light-headed.
“Beautiful shield for a first timer,” Zara said.
I plopped down onto the dry, crunchy leaves. “I see what you mean about it being hard to sustain, though.”
“You’ll get better at it,” she said. Instead of sitting next to me on the ground, Zara sat down in mid-air, like a little floating genie. Her long white-blonde hair blew back as a gust of wind rushed into the clearing. Zara lifted her face toward the wind and closed her eyes. She looked so beautiful and peaceful.
“I can feel your energy inside of me,” I said. “It’s like a little hum or something.”
She smiled. “It only lasts a little while, but it’s kind of funny, isn’t it? It’s like getting to see a side of a person you’d never normally see.”
I immediately thought of Jackson. I wondered what it would feel like to absorb some of his magical energy. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be nearly as light and happy as Zara’s.
“What was it you threw at me, anyway?”
“Just light,” she said. “Totally harmless, of course.”
“What if it had been a fireball or something dangerous?” I asked. “Would it have hurt at all?”
“What you would feel wouldn’t exactly be pain,” she said. She looked off to the left, as if trying to figure out the words to describe it. “It’s more like an uneasiness that comes over you. Like your body knows that energy now flowing through your hands was meant to harm you. It’s hard to explain.”
“Can we try one?”
“A fireball?” She looked at me like I’d lost my marbles. “Absolutely not. This is only your first day of learning to shield. I’m not going to risk hurting you and having the entire local council freak out on me.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Fine. What are some of the other ways to defend myself, then?”
For the rest of the afternoon, Zara taught me various types of shields and protection spells. She taught me ways to deflect dangerous magic and to detect when someone was close by hiding in the shadows. By the time darkness came, I was utterly exhausted.
No Other Sign
When I got up to my room, I plopped down on my bed, ready to fall into a deep sleep. Something hard dug into my back, and I reached around to pull it out from under me.
I gasped and dropped my cell phone down onto the comforter.
How did this get here? I thought it had been stolen from me.
Frantic, I got up from the bed and searched my room to make sure nothing was missing. Everything looked to be in place. So who had been in my bedroom?
The windows were closed and locked and there was no other sign of anyone having been in the room. I walked out into the hallway and questioned both Mary Anne and Courtney, but neither of them had seen anyone in my room.
Downstairs, I could hear Ella Mae cleaning up some of the dishes from dinner. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could.
“Ella Mae?”
“Yes?” she asked, turning around. She had a white plate and a dish towel in her hand. “Everything okay? Why are you so out of breath?”
“I ran down the stairs,” I said. “Did someone come visit me today? I mean, was anyone up in my room or anything?”
She set the plate down and walked toward me, concern on her face. “Not that I know of, why?”
“I just thought I lost my cell phone at the gym last night,” I said. “And then when I got back from training, it was there on my bed.”
Ella Mae’s face broke out into a sweet smile. “It must have been there all along,” she said. “I bet you left it there yesterday morning and just thought you took it with you.”
She picked up the white plate again and went back to drying.
I bit my lip. I knew I hadn’t left it there when I left home yesterday. I distinctly remembered having both the phone and my necklace with me in the locker room. “You’re sure no one came by today?” I asked.
“I’ve been here all day,” she said. “And the only visitor we’ve had is Zara.”
“Thanks,” I said, heading back up
“Beautiful shield for a first timer,” Zara said.
I plopped down onto the dry, crunchy leaves. “I see what you mean about it being hard to sustain, though.”
“You’ll get better at it,” she said. Instead of sitting next to me on the ground, Zara sat down in mid-air, like a little floating genie. Her long white-blonde hair blew back as a gust of wind rushed into the clearing. Zara lifted her face toward the wind and closed her eyes. She looked so beautiful and peaceful.
“I can feel your energy inside of me,” I said. “It’s like a little hum or something.”
She smiled. “It only lasts a little while, but it’s kind of funny, isn’t it? It’s like getting to see a side of a person you’d never normally see.”
I immediately thought of Jackson. I wondered what it would feel like to absorb some of his magical energy. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be nearly as light and happy as Zara’s.
“What was it you threw at me, anyway?”
“Just light,” she said. “Totally harmless, of course.”
“What if it had been a fireball or something dangerous?” I asked. “Would it have hurt at all?”
“What you would feel wouldn’t exactly be pain,” she said. She looked off to the left, as if trying to figure out the words to describe it. “It’s more like an uneasiness that comes over you. Like your body knows that energy now flowing through your hands was meant to harm you. It’s hard to explain.”
“Can we try one?”
“A fireball?” She looked at me like I’d lost my marbles. “Absolutely not. This is only your first day of learning to shield. I’m not going to risk hurting you and having the entire local council freak out on me.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Fine. What are some of the other ways to defend myself, then?”
For the rest of the afternoon, Zara taught me various types of shields and protection spells. She taught me ways to deflect dangerous magic and to detect when someone was close by hiding in the shadows. By the time darkness came, I was utterly exhausted.
No Other Sign
When I got up to my room, I plopped down on my bed, ready to fall into a deep sleep. Something hard dug into my back, and I reached around to pull it out from under me.
I gasped and dropped my cell phone down onto the comforter.
How did this get here? I thought it had been stolen from me.
Frantic, I got up from the bed and searched my room to make sure nothing was missing. Everything looked to be in place. So who had been in my bedroom?
The windows were closed and locked and there was no other sign of anyone having been in the room. I walked out into the hallway and questioned both Mary Anne and Courtney, but neither of them had seen anyone in my room.
Downstairs, I could hear Ella Mae cleaning up some of the dishes from dinner. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could.
“Ella Mae?”
“Yes?” she asked, turning around. She had a white plate and a dish towel in her hand. “Everything okay? Why are you so out of breath?”
“I ran down the stairs,” I said. “Did someone come visit me today? I mean, was anyone up in my room or anything?”
She set the plate down and walked toward me, concern on her face. “Not that I know of, why?”
“I just thought I lost my cell phone at the gym last night,” I said. “And then when I got back from training, it was there on my bed.”
Ella Mae’s face broke out into a sweet smile. “It must have been there all along,” she said. “I bet you left it there yesterday morning and just thought you took it with you.”
She picked up the white plate again and went back to drying.
I bit my lip. I knew I hadn’t left it there when I left home yesterday. I distinctly remembered having both the phone and my necklace with me in the locker room. “You’re sure no one came by today?” I asked.
“I’ve been here all day,” she said. “And the only visitor we’ve had is Zara.”
“Thanks,” I said, heading back up
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