Author's Preface
On a particularly hot evening the week before Ernest’s party, Felix, Mason, and Arisa walked into the library. “Thank god Hana keeps this place cool,” Arisa said. “I swear, it’s like half the Guardians forget that fans exist.”
Mason’s gaze darted around the first floor. “Where is she, anyway?”
“Relax.” Arisa stopped next to the front desk. “She’s bound to be around here somewhere—”
Hana stepped out of a shadow and placed a hand on Arisa’s shoulder. Arisa whirled around. “Hey, Hana,” she signed.
“How are you three?” Hana asked.
Arisa was barely able to sign, “Good, you?” before Mason nudged her in the side. Arisa rolled her eyes. “Be patient,” she said out loud, turning her head toward Mason so that Hana couldn’t see her lips. “I’m trying to act casual.”
Felix leaned toward Mason. “Arisa has a point. You won’t get far if you make Hana suspicious.”
“Fine,” Mason muttered.
Arisa continued her conversation with Hana in ASL for a minute before asking the question Mason had been impatiently waiting for. “Can you take us into town? We wanted to pick up some stuff for the party.”
Hana, fortunately, didn’t ask for details. Unfortunately, she didn’t say yes, either. “Sorry, I’m busy this week,” she replied. “You should ask Kendra to take you on the way back from your next field trip.”
“Next field trip?” Arisa repeated, clearly confused.
Hana frowned. “Kendra hasn’t told you yet?”
Arisa shook her head.
“I don’t know all of the details. You’ll have to ask her,” Hana told Arisa. “She’s actually on her way here now.”
“I didn’t catch that last part,” Mason said aloud. Arisa explained.
“Great.” Mason grabbed Felix and Arisa’s arms and pulled them toward a nearby table. “We’ll just wait here.”
Arisa turned back to sign something to Hana while Felix stumbled into a chair next to Mason.
“Do you think we can get Kendra to take us?” Felix asked Arisa as she sat down across from him.
“No idea,” Arisa replied with a shrug. “But it’s worth a shot.”
Kendra arrived at the library five minutes later. She spent another ten at the front desk in animated conversation with Hana. Finally, Hana pointed toward the table where the three sat, and Kendra came their way, a book tucked under her arm.
“Ooh, what book is that?” Arisa asked.
“Oh, it’s part of a series I’m rereading,” Kendra said, holding it up. “When I was younger, I wanted an excuse to talk to one of the library assistants I thought was cute, so I picked these books at random and started checking them out.” She examined the back cover. “Hana caught on pretty quickly, though, since I was checking them out in the wrong order.”
Mason cleared his throat. “Hana said something about you taking us on a field trip?”
“Oh, sure, it’s just a two-day trip. We leave Thursday.” Kendra lowered the book. “We have to check out a house where a powerful spirit was exorcised and make sure the place is still clean. Sometimes they stick around after you kick them out of a person’s body. It shouldn’t be dangerous, though.”
“That’s what you guys said about our last two field trips,” Felix said. “And I’ve almost died twice now.”
“At least we’ll get to stay in a hotel again,” Arisa said. “That was fun.”
Archer emerged from behind a nearby shelf, a stack of books in his arms. “Absolutely not.”
“Unbelievable,” Mason muttered.
Arisa turned in her chair to watch Archer approach. “Are you coming, too?”
“Yes. Kendra and I are usually mission partners.” Archer dropped the books on the table. “You should read these books on exorcisms before we go.”
Felix picked up the top book and studied the cover. “Seb didn’t make us do readings before our field trips with him.”
“Unfortunate.”
“Wait, why isn’t Sebastian taking us?” Arisa asked. “Is he coming, too?”
“He wasn’t assigned to this mission,” Archer said. “I was. And I wanted to bring you.”
“ We thought it would be an easy mission to bring you along on,” Kendra added.
Felix glanced at Archer. “And you said we’re not staying in a hotel?”
“No,” Archer replied.
“Why not?”
“It’s a waste of money, and we’d have to interact with more people. We’re camping.”
“The house is way up in the mountains, anyway,” Kendra added.
Mason shot Arisa a pointed look.
“Oh.” Arisa cleared her throat. “Kendra, do you think you could take us into town on the way back? We wanted to buy some stuff…for the, uh…student party.”
Kendra frowned. “Well, I’m glad you’ve changed your minds about going. I guess I could help you pick out some—”
“Uh, well, I also had a gift idea,” Arisa interrupted. “For the wedding. It needs to be a surprise, so you can’t come with us.” She fiddled with her cursed bracelet. “You can just drop us off and pick us up when we’re done.”
“Maybe it would be better if Archer took you, then.”
“I don’t have time for that,” Archer said sternly. “Besides, we have those other kids to deal with, too.”
“Other kids?” Felix asked, heart sinking. It was unlikely, but what if Archer was talking about—?
“When we asked the council for permission to bring you, Abraham Caldwell requested we take Jack and his friends, too.”
“You still have until later this summer to get the gift,” Kendra added. “Maybe we can try next week, okay?”
Arisa glanced at Mason. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. Arisa nodded at Kendra. “Okay.”
Kendra returned to the front desk to resume her conversation with Hana, while Archer left the library.
“Sorry, Mason,” Arisa said. “But I think we’ve tried everyone we had a chance at convincing to take us to a witch shop.”
Mason’s eyes narrowed as he watched the doors close behind Archer. “Yeah. Everyone we had a chance with.”
“Forget that for a minute,” Felix said. “We’re going to be stuck on a two-day camping trip with Jack Caldwell and his stupid friends.”
“Seriously!” Arisa flung her hands up in exasperation. “How can Archer tell us to avoid them and then turn around and take us camping with them?”
“Well, to be fair, it didn’t sound like he wanted to bring them.”
Mason rose to his feet. “Either way, they’re coming,” he said. “And as much as we all want to punch Jack in the face, we’ll just have to try our best to not do that.”
Felix’s anxiety around dealing with Jack and the others was worse than his fear of whatever awaited them at the exorcism site. When Tuesday morning rolled around, he dragged himself down to breakfast to meet the others with a sizeable amount of reluctance.
He, Arisa, and Mason got to ride with Kendra, while Jack and his friends rode with Archer, which was a small upside. But soon as they reached the campsite, everything went downhill.
For starters, Felix, Arisa, and Mason somehow didn’t have any tent assembling experience between the three of them.
“Have none of us seriously been camping before?” Arisa asked.
“I have, but my family always took an RV,” Felix replied.
“That doesn’t count as camping,” Mason said with a roll of his eyes. “And my family always put up our tent with magic. You know, because we’re witches?”
Arisa threw her hands in the air. “Then use magic to put it up!”
“It would take more than my shitty wand—”
Kendra walked by and lifted an eyebrow. Mason lowered his eyes and scowled. Arisa forced a smile and waved. Felix rubbed the back of his neck.
Jack and the others had gotten their tent up within minutes of arriving. Even though they only had one more person, their tent was nearly twice the size of the one Felix and the others were currently struggling with.
And then the rain started.
“We need to get this up,” Arisa said, staring at the pile of tent on the ground between them. “The last thing I want is mud on Clementine’s fur.”
Mason lifted the hood of his sweatshirt over his head. “Really? That’s the last thing you want?”
“Can’t you animate the tent and make it put itself up?” Felix asked Arisa.
Arisa lifted her hand and immediately yelped in pain. “It’s too big,” she said, rubbing her wrist.
Kendra returned to where they stood, this time with Archer at her side. She lifted an eyebrow. “Maybe we need to add ‘putting up a tent’ to our lesson plans.”
Archer didn’t respond. He knelt on the ground and lifted a section of the tent. “This seam is torn,” he said. He swept his gaze over the ground. “And you’re missing a pole.”
Kendra’s brow furrowed. “Who grabbed these for us?”
“I don’t know. Probably a council member.” Archer stood up. “It’s fine. Mine’s the same size. They can use that one instead, and I’ll stay outside tonight.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s raining.”
“It’s just water. I’ve spent the night in worse conditions,” Archer replied. “I was planning on keeping watch, anyway.” He spoke as if he were suggesting a walk in the park, not staying up all night in the rain.
Kendra frowned. “But—”
“Come on,” Archer said, gesturing to Felix and the others. “You should get your sleeping bags in the tent before they get completely drenched.”
Felix felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of forcing Archer to stay outside all night, but he wasn’t about to say no to shelter. He and the others scrambled to gather up their bags and carry everything into the waiting tent.
The rain lessened as the evening went on. At sunset, Felix and the others took a break from reading and slipped outside to watch the forest around them turn red and gold.
Jack and the others were outside, too, kicking a soccer ball back and forth on the opposite side of the campsite. Kendra was nowhere to be seen, presumably in her tent. Archer sat at the edge of the site with his back to a tree and a large coffee thermos at his side.
“I’m not used to this,” Felix said as Jack sent the ball sailing through the air between Clara and Rose. “I got along with pretty much everyone at my old school.”
“Well, I am,” Mason muttered.
“Before my curse thing, I wasn’t that close to anyone at the castle,” Arisa said with half-hearted shrug. “I lived there, but my parents sent me to a public school, and all my friends were there. But now I spend most of my time at the castle because everyone’s so concerned about this.” She held up a hand to flash her bracelet.
Felix moved his gaze from Jack’s gang back to Archer. Though he was staring toward Felix and the others, there was a faraway look in his eyes.
“Great, they’re coming this way,” Mason muttered.
Jack, Rose, Clara, and Noah walked up with an array of expressions. Jack had his usual confidence, Rose kept her face free of emotion, Clara threw nervous glances at Jack, and Noah looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“Mason, you’re not wearing your uniform,” Jack said, mock disappointment in his voice.
“I’m wearing the shirt and jacket under my sweatshirt,” Mason replied. “It’s cold up here.”
“What’s the point if no one can see it?”
“What’s the point of wearing it in the first place if there’s no one around but us?”
Jack smirked. “It’s about making us feel unified.”
“I don’t feel very unified with you right now, asshole.”
Felix snickered. Arisa grinned.
Jack’s eyes narrowed. He turned and waved his hand at Archer. “Archer!” he shouted. “These guys are complaining about the uniforms. Not very becoming of future Guardians.”
That snapped Archer out of whatever thoughts he’d been having. His stern gaze shifted from Jack to Jack’s friends to Felix and the others. Felix’s heart skipped a beat. Getting in trouble now was the last thing they needed.
“We’re a mile from an exorcism site after a string of unprecedented monster attacks have resulted in Guardians being injured and killed,” Archer deadpanned. “I need you to understand that I have never cared less about anything in my life than whatever meaningless drama is happening between students who barely understand anything about the Brightlands.”
Despite the fact that the last bit seemed to be directed at all of them, Felix grinned. Jack turned away from Archer, a scowl on his face.
“Seriously? That was your play?” Mason asked.
Jack leaned forward and jabbed a finger in Mason’s face. “Don’t forget that you three are on probation,” he said, his voice low. “So stay out of my way tomorrow.”
Felix frowned as Jack led his friends away. Before he could dwell on Jack’s words for long, Arisa laughed. “That was hilarious, Mason,” she said.
“Yeah.” Felix chuckled. “You really know how to push his buttons.”
A rare smile touched Mason’s lips. “Thanks.” He lowered his gaze. “But I usually don’t snap as much as I have been. I feel bad that I’ve been so on edge lately.”
Felix shrugged. “Hey, you’ve been through a lot.”
“Yeah, we understand,” Arisa added.
“You two have been through a lot, too.” Mason shook his head. “Anyway, I just saw what an asshole that guy was being and figured I should do the opposite of that. Especially since if everything goes the way I’m hoping, I won’t be here much longer.”
“Right,” Felix said, surprised at how much the words stung. He’d gotten used to having Mason around, as grouchy as the guy was.
Disappointment flashed across Arisa’s face, too, but it faded quickly. “Well, I feel bad for Jack’s friends.” Grinning, she added, “And I bet the four wouldn’t last two seconds in a battle with Supermoon Wolves.”
“Agreed,” Mason said with a sly smile. “Anyway, I’m starving. Let’s go eat the sandwiches we packed.”
Felix threw one last glance at Archer before following the others into the tent. Archer appeared to be deep in thought again, his gaze fixed on a point somewhere in the trees.