡¯d been hearing from the main hall. Her exit was upended from behind her, only darkness and the distant glint of half rusted iron bars foretelling what awaited her should she retreat.


    The once faint glow of her thread grew in luminance, shirking off the encroaching darkness with its radiant golden light.


    This was both a good and a bad thing.


    It was a good thing for Juniper because without that light, she¡¯d have to start walking around the nascent dungeon space with no one to guide her and nothing to reveal the dangers in the dark.


    It was a bad thing for Juniper to keep her thread out in the open because if someone or something was making modifications to the domain, then it meant they had enough of a mind to follow her thread to its source.


    She was defenseless. No bag of tricks. No innate combative abilities. Just raw athleticism and a few martial art moves picked up from the more interesting wayfarers that crossed Savannah to keep her defended.


    Not the worst situation she¡¯d been in but bordering precariously on that scenario.


    Juniper considered whispering for any signs of life and fought against the urge. Anything that existed here was either a victim in some wider conspiracy she had no pieces, or plans, of solving or the dreaded security system she was certain any paranoid Incant with enough connections and power to maintain.


    The only option she had was moving forward and she did so in reticence. She passed by empty cell after empty cell, with nothing but scratchings in the grooves of the walls and errant articles of clothing to denote the lives of the victims.


    She expected skeletons and found dungeons. It¡¯d have been a laugh and a half if it weren¡¯t so morbid and foreboding of the fates of those that disappeared under the Matrons eye.


    That woman had to be complicit.


    ¡°Ow.¡± Juniper winced. Her slips were not up for the occasion, the hard stone underneath her feet causing the backs of the lightly worn shoe to chew at her ankles.


    This night would only grow in discomforts if she prolonged her stay.


    She pulled at her thread for an update.


    The thread was snagged.


    She moved her arm around to tug at the snare and found the ability to do so became harder as she pulled.


    Whatever was holding it in place was approaching and approaching at an even pace.


    Her guess materialized into audio cues as she began to faintly hear the sounds of a heavy liquid slap onto the stone floor. The light from her thread in the distance did not show the entity off but she knew it was there.


    ¡°Fuck me¡­¡± Juniper groaned. As silently as possible, she walked up to one of the cells and ducked inside.


    She curled up into a ball for good measure.


    With regret, she dismissed her golden thread and waited in the darkness.


    She held her breath as the creature approached. The warden of this pop up dungeon ungulated as it passed, the rattling of the chains on the walls temporarily subsumed in its translucent spongy flesh before those contents were violently spat back out onto the wall with a wet slorping noise.


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    There were bones and clothes and pocket trinkets suspended in the center of its frame. Its core jiggled and trembled with each motion.


    It dragged itself down the hall with pseudopods.


    It did not have eyes, or at least she felt it didn¡¯t have eyes with the way it disinterestedly passed the cells around it to travel further into the hall. If it simply was the width and height of the dungeon halls, any unsuspecting soul would need to cross paths with it and find themselves in for a nightmarish experience.


    Once the sloshing sounds became distant, Juniper uncurled herself and investigated. The residue it left behind on the walls and floor and ceiling did not burn or hold a particularly acrid scent. It was a sticky and translucent film, similar to its whole body.


    Despite the painful reminder of her shoes digging into her ankles, Juniper refused at this point to take them off and finish her work barefoot.


    No, she disregarded her safe approach after having the warden pass and ran as fast as she could down the darkened halls.


    Juniper flicked her wrist once more and the golden thread sprang to life, racing faster towards the final destination. Her heart thundered and quaked with each loud step towards the source.


    The thread turned the bend towards a simple door and Juniper burst her way inside with a shoulder tackle.


    The door was busted open to reveal an empty room on first inspection.


    No.


    Juniper''s eyes adjusted to the glow of her thread and she stood there, horrified, to see clumps of clothing on the floor. The taut golden thread tied itself to the handkerchief her client had handed her, along with a skirt and blouse. More clothing scattered in the corners with no tears or rips, no signs of violence.


    The thread on her pinky unraveled now that it reached its destination and the nagging preoccupation to complete the quest satisfyingly dissipated. There was still a missing girl to find, a situation that became more morbid in her mind with each passing discovery, but there was personal solace in being freed from the fixation.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    Juniper froze.


    ¡°Hello? Someone¡¯s there¡­¡± The feminine voice wheezed.


    Was this a trap? There was the monster that slid itself through the hall but the solitary defense wasn¡¯t exactly what she¡¯d expected from the expedition. This was the other shoe, precariously hanging on edge.


    ¡°Please¡­¡± the voice coughed and spat, ¡°Please, I promise I¡¯ll disappear. I won¡¯t ask questions. I won¡¯t come back. Just please let me go!¡± The person got livelier with each spoken word, punctuating the end of her plea with a thrashing of chains and open sobs.


    Juniper winced.


    The option of leaving the dungeon crossed her mind for a moment but the guilt of leaving someone behind was not something she wanted her conscious to nag her about.


    And could she even look Magnolia in the eye after that?


    ¡°Give me a second. I can¡¯t see anything.¡± Juniper whispered her reply.


    ¡°Do you want me to help? I can keep talking if it¡¯d help.¡± The voice choked back their hope, earnestly offering what little they have for the opportunity to be free.


    ¡°Just hold on.¡± Juniper contemplated using her thread to Magnolia and quickly decided against it.


    Her client''s card would do. She was willing to handle the risks.


    Juniper conjured her golden thread and found it to be heavy with slack. An expected result considering the distance between the two but she just needed the light.


    ¡°Was that you?¡± the voice called out in panic.


    ¡°Yeah, shush. Gotta check if the halls are clear before I try to cross over and find you.¡± Juniper replied. She bundled the missing girl''s clothes into a ball and held it tight for her clients'' identification.


    And possibly closure.


    She closed her eyes and listened to the distant sounds of the traveling warden. Finding the hall to be clear, Juniper exited the room.


    ¡°You still with me?¡± Juniper whispered.


    ¡°Yeah. I can see that yellow glow nearby.¡± The voice responded. Their statement was carried in the air further down the hall.


    Juniper treaded lightly towards the source and quickly found an open cell, the prison bars corroded by the warden''s translucent film. She stepped inside the room and winced.


    Hanging on the wall bound by chains was an emaciated woman with vacuous blots across her body. She had to blink a couple of times to make sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her. Indeed, there were sections of this woman''s naked body that were dug into, leaving behind the starry endless space Juniper had come to associate with the astral.


    ¡°Oh my god, you¡¯re real!¡± The woman thrashed, kicking aside a worn wooden bowl across the floor. ¡°Please, you have to help me get out of here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to remove your chains.¡± Juniper admitted.


    The woman lingered on the statement for only a moment.


    ¡°If I have to break my fucking wrists to leave this place with you, I will.¡± The prisoner declared without resignation. ¡°But can you get us out? If I can slip these manacles, can you get us out?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be one way and I wouldn¡¯t risk dragging you onto campus with what I¡¯ve seen so our trek through the astral¡¯s gonna be long, but yeah I can pull us through.¡± Juniper offered.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. Do you mind distracting me for a bit?¡± The woman was breathing heavily as her arms shifted and chains rattled.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name and why are you here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Daphne Letore and I meddled in something I shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    The reflections of her potential end upon discovery given form.


    Wonderful.


    ¡°What were you meddling with? Who are you relative to the Scarlet Sisters?¡±


    Daphne started to quicken her breath and mumbled something in that southern drawl before violently yanking her arm at the manacle. Juniper looked away as Daphne pulled against her bindings with a manic persistence.


    She heard an audible snap and a half sob but they continued with their efforts.


    ¡°I¡­ I asked around campus about this student, Claire. And for my efforts, the head of the fucking guides threw me in here. So much for sisterhood.¡± Daphne¡¯s words were slurred as she spoke, either pain or delirium taking over her mind.


    But she continued with her efforts and Juniper could only hear the finger curling results.


    And then the realization hit her.


    ¡°You¡¯re the guide!¡± Juniper exclaimed before slapping her mouth shut. Stupid. She wasn¡¯t out of the woods yet and shouldn¡¯t treat a revelation as cause for looser standards.


    There was cause for celebration internally at least. If she couldn¡¯t find the missing girl, she had the next best thing in the missing guide.


    ¡°Ah, uh, ah,¡± Daphne took deep breaths, ¡°I can do this.¡± The woman brought her broken hand to her bonds and coated the interior with her blood. She moved her arm up the manacle as far as it could go before using all of her strength to pull her arm down.


    The ¡®lubricant¡¯ helped her slide out of the other manacle with a less severe amount of pain. The woman took a gingerly step forward before collapsing on the ground.


    Juniper worked on her end of the bargain, hoping upon hope that her ticket to solving whatever was happening behind closed doors on campus didn¡¯t bleed out.


    The domain was fixed but this was all part of the astral. Maintained by the owner and held on the other side.


    She cleared her mind of distractions and concentrated her attention to the golden thread tying her to the business card with her client. Juniper held onto Daphne¡¯s broken hand and the two of them slipped between the cracks of the world.


    It was the first thing she¡¯d learned when finding herself in the astral and the lesson had saved her from the worst that the world had to offer. The domain that enveloped the campus building became a distant blot in the starry space.


    The two of them sank purposefully into a quiet corner of the world with only her thread as a tether home. Daphne would leave a piece of herself behind on their travels but there wasn¡¯t a lot left of her to begin with.


    There was an ease to sinking into the darkness but Juniper could not find solace in even this, as whatever implications were held by the dungeon and the disappearing girl meant Magnolia and the rest of the students were unsafe.


    And it was up to Juniper to solve things.

 Chapter X - Interlude: Daphne

    What kind of monster would she have found if she strayed from her flickering lights?


    It was a story that kept playing in Daphne¡¯s head, over and over again on the night that she sunk into the astral. Her skin was embraced by the cold kiss of that malleable space with stars and worlds all around her being a small trek away if she pressed for it.


    There were creatures that asked for her attention on her first tumble. A predatory monster with eyes as wide and full as a harvest moon, its game hinted at by the desperation that hung around its feathers like a miasma and human bones that hung around its neck.


    A cunning creature dazzled her with its indigo mane and voice. So sweet that her teeth ached with each syllable it spoke around her. It cajoled her on her midday wear and when it saw she would not join it in its festivities, it grew impatient.


    She was merely happy to listen to its words before the two drifted away from one another.


    There were no expectations with the flickering lights, their bulbous gelatin bodies floating in the air without a care in the world. Just being around their rainbow glows made her drift and float with a joy she hadn¡¯t felt in¡­ it was a rapturous and simple occasion.


    Those lights danced through the darkness and she danced with them. She danced until they drifted together towards the hole she¡¯d dropped down from.


    It reached out to her and asked if they could be a part of her and she opened up her arms and invited them in.


    A sentimental moment.


    A lifelong setback.


    She loved her little Lumins and they loved her. Despite the hardships she¡¯d be forced to face on the backfoot, she might not have even gotten as far as she did without those simple bundles of joy to light her path towards calm and peaceful waters.


    It wasn¡¯t even the kind of setback that made the moment painfully regrettable when looking at the situation with hindsight.


    Some small town girl with no understanding of what an Incant did and the burgeoning social upper class she¡¯d inadvertently joined upon accepting the Lumins into her life.


    Her apprehensions and misgivings didn¡¯t stop her parents from excitedly prodding for tutors and connections. They were politically minded folk in the aftermath of the Schism and she was their golden ticket in securing a life of power and luxury.


    This didn¡¯t come to pass.


    Daphne drifted out of town without a second thought.


    Her Lumins and her were fixated on drifting through beautiful sceneries and dancing the night under the sun and stars. The responsibilities that came from playing the part of dutiful and studious daughter was growing tiresome and after that night in the astral, the thought of continuing to play that role grated on her very being.


    She would not be bound. She would travel and experience the world for what it was.


    Her master found her within the week.


    He was a tall, black man with golden eyes and a soft face made hard by years of experience and regrets.


    ¡°You¡¯re the Letore girl.¡± It was a statement of finality, a confirmation delivered by her adjudicator. How would she be judged?


    ¡°What business do you have with me?¡± She¡¯d asked. A failure on her part to confirm his statement but again, hindsight.


    He adjusted his coat and pulled out a notebook, ¡°Your parents hired me to find you. Bring you back home.¡± He put his notebook away. ¡°I want to know why you ran away before I make any other moves.¡±


    ¡°The Lumins and I want to experience the world. We can¡¯t do that under the thumb of my parents so I left.¡± She spoke with all of the joy and naivete of a fledgling.


    ¡°And did you feel this way before or after you made an accord with those Lumin?¡±


    ¡°Before. The Lumin simply showed me the way.¡±


    Her master nodded before writing something down in his notebook.


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t rightfully deny you and your companions the ability to keep to that path but you¡¯ll likely die out there before too long. Whether it¡¯s superstitious bumpkins taking advantage of a youth like you or some rogue monster living in the wilderness, it isn¡¯t safe to travel alone like this.¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest I do then?¡±


    He smiled with an excitement that reached his eyes.


    ¡°We talk with your parents and see if they¡¯ll be amenable to letting me tutor you. I¡¯m sure that we can make a worthwhile guide out of you.¡± He answered.


    She fell in love, with the craft and her master, when he tenderly sliced a hole in the world and the two tumbled together back to her parents'' abode.


    Daphne woke up. The warmth in her heart was an ember compared to the massive frigid crater in her very being, but it helped just a little bit.


    ¡°Thank you, little Lumins.¡± Daphne whispered. Her eyes take a moment to adjust. Where she was once in that disgusting pit, she was now staring at popcorn ceilings and orange candle light.


    ¡°Oh,¡± an older voice chirped from her bed side beyond her view, ¡°She¡¯s awake.¡±


    Daphne tilted her head and saw her savior approach.


    ¡°Welcome back to the land of the living.¡± The young woman sarcastically stated. The last time she¡¯d seen her, her savior was wearing a formal suit and she¡¯d-


    Daphne panicked, pushing away the blankets she¡¯d been wrapped in to look at her hands.


    They were fine. Just brushing on the memory caused her to wince, her fingers to twitch, but as she tested her fingers, everything seemed fine.


    ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re fine on that front thanks to Miss Smith here.¡± Juniper gestured towards the older woman in the room.


    Bile rose in her stomach. A nauseating vertigo hit her as that guilt came flooding back within her.


    ¡°Miss Dawson. I,¡± Daphne turned to Juniper, ¡°How do you know Miss Dawson.¡±


    Juniper raised an eyebrow at the older woman, ¡°Well, I guess that cats out of the bag.¡± She turned her focus back to Daphne, ¡°I know Miss Dawson here because she hired me to investigate a disappearance. Lo and behold I finally get access to the building and find a dungeon full of bones, chains, and a room full of women¡¯s clothing.¡±


    Instincts took over. The pressure in her gut and heart were altogether too much. She needed to leave, needed the space.


    Daphne attempted to throw her leg to the side of the bed and felt an unpleasant yanking sensation.


    What the-


    She removed the blanket from her lower body and found that her ankles had been bound by a complex number of knotted ropes.


    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Daphne didn¡¯t hide the growing panic in her voice.


    Juniper shrugged with a nonchalant indifference, ¡°Just a precaution. Miss Sm-Dawson here didn¡¯t think it was necessary but I¡¯ve had my fair share of grateful runners before. Comes with the business of not underestimating your capabilities. Even with your current¡­ disabilities.¡±


    ¡°She shouldn¡¯t be kept like this.¡± Miss Dawson¡¯s voice carried with it the weight of the world and disappointment in equal measure.


    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t plan to run away, sure.¡± Juniper waited for Daphne¡¯s reply.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it.¡± Daphne answered.


    Juniper rolled her eyes, ¡°You¡¯d be an idiot if it didn¡¯t cross your mind. After what I¡¯ve seen tonight, you couldn¡¯t pay me to prolong my involvement with all of this nonsense.¡±


    Daphne sighed, ¡°Whatever. You mentioned Miss Dawson hired you to investigate a disappearance. Were you asked to look for me or for Claire?¡± The mention of that name caused her heart to drop. The old woman looked pained too but she kept her sight level with Daphne¡¯s.


    ¡°That roomful of clothes. Juniper found the last outfit my sweet daughter¡¯d worn before she disappeared. Thought you might¡¯ve done somethin¡¯. Wished the worst of fates would fall on ya but I didn¡¯t think the Weave would answer my prayers with all of this¡­¡± The old woman gestured at the cratered voids on Daphne¡¯s chest and stomach.


    Daphne laughed, ¡°The Weave doesn¡¯t answer to folk like you but I sympathize with your belief. No, I wasn¡¯t the one that made your daughter disappear.¡±


    ¡°I know. What you¡¯d offered to June before you passed out was that you¡¯d been searchin¡¯ for my daughter on your own. Found yourself chained to the wall.¡± The old woman started to fidget with the soft fabric in her hands, ¡°Do you¡­ do you know where my little girl is?¡±


    Seeing the bundle of clothes wrapped in the old woman¡¯s hands washed Daphne with a wave of guilt and fatigue.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where she is, no.¡± She whispered, her eyes incapable of seeing the damage she¡¯d caused.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Miss Dawson replied. ¡°I see.¡±


    The woman walked out of the room, leaving Daphne at the hands of her savior.


    ¡°You keep tight for now. You still haven¡¯t fully recovered so get some rest. We¡¯ll come feed ya when you wake up.¡± Juniper offered.


    ¡°What are you gonna do with me when I¡¯m good and ready to leave?¡± Daphne asked.


    Juniper shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ve gotta do my job. Ask you some questions that¡¯ve been swirling in my head about this convoluted mess. Console my benefactor over yonder with some understanding of why her girl is missing.¡±


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    ¡°I appreciate you not drilling me for information right now.¡±


    She chuckled, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re getting mined dry for all your worth if I can manage it. Didn¡¯t risk saving you just to come out empty handed from this whole debacle. Can¡¯t really get intense with my questions without you being in tiptop shape so get some rest.¡±


    Daphne nodded and fell back into her bed. The sheets were warm and soft and inviting.


    It didn¡¯t take long for her to close her eyes and sink into sleep. She could feel her soul slip between reality and the astral, sink into the comfortable glimmering darkness of her private domain.


    She avoided looking at what was left of it. It was as if she was walled off from who she was, the sections of her soul that housed her productive spells a void in a sea of personal space.


    Daphne motioned for her little Lumins to approach and together they clung to one another in a warm embrace.


    Benjamin took her under his wing for an unforgettable few years. He was competent, caring, and cunning. He taught her what it meant to live as an Incant, what to expect from the people of this world and how to size up a magical opponent. He made her laugh with his fixations, the collection of colorful rocks in his possession from the different locations he¡¯d traveled to.


    ¡°Helps me feel grounded.¡± He said in a way that she knew he was smirking from end to end. And it helped that the moment she began to fidget under the weight of the air and her skin that he would grab her shoulder in a tender manner and ask which direction to go next.


    And he was gone.


    She¡¯d expected it and he¡¯d informed her of this. That his sabbatical with her was only ever temporary and that with the physical training she¡¯d done, it was only a matter of time that she¡¯d bind a teleportation spell under her skin and become a guide herself.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be a guide if it means that we can¡¯t continue seeing the world like this.¡± She¡¯d said. A stupid remark then as it was now.


    And he was patient with her.


    ¡°Daphne, you have been a silly apprentice to take under my wing. I¡¯ve only taken one other and it swore me off the whole process altogether until we met. We are bound to each other in our memories and that is enough.¡± He replied in that neutral tone of his.


    ¡°But why can¡¯t I join you and your organization? If you said you¡¯d train me for the job, then we can work together and-¡±


    Ben turned severe, ¡°You cannot work with me. I will deny any mention of our involvement.¡±


    He¡¯d acted this way before. Mentioning an organization she¡¯d later come to understand was the AWW, his sabbatical a longform surveying operation to inspect the cracks forming across the straining United States.


    ¡°You will carry our joy for the both of us and experience this world free from that influence, Daphne. Follow that light of yours.¡±


    And she did.


    He brought her to the edge of a sliver, a hunting ground most guides became familiar with called the Concrete Jungle.


    She knew what to look for when she crossed the threshold. Teleportation spells often took the form of small, fast animals like rabbits, foxes, or prairie dogs, having this uncanny ability to avoid getting caught in traditional snares or nets.


    If she were to pass the test, she¡¯d need to search for her future companion and chase it down. Be smart enough to avoid false tracks, fit enough to keep up with the creature, and aware enough to avoid the obstacles of the environment it made its home within.


    She gave Ben one last hug before taking a step forward into a new world.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to do great.¡± He¡¯d whispered before letting her go.


    The Concrete Jungle made her feel small.


    The sky was blotted out by the everpresent gray clouds raining down on the dreary landscape. The massive buildings were blocky, rectangular behemoths slick in rain and worn graffiti. Their roofs scraped the sky in an inelegant manner, their frames practically tilting forward to consume the streets and her along with it.


    She adjusted the straps on her raincoat and began running across the sidewalk for signs of her white rabbit. Daphne was cognizant of the alleyways and the dark figures that hid therein. She was mindful of the roadways and the apparitions of hot wheeled racers ripping through the streets to make it towards some unforeseen destination. She made herself small and coasted through the foot traffic that would rise up around her, faceless amalgams of people in hodgepodge clothing walking to and fro locations.


    She didn¡¯t know where to as most buildings had no doors and those that did were not designed to look like reputable establishments. They had a method of getting inside though. From the silhouettes that haunted the windows of those bloated buildings, there was some method for them to enter.


    It didn¡¯t concern her.


    Daphne and her Lumins knew where to look, instincts taking over to find the potential spots a creature of cunning might frequent.


    She couldn¡¯t have done any of this, learned any of this without Ben and the mention of his name in her mind overwhelmed her with a bittersweet ache.


    She¡¯d made him proud in the end, even if he¡¯d disappeared by the time she emerged from the Concrete Jungle a whole spell fuller.


    Her white rabbit was a strange looking serpent creature with fuzzy nimble gray legs and a face that was crossed between a fox and rat, gray fur receding into black and red scales across its body and down its long tail. It did not blink, could not blink those full plate disks.


    She chased after the creature with a childish abandon. Her stomps on thick water puddles and the kinetic movement of her body crossing street corner after street corner made the chase equal parts rhythmic and playful.


    At a certain point, the spell figured out she was keeping pace with it and not aggressively hunting it down.


    They ran together towards a subway tunnel and the two sank into a submerged hall of muck and retention water. It was mindful to keep itself visible for Daphne.


    The two jumped into its pleasant hiding hole, both dripping and joyful.


    It could not speak but its grin was apparent, muscles aching with a blissful overexertion.


    ¡°Do you think we can be friends?¡± Daphne asked the peculiar creature.


    It nodded and wrapped itself around her neck like a scarf.


    Ben had stressed the importance of keeping conscious for the next excruciating step.


    Where the first spell slotting was this immaterial and fleeting moment, slotting future spells would render her vulnerable, her mind carving out a space in her soul for the spell to reside within.


    She¡¯d need to be conscious through the whole process, lest the spell make a larger impression on her psyche and form than allowed.


    Daphne stilled her mind as she¡¯d been taught and invited her new companion inside.


    Pain was putting it mildly.


    She howled long into the night with the unbearable state of being. Her very existence was being rewritten to mingle with her companion and the two imbibed in each other''s essences and memories. She¡¯d been able to recall those moments after the fact but at the time, there was nothing but an overwhelming urge to run into a hiding place and disappear.


    Daphne was jolted awake by a forceful shove of her shoulder and the scent of cooked bacon and eggs. Her eyes adjusted, heart settling, as she looked at Miss Dawson set her food on her bedside table.


    ¡°Did you dream or slip?¡± Miss Dawson asked.


    ¡°A little of both.¡± Daphne was slow to reply. Fatigue was still etched in her bones.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t know that you could do both. Claire kept a lot of what she did with magic away from me.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°You could have fooled me. That girl could go on and on about the stuff.¡± Daphne eagerly grabbed the plate and sunk her teeth into a particularly juicy piece of bacon.


    ¡°So you two were friends?¡±


    Daphne tilted her head from side to side, ¡°I¡¯d say she thought we were friends. Kept herself behind me like a shadow. She was a sweet girl, don¡¯t get me wrong. I wouldn¡¯t have relented to our visits as often as I did if she was a pain in my ass.¡± She wouldn¡¯t have gone through so much trouble to find her if there wasn¡¯t something about herself she saw in Claire.


    Miss Dawson rolled her eyes, ¡°The both of you were friends. The way she went on and on about ¡®how cool Miss Letore was taking me to see a mountain¡¯ or some other hyperactive fixation of hers. She¡¯d never been so happy as she was talking about you and her progress.¡±


    Daphne didn¡¯t know what to say so she said nothing, letting them sit in the comfort of a more joyous time.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Juniper knocked on the doorframe with her knuckle, ¡°We¡¯ve gotta get things moving. You¡¯ve got answers to questions that I have personal stake in so forgive me if I¡¯m a little terse about this whole thing.¡±


    Miss Dawson gave Daphne a small nod and after stuffing more spoonfuls of eggs and bacon down her throat, she prepared herself for the investigation.


    ¡°Fire away.¡± Daphne opened up.


    Juniper pulled out a notebook and pressed pen onto paper, ¡°What¡¯s your involvement with the Scarlet Sisters coven?¡±


    ¡°I was a contracted guide for the coven. They offered stars for my exclusivity to their institution and a place to live on campus and in exchange, I was the personal chauffeur for the students there.¡± Daphne replied.


    ¡°As a guide, were you involved with bringing in outside influences onto the space.¡±


    ¡°No. That sort of stuff was handled by my superiors. I didn¡¯t have the clout or experience to manage something like that. Daliah was the one that handled that stuff while I was around.¡±


    Juniper narrowed her eyes on the book, ¡°Great. Your involvement with Claire was as her guide. Miss Dawson here told me you kept yourself available for the girl. Why?¡±


    Daphne shrugged, ¡°She was a nice girl and Miss Dawson was a nice woman. Not a lot of students actually leave campus so I¡¯d be twiddling my thumbs inside my office or running off on some personal excursions otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Did anyone show interest in Claire? Foreign or otherwise?¡±


    ¡°That was part of my small investigation when I dove into things. I didn¡¯t get very far. Didn¡¯t see her at all after the final exam took place and I thought that was odd. I promised her I¡¯d take her somewhere special if she managed to snag herself a victory. Imagine my shock when I heard from Daliah and Mira that Claire was killed in the staging grounds.¡±


    ¡°Wait, why didn¡¯t you two show up on Wednesday then, that week? Before the exam? Why did that other guide say you were gone?¡± Miss Dawson interjected.


    ¡°Claire told me she was hunkering down in the library and that afterwards, she had a meeting with the Matron. Figured she sent you a message in advance so I didn¡¯t press anything.¡±


    ¡°What sort of involvement did the Matron have with Claire?¡± Juniper asked, voice becoming edged.


    Daphne shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Claire and Miss Dawson had both mentioned that she was on campus to learn the ropes of being an Incant and control the volatile spell housed inside of her. Figured their discussions were about that. Worrying about her safety and the safety of others being put in that final¡¯s environment.¡±


    ¡°So you find out that an accident happened in the staging grounds. How does that lead to your binding?¡±


    ¡°Well, my coworkers said she¡¯d been killed and that they were processing the information to send to Miss Dawson. Standard protocol but the situation felt off. Couldn¡¯t get proof from the staging grounds itself since it¡¯s a sliver maintained by the Matron and the guides and they weren¡¯t foolish enough to leave a crime scene like that for students to sneak in. Figured I¡¯d ask her professor about the accident. Come to find out that she never even took her test. Was considered a no show.¡±


    ¡°The story doesn¡¯t match between the professor and the guides. The professor has no reason to lie to you but the guides do.¡± Juniper correctly surmises.


    ¡°And that¡¯s the last I remember of my efforts. The next thing I knew, my wrists were clasped in chains and my soul had been violated.¡± Daphne gestured at the visible vacuous spots on her chest and stomach.


    Juniper raised an eyebrow, ¡°I¡¯d been meaning to ask about the holes.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever had a tub of ice cream and scooped out a ball for yourself? There once was ice cream and now there¡¯s none in that space of the tub? It feels a lot like that.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. You can¡¯t unslot from a spell once it¡¯s been bound to your soul. Everyone knows that.¡±


    ¡°I agree with you but it doesn¡¯t feel like my slots were made empty. It feels like the very slots were ripped away from me. I can¡¯t commune with my second or third slot and their space in my domain is impassable. It feels like a piece of me is there, just lost in transmission.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± Juniper whispered incredulously. ¡°Can you cast spells then?¡±


    Daphne shook her head, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t try it. If the slots in an Incant¡¯s body are meant to act as a conduit for our casting, I¡¯d likely die from attempting to cast any spell.¡± Having that realization voiced out into reality crushed her spirits. She had her little Lumins but they¡¯d never feel the touch of the morning sun as long as she lived like this.


    ¡°And you¡¯re certain about the head guide''s involvement in all of this? The Matron wasn¡¯t involved?¡± Juniper asked.


    ¡°Either her or Daliah, yeah. Aside from the stars I¡¯d get in the mail and the interview I had for getting the job, I didn¡¯t interact at all with the Matron. She has a reputation on campus of being elusive to begin with so I don¡¯t know the extent of her involvement. She¡¯d have to be in the know of something, it¡¯s her campus after all, but I¡¯ve seen enough magic in my life that I can imagine some spell that¡¯d have people turn a blind eye.¡±


    Juniper jotted down the last of her thoughts on the notebook before closing it shut.


    ¡°Miss Dawson, keep our guest in your home and out of sight. Regrettably, there are more leads to follow.¡±

 Chapter XI - Magnolia

    All weekend.


    She¡¯d been buried in the library and the training grounds and the common room just to avoid thinking about what sort of mess her sister had gotten into.


    Juniper was many things. Inconsiderate of her little sister''s time and anxiety. Spontaneous when the mood suited her. But this went above and beyond.


    ¡°I thought we hugged this out before you left.¡± Magnolia muttered, holding one of her sister''s discarded shirts in her hand. She¡¯d cleaned up the room and made her bed to invite her warmly from a night of schmoozing. She was a Winthrop, a capable woman, but would it have killed her to drop by and tell her sister she¡¯s safe?


    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ugh!¡± Magnolia grabbed her pillow and screamed. She was hoping her sister would be around for today. Today of all days. Juniper knew how to calm her nerves.


    Knock knock.


    Magnolia dropped her sister''s clothes to the ground and scrambled for the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you all-¡± Magnolia held her tongue mid sentence, her expectations dashed as the mousy curly haired Willow stared back at her with a nervous smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you, Willow.¡± Magnolia recovered from her dashed hopes, doing her best to make the only friend she had on campus not feel upset.


    It wasn¡¯t her fault she wasn¡¯t Juniper.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you too, Maggie.¡± Willow chirped as she walked over to the corner of the bed she¡¯d often claimed for their study nights and sat. She gestured at her sister''s bed, ¡°Is Juniper going to walk you to the training grounds?¡±


    ¡°She sent me a note last night that she was currently investigating a lucrative proposal from a prospective client,¡± Magnolia lied, ¡°So I¡¯m stuck heading over by myself.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll have me at the very least!¡± Willow lifted her staff up and made a performance twirling it above her in a casting motion. ¡°I may be running on coffee and fumes but we¡¯re in this together til we get there.¡±


    Magnolia raised an eyebrow, ¡°Coffee and fumes? Were you cramming more info on your target for today or just one of those sleepless nights.¡±


    The bombast in Willow¡¯s attitude shriveled, ¡°The later but worse.¡±


    ¡°Anything you want to talk about?¡±


    Willow shook her head, ¡°Just more of the usual worries. Parents struggling to make those inroads in the local Incant community. What my role is to help in that regard¡­¡± She trailed off.


    ¡°Well getting your license from the coven is a good place to start. I¡¯ve heard nothing but good things about the prospects that can be acquired after finishing the program from graduates and from personal research.¡± At the very least the program held enough merit to push her sister into considering it and that was a feat of its own.


    ¡°Yeah, first steps and all that. Opened doors. Sounds too good to be true.¡±


    ¡°Almost like magic.¡± Magnolia stuck her tongue out


    Willow rolled her eyes, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you a big bundle of nerves? I¡¯d be a mess if I had to deal with your handicaps.¡±


    It was Magnolia¡¯s turn to roll her eyes, ¡°Oh I¡¯m just doing a good job hiding all this anxiety. Handicap or not, I¡¯ve got enough experience delving with my sister''s assistance to know it isn¡¯t just about the spells you carry within you that matters.¡±


    Although spells wouldn¡¯t hurt, she wasn¡¯t going to hurt her bravado with that kind of comment.


    ¡°Are you planning to reconsider your selection?¡± Willow fumbled with her fingers as she asked the question.


    ¡°For the last time, Willow, I¡¯m sticking with my decision. It¡¯s going to separate me from the rest of the class and it''s one of the few options I have that doesn¡¯t take the handicap into account.¡± Magnolia sternly replied.


    Willow looked like she wanted to say something else but dropped it.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Magnolia grabbed her friend''s hand and pulled her up, ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± The two walked out of the room with Magnolia turning to look back one last time, making a silent prayer to the Weave that her sister was okay.


    Willow¡¯s hand was jittering and sweaty like a fish attempting to escape her grasp. She kept a loose grip around her friend''s hand to give the option of breaking free but Willow didn¡¯t bite.


    ¡°Oh, I should probably mention,¡± Willow darted her eyes around for potential prying ears, ¡°That I¡¯ve got a surprise to give you at the training area.¡± She gave Magnolia a furtive smile.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to give me anything Willow. You¡¯ve already done so much for me just being a friend.¡± Magnolia tried to nip this whole gift giving business in the bud. She hated receiving gifts without the capacity to provide one in turn.


    Willow waved her hand around to dismiss the notion entirely, ¡°Nonsense. You¡¯ve dived into the literature better than I have and saved me from a summer of lonely nights at the library. This isn¡¯t all I can provide but it¡¯ll give me some comfort for you to take it when you do.¡± She didn¡¯t waver or stutter, giving Magnolia a rare look of confidence.


    Magnolia relented, ¡°Alright, alright. If this means the world to you, I can¡¯t deny the gift.¡±


    The conversation between the girls trickled into contemplative silence as they approached the training grounds. Those veiled students she¡¯d seen sitting in the far corners of their classroom and the individual pawns of Bianca¡¯s collective were entering into the facility with their own minute rituals to ease their nerves.


    They were dressed for the occasion as well, a number of the girls foregoing the formal wear she¡¯d expected of them in the classroom in favor of specialized gear for the spells they planned to go after.


    One scandalous student wore nothing but a veil and a two-piece bathing suit of red and gold, pale skin unblemished by even a trickle of sunlight.


    ¡°Woah.¡± Willow broke the silence.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Magnolia followed suit.


    The pair entered the facility and found it rife with curious onlookers in suits, robes, and even casual wear.


    ¡°Are they grading us?¡± Magnolia whispered.


    ¡°We¡¯ve read the instructions of the final exam front to back, Maggie. I think they¡¯re here to sample the goods.¡± Willow replied.


    If they were being sampled then Magnolia felt these strangers were voracious for Bianca and the girls that she¡¯d surrounded herself with. It only took a few glances from the observers turned her way to appraise her as damaged goods and move for more brilliant gems.


    That feeling of rejection felt bittersweet in her mouth.


    Her eyes scanned through the crowd.


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    ¡°Professor Del Marin,¡± Magnolia called out towards the man as she crossed through the others, ¡°Professor Del Marin, good morning.¡±


    He held a finger up at her face before bringing it to his lips, ¡°Shh. Not so loud. I¡¯m nursing a rather unfortunate hangover.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± She toned down her volume to a conversational whisper, ¡°Well my condolences. I figured I¡¯d see you here and ask whether you know the whereabouts of my sister or not.¡±


    Del Marin rolled his eyes, ¡°That woman¡­¡± He rubbed his temples with his fingers, ¡°She goes out of her way to go to that event and disappears just when the festivities get lively. And to leave me stranded with my former hosts. I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t drop dead with the amount of alcohol it took to keep their teasing out of mind.¡±


    Magnolia frowned, ¡°I am truly sorry to hear that, professor.¡±


    ¡°It is not you who needs to apologize, ni?a. If she¡¯s still indisposed, I can only hope that she secured a better night than mine, although I keep my fingers crossed and hope for only the worst.¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°No offense.¡± He belatedly added.


    Magnolia ignored the comment, her preoccupation over her sister''s safety rising into the forefront of her priorities. Really, she¡¯d choose today of all days to go missing?


    Del Marin snapped her fingers in front of Magnolia, ¡°Worry about yourself, fledgling. If she¡¯s as capable as she¡¯s suggested and the institution has recognized then she can handle herself. You, on the other hand, are sure to go missing if your head¡¯s not in this. I¡¯d really hate to deal with this hangover and the additional paperwork if you botched your exam over something so innocuous.¡±


    Magnolia held her tongue.


    This was her sister he was talking about! She was capable and competent but equally reckless and foolish. And the worst part was that she wanted so badly for her sister to be around and assuage the other knotted ball in her stomach about this damned exam!


    ¡°Hey,¡± She felt Willow''s gentle hand begin to rub the top of her back, ¡°You look like you need one of these.¡± Magnolia turned and gave the girl a full bodied hug, sinking her forehead into her shoulder in the same way she did with Juniper.


    ¡°Is anyone looking?¡± Magnolia whispered, the warmth in her cheeks rising.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, Maggie. Just worry about finding that center.¡± Willow cooed.


    Magnolia did as she was asked, taking deep and measured breaths to calm her nerves. It was never easy to sink into the calm but when she succeeded, she felt so small and weightless that nothing in the world mattered, all her worries and fears insignificant against the backdrop of an endless expanse.


    She closed her eyes and pulled away from her friend before opening them again.


    ¡°Thanks Willow. I really needed that.¡± Magnolia said.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re gonna need a little more than that.¡± Willow replied as she rummaged through her rucksack of miscellaneous things. She pulled out a green bangle with a small twig charm and offered it to Magnolia. ¡°I want you to take this.¡±


    Her hands quaked as she held the thing for Magnolia to accept.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect something like this, Willow. Thank you.¡± Magnolia graciously accepted the gift into her hands and inspected the simple piece of jewelry.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on this all week in my off time and I want you to have it. It¡¯s supposed to be a good luck charm. Help steel your mind and maintain focus while in pressing situations.¡± Willow responded in that nervous fast talking way, expectant of Magnolia¡¯s appraisal of the gift.


    ¡°I love it with all of my heart, Willow. If it¡¯s a gift from you, then it is more than enough. You even had the sense to make it another accessory for my wrist.¡± At the mention, Magnolia wrapped the bangle around her wrist and moved it behind the silver bracelet carrying the charms for her exam. ¡°You¡¯re a really good friend.¡±


    Willow pounced at that moment, pulling Magnolia in an air siphoning hug.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad we got to be friends.¡± Willow whispered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that, Wil. We¡¯re gonna come back from this exam as sisters. There isn¡¯t anything we can¡¯t handle on the other side.¡±


    Magnolia was released from her friend''s embrace and the two separated to get into their respective positions. The students began lining up in their designated rows and columns as an ethereal chorus murmured intelligible hymns for our behalf.


    Despite the constant whispered chatter of the crowd, these low hymns would not be denied their presence and filled Magnolia¡¯s bones with a sense of awe and foreboding.


    ¡°Attention fledglings and guests,¡± Professor Del Marin projected his voice for the whole gathering to hear, ¡°It is my esteemed privilege to lead today''s final exam. These young women have worked dutifully towards the goal of becoming fellow sisters of the Scarlet coven and I can attest to their fortitude and sacrifice towards such a cause.¡±


    He paused and the weight of the exam chafed on her shoulders.


    ¡°It is also my esteemed privilege to welcome the individual that made this whole thing possible. The Matron of the Scarlet Sisters has come to provide her words to the fledglings.¡± Professor Del Marin waved to his side and the air warped and twisted.


    Reality bent and emerging from the ether came the Matron in an oversized scarlet robe and a golden crown with floating miniature stars dancing at the pointed tips.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± she began, her voice echoing in that peculiar manner as if a choir hung onto her each and every syllable, ¡°And welcome to your final hurdle.¡±


    Beyond the intelligible hymns, the people in the room stood silent and attentive.


    ¡°Today you will be proving your mettle as a capable Incant by delving into the Marshlands in search of your listed quarry. Should your courage prove lacking from your initial mark, you can choose to change your choice with your professor before moving forward with the exam.¡±


    The Matron flicked her delicate wrist in the air and conjured a facsimile of the training grounds. Small lines branched out of the training grounds into smaller bubbles of murky purple ink.


    ¡°You will take what you have learned up to this point and use your Grimoires to render your marks unto your service. If your skills, your luck, your connections prove to be lackluster, you will find yourself dead or worse.¡± She crushed the image in her hand with a shocking ferocity. ¡°I do not expect the worst to occur. You are fledglings of my institution and as such, you will conquer the challenges that impede your progress for power.¡±


    The Matron paused, letting the gravitas of her words lay heavy on the shoulders of each individual student.


    ¡°I do not need to remark on my pride for you students. You will return as sisters as easily as the sun rises. You all are capable of great things if you have the will to achieve them.¡±


    Magnolia¡¯s blood ran cold at the statement. Maybe it was a trick of the mind but the Matron¡¯s eyes did not turn away from her own as she made that statement.


    A coincidence. It had to be.


    ¡°With this, I¡¯ll start with our brave volunteers. Who will make the first step towards the start of their career?¡± Professor Del Marin asked the crowd of students.


    ¡°I will go first. It is my privilege to lead the way for the rest of my colleagues.¡± Bianca declared with a pompous air. She broke rank from her row and walked towards Professor Del Marin clad in a winter fur coat and furred hat. ¡°I will be selecting the Cold Snap spell as my quarry of choice.¡± She stuck her hand out after declaring her intent and waited for the professor to hand her a transparent sphere with a star in its center.


    ¡°Proceed.¡± The Professor gestured behind him at the two guides standing watch at the restricted corner of the facility. What once was a wall preventing access for Magnolia was now an older side of the building with a shimmering gash in reality, vines and cattails growing from the floor.


    She would not be outdone.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go next!¡± Magnolia shouted. Some of the other students looked peeved by her declaration but she didn¡¯t care. If they wanted to go next so badly, they¡¯d have made their move earlier.


    Magnolia gave Willow one more look of encouragement before walking down the rows of students to her professor. She did her best to borrow that disaffected confidence her sister often employed and felt satisfied at the courage it brought her.


    ¡°I will be selecting the Suggestion spell.¡± Magnolia declared.


    The hushed tone of the room grew into invested murmurs on her behalf.


    ¡°Take this however you will but that¡¯s a higher end spell you¡¯ve marked. Are you sure you can handle it?¡± Professor Del Marin whispered to her with the compass in his hand.


    Magnolia snatched the compass from his hand and smiled, ¡°I¡¯m a Winthrop, Professor. Take no prisoners, leave no witnesses. I can do this.¡± She didn¡¯t let the man get a second word in, taking the same stride towards the sliver at the end of the facility.


    Deep breaths. She¡¯d done this before. She¡¯d researched the various configurations of her mark and verified the integrity of her Grimoire. The astral was a known element to her. Magnolia had all her ducks in a row. It was all a matter of follow-through.


    ¡°See you later.¡± Magnolia whispered to herself before taking the cold plunge into the other end of the world.

 Chapter XII - Magnolia

    Magnolia fell through the hole in the world.


    The transition was not seamless, her senses overwhelmed with the curtain peeking that came from forcefully diving in her corporeal form into the astral proper. Her eyes could not bear the brunt of the information so she closed them and waited.


    She waited until the sensory overload subsided and the nostalgic sounds of cicadas crescendoed around her.


    Magnolia opened her eyes. She expected the world to look different but then there was this.


    She was dwarfed by a tri-set of crimson pillars that craned endlessly towards the sky, no end to their peaks. Large runic grooves were carved in the frigid stone, their marks blinking with a dim white outline in random patterns across the monolith.


    Magnolia was standing in an amphitheater or ceremonial house, walls busted open on all sides to have the dense foliage overrun the dilapidated columns with its pleasant greens and browns. The earth underneath her feet was soft, with the distinct imprints of shoe tracks leading south into a horizon of marshlands and stars.


    Guess that¡¯s where Bianca went.


    Magnolia pulled her attention and body away from the monolith, the distinctive copper scent permeating the air around the stone inducing an unpleasant wave of nausea in the pit of her empty stomach.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± Magnolia whispered. She held back a lurch in her abdomen as she pulled out the compass.


    The smooth round object had expanded slightly in her hands with the needle at the center unerringly pointed north despite her reorientations of the sphere. Smaller stars glittered in the sphere as well, although she wasn¡¯t certain if this was merely a decorative flourish or an approximation of the other spells in the area. Their placement within the sphere remained static as she shifted it some more.


    A mystery for another time.


    Magnolia shook her head and proceeded to walk out of the ruins northward in search of her quarries domain.


    The transition between the crimson ruins and the marshlands was stark, the unpleasant sound of squelching mud underneath her boots announcing the shift. What once was soft earth became mud and silt, with a clear film of water that clouded up as she walked.


    She was in the Marshlands now and would take the necessary precautions. Rummaging through her bag of tricks, she pulled a small pouch of pebbles and continued on her trek. Magnolia made it a point to fling a small stone ahead of her path and walk amongst the ripples through the marsh.


    ¡°Dealing with water is so much more of a pain than anything else in the astral,¡± Her sisters advice echoed, ¡°Shit like Visage Skimmers or abandoned holes in the world that led to somewhere else entirely are just at the tip of the fucking iceburg. Take it from me, your best friend in that environment are your ripples. Just be cognizant that the waves you¡¯re making are your own when dealing with all that nonsense.¡±


    Magnolia suppressed her disappointment, instead focusing on the pride her sister was sure to feel for her once she came out of this exam with a spell in tow.


    She followed her sister''s advice to the letter, traveling across the water within the ripples she helped create with her palmed pebbles and kept herself alert for other curiosities in the marshlands.


    ¡°Help!¡± The cry was distant and beleaguered, coming from behind her path. Magnolia didn¡¯t hesitate to shift towards the tall grass and cattails at the edges of the marsh and crouch within the foliage. There were so many things that could be asking for help and she wasn¡¯t capable of saving those that made genuine cries.


    She held her breath as the cries grew louder and closer. She heard the person before they came into view, the panicked scrambling and splashing of legs across the water to maintain speed ahead of whatever might have been chasing behind them.


    The student running across the marsh was gaunt with darting eyes and torn clothes caked in mud and grime. Her shrieks for help were shrill. Sections of her body had been torn into, trails of blue smoke emanating from the missing pieces of flesh as if whatever had taken a bite of the poor girl took every pound it sunk its teeth into, soul and all.


    Magnolia wasn¡¯t equipped to deal with something like this but at the very least she could attempt to inform the guides of the girl''s whereabouts and rescue her from this nightmare.


    At once, Magnolia froze. It slinked across the water with the easy predatorial gait of a cat. The monster had the height of a grizzly bear with about double the length, hindlegs bent in the way frogs would that indicated it could pounce for its prey at any moment. Its fur was a sleek black, water dripping on the underside so it looked like rippling curtains swaying back and forth as it moved.


    The look in its membranous goat eyes told her it knew this and it would continue to play with its meal. The creature opened its mouth and a thin trail of blue smoke billowed from the sides, obfuscating the detail on its jagged teeth.


    When the smoke cleared, Magnolia yelped. The creature was moving at a slower pace towards its prey but the two eyes on the side of its face had locked their sights onto her.


    There was nothing behind her to attract its attention. It advanced further until the horizon blocked the view of the behemoth and at no point during its move did it feel like Magnolia was dismissed by the monster.


    Her hands were shaking. Her knees were numb from being crouched among the underbrush. A part of her nagged that she¡¯d wasted time but her safety was paramount. Whether the monster had let her live or not was irrelevant; she¡¯d taken the proper course of actions that maximized her chance of survival and would continue to do so.


    Especially knowing that creatures like that prowled through the marshes.


    Magnolia brushed the water and mud on her knees and slowly rose from her crouched position.


    Small blessings that her quarry was not trailing the same direction as that monster.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    It had taken what felt like an hour or two of walking but her movement had finally carried her to the threshold of the spell she was looking to overtake. The domain it had around the marshlands was strange.


    Where she had expected an opaque black mass marking the borders between the outside and in there or something similar to it, she¡¯d found a veil of frilly white drapes that overlapped with itself in a seemingly endless length of cloth.


    Despite the fabric sitting in the water, it repelled all sources of muck to maintain the pristine white shine of the cloth.


    ¡°I¡¯m a Winthrop. I¡¯ve got this. I¡¯ve got this.¡± Magnolia whispered under her breath.


    She reached out with her hand and walked forward, pushing at the layers upon layers of drapes until she¡¯d transitioned into the spells domain.


    What came first was the gentle sensation of sunlight spreading across her bare skin. The earthy scent of silt and marsh water was subsumed with the pleasant aromatic scent of lilies and wildflowers that draped the rolling green countryside. The domain had made her presentable, replacing the clothes and equipment she¡¯d brought with her on this examination for a cornflower blue southern belle petticoat with ruffles at the chest line.


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    It was like wearing two skins, her form of presentation taking precedent over the materials she could still feel in some capacity.


    Magnolia shifted her attention to her quarry, who calmly sat in the distance in a white floral dress of her own. The creature was known as the Belle of the Ball within her notes, a slender creature with thin white fur that tapered off at her delicate fingertips and an angular black face veiled by a floral hat, small black horns poking out from the top.


    Despite the veil and the distance, its orange eyes shone like miniature suns, their gaze constant and judgmental over Magnolia¡¯s every move. She refused to be intimidated, taking measured steps towards the long table laid out with teas and small flaky pastries.


    The set dressing for this party was immaculate and the formal wear her other guests had on matched the pristine quality, despite some of them having since passed on with only their slack jawed skulls remaining. Those unfortunate few still alive were emaciated rotting things who stared off into the distance with a vacant, dopey smile.


    ¡°Please,¡± the creature hissed softly, ¡°Take a seat at the end of the table. I insist.¡±


    The first move.


    Magnolia curtseyed before moving towards the chair at the end of the long table. She grabbed the firm wood on both sides of the chair and lifted her seat up, shifting the seat of one of the desiccated guests to make space next to the Belle.


    The rote memorization and adrenaline running through her veins would not let her forget the razors edge she stood on when dealing with a creature of this style of domain.


    There was decorum to follow, a set of rules to proceed in their games that would see to the creatures binding if she was precise with her interactions. She¡¯d chosen this spell, aside from the prestige of binding something her peers and professor considered above her station, precisely because this process would not devolve into a game of violence.


    Indeed, one of the universal rules she was certain of was the clause on hostility, whether perceived or actualized, leading to a sudden exit for the Incant, with no hope of re-entry.


    Magnolia did not give up her turn taking a seat next to the Belle with the presence of silence.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Magnolia asked.


    ¡°My name is Mistress of the Mayflowers, precious guest.¡± The Belle replied in a silky falsetto. Their back and forth had started and just as Magnolia had expected, the Belle offered her a fake name.


    ¡°Tell me about your family, dear guest. I must know of your kindred and their dreams.¡± The Belle stated.


    Magnolia chewed on her thoughts before answering, ¡°I am Magnolia Winthrop and I¡¯m attending the Scarlet Society of Sorceresses as a fledgling with the desire to make the world a better place.¡±


    She¡¯d answered the question honestly and with detail while sidestepping her family, instead maintaining the focus on herself.


    The Belle gave Magnolia a toothy smile and waited for Magnolia to pass the conversation back towards her.


    She¡¯d been tee¡¯d up for the first jab.


    ¡°I¡¯d love to know what your rules for decorum are. What are the rules that manage this domain?¡± Magnolia asked.


    She refrained from showing excitement, gripping her knees tightly to keep them from bouncing. There were certain rules of engagement that were universal amongst the various iterations of the Suggestion spell and her quarry was no different. They would value honesty of the sideways variety, an approach of speaking out of the side of ones mouth to answer questions pertaining to the conversation but not directly addressing the topic.


    Any direct acknowledgement of the topic was grounds for subservience, the infringing party becoming a servant to the superior party. Half acknowledgements of questions asked or performing actions to the spirit of the behavior and not the letter fell within the purview of Magnolia¡¯s allotted options for engaging in conversation.


    She¡¯d answered the question honestly, which meant her partner would-


    ¡°I will attempt to bind you as a permanent guest of this quaint gathering while you attempt to do the same to me. Our conversations will go back and forth until one of us forgets to mind our manners.¡± The Belle answered.


    Her answer was better than Magnolia had hoped, the acknowledgment of the binding on the spells behalf the first condition of three she needed to meet before securing victory.


    The Belle twirled her silver spoon in her fine ceramic teacup, ¡°Dear guest, please pass the sugar bowl.¡±


    Magnolia scanned the table for the bowl of sugar. She pulled open the lid and filled a spare cup with the white crystals before passing that cup along to the spell.


    ¡°Do you mind giving me something of yourself? I find this place and you to be so inviting that I simply must have something of yours to commemorate the occasion.¡± Magnolia asked, acting the part of an ingratiating guest for her humble and immaculate host.


    The Belle of the Ball did not respond, instead snapping her clawed fingers with a surprisingly loud crack.


    Magnolia turned her gaze to the emaciated guest opposite her and watched as the light returned to the man¡¯s eyes.


    She didn¡¯t panic, merely gesturing at the increasingly panicked man with a shushing sign before turning her attention back to the host. Hopefully he had the presence of mind to heed her warning, or at the very least the absence of mind to still be subsumed in his stupor and not fuck up her chances of victory.


    ¡°It is done, my dear guest. I am curious, what of yourself? You simply must let me know something about yourself.¡±


    ¡°Why, I¡¯m-¡± She held back her tongue and quickly recollected all of the information she¡¯d divulged thus far, attempting to keep the story straight ¡°I am an Incant of little repute with the expressed interest of binding you into my body.¡±


    Another half-truth and an important one at that. The second condition had been met and she would not allow for the back and forth to spread out and have the foundation fall out from under her.


    Magnolia pressed her fingers on the side of the dress and uncomfortably dug into the falsified flesh for her bag. After a moment of rummaging through her numerous pouches, she pulled out a simple ring of sterling silver.


    ¡°May I give you this as a token of my appreciation for your benevolent invitation?¡± Magnolia asked.


    The creature carefully inspected the silver ring and raised an eyebrow, ¡°Why of course I will accept your token of appreciation.¡± The Belle of the Ball had her claw encroach up to Magnolia¡¯s elbow, her other claw fiddling to acquire the only other token she had in her possession.


    The third condition for binding was met the moment the Belle took the friendship charm off her Grimoire.


    This was it!


    Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears and chest, skin growing clammy with anticipation for the next move.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± The creature whispered as it inspected the charm with relish.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Magnolia replied reflexively.


    Oh no.


    The Belle of the Ball¡¯s smile widened into a predatorial rictus, sharpened fangs bared to reveal its beastial nature.


    ¡°So close, my dear guest. So very close.¡± The Belle giggled, voice shifting between the falsetto Magnolia was familiar with and a growling howl.


    She couldn¡¯t move out of her seat, the flowers laying underneath her growing roots on her ankles. An immovable weight kept her from lifting her arms, kept her from gesturing at violence and escaping with at least her life.


    The encroaching binding didn¡¯t even give her the dignity to cry out and beg.


    ¡°Oh do not worry my dear thing. I plan to take extra special care of you.¡± The creature ran its sharp claw across Magnolia¡¯s cheek. She could feel her face rip open with a minor cut, blood running down the Belle''s finger.


    ¡°On my name as the Belle of the Ball, I bind this Incant under my domain. May they serve me for the rest of their existence.¡± The creature brought down the guillotine onto Magnolia¡¯s head.


    Magnolia¡¯s wrist flared up in a wreath of green flames, heat uncomfortably searing her flesh with no possible recourse. She shifted her eyes to see the bracelet that Willow had given her was aflame. The roots binding her ankles withered and the immovable weight on her chest lifted to give Magnolia unhindered freedom.


    The Belle was bewildered as it stared at the green flame and then perturbed as its essence began dissipating into the friendship charm Magnolia had crafted.


    ¡°What is this!¡± The Belle cried out, the cloudless sky of the domain rapidly becoming turbulent with dark storms and lightning. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be able to do this! You¡¯d dare break the rules of decorum!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean.¡± Magnolia replied, equally incredulous with the circumstances of the situation.


    The creature forcefully grabbed her arm and pointed to the wreath of green flame surrounding Magnolia¡¯s wrist, ¡°You would infringe on the spirit of our game by bringing this item into my domain? By wit or by trick, you would bind me with no recourse.¡±


    The Belle of the Ball let go of the girl''s wrist and turned its attention to the open space around her, ¡°Clearly, you must understand that this was a farce to begin with! She came into this interaction with the expressed intention of undermining our game.¡±


    Magnolia watched as the Belle argued her case to the cosmos beyond.


    And the world responded with resounding silence.


    The creature fell to its knees.


    ¡°Of course,¡± it whispered, ¡°You couldn¡¯t infringe on the spirit of the game. You had no knowledge of what you came into this game to begin with.¡± The creature turned its attention back to Magnolia, ¡°Pitiful little thing.¡±


    The Belle of the Ball disappeared into the charm.


    Magnolia sat uncomfortably in the crumbling domain, the emaciated guests who yet lived growing conscious and fervent with panic and haste.


    In the pit of her stomach she felt the weight of the world sink. That infinitely huge feeling she would succumb to when she slept in the embrace of the endless black expanse.


    She felt the slot in her body stir for the first time.

 Chapter XIII - Juniper

    Juniper agonized over every second spent pacing in her clients house and outside those dilapidated streets. Sleep would not find her, the fatigue in her muscles and buzzing behind her eyes keeping her dulled mind awake and listless.


    She bit her lip, forcing herself to focus, to maintain the train of thought surrounding the next leg of her investigation.


    Juniper made idle glances at the building the guides were housed within, their secrets protected behind those immaculate white walls with red trim. The front entrance was monitored by lower level guides, their nonchalance to their role as enforcers a mask for those not paying attention.


    But she had scrutinized the entrance while avoiding calling attention to herself and their patterns were obvious when given consideration. There wasn¡¯t a gap to their security detail, guides shifting around at all manners of the day without a crack to their defenses.


    She had half a mind to just forego the charade altogether and force her way through the building. She was geared up for the challenge. These cloistered scholars were devout to their academic prowess, despite the potentially overwhelming power housed in their bodies.


    That was the fatigue and hubris talking, egging her to make a bad decision for the sake of expediency. No, Juniper wouldn¡¯t blow her cover while her sister-


    ¡°Oh no¡­¡± Juniper groaned, causing her to wince and reel in pain as the whiplash of switching focus rattled her head. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have been gone for more than a day. Maggie must be worried sick though.¡±


    Kicking dirt, she picked herself up from her vantage point and trudged her way to the dorm room.


    Juniper gingerly twisted the knob of their door and stepped into the room.


    Magnolia was there in all of her radiance, standing with her arms crossed in a yellow floral patterned sundress with white petals. In such a short amount of time, she¡¯d done so much to carry herself with the same kind of gravitas that Juniper held, a holdover of their mothers no-nonsense attitude.


    ¡°Where were you?¡± Magnolia asked in a tone that froze the room.


    ¡°I went out with that professor and got sidetracked by some business.¡± Juniper answered vaguely. She didn¡¯t want to bring her-


    ¡°What kind of business sees you gone for three days!¡± Magnolia erupted.


    Oh fuck, how tunneled had she been?


    Magnolia charged at Juniper and banged her fists against her chest, ¡°I needed you to be here for me! You don¡¯t get to just disappear this long without telling me anymore, Juniper.¡±


    She didn¡¯t move, a deer in the visage of a predator with no clear moves on how to proceed.


    ¡°You promised that you¡¯d be better and you-you,¡± Magnolia buried her head in her sister chest, tears soaking up the ruffled dress shirt she¡¯d worn to the business event, ¡°I went through the hardest day of my life and you couldn¡¯t even find time to be there for me! Gone!¡±


    ¡°What happened, Maggie?¡± Juniper whispered.


    Her sister laughed in between her sobs, ¡°Oh, now I¡¯m important enough? Now you want to know what happened?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve always been important to me, Magnolia. Don¡¯t even joke about that.¡± Juniper hardened her tone.


    ¡°You don¡¯t get to pull that card on me, Juniper. I¡¯ve been the one trying my best to reach out and do good in the coven for the both of us and it just feels like I¡¯m not being taken seriously at all. Like you¡¯re just checked out from this, from us.¡±


    Magnolia pulled away from her and wiped her tears with her forearm, ¡°You¡¯re going to tell me the truth and nothing but. No secrets, no vague talk, no babying. I¡¯m tired of having this fucking cloud between us. If you care at all about our sisterhood, you¡¯re gonna tell me the truth or so help me, Juniper Winthrop, I am leaving through that door and never coming back.¡±


    Juniper looked at the conviction in her sister''s eyes and knew she meant every word she said. She¡¯d be putting her sister at risk but frankly it wouldn¡¯t matter if this rift grew permanent between them. Magnolia tracked her sister as she walked towards her organized bed and collapsed from the exhaustion.


    Fuck her, a whole three days tunneled on the investigation.


    ¡°Sit down, Maggie.¡± Juniper gestured at the bed opposite her, precious energy spent from an empty tank. Her sister crossed her arms and sat down, waiting for Juniper to begin pouring out secrets.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start from the beginning. The reason I changed my mind about this whole coven thing was twofold; you needed the experience this institution provided and I was hired by an older woman to investigate the disappearance of her daughter. With her stars and the interest this Matron had on us freelancing Incants, it wasn¡¯t hard for us to get in.¡±


    Juniper waited for Magnolia to interject or do anything but she sat there, judging every side of her story.


    Juniper continued, ¡°This older womans daughter went missing and she received false information about the disappearance. Stuff like she suffered an unfortunate incident during her final exam even though she never got that far, vanishing before the exam even took place.¡±


    Magnolia winced, ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t talk about anything else. At least not here. I don¡¯t rightfully know how much this institution listens in on our conversations and I don¡¯t want to give out more than they could surmise. That woman even mentioned my history when looking at our applications so it¡¯s not like they¡¯d be surprised I attended to conduct an investigation.¡± And what that investigation revealed meant dealing with forces far more powerful than Juniper could reasonably handle. The extent of what she knew and who had her information was unknown to them, and that mystery was their immunity for the time being.


    Magnolia sighed and walked over to her sister''s bed, ¡°Move over.¡±


    The two laid down on the small bed facing one another, a heavy amount of nostalgia washing over Juniper for a simpler time before she¡¯d hardened up.


    ¡°Why does it have to be like this?¡± Magnolia whispered. Her knuckles were white and clenched. ¡°It¡¯s not fair.¡±


    Juniper wrapped her arm around her sister and did her best to pull her close, ¡°I promise, Maggie, I wasn¡¯t avoiding you. This job was a bitch and a half and I didn¡¯t want to keep you from living out your dreams as a magical school girl. You talked this place up so much the last time they¡¯d sent their inquiries and it was easier for me to just leave you in the dark and bear the brunt of the responsibility should things go tits up.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t your choice to make, June.¡± Magnolia sighed. ¡°Not like keeping me in the dark helped anyway.¡±


    Juniper raised an eyebrow, ¡°What do you mean by that? Is this to do with your hardest day?¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Magnolia laughed, ¡°Yeah, something like that. Someone made an attempt at my life and I don¡¯t know why. I have suspicions on what it could be but I remember your thoughts on speculation.¡± She inched in closer. ¡°But you don¡¯t have to worry about anything anymore. I¡¯m gonna take care of things.¡±


    Despite the fatigue, Juniper''s blood boiled, ¡°What do you mean I don¡¯t have to worry? Someone made an attempt on your life, Maggie. Point them my way and I¡¯ll take care of-¡±


    Magnolia shook her head, ¡°No. I¡¯m gonna handle things my way. If I need help, I¡¯ll ask for it.¡±


    Juniper stared at her sister before relenting, ¡°Alright. If you say so. I trust you.¡±


    Magnolia smiled.


    The two laid there, basking in the brilliant glow of the morning sunlight. Juniper closed her eyes and felt the weight of the world snuff out what consciousness she held onto.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Juniper blinked her eyes once, twice, trying desperately to shirk off the drooping sensation on the lids of her eyes.


    It was dark out.


    ¡°Welcome back to the land of the living,¡± Juniper turned her attention to Magnolia, the girl welcoming Juniper with a smarmy smile, ¡°I¡¯m sure you slept well. You were roaring like an engine back there.¡±


    Juniper rolled her eyes as she fought back the siren''s song of even more rest. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to let her body stock up to one hundred percent but all that dreamless sleep reminded her of a promise she¡¯d made to her sister.


    ¡°I slept well enough to remember a promise I made to you.¡± Juniper responded. She lifted herself up from the bed and stretched her body out, bones popping with each deliberate pose.


    ¡°About the spell inside of me.¡± Magnolia connected the dots all on her own.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Juniper replied. She¡¯d given that girl her word and although her heart ached thinking about the consequences that came with remembering the worst night of her life, it wouldn¡¯t do Maggie any good to be in the dark on what she restrained forever.


    If this institution was worth their salt, they¡¯d have taught her something about reigning in powerful spells.


    ¡°You tell me, are you ready to hear the story about the night you made your first dive? About the night our parents disappeared?¡± Juniper didn¡¯t sugarcoat it. If she was old enough to handle the story, she was old enough to hear things with every bit of ache and anger that Juniper had reserved for the recollection.


    For those damn foggy white eyes.


    Magnolia held to that steeled conviction, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m ready. I have to be.¡±


    Juniper nodded and fell back into the sensations of that night. The story was mulled over and polished into a disgustingly brilliant sheen, a beacon of boundless energy she could tap into when only rage could push her forward.


    ¡°I had made my dive about four years before you did. Mom and Dad weren¡¯t Incants and they weren¡¯t superstitious about things either. Their little girl could summon golden threads and find things. Harmless enough.¡±


    Magnolia put down the book in her hands and gave Juniper her undivided attention.


    ¡°They figured that if I was an Incant that chances were good you¡¯d be one too. They assumed you¡¯d bloom at around five like I had. That whatever passenger hitched a ride in your soul would be as innocuous as what I had been gifted with. They were off by a good two years.¡±


    Magnolia did the math, ¡°I dove into the astral when I was three?¡±


    Juniper nodded, ¡°I know. To this day I count my lucky stars that I didn¡¯t lose absolutely everything that night, that on the worst day of my life, I still got to hold onto a bit of good.¡±


    Magnolia gave her a sullen smile. It was a bittersweet affair but never had she gone so low as to blame Maggie for an event beyond her control.


    ¡°You dove into the astral and the world started to shake. Mom woke me up while Dad screamed for help, for their little girl to help them make sense of what was happening to their baby. They¡¯d done their best to learn from that old geezer, Isaac, but nothing he had offered them could prepare them for that night. The air around your crib was thick and miasmic, shimmering with the flicker of one million tiny stars. Your body was held in the air and the blue in your eyes were burned out by this brilliant gold.¡±


    Juniper took a breath. One. Two. In. Out.


    ¡°Swimming in that starscape was this thing, a massive jagged mouth hanging behind you, its silhouette obscured by a turbulent fog. The clouds spun as you spoke in the language of the Weave, an ancient tongue that felt so much like the judgment call of the gods that night. Dad tried to pull you away from whatever was behind you and got pulled into the veil of stars. Mom snapped away from me and reached out to Dad, only to get caught in the orbit of the thing around you.¡±


    Juniper¡¯s eyes welled up with acrid tears, ¡°And what could I do? I threw my thread at them and pulled as hard as a seven year old could. Their bodies disappeared in the darkness and my Golden Thread snapped, my mind jumbled and throbbing with such intense pain. The only time my thread has ever snapped.¡±


    She refused to give the story any more attention, letting the worst of her childhood screams disappear into the pit of her stomach. Juniper spun her wrist around and manifested the thread that bound her to Magnolia, refocusing her thoughts on the girl and all her splendor.


    ¡°After that night, I had to scramble to figure out what to do next. Isaac, despite all his faults, was kind enough to lend us a hand. Not enough to take responsibility as a fucking adult but thats neither here nor there. The only saving grace I had from that night was that whatever spell that was hadn¡¯t damaged your psyche to any perceivable degree. It fucked off to sleep and I hope it stays that way forever.¡±


    Juniper ended her story and watched Magnolia digest the details. It was a blessing she wasn¡¯t burdened with the memory of that night.


    ¡°All these years you¡¯ve been taking care of us and it was all my fault?¡± Magnolia wheezed.


    Juniper grabbed her sisters shoulders forcefully and locked eyes with her, ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare blame yourself for this, okay? That night was all the spell''s fault, whatever it is. You were just a bystander, a kid so fucking tough as nails that you¡¯ve kept that thing bound and asleep for sixteen years. I swear, Magnolia, if you so much as hint about feeling bad for yourself, I am going to shake you until you snap out of it or die.¡±


    The dark cloud hanging over her sister''s head slowly dissipated, a trickle of giggles making way for a torrent of laughter. Magnolia wrapped her arms around Juniper and the two hugged.


    ¡°Well, so much for my damn streak.¡± Magnolia let out in between her laughs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Juniper¡¯s heart lurched when Magnolia nodded.


    ¡°Happened after my exam. I dunno what the specifics are with it but directly after dealing with the exam, I felt this heavy thing stir inside of me.¡±


    Juniper eased up in relief, ¡°Well stirring isn¡¯t awake, Maggie. And if it does wake up, you¡¯ve got the knowledge to handle it now, right?¡±


    Magnolia shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best but it¡¯s a lot to take in.¡±


    Juniper was quick to pull them away from lingering on that topic, ¡°So you finished your exam? Did you end up securing a passing grade?¡±


    Magnolia¡¯s eyes brightened up as she jingled the charms on her wrist, ¡°I¡¯m a fucking Winthrop, Junie. Of course I got a passing grade. Never doubted myself for a moment.¡±


    It was Juniper''s turn to laugh, ¡°Oh yeah, I totally believe it. You must have been quaking in your boots dealing with your first spell.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t! Between your talks and my books, I walked into that negotiation as cool as a cucumber.¡±


    ¡°Oh so it was a negotiation then? Didn¡¯t have the gumption to take on a Fireball or a Lightning Bolt in one on one combat?¡±


    Magnolia pouted, ¡°Oh fuck off, like you¡¯d have done better.¡±


    Juniper shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know, Maggie. Between the two of us, I¡¯m pretty confident I¡¯d have handled the worst of the worst at your age.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even have a grimoire!¡±


    Juniper waved off the statement, ¡°That¡¯s besides the point, little sis. What matters is that you did great but I could have totally done better if I was given the same opportunities. Now stop holding out on me and give me a play by play. I wanna hear what your struggles were on this worse day of your life.¡±


    Magnolia rolled her eyes but started recounting her own day with a pure vigor.


    Despite the lingering fatigue on her mind and the everpresent nagging her threads made trying to pull her towards the investigation, Magnolia deserved every bit of her sister''s attention.


    At least right now, she¡¯d be here for her.

 Chapter XIV - Willow

    Her room was a mess.


    Willow had been incapable of mustering even a modicum of organized energy towards the task of making her bed and sorting her books. Each time she placed a hand on a hardcover book from among the stacks, her fingers quaked and the act of wrapping them around the bindings became an impossible task.


    She couldn¡¯t lay in bed either.


    Not because there was a mess to contend with, although sleeping among discarded shirts, dresses, and shorts should have counted as a mess if she were in the right headspace, but because there was too much chaos flowing through her to let her find even a moment of rest.


    Sleep would not find her as easy as it once had, so she did the only thing left that gave her a sense of control and peace.


    She paced across her room.


    The stacks had slowly been pushed to the edges of her path, allowing for the mindless back and forth to overtake her legs without need to worry about damaging her possessions.


    But time pacing meant time spent thinking and even in her addled stupor, the consequences of her actions nipped at her heels.


    Willow didn¡¯t stick around to see if Magnolia made it out okay. She didn¡¯t ask the professor about her whereabouts or remain at the portal''s edge in support of her friend.


    But Bianca had found her that day and that was enough confirmation for Willow to know that her actions had borne fruit.


    ¡°Hello Willow,¡± Bianca looked devilishly delighted to see Willow in her immediate state of anguish, ¡°Oh, have I caught you at a bad time?¡±


    ¡°What do you want, Bianca?¡± Willow spat back with her ill-placed vitriol. Deep within herself, Willow knew who deserved the brunt of her displeasure.


    Bianca was unphased by the lash out, ¡°Cheer up, girl. I¡¯m here to offer you some good news. I¡¯ve been informed by our mutual contact that your end of the contract has been fulfilled. Congratulations, you did remarkably well.¡±


    Willow¡¯s stomach churned, bile rising and falling as the room around her gained a faint spinning sensation.


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying¡­¡± Willow couldn¡¯t bring herself to finish the sentence.


    ¡°I¡¯m saying that our mutual friend has deemed your actions satisfactory to our contract. Whether that dreg has suffered for her transgressions or not is irrelevant. So long as she¡¯s incapable or uninterested in joining us for our graduation ceremony is what matters.¡±


    This was an emotional detachment from the situation that Willow could not muster. It didn¡¯t help matters that for all her guilt, she¡¯d still been the one to condemn her friend to a terrible fate.


    She flailed her arms and wiped away the day''s old memories.


    ¡°You were put in that position,¡± Willow whispered under her breath, the pace of her steps becoming faster, more erratic, ¡°You didn¡¯t have any alternatives. You weren¡¯t just representing yourself in that contract but your parents too, and they¡¯ve been suffering far longer trying to make ends meet for you.¡± Willow wrapped her arms around herself, fingers squeezing at the biceps and digging into the skin. ¡°So many Incants have prices to pay for their success and this was just yours, right? It wasn¡¯t a fair shake but you did the best with what you had and came out ahead for it.¡±


    Her words did little to assuage her ailing heart. All the reason in the world could not wash away the stains on her hands, the stench of failure from her being. She was too cowardly to refuse the call to action and too cowardly to stick around for the results.


    ¡°Willow,¡± Her mother called out from beyond the door, ¡°There¡¯s someone here to see you!¡±


    Her pacing stopped.


    Was it Bianca? She was meant to come around and provide her with access to that library so were they going to hash out the logistics of all of that so soon?


    Her heart found new depths to sink under.


    Was it Juniper? They hadn¡¯t interacted much but Magnolia mentioned she was a delver and had means of finding hidden things. Was she here to take her pound of flesh?


    ¡°Willow, what do you want me to say?¡± Willow''s mother called out to her.


    ¡°J-Just send them to my room. I¡¯m currently cleaning up.¡± The moment her directive left her lips, Willow scrambled to organize what little she could of the room. It was a sty, a mess, a pit for her to wallow within but she had to be presentable, whoever came through the other side of that door.


    The rattling of the door knob came too quickly. Or was it her sense of time that had also been affected by the haze of her mind?


    Willow bundled up the mess of clothes on her bed and tossed them into a corner of the room, hoping her guest would not notice. The book stacks would remain, a suggested testament to her voracious appetite for knowledge and the capacity to use what she knew.


    In all of her radiance, Magnolia opened the door. She was wearing another sundress, this time a sky blue colored garment with a cloud pattern. Her smile was warm and inviting, her arms outstretched.


    The finality of her friend''s demise was upended and with it the feelings of guilt.


    Her friend had survived the exam! She was here, alive and in the flesh and smiling at her and pulling her in for a hug.


    Willow reciprocated immediately, stumbling across an ankle stack of books to reach her friend and wrap around her tightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I didn¡¯t stick around.¡± Willow offered as she squeezed her friend tighty.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Willow. I figured you were still on the other side by the time I came back. I wouldn¡¯t have wanted the company anyway.¡± Magnolia replied.


    She suppressed the worrying thoughts that began bubbling to the surface of her mind as best she could. As far as Bianca and her stupid Scrivener were concerned, Willow fulfilled her end of the bargain. The look on that dumb bitches face come schoolday to see the both of them-


    ¡°Hey Willow,¡± Magnolia wheezed, ¡°You¡¯re wrapping around too tight.¡±


    Willow let go and swiped away the remaining detritus on her bed to make room for her friend.


    ¡°Come, sit.¡± Willow patted the bed. Magnolia sat down and observed the room in silence. She was kicking herself over falling down a spiral, incapable of making her space at least presentable to potential guests.


    ¡°Your mom was such a pleasant woman, Willow. Why haven¡¯t I met her sooner?¡± Magnolia asked.


    Because she was always busy and the last thing Willow wanted to do was pile up responsibilities at her feet to be present around her friends?


    ¡°My mom and dad are off in the field most of the time. The house is empty more often than not so it was better for the both of us to hang out in your room.¡± Willow answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame. This house is truly beautiful.¡± Magnolia whispered.


    ¡°Is your sister doing well? She¡¯s still alive and well right?¡±


    Magnolia chuckled, ¡°Yeah she¡¯s doing fine. Her business venture at night led her on a wacky adventure that kept her away on the day of the exam, but we¡¯re hanging in there together.¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Willow held back a wince.


    ¡°Speaking of hanging in there together,¡± Willow held eye contact with Magnolia, ¡°You¡¯re gonna be attending graduation right?¡±


    Magnolia feigned disappointment before smiling, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of missing out on all that. We didn¡¯t go through all of that torment just so we could sit things out at the end of things. I¡¯ll finally have my life as a freelancing Incant ahead of me.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a ton of fun. My parents got a new spell binding gig here and they need all hands on deck so as soon as I¡¯ve gotten my license, I¡¯m committing myself to that.¡±


    Magnolia raised an eyebrow, ¡°A new spell binding gig? With who? Under what family?¡±


    Fuck.


    ¡°Oh, you know, just a new gig. They haven¡¯t told me who they¡¯re working under but they¡¯re influential enough that my dad¡¯s wearing suits and stuff for his meetings at their estate.¡±


    Magnolia chewed on that information and thankfully brushed past it.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s good to hear. I know how much you agonized over their success and what it meant to you so this is great.¡± Magnolia smiled.


    ¡°If that made them happy, you should have seen the looks on their faces when I came home having passed my exam. My dad did his best to lift me up and we all yelled.¡± The recollection of that memory was acid down her throat, the immediate pangs of guilt and disgust causing her bile to rise and fall in waves.


    ¡°Juniper was much the same way. She didn¡¯t have a doubt in her mind that I would pass but once I confirmed things, she yelled so loud that one of the other residents checked in on us to make sure we were okay.¡±


    Magnolia started to laugh and Willow joined in.


    ¡°Sounds like your sister.¡± Willow chimed in between her laughs.


    ¡°Yeah, she was really happy to hear I made it out in one piece. The exam itself was less than stellar.¡±


    Willow gulped.


    ¡°Oh, what was it like? Dealing with your exam I mean?¡± Willow played it cool.


    Magnolia¡¯s smile wavered, ¡°Honestly it was incredibly terrifying. I want you to hear your side of things when I¡¯m done with my recount. When I crossed the threshold and started running through the swamps, I had to hide at one point because I spotted an old student getting toyed with by a monster of a spell. He was pockmarked all over the place with these burning holes.¡±


    ¡°That sounds awful.¡± Was all she could offer.


    ¡°And after that, I ran towards the Suggestions domain and crossed into a world of rolling plains filled to the brim with grassy meadows and rainbow colored flowers. Compared to the swamps, it was like stepping into wonderland. Even had a table for tea.¡±


    ¡°What an interesting manifestation¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh it was so much more than that. There was a regality to them that made them so much more than the southern belle they posed as. That was her place of residence, former conquests seated at the table as a constant reminder of what kind of fate would befall me if I made an error in our interaction. I¡¯d never been more afraid in my life.¡±


    Willow noticed Magnolia¡¯s eyes flickering for just a moment, the foggy white of her eyes flashing like lightning arcing through a cloud.


    ¡°You should have been there to see it, Willow. It was a performance I don¡¯t think I can ever forget. The pleasantries exchanged with one another knowing full well that failure to reciprocate or answer in half truths meant complete and total subjugation. You should have been there when I failed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. What do you mean you failed?¡±


    ¡°In the last moments where I¡¯d bound the creature, I slipped up and it leapt for the opportunity. How my heart leapt from my chest thinking about that finality, about the indifference the school would have with my disappearance, like all those that sat there before me.¡±


    ¡°Wait but if you failed then-¡± Willow¡¯s sentence got caught in the air, her mind subsumed in an ether.


    What was happening?


    Magnolia shook her head, the perspective from Willows end viewing the room like an audience member watching a performance from a distance.


    ¡°Willow, you¡¯ve broken the rules of decorum. It is impolite to ask for more after I¡¯ve offered so much freely and graciously. You were meant to tell me how things went with your exam after I finished my recounting and failed to do so.¡±


    What in the world was she going on about? Willow tried to scream and shout but her body was distant, her pleas falling into the void around her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry though, I can answer that question of yours and get something in return,¡± Magnolia adjusted her dress and took a deep breath, ¡°Please tell me everything you know about the good luck charm you gave me the day of the exam.¡±


    No. No no no no no. No!


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it! Stop!¡± Willow screamed. She flailed wildly within her mind but could not move a muscle.


    ¡°The good luck charm was meant to inhibit your ability to bind a spell into a grimoire or item in some way.¡± She heard herself answer out there. The moment her statement came to light, Willow¡¯s mind was pulled closer to the surface. She could feel her fingers twitch as she strained herself to escape whatever was happening to her. Prevent herself from revealing anything more.


    ¡°Thank you for the response, Willow. Did you acquire this item by yourself or were given help in some way?¡±


    Willow could hear herself begin to speak in that strange dreamy stupor, ¡°I didn¡¯t get the charm myself. Bianca gave it to me to give to you.¡±


    The end of her sentence spelled the end of her confinement, her mind ricocheting back to complete control with a heavy dose of nausea and whiplash. Willow pulled herself away from Magnolia and reflexively entered into an offensive stance, staff in between the two of them.


    She opened her mouth before shutting it close. Rules of decorum or not, it had something to do with words and she wouldn¡¯t give her friend an inch.


    Were they still even friends at this point? The way she invaded her mind like that certainly didn¡¯t make the prospect appealing.


    ¡°But up until today, you thought you killed your only friend.¡± Her conscience provided a counterpoint.


    Now wasn¡¯t the time to dwell on that.


    Magnolia sighed and got off the bed.


    ¡°Willow, I¡¯m going to ask this and hope you can offer me closure of your own volition; why did you do what Bianca told you to do?¡±


    Willow bit her lip. She could have dealt with this situation any time after that harlot made good on her side of the deal. Offering or acknowledging their involvement with one another to Magnolia meant voiding the contract with the Scrivener, even if she fulfilled her end of the bargain.


    She didn¡¯t want to see all the fucking effort put to get this far get taken away from her and her family like this.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Maggie but I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Each word was caustic in her mouth. She hated this. She hated being in the situation she was in. She wanted things to work out but there were so many things outside of her control that made life a struggle. It wasn¡¯t fair.


    Magnolia shook her head, ¡°I wish you could tell me freely. It¡¯d mean so much more to me to know that my only friend in this whole damn institution didn¡¯t sell me under. And if you did, to get an understanding on why.¡±


    Willow flinched, her fingers falling one by one onto the cool length of wood, eyeing the girl for any sudden movements. She could explain everything once Bianca¡¯s end of things were settled. Willow would apologize up and down for Maggie¡¯s forgiveness and they¡¯d make up and it would all work out fine. She deserved for things to work out fine.


    Magnolia gave Willow an antiquated bow before making for the door, her flickering eyes locked on Willow¡¯s own. Her hand falls on top of the door knob and she waits for Willow to make a move.


    When none is made, Magnolia twists the knob free to open the door and Willow¡¯s mind immediately succumbs to Magnolia¡¯s spell.


    ¡°You¡¯ve broken the second rule of decorum, Willow. A severe infraction at that considering the role you hold in my life. Where I offered you vulnerability and a chance at redemption, you offered only silence in return. Now, now you will stand and listen to what I have to say.¡±


    Willow dropped her staff and viewed Magnolia, her focus fixated on her every word.


    ¡°I¡¯m in front of you today because of that charm you gave me. I was unaware of its effects that day and when the spell made its attempt to bind me under its will, it activated the bracelet''s conditions and redirected the binding to itself. I don¡¯t know whether to be flattered by Bianca or not but she probably had no idea I was going after the spell I did.¡±


    Magnolia gave Willow an accusatory look and stabbed her with an incriminating finger, ¡°But you did. You knew that my failure would hold severe consequences and you went along with it anyway. A part of me wanted that closure but I can live without it. Honestly I should be thanking you because in a way, your callous self-preservation saved me from suffering a fate worse than death.¡±


    Each passing second brought Willow closer to the surface, closer to provide a rebuttal, a response, anything other than that dreamy silence she¡¯d given up to now. She could make her friend understand if just given the chance to settle things.


    ¡°You and I are different, Willow. Fundamentally so. You sold your convictions and your allies for a favor with a person that sees you as fundamentally lesser. You refused a core tenet of being a Scarlet Sister, of conquering your monsters by any means necessary. The Weave gave you powers beyond comprehension and you molded yourself into another piece on someone else¡¯s playing board. Languish in your inadequacies, Willow. I¡¯ll cherish what we had and suggest you make peace with the choices you¡¯ve made. From the looks of it, it won¡¯t be a hard peace to find.¡±


    Magnolia stepped out of the room.


    Willow was freed from the spell a few moments later, the grooves of her spell fresh within her psyche, the justifications for her actions bubbling up inside of her but her mouth was incapable of making even the slightest of sounds.


    So she went back to pacing around the room, trying to find the right words that would fix all of her problems.

 Chapter XV - Magnolia

    Her mind felt vacuous, submerged in a vast and unending malaise. If she squinted in the pitch black, she could make out the distant glimmer of stars and the flashing lichtenberg trails of lightning ever present in roiling black storm clouds. Flowing red ribbons danced in the distance, all heading towards a destination she could not make out.


    No up, no down, no sense of direction to orient herself to as the weight of the world pressed down on her chest.


    She could feel her passengers'' presence all around her, its body having swallowed hers whole.


    She tried to communicate with the foreign being and received a painful confluence of images in return. Nothing intelligible, an attempt that left her body and mind wracked with pain.


    Magnolia woke up feeling the worst she¡¯d ever felt in her life. Memory or no memory, the sheer act of moving her arms to lift the blanket off her body was a struggle.


    She slid her arm up from her fuzzy restraints and wiped away the crud off her eyes.


    Wet. Crimson.


    Magnolia blinked and felt her face was sticky and caked with coagulated blood down her cheeks.


    ¡°Even more now¡­¡± Magnolia whispered in a hoarse voice. If there was any energy in her, she¡¯d have started to panic so silver linings could be found in the strangest of situations. Instead, she grabbed a towel from her nightstand and wiped away the blood.


    ¡°Ronkkkk.¡± Juniper caught her attention with a snore and snort. How she managed to sleep so soundly was beyond Magnolia.


    She smiled.


    Magnolia mustered the strength to get up from her bed and shamble over to the growing pile of clothes growing on her sister''s desk chair. Neither of them had the motivation (in her own case) or time (in her sister''s case) to sort their laundry and divvy things up appropriately so they compromised with the clothes pile.


    There were so many things to keep track of that made the momentary respite from her final examination an anxious and frustrating endeavor. Her graduation into the Scarlet Sisters was a week away and Juniper was no closer in solving her guide problem than when she¡¯d started confessing her secrets to Magnolia. Questions about whether graduation was a safe event to attend or not were still up in the air and that left her stomach all knotted up.


    To have suffered through her summer getting this far only to lose out on the prize of prestige and freedom was too much for her to handle. Nothing had happened in the institution''s history at the Graduation event aside from disgruntled students making their discontent known so surely it¡¯d be fine for her to go?


    In the depths of her soul, Magnolia knew that not even her sister was going to get in the way of her at least acquiring what she¡¯d worked hard to get.


    Junie had asked her not to interfere with the case and that was fine. So it only made sense that unless there was definitive proof that things would be unsafe, she¡¯d still go.


    It wasn¡¯t like she was defenseless. Not anymore.


    Magnolia grabbed a loose faded black band shirt from her sister''s pile and some jean shorts.


    She made for the door and¡­waited. Her hand hovered the knob, her breath quickening with each passing moment.


    This was the last class she¡¯d need to go to. The last class she¡¯d have to confront Willow and Bianca and the Professor and everything else. There might have been more elation in her heart if things hadn¡¯t turned so dour at the end of the program.


    ¡°Nothing to do but accept your pain and move forward.¡± Magnolia invoked.


    With her head held high and a mind still muddled with restlessness, she walked out of her room and out of the building altogether into the sweltering Georgia heat. The sun did wonders in simultaneously making Magnolia physically perk up with its familiar warmth while compounding the mental disorientation clouding her mind and staggering her movements.


    She focused on the three spires and staggered her way to the academic building. From the campus exterior to the building''s interior there was not a crowd larger than one or two students to speak of. The examinations couldn¡¯t have thinned the numbers by that much, could it?


    Juniper walked into her classroom and had her question answered. The class size was already small compared to the numerous seats left empty and her initial survey of the remaining members of her cohort only widened the vacuum.


    The witches that sat at the far end of the classroom in their strange garb were diminished to a painful two students. Out of a lot of five or six, having only two return to class must have been wrenching for them.


    Maybe Magnolia was jumping the gun on her conclusions. It could have been that those missing members failed their group and thus left the program altogether. She would hope for both her peace of mind and theirs that this was the case versus the more morbid alternative.


    Bianca¡¯s crowd of sycophants had experienced a culling of ranks as well, although not as drastic as the former group. They¡¯d lost two at the very least but it didn¡¯t seem like it would take them long to find replacement pieces for their entourage.


    Willow and Magnolia locked eyes with one another. She could see that Willow was fidgeting, uncomfortable under the strain of her glare and the company around her. She¡¯d gone so far as to wear something akin to Bianca¡¯s other peons in an attempt to fit in.


    Magnolia felt bad for her. Whether it was bad enough to reconcile was too soon for her emotional wounds to consider in a calm and collected manner.


    Willow pulled away from Magnolia¡¯s stare and focused her attention to the desk, suddenly finding interest in the cover of her book.


    Magnolia turned her attention to Bianca and gave her an even meaner stink eye.


    Bianca merely smirked in reply.


    ¡°Good morning class,¡± Del Marin broke their contest of wills with his arrival, ¡°We have a very special guest with us today.¡±


    Magnolia had to blink to register what was happening.


    With the nonchalance and grace of a predatory bird approaching its prey, the Matron walked in with a sleek red dress and black overcoat. The veil from her face was lifted again, showing two deep black pits glancing at what remained of the next batch of the Scarlet Sisters.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    She turned and saw that even with all the bravado, Bianca and the rest of the class were squirming in their seats, trying their best not to move an inch in the face of the Matron.


    ¡°Ah, good. She needs no introduction then,¡± Del Marin snapped the students out of their terror with a loud clap of his hands, ¡°And I must get on with the ceremony.¡±


    Del Marin cleared his throat, ¡°Class, fledglings, I find today to be bittersweet. You birds have grown wings capable of flight and our time together was wonderfully well spent but this is where I must leave you to make your own journey.¡±


    She could hear Junie ring through her head now.


    ¡°This speech is dogshit.¡±


    Magnolia would be courteous but she wouldn¡¯t disagree.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be getting through this last bit of the class today by presenting the best and brightest among you accolades and official Scarlet Sister robes. The Matron is joining our little ceremony to make herself acquainted with the new prospects joining our institution.¡±


    The Matron gave a gentle smirk to the class.


    The tension eased just slightly.


    ¡°At the head of the class is an unexpected student. Magnolia Winthrop, you have been chosen as the head of your class by myself and the other examiners on the day of the exam for the immense power disparity between yourself and the spell that you successfully subdued. It did not escape the administration that you¡¯ve been using this educational opportunity to sort the situation with your slotted spell and yet you reigned in a monster far above your weight class.¡±


    The Matron opened her mouth and the choir in her throat spoke, ¡°I am impressed, Magnolia.¡±


    She could have melted on the spot.


    ¡°I-I, thank you but-¡± Magnolia stammered.


    Bianca loudly stood up from her table, ¡°This is ridiculous. Why are you allowing a cheater to represent the class!¡± The Ice Queen for the first time that they¡¯d been in class together raised her voice in a manner besuited for someone trying to be their own age.


    The Matron turned her attention to Bianca, ¡°Accusing a fellow colleague of blustering their way to the top is a serious matter. Do you have evidence of this cheating taking place?¡±


    Bianca composed herself and stared at Magnolia with a shit eating grin, ¡°Magnolia used a redirection charm to trap her spell.¡±


    Magnolia reigned in her rising anxiety, ¡°I had no knowledge of the charms effects when it was given to me. I didn¡¯t seek help and I certainly didn¡¯t cheat my way here.¡±


    The Matron moved to make another statement but the professor stepped in. He reached into his suit pocket and flung a card to the ground amidst the student stands.


    Magnolia got a good look at the card, a woman holding a pair of scales with the title of ¡°justice¡± scrawled below her feet.


    ¡°Claridad!¡± Del Marin cried out. The card''s image grew white hot and an explosion of light shot out from the image. Magnolia blinked once and saw a luminous scale hanging over Bianca¡¯s head. Another look up over her own and she saw the same scales. ¡°You will repeat your statements again under the embrace of my Claridad. Do not lie or things will not end well. Magnolia, did you know about the charm¡¯s effects before the test?¡±


    ¡°No, Professor Del Marin.¡± Magnolia answered truthfully. The scales teetered back and forth but found no lie in her statement.


    Del Marin turned to Bianca, ¡°What do you know of the charm? I find it curious that you¡¯d have known its effects.¡±


    Despite the situation, Bianca maintained composure, ¡°I know about the charm because I was the one that gave it to Willow. I am under a mutual agreement though that prevents me from discussing things further without risking both of our lives so I would appreciate it if you cut the theatrics and dismiss this flashy courtroom nonsense.¡±


    Her scales teetered back and forth and not a single word was found to be duplicitous.


    Del Marin turned his ire to Willow, who was practically cowering in her seat.


    ¡°Willow, were you the one who gave Magnolia the charm?¡±


    Willow made panicked glances at Bianca and Magnolia before turning to Del Marin, ¡°Y-yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°And did you know of the charm¡¯s effects when you gave it to Magnolia?¡±


    Tears were streaming down her face, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Del Marin stared at the situation before letting out a deep sigh. He whistled and the shimmering scales above their heads disappeared, the card flying back into his hand.


    ¡°My heart is made heavier with these revelations and our institution will not survive if we leave things be.¡± Del Marin looked at the Matron.


    The Matron gave him a slight nod.


    ¡°To begin, Magnolia,¡± He rubbed his temple in discomfort before pointing a finger in her direction, ¡°We cannot let someone who objectively failed their exam stand as the head of the class. Your coursework shows a fastidiousness and intellect that¡¯s admirable but using a charm to cross the final hurdle would suggest that there are shortcuts to succeed in this institution. We cannot have that. You¡¯ll remain for graduation but these accolades are void.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t expecting to be the head but the sting of having it taken away made it hard for her lungs to take in air.


    Del Marin moved to Bianca, ¡°Your testimony was necessary in uncovering this situation. Although I¡¯d like to do more, all you¡¯ve done is admit to handing the charm to Willow and knowing of its effects. Any deal struck between you and the girl outside of these premises are fair game. You¡¯re Incants. Contracts are your bread and butter. We will not treat you like children over that.¡±


    Willow gawked at the injustice. Magnolia did the same.


    ¡°And you, Willow,¡± Del Marin clicked his tongue in disapproval, ¡°You¡¯ve infringed on the spirit of the final exam by providing your colleague a charm, her knowledge of its effects a complete unknown. You risked her safety if she¡¯d succeeded and tainted the results with her failure. It brings me no joy to say this but you are ineligible of joining our ranks as a Scarlet Sister and you will hereby be blackmarked by this institution and its partners on a personal level.


    Willow cried out, ¡°But that¡¯s not fair! It was Bianca that gave me the stupid charm! If it wasn¡¯t for her, I wouldn¡¯t have had the fucking thing to risk my colleague with!¡±


    Del Marin scoffed, ¡°Do you hear yourself? Clearly the offsite deal between you and Bianca was worthwhile enough for you to follow through and give this charm to Miss Magnolia. The responsibility fell on you to negotiate your terms differently if you did not want to perform such a task, or avoid the deal altogether. Or otherwise ignore the deliverables of the deal while upholding the spirit of it. We are meant to be the best and brightest of our kind. You know what Bianca¡¯s family do for a living. If you had this leg up in negotiations and still ended up in this sorry state, then it¡¯s an issue of you coming woefully unprepared to the table.¡±


    Willow¡¯s cries cut through the room, her face a torrent of snot and salt water.


    ¡°Please! Please let me in! I worked so hard to get here! My parents worked so hard to get me through this. They¡¯re depending on me, please! If you have to blackmark me, please just don¡¯t go after them! They¡¯ve done nothing wrong!¡± Willow groveled first towards Del Marin before turning her body towards the Matron in all her unperturbed demeanor.


    Willow sniffed and wiped the tears away from her face, waiting for the Matron to make a response of any kind.


    The Matron looked down at the squirming girl with a face full of pity, ¡°Your behavior is unseemly. If you wish to have what you desire, then take it for yourself. You are an Incant. You will find your way.¡±


    She paused and then pointed at the door, ¡°Just not here. Leave with dignity before I summon someone to dismiss you in disgrace.¡±


    Willow wiped the wet off her face and looked at the rest of the class.


    Magnolia locked eyes with Willow and found that despite her anger at her betrayal, she had sympathy for the girl. She didn¡¯t deserve this.


    Willow got up from the floor and gathered her things in silence.


    Everyone watched her leave the room without saying a word.


    ¡°Let not this transgression detract from your success as a Scarlet Sister,¡± The Matron commanded their attention, her eyes locked squarely in Magnolia¡¯s direction, ¡°Potential exists with you and its light has not been sullied by these circumstances. Be proud. Tomorrow will be the start of a new and better life, with us.¡±