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He hung up before she had a chance to do it first.

36

Loren made her way to Agatha’s the next day, hopping in a taxi as soon as her classes at Angelthene Academy were over.

Her lesson with the hedgewitch was taking place at a large worn table in the same room as yesterday, the door shut tight to the rest of the students and employees. Late-afternoon sunlight streamed in through the grimy arched windows, the warmth causing the plants and flowers cluttered atop the sills to rustle and stretch with happiness. It was one of the only sunny days they’d had in weeks, and Loren knew the plants weren’t the only ones who were happy about it.

By the time the second hour was up, and not a single spark of her magic had manifested itself, Loren was growing antsy. She gripped her solar amulet in a fist, the metal sun rays digging into her palm as she tried to force it to draw her stubborn magic out of her body. But the stupid thing was about as useless as a chunk of ice, and it felt like one too.

Singer, sensing her agitation from where he observed the lesson in her shadow, gave a low whine that only she could hear.

I hate this, Loren whispered. She felt a phantom paw come down softly on her foot, a sigh whistling through his nose.

Agatha sat back in her seat. “Loren. Are you sure—”

Loren’s eyes flashed up to Agatha’s freckled face. “Do not ask me if I am sure that I have magic.”

She lifted her hands in surrender. “Alright, I’m sorry. It’s just…well, usually it doesn’t take this long.”

“But I’m different than your other students. It might take longer for me, but I can’t have you giving up on me.” She softened her tone as she added, “Please.”

Agatha assessed her. There was nothing cold in her stare, just genuine curiosity. “I wonder if there is another way we might be able to encourage it.”

Loren let go of the amulet. She slumped in her chair, the hard back digging into her spine. “What methods do you usually use?”

“Everybody has something that sets them off. It can be something they care very deeply about, something that makes them angry, something that makes them sad. For some people, it is an object, kind of like your solar amulet.” She frowned. “But that isn’t working.” She blew out a sigh through pursed lips and drummed her fingers on the table.

“What about a potion?”

She thought it through. “All of our potions are designed for witches and warlocks, and even then, they are reliable less than half the time. I highly doubt they would work on you.”

Loren chewed her lip. “What about…” Slowly, she sat up in her seat, leaning forward to fold her arms on the table.

Agatha prodded, “What about what?”

Loren got to her feet so quickly, she startled Agatha. “I might have an idea.” She grabbed her bags and jacket and hurried to the door.

“Am I going to like it?” Agatha called.

“We’ll find out soon.” She would need a day or two to figure out how to do this, but as soon as the wheels were turning her way, she would be back here to finish this lesson.

—

When Loren got back to the academy, she locked herself in her dorm room in the House of Salt and fished her laptop out of the drawer of her nightstand. The chunky old thing’s battery was dead, so she plugged it in, sat on the side of the bed, and opened it on her knees, waiting for the screen to light up.

The fan was blowing hot air, and it was making a grinding sound that wasn’t promising, but she held out hope as she waited for the black screen to display something other than the white arrow frozen in the middle of it.

Finally, the welcome screen appeared. She signed in and got onto the internet. The arrow lagged as she pushed it toward the search bar. Muttering in anger, she tried not to throw the laptop at the wall as she clicked and started typing, watching the letters appear one by one.

She kept her search simple: Venom. The enter key briefly stuck as she struck it with her index finger.

The laptop grinded louder, the fan blasting hot air on her knees. A rainbow cursor appeared and began to spin, the whole page going white.

“Come on,” she whispered. “Come on.”

At last, the screen loaded. She leaned closer to read the first few paragraphs that popped up.

Venom is an illicit street drug that gives hellsehers access to their magic on a greater scale. While the drug mostly appeals to the hellseher population, veneficae and lamiae have also been known to use the drug for its stimulant effects.