Spells on Shelves

Chapter 6 || Spells on Shelves

My stomach lurched. Slowly, I reached into my backpack.

Sounds of rustling seemingly coming from two sides as if something big was making its way through the forest. Towards me.

With one hand, I retrieved the teleportation scroll, with the other, I gripped the necklace dangling under my sweatshirt.

I didn't dare use more magic, not when I was feeling this tired already. If I passed out that was it.

A low growl rang out—from slightly behind me—and the other noise stopped.

My back went ramrod straight. Slowly, I turned my head. A pair of golden eyes shone in the shadows to my right.

We stared at each other, the beast and I, our gaze level. Its shape was indiscernible, effortlessly merging with the shadows around it, but it had to be huge.

I didn't dare move a single muscle, the scroll clutched in my sweaty palm like a dead weight.

Then it stirred. With an almost silent leap, it bounded into the direction of the other noises. All I could make out was the distorted outline of something big and it was gone.

My heart remembered its job and began to pound twice as hard against my ribs. I backed away and then spun around to race back in the direction of town. The feeling of something stalking me drove me to move faster than I normally would.

After stumbling over rocks and roots for about ten minutes, the sounds of the forest returned. Another twenty minutes later the trees opened up and the soft lights of the town came into view.

Completely out of breath, I finally reached home and collapsed onto the wooden flooring. The door had barely closed behind my back before the blue sheen flashing across the wood told me that my ward was activated. Then I just breathed, clutching my throbbing head.

What the hell was up with this town?

***

"Morning, Jade, like the gem."

Taji entered the shop on Monday morning wearing the widest grin I'd ever seen. The ends of his dark hair still looked like they'd been dipped in cobalt blue paint but the new style didn't seem to dampen his spirits in the slightest.

"So you and Paxton, huh? That's bold. Gotta admit, you got guts." He gave me a thumbs up.

I groaned into my cup of black coffee. I never drank my coffee black but after fighting a migraine the whole weekend I stopped being picky.

The backlash from using ancient magic had been worse than usual. The whole weekend I'd stayed in bed feeling fragile and shaky as if I was recovering from a bad case of the flu.

Rina and Kai followed after him, carrying a wide package between them. Even they couldn't quite conceal the eager look of excitement on their faces. I sighed. Teenagers lived for drama.

"There's no me and Paxton," I clarified and took another sip, wincing at the bitter taste.

Taji flaunted himself onto the counter with an expression of a kid who had just found the hidden treats stash. "Danielle Mori says otherwise," he said.

"Who?"

"Classmate. She heard it from Mick, cashier at our supermarket, who heard it from Frank who heard it from Lillian, works at the administration, who heard it from the Jack, the bartender at the Sparkly Bunny."

I pulled a face as if I'd bit into something sour.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing with almost instant regret," I said sternly. "You see, this is what happens when you put looks over personality. You set yourself up to be disappointed."