Chatoyant College, Book 10: Missing Pieces

By Clare K. R. Miller

Spring semester should mean a fresh start, but spring grows out of winter, and some things are still frozen in place.

Edie is finally starting to learn magic, taking the Introduction to Magic class with human Professor Virginia Agnew. But that doesn’t mean everything has changed for her. Edie left something behind in fall semester—her girlfriend, Leila, a faerie who vanished toward the end of the year, abandoning Edie to her memories. One of those memories has sparked a quest: Edie now knows that she is part faerie, and while her family believes that her great-grandmother is dead, she’s not so certain.

That isn’t her only quest, or even her main one. She’s been told Leila is in Faerie, and she’s determined to find her there. But is that good, wise, or even possible?

Someone else has a quest, too, or so it seems. Who is tearing up campus looking for fragments of a document, and why?

Meanwhile, Corrie and Dawn are eagerly expanding their magical knowledge with more advanced classes. Derwen has a new persona and a new project. Professor Strega... well, what is going on with Professor Strega, anyway?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clare K. R. Miller
• Release date: Feb 6, 2021

Clare K. R. Miller

Clare K. R. Miller is a writer of urban and secondary-world fantasy and science fiction for teens and adults.

Book preview

Chatoyant College: Book 10

Missing Pieces

Clare K. R. Miller

Smaragdine Books

Spring semester should mean a fresh start, but spring grows out of winter, and some things are still frozen in place.

Edie is finally starting to learn magic, taking the Introduction to Magic class with human Professor Virginia Agnew. But that doesn’t mean everything has changed for her. Edie left something behind in fall semester—her girlfriend, Leila, a faerie who vanished toward the end of the year, abandoning Edie to her memories. One of those memories has sparked a quest: Edie now knows that she is part faerie, and while her family believes that her great-grandmother is dead, she’s not so certain.

That isn’t her only quest, or even her main one. She’s been told Leila is in Faerie, and she’s determined to find her there. But is that good, wise, or even possible?

Someone else has a quest, too, or so it seems. Who is tearing up campus looking for fragments of a document, and why?

Meanwhile, Corrie and Dawn are eagerly expanding their magical knowledge with more advanced classes. Derwen has a new persona and a new project. Professor Strega… well, what is going on with Professor Strega, anyway?

Missing Pieces (Chatoyant College, Book 10)

by Clare K. R. Miller

Smaragdine Books

Text Copyright © 2021 Clare K. R. Miller

Shareable under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Cover image by Clare K. R. Miller

Smashwords Edition

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, and locations are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons or events, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.

This file is licensed for private individual entertainment only. The book contained herein constitutes a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into an information retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electrical, mechanical, photographic, audio recording, or otherwise) for any reason (excepting the uses permitted to the licensee by copyright law under terms of fair use) without the specific written permission of the author.

Chapter 1: On Campus

Sunday, January 16

In Edie’s opinion, winter break had gone on for far too long. Not that she didn’t appreciate having a break from all her schoolwork—not to mention the drama and danger that seemed to come with it at Chatoyant College—but she was impatient for her new magic class to begin, she missed her friends, and she had gotten so bored over the break that she was considering looking for a job during the summer, if only to take up her time and give her money to pay for yarn.

So she was glad when her parents dropped her off with her bags back at Gilkey. She seemed to be one of the first ones there; Lorelei was downstairs greeting people, but the fifth floor was quiet. Corrie wasn’t there yet (her half of the room looked eerily clean and neat without her stuff—but then again, so did Edie’s when she hadn’t unpacked yet) and when she knocked on Dawn and Naomi’s door, there was no answer.

She considered knocking on other doors to see if any of her friends were in, but decided that she would see them all later. Instead, she pulled her hat and coat back on and went out. The campus looked completely deserted except for a few small groups of people walking toward the various dorms, and no one noticed or called out to her as she cut her way across the lawn, heading for the woods.

She didn’t really expect anything to be different when she arrived at Leila’s tree, but she had to check just in case. She wasn’t surprised, but she was disappointed, to see that it had lost all its leaves just like an ordinary tree, and there was some snow still piled in the crooks of a few branches from the snowfall a few days ago. She walked up to the tree and touched it with one bare hand. She couldn’t feel anything. She put on her mittens and brushed the snow off the branches, then took them off again and hugged the tree.

I’ll find you, she whispered to Leila. It’s okay. I’ll get you back.

She didn’t know if Leila could hear her; she probably couldn’t. Did sound move between the real world and Faerie? Probably not.

Edie stepped away from the tree and out of its clearing, then touched the four-leaf clover in her pocket and looked around to make sure no one was watching her. No glamour burst out at her. She was alone.

Something else occurred to her as she turned around and walked back toward Gilkey. She hadn’t worn her iron bracelets all during break and she wasn’t wearing them now—she definitely never wanted to wear them when she was around Leila—but she could wear them. They didn’t bother her. Whatever her faerie blood did for her, it didn’t seem to give her their weaknesses.

She wished she could have tracked down her faerie great-grandmother. Even with the little information she’d been able to find, she was fairly confident that her great-grandmother was not really dead. Now that she was back at college, maybe she could find more. Like whether faeries could even die of old age or illness. She wished again that Leila were around—she didn’t know what faerie she could ask that question of other than her girlfriend, since anyone else would probably take it as a threat.

Leila had also seemed to know something about Edie’s faerie blood. Maybe she could find a way to track her great-grandmother. And if she did find her, then she could get a lot more information.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she neared Gilkey and saw a familiar figure toting a suitcase up to the front door. Corrie! Edie called, breaking into a run. Corrie turned and waved her whole arm at her.

When Edie reached Corrie, they hugged tightly. Edie opened the door for Corrie so she could get her suitcase inside more easily. How was your break? Edie asked as they started up the stairs.

You know it was crazy, said Corrie with a grin. It’s not like I didn’t send you enough emails.

Edie laughed. You could have sent me more! I mean, you didn’t email me every single day. Is this all your stuff?

No, I have another bag in the car. If I’d known you were here, I would have asked for your help so I didn’t have to take two trips.

You could have called me.

I thought I would be the first one back on campus. You must have woken up almost as early as I do to beat me here.

Edie nodded. I did get up pretty early. I missed it here. And my parents wanted to get back home in time for something my brother is doing this afternoon, anyway. She held the door at the end of the fifth floor for Corrie, then hurried ahead of her to open their dorm room door.

Well, I’m glad you’re here. Makes it feel more like home. Has anyone else shown up?

Just the RAs, as far as I’ve seen. Campus is pretty empty.

I guess it’ll take all day to fill up. Corrie heaved her suitcase onto her bed. Okay, I’ll get my other bag. See you in a bit.

Chapter 2: Magic Classes

Edie started unpacking while Corrie went to get her second bag. When Corrie got back, she started unpacking too, and soon the place looked more like home—it was still oddly neat and clean, but that would be fixed soon enough.

A little while later, a knock came on the door, and Corrie opened it to reveal Dawn. The three of them greeted each other with excitement and exchanged hugs. It’s good to be back, said Dawn. It was good to be home, but it’s good to be back, too. Is that weird?

Not at all, said Edie. This is starting to feel more like home than home does. Even with all the crazy stuff that goes on around here.

It might be because of all the crazy stuff that goes on, said Corrie. You know, emotional resonance, or something. Right, Dawn?

Something like that, said Dawn. Are you taking a psych class this semester or something?

Corrie shook her head. Though maybe I should in the future. It might help me understand people. Especially guys, and why they get so fixated on me.

Careful, teased Dawn. You sound like you’re getting an ego there.

But you know it’s true! Corrie flung herself backward on her bed, covering her eyes with her arms. Well, Scott got over it, I guess. We’re just friends now.

Byron was never really fixated on you, was he? Edie pointed out. I mean, he might have been a little bit before you started dating, but you didn’t have any trouble getting him to lose interest.

That’s true. Corrie lifted her arms from her face. Maybe it’s not all boys.

And it’s not just you, said Dawn. Marlin was after Edie, remember?

That might have just been because of her faerie sparkles. Corrie sat up. That reminds me, did you ever have any luck tracking down your great-grandmother? You stopped mentioning it in your email.

Edie sat down on her bed with a sigh. I stopped mentioning it because I couldn’t find anything. It’s weird, it started out as just a fun thing to investigate, but now I’m really frustrated. I guess the more I thought about it the more I wanted to make it work.

I can’t blame you, said Dawn. If I hadn’t found out quickly why I had the Sight, I probably would have been working really hard to find out, too. So you really don’t know whether she’s really dead or alive?

And if she’s alive, she could be anywhere, said Edie. My grandmother mentioned that she liked to play tricks, but that sounds like any faerie in folklore. I thought she might be some kind of water faerie, but that doesn’t really tell me anything, either.

There are stories about water faeries, aren’t there? asked Corrie.

Yeah, but unless I’m going to take a trip to Wales or Russia, which is where the most promising ones come from, I don’t think that will help me find her. Edie shrugged. She had found the Russian story of the rusalka, who were either faeries or ghosts or possibly both, but she really hoped that wasn’t what her great-grandmother was. They had a tendency to drown people.

She also hadn’t mentioned to her friends her desire to learn more about Faerie. They had seemed to think it was a bad idea when it had first come up. If she needed their help, she would ask then.

So you’re signed up for intro to magic this semester, right, Edie? Dawn asked, changing the subject. When’s your first class?

Tomorrow morning, said Edie. I’ll have to be getting up earlier this semester.

Yeah, me too, said Dawn. My psych class starts at 9:30.

I thought you already took psych, said Corrie.

Intro to psych, said Dawn. This semester is history of psych. It sounds interesting. Either that, or really, really boring.

Professor Drehmer isn’t teaching it, is he? Corrie asked.

No, of course not. He’s a history teacher. I forget the professor’s name, but it’s one of the psych teachers.

What magic classes are you signed up for? Maybe we have one together.

We already talked about this, said Dawn. Last semester, when we were signing up. We decided to take Grounding, Centering, and Trance together.

I forgot, said Corrie. Edie couldn’t help laughing at them, and then they were all laughing.

There was a knock on the door. Come in, called Edie through the laughter. Annie popped her head in, grinning.

I thought I heard people laughing in here, she said, closing the door gently behind her. What’s so funny?

I have no brain, said Corrie.

That’s going to be really inconvenient now that you’re back at college, said Dawn.

Maybe it will grow back, said Annie. How was your break, Edie? Do anything interesting?

I tried to track down my faerie great-grandmother, but I didn’t have any luck, said Edie. How about you?

Annie shook her head. It was boring. I’m glad to be back at school and learning some real magic.

Which classes are you taking? Dawn asked.

Grounding, Centering, and Trance with Professor Strega and Intermediate Elementalism with Professor Lal, said Annie.

Oh, cool, me too! Dawn grinned.

Aww, I’m going to be left out of elementalism, said Corrie with a mock pout. I wanted to take psionics.

I think Roe is taking that one, so you won’t be all alone, said Annie.

Rico is, too, said Dawn. Don’t worry. Edie’s the only one left out.

Edie gave a long sigh. Next semester I’ll catch up to you guys.

Chapter 3: Dinner and Questions

Over the course of the afternoon, Roe, Darcy, Talia, and finally Derwen all arrived and came to say hello to the rest of them. Edie could have smacked herself when she saw Derwen. Of course—she didn’t need to worry about talking to any other faeries. Derwen would probably answer any questions she had, and she wouldn’t be offended or freaked out.

So when they headed off to dinner, Edie took Derwen aside and walked behind the rest of the group, talking quietly to her. Can I ask you some questions about faeries?

Yeah, of course, said Derwen brightly. Unless you’re trying to figure out how to kill us or something.

Well, I already know how to kill faeries, Edie said. I mean, I know that sounds horrible, but I know how Belara died…

I get it. Derwen flapped her hand at Edie. She had a new tattoo—a ring of interlocking blue circles on her wrist. Edie wondered whether it was really a tattoo or if it was just part of her glamour. You wouldn’t really need advice on how to kill us, so obviously you’re not trying.

Edie nodded. But my question is sort of about that. Is it possible for a faerie to die of natural causes? Like, old age or disease?

Disease, definitely, said Derwen. It depends on what sort of faerie, of course, and if you’re connected to an element. You’re not worried about Yedara dying, are you? Because I don’t think that’s likely.

The worry had never been far from Edie’s mind, and her stomach squirmed at the thought. But that wasn’t really her question, and anyway, Derwen said it wasn’t likely. You mean like if something happened to her tree?

It is possible, I think. Or for me—I’m not connected to a tree like she is, but it is possible that I could get a plant disease. Most likely it would just make one of us sick, though, not kill us. Why do you ask?

Well, apparently my great-grandmother was a faerie.

Oh, that’s right. Derwen turned her head to look at Edie. You don’t really look it to me. But I haven’t seen many humans with faerie blood. Maybe I wouldn’t know. So you’re trying to find out how she died?

Or if she really died. She could have faked her death. I mean, she couldn’t live forever tricking people into thinking she was human, right? They would notice eventually that she didn’t age or die like other humans.

Yeah, that’s a good point. That’s sort of why Lal and I and some of the others only hang around for a few years at a time. Derwen showed her ID at the entrance to the dining hall. Look, I’m starving. Let’s get some food and talk about this, okay?

Sure, said Edie. She showed her ID and they went in to get some food. Edie had the feeling that Derwen was trying to dodge the question, but if she was, she wouldn’t say they could talk about it after they got food, would she? It was probably a weird question, anyway. Maybe she could tell that Edie was working up to asking about Faerie. They didn’t seem to want to talk about that.

By the time Edie found the table where the others were sitting, they were arranged so that there was a seat for her, but not next to Derwen. She couldn’t tell whether Derwen had done that on purpose or not. Maybe her other friends had just wanted to keep talking to her.

But Derwen couldn’t avoid her forever—they had magic class together. She remembered Derwen mentioning that last semester. Of course, if Derwen really didn’t want to answer the question, she wouldn’t bug her too much about it—maybe it was dangerous for the faeries if a human knew, even someone who had faerie blood. But she wasn’t just going to give up asking, either.

She ate her pizza (she wasn’t going to work hard to be healthy on the very first day back to campus) and chatted with Corrie and Annie about classes and things that they’d done over winter break. Corrie made Annie laugh with her stories about Scott, the guy she’d sort of dated briefly during her break. Edie told them about all the books she’d read. Annie had some cute stories about her dad’s dog.

It was good to be back at Chatoyant College. But it would be even better the next day, Edie thought, when she got to start her magic classes. Maybe she wouldn’t really be learning magic for a while, if Professor Agnew structured her class the same way Professor Lal did, but at least she would be getting started.

That, and her literature and theater classes. She was looking forward to those, too. If nothing else, she hoped she would come out of college more well-rounded.

Chapter 4: Derwen and Darcy

Monday, January 17

The next morning Edie didn’t need her alarm to wake her. She was excited about finally getting to her first magic class. It had been very silly of her not to sign up for magic classes her first semester at Chatoyant College. She’d thought it was a joke or something—that they weren’t really going to teach her to do anything that was outside the realm of the natural or the scientific, what she already knew. She had been very wrong.

Maybe she’d just listened to her parents too much; they had tried to talk her out of going to Chatoyant College because of the magic classes. Her mom, as a nurse, had seen a few people she thought believed too strongly in magic or the power of prayer, and things had gone wrong. Her dad just thought she should focus on more practical things. But of the colleges she’d been accepted to, Chatoyant College had been the best, combining all of her criteria—a pretty, wooded location, far enough from her hometown that her parents couldn’t visit every weekend but close enough that if something went wrong she could reach them easily, and a clearly liberal attitude. When she pointed out that it seemed to be the most accepting of homosexuality, they stopped arguing. They understood that she had to be somewhere that wouldn’t make her feel unwelcome.

And obviously it had been the right choice. She dressed nicely in some of her new clothes and her favorite knitted mittens, then headed downstairs. She hesitated when she got to the third floor. Should she knock on Derwen’s door and see if she wanted to have breakfast with her? There wasn’t that much time before class.

No, she wouldn’t bother. She didn’t want Derwen to think she was pestering her, and maybe the faerie didn’t eat, or didn’t want to eat breakfast before class. Besides, Derwen had two roommates, and they were probably still asleep.

She ate a quick breakfast, not having left herself much time for it, and found herself directly behind someone she recognized on the way out the door. Hi, Darcy, she said.

Darcy turned around, surprised, but smiled at Edie when she saw her. Hi, Edie. Off to an early morning class, too?

Edie nodded. Intro to Magic with Professor Agnew. What about you?

Oh, me too! Let’s walk together.

Of course! They fell into step, both smiling. Edie was pleased that she would get to spend more time with Darcy. She usually only saw her once a week, when they had their book discussion club, and even then Darcy didn’t talk much—she had been quiet as long as Edie had known her, but even Annie stopped being quite so quiet during book club. Maybe Darcy would open up during class, or at least Edie would have more to talk about with her. She seemed like a sweet girl.

The classroom was on the top floor of the magic building, and it was a large, auditorium-style room. Over half the seats were empty, and those that were full were scattered all over the room. Edie stopped just inside the doorway to scan the room and see if Derwen was there yet, or if there was another good spot for them to sit.

The first face she saw, though, wasn’t a welcome one. She tried to cover her gasp and turn her face away quickly, before the other person recognized her. She didn’t know why she was so surprised to see Chris, one of Leila’s theater friends, in this class, but she was. If it had been any of the others, she wouldn’t mind so much—they hadn’t been all that friendly, and she would be perfectly comfortable with just saying hello to them and nothing more—but Chris had treated Edie very oddly. Edie thought she might have a crush on her, but if so, she was going about it very poorly.

Thankfully, after she turned her head away from Chris, Darcy said, Hey, I think that girl is waving at us.

Edie looked where Darcy was pointing and sighed with relief. That’s—Sarah. Let’s go sit with her. They climbed the rows about halfway, to where Derwen was sitting. Edie sat next to her, Darcy on her other side.

This is Darcy, said Edie. She’s one of our friends from the book group. Darcy, this is Sarah.

Have we met before? Darcy asked, sounding slightly puzzled.

We might have, said Derwen, reaching over to shake Darcy’s hand. I work in the library. I see almost everybody. You might have seen me but not heard my name.

Darcy’s confused face relaxed and she nodded as she shook Derwen’s hand. That’s probably it. I go there a lot.

Edie wondered whether Darcy really had seen Derwen before—and if so, had it been at the library, or when she was called Ever at the very beginning of the school year? Or was she remembering Siffyd? Derwen did look more like Siffyd’s Sarah glamour now, probably because she had officially taken over that place in the library. But she wasn’t exactly the same.

Before she could figure out how to ask the question, though, Professor Agnew came in and turned on a projector, simultaneously dimming the lights in the rest of the room. The class hushed.

Chapter 5: Professor Agnew

The projection Professor Agnew had turned on simply said the name of the class: Introduction to Magic: Theory and Practice. Good morning, students, said Professor Agnew, her voice carrying clearly in the quiet room. Welcome to Introduction to Magic. If any of you have just now realized that you are in the wrong place, please exit quietly. She waited a moment, but no one moved, and she nodded with apparent satisfaction. Edie was too far away to see her face clearly, but she seemed to be smiling. My name is Professor Virginia Agnew, and I don’t like formalities, so please just call me Ginny. I’m going to call the roll now, and if any of you have a different name or version of your name that you would prefer to be called by, please let me know.

Edie didn’t hear any new names she recognized as the roll was called. Chris’s full first name was apparently Christiana. When Ginny came to Edie, she didn’t smile or say anything to indicate that they had met a few months before—but she did say Edie, rather than Edith, so she obviously remembered her. She also didn’t give any sign of recognizing Derwen, but she had to know who she was. Didn’t she?

My colleagues in the magic department think I’m silly for trying to get to know everyone on the first day, since almost every year, many students will drop out of Introduction to Magic during the first week. But I have hopes that getting to know you and helping tailor the class toward your interests will help any of you who are wavering to decide to continue on with the class, or perhaps to try it again another semester. Are there any questions, recommendations, suggestions before we begin to go through the syllabus? Yes, Chris.

Chris sounded flustered when she spoke. Edie hoped she would be one of the people to drop out of the class. Why do so many people drop out of this class? Is it dangerous?

Not really, said Ginny, and she was definitely smiling now. Especially since you’re taking my class—with me as your teacher, you are in less danger than in any other magic class. And by the time we get to any dangerous stuff, it’s too late to drop the class without a mark on your record anyway. It’s just that this class is very demanding, at least during the first half of the semester, and a lot of people who take magic class decide that they’d rather take something with more instant gratification, or that magic isn’t worth the study.

Why is her class safer than the others? Derwen whispered to Edie. Is it because she’s the only human one?

Edie wondered the same. Was she more careful of her students’ safety than the faerie teachers, and if so, why didn’t she tell them to be safer? Then she remembered why she had met Ginny before. I think it’s because she’s a healer, she whispered back. She came to the hospital to help Corrie, because no one else could.

There were a few more questions about what they would cover in the class; Ginny jotted down notes, making it clear that she was interested in hearing what the students had to say. She even agreed to consider making divination one of the first things they studied, instead of starting with elemental magic. Edie guessed that the person who asked about that also had friends who had taken Intro to Magic.

Then they went through the syllabus, shown on the projector as well as passed around in physical form. Just like Corrie and Dawn had described their class with Professor Lal, Ginny’s class was all theory with lots of reading for the first half, and then after the midterm they moved on to practicalities. A couple of people chose to leave the class after that, and Ginny marked that on her roll sheet, telling them to feel free to sign up again whenever they might have more time.

She brought the lights up, asked for questions again, and when no one had any, asked for people with special powers. If anyone has found that they have an unusual power, perhaps one that has only manifested since you came to Chatoyant College, please don’t be afraid to say so. If you’d prefer, you can speak to me after class. I might be able to train you in it, or we can find another magic professor to give you special classes. Sometimes people have powers they aren’t able to control, and that can be dangerous. No one? Maybe they all started magic last semester. She made another note. Well, since we have some time left, I’ll pass out tonight’s reading. The first essay is quite short, so I’d like you to read that now, and then discuss it amongst yourselves until the end of class. I’ll circulate and see how you’re getting on. She handed stacks of papers to people near the front to pass out, and the classroom filled with the sound of rustling paper.

Chapter 6: Calming the Thoughts

Edie had always been a fast reader, so it didn’t take her long to get through the short essay they had to read, which was about preparing the mind for magic—mostly learning how to calm the thoughts and be open to any outcome without being so relaxed as to permit undesirable outcomes to proceed unchecked. It had some more detail on how to do that, but Edie still wondered if she would really be able to. Even when she was trying to fall asleep, she tended to have lots of thoughts running through her head all the time. But if her friends could do it, she probably could, right?

It might not even matter. She had done a little magic when Corrie and Dawn had been reading that book that it turned out the court faeries had written. She didn’t remember having any trouble with it because her mind wasn’t focused and relaxed. She still wasn’t going to try that again until it actually came up in class, though.

She looked around the room slowly until Derwen put down her own paper and caught Edie’s eye, smiling. The rest of the room was still almost entirely quiet, and Darcy was still reading, so Edie leaned close to Derwen so she could speak very quietly. Do you think Professor Agnew—Ginny, I mean. Does she know about us?

She knows about me, Derwen whispered back. That’s one of the rules—if faeries are going to take magic classes, the magic teachers have to know about it. And all the faerie teachers know about us, too.

Or they’re supposed to, said Edie.

Right. Derwen nodded. I’m not sure about you, though. But Professor Lal knows you’re part faerie, doesn’t she?

Yeah. I was with her when I figured it out.

Then I’m sure she’s told Ginny. If there’s anything special we need to know in this class, she’ll let us know. But I don’t think there is.

Edie nodded, hoping Derwen was right. Then she noticed that