A Class of Conjuring

We failed to protect the one person we all made a connection with. Cassandra. Though we saved her life from the witch who came out of nowhere, she lost her magical powers and, for a witch, that was as bad as losing your life. We let down our guard, and Cassandra paid the price. The question became, how did we get her powers back?

The others warmed up to Cassandra right away, mainly because they understood women and were comfortable around them, whether it was in the classroom or out on a date. Before the academy, I doubted a date was anywhere in my near future. But then Cassandra arrived, and along with her the powerful connection. Drawn to her, and her to me I believed, I finally saw hope. She made me nervous. Gave me anxiety and made me hard between the legs. Most girls were turned off by my intellect, but I got the feeling Cassandra maybe liked it a little. I wondered if she noticed when she got closer, I tended to rattle on with information I knew most people couldn't understand. It was how I dealt with my inadequacies. When we returned to Barbarus' home, we carried him to his room, and Aurelius sat with him for several hours. He refused to let us tell Headmaster Eliphas. Something told me Aurelius and Headmaster Eliphas either didn't get along, or something in their past had driven a wedge between them. I didn't mention it to the others, but I thought the wedge between Aurelius and Headmaster Eliphas was the number one problem, not the witch stealing powers. I wanted to stay at the academy, so I said nothing.

The wound to Barbarus' side was fairly bad, though, using Braeden's light magic, I was able to determine no organs were damaged, and there was no internal bleeding. His light magic illuminated Barbarus' side to the point I could see his insides. I bandaged him up and gave him antibiotics for his human DNA. For his wizard DNA, Aurelius conjured a potion and told us to apply the potion every two hours. He never shared the ingredients of the potion, despite me asking several times. I finally decided I'd sneak a speck of the stuff back to one of the labs and figure it out for myself. The only way to learn was to ask questions, and if no one was willing to answer then you figured out your own answers. For the most part, we applied the potion when we were supposed to, and when one of us forgot, we added a little extra the next time.

Aurelius informed us he was unfamiliar with the witch who attacked and therefore couldn't be absolutely sure she had been sent by Edius. After Aurelius left, I sat with Barbarus and thought back to the fight. Our formation around Cassandra had been strong as we managed to protect her from every angle possible. The problem had been there were too many attackers. The witch took advantage of the situation and robbed Cassandra of her powers. She used a plan of shock and awe to distract us from her primary goal. And since we didn't have a plan, we failed. One of us should have cast a shield spell, and that would have saved Cassandra's powers.

When Cassandra lost her powers, I felt something inside me disappear, as if part of her powers had been part of me. I believed this was what Braeden and Dash did not understand. While they were letting their hormones and jealousy cloud their judgment with Cassandra, Kyler and I were understanding that each of us helped form the essence of Cassandra's magic. We were her, and she was us.

"How's he doing?" Dash questioned when he entered the bedroom. Dash's clothes were ripped, and the cut on his chin had dried. Though I thought like a warrior, Dash was built like one. Physically, there was no question why Cassandra would choose him over the rest of us. But unlike Dash, I understood what each of us meant to her. As individuals, we were useless to her. We had to be one cohesive group in order to defend and support her.

"I think he'll be all right." I pointed at Barbarus' wound. "The bleeding has stopped. Aurelius said we shouldn't take him to a hospital. Let him recover at home. A hospital would start asking questions and, for right now, Aurelius wanted to keep this under wraps. I think there's a lot going on at the academy that we just don't know about or understand."

"Aurelius couldn't return Cassandra's powers," Dash said. "She's pretty bummed. We need to come up with something before she quits."

"Yeah, I noticed," I said. "I thought the spell he was using on her was going to kill her. It took all four of us to hold her down. I didn't like it, and it wasn't working. That's why I told him to stop."

"He was pretty pissed when he left," Dash said. "I'm not sure if his anger was directed at us or the academy for failing to protect its students. Maybe a little of both."

"It's not the olden days," I replied. "We're going to have to fight new magic with new magic. I don't know what else Aurelius has in mind, but we need to change our way of thinking."

"You felt it, didn't you?" Dash asked.

"Her pain? Yes," I said. "We feel everything she feels, and I have my suspicions she feels the things we feel."

"I guess I don't feel some of the things you do," Dash said. He looked out the window. He wouldn't admit his feelings, but the disappointment was clearly on his face. I understood Dash better than he thought I did.

"Listen," I said, and shook my head in disbelief. If Dash were as smart as he were handsome, he would not have an issue understanding feelings and emotions. "That's because you're too busy fighting your feelings for her. You need to let that go and let her aura consume you. Let whatever this is take over. You're battling something that's going to happen whether you like it or not."

Dash smirked like he always did when he turned defensive. "You go with that, Oliver."

"Dash, you and I have been friends for a long time. I'm just telling you what I've observed."

"Well, maybe you should keep your observations to yourself." Again, he turned defensive.

"I made another observation, Dash."

"Yeah, what is that? The sky is blue."

I ignored his comment. "The witch who attacked us. Who is she?"

Dash shrugged. "How should I know?"

"That's exactly my point," I said.

"Mind your own business, Oliver. It's safer that way."

I pulled the blanket up to Barbarus' chin and filled the cup next to the bed in case he woke thirsty. We had done all we could, and the rest was on him. I followed Dash into the living room. "Aurelius will be back in an hour," Kyler said. "He wants to continue our training. He thinks we're almost there but still have a lot of work to do."

"What about Cassandra?" I asked and looked at her curled up on the couch, sleeping. Sometimes I thought if I concentrated hard enough, I could enter her dreams and the two of us could talk in private. I could tell her things without my body going all crazy.

Braeden sat on the floor with his back against the couch. He glanced at Cassandra. "He said she could still train. He will offer her a staff to use during training. He said it might help her confidence." "Great," Dash said and headed outside.

"What's up his ass?" Braeden asked before he charged after Dash.

"Stay here and watch over her," I told Kyler who smiled at the order and the prospects of being alone with Cassandra.

"What the fuck is going on, Dash?" Braeden asked, the two standing almost face to face on the back porch.

Dash pointed at the house. "All these fucking years I've been able to avoid that woman. And now, as soon as Cassandra appears, so does she."

Braeden glanced at me. "He's talking about the witch," I said. "He knows her."

"Damn straight I know her, and Cassandra led her right to me." Dash paced back and forth. "And if that was the only thing bugging me, maybe I wouldn't be in such a shitty mood!"

Braeden held up his hands in surrender. "What the hell are you talking about now?"

"Cassandra," Dash said calmly. He pointed toward the house again. "I don't want to have the feelings I have for her."

Braeden looked at me then back at Dash and laughed. I knew better than to laugh at him when it came to his feelings.

"It's funny?" Dash crossed his arms, and for a moment I thought he might slug Braeden. I scratched my head, wondering if the two guys would ever be able to get along. Their relationship was the key to the group thing working out. Cassandra needed to address them as soon as possible.

"No, it's not funny," Braeden said. "It's typical." He sat in one of the porch chairs. "You're not special, my friend," he said to Dash and then looked at me. "Cassandra has a way of worming her way into people's hearts. You're no exception. Doesn't matter if you're the smart guy or the bad boy." He laughed again and stood. "Welcome to the club."

We watched Braeden return to the house, and then Dash took a seat on the porch steps, looking into the woods lining the backyard. Sometimes even the toughest guys needed to be taken down a notch.

I sat next to Dash and stared into the same woods. We had come a long way together. Gone to the same schools. Fought side by side. Though we weren't related, I still considered us brothers. And now we had feelings for the same woman. "What do you want, Oliver?" Dash asked. He had his arms crossed on his knees. Talking to him about his feelings or emotions was like walking on an ice-covered pond.

"You see it, right?" I asked. "Cassandra is the reason we're all together. Remember, before we came to the academy, we were talking about splitting up and going our own ways? We talked about heading in different directions after graduation. That's all changed. Because of her, we've stayed together as friends." I chuckled. "Look at the way we're growing as people. She's been good for us, Dash. We've added a couple of friends to our group, and we're all happy. That's what counts." "That's all fine and dandy, but for me, it's better to have walls, to be tough, to carry a façade. That way I can't be hurt again. You'd understand if you were me." He turned and looked at me. "Between you and me, I'm scared of the way I feel for her. Hell, I'm terrified." He shook his head as if to get rid of the thought. "But believe me, there's a strong part of me that wants to give into the love I feel for her. I want to give her what I know she wants. Everything...everything you've described about feeling a connection to her, feeling her heartbeat and her pulse, I feel those things. And damn it, I want to let those things engulf me."

We turned around when the door opened. Kyler and Braeden joined us. The four of us needed a good talk in order to get through our feelings for Cassandra. "Oliver's right," Kyler said. "You need to embrace what you feel for her, just like we have. You need to talk to her. Tell her what's going on. Eventually we'll all need to."

Braeden squeezed between us and rested his arms on his knees. He knew Cassandra better than any of us. "You either tell her or I will," he said. "I know she cares for all of us, including you. She feels the same way about you that you do about her."

"Bullshit," Dash said halfheartedly. "I've been through that caring shit before, and we all know how it worked out." He turned to Braeden. "And how do you know this anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Braeden said. "Look at how happy she is when we're all together. It's like Christmas and her birthday all rolled into one." He shrugged and chuckled. "Besides, she tells me everything." He let his last comment hang in the air and stood, patting Dash on the shoulder. For the first time in a long time, Dash didn't jerk away.

Dash stood and left us outside alone. He entered the house without another word, and we all shrugged at each other. No one ever knew what Dash would do next.

"That went over well," I said. "How long you think it'll take Dash to tell her what he just told us?"

Kyler removed a gold coin from his pocket. "Thirty minutes." He slapped the coin on the table between the two chairs. "Pony up."

Braeden removed a coin from his own pocket and laid it next to Kyler's. "I think he backs out before he says a word," he said. "But if he does that, we'll all lose our connection. It has to be all or none."

"Ye of little faith," I said and moved to my feet. "This needs to wrap up now. Come on, let's see how well he isn't doing."