Page 147 of The Holy Academy of Witches

“Pivot?”

“Yep.” I said, greedily grinding against him.

“Alright. We’ll pivot,” he said twisting us so I was on my stomach, his body pressing me into the mattress, “but then we need to get back, you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, lover boy.”

Seventy-Six

Adeline

It always confounded me that the majority of Witches and Warlocks travelled exclusively by apparition. Did they not appreciate mundane transportation? The solace that could be found driving on a quiet road at night, no other cars around. The all-consuming peace that can be felt in the monotony of passing street lamps and that ever rolling white line in the centre of the road. It felt like another world.

The classical music currently filling every corner of my car suddenly stopped as a shrill ringing cut through the speakers. I pressed a button on my steering wheel and Cillian’s velvety voice floated through the car.

“Hey, are you up?”

“Umm, in a way.” I replied cagily, I shifted up a gear as I pressed my foot down harder on the accelerator.

“What? Where are you?”

“Around…”

“Adeline, we have a curfew!”

“I know, dad. I’m just having a little drive. I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”

He sighed, “Just come back. There’s been another attack.”

I eased my foot off the pedal, “What?! Is anyone hurt? Sage….”

“No, no.” He interrupted my erratic thoughts, “not here. It’s just… Just come back Adeline.”

“Cillian… You’re scaring me. What happened? It wasn’t… It wasn’t your parents?” I spun the car around in the middle of the road, in a perfect handbrake turn.

“Gods no. Sorry, I’m just making this worse. It’s no one we know. You’ll just want to see this for yourself.”

I let out a breath as I navigated the quiet country roads with ease, “Okay, I’m on my way.”

“Just call, if you need me.”

“Of course.”

My mind raced with possibilities as I walked back onto campus under the cover of darkness. The sight of male students milling about outside the various dorm buildings was still an unsettling view as they tried to catch my eye. I ignored them as I let myself into my building, the ancient doors creaking with the remnants of their last breath as I allowed them to swing shut behind me. It occurred to me how unusually quiet the tower seemed as I ascended the spiral staircase. There were no giggling girls occupying the stairwell or lazing about on the various sofas and armchairs which were dotted about on each landing. Something felt off, like the calm serenity before a town-destroying storm. I let my magic grant me entry into our dormitory as I grasped the door handle.‘Good Evening, Miss Alva’appeared across the gold plaque as I entered the dorm.

Lillian and Sage looked up at me from the leather sofa, both with tears in their eyes. Gemma stood in the kitchen making what looked like cups of tea as Dorcas stood behind the sofa, leaning against the wall. A solemn expression on her face. Sage opened her mouth to say something but Lillian burst into noisy sobs as she returned her gaze to the television. Sage’s hand absently patted her on the back as she too focused her gaze back on the screen in front of her.

My legs carried me further into the room slowly, almost afraid of what I would see. I felt like I was standing on the precipice and any moment now I was going to fall. Lillian looked up at me and placed her hand on my arm, her fuzzy peach cardigan brushing against my hand as she trembled, “Oh Adeline it’s awful….”

I turned to face the television and didn’t move a muscle as my brain struggled to comprehend the images I was seeing, the words that continued to scroll across the bottom of the screen on a loop. A high pitched ringing met my ears as hundreds of children were being led out of a hospital. Paramedics and Police were everywhere. Smoke filled the screen as flames billowed from the side of the hospital.

The camera panned out capturing small bodies on stretchers, dozens of tiny body bags lining the wet ground.

“Explosion devastates city children’s hospital, 34 confirmed dead with hundreds in serious condition.” The words continued to flash along the screen against a red background. “‘Oncology ward worst hit’ states sources.”

The ringing grew more intense as I realised it wasn’t coming from the television, it was in my head.

“Excuse me,” I said, or I thought I said it. I wasn’t sure anything came out of my mouth. Sage looked at me with worry. I walked out of the dorm without looking back. My heart was beating hard against my ribs, rage consuming me with every passing second. Those small children. The rubble. The body bags… My magic burned intensely in my bloodstream, every minute I didn’t explode felt like acid in my veins.

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