Page 22 of Overwhelmed By Magic

But they need the truth.

All of it.

Harlow squeezes my shoulder, silently telling me that I don’t have to change the narrative but I do. I also see why Dr. Bennington wanted this appointment for me, terrified as I am. “Mom, Harlow might have invited me to a party but it wasn’t his fault I nearly died. It’s my fault he’s dead and living as a Magila.” She gasps at my admission but I’m not done. “That day when I was kneeling at the pool, staring at the essence, I wanted to know more. Something inside of me needed to know what it was.”

“You were under a fucking spell!” She screams.

I was but that doesn’t take away the fact that in that moment, I wanted to be there. The spell kept me there but a small part of me wanted to grab those hands and see what they were offering. I didn’t want to die. I just wanted to understand. Books can only do so much and Dr. Bennington said time and time again that my curiosity would get me in trouble. It already had. “Mom, Dad, I won’t explain this again. I also don’t have the time. His death is my fault. I should have never gotten that fucking close to the essence in the first place. We all know how dangerous lingering essence can be because it shouldn’t be possible.” Yet another thing that many people didn’t believe me about.

Lingering essence should have been reabsorbed by Mother Nature or returned to the mage. The fact that it was still hovering over the pool doesn’t fit any of the Magila rules that I’ve studied. I was intrigued. It didn’t make sense and the longer I think about it, that was why I was so pulled to that spot. No one was directing or controlling that essence. It just was.

And it goes against everything the Magila preach.

Not that my mother would know. She wants nothing to do with that world and my father just follows behind her.

She opens her mouth to berate me or Harlow again, I’m not sure, wildly waving the sage before Harlow solidifies and snatches it from her hand. She gasps, her hand over her heart as he sneers in her face, breaking the sage in half and discarding it on the floor. Doing that does absolutely nothing other than prove a point—that it has no effect on him.

It also shows that Harlow can touch things.

“Mother,” he snaps, “I would appreciate you not waving that shit in my face. Now, if you’ll excuse me, your son and I have places to be.”

“How the fuck are you here? You were taken by the Magila council. I will let them know-”

Harlow is playing with fire and enjoying every last minute of it as he wraps his arms around my stomach and pulls me back into his chest. He places his chin on my shoulder, drawing both of our parents’ gazes to the intimate touch. “You can say anything you want but I’m just a spirit. Nothing more. They’ll say you’re seeing things. Besides, it won’t put you in any more of a favorable light or release Skye from his appointment. Maybe instead of dismissing me and your son’s interests, you should have paid a little more attention. We’re not all so fucking evil.”

His last sentence makes me realize that maybe my mother has a reason for her hatred. Maybe something happened to her or my grandparents that I’ve never known. Hell, maybe it’s the reason my father isn’t currently here. Her face pales as she fumbles over her words, my father pulling off to the right so we can leave.

I don’t want to leave this conversation like this but the honk of a horn tells me there’s no more time. I have no idea what will happen if I take my time so I manage a small nod and hurry out the door with my bags in tow. Harlow is already in the car when I enter, his form barely visible when we take off.

“Your little spirit friend doesn’t have to hide,” the driver muses. He looks in the rearview mirror, wiggling his brows. “My essence is rooted in the spirit element. I’m a seer of sorts. I can gauge a Magila’s element and there’s definitely a spirit type in here.”

Harlow groans and solidifies beside me. “If I’m a spirit type, how the fuck did I fail out of Astral? Also, why aren’t you surprised I’m here?”

The driver chuckles but I get an eerie feeling from him. His aura is much lighter than Harlow’s, happier even but there’s something else beneath all that that makes me immediately not trust him. “Because Grimrose Academy doesn’t have as many rules as everyone thinks. Magila leave all the time but they quickly return when they see there is no future out here. They would be vilified. You’re not the first spirit type to dip the first day. You’re just the first one I’ve seen that can interact with this plane of existence.”

“You can see all that?” I ask, leaning forward. I need to be reading the packet stuffed in my backpack but I’m more intrigued with this conversation. “Do you know what he is?”

Another laugh. I hate it. “If I knew all that, Mr. Bardot, Grimrose Academy wouldn’t exist. That’s your job to figure out.” I frown and his smile grows. “Oh, you haven’t read the packet. Excuse me, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me formally introduce myself. I am Orion, a seer, and staff at Grimrose Academy. Granted, I’ve never been inside but I transport Magila to and from the place as well as ensure that goods are received on the grounds to keep it running. I used to work at Astral Academy as part of the graduation committee to ensure that people were labeled with the right element but now I’m here and I enjoy the peace.”

It sounds like he was stuffed out here. “So you don’t mind just being discarded?”

Harlow backhands me across the chest but I’m not rephrasing my question. Orion chuckles, shaking his head. “Mr. Bardot, that is unfortunately a very accurate way of putting it but no, I don’t mind. You will quickly see that what you’ve learned about Magila, the elements, designations, and the council aren’t all true.”

“Won’t you get in trouble for saying that?” Well, I’m just a lovely thing to speak to, aren’t I? I can’t help the questions falling from my lips but I can feel embarrassed about it later.

“No. I work for Grimrose Academy, not anyone else, and you’ll see that there aren’t that many rules. Now, I’ll give you some time to read through the packet. It’s a lot. Don’t expect to get everything right on the first runthrough but there’s a few good eggs I hear in the academy.”

I nod, slipping the packet from my bag and then looking up into the mirror to ask one last question. “Are you one of the failed Magila, Orion?”

“No, I’m not but that’s not the only reason Magila are sent to Grimrose Academy anymore. It’s a battle of who holds more power at this point.” He dismisses me when he focuses on the road, our eye contact broken. His aura sharpens and I immediately dive into the packet, Harlow scooting a little closer to read over my shoulder.

The first few pages are general conduct such as curfew and what’s allowed in the hallways. Stuff I’m certain doesn’t truly pertain to me since I’ll be in an entirely different wing with the other counselors. The map, however, tells me that I’m not as far removed as I’d like. The academy has a rather large east wing where all classes take place, the north and west wings set aside for students. I count the number of rooms several times and frown.

There’s just under fifty which would make way for up to 100 Magila. I know for a fact that Grimrose Academy has been operational for over a century, maybe a few. I also know that despite the five years being spread around, not one Magila has ever graduated from there. I look up to ask my question but Harlow wraps around my shoulder, tightening his grip to grab my attention.

“They don’t leave, babe.”

“But there’s only a hundred-” I cut myself off as Harlow fills in the awful truth.

---