A Charming Cure (11 page)

Chapter Eleven

“Glad
to see you made it.” Helena glared at me with a burning, reproachful eye.

I
took a seat next to Hili, wondering how in the hell she got there faster than
me. And then I realized that she must’ve cast herself there. What a friend she
was. She should’ve cast me right alongside of her.

The
heel that she had lost at the bottom of Raven’s house was propped on top of our
desk.
Damn, Raven told Aunt Helena we were there.

Hili
slipped the shoe in her bag as she pulled out her books. My embarrassment
turned into raw fury as I realized Hili didn’t have my back.
She could’ve
reminded me to get my books
, I thought as I glared over at her.

She
shrugged her shoulders, and then flipped to the page.

I
turned my attention to Helena who was drumming her fingers on the edge of a new
cauldron, continuing to stare at our table.

New
cauldron?
I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to Eloise’s. It was definitely worth looking
into. But why?

Sarsaparilla,
Zicum, Rhus Tox, Ledum, Eupbrasia, Ferrum Phos, Belladonna, Mandrak.
I read through
the potions that lined the shelf behind Aunt Helena. I recognized a few from
the Magical Cures book. There was nothing there that Raven had used and I had
to be sure to look up the ones she did make. Not to mention try to figure out
who likes pinecones. Raven was definitely making a potion for a particular
someone. But who?

“Ma’am,
June and I. . .um. . .” Hili was about to erupt like a volcano.

“We
were taking a walk and I wanted to know my way around the University.” My voice
escalated, “What’s wrong with that?”

Wasn’t
that a valid question? Why did they want to keep the Dark-Siders and
Good-Siders away from each other?
 
I spun around my stool and came face
to face with Raven. There was fire in her eyes.

I
had no idea if I was right, but Helena didn’t protest and I didn’t let my lack
of confidence break.

My
eyes narrowed, and a huge smug, smile crossed my lips. Even Raven couldn’t
vocally protest, but she discreetly slid her hand across the table and down to
Faith’s empty seat, patting it as if she was warning me.

Before
turning around, I gave her the ole “I’m watching you” fingers like I saw on the
movie
Meet The Parents.

Hili
was someone I couldn’t rely on. She was young and didn’t want to get in
trouble, so she would probably tell on me in a minute. I was going to be really
careful around that one.

“Don’t
you worry about her,” Hili whispered and patted my hand.

Who
was I kidding? I looked around the room, taking in every single face that I
didn’t bother to notice the day before. Each of them was younger and way
smarter in the magic department. Especially the Dark-Siders, which I knew
nothing about. That wasn’t going to stop me from finding out everything I
could.

Helena
cleared her throat. “As you all know, today is the day that Professor
Sandlewood was going to announce who the intern will be this year.”

A
hushed excitement filled the air. This was the first time I had heard of any
internship. Hili had her eyes closed and her fingers crossed in the air. She
obviously knew what was going on and was praying it was her.

She
opened her eyes and bounced up and down while her blonde razor-cut hair stayed
tight to her head.

“Okay.”
Helena tried to settle down the electricity in the room. “Since Professor
Sandlewood is a little incapacitated, I’ll be picking the winner.”

A
little incapacitated?
What was with all the secretive talk? Everyone knew about Eloise, so I found it
strange that no one even mentioned it.

I
raised my hand. Helena nodded toward me.

“I’m
a tab bit confused. What is going on with Eloise and what is this internship
thing?” These were valid questions for the new girl.

“Eloise
will not be back this semester.” Her lids darkened her cheeks, creating a scary
shadow. “Every year we pick a student with exemplary grades as well as skills.
This year Faith Mortimer was in the lead, but with her sudden illness, I’m
going to have to pick Hili Windover.”

“Ya
hooo!” Hili jumped up and pumped her fist in the air. Never once letting go of
her wand. As she bounced, sparks flew from the tip.

I
shielded my face with my hand as Helena’s words rang in my head.
Sudden
illness.
I didn’t realize that intentional poisoning had become a sudden
illness. There was little room to think with Hili jumping around like one of
those Mexican jumping bean toys I had when I was a kid. The ones that could be
bought at the local gas station, in a little clear box.

“Hili,
you will immediately be going to Whispering Falls since they have lifted the
ban on Fairiwicks.” She talked, but I couldn’t quite focus on everything she
was saying. “You have raised my eyebrow with your behavior last night, but I’m
willing to give you a chance. And since June is here for a few days, you will
go and work in her shop, A Charming Cure.”

“What?”
There was no way I was going to allow dingbat Hili to destroy my shop. I stood
up and pounded my fist on the table, and then reached down in Hili’s bag,
holding up her soiled high-heeled shoe. “Aunt Helena, Hili is not a potion
maker. She can’t even keep her shoes on or prevent her little finger from
sparking” I wiggled my finger in the air.

Helena
put her hand in the air to silence me, but my words were like a spewing
volcano.

“There
is no way she will be able to come up with cures.” Not to mention how Oscar was
going to take it. He couldn’t stand pretentious girls like Hili.

Helena
pulled her crystal ball out from her bag that was sitting on Eloise’s desk.
With a swipe of the hand, a picture was appearing under the copper colored
illumination. A Charming Cure was still in a disarray of sorts. A far cry from
Oscar standing by the counter with my apron on.

“I
see that you left your precious shop in the capable hands of a sorcerer that
has never been to the University and doesn’t even know how to use his wand.”
Her voice mimicked the pleasure on her face. “At least Hili can get the crowd
under control and use her wand.”

Hili
nudged me. “I can’t believe you don’t trust me with your shop.”

I
turned toward her. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that you’re
young and you aren’t psychic to what people really need in their cures.”

“And
he is?” Hili pointed to poor Oscar who had completely given up and planted
himself on the stool behind the counter. His handsome features were already
worn and his blue eyes even looked ashen. My apron was soiled with spilled
potions.

“Fine.”
I glared, knowing that Oscar was going to be beside himself with little Miss
Priss coming to take over. “You screw something up and you will never practice
your casting.”

“Is
that a threat?” Hili pulled back. Her eyes darted between me and Helena. “Did
she just threaten me?”

“No.
It’s a promise.” The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Hiss,
hiss.
Mr. Prince Charming ran into the classroom with his back arched and batted once
toward Hili and once toward Helena.

Helena
rolled her eyes.

“Hili
will be fine, June. We all know how much you have worked on A Charming Cure and
she is only going to see what it is like to run a business and see if she wants
to continue down that path.”
Swoosh, swoosh
. Helena’s cloak created a
breeze as she briskly walked up and down the aisle of the classroom. “Go on,
Hili. Your transportation is waiting by the cottage dorm.”

I
wasn’t sure who Helena was trying to convince, herself or me. She knew better
than I did that Hili was incapable of doing anything with business. I was
definitely going to have to get a hold of Oscar to let him know what was going
on.

“Ta-ta.”
Hili grabbed her bag and waved over her shoulder. She didn’t even look back as
the door shut behind her.

The
only good thing that could possibly come from this was that I could definitely
keep working on a cure for Faith without anyone finding out.

“Since
we are still looking for a replacement for Professor Sandlewood, we have
decided to have you go to Crystal Ball Class early.” Helena made her way back
to the front of the room and carefully rolled her ball back and forth in her
hands. She looked deep into the globe, her eyes grew big. “You are dismissed.
Everyone but you.” Her long finger uncurled and pointed straight at me.

Helena’s
eyes shot a dart straight to my gut, causing my lungs to take in a sharp
breath.

Chapter Twelve

Every
student filed out one-by-one with eyes on me. I was not making a good
impression on my fellow students. Helena set my bag on the table.

“I
sent someone to retrieve your bag from Hili’s room.” She stood over me. Her
cloak hung loosely down from her folded arms.

A
red glow came from my bag. I reached in and pulled out a pissed off Madame
Torres. I set her next to me in case I needed some sort of backup with Helena
after the class was gone. How on earth could a fiery red, mad crystal ball
help? I had no idea, but there was a little relief knowing she had my back.

My
stomach clenched as the boy who sat in the back of the class with his head down
the entire time, left. He was the last to go, and I didn’t know what Helena
wanted with me.

Before
leaving, he turned just enough for me to notice his white eyes. A flash shot
through me, sending a small electric volt to my hands, causing me to let go of
the edges. He smiled and darted out the door.

“Who
was that?” I asked and pointed.

“Gus
Chatham.” There was a faraway look in her eyes. “A strange bird. But we aren’t
here to talk about him. You pulled a very serious stunt last night and I don’t
care if you are my niece. You are here as a student and will conduct yourself
as one.”

“You
know as well as I do that Eloise didn’t try to poison Faith.” I stood up and
planted my hands flat on the table. There was still a tingling on the tips of
my fingers where Gus had done some sort of magic. Not sure what, but I was
going to find out. He wanted me to know he had something to say, my intuition
told me that. “And she doesn’t deserve to be shackled.”

She
put her hand up to her mouth, and drew in a long breath. Her fists notably
tightened.

“Oh
my, God.” Suddenly my intuition told me that Helena didn’t know the full story.
“Where is Eloise?”

Her
head slowly dropped toward the ground, her eyes closed. Her confidence was
broken, an attribute of hers that I’d never seen or even knew she possessed.
She almost seemed human.

“That
is another thing I was going to ask you about. You didn’t take her from the
holding cell?” She pinched her lips together. “I was afraid of this.”

Suddenly
my fear beaded across my forehead. I swept my bangs out of my eyes to wipe the
sweat. Something was not right, and I was almost afraid to ask.

“Aunt
Helena, what is going on?” I reached for Madame Torres. “Show me Eloise.”

The
globe went from her fiery red to silver, showing the ill-fated destination of
Eloise chained to the wall. She rolled a small petal from a Mandrake flower in
her fingers, as if were the only thing keeping her alive.

Helena
withdrew her eyes from the globe once she saw the shackles, and her voice
trembled, “She has been missing and we couldn’t find her.”

“You
mean to tell me that you have all of this
magic
surrounding you and no
one can find her? Someone kidnapped her?” I pounded my hand on the table.

“No.”
Shame, defeat resonated in her voice. “I was hoping that you found something in
your snooping around. Even though I’m not condoning it in front of the other
students.”

“Actually,
Madame Torres showed me Eloise. I snuck out to see if I could find something on
my own.” I wasn’t sure if I should tell her about Raven and how she was in
Eloise’s house. “Hili did tell me that Eloise was considered a Dark-Sider,
which was complete news to me.”

“Dark-Sider,
or Good-Sider, either way, we are all here and living among each other. No one
can come into Hidden Hall unless they are invited.” She cleared her throat as
her posture tightened. “Someone on the inside took her.”

My
heart jumped at a quick, erratic pace. “Do you think it was the same person that
tried to set her up? The same person that tried to kill Faith Mortimer?”

Helena’s
eyes locked with mine. Never once looking away, she confirmed my deepest fear.

“Yes.
And if you aren’t careful, I’m afraid they will be after you.” She pulled a
piece of from underneath her cloak, and handed it to me.

Potions, wands, and fairy tales,