The Alchemists Academy: Stones to Ashes Book 1 by Kailin Gow Page A

odd,” it said. “I know it is here somewhere. Close by, I mean. I just can’t seem to find quite where. Sorry.”
    “No,” Wirt said, “you’ve been very helpful.” He looked to Ms. Lake, who nodded.
    “We should go,” the teacher said. Wirt turned to leave, doing his best to ignore the mirror as it called after him. Just what they needed. A silly old mirror for a silly princess. King Wilford’s kingdom is definitely in trouble if Princess Priscilla and her fool of a brother ever get to rule it. No wonder they needed advisers. They were like caricatures out of a fairy tale book, unlike Alana who seem real like him.
    “At least let me do something about those shoes .”

 
    Chapter 7
     
    I t seemed that taking part in a Quest did not mean that normal lessons stopped, which struck Wirt as unfair.
    Currently, Wirt found himself sitting in a class on transmutation taught by Ms. Genovia, a rather burly woman in her fifties, who looked to Wirt a little like the kind of PE teacher who stamped round muddy fields shouting at people. At least, most of her did. Years of turning into things had left Ms. Genovia with hints of features that didn’t quite fit, from one ear whose tip was tufted like a lynx’s, to a small patch of scales just over her left cheek. Spencer and Alana, who both sat on the other side of the class with apparently rapt attention, had warned Wirt not to stare, but he found he couldn’t help it.
    “Now, some people,” and there Ms. Genovia gave the door to her classroom a withering glare, because it happened to be just across the hall from that of Ms. Preville, “seem to believe that glamours, illusions and doing things to hide people’s faces are better ways of assuming a different form. I ask you this though: what use is it to look like a bird if you cannot fly? What use is it to look like your enemy when you cannot fit into his armor because it is too big?”
    “No, the answer is a genuine transformation. Not only can it create real, physical effects, but with the right knowledge of the human body it can also heal. Why, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had bits chopped off over the years, and it’s never done me any lasting harm!”
    Ms. Genovia said it in the same hearty tone that another teacher might have used to talk about getting a hockey stick across the shins.
    “Oh, and it is jolly useful for turning your enemies into things too. You boy!” she pointed at Wirt. “I saw you staring. I need a volunteer. To the front of the class with you.”
    Wirt was sure that the word “volunteer” usually involved some element of choice. Not here, apparently. He trudged out to the front of the class with some trepidation. Ms. Genovia looked him up and down.
    “At least there is plenty of room for improvement, I suppose.” She said a few words in a language Wirt did not understand, at the same time tangling her fingers together. Wirt felt tingling spread over his body, and opened his mouth to ask exactly what was happening.
    It came out as a croak.
    Come to think of it, Ms. Genovia suddenly seemed a lot bigger than she had, and Wirt wouldn’t have thought that was possible. Everyone, not to mention the classroom was bigger. Wirt raised a hand in front of his face to look at it, and found a very webbed, very damp, and above all very green foot.
    “Frogs have always been a favorite of mine,” Ms. Genovia boomed, somewhere overhead. “When you’re faced with someone completely annoying, there’s nothing quite so stress-relieving as turning them into something suitably amphibian, and then having a good stomp around in your biggest boots.”
    She stomped once for emphasis. Wirt found himself looking around for a table to hop under. Ms. Genovia, apparently sensing his discomfort, said a few more words in that strange language and turned him back full-sized. Wirt practically ran for his seat.
    “Now, apparently, some people,” another glance at the door, “think that all this