Storm by Danielle Ellison

ready.
    But I have to make this look convincing. I rip the salt-filled charm off my neck and toss the salt on the demon. It cries out in pain. A bell dings somewhere in the distance—a one-minute warning. It’s now or never.
    The magic is so strong that I feel like my skin is melting, exploding, and I have to get it out. I focus on the demon and yell the incantation for good measure.
    “ Vitute angeli ad infernum unde venistis!” The words are barely out when the magic comes pouring out of me. It feels endless and strong, and I see it coming from my fingertips, and it’s so bright I have to squint.
    The demon explodes in an instant. Translucent guts all over the place. It takes me a second to regain control of the magic, because it doesn’t want to stop. Like it’s stronger than me. I have to close my eyes and pull it back in. It makes my head pound, and I cry out in pain, falling to my knees.
    Then I’m back in the white room.
    Everything falls back into place within me, except my spinning head.
    The door clicks open. Ellore is standing before me again, her eyes wide. “We don’t…I’ve never…”
    I look toward her, and her face is pale. She’s never seen it before—the magic be literally shooting through my pores. Because it’s not Essence. It’s not normal. What happened?
    Ellore pushes a finger to her ear, someone is talking to her through that thing. What are they saying? Her eyes get wide again when she looks at me. “Come with me,” she says. Her voice shakes. I messed up. I totally messed up.
    But how? It’s never done that before.
    I push away from the wall and look down at my shaky hands. And that’s when I see it. On my left hand pinky finger, there’s a small black dot, purplish.
    I scrub at it, but the spot doesn’t come off. It’s not a spot on my fingernail, but under it. I’m pretty sure that only happens when you hurt yourself. Like the time I slammed my finger into a car door.
    I’m positive that wasn’t there before.

Chapter Fourteen
    Carter
    Penelope hasn’t come out, and it’s been an hour. I was in and out of my test in twenty minutes. I stand up again, look out the window, sit down. Where is she? What would they do to her?
    An anonymous tip. Who would report us for this? And why? And more importantly, how does anyone know? None of this makes any sense.
    “Carter,” Ellore says my name and I jump up out of my seat. She’s alone. No Pen.
    “What’s going on? Where’s Pen?”
    Ellorecan barely look at me. Her hands are shaking. I’ve never seen her like this. I try to be patient, but I can’t handle her not looking at me. “Something happened in her test.”
    The worst words ever said. “Where is she?”
    “They’re taking her.”
    I shake my head. Taking her…“What are you talking about? What happened?”
    “I’ve never seen anything like it—”
    “Like what?” And she looks at me, eyes wide and hands shaking. She holds them out in front of her, like she doesn’t understand her own hands. And I get it immediately. It wasn’t that Penelope didn’t do magic, it was that she did. She used the void. I grab Ellore’s shoulders. I need her to focus. “What happened, Ellore?”
    “It came out from her fingertips—bright. So bright. I can’t even explain it. I—”
    Just like in De’Intero. Everything was so bright then, and if she did it in her re-testing then there’s no telling who saw her. This is trouble. “Where is she?” I hear my heart pounding in my head. I have to find her. I have to stop whatever’s about to happen. “Tell me. Please.”
    “The Triad voted.” My dad. The Triad has approved our re-testing, and he’s aware of our magic, that we’re connected. Did he set us up? He wouldn’t do that. Would he?
    Ellore mutters. “They think it’s safest if she’s contained, until they can figure out what’s going on. She’s in transport, but they’ll…”
    I don’t wait to let her finish that sentence. I run.

    I burst into my