Awakened (Unbound, Book 3)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Even Mrs. Hendrey's misinformed teachings couldn't dull my good mood. I sat, attentive, and tried to hold my tongue. I was amnesia-girl, right? Yeah... I think my mother's teachings were too ingrained because it didn't matter.

"So, once you have the tools you need and have cleansed everything, you can do your spell," Mrs. Hendrey said. She pointed to the board, which listed: Alter tools, cleansing, and doing.

In that order.

I raised my hand, asking my question before she could continue. "I know you said that you moved the syllabus around, but did I miss the lesson about The Law of Three and The Golden Rule?"

"Nora, this is simple. We don't need—"

"Actually," I said, cutting her off. "Knowing that would be the most basic, don't you think? Knowing that whatever you do will return to you threefold and to do unto others as you would have done unto you would be essential to understand before trying any spell."

"And these are covered in WC-2 when you would learn spells that you share with others."

"And you don't think WC-1 students will try that outside of class? Individual spells can backfire to come back threefold, too." I raised my eyebrow in question. Leaning forward, I waved my hand through the air. "Even if they didn't, what about the Wiccan Reed and the four elements of a spell? Or the belief factor or... the problem-solving?"

"And what do you know of that?"

"I know it's needed to know even if it's a basic spell," I said, deadpanning. "You need to define the problem before finding a solution, and you must believe that it will work. Then—and this is in order—you must Will It, Know It, Do It, and Keep Silent. Guess which is most important and why?"

"You forgot about intent."

"No, we already covered that, remember?" I cocked my head. "Just because I was diagnosed with amnesia doesn't mean that I can't retain new memories. And in case you're wondering, it's important to keep silent so that your will has a chance to work. You don't want it to fizzle and backfire, nor do you want someone to send energy to combat what you've done. I would think, even more than learning the proper placement of altar tools, that should be a part of the basic spellcasting lesson. Or at least be taught together before the actual art of spellcasting."

I sat back, wanting to say so much more but trying not to get kicked out. Judging by the red in Mrs. Hendrey's face, I was close. It really wasn't my intent to counter everything she said, but seriously. What teacher switched up the syllabus so that the end result was the first thing taught? Perhaps in another subject, that would be okay, but this was magic! Screw-ups could be catastrophic.

If I was willing to share, what happened to my clearing was the perfect example.

"You must have studied with your father," Mrs. Hendrey said, making it sound like she was pleased despite the hardness of her gaze and the anger I felt coming to a boil. "It surprises me that you're taking this so seriously."

"My procedural memory is intact, Mrs. Hendrey, and I haven't studied with Devland," I told her. "It seems that once you start speaking, I can't help but share facts I was taught at some point in my past. You are right, though. Since losing my memory, I have realized how important the Craft is, and I plan to take it very seriously."

Mrs. Hendrey shifted, appraising the students who remained quiet throughout our exchange, before coming to rest on me again. "I believe it's time to discuss your progress with your father."

"Was I wrong?" I asked and felt her anger spike. I held the side of the desk to keep my own emotions under control in response. "If not, I have nothing to worry about, though I'd be happy to learn something new if you can share? I have a feeling the community, which is lead by the High Council, values education, right? Otherwise, they'd probably have a lot of mistakes to clean up."