Page 14 of The Tree of Spirits
His response was a sunny smile that reminded me of sandy beaches and ocean waves.
“Come on, Conner. We can do this.”
“We need a plan.”
“We have a plan. We’ll sneak in undetected and rescue Marlow.”
He shook his head. “That’s not a plan. It’s wishful thinking.”
“You can make yourself invisible. And you can teach me to do the same.”
“It’s not an easy spell.”
“I’m a fast learner,” I said stubbornly.
“I’m sure you are.”
I blushed again.
“But even if we were bothinvisible,” he said the word slowly, “that doesn’t make usbulletproof. Don’t forget that those guys are armed. And the Cursed Ones certainly aren’t just there for decoration. They have other ways of tracking people besides sight, Red. Smell. Sound. Instinct. They would hone in on us right away. And then those armed guards would know they had intruders—and exactly where to shoot.”
“So you’re just giving up?” I frowned at him. “I thought Knights were supposed to be brave.”
He sighed. “I didn’t say I was giving up. But there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity.”
I considered his words. “We can sneak past the Cursed Ones. They’re scared of me, remember?”
“I haven’t forgotten your gift,” he replied. “But are you positive you’ll be able to control itexactlywhen we need it?”
Fair point. My gift was unreliable at best. I didn’t even know how it worked. Also, the thought of walking right past the Cursed Ones made me sick to my stomach.
But the thought of the potential kill switch in Marlow’s head was even worse.
“I can control it,” I told Conner. “I can controlthem.”
“I know you can. I just wanted to make sure you knew it too.” He patted me on the back. “But there is one more thing: we still need to get the guards to open the gate for us.”
A chorus of dog barks bellowed loudly from inside the compound.
I glanced at Wolf. “I have an idea.”
CHAPTER 5
THE COMPOUND
Iadjusted my grip on the magic coin in my hand as Conner and I walked toward the fence, Wolf trotting along in front of us.
“I thought you were going to teach me how to make myself invisible,” I said.
“You are invisible,” he pointed out.
“Only because ofthis.” I tightened my grip on the coin. My palm was sweaty, and it was making the slippery-smooth disc slide around. “You were supposed to teach me a spell.”
“Learning spells takes time, and you’re in a rush to save your friend, right? I’ll teach you the spell later.”
“You promise?”
“Of course. I’m dying to see the look on Kato’s face when you master a spell he’s spent two years working on without any progress at all.” His eyes twinkled like a pair of mischievous stars in the sky.
