The Headmaster opens up the book, and turns it to a page that says ‘Tempus Revelat Veritatem’.Time reveals truth.“Hand please? It’ll be just a little prick, as we only need one drop of blood on the paper for the house and dorm room assignments to show up.” Marsh places his hand palm up on the headmaster’s and the older man makes a small pinprick on Marsh’s pointer finger. He lets some blood well up then turns his hand over and lets the blood drop onto the page. It makes a hissing sound, and a puff of smoke rises from the paper as the blood soaks in and vanishes. Words start showing up as soon as the smoke clears.
Marshall Brooks Sutherland
Age Eighteen
Species Witch
House Raven
Dorm Fifteen Room Two
“Okay Magnolia, it's your turn.” As Headmaster Campbell turns to a blank page, I place my hand in his, and he pricks my finger. However, unlike my brother, I have layers of scar tissue from years of finger pricks from having to check my blood sugar. He presses a little harder making me let out a hiss. A drop of blood finally wells up and he turns my hand so it drops to the paper.
Magnolia Elizabeth Sutherland
Age Eighteen
Species Witch
House Raven
Dorm Fifteen Room Three
Marsh and I both let out a huge sigh, and he pulls me into a hug “See Mags, I told you it would all work out.”
“Great, well since that is taken care of I will leave you with Dean Foster and Mr. Bloodgood as I have business to attend to. It was great to meet you both and I’ll see you around campus.” With those parting words, the Headmaster turns on his heel and walks out of the office. Well, he’s a real peach.
Dean Foster clears his throat awkwardly. “Right, so… since the book has your magical signature you don’t need room keys. Only those assigned to that room can open the door. Here is your map of campus, the student code of conduct, as well as all the information about the dining hall and other accommodations around the grounds. As for your magic assessment and placement test, it will be on the eleventh with Professor Barlow. Rune here will show you to your dorm. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.”
“Thank you, sir.” Marsh shakes his hand again as Rune and his raccoon make their way to the door. He places his hand on my back and nudges me to follow behind the hottie and his trash panda. I still feel that weird fluttering, but honestly it feels like my heart is just fluttering being close to someone so damn attractive.
“Hey man, thanks for showing us the way.” Marsh, always the social one, steps up next to Rune, making the raccoon at his feet hiss.
“Mikko, hush.” The deep timbre of his voice sends shivers down my spine. I can’t remember the last time I had any real reaction to someone. “It’s no trouble, but may I ask why you two are here so early? Most kids wait ‘til the last minute to show up.”
Marsh lets out a chuckle. “Baby sister back there doesn’t do anything last minute. Plus we weren’t able to make it for the spring tour dates so we wanted to be here with enough time to get settled and have everything set up before everyone else got here.”
I send a zap of electricity to his ass. “For the thousandth time, one minute doesn’t make you my big brother.” He yelps in surprise then cackles good-naturedly. I pause mid-step, looking down at my watch to check my sugar. My dexcom didn’t beep again, so hopefully that's a good thing. Eighty-three. Good.
“Hey, uh Rune. Will the wards around the island affect our devices?” I ask, speeding up so I’m next to them again.
He looks down at me, clearly confused. “Like your phone? The barrier shouldn’t do anything to interfere with the reception.”
“No, my dexcom. It didn’t alert like it normally does.”
“Dexcom?” Rune asks quizzically.
“Yeah. It’s a device that monitors my blood sugar since I’m a type one diabetic. I wear two devices-” I stop and raise my shirt, pointing to the bigger one on the right side of my stomach. “This is my omnipod; it’s what delivers insulin into my body when needed.” I point to my left arm, shifting my sleeve out of the way. “This little one is a dexcom. It continuously monitors my blood sugar and sends an alert to my phone and watch, and of course to Marsh’s as well, so I really need these to work properly or you know… I’ll die.”
“I understand why you’d be worried, but the wards shouldn’t affect anything. All other devices work here, however, if you’re still worried about it, I’ll speak to the Dean and Headmaster tomake sure. Now then, do you want to see your home for the next six years?” he asks, pushing open a different door than where we came in.
August 1st - Lunch Time
“After you,” Marsh bows, and moves out of the doorway for our quiet tour guide to take the lead.
Blinking at the sudden change in light, we step out to a stunning courtyard. “Wow, this place is beautiful.” I turn in a circle taking it all in. Hedges starting from both sides of the building line a path spanning the length of about half a football field. There is a huge beautiful fountain in the middle, periodic benches throughout, and flower beds with different types of flowers sprinkled about. The air here is so light and fresh that it’s so different from being in Louisiana; even living outside the city on the banks of Lake Salvador you could tell the city was close.
“If you follow this walkway, it basically makes a circle around the entire island. It will take you to all four of the dorm halls, Valor Tower, and the edge of the forest where there is a running path that breaks off, as well as to the combat training field and Willow lighthouse. There will be power-specific classes in both the lighthouse and tower, but those rotate by semester. Raven House is the first hall; the bottom floor has the common room, a study room, and a small kitchen with a small stove and ovenand a communal fridge. They don’t get used much since the food in the dining hall is surprisingly good.” He’s rattling off details rapidly, it's hard to concentrate on what he’s pointing out, as though he wants to hurry and get this over with or would rather be anywhere else.
