College

RORY

~How did I get here?~

One minute I was falling, and the next I was standing, looking up at what appears to be a medieval castle. Or more like a collection of little castles spread out over an emerald-green field.

There are turrets and spires with little flags drifting in the breeze. Pathways slip between the buildings with students running to and from their classes.

I spy a bridge arching its way between two buildings, and in the distance, a lake glimmering in the light.

It’s amazing. I feel like I’ve been accepted to Harvard, and it’s my first day.

Behind me, the tunnel I fell through is gone, leaving me no obvious way to return home. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Right now, the voices of students—chatting about their professors and dorm mates—float toward me, carried on the wind, and I remember why I’m here.

I followed Mia and her friends so that I could check out the library.

~Well, I made it.~

Now I just need to figure out which of these intimidating buildings is the one I’m looking for.

I set off toward the campus.

A grass-covered slope, speckled with daisies, leads down to a gravel path. I stare up at the campus as I grow closer.

This place isn’t at all like Freya’s school. F.I.T felt so modern, like it was just part of the city around it.

Lupus University feels old. The sand-colored stone walls are draped in ivy and look as if they’ve stood for centuries.

Smoke spirals from the chimneys, copper drainpipes snake down the walls, and the rooms look dark and mysterious behind the windows.

I wander between buildings, entranced by the intricate details carved into the stone and the gargoyles perched on the corners like lookouts—guardians of those who have come to learn.

These buildings feel as if they’re simply bursting with history. I imagine the stories the walls could tell if they could talk.

Glancing through a window, I see a room full of students watching their professor as she scribbles on a blackboard.

They’re all leaning forward, rapt, taking notes as fast as they can.

My heart beats faster. I know I made the right decision not going to college, but I can’t help but wonder what might have been.

But there’s something magical about this place. It feels like another world. A world where the only important thing is learning.

It’s giving me total Hogwarts vibes, and I wonder if Lupus University has moving stairwells too.

I reach an intersection of four paths and stop to inspect the statue standing proudly in the center.

A bronze man is wearing a flowing robe and holding a book, half-moon glasses perched on the tip of his nose.

I glance at the inscription at the base of the statue.

~Isaac Newton!~

I never knew he was a werewolf!

~I’m learning new things just by being here!~

A couple of kids walk by holding books to their chests. One of the girls smiles at me like I’m a fellow student…like she thinks I go here.

I grin and imagine what it would be like if I actually ~did~ go here.

It’s like an educational wonderland and I’ve only just begun exploring.

I can’t wait to see what the library looks like, so I continue to wander.

In a moment, a short boy with messy brown hair appears out of a doorway and stops, looking shocked to see me.

“Hi,” I say.

“Oh, hi,” he replies awkwardly. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“Oh, um, I’m new here.”

“Oh.” He sighs and lets his shoulders drop.

“I’m actually a little bit lost,” I say. “I was looking for the library.”

He points toward a building with a tall spire at the far end of the lane.

“It’s that one,” he says as if I should have known.

“Great, thanks!”

I give him a big smile and take off walking.

“What class are you in?” he asks.

I stop, racking my brain for an answer. “Human-wolf relations,” I say, looking back over my shoulder.

“Oh, I’m in that class too,” he says, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

~What are the chances?!~

“That’s great!” I may sound a little too cheery.

“I guess I’ll see you there.”

“Totally!”

The boy hurries off and I sigh a breath of relief.

~I can’t believe he bought that.~

But maybe I was right. Maybe I really do fit in here.

The library is right up ahead. It’s the biggest building I’ve seen so far. It looks more like an ancient cathedral than a library.

Not that I’ve seen that many cathedrals in my life. But I was obsessed with the Hunchback of Notre Dame as a kid and I always wanted to visit it someday.

Somehow, this feels even more exciting than saying hi to Quasimodo.

There’s a skip in my step as I hurry toward the towering wooden doors.

Luckily, as there’s no way I was going to be able to make them move an inch, a smaller door is set into the big ones, which I push open and slide through.

Inside, the air is musty and thick. Perfumed with the smell of dust and aging paper. I love it.

The entrance hall is dimly lit by lanterns that are hung from the stone columns. The ceiling arches high above my head.

It even feels like a church on the inside. It’s quiet and reverent, like a temple of knowledge.

Beyond the entrance hall is an archway and through that are the stacks.

Shelves taller than most buildings rise into the loft space. Each one is packed with books that look weathered with age.

I wander between two shelves, wanting desperately to grab every book I see and delve into its pages.

Each spine feels soft and inviting as I run my fingers over them.

Each shelf has a label—carved into a placard and painted with gold leaf—telling me what section I’m in.

I scan every shelf until I find what I’m looking for.

~Divination.~

There has to be something in here that can help me bring people back to life.

The divination section is in a dark corner of the library. Cobwebs stretch across the spines of the books.

Carefully, I pull a book from its place and open it up. A moth flies from between the pages and darts about in front of my face.

I swipe at it until it’s gone, then turn my attention to the book.

The pages are yellow and curling in at the edges. The text is written in calligraphy, which is hard to make out.

~This is nothing like the textbooks we had back at school.~

Slowly, I scan the pages, looking for anything to do with reincarnation, reanimation, or the spirit realm.

This book doesn’t seem very useful, so I slide it back and pull out another.

“What are you doing back here?”

I freeze as a shiver runs down my spine.

I thought I was alone. I hadn’t even heard anyone approach.

Glancing up from the book, I find a young man standing at the end of the row.

His charcoal-black hair is combed to the side, his green eyes are watching me intensely from behind a set of horn-rimmed glasses.

He’s wearing a dark navy sweater and holding a book under one arm.

~He’s just a student,~ I think.

“Oh, I was just looking for a book for my class in—”

“You don’t go to this university,” he says.

I can’t argue with him, so I figure now is as good a time as any for a bit of righteous indignation.

“And how would you even know that?”

“Well, for one thing, there isn’t a class on campus you’d need a book on alchemy for.”

He gestures to the book in my hands. I glance at the cover—sure enough, it’s an alchemist’s journal.

“You’re right,” I say, sliding the book back onto the shelf. “That’s not the one I was looking for.”

“What are you looking for?” he asks, grinning slightly. “You’re not a student, so what could you be after?”

I huff.

~Who does this guy think he is?!~

He’s barely older than me. Maybe he’s a senior with a need to assert his authority.

Or maybe he’s just a horny sophomore and he doesn’t care why I’m here.

“You can’t possibly know every other student,” I say. “Now excuse me.”

I turn back to the books and pretend to scan the titles, but I can’t concentrate. That guy is still staring at me.

I glance sideways at him. He’s got this quizzical but amused look on his face.

“Could you leave me alone, please?” I ask.

He takes a step toward me.

“Not until you tell me what you’re doing sneaking into Lupus University.”

“I’m not…how can you…?” I stammer. “I’m just a student like you.”

He laughs and throws his head back.

“What’s so funny?”

“You’ve given yourself away.”

“What? How?”

“Because I’m not a student. I’m a professor.”

~Oh no…~

“But how can you be a professor when you’re so young?”

He laughs again. “Not all of us are decrepit old men with hunchbacks and bad eyesight.”

He’s grinning smugly at me.

This is bad. I’ve been caught, and now I’m being patronized by a professor.

“Now, do you want to tell me what you’re doing in the divination section or not…Luna Aurora?”