Page 7 of Monster's Delight

We spent the rest of the ferry ride sharing stories from our summer jobs. She’d been working with an environmental team, and I had worked at a golf course near my hometown.

Once we crossed the magical barrier surrounding Northumberland Island, it was harder to keep my mind on the conversation. The air itself practically tingled with magic, both from the barrier and the ley lines under the island making our magic easier to access here than on the mainland.

From the ferry’s angle at this point, I couldn’t see more than the rooftops of the academy in the distance over the rolling green hills on the western portion of the island. To the north was the dangerous enchanted forest, a place I’d only seen from the safety of the castle grounds. It was unnaturally dark under the canopy of close-grown trees.

We got better views of the academy after a quarter hour of the ferry puttering along, circling the island to the south in order to reach the town, Wellspring. I was admiring the towers of the academy when it occurred to me suddenly that the mist had cleared. It must have been when we crossed the barrier.

The ferry bumped into the edge of the dock not more than ten minutes later, and people shouted orders as they tied it down.

Hazel, my plant pot still clutched in her hands, was the first to disembark.

I found her, once I’d managed to get through the rush of people, at the far end of the dock.

“Just because I wasn’t sick the whole time doesn’t mean I enjoyed it,” she told me emphatically.

I nodded sympathetically and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Do you want to hang onto the plant for a little while longer?”

“Just while we’re on the coach?” She blinked her big brown eyes up at me.

“Not a problem. Although you know we could mirror travel, right?” I reminded her.

“Not if you don’t want me vomiting. You know that mirror travel wreaks havoc on my stomach.”

I had forgotten. We couldn’t use the convenient form of travel off the island. “Not just yours. I certainly wouldn’t want to travel that way if I was already feeling queasy.”

“Coaches?”

“Great plan.”

We made our way to the end of the line of students. It was moving quickly, the coaches pulled by large oxen-like creatures following the trail through the friendly-looking forest on the eastern side of the island. Just before I climbed into our coach, I caught a glimpse of the ferry from the British side of the sea nearing the dock.

“Phew, glad we’re heading out so quickly. It would’ve taken forever withtwoboatloads of us,” I said quietly to Hazel, sitting at the end of the coach.

I averted my gaze quickly from the boy sitting across from me. I wasn’t interested in a relationship. I had my friends, and that was enough of a complication. My entire focus was on finishing my schooling and then traveling the world, perhaps doing some sort of research for the school on the way. Boys just got in the way.

“I can’t believe we’re starting our second year already!” Hazel said. “It feels like yesterday we didn’t know each other and were worried about who our roommates might be.”

“It does,” I said with a chuckle.

The light filtered through the open canopy of green-golden leaves above us, illuminating wild flowers scattered across the forest floor and woodland animals scurrying about on their business, probably collecting food for winter’s hibernation.

Do the animals gather food by instinct, or are they aware that winter was coming?

Are they scared by their actions because they don’t understand the motivation behind it?

I shook my head, dismissing the philosophical thoughts.

The forest brightened and I leaned forward, eagerly anticipating the first glimpse of the academy.

“There it is,” I whispered under my breath. A thrill, like butterflies in my stomach, the anticipation of the year ahead sent a shiver through me.

Blackthorn Academy was a castle that had originally belonged to the Blackthorn family, and had been built in 1307. In 1666, the family had converted it into a school. It had undergone many renovations in the years since then, most notably, the indoor plumbing. But the outside was still the original gothic architecture, with the thin columns and large windows, lofty ceilings, and spires that reached well beyond the sixth, and highest, floor. As we drew closer, the pointed arches of the doorways and window casings became more evident, as did the extra decor on the outside of the building.

It was one of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen. I was so excited to be back.

The coach pulled up in front of the large main double doors and we all got out, following the stream of students into the academy.

The awe and majesty of the entry hall never failed to take my breath away. On the far side of the castle were ginormous stained glass windows that reached from the main floor all the way to the sixth on either side of the north wing. One depicted the history of witches through the ages, and the other showed that of the monsters.

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