Crossed Spells

Chapter 23: Revelations in Class (Part 2)

Lucas stared at the blackboard, incredulous. The symbols continued to appear, forming and deforming in a silent ballet of light and shadow. He quickly glanced around, trying to see if anyone else had noticed this strange phenomenon. But his classmates seemed absorbed in the lecture, taking notes or looking at Professor Nightshade with various expressions of interest or boredom.

His gaze met Aria's, and he saw in her eyes the same mixture of shock and fear that he felt. She too could see the symbols. They exchanged a meaningful look, suddenly understanding that this class was far from ordinary.

Nightshade, for his part, continued his lecture as if nothing was amiss, apparently unaware of the strange manifestations occurring behind him. Or perhaps, Lucas thought with a shiver, he was perfectly aware of them and pretending not to notice.

"Some say," Nightshade continued, his gaze sweeping across the class before briefly resting on Lucas, "that Ravenswood is at a crossroads. Not just geographically, but... let's say, metaphysically. A place where the boundaries between worlds are thinner."

Lucas felt his heart rate quicken. It was almost word for word what his father had told him. How could Nightshade know about this? Was it a coincidence, or was he deliberately trying to provoke a reaction?

The symbols on the blackboard seemed to pulse in reaction to Nightshade's words, their luminosity briefly intensifying. Lucas felt a familiar tingling in his fingers, his powers reacting to the magical charge that suddenly seemed to fill the air. He had to make a conscious effort not to let the shadows around him stir, knowing that the slightest manifestation of his powers could be noticed.

"As you know, in the history of Ravenswood," Nightshade continued, his voice taking on an almost hypnotic tone, "we find accounts of unexplained events, strange phenomena that seem to defy all logic. Lights in the forest produced by no visible source, shadows moving against the wind, impossible sounds echoing in the night..."

Nightshade paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping the class. "Can anyone tell me why these phenomena might be significant? Why would a town experience such... unusual events?"

A heavy silence fell over the class. Lucas felt all his muscles tense. He knew the answer, or at least part of it, but he couldn't give it without risking revealing what he knew.

Finally, a hand timidly rose at the back of the class. It was Emily, a quiet girl Lucas barely knew.

"Yes, Miss Parker?" Nightshade encouraged.

"Well," Emily began in a hesitant voice, "maybe these phenomena are related to the energy of the place? I read somewhere that some places are considered energy points, like... spiritual vortexes?"

Nightshade smiled, a smile that seemed to hide more than it revealed. "An interesting theory, Miss Parker. Indeed, many cultures around the world believe in the existence of sacred places, points of energy convergence. Could Ravenswood be one of these places?"

He turned to the blackboard, and for a terrifying moment, Lucas thought he was going to point out the mysterious symbols. But Nightshade merely took a piece of chalk and wrote down a few words.

"Energy vortex," he said as he wrote. "Points of convergence. Boundaries between worlds. These are fascinating concepts, aren't they? They remind us that the world may be vaster and more mysterious than we usually think."

Lucas felt a drop of cold sweat run down his back. Every word from Nightshade seemed loaded with double meaning, as if he was speaking directly to Aria and him, while maintaining the appearance of a normal class for the rest of the students.

The symbols on the blackboard continued their silent dance, transforming and intertwining into increasingly complex patterns. At one point, Lucas thought he recognized the emblem of the Order of Guardians, as his father had described it to him, before it dissolved again into abstract spirals.