Dark Waters (Elemental Book 1)
Read Dark Waters (Elemental Book 1) Online
Authors: Rain Oxford
Tags: #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Fantasy, #Paranormal & Urban
Dark Waters
Elemental Book 1
Rain Oxford
Dark
Waters © 2015 Rain Oxford
All
Rights Reserved
Edited
by Crystal Potts
“Why do you want to be a wizard?”
The question came as no surprise to me. After
extensive research on the prestigious, secretive university, I knew this was
one of the questions they used in considering admittance as well as graduation.
In my own personal opinion, it was ridiculous.
“I want to help people,” I answered, as I had
practiced.
The headmaster and deputy principal glanced at each
other with obvious suspicion. I wasn’t worried even as Headmaster Logan Hunt
folded his hands across the dark blue folder on the table and leaned forward.
Twelve of the teachers along with the headmaster sat
in high-back chairs at the long table. Rumor had it they were all graduates
aside from the headmaster, which I found difficult to believe since one of the
four women looked about sixteen. On the other hand, that was assuming she was
even human. Each of the staff members wore black robes over their dress
clothes, which probably had more to do with the frigid temperature of the room
and less to do with stereotypes.
The council room was lit with five torches positioned
around us, forming the five corners of a pentagram. A massive fireplace
dominated the north wall behind them while the east wall sported a floor to
ceiling bookshelf. Between me and the school board members was a small metal
folding table and an intentionally uncomfortable metal chair. Upon the table
were various objects used to test my mental skills and natural talent in magic.
One object was a candle, which they sat before me and
demanded I light. When I took out my lighter and lit it, they were less than
impressed. The second object was a rock, which they told me to move without
touching. I tipped the table until it rolled off, but that also failed to amaze
them. When they told me to draw water out of the air, I picked up the mirror,
which they hadn’t asked me to utilize yet, and breathed on it until the
reflective surface fogged up.
The young-looking woman smirked while the man on her
left glared. He had shoulder-length dark brown hair with a five o'clock shadow.
There was a glint in his amber-yellow eyes that put me on edge. I was familiar
with the sensation; every shifter made my skin crawl. It wasn’t the fact that
he could shift into a powerful predator, nor the ability to growl like the wolf
inside him that irritated me. Something about an animal and a person combined
into one being seemed unnatural to me. I imagined the person side of the
shifter had to be a little savage, while the animal part had to be especially
intelligent. I knew predator shifters were much more common, which explains why
I never met a bunny shifter.
The final elemental test they gave me was to create a
windstorm. I took a moment to contemplate my task. There were no windows or
fans so, after a few minutes, I sighed. “I have no idea how.”
“Did it occur to you at all to use magic?” one of the
women asked. She was in her mid-twenties with a slim yet shapely, athletic
figure. Her long, chestnut brown hair was pulled back into a no-nonsense
ponytail, but it was her eyes that were most striking. Her irises were the
lightest green in the center, with dark green rings on the outside. She had a
naturally tanned, smooth complexion, which I found unusual because her slight
accent was European. She was by far the most attractive woman I had seen since
I was abruptly and unceremoniously dumped into the paranormal world.
“No. I’m here to learn magic, not because I can
already do it.” My response was perfectly plausible, completely undeniable, and
flawlessly practiced.
It was no doubt my quick wit that Hunt was considering
as he met my eyes. Most people didn’t do that. I knew I had a killer poker face
and a perfectly innocent smile that was more natural talent than rehearsed
effort.
The green-eyed woman was clearly not impressed. Since
she sat immediately to the left of Hunt, I could only assume she was Remington
Hunt, daughter of the headmaster. It may have also been her reputation that led
me to my deduction, for I had been told of the woman’s beauty. I had also been
told she was a spitfire with a hair trigger, both on her gun and temper.
Logan Hunt had to have been at least fifty, but he
looked to be in his early forties. He had dark brown, almost black hair, with
silver eyes. He was no larger than me, but there was a menacing aura around him
as if he had seen a lot and could handle a lot more. I would be careful not to
push this man.
“Class begins at eight in the morning, Mr. Sanders,”
Hunt said, still studying me closely.
Hunt and I both knew he was letting me in no matter
what I said. Remington, obviously not aware of the situation, gaped at her
father. Fortunately, she wasn’t going to question him in front of witnesses.
“I will explain the rules to you this once and you
will receive a handbook in the morning,” Hunt began. “If you have questions,
keep them to yourself. Our policy is not like that of public universities, Mr.
Sanders. We do not hold you back. You need fifteen credits to graduate from
your first circle and eighteen for the remaining four circles. If you fail to
meet your credits to graduate, you will not be returning.”
I hadn’t planned on returning.
“You will have an element and a circle. Every wizard
begins with the element we believe will be easiest for them and go from there.
Your circle is your ranking, or the year you are in. For example, if you are
placed in the fire element, you will be a C-One Fire. If you meet a C-Three
Fire, that means they have already mastered two elements and are working on
fire. We would suggest befriending them.”
Not likely.
“While you advance through your classes this semester,
you will also have a trainer in the element you are assigned. You will meet
your elemental master first thing in the morning. If you have not mastered your
element by the end of sixteen weeks, you will repeat the semester. You have
three chances to master an element, and then you are expelled.”
There was little heart behind his words, for he knew
this was just for show. The others in the room had to believe that I was here
as a regular student. “You just said you don’t hold anyone back.”
“If you lack enough credits, you get no chance to
make it up. However, if you do make enough credits, but you do not pass your
elemental training, you can return. You will take different classes and still
have to pass enough credits, so you are still moving forward with your
education, you just cannot graduate until you have passed all five elements.”
So it could take fifteen semesters to graduate if
someone wasn’t good at the elements.
“Our teachers are highly trained in the art of
education. How they educate is up to them. Each teacher has the right to flunk
you from his or her class for any reason. They also have the right to
discipline you as they see fit. For example, if you are late, they can assign a
punishment. If you refuse, they could decide to flunk you from their class.
Some of the teachers may require you to do questionable exercises. If their
practices offend your moral boundaries, do not complain to us.”
“We strongly suggest you do whatever your professor
asks of you no matter how unreasonable,” the deputy principal said. She was a
smartly dressed, middle aged woman with strawberry-blond hair tied back in a
braid. Out of everyone at the table, she looked like the most approachable.
“Except for Professor Langril,” the youngest woman
said quickly. “He’s utterly insane. We try not to put C-One students in his
class because they keep disappearing.” She had short, orange hair with yellow
streaks and ice-blue eyes. Whatever she actually was, I would have a hard time
taking her seriously because I expected her to start talking about her nails or
something. She honestly didn’t even look seventeen.
Hunt nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you, April. As I’m
sure you are aware, communication to the outside world is restricted for the
safety of our students. Furthermore, magic often interferes with electricity.
Therefore, all use of electronic devices on school property is strictly
prohibited.”
That would make things more difficult.
I
couldn’t resist a check of my watch. It was analogue, and when I held it up to
my ear, I could hear it ticking.
“Watches are allowed, but they do not last long
here,” Hunt said. “Exiting the school grounds without a professor’s supervision
or written permission from myself or Mrs. Ashcraft is calls for immediate
expulsion.”
“If you get caught,” the orange-haired woman added.
“Yes, thank you, April. Fighting other than on the
practice field is discouraged, but unless you anger a professor or damage
school property, how you deal with your classmates is your business. If you do
damage school property, be prepared to fix it.”
“Unless you die,” April said helpfully.
“Yes, thank you, April.”
“How many non-humans are in this school? I thought
wizards were pretty picky about who they kept around.”
Hunt folded his hands back over the folder. It struck
me as a bad sign. “Mr. Sanders, we hold every person accountable for his or her
own actions. We do not hold their race or gender against them. Wizards make up
the majority of our school, but fae and shifters are also welcome here.”
“Not vampires, though.” It was a statement, not a
question.
Hunt narrowed his eyes slightly. “For the safety of
our students, we cannot allow a vampire into our school.”
“Good,” I said. “I have nothing against fae or
shifters, but vampires are a pain in the neck.”
April laughed, but Hunt was not amused. “As one who
tries to encourage equality in the paranormal world, I find that sort of humor
very tasteless,” he said. April laughed harder. “Professor Nightshade will show
you to your dorm room.” April stopped laughing.
The woman stood with a solemn expression and walked
slowly around the table to approach me. “Come with me.”
She seemed to have a sweet demeanor even though she
must have been a powerful witch to be on the school board.
Or a powerful
something…
I followed her out of the boardroom into the dimly lit hallway.
The walls were all stone and the floor was waxed
hardwood that creaked underfoot. “I bet this gets loud during the day,” I said.
“This school was originally designed by a psychopath.
I don’t remember his name, only that he was German. Some say he built this as a
home to drive his family insane, after which he slaughtered them all and then
himself. Others say his wife murdered his children and then he killed his wife.
He was so afraid of her seeking vengeance in death, that he built this place to
confuse her spirit. You will find stairways that lead to walls and doors that
open to nothing. There is a room on the third floor that was built tilted with
a window in the floor that overlooks one of the classrooms.”
“That’s weird.” It wasn’t my first or second thought,
but it was the least rude.
“Fortunately, you will not have to visit this section
of the campus often. There are maps in case you get lost. Of course, the maps
are often wrong.”
“Because of renovations to the school?”
“Because the rooms change,” she corrected.
The dorms were in a smaller, separate building to the
west of the school with short observation towers on each of the four corners.
“Where do the teachers stay?”
“In the dorms. The entire top floor is ours. Also,
I’m going to warn you now to address us exactly as we tell you to. Professor
Rosin Flagstone is the only wolf shifter on staff, so he keeps the wolf
shifters in line. If you have trouble with a wolf you cannot handle, take it to
him. Anyway, he is referred to as ‘Alpha Flagstone’ by everyone.”
“What do you teach?” I asked.
“I teach the history of magic classes. Your schedule
will be provided to you by your elemental master in the morning.”
“We don’t get to pick our classes?”
“Your first semester classes are chosen for you. Each
year after that, you will have increasing influence.”
We had reached the dorms and April clearly had
nothing else to say. She led me through the dark hallways, which had simple
gray carpet and white drywall. The doors were close together, like in a hotel,
which didn’t bode well for the size of the rooms. At least it was clean.
My room was at the end of the hall on the fourth
floor. April didn’t bother to knock and instead turned the knob and opened the
door. Inside, the room was about twelve-by-twelve with three twin-sized beds
suspended like bunk-beds, but under the beds were writing desks, each with a
small bookshelf on the left of the desk and a dresser on the right. Two of the
beds were against the north wall and the last was on the west beside a big
window that overlooked the lake. The only other door, which I assumed opened
into a closet, was on the south wall. The floor was dark blue carpet while the
walls were white drywall. Since there was no electricity, light came from three
gas light sconces, one over each of the desks.
Two of the beds were dressed with blankets and
pillows and had the desks under them set up with books, papers, and personal
affects. My two black travel cases were lying on the desk under the empty bed
on the west wall.
Just another part of the job…
“What?” April asked.
Shit.
This was going to be hard enough without
mind readers. “I didn’t say anything.” Effectively brushing her off, I went to
my bags and started unpacking them. She shut the door, leaving me alone, so I
climbed the steps to the bed and gingerly lay down. I was too old for a
bunk-bed.
As I tried to convince myself the bed was somewhat
comfortable, I considered where I was a week before.
* * *
I was a regular private investigator. I did my job
discreetly and although my number was hard to come by, I had plenty of
business. Most of my work consisted of things like uncovering embezzlement in
large corporations or spying on husbands of wealthy, spoiled wives. It wasn’t a
fun job and I rarely had good news for my clients, but it was a career and I
didn’t go home stressed over it.