Chapter 6: The Sanctum
FALL TERM - DAY 12
It was the night of the new moon. With three moons above, I hadn't noticed when one had gone dark. Though to be fair, I probably could have. It was Luna, the largest of the three. And now this is a thing I know because apparently the Vodalysa coven meets every new moon and full moon of Luna's calendar. It turns out that "coven" wasn't just some kind of honorary title, but a function of the Midnight Court. As you might have guessed, I almost missed the first meeting.
It was a normal evening. I'd spent a few hours after dinner alone in the library trying to get through some of the required reading for Divination. My head was still spinning from flipping between star charts and as it was I could hardly tell you the difference between a trine and a sextile. I'd only dipped out for a moment to grab a coffee from the dining hall when I noticed the odd silence.
The dining hall was a ghost town.
Normally at this hour, I'd expect a few mages still hanging around, chatting or reading. It was the only place at the Court I knew of that had a kitchen. Instead, there was only Blackclaw scrutinizing a heavily picked over tray of biscotti. We exchanged a strange look, but the gruff war veteran was hard to read on the best of days.
I tried to remember then if I'd seen anyone since leaving the library, only to realize I hadn't. Where was everyone? I almost said something to Blackclaw but he'd stuffed two biscotti into his mouth when I glanced over at him. It was awkward, so I got my coffee and decided I could figure it out on my own.
I took a different route on my way back to the library, hoping that I'd see someone I could ask about all of this. I didn't pass anyone in the halls. Whatever was going on, there was no one out. Though there was a light on in one open doorway.
I poked my head in.
My sigils class instructor, Professor Kelyn Marblebrook was at the desk, grading papers in the low light. She was a curvy half-elf woman with long silver hair she wore pulled up into a messy bun. Tonight, she wore red-framed glasses and a loose-knit sweater. A steaming mug of tea at her side was enough to conjure up quiet peace that I was very much then intruding on.
"Hey Professor Marblebrook."
She looked up. "Oh, Zephyr! Come in. Didn't realize you'd been waiting. And please, it's Kelyn. I was never one for formality. It gets too confusing with all the Marblebrook and Marblebrook. And besides, it suits Elandria better." I'd gotten so used to seeing Kelyn Marblebrook for sigils class, sometimes I forgot her wife was technically my coven leader, Mistress Elandria Marblebrook.