“My schedule has an opening on Thursdays at 7 p.m.,” Miss Windborne said, interrupting my thoughts. “Come to my office and we’ll work on your shield.”
I nodded enthusiastically. While being blamed for the mess last night had annoyed me, being here was a bonus. Miss Windborne seemed nice, and if she could teach me to shield my thoughts, great. Goddess knew I needed all the advantages I could get.
“We use basic magic to do a lot of the tedious tasks in the garden, like irrigating the crops and ensuring the plants remain healthy, but someone has to harvest them.” Miss Windborne had given me a set of clean overalls, some hand tools, and a trug basket before leading me into the herb garden.
“How familiar are you with herbs and plants?”
“Very,” I replied honestly while admiring all the many rare species that grew here in this sheltered part of the garden.
“Tell me what that is,” she said, pointing to a spiky plant with bright yellow flowers.
“Troll weed,” I replied. “It’s very poisonous, but when boiled in honey and mare’s milk, it’s useful for treating the bite from a moon spider.”
She nodded in surprise. “Correct. And that one?” she asked, pointing to a small leafy plant tucked away in a corner. Nothing else grew around it, which made sense. “Lucifer’s tongue. It kills other healthy plants by sucking the sap from them.”
“And why would we grow such a toxic plant?”
“Because it’s good for drawing out the venom from abasilisk bite.”
“Excellent!” She beamed at me before her eyes went cloudy again. Did she have some kind of mind link to the admin systems here? Like access to a magical cloud? When her attention returned to me, she hummed thoughtfully. “We encourage all students to take on extracurriculars to broaden their knowledge. I’ll arrange for you to join my botany class. We meet on Monday evenings at 7 p.m. Glynda will tell you more.” The mousy girl who’d been feeding the chickens walked over, her eyes downcast and her shoulders stooped.
I frowned. Had I unknowingly upset her?
“Glynda, please take Raven to harvest some sage and mint. Then show her where the new beds are. I’d like them tidied up and ready for the seedlings to go in this evening.”
“Yes, Miss.” The little mousy witch nodded and trotted off, her ponytail swaying in the early morning breeze.
“Stay until 8 a.m. and then go for breakfast. I’ll see you back here at 6 a.m. tomorrow.” Miss Windborne smiled. “Don’t worry, you haven’t upset Glynda.” Stars, I really needed to fix my shield! “She’s suffered badly from the attentions of some of the more ambitious witches here, which has made her less trusting. I’m sure you two will get along wonderfully once she realizes you mean her no harm.”
With that concerning statement, Miss Windborne vanished, leaving me to stare after Glynda and wonder how on earth I could gain her trust and protect myself from vicious witches on a power trip.
8
Raven
Today was only my second day at Starfall Academy, but to my surprise, I was having fun. Sure, I missed Willow, but being surrounded by magicals and having access to some amazing resources made up for it.
This school was incredible. Why had Adam not sent me here sooner? If only he had, I might not be so far behind in my education.
“There’s a phone app that updates our timetable,” Glynda said in a low voice as she watched me peer at the crumpled piece of paper with my class list. “It also has directions to each class.”
Laughter and chatter washed over us. We sat at the edge of the large room, near the windows. Glynda had chosen a seat against the wall, so she could see if anyone approached us.
It upset me to see how wary Glynda was. School was supposed to be fun. At least that’s how it seemed from the human movies I’d watched.
“I don’t have a phone,” I admitted. Adam had banned modern technology, although he let us watch DVDs on a small screen occasionally. He said relying on technology made witches lazy.
“Oh.” Glynda frowned. “Maybe ask at the admin office? I think they have a few iPads available for students who lose or damage their phones.”
“Um, I wouldn’t know how to use one,” I admitted with a rueful grin. Every other student had grown up with technology. I guess that made me a dinosaur.
Someone laughed nearby. When I turned, Demelza sat sniggering at an adjacent table with a group of her friends. “Oh my stars,” she spluttered. “Are you some inbred from the islands or something?”
“Islands?” I knew little about the islands north of Canada, but I guessed she meant it as an insult.
“She seems dumb enough to be a half-breed,” a girl with blue curls agreed. “Some of the troll half-breeds are super dumb. Like so dumb, they don’t even know how to shield their thoughts.” The witches all laughed while staring at me.
Wow, Demelza is so ugly, and is that a huge zit on her chin?
