Lock and Key (Nocturne Academy 1)

“Your…magic needle?” I asked.

“Show her, Avery—she needs proof about the whole Other business anyway,” Emma advised.

“Well, if you insist on seeing my rather prodigious talent…” Avery began.

“He’s humble too,” Kaitlyn said, snickering. “As well as talented.”

“Why should I be humble?” Avery demanded.

From the pocket of his uniform trousers, he produced a clean white linen handkerchief like the kind men had carried in their pockets fifty years ago. He shook it out like a stage magician, showing me that both sides were completely unmarked.

“Now tell me,” he said, turning to me and taking another sip of his coffee. “What are your initials and what is your favorite color?”

“Um…My initials are MEL—Megan Elizabeth Latimer,” I said, having already gotten used to dropping my old last name in favor of my mother’s maiden name. “And my favorite color is turquoise blue.”

“A lovely shade—excellent choice. Very well.”

Avery spread out the handkerchief on the table in front of him. Then he stared at it fixedly, as though he expected it to do a trick. As he stared, he started humming under his breath—a tuneless little ditty but somehow catchy anyway.

And then, to my surprise, my initials began to appear in turquoise thread on the white linen surface in flowing calligraphy. It looked like an invisible needle was stitching away at the cloth, embroidering and embellishing until not only my initials appeared but also a number of flowers and leaves and climbing vines—all in jewel tones that complimented the original color.

“And there you are,” Avery said at last, as the final stitch manifested on the now gorgeously embroidered handkerchief. The whole thing had taken less than a minute. “Here you go. A gift from me to you, Princess Latimer.” He handed it to me and I took it and stared at it, disbelieving.

“That was…amazing,” I breathed at last. “And this is beautiful. You really did it all with your mind?”

“I did it with my magic,” he corrected me. “Just the same way I embroidered my mother’s little black dress when I was six. It came out just gorgeous—my mother still has it hanging in her closet. My father was devastated of course.”

“What? Why?” I exclaimed. “You’re so talented!”

“Why thank you.” He stared at Emma and Kaitlyn in triumph. “Finally, someone who appreciates me—unlike you two cretins.”

“Oh, Avery…” Emma laughed and Kaitlyn giggled behind her curtain of hair.

“Well, to answer your question, newbie—my father was devastated because as impressive as it might be, one can hardly argue that a talent for elaborate embroidery is manly magic,” Avery went on, taking another sip of coffee. “Nor are the other decorative magical traits I excel at. So you see, I’m just not warlock material. My parents despaired of what to do with me before Headmistress Nightworthy came to our humble abode to ask that I be enrolled here, as one of the Sisters.”

“Is that a regular arrangement for a male witch?” I asked. “Being enrolled in an all-female class?”

“Absolutely not,” Avery declared emphatically. “But our dear Headmistress is known for thinking outside the box—which is, I suspect, one reason you yourself are here in the hallowed halls of Nocturne Academy. Being that you are a Latimer but also a Null.”

“I don’t know what that means,” I protested. “I mean, I get that a Null is a person who can’t do magic but I really don’t understand what me being a Latimer has to do with anything.”

“Well—” Emma began.

But just then a bell chimed politely. It was very different from the blaring bells of my old school, which had sounded more like alarm claxons going off in the crowded halls to chivy the reluctant students to class. But it still meant the same thing—lunch period was over and it was time to move on to the next period.

“We’ll talk about it more tonight,” Avery promised as we gathered our trays. He raised an eyebrow at me. “Unless you’re in the South Tower in the Sisters’ dormitory?”

“No,” I said, feeling extremely glad I wasn’t. “I believe the scary receptionist told me she was sending all my things to the dungeon.”

“Oh goody—that’s where Emma and I are too,” Kaitlyn said.

“And me,” Avery remarked. “Although I’m in a separate room of course, for propriety’s sake.” He made a face, to show what he thought of propriety.

“We can meet in the Norm Dorm after dinner and discuss it then. Supper is too crowded and noisy because everyone is there—not just the third of the school you get during lunch period,” Emma said. “What’s your next class, Megan?”

“Um…Elementary Casting,” I said, looking at my schedule. “Is that a witch thing?” I asked, looking up.

“A very basic witch thing,” Avery said loftily as we all dumped our trays in a chute in the wall and left the Dining Hall. “And it’s in the South Tower, of course.”