Fire and Magic (The Jadori Book 1)

Chapter 28: They Knew?

The thought that the power could be released and could blast someone or blast a hole in the wall made my blood run cold. I stopped searching, opened my eyes and stood up.

"Maddelyn? What's wrong, dear?"

"I can't. I can't do this."

I walked to the front of the room and ran a hand through my hair, but I wanted to run out the door.

Ruby followed me, but didn't come too close. "It's okay. You're okay. You're safe."

She kept eye contact with me, like I was a wild animal cornered in her classroom. Like I was going to bolt at any moment.

Was I?

Should I? No. That wouldn't help. That wouldn't solve anything. I had to face the fact that the magic was inside me, whether I wanted it to be there or not. I had to learn to control it, whether I wanted to or not. There was no other choice here.

Ruby smiled. "You need to understand that we can work together to keep that power contained and under control. It's nothing to be scared of."

"Nothing to be scared of? I could have—" I sucked in a breath, "I could have killed Tracy. She told me herself." I wanted to get out of there. I wanted to scream. "I don't think I can control it."

She took a tentative step forward. "You can and you will. We'll face it together."

I found myself staring at her sandals and her many toe rings.

"That's probably enough for you for one day, but I'd like you to stick around. Just observe. We were going to try lighting a candle today, so you can watch. You will get an idea of what you can do with magic and see how it's done. Then we have some theory stuff after that, okay?"

I thought I could handle doing that. I took a deep breath and nodded.

Ruby smiled warmly. "That's great. Let's get started."

Laynee and Shauna each took a candle and holder from a shelf and placed in front of them on their desks.

Ruby asked us all to sit at the same desk at the front of the room and we gathered together eagerly. I had to admit that I was excited. Probably because I wasn't going to be using my magic.

"Now, I want you to bring your magic out as usual, but pause to imagine the magic turning into a flame inside you. Push it down your arm and into your hand, then down one finger and bring your finger to the candle. Push the flame out and onto the wick. Then let the magic recede inside you."

Shauna got it on the third try and Laynee managed it after about six attempts. She didn't seem to be frustrated when it wasn't working. She sat quietly and kept trying. She had more patience than I did.

Ruby praised their efforts and got them to repeat the task several times till they could get it on every attempt. It seemed so easy, but I doubted I'd be able to do anything like that anytime soon.

I sighed. I had a lot of learning and practicing to do and it was clear that I wasn't going home for a long time.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

After we'd had a short break for a cuppa and some biscuits, Ruby turned to Laynee and Shauna as we entered the classroom. "You girls are well aware of our history and I don't want to bore you, so today you get an early mark. I'll see you both on Monday."

Both girls packed up their belongings and said their goodbyes as they left.

As they opened the door, I saw the ghost of an old man in the hallway and tore my gaze away as quickly as I could. Did he see me? Did he know I could see him?