"Crawling out of the woods, huh Crenshaw?" The tall dark-haired lycan asked with a grimace.
"What are you talking about?" I was so tired of this.
"We see you stalking around in the woods at night," The other guy said.
"I'm just trying to do my lessons the same as everyone else." I sighed.
The first guy slammed his fist down hard on the desk. I felt myself wince, but the lighter-haired one calmed him down. They started to walk away from me, but before I could feel relief, the first lycan hissed.
"Just remember, the forest is ours." He gritted his sharp, white teeth.
My body was tensed and I could feel myself shaking as I flipped through the card catalog. The only thing that could steady me was focusing on the task at hand. I sifted through the letters. First I looked under P for protections. I went past protection charms, protection against dark magic, protection offered by familiars. None of it was right. Then I moved to M for Mage's Academy. I must have looked at every card in the catalog. A line was forming behind me so I excused myself and went back to my desk. Professors had referenced the magical protections of the school so many times, that there had to be something in the library about it. Perhaps, if I wandered the stacks, something would stand out to me?
There was something magical about walking between the narrow shelves of books. I couldn't help but reach out and brush my finger across the leather-bound volumes, filled with magic of all kinds. At one point in my life, I wouldn't have believed a place like this existed, filled with all the magical knowledge that a person could ever want. How had things changed so much? In other ways, things hadn't changed at all. I thought of the lycans from before. No, some things never change.
Glancing at the titles of the various books, nothing stood out to me. I had wandered nearly the whole library when I bumped in Professor Malus.
"My apologies, Professor," I smiled, hoping that I could continue on without getting myself into any trouble.
She put her hand on my shoulder. "Esther, it's good to see you. I've been meaning to check up on you. How are things going?"
"Ah, pretty good," I said, keeping it brief. "I was just... doing some research."
"Any luck?" She smiled. I clearly wasn't in trouble, which was a relief.
I sighed. "Honestly, not really."
She laughed. "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help?"
"Okay, I'm looking for information about the Magical Protections around the school," I explained.
"Well, you're in the wrong place for that," She said.
"I am?" I asked.
"Yes, you're in the place of history, but what you are asking is in the place of myth." She raised an eyebrow.
"Where would that be?" I laughed.
"In the Hall of Magic," She said. She must have seen the question in my eyes, because she said, "It's in the auditorium."
I thanked her and we parted ways. The Hall of Magic as she had called it was just across the quad. After gathering my things, I walked across the grassy center of campus. I stayed careful not to make eye contact with anyone. I seemed to be causing a lot of contention right now. The Hall of Magic was dark, but the heavy cathedral doors were unlocked. The wrought iron latch pulled easily and I walked in. It smelled like incense and dust, and the smoke after blowing out a candle. The scent was heavy with magic. It was a dense vibration underlying everything else, despite the stillness of the chamber. I walked around the edges of the room. The vaulted ceilings loomed high, and the strange statues around the room cast long shadows. There were magical figures from all points in history represented. Men and women wearing robes of all kinds filled the room. Every alcove held a mage of some type. Small bronze plaques dotted the walls explaining the various contributions to magic made by the respective mages. There was something very impressive about being alone with the figures of all these ancient mages.
I scanned the chiseled words, for anything that might give me a hint. I checked every alcove, and read every plaque until it was almost dark outside. There was nothing that seemed helpful. I walked onto the raised platform that held the lectern where Professor Malus had stood last year at the assembly. There was a small door, flush with the wood on the left side that looked just like a closet, but it wouldn't hurt anything to check. Opening the handle, I was greeted with a plume of dust from the top of the door like it hadn't been opened in ages.
Inside were all kinds of strange shapes robed in white covers. I pulled off several of the white sheets to find old framed paintings, a rather large organ, and many extraneous vases and sconces. Buried deep in the back corner there was a statue of a woman. It was missing several features. Perhaps it was back here waiting to get repairs. Several of the fingers were missing, and the mysterious smile was chipped. However, I recognized the figure of the woman.
It had to be the Queen of Witches. Her crown was undeniably the
