“Whoa. That’s—I didn’t realize how big of a thing that was. Creatures, I mean,” I say, my words stumbling out.
Cat smirks. “You’re in a school for magical abilities and you’re surprised there are creatures out in the world? Where have you been living, Autumn?”
“Under a rock, I suppose. Until recently, I was pretty sure I was just a human of the non-magical variety,” I laugh. “Don’t get me wrong, I knew there were creatures but I guess I’d just never come in contact with any of them.”
“Ah, well, that explains a little bit. Just be careful if you’re near any of the waterways—things like rivers, streams, lakes…ponds,” she says, stopping in front of a classroom door.
“Okay, good to know.”
Ponds? My hypothesis from before suddenly doesn’t sound so out there.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure everything will be resolved soon,” Cat offers with a sincere grin. Without another word about it, she heads inside the classroom.
The rest of the day flies by in record time. Between getting a bearing for my new lessons and trying to figure out the layout of the school, there isn’t much time for anything else. Luckily, Cat’s in four of my six classes, and the two she’s not in, her brother Colton is, so she still knew the way. My mind continues to circle around the news of a water creature snatching kids and for some reason, I just can’t seem to shake an eerie familiarity of it. I hope they find the two kids soon, and in one piece.
As the last class of the day ends, I make my way to the commons so I can try to gather up my thoughts before heading home. I sit down in one of the big, cushy red chairs, trying to discern whether or not a pattern emerged from today’s schedule that might clue me in on what kind of powers I could have. Unfortunately, everything is pretty generic. Intro to Essential Life Energies, Power & Technology, History of Supernaturals, Spellcasting Basics, Intro to Conjuring, and Grimoire Crafting.
I wonder if I should just go back to Ms. Cain in the front office and ask her. She seems like the kind of lady who knows a lot more than she lets on.
“Hey, do you need a lift home?” Cat asks, flopping into the seat beside me.
I look up, blinking at her. “Nah, I drove myself. Thanks, though.”
“You’re not gonna get lost trying to find your way home, are you?” she says, grinning at me.
“No, I think I can handle it. Besides, I can ask Siri.” I hold up my phone and wave it.
Cat nods in approval. “Nice. What kinda car do you drive?”
“Ford Escape.”
“Wicked. I wanna get a Honda Civic, but my dad made me get a four-wheel drive SUV, too. Because, winters. Ugh, anyway. Can I come see?” she asks. “I have some time to kill before Colt gets done chitchatting with Mr. Reed. He’s a tech geek. Probably because he knows it’s the one thing I suck at.” She rolls her eyes.
“Be my guest.” I shrug.
Standing up, I throw my backpack over my right shoulder and lead the way. It takes a while to get to Big Blue. Since I was late, I had to park at the outskirts again.
“Jeez, where did you park? Siberia?” Cat huffs. “Dang good thing we’re nowhere near water anymore. I’d be worried we’d be snatched next, for sure.”
I shudder away the thought. “Well, I was running late, remember. So I had to park a ways out,” I say, trying to stay lighthearted. “Come on. We’re not far now.”
“Had I known I had miles to go, I would have changed into my running shoes,” she chuckles.
“Behave,” I say, shaking my head. Her flippant attitude does wonders for setting me at ease about running into anything nefarious out here—creatures or otherwise. Plus, it makes me feel a little less self-conscious about being here at all.
“So how far is your house from the school?” she asks, hiking her backpack up on her right shoulder.
“Mmm, not super far. Twenty minutes if I drove the speed limit, I suppose.”
“Me, too. Where are you at?” Cat asks, quirking an eyebrow.
“I’m out on Lone Oak Boulevard.”
“Hey, me too,” Cat says, grabbing my arm. “Which house are you?”
“Erm, 17535. I think?”
Cat stops dead, butting her head with the palm of her hand. “Oh my god. I don’t know why it didn’t click sooner. Blackwood.”
I nod, “Yeah, that’s my last name.”
She stares at me with her mouth agape.
My eyebrows tug in. “What?”
She shivers, “N-nothing. It’s just—I didn’t think anyone lived at the old Blackwood estate anymore.”
I snort. “Really? Why?”
She blinks rapidly and licks her lower lip, “I, uh, live across the pond. Honestly, I haven’t seen anyone come and go from that place in ages.”
“Ah. Yeah, my dad kinda likes his privacy. He’s more of a homebody,” I nod.
Cat’s eyebrows tug in and she takes a moment to think. “Yeah, he was always kinda like that. I guess I haven’t seen him for a while. Weird.”
I narrow my eyes, trying to make sense of her reaction. When she doesn’t say anything else, I turn and point to the bright blue hood beside me. “Okay, anyway, here’s Big Blue.”
“Not too shabby. This blue is electric. I love it, ” she says, circling the vehicle. “Did you have it custom painted?”
“Nope, I got it this way. It’s actually why I bought it.”
As she reaches the back of the car, she stops dead in her tracks. Her fingertips reach out and she touches the etchings left from the other day.
“Autumn—”
I race over to her side, my hands flying up and shaking in front of me. “Yeah, I know. Some jerk did that when I came in for the Witching Stick. It’s going in next week to get fixed.”
Clearing her throat, Cat backs away.
“Do you know who did it?” Her voice is barely a whisper.
“I wish I did. I saw a guy with white-blond hair
