Second Time's A Curse Read online

  "That's unnecessarily cryptic," I mutter.

  The professor chuckles. "Maybe so, but I believe that some knowledge has to be earned and not just given."

  "Thank you." I'm at a loss for what else to say. Instead, I set Romeo down on the desk and pick up the book, sliding it into my bag. I'll look at it properly when I get back to my room. Some things need to be done with more privacy than I have here.

  "He's a beautiful kitten," the professor observes, leaning forward and stroking Romeo under the chin. The kitten purrs, loving the attention.

  "They all are," I admit.

  "I'm glad. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go prepare for my class." He nods in my direction, no doubt some sign of respect.

  "Thank you. For telling me all this, and for the book," I blurt out quickly. It's the most anyone's ever been able to tell me about what's going on with me, even if it turns out to be nothing.

  "You're welcome, Miss Black. See you next week." He doesn't wait for me to reply and disappears back into his office.

  Alright then. I guess that's that. I scoop Romeo back up, noting how calm he is about being carried. That makes a nice change from Rhubarb or Felix, who are more likely to try climbing me than letting me carry them.

  I turn towards the door and where Ryan is waiting, suddenly feeling butterflies in my stomach. That really shouldn't be the case. I've just spent the past hour with Ryan, it isn't as if anything weirder can happen.

  "You okay?" he asks the moment I step through the door.

  I nod. "Fine."

  "You look confused."

  A short, bitter laugh escapes me. "This is just how I look now. Conjuring kittens and failing magic have that effect."

  "Your magic isn't failing," he points out.

  "Of course it is," I counter quickly.

  "Not really. You may have made a kitten, but you also achieved exactly what you set out to do. I've seen it happen a couple of other times too."

  "Huh." I haven't been thinking about it that way. To me, there's just something wrong with my magic. But actually, he's right. At first, my spells just wouldn't work at all. But now, they do seem to be.

  "Can I ask you something a little weird?"

  "Weirder than today's been already?" I raise an eyebrow and wait for his question.

  "Could I borrow two of the diamonds? Just for a little bit, I'll give them back to you," he adds quickly.

  I frown. Not because he wants diamonds, I don't mind on that front, but because that isn't at all what I expected.

  "Of course. You'll have to dig them out yourself, though. My hands are full." I nod to the kitten squirming to get close to the human he apparently prefers. It's good to know where I stand with him. It's almost like he doesn't realise that I made him, or that I'm going to be the one looking after him.

  "Or I could, er, hold Romeo while you get them?" His eyes fill with hope and I'm not sure if it's to do with the kitten, or something else.

  "Are you scared of going in my bag?" I can't stop the amusement in my voice, even though I know I probably should.

  "Yes."

  Huh. That's blunt. "Here you go." I pass him Romeo and dig through my bag until I find the bag with the diamonds in. ."Just two? Or would more be better?"

  "I can't take more," he insists, shaking his head.

  "There's plenty though." Ten, if my quick count from the classroom is correct. I'm not sure if there's more value in ten smaller diamonds, or one bigger one, but anything is good when put against the cost of cat food.

  "I only need two. And you can have them back by the end of the week." He almost trips over his own words, they come out that fast.

  "Are you alright?" He's acting a little odd, that's for sure, and I don't know how to deal with it.

  "I'm fine."

  "Alright then." I separate off two of the diamonds, briefly wondering if I should add another one too. But he doesn't seem to want more than two, and giving him an extra one is probably too presumptuous. "Here you go."

  "Thanks. I'll swap you for a kitten?" He hands Romeo back to me and takes the diamonds. "You won't regret this."

  "I'm sure I won't?"

  He doesn't seem to hear the question in my voice and just smiles like he has some secret in the works. I swear, guys are confusing. I should go back to my not dating phase and have done with them.

  "I need to go meet Daphne," I say lamely, not liking the odd feeling between us.

  He nods. "Tell her I say hi."

  "Will do. Thanks for waiting for me." It's nice to have people watching my back, even if that's only when I leave lessons late.

  "I'd wait for you forever, Mona," he says softly, though I'm not sure I'm supposed to have heard.

  I wave goodbye and turn in the direction of my flat. The sooner I get to my room, the sooner I can get Romeo comfortable and I can start looking through the odd book the professor gave me.

  Hopefully, it has some answers I need and isn't just a simple old spellbook like it appears.

  Chapter Five

  I drain the dregs of my tea, and place the mug down on my desk. This is starting to feel impossible. The spellbook appears to be handwritten by two people, and one of them has illegible handwriting. It's almost impossible to read the words on the page.

  The other handwriting looks vaguely familiar, and I can see some similarities to my own, but I can't work out why it feels that way. Hopefully, it will slip into place. Probably at three am when I'm trying to sleep. That seems to be how these things normally go.

  I reach out and scratch Isla's head. She seems to have taken to sleeping on my desk, on top of a scarf I suspect I'll never be able to wear again, especially not if I don't want to be covered in cat hair.

  Weirdly, I don't mind. Before all this started happening, I'd never have called myself a cat person. But now I have them, I think I am. Well, realistically, I have to be. I could give them away, I suppose. But that seems kind of sad when they've all shown so much personality. I hope that I don't end up with too many more.

  A small paw bats at my leg, and I look down to find Seth trying to get my attention. I chuckle. He's one of those that wants attention on his own terms.

  And yet, I pick him up and set him on my knee anyway. I really am a sucker for these small creatures. They're just too cute for their own good. I stroke down his soft black fur with one hand, and use the other one to turn the pages of the book. Each spell is different, and some of them have notes scribbled in the margins. But it's hard to work out what they say. They're in the same handwriting as the rest of the book though, which suggests they're just refinements of the spells the person created.

  Yet more unanswered questions. They seem to be becoming my thing now.

  A knock at my door pulls my attention away from the book.

  "Come in," I call, but Daphne is already entering the room, a plate of cookies in hand. "He told you, didn't he?"

  "Mmhmm. Now, where is the newest ball of fluff?" She sets the cookies down next to me. At least they're actually for humans and not for the kittens, I wouldn't put it past her to spoil them and forget about me.

  "Curled up with Ginger." I wave a hand lazily in the direction of the windowsill, which has become Ginger's favourite spot. And seeing as Romeo took a liking to her the moment he set eyes on her, it's become his too.

  Ryan is right about him being a lover at least.

  "Oh, they are just the sweetest together." Her eyes are wide, and I can see a hint of envy in them. I'm not sure whether it's towards me for having kittens, or towards the cats themselves because they get to spend all day curled up in the sun.

  My guess is the latter.

  "They're so cute."

  "They are," I respond, only half-heartedly.

  "What was it you wanted me to see?" she asks.

  "This." I tap the book, glad she got my text. She might be able to make sense of it.

  "Pass it here?" She takes a seat on the bed, and holds her hands up to let Felix climb into her lap. She
's his favourite human, from what I can tell.

  I hand the book over.

  Daphne frowns in concentration, her tongue sticking out as she flicks through the pages.

  "Do you know who wrote it?"

  "No clue." I lean back in my chair, and turn myself around, being careful to make sure there are no kittens about to be startled with my sudden movement. There's so many of them around, that it's impossible to keep track of them all. But I reckon that so long as I keep an eye on them when I move, it'll be okay. I don't want to hurt any of them.

  "Hmm. I wonder if there's a record of it." She pulls out her tablet before I can point out that the book doesn't have a title.

  She flips to the front and puts her finger under a long number, before typing it into the search function in the library app. Daphne taps a finger against her chin, as if lost in thought.

  "So?" I prompt.

  "It's not showing in the library. Not even any close matches. I wonder..."

  "Wonder what?"

  "If I just..."

  "Daphne," I snap. "You need to finish your sentence."

  "Sorry, I was typing it into the academy history part. And it's found it."

  "It has?" I jump up, careful to hold Seth close to my chest as I move.

  He squirms, and I set him down on the chair I just vacated. It seems as good a place as any for a kitten.

  "Let me look?"

  She shuffles on the bed, causing Felix to lift his head sleepily. He doesn't look particularly concerned about the two of us working above him. I bet Daphne could even lean the book on him and he'd be okay with it.

  "It's here, linked to the academy's honour roll." She points to the screen where I can barely read the tiny writing.

  "Why are the names blacked out?" I ask.

  "Just one name," she replies. "But I think you can request your name to be redacted after a certain amount of time."

  My eyebrows knit together. Why would someone want to be taken off the honour roll? I'll admit that I don't know much about it, I don't need to as a first year, but even I know that it's a big deal. And something that can completely transform a career after graduation.

  In other words, it's something Daphne will be going for.

  "But why?"

  She shrugs. "Who knows. Do you think that matters?"

  "Yes." The answer falls from me before I can even give it any consideration. I'm not sure why I'm so sure, or what it is about the book that's so important, but something in my gut tells me that it is. There may even be some answers inside it.

  "Then I guess I'd better keep digging. One thing did strike me as odd, though."

  "Other than a nameless author and a co-author who isn't properly credited at all?" I ask.

  She chuckles. "Yes, other than that."

  "Are you going to tell me? You're being very cryptic this evening." I study my best friend and try to work out what it is that's different about her. It's something, but I'm not sure I can name it.

  "That's because I'm an international woman of mystery," Daphne announces.

  A snort escapes me without me even realising it.

  "You don't believe me? I'm going to become the next James Bond."

  "He's not real."

  "People used to say that about witches," she points out. "And yet here we are, with wands and black cats and everything."

  "Only one of the kittens is black. And he's not even completely black at all."

  Felix stretches out his white-socked paw as if to prove a point, before doing the most adorable yawn I've ever seen.

  Daphne scratches his head, affection filling her expression. "Don't listen to mean-old-Mona. You're a black cat to me," she croons to the kitten.

  I look away before she can see the sappy smile on my face. It makes me so happy to see her acting like this around the kittens. Not long ago, she'd have been too sad even for this.

  "You still haven't told me what you noticed about the book," I point out once I've regained my composure a little bit.

  "Oh, right." She flicks through some of the pages, then turns the book to face me. "Recognise this?"

  "Huh." It's the spell a lot of people our age play at parties. They turn their faces into different animals and make noises. I tried it once, and just after that was when I started the whole making-kittens thing. "What about it?"

  Other than which spell it is, there's nothing remarkable about the page. Especially because I've always known that someone had to invent it before we could all start using it.

  "It looks like something was stuck over the top of the page."

  "What?" I look closer, trying to see what she can.

  Daphne sighs and gets out her wand. "Watch." She waves it over the page, and magic ripples over the book, revealing marks where something has been on top of the paper.

  Huh. I guess she's right. Something has been stuck over the top of it.

  "What do you think it was?"

  "I don't know," she admits. "But I think there was some magic involved too."

  The urge to point out that it's a spellbook and therefore full of magic threatens to take over me. But I'm good and keep quiet. She knows what it is, and doesn't need me telling her things.

  "There are some traces. One second." She taps her wand on the paper again, and this time, a ripple effect travels over it, revealing small sparkles that line up with where the glue seems to have been applied.

  "Wow."

  "Yep." Pride shines through the word, and I don't blame her. That's an impressive piece of magic she did there, and no one can take that away from her. My professors should be talking to her and not me about being powerful. Daphne truly has what it takes to go far in life. Me? I'm not so sure.

  "What do you think was on top of it?" I trace my hand over the page, trying to make sense of what I'm seeing and coming up blank.

  She shrugs. "I don't know. I can't even tell when whatever was there was taken off it. Just that it was there."

  "Hmm."

  "But I do think it has something to do with what's going on with you."

  "You do?" I can feel the frown pulling at my features. "I thought we found what it was in the other book?" Thomas found it in the secret library. I haven't seen it again since then, but he seemed pretty sure that's what was causing my issues.

  Daphne shakes her head. "The first kitten appeared after we played this game." She taps on the page. "Before that, there was just a block on your magic, like we saw in the other book."

  "Alright, I'm not sure I'm following, though." I thought we had the answer already, and a little part of me is disappointed that it's turning out to not be the case.

  "But this book contains the specific spell that triggered your kittens. One that's been magically tampered with. I think whoever made the animal spell also made something with a magic block. They probably based their spell off the original one we found.

  "Hmm. I suppose so. But then, why did my magic start working again?" Since the party, I've been able to do spells, they've just happened with fluffy consequences.

  As if to remind me what they were, Rhubarb decides it's time to play, and rolls onto his back at my feet.

  I pick up one of the cat toys that now litter my floor and dangle it in front of him. He bats the feathery tip back and forth, clearly loving the toy despite the fact that it's only a feather on a long piece of string with a stick attached to the end of it. I shouldn't complain, it keeps him happy, and that works for me.

  "I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong..."

  "You're probably not," I point out. "How often does that happen?"

  "Well, that time with Heath," she counters.

  "Doesn't count," I answer for her. "That was Ryan meddling in things he shouldn't." I soften a little as I say his name, but catch myself before I let too much slip. I don't want her to think I'm head over heels in love with him when I'm not. He's just a friend. That's all.

  "For me, it does," she counters. "But that's beside the point. I think there's something in this
, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

  "Thank you," I blurt.

  She cocks her head to the side, a slightly bemused smile on her face. "For what?"

  "For believing in me. And for helping me."

  "Of course I'm helping you, you're my best friend."

  "Sorry, I don't know how to do this," I admit. "I've never had a best friend before."

  "I think we just have to carry on doing what we're doing," she responds. "Spend time hanging out, talk about the boys in our lives that aren't my brother, try and solve mysterious curses...we're all set as far as I'm concerned."

  My heart swells even more than it does when I see a cute kitten, or one of said boys in my life does something sweet.

  "Even so, I appreciate it," I tell her.

  "I know," she whispers.

  An odd silence fills the room. I don't want to break the moment, but I also don't know what to say.

  A loud ringing sounds through the room, making both of us flinch. It takes me a moment to realise it's my phone, and jump up from the bed, dropping the toy for Rhubarb to carry on playing with so I can grab it.

  My eyes widen as I take in Thomas' name on my lock screen.

  "Hey?" I say the moment I've hit the green button.

  "Hi, Mona. Are you free right now?" he asks.

  Daphne nods eagerly from the bed, sliding Felix off her lap and collecting up her stuff. I'm guessing that's another thing that a best friend is for.

  "I am, yes."

  "Can I come over?"

  "Sure?" I think that's okay. I'm not sure if there are any specific rules against teaching assistants spending time in a student's room. Maybe. I should probably check that.

  "Alright, I'll be there in ten minutes." He hangs up before I can ask how he knows which flat I'm in. At this point, I'm not even sure it matters.

  "Have fun with your teacher," Daphne teases as she opens my door.

  "He's not..." The door shuts behind her. "My teacher," I finish lamely. She's not going to believe me if she can't hear me. I hope no one else questions me about it. I'll have a harder time convincing them that there's nothing between Thomas and me.

  Mostly because even I think that's a lie.