A Druid's Secret: The Olkaster Academy Series, #1

By Rosie Wylor-Owen

When myths emerge from the shadows, a druid's dark powers are the key to unravelling a centuries-old secret.

 

Tabatha Blackwood can't wield magic to save her life. Her spells backfire and her potions are only good for burning holes in the floor. Olkaster Academy, an elite magical school, is her only hope. 

 

Her unique power to detect magical energy is the only thing that doesn't get her into trouble, until she stumbles through a bewitched door in the castle dungeons. After witnessing untold horrors, Tabatha becomes embroiled in an ancient war between Olkaster's two secret societies: the Skyseers and the Nightcasters.

 

The mysterious and dashing Leo Calhoun is determined to help keep Tabatha out of trouble. Yet, the further they are sucked into the societies' ever-growing tensions, the more Tabatha realises there is more to his past than he is willing to admit. 

 

When Tabatha discovers that her abilities could tip the balance of power between the two societies, she must decide where her loyalties lie. But if this druid's secret falls into the wrong hands, her powers, her future and even Olkaster itself might not survive to see next semester.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rosie Wylor-Owen
• Release date: Aug 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781916274822

Rosie Wylor-Owen

Rosie Wylor-Owen is an award-winning author of speculative fiction, specialising in urban fantasy. Her work has been featured in literary magazines The Fiction Pool, Anti-Heroin Chic and Ariel Chart, and on the Manawaker Studios Podcast. Rosie regularly contributes to the lifestyle magazine Unwritten and is currently working on her debut urban fantasy novel. For updates about Rosie’s upcoming work, visit www.rosiewylor-owen.com and she would love a follow on Facebook and Twitter.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Engulfed in a whirlwind of colour, Tabatha plummeted through the maelstrom. A laugh welled up in her throat, ready to burst between her lips. She bottled it, stuffing her excitement down to an acceptable level. First impressions only came once. Still, Tabatha cradled her enthusiasm within her. This day had taken its sweet time arriving.

At thirteen years old, her acceptance letter to Olkaster Academy had arrived. For the three, long years that followed she worked on her magic, practicing to become at least a half-decent druid before she arrived.

Magic school wasn’t like learning magic in her coven. Coven elders gathered every child over the age of 11 to learn the tamest spells they could think of. At Olkaster, as her brother had promised her, she would finally learn some real magic.

When her feet met solid ground, the colour dissipated before her eyes. Walls of shrubbery jutted into the clearest sky she had ever seen, carving paths that snaked away into the distance. Tabatha stepped out of the teleportation circle, her boots echoing on the stone, the candles flickering about her ankles.

Tabatha craned her neck to glimpse the top of the hedges, at least twenty feet high. Olkaster Academy had a reputation of having the oddest traditions, the first of which began with this. Her brother had told her all about his own journey out of Olkaster’s hedge maze, the only initiation ritual the school demanded of them.

New students had one test before they were permitted entrance to the academy: finding their way out of the hedge maze and overcoming all magical obstacles in their way. But from what her brother, Caleb, had told her, the time and manner in which students exited the maze didn’t hurt your social standing.

Caleb was a veteran by now. Now in his third year at Olkaster, Tabatha didn’t need him to tell her that he had made a name for himself. His many talents came packaged with many ambitions. Returning home with straight As wasn’t enough for Caleb.

His side-business boomed from its first week; he was the go-to dealer of hand-made magical artefacts at Olkaster. The thrill of evading the teachers’ notice kept him more entertained than a good grade and a pat on the back.

Tabatha’s stomach writhed like a pit of vipers. Her magic skills weren’t what Caleb’s were, though he never lorded that fact over her. Attending the academy meant that she could finally try to better herself, but she didn’t want anyone to learn about her…disadvantages.

Tabatha stuffed the thoughts away for later. They’d be back, whether she liked it or not. But she wouldn’t even sit at the breakfast table at Olkaster until she found her way out of this maze.

Several paths lay before her, each looking more daunting than the last. She chose the path straight ahead of her.

Her palms began to slick, a lump rising in her throat. The walls almost looked like they were closing in on her. Strange, she had never felt claustrophobic before. In fact, she had spent many a day as a child hiding in cupboards, closets and tree hollows in an attempt to escape her brother’s incessant requests to practice his experiments on her.

To him, his revolutionary spells were all in good fun. To her, they were rolling the dice on whether she would show up at their coven’s next meeting covered in artificial chickenpox. Yet, the maze brought out fear in her she didn’t know she had.

This is supposed to be an adventure, get a grip.

Tabatha fiddled with her bracelet, a collection of multi-coloured threads her mother had woven for her before she left. Her parents, who usually agreed on everything, were still torn about her coming here. Her father had expressed his doubts more than once but her mother was her biggest advocate.

Go and have fun, she said, before Tabatha stepped through the portal. And don’t let Caleb tell you what to do. There’s nothing wrong with doing things your way.

My way.

Tabatha stopped in her tracks, tugging the bracelet as she drew on the only magical skill that never failed her. Power flared to life in her belly and the wispy glow of magic materialised before her eyes, reaching her even through the hedges as their owners moved about the maze as she did.

Druids were blessed supernatural creatures. They had the entire reach of magic at their fingertips. Their skills often included a personal power as well as the ability to cast spells, rituals and brew potions. Although, she had yet to get any good at the latter. Her personal power was the only thing that made her feel even a little bit competent.

When she called upon it, Tabatha could see all magic, in all its different varieties. Every magical species had their own colour, every spell had its own shade and even potions gave off the faintest of hues.

A few blue figures, valkyries, wandered about the maze around her. Some yellow, witches, green fairies and purple druids. She even spied some others she had never seen before. Pinks, silvers and even brown. Tabatha didn’t doubt there were species she had never met. Her coven didn’t get out much.

An unmoving, golden spot shimmered nearby, perhaps a few hedges away. A spell circle, perhaps? Tabatha wove her way down the paths, meeting several dead ends as she tried to reach it. She might not be very good at magic, but trying a spell was a better idea than wandering around hopelessly in this giant maze.

As she weaved this way and that, Tabatha cast her thoughts back to her brother’s advice.

Don’t panic, he’d said. But I’d take up running if I were you. Those maze tigers are fast!

Tabatha laughed the same way she had when he had said it to her. She had learned a long time ago not to take him too seriously.

She strolled around the next corner to find the spell circle: a pentagram burned into the grass. Four large, white candles stood at the northern, southern, eastern and western points of the circle, a collection of smaller candles filling the gaps between. A goblet stood in the middle, oil vials and bowls of ingredients arranged neatly at its base.

Her chest tightened as she knelt down just outside the circle, careful to keep the flames away from the hem of her navy tunic. Potions and spells had a tendency to go horribly wrong whenever she cast them.

Stop it, she muttered. "You can do this."

Tabatha picked up the ingredients, going over all their uses as her mother and grandmother taught her, drilling them into her head every day. They were only useful together to make a levitation spell.

She craned her neck to spy the tops of the hedges. Was it possible? To scale the hedges of the maze with a levitation spell and simply drift over the tops until she found the exit?

Tabatha smiled and set to work. It was worth a try at the very least.

She focused on each stage of the spell, careful to place just enough of each ingredient into the cauldron at just the right time. The last step of the spell, like all spells, required blood.

Tabatha fought with her nerves as she pricked her finger with the needle. This was the part where things tended to go horribly wrong. Chewing her lip, she shook a droplet into the goblet and braced herself.

She gasped as her feet left the ground and grabbed for the hedge to balance herself.

No way, she muttered. I did it? I actually- whoa!

A started squeak escaped Tabatha’s lips as her stomach lurched, launched into the air under the force of the spell. She sailed over several hedges, limbs flailing before she began to descend, the grass flying up to meet her. Tabatha threw out her hands and clenched her eyes shut, bracing for impact.

Gah!

Her stomach lurched, the air whooshing from her lungs as she came to an abrupt stop. Prying her eyelids open, Tabatha breathed a sigh of relief. She hung, suspended in the air, mere inches off the ground.

Whoa!

Without warning, she plummeted the final foot, face-planting into the ground. Tabatha groaned into the grass. Another spell inexplicably failed.

You’ve got to do better than this, she told herself. You can’t keep doing this. Not here.

So much for a new start. At least nobody was around to watch her epic failure.

Tabatha scrambled to her feet as the grass rustled nearby, errant thoughts of tigers crossing her mind. From around the corner, a small, black cat trotted into view. It spied Tabatha and paused, eyeing her as if considering whether or not she was a viable threat.

Tabatha did the same. She loved cats, but there was no telling whether this was actually a cat or not. Shapeshifters shifted into any form they desired and cats were a popular choice. Nobody dared interrupt a cat’s nap.

From between the cat’s ears, a tiny figure clambered onto the top of its head. Tabatha squinted, leaning in a little closer to get a better look. The figure fluttered a pair of lilac wings and shimmered down, disappearing between the blades of grass.

Tabatha jumped as a teenage girl sprouted out of the grass like a rapidly growing tree.

Sorry. The girl dusted off her rose-coloured dress, smiling all the while. I didn’t mean to scare you.

She teased the hairband from her frizzy black locks and with practiced fingers, tied it back up tighter. She had a mischievous look about her, light dancing in her black eyes and a wicked smile. A pair of combat boots poked out under the hem of her dress, which she adjusted with fingers sporting several rings each.

But the giant, lilac wings protruding from her back had Tabatha transfixed. Beautiful, almost ethereal, they shimmered with every gentle flap. Tapping into her powers, the girl’s green aura flashed to life before her eyes.

Are you a fairy? Tabatha asked.

As far as she knew, fairies were the only species capable of shrinking and growing at will. Humans had incorporated them into their legends, painting them as winged creatures that either granted wishes or caused mischief, Little did they know the creatures they discussed walked among them, thanks to magical glamours concealing their wings.

Tabatha had never met a fairy before, but her coven were certain, from past interactions with the creatures, that they enjoyed practical jokes and mishaps more than the average person. That part of the fairy legacy was at least somewhat true.

Oh yes! My name is Pippa, but I’d rather you didn’t call me that. It’s the name my grandmother uses when I’m in trouble. Call me Pip. What’s your name?

Tabatha.

Ooooh, that sounds like a witch’s name. Are you a witch?

A druid.

Close enough. This is Rita, said Pip, squatting down to rub the belly of the cat which had rolled onto its side on the ground. She’s a little tired, I think. She’s not used to making such long journeys from home.

The cat’s eyes narrowed in perfect ecstasy, thoroughly enjoying the attention.

She’s cute. Is she your familiar? she asked.

Fairies were a unique species in many ways, but they were the only species capable of creating familial bonds between animals and magical people. From what she had read about familiars, they shared several magical benefits. She had always wanted a familiar but her parents had never gotten so much as a goldfish before.

Of course, said Pip. "I don’t go anywhere without her. Even if she does want to stop every five minutes for a nap. Well, I suppose it’s my turn to carry her now."

Pip gathered the cat up in her arms, where Rita curled up and closed her eyes with an apparent intention to sleep.

It was lovely to meet you, Tabatha. Maybe I’ll see you at school?

Sure, see you later.

Pip danced away down the path. Tabatha smiled to herself as she watched them disappear. Aunt Yvonne was right: fairies really were quirky.

Tabatha dusted herself off, ridding herself of several blades of grass and a beetle before she set off the way Pip had come from.

She continued on her way, encountering nothing and nobody as she twisted and turned. From time to time, she spied other students passing crossroads up ahead, looking as confused as she felt. She couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased that she wasn’t the only one who felt out of her depth.

But the further she wandered and the more certain she was that she had passed the same thorny rose at least seven times, that relief turned into mounting frustration.

Tabatha stopped at a crossroads, kicking a rock into the undergrowth. Did this thing have an end? Or was she cursed to walk between these hedges for eternity?

Then, an unnerving sound came trembling through the air. A low growl that had the hairs on the back of her neck rising in trepidation. Turning slowly around, her eyes widened at the sight of a large cheetah strolling around the corner. It paused, fixing its waspish gaze on her and bared its fangs.

By the sweet thirteen, Tabatha whispered. She wasn’t religious but if the gods fancied helping her, now was the time. For the first time in history, Caleb hadn’t been exaggerating.

Her body moved before she could consciously tell herself to run. Her calf muscles spasmed with pain as they were jerked into a sprint, speeding her away from the snarling feline. She didn’t dare look behind her to confront the sight of the angry cheetah hurtling in her direction. Tabatha pushed against the hedge walls with her hand as she ran, looking for some weakness that she could squeeze through into a different pathway. But the hedges stood firm.

"This is not happening."

Tabatha’s harsh breath became ragged quickly. She really needed to work on her cardio. Years spent in a sleepy town had slowed her down more than she realised.

She hurtled around a corner, a bramble catching her calf and tearing into her skin. Blood began to trickle down her leg, as if the cheetah needed more reason to chase her. The giant cat skidded on the damp ground and collided with the hedge wall, yowling an unearthly howl.

Out of nowhere, she felt it. The sensation that something magical was near. It wasn’t a person, that much she could tell. In fact, it felt like a spell. The path ahead divided, splitting off into a fork, the magic drawing her down the right lane. Who knew what it was or who had cast it, but if there was any chance it could help her shake the predator on her tail, she would gladly check it out.

Up ahead, Tabatha spied the magic luring her. A doorway made entirely of magic shimmered in one of the hedges, glowing a deep red. Her chest heaved with every breath but she forced herself into a sprint and launched herself at the red doorway.

With a cry, she fell through the doorway and hit the ground on the other side. Tabatha rolled onto her back, scrambling away from the portal, streaking mud up her tunic and leggings. Not seconds after she fell through it, the shimmering doorway began to disintegrate, sucked into its own centre as if disappearing down a whirlpool.

An angry roar burst through the portal before it disappeared completely, sending a shiver skittering through her shoulders.

Ugh. Tabatha fell onto her back, catching her breath as the sky swum before her eyes. Damn it, Caleb.

Her brother would surely get a laugh out of this if he ever found out.

When the feeling finally returned to her limbs, Tabatha rolled over and groaned at the sight. The teleportation circle lay dead ahead. She was right back where she started.

Oh, great. Just amazing! she snapped.

Tabatha lay on her back for a while, trying to work her way through the disappointment. Her first attempt at an escape couldn’t have gone any worse and now she had to make another. Would anyone come to rescue her from this maze when it began to get dark?

Cool the melodrama, she muttered. That wouldn’t get her out of here.

Her limbs heavier than she remembered, Tabatha dragged herself to her feet and faced the teleportation portal. She needed to try another direction. Preferably