An Odd Sort of Magic

Chapter Seven

"Well then," Ms. Shelling said, "let's get down to buisness."

Beta tensed up. This is what they were in here for. Now that Jayan was actually in the room, she was more nervous.

Ms. Shelling turned to Vanessa, "How many new recruits have we gathered in the past week?"

Vanessa's expresion didn't waver, "seven, Ms. Shelling."

"Good, good," Ms. Shelling mused, stroking Vanessa's hair like you might a pet's. To her credit, Jayan didn't flinch.

"If, I may, Ms. Shelling," a girl said, "there have been rumors about students here, some of those not involved in your plan, who are working against you."

"Nonsense," Ms. Shelling scoffed, "If there were any foolish enough to oppose me, to oppose us, I would have rooted them out by now, don't you agree, Vanessa?"

Vanessa stiffened just slightly, "There is a slight possibility. But Ms. Shelling is right. She should be able to tell if anyone trys to get in her way."

Jayan let her breath out in a silent sigh. She had been worried. What if the curse made Vanessa tell the truth? But these arguments seemed to happen a lot, and the topic moved on.

"Ms. Shelling?" a boy Jayan didn't know asked, "when will the attack be held. Some of the students are getting impatient."

"All in good time, Jared," Ms.Shelling assured, "we just need a few more to add to our ranks, and we will be able to invade, as planned. Finding those recruits, however, is difficult. We must have only the best in our army."

The magic casters in the room swelled with pride. Clearly they considered themselves to be above the others. Only Vanessa remained ridgid.

The door swung open, revealing the boy who had run after Drew. He was out of breath, "I'm sorry, Ms.Shelling. I couldn't catch the student who disrupted the meeting. I couldn't even see thier face."

Ms. Shelling glowered, "We must find out who it is. If they suspect what we're doing, they may very well make the rumors become truth. Don't fail next time."

The boy nodded, "Of course, Ms. Shelling."

Beta leaned over to Jayan, "We need to get out of here."

"Why?" Jayan whispered back.

"Because if we don't," Beta explained, "My magic will be drained, and we won't be invisable anymore."

"Oh," Jayan gasped. If they didn't get out, they'd be caught. But how could they leave? "I wish we had Jasmine."

Beta whispered, "We're going to have to get one of them to open the door for us."

Jayan stared at Beta, or at least where she thought Beta was. Had she lost her mind? Then she realized what Beta had in mind.

And just in time, there was a noise outside.

"Quick, it might be the troublemaker from before," Ms. Shelling said, "meeting over!" The people poured out of the room, not noticing two invisible girls following them. They made it all the way up to the attic before Beta let go of Jayan.

Both girls blinked, reappearing. "You changed back," Beta noted.

Jayan flopped back onto one of the couches, "that was close."

"Lucky for you guy's I'm clever," Drew grinned, appearing in the doorway, "If I hadn't known about Beta's time limit, I wouldn't have known to save your butts. You can say thank you."

He looked pretty smug, but I guess he deserved it, "Thanks a ton, Drew. If we had been discovered, it would have been the end of the Underground."

Beta nodded in agreement, "But we still have to talk to the rest of the group, not to mention Kiya."

"Speaking of the rest of the group," Jayan said, "what are they doing, exactly?"

"I don't know," Beta admited, while Drew shrugged, "Something to do with recruiting. But I figure they're probably almost done. It's getting close to lunch, and we make it a rule to never miss a meal, unless we plan it that way. You never know when somethings going to come up."

Beta was right. Jasmine and Arianna showed up a couple minutes later. "Great news," Arianna squealed, "We got another member. His name is Jacob, and he's so cute!"

Beta elbowed Arianna, "have you been hitting on the recruits agan?"

Arianna blushed, looking guilty, "Maybe."

Everyone laughed. The laughter from Kiya, who now stood in the doorway stood out. It rang through the air like a bell. Everyone turned to her.

"Kiya," Jayan said.

"Nice to see you survived your first mission, Jayan," Kiya's eyes twinkled, "Of course, I'm not suprised. Now Jordan owes me five bucks." She rubbed her hands together in delight, "We had a bet. He thought you wouldn't last a full mission."

Jayan raised an eyebrow, "so people are betting on me now. I feel kind of like a race horse. Do I get a cool name?"

Kiya blushed redder than her hair, "Sorry. The Underground is just really excited to have you here."

"She's right," Arianna piped up. It seemed as if Arianna just couldn't listen to a conversation with opening her mouth. Jayan found it rather amusing.

"You know," Drew said, "I really can't wait to see what your powers are."

Jayan looked at her feet, "What if I don't really have any?"

"Don't worry about it," Beta soothed, "It doesn't matter."

That didn't really convince Jayan, especially with the smoke sudenly filling the room.