Substitute Witch Read online

  I quickly sat in my seat and pulled the little notebook tray down to hide where my cock was rapidly growing.

  The buzz in the classroom only grew louder as the minutes were on and there was still no Professor Arnold. Usually he bustled in right at the start of class carrying a sheaf of papers with him that had something to do with his lecture for the day. He refused to use anything more technologically advanced than the chalkboard.

  Only there was none of that today.

  I heard a few students talking loudly about the five-minute rule as the ten minute mark came and went. This last class of the day was longer than the usual so there was still more than an hour of lecture ahead of us if Professor Arnold decided to show up, but I was starting to wonder about the five-minute rule myself. Sure it was just a myth, one of those things students talked about in the hopes that they might get out of class for a day if the professor wasn't on time, but it was starting to feel like we'd qualify for the fifteen minute rule if professor Arnold didn't show up soon.

  And still there was no Stacy.

  Where were they?

  Movement at the far right entrance to the room caught my attention and I turned. Then the attention of every other student in the room turned as well. Particularly the men. My mouth dropped open.

  Damn.

  The woman who walked into the room was like nothing I'd seen before. She wore a fashionable business suit that was open down the middle with a tank top underneath. The big difference between this tank top undershirt and every other tank top I'd ever seen a professor where was just how low-cut this one went. She had a generous expanse of cleavage, and that undershirt left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Every male eye in the room was glued to her.

  My eyes were glued to her.

  Who was this? I'd never seen her before, either in any of the classrooms or just wandering around the history building. Sure it was a big building, but you got a feel for the profs lurking there after a couple months.

  Her hips swayed seductively as she made her way across the room, her ass covered by a skirt that was just long enough that it skirted the edges of proprietary for someone working for the University. Having said that, the skirt wouldn't have looked out of place on a girl going out for a night at the frat houses, or a night at the bars. The only thing that separated that skirt from a night out clubbing was that it was on this woman and she was standing at the front of a classroom rather than on the dance floor.

  Perfectly sculpted legs ran down to a pair of the highest heels I'd ever seen in my life. It was a miracle she was able to walk on those things. I'm talking serious stripper heels. And yet she managed to effortlessly walk across the room, seductive sway and all, with a steady clicking noise as she made her way across the tile.

  She held a large and rather ungainly looking bag slung over one shoulder. The bag clinked as she walked, and it rattled with the sound of glass banging together as she hefted it onto the desk at the front of the room.

  She continued until she was behind the desk Professor Arnold usually sat at when he was delivering lectures. His habit was to alternate between the desk, which had a perfectly good projector on it attached to a computer that would display everything on the giant screen at the front of the room, and the chalkboard because, again, anything resembling modern technology seemed to be anathema to the short balding old man.

  Only this woman took position behind a podium immediately to my left, her right, and leaned on it. I could see more than a few gentlemen in the lecture hall leaning forward trying to catch a glimpse of her ass thrusting out towards the wall as she leaned. Hell, I was doing it myself.

  This woman was captivating.

  Needless to say, I was immediately on guard. A captivating woman usually meant the start of trouble for me if this weekend was anything to go on.

  "Good afternoon class," the woman said.

  Her voice had a sultry, husky quality to it that had me hanging on her every word. My disquiet only deepened. Sultry voices meant trouble. Trouble meant that Felicity was probably right. And if I managed to survive whatever this woman threw at the class I didn't want to have to listen to Felicity saying she told me so.

  The woman paused for a moment and looked across the lecture hall. There was definitely something disquieting about the way she seemed to be studying each and every one of us as her eyes ran across the room. I squirmed in my chair and was starting to seriously regret taking a seat right in the middle where I couldn't make a hasty exit from the classroom.

  Why hadn't I listened to Felicity?

  "I'm Professor Jones," the woman said. "I'm afraid I have a bit of bad news for you all. Professor Arnold passed away over the weekend."

  You'd think that sort of pronouncement would get more reaction out of the class, and to be fair there were a couple of gasps from a few in the room. Particularly a few who were history majors that always sat in the front row trying to impress the good professor. Maybe they needed a recommendation or something, I didn't know how the history department worked. I was just here to get my core credits and get the hell out.

  But as for the rest of the room, nobody seemed to care. I saw a few people shrug. One or two people even smiled. Professor Arnold hadn't exactly been the most popular teacher amongst the non-history students.

  "I'll be taking over your class for the rest of the semester," she said.

  Professor Jones reached down into the large bag she'd sat on the desk and pulled out something quite peculiar. It looked for all the world like a cauldron. Only it was faded as though it was old. Very old. I wondered what hole she dug that out of.

  The cauldron also seem to have some sort of script etched around the top, as well as what looked like maybe figures around the body of the cauldron itself. It was hard to tell both because I was so far away and because the thing was so old that whatever had originally been etched on its side was now long faded away.

  "I understand that your class has been covering ancient Rome recently," she paused to smile and a chuckle to herself. I didn't like the sound of that chuckle. "Your class is in luck, because it just so happens that ancient Rome is my specialty."

  She reached back into her massive bag and started pulling out phials and bottles of strangely glowing liquids. Those bottles looked like they'd be more at home in a science lab than the history department. I wondered just what the hell she thought she was doing with them.

  She poured several of the bottles into the cauldron and made a stirring motion with her finger above said cauldron, though she didn't actually get out a spoon to stir. My unease was growing greater with each passing moment.

  A strange purplish smoke that seemed to sparkle as it wafted up started to fill the room with its haze. I glanced up and wondered if this was going to set off any of the smoke detectors. Either way, it seemed like a damned peculiar way for a professor to be giving a demonstration in a history lecture. Professor Jones continued to talk as her hand twirled and smoke filled the room.

  "Today I thought I'd give you a demonstration of a ceremony from the cult of the Medea," she said. "Medea was a witch of the ancient world, particularly the Greek world, but the Romans were always ones for cheerfully co-opting other cultures. Particularly when they recognized power."

  She smiled as she looked out across the room. The smoke filled the room like a fog, far more smoke than seemed possible for a cauldron that small. She poured another vial in and there was a flash as sparkling white points of light erupted from the smoke at all points in the room rather than it just from where it was emanating from the cauldron.

  Oh yeah, this was definitely bad news.

  "Of course little remains of the cult of the Medea today," she said. "In fact it might have remained buried had I not come across the remains of one of their temples early in life when I was on an expedition with my father Harrison."

  Harrison. Professor Jones. Something about that. Professor Harrison Jones. Why did that name sounded so familiar? I could've sworn I'd heard it somewh
ere before. Maybe Professor Arnold mentioned him in one of his lectures?

  "So you all can consider yourselves quite lucky you're here today," she said. "You're witnessing something that hasn't been seen by many mortals in over two thousand years."

  And with that she uttered some words that seemed vaguely familiar, maybe something in Latin? Or maybe even ancient Greek? I couldn't tell since I didn't speak either language. Either way, no sooner was the word out of her mouth plan the purplish sparkling haze erupted.

  And erupt is the only way I can think of to describe it. The tiny pinpoints of light that had been sparkling flashed with an astounding brightness. Several people cried out in surprise, and then the purplish mist started to crackle with energy. It looked for all the world like a miniature version of one of those pictures of a volcanic eruption with a massive ash cloud that has lightning crackling through it. Only these tiny electric bolts shot out and made contact with everyone sitting in the room.

  I saw a bolt shoot out towards me as well and I held up my hand, but it just before it made contact to the bolt disappeared instead of slamming into me like it did with everyone else. People twitched and flailed throughout the room, there were even a few surprised cries, but nobody slumped over dead like I'd expect from a massive unexplained electrical storm in the middle of a college lecture hall.

  Weird.

  The mist remained but the crackling bolts of energy winked out just as quickly as they appeared. Professor Jones stood at the front of the room with a smile on her face.

  "You all went to visit the museum on Friday, is that correct?"

  "Yes."

  I nearly jumped up. I glanced from side to side with my eyes, not daring to move my head. Everyone in the room was staring straight ahead. Or at least everyone was staring straight at the woman holding court at the front of the lecture hall. Staring with of the sort of rapt attention that most professors could only dream of in a class like this.

  And everyone had answered at the same time.

  Yeah, something weird was definitely going on here.

  "I'm assuming you visited the jewelry room when you had your little visit?"

  "Yes."

  This time I answered along with everyone else. I didn't feel any particular compulsion to answer her question, but I also had the feeling it would be a very bad thing if she realized I was the only one in the room who wasn't under her control.

  "While you were in that room you happened to see a medallion, a medallion that my father found some time ago at great personal and professional expense."

  Crap! Her father, of course! That's where I'd heard that name before. Harrison Jones, the great explorer who discovered the medallion of Venus, and who was railroaded out of his career or some other such nonsense because everybody thought it was a fake. This was his daughter?

  Judging by how old the medallion's discovery was she looked way too young to be his daughter. Maybe he ended up having kids later in life?

  "That medallion has vanished under very mysterious circumstances," she said. "Circumstances that lead me to believe it was pilfered by someone very special. Someone who might be experiencing some difficulty if they happen to be wearing the medallion."

  Again she eyed the room back and forth, pausing to study and examine each person one by one as though she was expecting somebody to give something up. Only I had no intention of giving anything up. I stared straight ahead, only blinking every once in a while and hoping something small like blinking wouldn't give me away.

  "I know that one of you is a demigod or a demigoddess," she said. "If you give yourself over to me now then I can promise it will make things much easier."

  She had a predatory smile that made giving myself up to her the last thing I wanted to do. I also noted that she said it would make things easier, not that it meant I would get out of this safely. Easier for who? Me or her?

  Better to sit back and shut up.

  "I have your friend, you know."

  I blinked. My friend? What was she talking about?

  Only that question was answered almost as soon as it occurred to me. She held up a hand and another bit of mist appeared over her. The mist shimmered and resolved to a picture of…

  Holy shit. Stacy!

  What was she doing to Stacy? What had she done?

  "I have your friend, but nothing has happened to her. Yet."

  I continued to sit absolutely still, staring forward and praying I was doing a good enough job of blending in with the rest of the crowd. Why was that spell not working on me? Could all of that crap Felicity was saying about me being a demigoddess actually be true? Well, if Felicity said it and now this strange chick was standing at the front of the room saying it then maybe there was some truth to it. Was that the reason I wasn't affected?

  If so, it was probably the first time all the strangeness and weirdness of the past weekend had actually worked out in my favor.

  "Reveal yourself and nothing will happen to your friend," Professor Jones said. "Don't reveal yourself and, well, let's just say I'm already quite annoyed with Stacy for not giving you up."

  Damn it. I needed to get out of here somehow. I needed to figure out where Stacy was and rescue her somehow.

  I wondered if I could send a surreptitious text to Felicity, but then I realized I didn't have her number. Hell, I didn't even know if she had a telephone for me to text her on. I supposed I could try to get a message to campus police, but what was I going to say? Some weird lady was using a magical spell to take control of my classroom and oh by the way she was also holding my friend hostage unless I gave her an ancient Roman medallion that grew magical dicks on demigoddesses?

  Yeah, I'm sure campus police would be all over that.

  "Fine, if you're not going to come out then maybe someone else will be able to tell me something," she said. "Does anyone else know who took the medallion last Friday? Did anything odd happened while you were at the museum?"

  Shit. Any minute now everybody was going to point to me and say that I had campus emergency services called to take care of a fainting spell. That would probably be enough to give me away. I needed to get the hell out of here, and I needed to get the hell out of here twenty minutes ago.

  I looked from side to side. Well, I looked from side to side as much is my peripheral vision would allow. I didn't dare actually turned my head and give myself away. There were people on both sides of me, but if I managed to go in a diagonal…

  Yeah, that just might work.

  The only people who ever sat in the middle of the lecture hall were the aforementioned history majors, and they were usually front and center. That meant the area immediately in front of me and to the sides was mostly clear, even if the rest of the row running down to the edges wasn't. I could stand and make a quick run for the door by jumping over chairs. It would be a trick, and I'd have to pray she couldn't get them out from behind that podium before I managed to make it to the door, but I just might make it. I gave a quick mental thanks that I didn't bother to bring my backpack or my laptop to class today. I'd expected to just talk to Stacy and then get the hell out, no note taking today.

  And in a way I guess I was right.

  Professor Jones turned her attention to the other side of the class and I decided it was time to act. I threw my lap desk to the side and stood. The motion drew her attention, though nobody else in the room seemed to move or care. I jumped up and hopped onto one of the seats in front of me, and then from there to the next row down. I repeated that a couple more times until I was down on the floor. I turned and looked at her, but she hadn't made a move. She just stood there behind the podium with her arms crossed and an odd smile on her face.

  "Go ahead. Run," she said.

  Well, I wasn't going to argue with her if she was going to give me a chance. I got the feeling I was being toyed with, but I also held out hope she was just making one of the classic villain mistakes and the giving me a chance that would blow up in her face later.

  Profe
ssor Jones turned to the rest of the class as I turned and bolted for the door. As I reached the door and yanked it open I heard two words that sent a chill through me.

  "Get her."

  Purple mist wafted out into the halls as I made a dash to the stairs. The hall was completely empty which wasn't odd considering it was close to the end of the day and everybody would be in class, but as I ran past other classrooms I realized there weren't any students or teachers in there like usual. Not good.

  The sound of feet hitting the floor behind me caught my attention and I turned to see people streaming out of the classroom and running towards me. Shit. Now I wasn't outrunning one person, I was outrunning an entire lecture hall worth of students. How the hell was I going to get back to my dorm with that many people after me?

  I threw open the doors and looked. Up or down. I wasn't sure how much autonomy the people from my class had now that they were under the sway of that spell, but I figured it was maybe time to try and do a little bit of sneaking. If they did still have some control of their faculties then they'd expect me to go down.

  So I went up.

  I went up stairs and rounded the bend. I heard the door open below so I crouched down and peeked over the edge. I saw people streaming into the stairwell, only they were all going down. Looks like my plan had some merit to it after all.

  I waited until the sound died down and continued up to the next floor. I'd only been up here once before for an office hours visit with Arnold, it was mostly professors' offices, but I figured I could easily double around to a stairway on the other side of the building and make my way out from there. Then it would just take a little luck to not run into anybody from my class, but it was still a relatively small class considering how many people were at the school. They'd be a drop in the bucket compared to the massive ocean of students outside. An ocean I could hopefully disappear into and make my way safely back to my dorm and Felicity.