Page 102 of Magic's Rise

A thump sounds, but I can’t tell if it’s someone pounding against the door or if something fell. Oh, god, what if whoever set the fire killed Aspen? Or hurt him enough that he can’t move?

The smoke thickens, and I yank the collar of my sweatshirt over my nose as I stumble toward the hallway.

“Aspen!” I shout, his name muffled through the fabric.

Each step grows heavier, and the heat intensifies. Flames lick out from under a doorway on the right, where the fire must have started. Not the room with the comfy chair, thank goodness.

A thump comes from the room at the end of the hall, followed by Aspen’s voice. “Rowe? Is that you?”

“I’m coming, Aspen!” I stumble forward, squinting through the haze.

The heat grows uncomfortable, and I cough, my sweatshirt doing little to filter out the smoke. When I reach Aspen’s door, I grab the doorknob, only for it to refuse to turn.

I pound on the surface. “I’m locked out!”

“I’m locked in!” The door rattles in its frame but refuses to open. “Do you see a keyhole?”

Bending, I squint at the knob. “Yes, but no key.”

For a moment, I regret not bringing my box of unlocking charms with me, but there’s no time for that.

I slam my fists against the solid wood, frustration bubbling up inside me. “Aspen, can you bust through this thing with magic?”

“Uh, about that…” He breaks off in a fit of coughing, then croaks, “I forgot my wand in my room.”

“Seriously?” I ram my shoulder into the door, but it doesn’t budge an inch. “What happened to Don’t go anywhere without your wand, Rowe. You never know when you’ll be attacked?”

“Can you chastise me later?” More coughing comes from the other side.

“I’m going to have to blow the door down!” I pull my wand from its sheath and kick off one shoe to rub my sock against my leg, generating static electricity. “Move out of the way!”

Energy crackling through my body, I will it to flow down my arm as I snap my wand toward the stubborn doorknob.

With a deafening bang, the door bursts from its hinges, flying through the air like it’s been fired out of a cannon. Wood splinters scatter everywhere, and smoke rushes into the room.

Aspen limps out, half bent over by coughs. He clutches the slender grimoire in his hand, his blue eyes red-rimmed and watering.

“Come on.” I shove my shoe back on and draw his arm over my shoulder to help support his injured leg. “Let’s get out of here.”

As we turn to the hall, fire burst out of the room closest to the entrance, turning the hallway into an inferno. Heat blasts my face as flames leap and dance toward us.

I shrink back into Aspen’s room, but there are no windows for escape that way.

“What do we do?” Fear shoots through me, and my hold tightens on my mentor. “I don’t think throwing lightning at fire is going to do much.”

He drops his arm from around my shoulder and holds out his hand. “Give me your wand.”

I hesitate as I set it in his outstretched palm. “If you break it, we’re screwed.”

His gaze flicks to me. “I couldn’t break your wand if I tried.”

Shocked, my mouth gapes open. Aspen’s my teacher because I broke Mel’s wand, proving myself the more powerful witch. Does that mean… “Are you saying I’m stronger than you?”

“Now is not the time.” Aspen bends forward in another coughing fit before he points my wand toward the fire. “When you see a gap, run as fast as you can, and don’t look back.”

“Your plan sucks, and I refuse.” I wrap my arm around Aspen’s waist. “We’re going through these flames together, or you need to think of another way out that doesn’t leave you to die.”

He glares down at me. “Could you just listen to me for once in your life?”

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