Trial by Fire (Covencraft Book 1) by Margarita Gakis Page B

disjointed and jumbled as fatigue dragged her down. The last conscious thought she had before she fell asleep was that she felt something tickling her brain. She wondered if it was all the magic in the air, clinging to the Covenstead and city.
     
     

Chapter 6
     
    The knock came at seven forty-five the next morning. Holding a hair elastic in her teeth and her coffee cup in the other hand, Jade opened the door. Paris stood there looking as immaculate as the day before – almost like he was spared the morning routine, with all its hustle.
    She took the elastic from her mouth and handed him the coffee cup. He looked down at it.
    “Don’t drink it, just hold it,” she said quickly, putting her hair up in a ponytail, smoothing over any stray bits. She took the mug back from him unceremoniously. “You said eight.”
    “It’s nearly eight.”
    “Nearly eight and eight are two separate times.” She knocked back the rest of her coffee in two big swallows. “Do I need anything for today?” she asked.
    “Like what?”
    “I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”
    “I had hoped to have someone show you around the Coven. I have some meetings to attend, so I can’t do it myself. Then, perhaps, meet you for lunch or dinner to see how you are doing.”
    “I like Henri,” she said immediately as she pushed her sunglasses on. Not that she knew anyone in the Coven or who he had in mind but Henri fell directly in her ‘safe’ category, like Francis at work did. He had been excitable like a puppy, but gave off an entirely harmless vibe.
    “I’m sure he’ll be delighted,” Paris replied with a quirk of his lips. He gestured her outside and she grabbed her purse and key as she left, locking up. “He stayed at work for three extra hours just to get a glimpse of you, so he’ll likely vibrate when I ask him if he can show you around.”
    “So tour and then maybe lunch and then maybe learn some magic?” Jade asked hopefully.
    “I have some items picked out for you,” Paris said as he opened the car door and slid in. She looked down at the passenger seat and saw a small notebook and some kind of scribbler already there. She picked them up as she sat down.
    “What - is this homework?” she asked, flipping through the small book and seeing post-it notes with some messy scrawls. “Is this even English?” she pulled one off and rotated it thinking it was upside down.
    “My handwriting is perfectly legible and of course it’s English,” he frowned.
    She eyed him doubtfully. “If you say so.”
    “They are notes on which spells I’d like you try on your own first. And only those,” he said, pausing to look at her while he said it even as he drove.
    “Okay,” she shrugged as she opened the scribbler. “What’s this for?”
    “For your notes.”
    “Oh my God! It’s totally homework. On the first day! You’re one of those teachers.”
    “What teachers?” he asked, frowning.
    “The kind that give homework on the first day!” Jade said, shaking the books at him a little. She huffed and then flipped through the little book. “These seem kind of basic. When do I get to do big stuff?”
    “When you’re ready.”
    “What if I’m ready now?” she asked, thumbing through the book.
    “You’re ready when I say you’re ready.”
    She bristled at the tone and although she didn’t say it out loud, her immediate thought was oh don’t you take that tone with me . “I see,” she said, her voice clipped.
    “It’s for your safety as well as that of the Coven.”
    “Mmm-hmm.”
    The rest of the car ride was silent until they pulled up at the Covenstead where Paris stopped the car just short of the front entrance. Jade exited the car and gave herself a satisfying stretch, hearing some cartilage popping as she did. She tossed the notebook and spell-book in her purse and followed Paris into the building.
    Henri was already at his desk, typing away furiously at his keyboard. She gave him a quick smile as she