Page 53 of Bonds of Magic (Vesperwood Academy: Incubus #3)

My fingers directed the flow of the magic, pushing it into the ball of light.

It pulsed and began to expand. I’d been picturing the light growing to the size of a soccer ball, and it quickly reached that size—but it kept growing.

It passed right through the beachball stage and rapidly threatened to become the size of my light in the library.

“Oh shit,” I said. “Shit. Stop. Stop growing. STOP !”

Finally, the light stabilized, but it was roughly the size of a hippopotamus now, and half the class was staring at me like I was crazy.

“How do I make it shrink?” I called to Kazansky.

“The same way you made it grow.” She, for one, still seemed utterly calm. “Focus your intention, then make yourself a channel so the energy can dissipate safely through you.”

That didn’t sound the same at all, but I tried. The light stubbornly remained the same size, though, and finally Kazansky told me to pass it to her.

Sweat beaded on my brow. Not just because I was the center of attention, though that didn’t help. Holding this much magic in my hands was hard. I felt like I’d been running for miles with a heavy weight hanging around my neck. The threads of magic felt slippery in my hands.

I nudged the ball of light with my mind, then looked at Kazansky and said, “ Release .”

The light began to float across the circle, but halfway across, it picked up speed and made a hard left.

It raced across the paranormal students sitting in the center of the circle, and Ash and Felix dove out of the way to avoid being hit.

When it reached the far wall, it bounced off and began careening around the room at increasing speed, sending students scattering like bowling pins.

And I could still feel the magic coursing through me. I desperately wanted to let go of it. I was exhausted. But I couldn’t seem to get the light to Kazansky, and I was scared of what might happen if I let go of it on my own.

“Send it to me,” she said, her voice commanding now.

“I’m trying,” I told her. “ Release . Release !”

I was shouting it now, my hands moving in midair as I tried to send it to her.

But the light kept zooming around the room, leaving singe marks everywhere it touched.

It came hurtling back towards me, and I tried to catch it, but it swerved away at the last second.

Meredith shrieked and ducked just before it hit her in the face, and when she straightened, there was smoke coming off her hair.

I felt trapped by the magic, like it was controlling me . What would happen if it touched someone who couldn’t get out of the way fast enough? Would it hurt them? Would it kill them? Fuck, was I cursed to always be a danger to everyone else at Vesperwood?

Kazansky called, “Cory, I’m going to take it from you. Brace yourself. To me .”

“Brace for wh—” I began, but the rest of the question was sucked out of my mouth, along with my breath.

It felt like my insides were trying to escape my body, my heart and lungs and intestines turning themselves inside out.

It felt like someone had shoved me inside a washing machine and set it to spin on high.

I fell forward, bracing myself on a desk as the light sped towards Kazansky.

Right before it reached her, its size diminished back to that of a soccer ball, and when she caught it in her hands, it winked out.

I was still gasping for air as the other students began to crawl out from under the desks they’d used for shelter, like airplane passengers coming out of crash positions.

Everyone looked at me with misgiving and disbelief.

Well, everyone except Ash. He grinned like this was the best show he’d seen in ages.

“Well,” Kazansky said, dusting off her hands. “That certainly was exciting.”

I wanted to sink through the floor, and did my best to remain unnoticed for the rest of class, but when the bell rang, she called my name.

“Cory, stay behind a moment. I’d like to speak with you.”

My heart sank. Her classroom was in shambles, posters and models knocked askew, desks burnt, and a particularly large chunk of chalkboard just a smoldering crater. Was I going to get kicked out?

Felix gave me another encouraging smile, and Ash promised they’d save a seat for me in Environmental Magic, and then they were gone, leaving me alone with Kazansky.

I slunk to the front of the room. If I’d had a tail, it would have curled between my legs. The thought of a tail reminded me of the demon in my dreams, which made me shiver. This was not my morning.

“I’m sorry,” I said when I reached Kazansky’s desk. “I didn’t mean to—I mean, obviously I wasn’t trying to do that. I know I put people in danger. Whatever punishment you think I deserve—”

“Cory, Cory, stop.” She held up a hand. “I didn’t call you over here to reprimand you.”

My brow creased. “You didn’t?”

“No.” She laughed. “Sure, things got a little out of hand today, but I actually take that as a good sign. You’re able to handle an incredible amount of power for a witch with so little experience.”

“I wouldn’t exactly say I handled it.”

“That will come with time.” She gave me a direct look. “Have you thought about which Havens you’ll be applying to?”

“Um. Maybe History? Or Harmony?” Those were the ones Felix and Ash were applying to. I wasn’t sure if I still needed the cover story the dean had arranged, but I added, “Or Horizon, I guess.”

Kazansky’s eyebrows rose. “Horizon? Do you think you belong there?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure, exactly. But Dean Mansur thought it might be a good fit.”

“Hmm.” She tapped a finger against her lips. “Well, I’m sure he has his reasons. But I’d encourage you to think about applying to Hex, too.”

“Hex?” I blinked. “Why?”

“Cory, a lot of havens would be glad to count a witch of your power—if not finesse—among their ranks. Not just Hex. Harvest and Hearth too, or Heal, if you have an interest.” She smiled conspiratorially.

“But I’m on the interview committee for Hex, and I can promise your application would get serious consideration if you applied. ”

“Oh.” I couldn’t imagine applying to Hex. Not given what I knew about their feelings towards paranormal students. Kazansky herself had never seemed prejudiced, but I still didn’t think I should say that out loud. “Um, thanks?”

“Think about it.” She stood up and patted my shoulder. “You’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”

***

Bright future or no, I still had to get through the rest of the day. I couldn’t quite shake the hangover from this morning’s dream, and after my display in Spellwork, I felt like everyone was staring at me. And then there was combat to get through.

I walked in with Ash and Felix, and stood slightly behind them in line as Noah explained the day’s exercises. I wished I were invisible. I was so embarrassed about my behavior last night, but still mad at the same time. Why did he have to push at my sore spots?

I did my best to ignore him during class, but that was pretty hard when my body lit up every time he passed by. I was drawn to him like a magnet, and I had to fight the urge to run up and apologize in the middle of class. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to apologize, but I craved being near him.

I spent the class sparring with Min, absentmindedly listening to her tips on spell control.

“You have to remember that no matter how big the spell is, you’re bigger than it. It only exists because you pulled at the threads of magic and gave them shape. So you have the power to unmake it just as easily.”

“It doesn’t feel like it,” I grumbled. “And didn’t Kazansky say something about the dangers of pulling too much power? I swear half her lectures are filled with horror stories of people who drew too much and met an explosive or implosive or disintegrative end.”

Min laughed. “Well, yeah, but I don’t think you’re at that point yet.

Magic is sort of like weight-lifting. Like, yes, you could potentially drop the weight on your foot or neck or something if you’re not strong enough to handle it.

But you’re also probably not strong enough to lift it out of the rack in the first place, you know?

I arched an eyebrow at her. “You lift weights?”

There was a reason we made good sparring partners. Neither one of us had the most robust upper body composition.

She snorted. “Hell no, I have better things to do with my time. But I heard Meredith and Adenike talking about it once, and it makes sense. And you know, magical strength isn’t only about who can handle the most raw power. It has a lot to do with finesse and control too.”

That sounded reasonable, but how was I supposed to learn control when every time I so much as touched magic, things went haywire?

I was still contemplating that question later in the evening as I gathered up my textbooks and prepared to meet Felix in the library. He and I were planning on doing homework. Ash was planning on sitting nearby and distracting us.

I hurried to the door when I heard a knock, moving my books to one hand so I could open it. But the door swung open before I could, and it wasn’t Felix standing on the other side.

It was Sean and Talmadge Hastings, one of the senior Hexers who was friends with Valeria Martinez.

“What are you—” I began, but Sean’s fist crashed into my face, and I forgot what I’d been trying to say. My books fell to the floor.

I stumbled backwards, about to fall, when Talmadge shot a hand out and grabbed me, keeping me upright. He looked at Sean angrily.

“Val’s not going to like that.”

“He had it coming.” Sean gave me a nasty smile.

I brought a hand to my jaw, which flared with pain. Fuck. Was one of my teeth loose? I looked back at Talmadge.

“What are you—” I began again, but he waved a hand.

“ Sleep .”

Darkness overtook the world.

The End

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