Page 2 of Evergreen

With my pockets full of food, I headed out of the station and turned east. On the horizon, I could just make out the first glimpses of light gray, signaling that the dawn was on its way. Widdershins Academy would be nearly empty when I arrived, but I didn’t care. I was too excited to go back and finish out my senior year. And I had a few rare plants at the school greenhouse that I’d been missing since the winter break started. They were part of my senior project as well, so I wanted to make sure they were doing well.

The teleportation circle was hidden about a quarter mile into the woods off the main road, concealed by layers of magical wards that only Academy students and faculty could pass through. I’d made this walk a hundred times over the past few years, and my feet knew the path even in the pre-dawn darkness.

The trees here were younger than those in my grove, less ancient and powerful, but they still sang to me in their own way. I could feel their roots stretching deep into the frozen earth, their sap drawn down into their cores to survive the winter. As I passed, I hummed a little melody, something my mother had taught me years ago, and I felt them perk up slightly, grateful for the acknowledgment.

The magical signature from the gas station was completely gone now, and I was probably overthinking it anyway. Nerion was always telling me I had a tendency to get hung up on things that didn’t matter, and he was usually right. I was usually right when I called out his silly habits, too. Not that he’d ever admit it, but he probably had me to thank for his boyfriend, Teddy. Nerion nearly let the love of his life pass him by because he was just too damn stubborn. But I loved him anyway. He was my best friend.

I pushed through a thicket of bare branches and stepped into the clearing where the circle waited. The intricate runes carved into the earth glowed faintly in the growing light, pulsing with a soft blue luminescence. I pulled out my student ID from my wallet and held it over the center of the circle to activate it. The runes flared brighter, and the familiar sensation of displacement washed over me as reality folded in on itself.

The world tilted sideways, and then I was stumbling out onto the Academy grounds, the crisp winter air of my grove replaced by the very slightly warmer climate of the campus. The snow wasn’t as deep here, and the sky was filled with clouds. All around me were tall standing stones and the iron gate marking the entrance to the academy. In the distance, the main buildings rose above the trees, their stone facades still cast in shadow.

I checked my phone for the time. It was dead. That always happened the moment I stepped onto campus. Magic and technology did not mix. The only machines that worked on campus were completely mechanical and didn’t rely on electricity. So, everything was enchanted instead, which meant the air on campus was absolutely buzzing with magic.

It was probably too early to go to any of the common area buildings, and the library would still be closed too. Nerion and Teddy wouldn’t rush back to campus either, not when they were staying in a cottage on the edge of the sea in Greece. For now, it seemed my only real choice was to head back to the dorms and make sure my room was still in one piece. Maybe I’d catch a nap or something until the greenhouse opened up. Or the cafeteria. I’d been craving pancakes for nearly a week.

Nap. Pancakes. Plant friends.

With a solid plan, I headed for the dorms.

Chapter 2

Cass

Thirty minutes on campus and there was already a drink in my hand. I fucking loved this place.

Music thumped around me, filling the frat house with pop dance hits from the early two thousands. It wasn’t exactly modern, but it was a hell of a lot better than what we usually had access to at Widdershins. One of the previous graduates had left a case behind full of enchanted CDs. We had Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Cher, and nearly every NOW album from one to fifteen. And all of them, through some strange magic nobody else could figure out, would play loudly through the house if you said the right incantation. And thankfully, the incantation was written on the inside of the case.

Now if only someone could figure out how to enchant a smartphone or a radio, that would be even better. But it wasn’t gonna be me. I was too busy partying to worry about that shit.

I tipped my drink back, guzzling down the green liquid. It burned like fire going down, but I loved it. The sensation always made my nipples hard. No idea why, it just did.

“Damn, slow down, Cass,” one of the guys called from across the room. “It’s not a race.”

I flipped him off with a smile. “If you’d spent the last three weeks cooped up with my parents, you’d be drinking to forget too.”

The guy laughed and shook his head, turning back to whatever conversation he’d been having with someone else. I didn’t blame him for the concern, though. My tolerance had always been shit, and I was already feeling the pleasant warmth of alcohol spreading through my chest. The magic in my blood made me metabolize a little better than regular humans. But that just meant I could either get drunk stupidly fast or take forever depending on what I was drinking. Tonight, it seemed like the green stuff was winning.

I made my way through the crowded living room, dodging bodies and spilled cups with the practiced ease of someone who’d been to enough of these parties to know the layout by heart. The frat house was packed. Apparently word had gotten out about the back-to-school bash, and half the campus had shown up. Which was fine by me. More people meant more anonymity, and more anonymity meant I could actually relax for once without worrying about what anyone thought of me. I wasn’t under my parent’s scrutiny now. When I was at Widdershins, life was on my terms.

Someone had opened all the windows despite the January cold, probably because the body heat in here was starting to rival a sauna. I could feel the chill on my skin as I passed by one, and it was almost refreshing compared to the sticky warmth of the crowded room.

“Yo, Cass!” One of my classmates, Tex, grabbed my arm as I passed. He was already three sheets to the wind, his words coming out slightly slurred with his thick southern accent still intact. “Dude, I’m so sick of classes already…”

I grinned. “Classes don’t start until tomorrow.”

“Exactly!” He threw his free arm up dramatically. “But I’m already fuckin’ bummin’ about it, man… I don’t wanna go.”

“Let’s not go then,” I said, the words tumbling out before I’d really thought them through. The alcohol was definitely doing its job. “I could summon a storm. Nobody goes to class if there’s a blizzard.”

Tex’s eyes lit up like I’d just suggested the best idea in the history of ideas. “Dude. Dude. That would be fuckin’ sick.”

“Fuck yeah, it would,” I said, already grinning. “And it would probably get me in a ton of trouble with the Academy if someone found out.”

“Nobody’s gonna find out. You’re a weather wiz!” Marcus was grinning now, that wild look that meant trouble. He turned to the crowd around us. “Yo! Yo, everyone! Cass says he can make it snow so much we don’t have to go to class tomorrow!”

Several heads turned in our direction. I felt my cheeks flush, whether from embarrassment or the alcohol, I couldn’t tell.

“No, I didn’t say I—” I started, but it was too late. The seed had been planted.