Page 52 of Centaur Bolt

I’d seen that in a movie. Well, that had been transporting rather than teleporting. Still, it hadn’t ended well.

“But I wouldn’t know if it was within my abilities until I tried,” I argued.

Jacques’s brows danced as he chewed over options. “Why don’t we focus on just being able to Jump from one point to another without leaping off into the great unknown? You can’t push an ability until you lay the foundation for it.”

He had a point. But I needed to learn fast if I was going to be any help to Marcus.

“What happens if you Jump into a solid object?”

His dark brows lowered. “That depends on just how solid it is.”

“Like, rock.”

“You’d die. Or—” He tilted his head. “One text I dug up referred to a Jumper who was able to shatter stone when he landed.” He rubbed his temple. “Jumpers have always been so rare that not much is actually known about them. Phoenixes are the only creatures able to do it from birth. And smart as they are, they can’t talk.” The Satyr encouraged Sparkle down onto his arm from his shoulder. “But I have noticed something that I wanted to show you. Watch this.” He walked to the water’s edge, and pulled a ball out of his pocket before heaving it out over the water.

“Sparkle, fetch!”

The Phoenix vanished in a puff of ash. A split second later, she reappeared over the spot where the ball now floated. She grabbed it in her claws and then vanished again, reappearing to hand it to Jacques.

“Did you see it?” he asked.

“See what?”

He sighed. “You must beobservateur,mademoiselle. Wade out there.”

I stared at him. “Why?”

“I wish you to be close enough to see it.”

“SEE WHAT?”

He planted his fists on his hips. “Something seen or experienced issupérieureto something told.”

Was this some kind of weird punishment for me wanting to push the Jumping envelope? Gritting my teeth, I pulled off my boots and rolled up my leggings before wading in.

“Stop there,” he said. “And watch the water beneath her.”

Once I had halted with the waves soaking the bottom of the leggings, he tossed the ball again, and sent the Phoenix.

This time, I saw it. The moment she teleported over the ball, the water formed a dimple, as if the fluid was pushed away from her.

“You see it?” Jacques asked as she Jumped back to him.

“Yeah. She did that?”

“Yes. Do you want to see if you do the same thing?” He looked around. “We need a landmark.”

“Can’t I use the ball, too?”

He took it back from Sparkle. “Okay. Except you can’t fly.”

I struggled to connect the dots, and failed. “Why does that matter?”

He gestured around him. “We can clearly see there are no pointy things in her air space. So check beneath the water for anything that might be trouble.”

“Like what?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Pointy, stabby things.”

---