Midnight Magic: The Wizards of Equasia

Chapter 6: Spellbound

Owls lived in what looked like an enormous cabinet full of little nesting boxes, where they made their nests. It faced the large pasture, where they could hunt for field mice. Most of the owls were sitting quietly in their boxes. Some were sitting in nearby trees. All of them had different colored collars. I felt awkward staring into each box and meeting pairs of unblinking bright eyes. A huge tawny owl swooped in front of my face and into his box, making me jump back. Then I saw a familiar white, heart-shaped face. On a plaque above his box, words were engraved:

Alba Phantom

Barn Owl, Tyto alba

Apprentice Spellkeeper

Box Code Number: 320564

Equasia Wizards' Institution

"Hello, Sarah," he said, almost apologetically. "I'm Alba Phantom."

"Hello."

"I hope you like it here," said Alba Phantom. "I didn't mean to bring you here so fast, I just— "

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault. I was awake and listening."

"You look much better now. You're not as thin, and you're cleaner, and —oh..." He paused and shifted his weight. "I hope you like your classes."

"Yeah, I do. So far I've only had Noctis's Physicks class."

"I know all about his classes! Midnight tells me."

"Are you and Midnight friends?"

"Yeah, we've known each other for a while. I see you've finally met him."

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm glad you came to talk to me. Maybe we can be friends, too."

"I hope so. Well, I have to go. Bye!"

It was surprisingly easy to talk to animals, once you got used to it!

I told my friends all about Midnight as we went to our next class.

"Hmm... interesting," said Morgan. "So he's the black colt you saw in the Norm?"

"Why is that interesting? It makes sense why he would want to see me once I got here."

"No, what's interesting is that Adustum actually sent a group of horses to go and find you. How do you think he knew about you in the first place?"

"I have no idea."

"Did he tell you anything before you met us in the hall?" Gwendolyn asked.

"Nope."

"Funny," said Dagda. "Well, I think that the EWI has some way of tracking people who have magical powers..."

"In the Norm, Dagda?" Morgan snapped.

"Well... maybe. I don't know how it works."

"But assuming he was using the tracking device, how could Adustum have known that Sarah was in the Norm without knowing exactly where?" Gwendolyn wondered.

"It's really weird," Katherine agreed, "but come on! We're at my favorite class! Elemental Magic! It'll be so cool!"

"Just like Katherine to change the subject to something less tense," Morgan mused.