Page 133 of The Holy Academy of Witches

“Good luck girls!” Lillian shouted from somewhere behind me in the tiered seating that had been purposefully erected for viewing, the same situated near the finish line and on the boys side of campus. Sage turned tentatively and gave her a small wave.

My mother cleared her throat, the sound magnified considerably by magic, “Welcome students of both Sancta Acadaemia Magarum and Veneficus to this year’s Run.” She paused as students clapped and cheered in excitement. “As always, each Academy’s twelve competitors will set off on my signal into the forest. The Witches to the North and the Warlocks to the South. Students will then navigate their way through obstacles and traps of a magical and non-magical origin. The goal, to be the first witch or warlock to the finish line, located in the centre of the course on a purpose-built island in the lake. The student will then need to hold their position for five minutes against a bombardment of spells and jinxes as well as other contestants. Whoever is left standing on the island, after the five minutes, will be this year’s winner.” She took a breath and glanced around at the awaiting audience and the competitors all lined up. “Our students are in position, so we will begin.” She paused, no doubt conferring with the Headmaster of the boys academy via her in-ear device.

The morning sun was already blazing in the sky, unseasonably so. I wiped my damp palms down my tight gym leggings and began to bounce on the spot; shaking out my limbs as I warmed my muscles, willing myself to focus. “Three!” My mothers voice rang out across the entire campus. “Two!… One!” A ball of fire shot from my mothers hands into the air and as it burst high above the treeline for all students to see, both Witch and Warlock, it glittered and sparkled like a firework before blinking out of existence. The signal for the start of the race.

I immediately activated a shield and dropped into a prone position as straight out of the gate two witches turned on the group from either end of the line shooting hexes and minor jinxes. One younger student shrieked as a particularly nasty curse hit her in the face. Using the commotion to my advantage, I shot into the forest without a backward glance. I didn’t look for Sage. We had discussed at length the different tactics most likely to be used and this was one she was prepared for. My shield continued to glow around me, working immediately with the plentiful supply of magic I had. I would need to use it sparingly as my reserves gradually depleted but as my power was practically bursting at the seams I could be generous at this early stage. I cast a silencing charm on myself as the trees grew thicker and took cover behind an overgrowth of foliage, taking stock of my surroundings.

“Susan Wentworth has been disqualified.” My mothers voice called out.One down, I thought to myself. My palms were still clammy and my heart rate increased. Higher than usual, even with the exercise. With a glance around and feeling confident no one was in the immediate vicinity, I reached into my bag for a basic healing potion. I drank half of the sour liquid and hesitated before drinking it all. I only had one more and the duration of the Run had been known to last well beyond nightfall. I chased the remedy’s terrible taste with a swig of my water and pocketed it all away.

The crack of a twig snapping underfoot alerted me to someone’s presence. My magic hummed in my veins as I drew a concealment rune on my forearm. I peered through the shrubbery looking for the source of the noise. An older witch with long dark hair and golden skin crept along the path. Runes glowed along both of her arms and her mouth moved in a silent spell. Her eyes snapped to my own. Not wasting a breath, I threw out my magic, manipulating the nearby foliage. Vines twisted along the floor towards her lower body. She leaped over them with ease, dodging them as they pursued her. More joined them, roots of trees ripping up from the ground to trip, leaves falling en-mass to obscure her vision. She threw herself in my direction, a charm leaving her lips as she fell to the ground. I looked up just as a branch whipped towards me, slicing into my cheek and cutting my lip as it bypassed my shield. Clever witch. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I spat it out onto the ground and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Having only seconds to think, I swiped my finger through the blood beading at my cheek. Drawing an inverted pentacle on my forehead, I whispered a spell under my breath, “Ventuselprentusvi.” The blood symbol burned as the magic took hold. As the witch got to her feet, reaching into her pocket for Gods knows what, I cast my hand out towards her. A powerful burst of air magic left my palm and barrelled into her, throwing her at least a hundred feet.

My head spun violently as I ran deeper into the forest, barely hearing my mothers announcement of another witch disqualified. Darkness crept into the edges of my vision. I grabbed another orb casting a shield around myself with shaking hands as my head swam. I turned on the spot… when had I left the path?

The full trees obscured the majority of the overhead sun, leaving the woods in a dusk-like state. Everything was still. No noise, not even the birds sung this far into the woods. No noise, except for my breathing. Was it my breathing? A rattled breath crept along my skin, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. I swallowed and closed my eyes tightly. I’m not dreaming. I’m in The Run. Nausea rolled through me violently and I swallowed the vomit threatening to rise.

A snapping and crashing sound made me jump, my vision momentarily clearing as Sage staggered out of the bushes a few metres ahead. Her hair was already matted from the humidity and she had dirt all down one side of her body. She wore a look of fear which had my eyes scanning the trees through which she came.

“Sage!” I hissed. She ran out onto the path, her mouth gaping open as though silently screaming. She stumbled, losing her footing and falling to her hands and knees. I rushed towards her, my vision blurring once more. Head pounding with the movement. The closer I got I realised that it wasn’t mud all over her. It was blood. Panic surged through me, I whisper-yelled her name in fright and ran to her side - the world tilting on its side as I got to her. Shaking my head to clear the overwhelming vertigo, I reached out to grab her arm and instead felt grass.What?I rubbed at my eyes, squeezing them tightly.

“Sage, where are you hurt?”

Perspiration trickled down my temple, my clammy palms felt only the firm ground of the forest floor. Sage wasn’t here.

But… but… She was right here…

I looked around wildly, my stomach lurching. She wasn’t here. I stood shakily. Something wasn’t right. Colour danced in my vision. This wasn’t a headache, something was very wrong. Everything warped and twisted as I clambered to my feet. Sick rose in my throat once more, this time not staying down as I vomited spectacularly on the ground, or myself.Who knew?

I floated within myself, my body not feeling my own. I shook my head, hard. I needed to get help. It was possible I was far enough from the Academy to apparate but in this condition it was likely I would injure myself in the process. I needed to get back to my dorm, I would have a remedy for whatever was ailing me. But which way had I come? Oh Gods… my stomach clenched as pain gripped me like a vice. Sweat poured down my back. Staggering through the trees, I gripped each trunk to steady myself. A glistening pool of liquid spread out across the dirt before me. I made to step over it for fear it was a trap but as my foot hovered the puddle grew. No longer narrow enough to merely step over. I shrunk back, my hand fumbling for the tree I had been holding which… was no longer there. A cry left my lips as I fell backwards, my foot catching on an exposed root and twisting unnaturally. Pain shot through my ankle, vicious and sharp.

I lay sprawled on the ground, pain gripping my lower leg and darkness rapidly consuming my vision as I looked to my feet to see the sparkling liquid spreading towards me. I tried to control my breathing but only heard the crackling rasp which haunted my sleepless nights before everything went black.

Seventy

Sage

Insects the size of my palm bounced off of my forcefield, buzzing angrily with each flash of blue. I didn’t recognize any of them, or the marshes that occupied what had once been open fields, but it was better to assume they were poisonous than to lose due to an insect bite. Keeping my eye on the murky water, I looked down at the trail of rocks that cut across this hellscape. It was a risk, being exposed out here, but I had already used my prepared speed runes. If I couldn’t go around quickly, and I wasn’t able to see an edge to the landscape with the nearby trees too young to climb, that left cutting through it.

If I hadn’t been pussyfooting around Cillian the last month I would have demanded for him to teach me some of his tree-bending spells… but anytime he messaged me I just went along with it, meaning to end it, and then spending the entire time wondering if he was going to end it first.

My forcefield crackled, warning me it was almost spent. Grabbing another orb I activated it with a whisper and it expanded around me like a blob of molten glass. The spell was still glowing red when a green hex shattered the exterior forcefield. Forgetting I was precariously balanced on a rock I spun around toward the direction of the spell. I fell with a splash into chest deep water, having just enough time to duck behind the rock I’d been standing on to avoid another hex. There on a fallen tree a few hundred yards away was the witch from Adeline’s trial run, her skin freshly painted with runes, some dull from use but most glowed, the spells charged and ready. A web of threats ready to be unleashed.

I looked around, my stomach churning anxiously as I tried to map a new route. I was about 40 feet from the nearest land mass, my forcefield was still glowing red and expanding, probably another couple minutes till it was ready. If I stayed in the water, behind this rock I could dodge her hexes for the time being, but I’d be attracting the attention of whatever lurked under the surface. If I left the water I’d be unshielded against this witch and would undoubtedly draw the attention of the bugs that had scattered at the hexes. So far I’d seen nothing under the water, no movement to signal anything was nearby. I could take the chance and cast a breathing charm… swim until the forcefield was charged, or until I reached the edge, which was still another hundred yards or more away. As another hex chipped the rock, I instinctually ducked further under the water. The forcefield was still red, slower than I had hoped. Perhaps this had been one of the first I’d made while distracted. I distanced myself from the rock just as the infamous buzzer filled the air.

“Adeline Alva has been disqualified.” Headmistress Alva’s smug voice echoed through the marsh as if the surrounding trees were speakers.

“What?!” I hesitated, forgetting my own situation for a moment. Before I could process anything, the rock in front of me burst, my arms rose to shield my face instinctively and I tried not to scream as a chunk of rock embedded into my skin. Drops of blood now dripped down my arm and into the water below. Shit.

Ducking under the water, I removed my feet from the deep silt and began to swim like my life depended on it, because whether by the stars or my own intuition, I had a sinking feeling it might. I made better time than I would have trying to wade, but with each splash I felt my anxiety rise.

“Better hurry Sage, looks like your luck is almost out.” The witch crowed, from behind me.

Large waves spread out from a dark mass under the water’s surface, undoubtedly honed in on the trail of blood leaving my arm. I was still 15 feet from land, and with the speed it was going I wasn’t going to make it. Ghostly spikes rose from the surface and I spun around, kicking with wild abandon now I knew keeping quiet no longer mattered. The distance between me and the land closed slowly, too slowly, and as I felt my legs tangle in the plants below I held in the rising urge to scream.

“I always knew you were just clinging to Adeline’s coattails. Nothing special about the Mortal made Witch except her uncanny friends.” The witch’s voice was much closer now. Her scorn was like a wet blanket, uncomfortable but helpful as it took an edge off of my feverish fear.

I reached down to untangle my legs. Cringing at the slimy rope of algae wrapped around my calf and thigh. The menacing shadow was close now, and I wrestled with the plants that clung to me with an unnatural strength.

Looking back to where the witch stood I saw one of her marks was glowing green, a dark sort of mischief twisting her face. I went through the list of herbs I’d packed, my mind made sharper from the pressure of the moment. Reaching into my spell pouch I grabbed the vial of agrimony (for spell reversal and hex breaking), pulling the cork out with my teeth, I poured the herb into my mouth. Throwing the vial into the water, I reached with my other hand to wrap around the creeping algae. Chomping the herb quickly, I gathered her spells’ palpable energy to me, breaking the connection between the spell and the caster and laying claim to the remaining raw magic.

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