Summoned by Magic (Drexel Academy Book 1) Read online

  Summoned by Magic

  Drexel Academy Book One

  Lexie Scott

  Contents

  Also By Lexie Scott

  Exclusive Content

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Also By Lexie Scott

  Learn More

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2021 Lexie Scott

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 979-8452662983

  * * *

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.

  Cover Art by Giusy D'Anna www.premadebookcoversmarket.com

  Also By Lexie Scott

  Arlington Park

  Secrets in Her Eyes

  Read Between the Lies

  Anything but the Truth

  Shadow of a Doubt

  Loyal to a Fault

  Nothing Left to Hide

  Leap with No Regrets

  Fear is the Key

  Betrayed by Your Love

  * * *

  Drexel Academy

  Summoned by Magic

  Bound by Magic

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  Chapter 1

  The view of the street from my perch on the roof near my bedroom window showed how completely alone I was. Not a single other person stirred at this time of night. Lucky them. They could sleep. Lose themselves to easy dreams and the warmth of their comfortable beds.

  I didn’t have that luxury. The nights I was exhausted enough to slip into sleep, my dreams were filled with such horrific flashes of destruction, pain, and loss that I awoke screaming.

  It upset my little brother and sister. Brielle had only just outgrown her own night terror phases, and hearing me in the middle of the night was sometimes enough to trigger hers. Aiden told me he didn’t mind when I woke him, but I could see the purple bags under his eyes and knew he worried more than any seven year old should.

  So instead of sleeping, I spent most nights with my back against the roof, staring up at the starry night sky or watching the silent street. I used to read or study to make use of the hours at least, but too often I would slip into slumber, so I no longer risked it. I got in the habit of braiding a tiny section of hair to keep myself awake, a habit that spilled over to the daytime as a way to soothe myself when there was just too much going on. Tonight, I was already working on my fifth. I should stop. They were a beast to get out and made my wild, tangled hair even worse, like I needed to draw more attention to my red hair.

  A few years ago, a doctor gave Mom sleeping pills for me, but they made me feel groggy for half of the next day. I’d rather be tired with a clear head than wandering through school in a fog.

  Most people were used to me being somewhat of a zombie, so their expectations were low. My teachers didn’t try to snap me out of my blank stares. As long as I turned in my assignments on time and did well on my tests, they left me alone.

  One teacher, my freshman year, asked if something was wrong at home, and it took me far longer than it should have to realize she thought I was abused or neglected. That couldn’t be further from the truth. My parents were the most loving people on the planet. They’d searched for answers and solutions to my problems to the point of nearly draining their savings, but we hadn’t found a doctor yet who could fix me.

  “Saige? Are you out there?” Dad’s deep voice broke me from my thoughts.

  “Yeah,” I called back quietly. Brielle’s room was next to mine, and I didn’t want to wake her up accidentally.

  I leaned forward on my hands to watch Dad step carefully out of my window and cross to my chosen spot. His dark blond hair was rumbled, and he wore plaid pajama pants with his old college shirt. I could tell by the lines on his face that he’d been sleeping for a while. What brought him out here this time? He was usually the first to find me when I snuck out here, and I was beginning to wonder if he had an alarm set or a sixth sense for when I needed him.

  “Another bad night?” he asked once he was settled next to me.

  I shrugged. A bad night meant a nightmare, but since I hadn’t allowed myself to attempt sleep, I hadn’t had one. But my parents weren’t exactly aware of how often I stayed up all night. They thought I came out after trying and failing to rest, rather than not even going near my bed.

  “You have to sleep at some point, honey. You can’t go on like this forever. Nobody can survive without sleep.”

  I ducked my head into my folded arms resting on my knees. “I can’t.”

  His warm hand rubbed circles on my back. “Just because there have been some coincidences doesn’t mean something bad will happen every time.”

  I peeked up at him enough for him to see my scowl. “Coincidences? The last earthquake killed over ten thousand.”

  He opened his mouth to argue, but I kept going, running through the last month’s catastrophes. “Then the flood in Thailand that wiped out seventy percent of the country’s crops, the fire in the hospital in Italy, the shooting at the school in Florida. Oh, and we can’t forget the typhoon in the Philippines.”

  I let out a long breath as Dad stayed silent behind me. He couldn’t deny the reality of my situation.

  My nightmares came true. Every major disaster that happened was something I dreamed about, and it usually happened within a few days of me seeing it.

  I was a danger to society. The world.

  And that was why I refused to sleep. I couldn’t be responsible for more pain and death.

  “Honey, you have to know you aren’t actually causing those things.”

  I used to believe that, but after years of trying, I could no longer ignore the truth. I rolled my eyes but kept my head down so he couldn’t see and get mad at me. “No, I just see them, and boom, they happen.”

  He shifted next to me. “That doesn’t mean you cause them. It just means that you have wildly accurate dreams.”

  I shook my head. “What’s the difference?”

  “A pretty huge one. You didn’t do anything to make any of those events happen.”

  “I couldn’t stop them either. I can’t ever save anyone.” That was the worst part. I could almost handle the nightmares and subsequent screaming if I could do something about what I saw. If I could warn people, tell them to get out of the way, to prepare. But I never had enough details to know where the disaster was. Sometimes I could figure it out, but by the time I narrowed it down, I was too late.

  “I wish I could make them stop.” I didn’t often admit that aloud. It was pointless since there wasn’t anything anyone could do, and it only made my parents feel worse. But every so often, I reached the point wher
e I just couldn’t take it anymore.

  “I know, sweetie. Maybe one day we’ll understand.” He put his arm over my shoulders and squeezed me to his side.

  I doubted that would ever happen. If we didn’t have answers after all these years of searching, I was certain they didn’t exist. I was just broken.

  “Did you and Mom decide yet?” I asked after we sat in silence for a while.

  He tensed next to me, and I knew their decision without him having to say it.

  “Why is it always a no?” I grumbled and tugged my knees up to my chest.

  “We want you to be safe.”

  It was the same argument they made every single time I asked to do anything outside of hanging out at a friend's house, the mall, or the movies. I was seventeen and more restricted than most younger children. I was pretty sure Aiden had more freedom than I did.

  “What is unsafe about going to a concert? It’s not like it’s at some tiny club with the threat of being trampled in a mosh pit. It’s at the arena downtown.”

  “It's forty minutes away,” he said, as if I hadn’t calculated the exact distance before asking them in the first place.

  “I wouldn’t be going alone. Jacie and Santana will be there, plus Ryan. So, it wouldn’t even be just girls.”

  He pulled away from me and rubbed the back of his neck. I felt a tiny bit guilty for bringing this up now rather than waiting to talk to him and Mom together, but he was the one who climbed out here.

  “It’s not that we don’t want you to have fun with your friends or––”

  “You just don’t want me to get hurt.” I clenched my fists. It was the same thing every time. My parents were paranoid about my safety. They had been even before my nightmares got bad. They never let me go to sleepovers, instead insisting that my friends stay here. I missed out on any school field trips they couldn’t chaperone. Plus, they insisted on meeting anyone new, especially if I went to their house. That meant I had to work on most school projects at my house, too.

  I knew other kids with protective parents, but it always felt like mine went overboard since most had backed off as we got older.

  I wasn’t even allowed to have a job. Mom said it was so I could focus on my schoolwork, but since I didn’t get an allowance, it meant I was broke all the time. Babysitting on the weekends for my neighbors was my only income, but those opportunities were becoming less and less frequent. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was getting older and they assumed I didn’t want to babysit anymore or if my parents said something.

  Either way, I was trapped.

  I tried not to resent my parents. I knew they loved me and were doing the best they could, but being the experimental oldest child sucked. I knew by the time Brielle was my age, she wouldn’t have to deal with any of this. Lucky girl.

  The thought of having to call my friends and tell them I couldn’t go brought anger I couldn’t shake off. I was sick of always telling them no. This was supposed to be our last celebration before senior year started. A night to have fun and forget about the upcoming stress we were facing. One of our last chances to be young and free before the reality of adulthood set in.

  Okay, maybe that was dramatic. We still had senior year, but then everything would be different. We’d split up. They would go off to their various universities, and I’d be here. At home. Going to the local college down the street.

  I clenched my fists and tightened my jaw.

  It wasn’t fair.

  I just wanted a chance at being normal.

  The roof began rattling.

  “Saige?” Dad’s voice sounded distant.

  I stared down at the darkness of our backyard as the tire swing swayed like a pendulum. The house swayed under me.

  Hands gripped my shoulders, and I had the vague notion that Dad was close.

  I was shaking. The house was quaking. The earth below was moving. I didn’t know where I started and the ground ended. I was one with the vibrations.

  “Mommy!” A terrified shriek cut through my trance, and I shook my head.

  “Saige?” Dad was inches from me, screaming my name.

  “Yeah?” I met his eyes and utter horror reflected back at me.

  “We need to get inside.” He stood, tugging my hand to make me follow. He climbed in through my window and helped me inside just as the bedroom door swung open. Mom ran in, carrying a sobbing Brielle in her arms while Aiden rubbed his eyes behind her.

  “Was that an earthquake?” Mom asked, looking between me and Dad. Her long brown hair was a mess of curls, and she had thrown on one of Dad’s shirts straight out of bed without even putting pants.

  “I think so,” Dad said tentatively.

  I fell onto my bed as the reality of what happened sank in.

  I was mad and frustrated. The feeling built up without release until the shaking started. I thought it had just been me, but what I watched was real. The swing, the ground rolling. I did that. I caused an earthquake.

  My heart hammered in my chest. If I caused that, what else had I accidentally done? Was I responsible for all of those other horrible events?

  Chapter 2

  By morning, the earthquake was forgotten, at least for Brielle and Aiden. When I walked into the kitchen, my sister was in her highchair, chattering happily to herself while smearing a light pink substance across the tray in front of her. I kissed the top of her head and fluffed her wild curls.

  “Hi, sweetness.” I traced a heart in the center of her artwork.

  She giggled up at me like I’d just done the silliest thing. “Emmy.”

  I licked my finger, confirming my suspicion it was strawberry cream cheese. “Did any of that make it to your mouth?”

  “Nope,” Aiden answered with a loud pop of the “p”. “She took it off and ate her bagel plain.”

  “Obviously, that was the better option.”

  He nodded in agreement. “She thinks so.”

  I walked behind his chair and stole a kiss on his cheek before he could wave me off. Despite always being little in my eyes, he was determined to be a big kid, and kisses and hugs from his sister were for babies. My heart only broke a fraction each time he told me that, but I was still faster and stronger. I’d pin him down and tickle him if he tried to stay away from me for too long.

  “What did you have?” He was busy building some dinosaur or airplane or something out of Legos, so I only had a small portion of his attention.

  “Eggs,” he answered, without taking his eyes off his work.

  I opened the fridge and looked inside for something that sounded appealing. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”

  He didn’t reply, so either he didn’t know or he made a gesture I missed. I took out the orange juice and filled up a glass.

  I expected a discussion when they got up, but so far, I hadn’t seen them. Mom sometimes went walking with a few of the other women on the street in the mornings if Dad was around to take care of the little ones, but I hadn’t heard her call out that she was leaving.

  “Dad?” I yelled as I headed down the hall toward the garage. He was probably out there tinkering on one of the cars that seemed to always need something repaired.

  When I opened the door, I paused. The garage door was open, filling the space with morning light. Mom and Dad stood at the back of his car talking to someone. I stepped out and ran over as soon as I recognized my aunt.

  “Masie!” I flung myself into her open arms and closed my eyes as she held me close. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “I’ve missed you too.” She rubbed my back before taking a step back to look at me. “You’ve grown at least an inch, I swear.”

  “That’s what happens when I don’t see you for nearly a year. How have you been? What have you been doing?” I rushed out my words before realizing I interrupted her conversation with my parents. I glanced back at them and took in their concerned expressions. “What's going on?”

  “Let’s go inside, Saige. I want to see my other babies too.” M
asie hooked her elbow around mine, and we walked together through the house to the kitchen. I stepped back as she gave Aiden a hug. Apparently, he wasn't too big for her. Then she kissed Brielle’s chubby cheeks.

  “Aunt Masie!” Aiden slid off his chair and reached for her hand. “I have to show you my room. I built a whole city!”

  Before anyone could stop him, they were heading up the stairs, leaving me with my parents.

  “Why didn’t you guys tell us she was coming?” I asked, grabbing my glass and finishing off the juice.

  Mom hesitated. “It was a last-minute thing.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Is something wrong?”

  She shook her head. “No, nothing like that.”

  I didn’t believe her. My gut screamed at me that something was coming, but I couldn't figure out what.

  “How long is she staying?” I went to the sink to rinse out my cup.

  “Not long.” Mom answered as the water started.

  Masie was Mom’s little sister, and since their parents passed away before I was born, she was the only extended family we ever saw. Dad wasn’t close to his family. His parents lived somewhere remote in Maine and only visited once since Aiden was born. They hadn’t even come to see Brielle, so I didn’t count them as family.

  “Oh, bummer.”

  “We have something to talk to you about.” Dad’s tone made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I froze, waiting for him to continue. My heart pounded in my chest. Something was wrong. I knew it. Something bad. My hands shook and the glass slipped from my grasp. It crashed into the sink with a loud clatter, but the water that had filled it stayed suspended in the air, as if the cup was still there.