I woke up on January 2nd wondering if this would be the day that Ben went to talk to Starla or if he’d wait until the next day. It was a Monday, and we were supposed to start school again on Wednesday. We’d gotten emails and phone calls from Principal Short that all of the damage caused before Christmas break had been repaired. None of those messages mentioned the crazy mage who had lit a bunch of students and a teacher on fire. They made it sound as if the damage had been caused by something accidental, like a Bunsen burner that was accidentally left on too long. I guess I couldn’t blame him if he was trying to help everyone forget about the horror fest that was our last day of school.I slept pretty late that day because I was still tired from New Year’s Eve and the fun we’d had the day before, celebrating New Year’s Day. When I woke up, Ben wasn’t there. I heade

We had one more day before school was scheduled to start. After about a month of being home, it seemed like torture to have to go back, but I was also looking forward to starting my last semester in high school. I had applied to a few colleges online, and every day, I would wake up and check to see if I’d gotten any responses. I would’ve loved to be going off to college, like I’d always dreamt, but I knew now, wherever I went, at least for the next year, I’d have to do it online because I’d either be needed with my pack, or I’d be in Europe. I had no idea what Mage Jaye’s plans were since we’d had our tiff since I hadn’t heard from her since the phone call where we’d argued, but she’d promised me I’d be hearing from her soon. I was beginning to think perhaps she was bluffing. Until that day before we were to start school again. W

We waited until dusk, and then, Mage Jaye, Mage Nuthatch and I changed ourselves into owls and took off toward the mountains. It wasn’t snowy or windy, and the sun was just starting to go down, so the trip wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as it had been the last time I made it all by myself. That being said, it was still dangerous enough to make my feather stand on end as we took off, up into the air, on our way toward the mountains.I didn’t see the light at first. We were flying blind, except for my pack, that was running through the forest beneath us. They have a much better sense of direction than I do, so I stayed where I could see them. All of them stuck together and used their noses and the description I had given them from my last trip to figure out which way to go. Sam was with them, but Starla had stayed home, which was just as well. I felt more comfortable knowing the largest wol

After Mage Jaye gave Cody Buzzard her ultimatum, that he needed to pack up his mage friends and ride off into the sunset, or whatever the equivalent for evil people is, there wasn’t much else to say. Cody’s laughter basically told us all he wasn’t planning on going anywhere. So, Mage Jaye warned him that he had two weeks to get himself back into the shadows where he was no longer a threat to anyone, and then she shifted back into an owl and turned back toward my house.I wasn’t sure how having an enemy in the shadows was better than knowing where he was, but it wasn’t my place to ask her at the moment, in front of the threat himself. I was just about to shift into an owl and fly back, too, but just before I did so, Cody Buzzard said, “Come on, Harlow. You gonna keep answering to that crazy bitch your whole life?”I didn

The last thing on earth I wanted to do was talk to Nuthatch--alone or otherwise. His beady little eyes bore down on me as I met him at the top of the stairs. I couldn’t guess what it was he wanted to tell me, but he seemed desperate, so I said, “Okay…” and followed him outside.He really did mean alone, too. I can’t remember ever having seen him move quite as quickly as he was at the moment, walking away from the house toward the forest. I was able to keep up with him, but it was more of a struggle than I’d like to admit. Since when am I not as fast as a middle-aged balding dude with thick glasses?Once he felt we were far enough away from the house to qualify as “alone,” he stopped abruptly and spun around to face me, making me pull up short to keep from running into him. I gave him a look, but he ignored me. &l