Page 90 of Magic's Rise

“So…” Levi glances around at the woods in front of us. “Why’d you drag our tired butts out here, Rowe?”

“Right.” Down to business. “Yesterday, Tris and I went up to the lookout, and I was able to get a full view of the barrier from up there. This side has a higher concentration of dark spots, so whatever is affecting it is coming from over here.”

“Well, that’s something.” Levi gestures to the waiting forest. “Shall we?”

As we head into the trees, I sip from my hot chocolate, trying to stave off the frost in the air. It smells like snow, metallic with a slight burn. It’s colder in Silver Hollow than in Hartford Cove, and I huddle deeper into my jacket.

As Aspen limps along, he turns to me, his brow furrowed. “Did you connect to the barrier before climbing up to the lookout?”

“No, I wasn’t planning to check out the barrier when we went up to the turret.” I give a sheepish shrug. “But as soon as we were up in the open, the tingles started.”

“Rowe connects better with her magic on the widow’s walk back home, too,” Tris points out.

“It could be the trees.” Aspen strokes his chin, where golden stubble forms the beginning of a beard. “They might disrupt your magic.”

“But I connect fine when I’m barefoot.” I shake my head. “And it’s not like I have an air affinity.”

We all remember the bowl test and my complete failure there.

“No, you’re not an elemental witch. But magic’s in everything.” Aspen gestures around us. “Air, earth, fire, water… The ethereal is in all things. When you stand barefoot, you’re connecting to the ethereal in the earth, and when you go up high, where nothing blocks the wind, you’re connecting to the ethereal in the air.”

His lips quirk. “I wouldn’t suggest trying to connect to the ethereal in fire and water.”

I shudder. “No, thank you. I’ll pass.”

“It’s why you don’t feel comfortable in your grandmother’s sanctuary and struggled so much when we tried to hold lessons down there.” He grimaces. “I should have realized that sooner.”

“All I’m hearing is that I get a free run of the widow’s walk.” I cast Haut a smirk. “For magic reasons.”

“Only after we have it repaired.” He gives me a stern stare. “And you agree to use the stairs and not to climb down the roof.”

Sad at his lack of enthusiasm for my adventures up high, I sigh. “You just like to take all the fun out of life.”

“Excuse me for wanting to prevent you from breaking your neck,” he huffs, the air puffing white in front of his face.

Ahead of us, Levi slows to a stop. “We’re at the edge of the barrier.”

“I guess that means it’s go-time.” I take another long swallow of hot chocolate before passing the thermos to Tris and wiggling out of my shoes and socks.

The cold earth sends shivers up my spine, but I push through, focusing on the tingles— I mean, the ethereal energy beneath me.

The silver lines of the barrier blaze to life, like someone plugged me into a power socket. This would be a piece of cake if not for all the trees making it hard to get a good look at the issue.

“Sure would be nice if I could fly.” I turn to the right and walk in that direction. “The storybooks promised broomsticks.”

“That’s just a fairytale,” Aspen says, as if he thinks I really expect to be flying around on a broom, the wind whipping through my hair, cackling like a maniac…

Ah, that’s the dream.

“You and Haut should get together and start a club,” I mutter as I continue forward. “You can call it The Old Fuddy-Duddies, and your mission can be to crap on rainbows.”

Wisely, no one comments, and I march on ahead, the others following behind as I skirt close to the shimmer of the barrier.

Within a dozen yards, I realize that the black spots are thinning out, which means I zigged when I should have zagged.

When I turn, I run nose-first into Haut, where he sticks close enough to be joined at the hip.

“Back the way we came.” I wave for him to move aside. “It’s in the other direction.”

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