The eyes of every witch in the room, juniors and seniors alike follow me all the way to my seat in the cafeteria. Even the cook's one good eye is glued to my every move. A moment of silence as a hush falls over the room.
And then, the whispers erupt. Rippling through the crowd, all of the witch's words fill my ears.
"Jacklyn is alive? How?"
"I was just at her funeral a few days ago."
"Where is her sister Ellie? You think she abandoned her?"
"I heard she came back from the Finger-Less Coven."
Several gasps fly through the crowd, bouncing off the walls.
"How did she not die then? What if she's a spy?"
Most of the whispers come from Jane Whitmore, a girl I used to be friends with, until the incident with Sophie. After that, she chose her side and it wasn't mine.
My fingers slide up to my ears as I cover them and lay my forehead on the long, wood carved table. Trying to block out the gossiping, I move my attention to the duel tomorrow night. How will James survive his brother? Despite my boasting, James is no match for Rider in a spell fight. I've seen them at war with each other before. Wincing, I remember the bruises and cuts on Jay. I have to find a way for him to win.
I jump at the feeling of a warm hand being placed on my shoulder. Looking back, I find James standing over me. Sliding onto the bench I'm on, he sits so that he is facing me.
"What did Bodhi want?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "It wasn't her, Lila was the one who asked for me."
I nod slowly. Lila is another member of the council who runs our coven.
"What did she want then?" I ask.
He sighs. "Just had a few questions about where we were, what we did, how we made it out alive from the Finger-Less Coven."
I scan his features as he avoids my eyes. "What is it?"
His green eyed gaze lifts to meet mine. "What do you mean?"
"You seem unwell," I say cautiously.
A small smile works its way onto his lips. "I'm fine Jackie."
I nod. "We should train together for tomorrow."
His eyes darken. "Yeah, I'll meet you in the training room in ten."
He stands up and leaves, his broad shoulders disappearing into the throng of witches who are somehow still staring at me. I rub my temples to relieve the oncoming headache and lay my head back on the table. There is a storm coming. I can feel it in my bones.
........
"What's wrong?" James asks as I slip my sneakers off and step into the training room. It's after classes, so the other witches aren't here.
I pull out my wand. "There's a storm coming, a bad one. My head is killing me."
He nods his understanding. Ever since I was little, I could sense when a storm would come, I would get sharp pains all throughout my body and a horrible headache. It eased as I got older, but I can still feel it.
I exhale and meet his eyes. "Your brother is fast, he knows his spells very well, if you can't match his speed you will lose to him. I can't let that happen."
He gets up and trudges over to me. "You're right."
I tilt my head upwards to look him in the eyes, forcing myself to focus.
"Based on my observations, Rider will begin with a weakening spell, he will hit you with the Infirmi."
I square my shoulders and take a few steps back, raising my wand. "Now how do you counteract an Infirmi spell?"
He brandishes his wand like a sword.
"As you know, my spells generally don't work as they should, so I apologize in advance should I accidentally and otherwise unintentionally turn you into a frog."
He raises his eyebrows before raising his wand.
Whispering the incantation, I point my wand straight at him. A flash of green essence snakes through my arm, slips it's way out of my fingers and funnels into my wand before pushing itself out at the tip like pistachio frosting from a bag.
He raises his wand and a shot of blue essence rushes out of it, hitting mine mid-air. The spells dissipate in a cloud of mini fireworks.
James's eyes lock with mine.
"You've gotten stronger," I remark.
He flashes me a smile. "So have you."
......
After several more hours of training we go our separate ways. I head up the staircase to my door, passing by a hooded figure on my way up. I stop short in my tracks and turn around. A strange smell stings my nostrils as I look back at the door to the entrance swings shut. My eyebrows crease as I continue on my way to the dorms.
My stomach drops as I reach the landing. There, lying on the floor, is Jane.
The temperature around me drops several degrees.
In a pool of her own blood.