Page 335 of Sigils & Spells

You don’t just like the man.

You love him.

That was the truth, but I was holding my tongue. At least, for now. My future at Westwood was very unclear, and far as I knew, a sentinel could not leave his post until his vow was complete. It was forbidden and enforced by magic. I would not have him on the run for me.

“Let’s go,” I said, and Brandon nodded.

He was ready. I knew that, but I could not stop my heart from pounding or my pulse from racing. We were about to do something no witch or wizard had done in forty years. We were about to question the entire legitimacy of the establishment.

I knew the second we entered the battlefield. My boots squished in the wet soil and when I took a closer look, it was not water that made this place muddy. It was blood.

“How gross!” Jade gasped, walking as gingerly as the curvy little earth witch could.

“Amazing. Still wet with blood after so many years.” Enok sounded shocked.

“How?”

“It’s not just blood,” Brandon answered. “See the green tinges there and there?”

“What is it?” I asked, following fast as I could, considering his long stride.

“Magical residue, but fresh, not old. The supernaturals who fell here did horribly, and someone is trying to cover it up,” he stated.

“Supernaturals? Not just witches and wizards?” Enid asked.

“No. Many species joined the witch wars. Many lives lost in battle,” Magnus replied.

“Okay, this looks good. Now, I’m not a master of memory manipulation, but I brought a charm that should help us see what happened. I need a semicircle, and if those of you who can will call on your elements to help focus the charm, I think it will help,” Enok told the lot of us.

We lined up around the mage, Maia the first to call a swirl of air, like a miniature tornado hovering over the palm of her right hand. Jade crouched down, her fingers digging into the soggy earth. I had never seen her work magic like this before, but her eyes blazed a beautiful combination of browns, greens, and gold swirls. Grass grew and vines wrapped around her wrists where she connected with the ground.

Next, I turned to Rio. The water witch was glowing all over, and her blue hair floated like she was underwater. She raised her hands and droplets swirled at her command until she held two clear balls of liquid.

I was up next. It had been months since I practiced my craft on purpose. Calling on my powers was potentially dangerous. My magic was volatile, angry at me for not using it, and I was scared.

What if I blew up my friends?

Shit.

Maybe that was why Da insisted I not have any.

Before I could panic, I felt Brandon sidle up next to me. His nearness comforted me like nothing I had felt since I was a babe in my mother’s arms. The small, fragile memory was all I had left of her. Brandon was here, so were my friends, and even if I never became the kind of fire witch I had once hoped to be, I knew hurting them was far from my mind. The thought was enough to bolster my resolve.

“You got this,mo spréach.”

The endearment fell so frequently from his lips, and still I had no idea what it meant. Determination was a good motivator, and I wanted to know what it was the big, sexy dragon hybrid kept calling me. Now wasn’t the time, though, so I would ask him later. Thinking that had me dead set on one thing for sure.

There would, in fact, be a later.

I’d make sure of it.

I heard his satisfied rumble as I opened my eyes. Between my hands, that I held open as if waiting for someone to toss me a basketball, was a giant circle of flame, like my own personal sun, hovering right in front of me.

Enok’s chant was too low for me to hear. Besides, I was concentrating on controlling my fire ball. It was hungry, begging to be loosed, wanting to grow. That was the greatest difference between the other elements and mine. Fire did not simply want to exist.

Fire had an appetite for destruction that was unparalleled. The flames seemed to beg me for more, like a hungry newborn crying for milk. I swayed with the force of it, nearly cowing to the desires of the fire within me. This was the danger I tried not to acknowledge.

How much of my magic was I spending on this spell?

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