“For the rest of the academic year, Foundations of Essential Magic. I’ll teach Defensive Magic next year. We’ve, uh, really needed it lately,” she adds under her breath. “Your aunt taught a range of classes on divination. Remote viewing was her specialty. She was quite good at it.”
“I heard, and I, uh, I think that’s why she did what she did.” With trembling hands, I fill both glasses with iced tea and impress myself by not spilling a drop. I’m not nervous, yet I’m all jittery inside.
Because this is it: the moment I’ve been waiting for.
Someone with actual ties to the coven who can give me real answers.
“How do you know she took your memories?” Ruby asks, sliding her glass in front of her.
“I found the spell she used in her Book of Shadows. And I’m starting to remember things, little by little. Just being here in this house again is bringing things back. I’m assuming once she died, the spell she cast started to weaken.”
“That can happen when you’re using yourself as the source of the magic, which is how most spells are cast. If anything was meant to be permanent, like some of those ancient curses nons keep on messing with—” She rolls her eyes. “—then the spell would be anchored with something else. It’s a rather complicated subject, one we don’t even get into until the sixth year at the Academy, so I’m guessing it’s a little over your head.”
She’s direct but doesn't mean to be insulting. Sitting in on Foundations of Essential Magic wouldn’t be a bad idea really. “Right. Is there a way to undo the memory spell? I know she taught me magic, and I remember going into the Academy.”
“How much do you remember?”
“Not much.” I let my eyes fall shut for a few seconds, trying to think back and jog another memory. “I get random flashes. I remember my aunt taking me there. We went through the woods and a door appeared between two trees.”
“That’s the door to our Covenstead, which is the place where the Academy is, as well as our Gathering Hall. It’s a hidden dimension,” she quickly explains.
“I have a really vivid memory of my aunt talking to a pretty woman with brown hair. She’s another professor or the Headmistress, and there’s a white fox in her office.”
Ruby leans back, lips curving into a smile. “Tabatha Greystone,” she tells me. “She was the Headmistress at the time. Now she’s our coven’s High Priestess, and the fox is her familiar.”
“Artemis,” we say at the same time. My heart speeds up. I’m really going to find out the truth.
“Why is that memory so vivid?”
“My aunt was arguing with the Headmistress, saying something about not wanting me to have her fate because of something she saw in a vision. But I don’t know what the vision was.”
“The High Priestess may know. I can bring you to the Covenstead, introduce you to people you’ve probably met before but don’t remember.”
I chuckle. “It’s so weird. Is there a way to undo the memory spell?”
“Yes,” she answers with no hesitation. “But undoing it all at once wouldn’t be advisable. Everything you know is going to change, and there’s no telling how deep Estelle’s spell went. Removing it all at once would challenge your sense of self as well as reality.”
I’ve had enough of that lately. “Yeah, don’t want that to happen.”
“What else do you remember?”
“Not much about the Academy, um, there was a girl with dark hair and a black cat. I think she was getting in trouble or something, and that’s why my aunt and I left the Headmistress’s office.”
“Callie.” Ruby rolls her eyes. “Of course, you’d remember her.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No. She’s actually a friend. And she most likely was getting in trouble.” She smiles again and I’m hit with such relief it makes me emotional. “The best thing is to talk to the High Priestess. I can show you through the door.”
“Now?” My eyes light up and when I blink, I see the blue door glowing before me in the forest.
“I have to go back tonight anyway. Are you free to come with me?”
I’m already on my feet, having forgotten that I’m not dressed for the weather and my hair is still wet and hanging unbrushed around my face. The kitchen door opens as soon as I open my mouth to say yes, and Hunter shadows in the house, circling around me before shifting into dog form.
“Hello,” Ruby says to Hunter, automatically recognizing him as a familiar. He stops in front of her, sniffing, and then wags his tail.
“Hey, babe.” Ethan, my boyfriend, steps inside, closing the door behind him. His dark t-shirt is wet with sweat from his run. He’s in incredibly good shape, and his tattooed biceps fill out the sleeves of his shirt perfectly. “Did Rene get a new—” He stops short when he sees Ruby.