Before anyone could say anything more, Professor Umbra called our class to order, and another whirlwind session began.
In our Culling-year, Conjuring had been one of my weaker subjects. Even after a year of study, I still sucked at creating objects out of thin air. And as far as making them move or act alive like Amethyst was capable of doing? Those skills seemed like a distant dream.
But the magical discipline of transfiguration was a whole different story.
Starting with an object made it much easier for me to create another. In fact, I was pretty damn good at it.
I positioned my mug carefully in front of me, and a thrill of possibility that today might be my day to level up ran through me.
“Mutatio.” I whispered the basic transfiguration spell, and fuchsia magic flew from my hands to wrap around the plain white coffee mug. At twelve ounces it was larger than the last mug I’d managed to transfigure into a wine glass. I squinted my eyes, hoping the spell would work. But after a few seconds, it was clear that today wouldn’t be my day. Instead of transforming into a copper Moscow mule mug, it stopped somewhere in between—half ceramic and half metal.
“Dammit,” I swore.
At my side, Alex chuckled. “You’re doing awesome. Most people are still working with matchboxes and spools of thread. A coffee mug is ten times that size.”
I smiled at him. “Thanks, babe. When I finally turn this into copper, I’ll bust out Mom’s recipe and make you the best Moscow Mule you’ve ever had.”
“Is that a Medulla-approved concoction?” Alex teased.
“Probably not,” I laughed. I had a hunch that Mom’s recipe for a Moscow mule, which used starfruit-flavored vodka, would not go over well with the healing professor.
The rest of class flew by, and I was taken by surprise when the owl hooted once more. Our next session was Advanced Faeology, and we were halfway to that classroom when I ran into Professor Tittelbaum.
“Miss Dane!” Tittelbaum clapped his hands together. “Are you prepared for our session tonight?”
I almost groaned but held it inside. I’dcompletelyforgotten that my specialty class with Professor Tittelbaum was that evening.
“Of course, Professor,” I said, trying to push all the homework that was piling up out of my mind.
“Wonderful.” He beamed. “Remember, tonight we will have someone joining us! A Crucible student who recently discovered his warping talent.”
Despite the fact that I would rather be sleeping than go to my lesson, I smiled. Professor Tittelbaum looked like a thin, nerdy academic who never saw sunlight, but once you got to know him, he didn’t give off that vibe at all. He had a zest for both of his subjects, Magical Languages and Warping, and that fervor was infectious.
“And you’re still not going to tell me who this person is?”
I’d been trying to pry the student’s name out of him for the last two weeks, while arrangements were being made for the student to join us. Unlike a lot of private tutoring sessions, warping required lots of bureaucratic hoop-jumping because it was so dangerous.
I hadn’t known ofhalfthe dangers when I’d created my first warphole to banish Ishtar to Hell during the Beltane Trial. But even if I had, I still would have done it. Being pulled into Hell seemed a much worse fate than a couple of missing body parts, or even temporary madness.
Tittelbaum grinned. “If you’re going to be a warper, Miss Dane, you must learn to appreciate some mystery in life.”
“Right,” I said, although I totally disagreed. “Who wouldn’t want some of that?”
Perhaps the girl who’s up to her eyeballs in mystery at the moment?
“See you tonight, then,” the professor said.
“See you tonight,” I echoed.
Chapter Ten
My feet dragged as I trudged to Alice Kyteler Hall. Every cell in my body yearned for a nap, but the lure of learning the identity of the new warping student kept me going. Although I liked Professor Tittelbaum, it was strange havingsomuch attention directed on me. A friend my age in the same tutoring session would be welcome, if only to take the pressure off.
“Andre!” I said as I entered the hall to find the professor and my fellow Spellcasters champion already there and chatting. “This is a great surprise.”
“Now you see why I didn’t tell you!” Professor Tittelbaum clapped his hands. “Imagine the possibilities! If Andre here can get the hang of warping before the first Spy Game . . . Spellcasters will have an almost certain victory!”
Wow. I wished I had half of Professor Tittelbaum’s confidence in our team. The first Spy Games event would take place on Mabon the witching sabbat in mid-September. But with a little less than a month to get through my never-ending mountain of coursework, and my first spy mission, I wasn’t as enthusiastic as the professor. At least not yet.
