Cary Simms: The Lost Yule Log

By Cassandra Morphy

From a young age, Cary Simms knew that she wasn't like the other boys her age. While she still wasn't sure the hows or whys, she was starting to think that it was more than just that she was a sorcerer. Learning magic at the Thorbjorg Prep School was interesting, once she got past the fears for her immortal soul. But with fifth graders not being allowed out of the magical realm, Cary and her friends are stuck behind at school for Christmas break.

When the school's own traditions are waylaid by ogres breaking onto campus, the students at TPS realize that their world isn't as safe as they think it is. With mysteries surrounding them, filling the magical realm, the students fight back with knowledge and a new newspaper to spread it. Although, a few gifts from Santa can help in any challenge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cassandra Morphy
• Release date: Nov 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005024543

Cassandra Morphy

Cassandra Morphy is a Business Data Analyst, working with numbers by day, but words by night. She grew up escaping the world, into the other realities of books, TV shows, and movies, and now she writes about those same worlds. Her only hope in life is to reach one person with her work, the way so many others had reached her. As a TV addict and avid movie goer, her entire life is just one big research project, focused on generating innovative ideas for worlds that don’t exist anywhere other than in her sick, twisted mind.

Book preview

Chapter One

Christmas Break

From a young age, Cary Simms knew that she wasn't like the other boys her age. But that was before she started attending Thorbjorg Prep School in the magical realm. The school was nestled within the Fairy Mushroom Forest, north of the city of Norumbega, where sorcerers went to learn how to control the magics that they had access to. And Cary Simms was a sorcerer, as was her best friend David.

Last day of finals, David shouted, as he jumped down from his bed.

David and Cary were roommates, though Cary kept a bedspread up around her bed to give her at least some privacy from him. As she came out from behind it, she paused, as she usually did, looking over at the third bed in the room. The one that once belonged to her dwarven friend, Nelgomi. It had been vacant ever since mid-November, the day of the witch attack.

Um, yeah, Cary said, smiling over at him, as she tried to put that day behind her. Woohoo.

I can't hear you, David shouted, as he led the way to the door.

Cary stayed in the room just long enough to grab her usual backpack, slinging it over her shoulder, before following behind her friend. She gave another woohoo as she passed through the door, which only drew attention from the other boys heading through the hallways of their dorm. Several of them laughed at her, but she just took it in stride. It had been a while since her classmates scared her. If anything, the laughter made her feel more at home. Made her surroundings feel more familiar.

On the way to the mead hall, the standalone building that housed the mess hall, they picked up Sam and Siobhan, their fellow fifth graders and friends. Siobhan was just coming from the underclassmen girls' dorm across the way. The four of them had gotten into the habit of coordinating their departure from the dorms in the morning, so that they could walk to the mead hall together.

I'm sure that everyone is just as excited as David is, Cary said.

Meh, Sam said, shrugging. I would be, if we were going home for break. His words blurred together a little, making his Scottish accent thicker than it usually was.

What do you mean? David asked. David slowed his walking a bit as they came into the square around the fountain in front of the admin building. He looked at Sam with the same confused look that he always had when trying to remember the strange history that they were teaching them at that school. Why wouldn't we be going home?

We're fifth graders, Sam said. Remember? We're still too new in our powers to let us out of the magical realm. We're stuck at the school till summer... at the earliest.

But... David started, but he couldn't get much more out.

Don't worry, David, Cary said. She came up next to him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders as the four of them continued past the fountain. They'll celebrate Christmas extra hard next year.

Huh? Siobhan asked.

David's family is really big into Christmas, Cary said. Which is odd, considering his parents raised him to be an atheist. I guess they'll just have to give your presents to your sister this year.

Don't even joke about that, David said, throwing off her arm. Lucy gets enough attention as it is. Especially now that I'm stuck here. Ugh.

Your parents would have already gotten the announcement, Sam said. Mine wrote all about it in their last letter.

That must suck, Siobhan said. I wouldn't know. And I won't, cause I get to go home over the break. She smiled pointedly at David, gloating about it. Despite her accent, which sounded almost Irish, Siobhan was from the magical realm. That would mean that she didn't have to miss out on celebrating the holidays with her family. I'm out of here right after the final today. I'll see you guys next month... maybe.

What do you mean maybe? Cary asked.

They were just heading inside the mead hall, which was packed as usual. Everyone there seemed excited about the pending departure. The room was somehow larger than the building that it was in, stretching into the distance all around them. There were seven long rows of tables spaced evenly across the space, and an eighth in the balcony overlooking the room on the right. In front of them, marked with banners showing a frog and a tongue, were the tables for the transformation and healing and herblore houses. To the right of them were the tables for the sight and battle houses. The mostly empty table in the balcony was for the teachers and staff. To the left were the three underclassmen tables, one for each grade.

As they walked between the transformation and H and H tables, heading for the serving stations against the far wall, Cary heard overlapping discussions about people's holiday plans. There seemed to be a group in the H and H table that were going to be looking for some obscure herb that Cary had never heard of, deep within the Fairy Mushroom Forest. But most of the talk was of families and celebrations. Things that Cary would be missing, just as much as David would.

Well, I might be going to a different school in the spring, Siobhan said. Dad keeps trying to get me into Merlin Prep. He says it's so that I'm closer to home, but really it's just because it's a better school.

I didn't know that some schools were better than others, David said. I just figured we were in the district for TPS or whatever.

District? Siobhan asked.

That's how they divvy up the students that go to public schools in the human realm, Sam said. It doesn't really apply to boarding schools.

Right, David said, nodding.

They quickly grabbed their breakfast from the serving station before heading over to the fifth graders' table. There, the excitement was much more muted, matching David's growing mood. As most of the students there at that table were in similar situations, most of them would be staying at the school for the break. The few that lived in the magical realm were largely keeping to themselves, trying not to let the foul mood of the rest of the table get them down. However, Siobhan stayed with their little group, heading for their usual spot in the middle of the long table.

The schools aren't supposed to be any different, Siobhan said. But they are, and everyone knows it. Wu Xian is the best, but even Merlin would be a step up from here.

What do you mean, 'even Merlin'? Cary asked. Where does TPS rank on the list?

Bottom. It's pretty much the worst school out there. That's why there are always open slots for late arrivals, like the two of you.

Freak, came the familiar, and always unbidden, call from further up the table. Cary didn't have to look in the direction of the voice to know that it had come from Greg, the bully that had constantly been harassing her back in the human realm, before coming to TPS. Nor to know that the comment was directed at her. But his words had lost some of their bite as of late. Then again, the same had happened to his previous insults of sissy and reject, as well as all the others he had used over the years that he had been bullying her. Cary had an unsettling feeling that he'd be coming back soon with a whole new insult, one that would somehow hurt that much more. And Cary was worried that word would be witch.

And him, Siobhan said, shaking her head towards Greg's distant form.

How does one get into the better schools? Sam asked. Usually, it was Sam who knew what was going on with such things. He seemed off balance to be so far behind on something so important. Is it just politics? Who you know and how much you bribe them? Siobhan just shrugged in response.

Can we change the subject? Cary asked. She didn't like the idea of Siobhan going to a different school for the next semester. It would mean losing another friend. And given what had happened with Nelgomi, it was a sensitive subject for her.

Sure, Sam said, shrugging. What do you guys have today? It's seventh period, right?

Ugh, David grunted, as the rest of his previously bright mood was instantly spoiled. Art class. I am so going to fail this.

You might be surprised, Cary said. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but David just shook his head, slumping lower in his seat. You managed to get Punt Paractice to work last week, didn't you?

I just knocked the cup over, David said. The paint got onto the paper before I could catch it. I haven't gotten a single spell to work the entire time that I've been here. I'm starting to think that I'm just a dud. Maybe I'll fail so miserably that they'll kick me out of the school.

It doesn't work like that, Sam said. You can be a dud all fifth grade and you'd still be here next year. I've only barely gotten Punt Paractice to work myself. Maybe you're just a late bloomer.

Or maybe you're a dud, came a comment from the sixth graders' table. Reggie turned around on his bench to look over at the group. That would explain why you still can't manage to jump over a single pit in Cadavraball. He smiled over at David, trying to take some of the hurt off of his words. There are plenty of people that just don't have it in them to be sorcerers. That's something you'll learn next year in science.

Ugh, Sam grunted. Another thing that I don't know yet? Hey, can I borrow some of your books while you're away? I need to read up on all this stuff.

Don't sweat it, Reggie said. You'll know it when you need to know it. I barely understand it as it is.

All the more reason to lend me your book. I can explain it to you when you get back.

Ha, yeah right. You're not as smart as you seem to think you are, smartypants.

Can we just go? David asked. He shoved his tray towards the center of the table, his breakfast barely touched. Before he could say anything about it, Sam scooped up his bacon. The bacon was always the best in the mead hall, and always gone early in the morning. I want to try to get some practice in before the actual test starts. Maybe I can get at least one of the spells to work this time.

You can't force it, Cary said, reminding him of what their art teacher, Mr. Biv, always said. You just have to let it flow through you.

David glared over at Cary, making it clear just how unwanted her comments had been. Cary raised her hand in surrender, knowing better than to push the issue. Magic had been a sensitive subject between the two best friends before, what with Cary's natural talent with it. Still, Cary quickly wolfed down the rest of her eggs, grabbing the bacon to eat along the way, before placing the tray at the center of the table next to David's. She motioned towards the door as she continued to chew on her eggs.

See you guys later, David muttered, waving towards the others as they started towards the door.

Cary didn't bother looking behind her at the trays, knowing that the magical nature of the table would have already caused them to disappear. In the months that she had been going to that school, she had started to get comfortable with all the magic that was flying around the place. The larger than normal rooms, the floating torches that threw sparks all over the place, the strange portals that made travel around the magical realm all but instantaneous. She was even getting used to the fact that she could cast magic herself.

Watch your step, freak, Greg said, seeming to come out of nowhere as he stuck his foot out in front of Cary. Cary's foot hit his dead on, causing her to stumble forward, and her bacon to go flying. She reached out towards the falling bacon, trying to will it back into her hand. But that was one spell that she hadn't learned yet, nor would she have thought to use it if she had.

Back off, Greg, David said, as he glared down at their bully. Back in their hometown, David had been the target of Greg's bullying almost as much as Cary had. But as he faced off against him, it was clear that he was tired of it. Cary may be too nice to, but I'm not above using Snoiod Suas on your head. How would you like to walk around with a baby's head all day?

Oh, I don't know, Cary said, as she stared down at her lost bacon. Maybe I have other ideas for him. She looked over at Greg's own bacon, a large stack of it on the side of his tray. With a broad, almost malicious grin, Cary thrust her ring hand forward, pulling her magic forth, as she said, Fae Fete.

Suddenly, sparks flared up on Greg's tray, flying into the air and raining down all around his bacon. When Greg turned back to his tray, his eyes went wide, and he automatically swatted at his bacon, desperate to save it from the illusionary sparks and fire. In the end, his bacon got crushed into so many bits, most of which fell onto the table and instantly disappeared.

See? David said, smiling at Greg. We're not the same pushovers we were back home. Better remember that next time.

Chapter Two

The Final Final

Mr. Biv was already in the art room when Cary and David headed inside. But they were the first students there for the exam. Mr. Biv didn't say anything to them as they made their way through the room, heading for their usual table at the back. The tables already had sheets of paper, three cups of paint, a ping pong ball, and a ball of yarn on them. When they got to the table, Cary automatically picked up the ping pong ball, absentmindedly tossing it back and forth between her hands.

Not the mermaid again this time, okay? David asked, as he settled into his chair near the aisle. She doesn't like me.

David, she's just an illusion. She's not real. That's the whole point of these spells. Illusions. Transformations aren't until later years.

Or next semester, Mr. Biv said. He wasn't looking up from his desk, as he continued doing whatever it was that he had been doing when they arrived. Cary figured that he was scoring the tests from the day before, but the class had always seemed more of a pass or fail kind of test. Either you could cast the spells or you couldn't.

You're not really painting the pages, you're just making illusions of the paint flowing across the paper, Cary said.

Not even of the paint, just the color, Mr. Biv corrected. The paint is only meant to aid in visualizing the colors. If you want, you might try it without the paint.

Uh huh, sure, David said, nodding as they talked to him. But he was starting to look a little green around the gills as he stared down at his paper, clearly nervous about the test to come. An errant thought came to Cary that his green pallor could be used instead of the paint, but she didn't want to make him feel bad about it all.

Don't worry about it too much, David, Mr. Biv said. I've had plenty of students fail to cast a single spell their first year who went on to be amazing sorcerers... As well as amazing... lawyers?

David flinched away from the word, from the suggestion that he would be better off perusing a normal, human profession. Worse, the same one that both of his parents had. Cary knew that was the worst thing anyone could suggest for him.

Can I just... try it without the commentary? David asked. He pulled the sheet up from the table with both hands, staring at it as if that was enough to make it change colors. That even without casting the spell, without using his ring, he could just will the paper to change.

Cary left him like that as she picked up the ball of yarn. This was the third spell that Mr. Biv had taught them, and the first one that Cary had struggled with. The spell, Invitalus Dolcus, was meant to make the entire ball of yarn invisible. However, the best that Cary could manage was the outer few layers of yarn. The rest of the ball stayed as visible as it was before she cast it, even through the first few layers of yarn. Mr. Biv had been disappointed that she hadn't succeeded at the spell as easily as she had the other two, but he tried not to show it.

When the other students started filing into the room, David was still staring at his sheet of paper, not trying the spell even once. The bell still hadn't sounded to mark the start of the period, but everyone seemed just as eager as David had been to get that particular test over with. Most would have been eager because it was the last one, not because it was the hardest.

As the students came in, the discussions that had run throughout breakfast seemed to come with them. Some students were still complaining about missing out on Christmas with their parents. The three that lived in the magical realm huddled in the corner, snickering and pointing around at all those students that were stuck there for the break. Only once the late bell rang throughout the room did the students settle down, heading for their seats.

Welcome, students, Mr. Biv said.

Good morning, Mr. Biv, a few of the students said. One even gave him a very boisterous, Hey, Roy.

I'm sure you all know what the test is, so I won't take much time discussing it. You'll have the entire duration of the period to try to cast a painting, create a figurine, and turn your ball invisible. For the painting and figurine, however, you'll have something to target, rather than just whatever floats your boat. For the painting, you'll have this.

Mr. Biv turned to the never used blackboard at the front of the room. There was a large sheet covering it that Cary hadn't noticed before. He pulled the sheet down, but the thing held in place, taking several tries before it started retracting into the roller above it. Once it was gone, Cary could see the painting on the blackboard. And when the groan of pain came from David next to her, she knew that he was looking at it, too.

The painting was huge, covering the entire blackboard. It was of a minotaur charging at a bull fighter, who was holding a large red cape in front of him. The painting used several colors, not just the three that were set out in front of them. It was also much more complicated than any of the students had managed in the class so far.

Don't worry if you can't get it just right, Mr. Biv said. You're not being graded on accuracy. Even a senior class in the sight house couldn't get this just right. However, try to get it as complete as you can manage in the time allotted. Bear in mind, though, that you have to cast all three spells to get a perfect score on the exam. For the figurine...

Mr. Biv went to his desk, pulling a box that was off to the side into the center of the desk. Once it was in place, he lifted it up, showing a figurine of a unicorn that