Lindsay and her friends were chatting and eating lunch when they noticed ominous clouds rolling towards the manor. Looking around, they realized that the sky was otherwise clear.
"Weird," Lindsay remarked, "This is more like weather in Illinois. I wouldn't expect it here."
Elena shrugged, "It's likely someone's illusion."
Everyone nodded their agreement and continued eating. Things like this weren't that interesting at camp. They had all but forgotten the storm when they heard screaming from the front of the manor. The clouds were hovering right over the front lawn, and thunder boomed without lightning.
Alex ran up to them, urgency in his voice, "Lindsay, we have a problem. We are getting the other leaders, but she's screaming for you specifically."
"'She'?" Lindsay echoed, getting up, "What's going on?"
"Some girl," Alex said, "She stormed up to the manor, quite literally, with a cheetah and keeps yelling for you. Just follow me and you'll see."
She hurried after him, Thunder trailing behind her. As they rounded the corner of the manor, she caught sight of the girl causing so much panic. The girl was her age with long blonde hair and green eyes. Lightning crackled around her as she argued with a student. The student pointed to Lindsay, and the girl whipped around to face her.
"YOU!" the girl jerked her finger at Lindsay in rage.
"Oh crap," Lindsay muttered, backing away.
The girl laughed sarcastically. "That's funny. You're not going anywhere."
"Nice to see you too, Zoe," Lindsay said warily, "What are you doing here?"
"Lovely weather, huh?" Zoe sneered, "It followed me all the way here. And it won't go away. Oh and this," she gestured to the cheetah next to her, "Is this a package deal?" She paused and apologized to the cheetah, "Not that I don't like you, Nia."
"So you finally read the book I got you, huh?" Lindsay smirked. "Not like you could have read it when I was home or anything."
"I heard you talking on the phone with someone about this camp, so I read the book to see what you were talking about. I read all of them," Zoe explained. "And then stuff started to happen. Storms suddenly formed when I was angry. Nia showed up. And then you wouldn't pick up your phone, so I came here. Now, what the hell is happening?!"
Alex interjected, "It's not a quick explanation. Why don't you dry off and sit with us?"
Lindsay glared at him. "Excuse me? Us? Since when were you included in this?"
"Well, I've been ignored this whole conversation, but I'd like to think I could help explain," Alex said, "This is that friend Zoe that you mentioned last night, right?"
"Yes," Lindsay snapped, "But I don't need your help."
Alex rolled his eyes. "Do you ever? And do I care?"
Lindsay opened her mouth to argue, but Zoe cut her off, "I don't care who explains! Someone just get this rain to stop!"
Zoe's personal raincloud rumbled and started pouring harder.
"STUPID THING!" Zoe screamed in rage, "STOP! Go away! Shoo! Leave me alone!"
It doesn't work like that, the cheetah, Nia, said.
"Then how does it work!?" Zoe demanded.
Lindsay put a hand on Zoe's shoulder and gave her a very serious look. "First, calm the heck down. Deep breaths. We'll help."
As Zoe grudgingly did as she was instructed, Alex smirked. "'We', huh?"
"Shut up," Lindsay grumbled, "I've given up trying to get rid of you."
Sitting Zoe down at a picnic table, the two of them explained how the books weren't fiction and that imagination enabled everyone with an open mind to have their own magic. The rain had subsided now that Zoe was calmer, and the clouds were retreating. By the time Adriane, Emily, and Kara found them, Zoe nearly was caught up to speed.
"Nice to meet you," Emily greeted her, "You're Lindsay's friend, right? You must have worked some sort of miracle to get her and Alex to be civilized with each other."
"They were arguing earlier, but I hadn't realized it was a thing," Zoe said, raising an eyebrow at Lindsay.
Adriane rolled her eyes. "Oh, it is. But, more importantly, welcome to Ravenswood. Apparently, you've already read all about us and this place, but I'm Adriane. This is Emily and Kara."
Zoe nodded. "That I figured out. Ravenswood runs a magic camp though? And you guys teach it?"
Kara shrugged. "Zach, Gabby, and Lindsay also teach. Loren and Marlin help out sometimes too."
"I'm sorry," Zoe laughed, "Did you say Lindsay is teaching?"
Adriane smirked. "I know, right? But she and Gabby were our first apprentices."
"And they said she teaches," Alex chimed in, "Not that she teaches well."
Lindsay clapped him over the head. "Shut up! Jeez, you all have absolutely no faith in me!"
Zoe pinched Lindsay's cheek and cooed, "Aw, poor little Lindsay. You know we love you!"
Lindsay slapped her hand away. "Oh be quiet, jerk. And don't touch my face."
"Like this?" Alex asked innocently as he poked her forehead.
"Maturity levels are sky rocketing around here," she grumbled, rolling her eyes.
Alex laughed, "Says the girl who stuck her tongue out at me and yelled 'La la la, is that the wind?'"
Zoe shared a look with Kara, who winked at her, and glanced at her friend again. Grabbing Lindsay's wrist and staring her down, she said, "You. You have to tell me things. Like stuff. Stuff and things."
Lindsay gave her a blank look and nodded slowly. "Stuff… Things… Right."
"Things?" Alex asked.
Zoe smiled at Alex and shot Lindsay a meaningful look. "Things."
"Oh!" Lindsay's eyes widened in horror as recognition crossed her face. "Things. Stuff and things."
"Things," Zoe repeated.
Adriane, Emily and Kara were laughing, but Alex was looking from girl to girl, completely lost.
"Never," he said in wonder, "Have I seen the word 'things' bring such a wide range of emotions, including terror."
"And look at the time!" Lindsay suddenly exclaimed, pulling her arm from Zoe's grasp, "I'd better beat my students to class or they'll beat each other up. Bye!"
They all watched as she raced off.
"What just happened?" Alex asked, utterly confused.
Emily smirked. "Things happened, Alex, things."
Kara gave Zoe a high-five. "I like you."
It wasn't until after dinner that Gabby met the new arrival, or even saw Lindsay again. Zoe had spent the rest of the day questioning Kara and testing out her newfound magic. Lindsay had spent dinner with her, catching up and helping her adjust. Gabby finally caught up to them sitting around the water garden. Lindsay and Zoe were sitting in the grass, chatting, while Thunder and Nia played around the water.
"I feel like it may be dangerous for a cheetah made of electricity to be playing near water," Gabby remarked, approaching the two while Caramel ran off to play with their bondeds.
Lindsay shrugged. "No more dangerous than anything else here."
"True," Gabby agreed, smirking, and greeted Zoe, "Nice to finally meet you. I'm Gabby. I can finally match a face to the voice over the phone."
"You too," Zoe said, smiling politely, "I remember those conversations. Sorry to confuse you with our similar voices over speaker phone."
"It wasn't too difficult to figure out," Gabby said, "But anyway, how do you like it here?"
Zoe smiled. "You are all the biggest freaks on the planet, but it's pretty cool. I can do some crazy stuff too now."
Lindsay laughed. "Welcome to the land of the freaks. You're one of us now."
Something caught Zoe's eye at the edge of the forest, near one of the ponds. She squinted her eyes and craned her neck, attempting to get a better view.
She nudged Lindsay and pointed. "Who is that?"
When Gabby saw where Zoe was pointing, she smiled. "That's Mitch and Finn. Mitch really likes to draw, so he's probably sketching the water."
Lindsay stood up and waved. "Finn! Mitch!"
Mitch didn't look, too concentrated on his artwork, but Finn noticed and prodded him. Confused, Mitch looked up from his sketch. Finally, after regaining his bearings on the real world, he waved back and headed towards them.
"Hey, Mitch, what have you been drawing?" Gabby asked as he sat down next to them.
"Stuff," Mitch replied, smirking.
Lindsay gestured to Zoe. "This is my friend Zoe. She just developed her powers."
Mitch smiled warmly. "Right. You were the clouds. Nice to meet you, Zoe."
"Everyone keeps mentioning that," Zoe moaned.
Lindsay shrugged. "You made quite a scene."
"Don't sweat it though," Mitch said. "You should see when the twins have temper tantrums. Horrendous illusions."
Everyone shuddered at the thought.
Suddenly, the trees started rustling and the winds got stronger. A loud screech overhead made everyone look up to see Scream swooping down to land a bit away from them. Alex hopped off and ran over to the group.
"Lindsay, Gabby," he said as he grabbed each of their arms, trying to pull them up, "we need you. Let's go. Leaders meeting at Adriane and Zach's house."
Gabby stood as he pulled her, but Lindsay yanked her arm free.
"What for?" Lindsay demanded.
Alex shook his head. "They didn't tell me. Just that it's urgent."
"And why should they send you?"
He rolled his eyes. "Because, contrary to popular belief, I'm not the devil. They actually trust me, hence why I'm part of the meeting."
"You aren't a leader!" she protested.
Groaning, suddenly gripping Lindsay's wrist again, stronger this time, and dragging her over to Scream, Alex said, "That doesn't mean anything. And we don't have time for this. They said to come as quickly as possible. Everyone else is already there."
Reluctantly, Lindsay climbed onto Scream behind him. Gabby got on after, holding on to Lindsay for balance.
As they took off, Lindsay called after Mitch, "Make sure Zoe finds the manor later, and keep an eye on Thunder!"
He nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. Zoe stared after them in alarm, though Lindsay couldn't tell exactly what for.
As they soared over the treetops, Gabby clutched the back of Lindsay's shirt and stared at the ground in wonder. She had forgotten Gabby hadn't flown since the last time they were there. Lindsay wasn't used to the size of Scream though and periodically lost her balance. She was forced to grudgingly put a hand on Alex's back to steady herself. She heard him mutter something about her cross-legged posture.
When they reached the house, everyone was waiting in the living room. Elena and Leon, the eldest campers, sat together on the hearth, the fire warming their backs. Kara, Loren, and Adriane sat in a row on the couch with Zach sitting on the arm next to Adriane. Emily and Loren took one of the loveseats. And every single one of them looked tense as Lindsay and Gabby sat on the other empty loveseat with Alex on the arm next to Lindsay.
Breaking the silence, Adriane cleared her throat. "Some of you have heard the about the activity in Aldenmor. There have been an increasing number of reports regarding humans with animal characteristics causing trouble in the Mountains of Glass: demons."
Lindsay stood abruptly, eyes wide, a tremor riddling her hand. Everything in her screamed for her to run out the door.
"Lindsay!" Adriane barked.
She shook harder. Everyone stared at her, some with understanding and others with confusion.
Zach nodded to Gabby and Alex. "Sit her back down, guys. There's more, and I know she'll bolt."
Gabby complied, putting one hand on Lindsay's back, that little black ring of light shining through her shirt, and pulling her back down easily by her arm. Alex, eyebrows raised and eyes wide, put one hand firmly on her shoulder once she was sitting again.
"As I was saying," Adriane began again after Lindsay stopped shuddering so violently, "we've been monitoring these reports for the last month. They have been steadily increasing as the demons have come closer to small villages."
"So I went to investigate," Loren said, picking up where she left off. "The reports are true. There's a growing population of them living in the mountains. There are all kinds of different demons, but all human mages and mostly young. They seem to be training together, and they're getting bolder, venturing farther from their caves."
As Loren paused, Leon asked, "Where did they come from? What exactly are they? I've never even heard of them before."
"Like Loren said," Lindsay said quietly, "they are human. Really, they are just like all the students here, but they're traitors. They betrayed the trust of their friend and their bond with a magical animal. They absorb the magic into themselves and the animal becomes part of them, killing their friend. That's why they have tails and ears."
"And their training in the mountains?" Alex asked. "Why?"
"We aren't sure yet," Zach said.
"Well they have to be training for something," Elena said. "If there's that many of them, do they have a leader? How much of threat are they?"
"It's bad," Emily said. "We wouldn't have called you all here if it wasn't. We need to decide what to do about them. They could potentially be targeting the Fairy Glade or even Ravenswood."
"But why?" Elena persisted. "Why would they? Who is their leader?"
Silence hung in the air as the older mages slid a glance at Lindsay.
She started shaking again, clapping her hands over head.
"Hunter," she whimpered.
They nodded.
DUNDUNDUN. Long time, no see! (Again) I'd apologize for my constant disappearance and promise to get better, but college applications suck and I can't honestly promise anything. Fortunately, I do have sporadic bursts of writing cravings, so something eventually gets done. But you all know by now that I love reviews. :D For reals, guys. Teh reviews.