Inhibition

Chapter 9

Cat crouched, surrounded by shards of glass, all suspended in the air around her. The shards were frozen into position, with a small space around her where no pieces had fallen. Awed, Cat stood. Glass tinkled as she touched them, pushing away from her body automatically. Everything held.

Tentatively, she reached out a hand. The glass was cool to the touch, smooth where it should have been sharp. Cat knew it actually was sharp, that in reality, it would’ve cut into her skin as if it were butter, even with it suspended. Somehow, her magic was shielding her, forming a tiny, miniscule even, shield around her entire body.

Every time something touched her magic, it was eroded, but in so small an amount it wasn’t noticeable to the naked eye. Like this, Cat knew she could walk on water and juggle fire with her bare hands, all unharmed.

With her next exhale, the shards all fell, creating a cacophony of delicate sounds. The pieces caught the light as they fell, looking like shining droplets of rain water. As the shards touched her skin, they eroded, melting and sliding off of her, disintegrating into the air.

With the glass gone, Cat finally noticed the people staring at her. Every single person in the room was looking right at her. Adults had arrived to help, and even they were stuck staring at her in absolute awe. This wasn’t really helping matters, seeing that the entire building was practically destroyed. Whatever had whipped through there, it had been strong.

Soon though, people stopped staring, the matter at hand catching up. The adults pulled kids out of the wreckage, doctoring being done as needed. Cat saw Mrs. Ackley splinting one person’s broken arm, and then magically stitching up another kid’s gash.

Cat knew she should be helping, knew that her training was needed. But more than anything else, she was in shock. The alcohol had been forcibly washed from her system with her flux of magic, and now she was stone cold sober. Not exactly the best feeling after an earthquake.

Earthquake, yes, that’s what it had been. An earthquake. Cat knew they were real, had seen videos of the aftermath. She had even imagined what it would be like to stand in one. But reality was nothing compared to her imagination. The very fact that there was a force that could make the earth beneath her feet move was brutal to her senses. It was calm-shattering.

Cat turned to leave as people were filing out, exhausted and ready to be back in their dorms. Luckily, the dorms and Academy were magically enforced. They had suffered only minimal damage. Cat absently listened to the conversations around her, her ears perking up as one drifted past her ears.

“Look at the damage!” One girl said to another. “Is this normal for an earthquake?”

“Normal? Is anything normal anymore?”

Anymore? Cat was shocked. What did the girl mean by “anymore”?

What else is happening out there?