The Deceiver | The Magicians

Chapter 4

Four | Welcome To Brakebills

Tick tock tick tock tick tock...

The sound of a clock counting away the seconds reached Lilly's ears. What seemed like a million vines brushed against her in the dark forest. The only illumination was that of the moon and not just any moon, a blood moon. Shivers of fear went up her spine along with the sensation of being watched. Something told her she was not alone in the never-ending stretch of trees. The forest was dead silent save for the phantom clock, not a living thing to be heard other than her own footsteps.

"Lilly" she spun to face the owner of the voice only to find empty space behind her. She looked into the darkness surrounding the way she had come, her eyes playing tricks on her. The darkness swirled creating menacing shapes out of nothing. She turned to continue on in her journey to find a way out, jumping back when she found herself face to face with a girl. Her heart was beating out of her chest but curiosity beat the fear telling her to run once she recognized who it was standing in front of her.

"Jane Chatwin?"

"Lilly" jane said acknowledging her and confirming the girls own identity. She was dressed in classic clothes, reminiscent of the 1940's, her brown hair braided and tucked under a light blue beret. 

"Where are we? Where is that ticking noise coming from?" Lilly asked, confused by the whole situation.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to." Jane scolded her, taking Lilly by surprise. It was odd to have a girl many years her junior talking to her as if she were the child.

"Fillory?" She asked in disbelief, unable to connect the beautiful world she had read about in books to the monstrosity she stood in now. "What is that ticking?" she asked again, shaking her head in annoyance. The noise seemed to grow louder by the second, making it feel as if she had a grandfather clock rattling around in her head.

"You must learn to use your eyes if you are going to survive this." Jane told her in an irritated voice.

"Wha-" Lilly looked away from Jane only to see that the clump of trees and brambles behind jane, had been replaced by a massive oak tree embedded with a clock face. Lilly was in the presence of the very tree that had first brought the Chatwins to Fillory.

"You are special Lilly. He wants you, even more than he wants Quentin and he will find you. It is only a matter of time."

"Who wants me? What are you -"

"Silence! We don't have much time." Jane scolded her, "Your power is greater than you know. You must learn to use it if you are to stop him."

"Stop who?"

"The Beast..."

➻➻➻➻

"Magic is real." Dean Fogg said to Lilly from across the ornate desk. She had been summoned to his office for the meeting she had been promised before she left the exam. Her dream had woken her up early and she had been unable to get back to sleep. Something about the encounter with Jane had seemed so real.

"Yeah I kinda figured that one out already."

"Brakebills offers a three-year program, graduate level studies, program begins immediately."

"Sorry, but what am I supposed to do about my apartment? I still have two months left on my rent and I spent a lot of money on that place."

"Everything is being taken care of by the school. Your furniture and other valuables have been placed in a storage unit if they aren't already in your dorm." The Dean pulled out a form from his desk, placing it in front of her. "I need you to sign this waiver, basically stating that if anything goes wrong while practicing magic, the school will not be liable for it. Then I will need you to sign a form which will confirm you are officially enrolled in Brakebills."

"How often do things go wrong." Lilly asked warily. The Dean hesitated a moment, looking as if he was keeping something from her.

"Not very often, but it does happen. Magic is not something to be messed around with Lilly. Every spell has risk and nothing is safe. That is why we are offering you the chance to learn how to control it, to use it to do great things. We will teach you how to use your abilities to the fullest extent."

"What exactly happened to that guy from Yale? Was he murdered by a Magician?"

"No. He was a Diabetic." Dean Fogg stated bluntly, making Lilly feel stupid for jumping to conclusions.

"What about that woman who gave Quentin the Fillory manuscript?"

"Scout. Freelance... sort of."

"She looked so familiar. Have I seen her before?"

"It's very likely. We have been keeping an eye on you for quite some time, trying to determine whether or not you actually possessed magic. Which it is obvious that you do." The Dean slid the papers towards her. "Now, if you don't mind, I have 23 more Students to speak with."

"Of course." Lilly quickly looked over the paper, making sure that everything was in fact what he said they were. Once she deemed them safe, she signed each paper and was officially a student of Brakebills University. Once back at the dorms, Lilly couldn't wait to finally see Quentin. She was positive that he would be ecstatic about being a Magician. She hoped that Julia had been accepted, even though she could tell that the girl wasn't as into magic as she and Quentin were. Quentin's door was slightly ajar, a shuffling sound drifting out into the hallway. Lilly lifted her hand to the door frame, knocking twice before pushing the door open. She was surprised to see a very tall guy standing in the middle of the room. The same guy who knocked her over yesterday, to be exact. He wore a subtly patterned vest with a light orange scarf wrapped around his neck. He wore nothing underneath the top, giving Lilly a view of his muscular chest and arms. She could see a tattoo of a snake adorned his right bicep. He turned upon hearing her enter, giving her a full look at his face. He had relatively angular features but still soft in places, giving him a pleasant appearance that she was sure lots of women would fall for in an instant. He had just enough facial hair that it perfectly shaped his face. Despite his attractiveness, Lilly could tell by the way he acted, that they would not be getting along any time soon.

"Sorry. I was looking for Quentin. This is his room, right?" The guy looked her up and down as if she were a minnow and he was a shark. An amused smirk danced across his lips as he observed her. "Excuse me?" Lilly snapped her fingers at the guy. "Eyes up here."

"Nerd boy went on a tour a while ago. The dumbass fainted after his exam so they had to postpone till today." His use of language to describe Quentin clearly irritated Lilly but she wasn't in the mood to fight with anyone so she let it slide.

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Don't know, don't care." Lilly moved past the still unnamed guy to sit on what was obviously Quentin's bed considering the stack of Fillory and Further books on the nightstand. The mattress cracked slightly as she leaned over to grab one of the books, opening it up on her lap.

"What do you think you are doing?" The guy was sounding more irritated with her than before and it gave Lilly a satisfied feeling to know that she was getting on his nerves. After all, he was a

total d**k to both her and Quentin.

"Waiting for Quentin to come back." Lilly told him innocently, not looking up from the book in her lap. Her blonde hair hung down on the sides of her head, partially obscuring her vision, but not enough to keep her from seeing the pissed off expression on the guy's face.

"Uh... No, you aren't. This my room. Get out Barbie." He told her with an irritated voice.

"First of all," Lilly began, getting extremely Irritated by his attitude and lack of manners. "My name is not 'Barbie', it's Lilly and technically half of this room belongs to Quentin and I'm his friend, so I don't have to leave."

"Well Barbie," He said, putting extra emphasis on the name she had just corrected him on, making Lilly grind her teeth at his rudeness. "Nerd boy isn't here so I suggest you get out before -"

"Lilly!" A familiar voice called from the doorway. Quentin walked towards her, wrapping her into a relieved hug. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who got in."

"Julia?" Quentin simply shook his head, looking down awkwardly. "I'm sorry Quentin." Lilly said sincerely, patting his arm for comfort. "At least we have each other." The infuriating guy that Lilly had been taking to for the past few minutes moved back over to his side of the room, an angry expression on his face.

"I have some bad news." Quentin told her with a sad look in his eyes. "I had the manuscript with me when I got here and it was right by my bed when I left to meet with Dean Fogg." He gestured towards the night stand which was empty save for the stack of books she had seen on earlier inspection of the room.

"Where is it?" Lilly asked, already knowing the answer but too afraid of the answer. Quentin sighed in disappointment, running his hand over his face.

"I have no Idea. It was gone when I got back."

"Well who would have taken it? As much as I despise your roommate, I highly doubt it was him. He wouldn't have the brains to pull of such a heist." His roommate grunted in indignation from the other side of the room.

"Can you two take your nerd s**t somewhere else?" The guy called from across the room, seriously getting on Lilly's nerves.

"Come on Q. Margo showed me a coffee shop on campus, let's go there. That way we don't have to deal with all this negative energy."

The walk to the coffee shop was filled with Quentin and Lilly's excited chatter about the existence of actual magic. Not the kind they were constantly reading about in books, but the kind that they could see and feel for themselves. They had gotten into the real-life Hogwarts; the only problem now was how they were going to stay in it. Elliot had mentioned how easy it was to get kicked out, so they would both be sure to do some vigorous studying.

"Do you know what classes you have?" Quentin asked her as they settled into a small corner table. It seemed that many of the newbies had the same idea and Lilly recognized a few from the dorm or exam.

"Yes! I'm pretty sure all freshmen have the same classes until we get placed in a discipline group." Despite her statement she still pulled the schedule Dean Fogg had given her earlier that morning, placing it on the table between them. She proceeded to list off her classes while Quentin compared it with his own. "Intro to Spell Casting with Professor Culwell, History of Magic with Professor Weatherly, Control and Magical Ethics with Professor Zaccaria, and Last but not least, Fundamentals of Alchemy with Professor Navar." at the very bottom of her schedule in fine print was a message that read, 'Classes are subject to change once you receive your Discipline placement.'

"I have the same." Quentin confirmed, "I can't believe how amazing all these classes are going to be! They are all about magic, real magic!"

"I know! You wouldn't believe how relieved I am that there are no math classes on here. I still have nightmares about my Calculus class!" Quentin shook his head with a small smile.

"It's Funny Quentin," Lilly told him, "Even though we just met yesterday, I feel like we have known each other for years. I'm just happy we both made it in and we get to go through this together."

"I guess finding a dead body does that to people." Lilly laughed a little at the truth of his words. "I'm glad I have a friend in all this. I just hope you are real and I'm not just having some sort of psychotic break."

"I promise you I'm real." They both looked up at the door when the bell rang, signaling a customer was entering. Lilly's smile grew when she saw Dani and Alex entering. She raised her hand waving the two over to their table. 

"Who is that?" Quentin wondered aloud. The newcomers waved back at Lilly, making their way over to their table.

"Hey!" Dani and Alex both greeted them, pulling over two chairs.

"Quentin this is Alex and Dani. They are first years like us, we met yesterday at the dorms. Quentin nodded at the two in greeting, Obviously uncomfortable with socialization. He had been awkward when she had first met him, but the two had become fast friends. Lilly hoped he would feel the same about the two who had joined them.

"Nice to meet you Quentin." Lilly said at the same time Alex said,

"Hey man."

"You guys excited for classes tomorrow?" This elicited a groan from Dani and a quick nod of the head from Alex. "How are you not excited Dani? It's magic school! We aren't going to business school."

"I have grown up around magic. It doesn't have the same appeal to me as it does to you muggle borns."

"You grew up knowing about magic?" Quentin perked up slightly in interest asking Dani questions about her life. "What was it like."

"It was just a part of life, like you guys and not having magic, it was the normal. It wasn't some unobtainable myth that Muggles make it out to be. My mom is an Alchemist so I've learned a few things from her."

"How I would love to switch lives with you." Quentin told her to which Dani shook her head.

"I may have had magic but my life was nothing like a fairytale. I still have the same problems you guys do." Quentin looked down awkwardly and thankfully the bell rang on the door again bringing everyone's attention to the newcomer.

"Who's the hottie?" Dani asked, mock fanning herself. The newcomer sadly was no one of interest to Lilly, only the extremely rude roommate of Quentin Coldwater. Lilly let out an irritated groan at his presence. Dani looked at her surprised,

"What's up with you? Are you not seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Unfortunately, I am. Sorry to burst your bubble, but he's a total dick."

"You've met the Hottie?" She asked mouth open and eyes filled with jealousy.

"Yeah, he's my roommate," Quentin confirmed.

"He looks like a jerk to me," Alex speculated and Dani turned to give him a fake glare.

"Stay out of this Alex you haven't even met him. What is Mr. Sexy's name?" Lilly shrugged causing Dani to gasp comically, "You call him a d**k and you don't even know his name."

"His name is Penny." Quentin filled in for the group.

"Well I'm going to go meet Penny for myself and we will see if he really is the d**k you claim him to be." Lilly and Alex shook their heads at Dani. Lilly knew that as soon as she met him she would know that they were all right. Dani stood up making her way over to where Penny sat, alone, drinking a cup of coffee and scanning the screen of his laptop. He was too far away for them to hear the conversation, but through their body language they could see it didn't go very well. Dani's movements went from seductive to angry in ten seconds flat. She turned away almost as quickly as she had gone, stomping back to the table.

"You were right. He is a dick."

➻➻➻➻

First day of classes started the following morning and Lilly could barely contain her excitement. She had spent the evening with Quentin in the library, reading anything they could get their hands on in order to get a head start on their studies. She had learned a bit about the history of Brakebills which was a lot more interesting than you would think and started to learn about spell casting. 

When she walked into her first class that day, she took an empty seat next to a blonde girl. She smiled at her from her seat but the girl only glanced her way before proceeding to scribble nonsense in her journal. She wore a black dress with a white collar along with a pair of glasses that practically screamed nerd. Lilly was not really one to talk though, considering her own slightly nerdy persona. 

"At the exam, each of you did magic, what is inside you was coaxed. The question is, who can grow this magic into something more? Who can be a Magician?" Professor Culwell spoke from her spot at the front of the room. She made a point to look into the eyes of every student in the room, something about the way the professor gazed into Lilly's eyes told her that she knew something that Lilly didn't. Her eyes flicked from Lilly to the blonde sitting to her right.

"Alice, please." Culwell gestured for Alice to stand to which the girl complied. Alice walked with her head down, giving Lilly the impression that she would really rather not be in front of the class. Alice moved to the table at the front of the room, coming to stand in front of a small glass marble. She paused a moment, hovering her hands over the piece of glass, causing the room to sit forward in their seats in anticipation. Alice began to mutter what Lilly assumed were incantations under her breath, closing her eyes in order to concentrate on the task before her. Gradually the marble began to glow, small beams of light shining out from within as it slowly melted down to a puddle beneath her hands. The students had begun to whisper to each other but Lilly couldn't seem to tear her gaze away from the sight. The puddle was beginning to form a shape, unrecognizable from so far away, but once Alice animated it, the creature was unmistakable. A miniature horse galloped around the table, newly formed from the marble of glass. A collective gasp went through the room before Alice swept up her creation and rushed back to her seat. The room erupted in applause, Alice sitting next to her once again.

"That was amazing." Lilly told her, Alice glancing over slightly before facing the front. "I'm Lilly" she introduced. 

"Alice," She told her shortly in a cold voice, not bothering to look at Lilly. The rest of the class was a dream come true for Lilly, learning about how to levitate small objects and cast small protective spells. Many of the students had struggled with the spells but it had felt like second nature to Lilly. After class she found herself a spot on a grassy knoll, away from the rest of the practicing students and reviewed every spell and technique she had learned until she was able to produce a full shield before her. Things would be anything but boring at this school.