Hundred Halls Short Story Bundle Volume 2

Escape to the Hundred Halls!

Return to the world's only modern magical university in these five short stories and novelettes about the hunt for a supernatural killer, a formative event in the Charmer family history, a day in the life of an Arcanium professor, what goes on in the place between life and death, and an unusual find at a magical trinket shop.

Read these five Hundred Hall short stories, previously only released to his newsletter or in anthologies but now available for a wider audience.
Shades of the Past
The Salazar Files
Fear is Forever
A Slip of the Tongue
Notorious Nathan's Reagents and Novelties

A Slip of the Tongue

The entire room of eighteen students in Professor Longakers' Conditional Lexology class stared upward with open mouths, afraid that if they sneezed wrong, the two-hundred gallon aquarium that was currently stuck to the ceiling would come crashing down, flinging the tiny orange-tailed dreameaters into their midst.
Professor Sebastian Longakers reached over to his 80's style boombox that sat on the front of his desk where he was currently leaning. He hit the big black button with his thumb, stopping the music that had been blaring into the room, which had until moments before been supplying the second year student Isabella with the back beat to help with the spell. He let the students ponder the problem while he adjusted his tweed jacket.
"Would anyone like to educate the class on what went wrong with Isabella's spell?" he asked in a calm voice.
A few eyes darted his way, but quickly returned to the aquarium hanging above them. The orange and black stripped fish swimming in the tank were from a river in the realm of Harmony and had the unfortunate ability to cause nightmares for months on end if they happened to bite unprotected flesh.
"Uhm, professor," said Deshawn, gesturing towards the tank, "shouldn't you, I don't know, provide for the safety of your students by dealing with that?"
"This is a wonderful time to remind you that with magic, safety is not guaranteed and highly likely to get you killed if you're not careful. Once again, who can tell me what went wrong with the spell?" When no one answered, he added, "Figuring that out will help you understand how to fix this little problem."
He could see them starting to work through what Isabella had said. The initial shock of the tank rising through the middle of the class and slamming against the ceiling, spilling water as it impacted, was starting to wear off.
Isabella raised her hand and then lowered it. "I think I said something like," she started bobbing her head in remembrance of the beat, "in that tank, which is pretty fly, the fish are mean, but would look better if they were the color of the sky."
Sebastian could see the spark of understanding on her brow. A warmth and excitement at her realization was rising up through his midsection, bringing a smile, but he tempered it as not to distract Isabella. He could speak for hours about the dangers of improper word use in lexology, but a single and mostly benign mistake like Isabella's would save future lives if they incorporated the lesson he was trying to impart.
"I guess," said Isabella as she played with a loose curl that hung down from her forehead, "I used the slang word fly, which along with the rhyming word sky, might have confused the spell."
"Exactly," said Sebastian, drumming on the desk in excitement. "Great job, Isabella. Remember, words are instructions for the mind. They're not just the word that you find in the dictionary, they have the meaning contained in your mind—for good or bad. You have to be careful on how you use them. Had you grown up in the 80s, then using fly might have been appropriate because your mind would have translated the word as a positive adjective, not a verb. Slang, homonyms, these are the parts of lexology that are tricky."
"But what about the tank? Is it just going to stay up there all day?" asked Deshawn.
"Only as long as Isabella's spell holds. Given the umph that she gave it, the tank could be up there a couple hours, or only another few seconds," he said.
The entire class took a step backwards.
"Now would anyone like to bring it down with all the water and fish still inside?" He paused. "Isabella, want to give it a shot?"
"I would Professor Longakers, but I'm afraid I'll screw it up again."
He sensed wavering indecision. Magic was tricky, and lexology only more so because it involved culture and language more than most other studies. He didn't want to destroy her confidence while trying to educate an important lesson, but if she didn't solve the problem she created the mistake would linger.
"I believe in you, Isabella," he said, leaning over and pressing the button on the boom box. The beat returned, blaring out of the round speakers.
She swallowed, looking apprehensively at the tank. She tried to sway with the beat, but he could see the previous mistake clouding her mind. A brief attempt to begin was swallowed back. Isabella stared at the floor, her cheeks growing rosy with embarrassment.
Sensing he needed to offer encouragement, Sebastian rocked on his feet, clapping his hands to the beat, which was taken up by the class. The corners of a few lips curled upward, but they were still too tense to enjoy the moment.
"My name is Professor Longakers, and this is my course.
I teach how to use magic with words we enforce.
There's a tank in the air from the ceiling we wish to untether..."
He gestured towards Isabella, who had been mouthing along with him.
"Come down to the ground as light as a feather," she said.
"Good," he said, continuing to clap to the beat, "now say it again but with faez."
Her eyes sparked with understanding. She nodded more emphatically, stomping her foot to the beat of the music.
"My name is Isabella Gonzalez and I'm in your course.
I screwed up my words which is a mistake I do not endorse.
This tank is not a bird even as we all clap together.
Come down to the ground as light as a feather!"