Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 38

"Again." 

Indigo's voice is a sharp, no nonsense spear that splits open the silence of my thoughts. Her gaze is emotionless, cold and unyielding as I take a breath and steady it. I reach within my power, focusing my energy to my fingertips. I divert the energy, trickling it to the wand clutched in my hand as it hums to life. 

"And then can we make hot cocoa?" I ask as I reach up to swat a few wayward strands of damp hair out of my face. "I'm freezing." 

Indigo smiles from where she's sitting on the swing-set in our backyard, the fire pit between us billowing flames from where I had cast my latest spell. It's still early enough in the morning that our neighbors have yet to wake up to go to work. Even then, Indigo has placed a few illusion spells to keep us hidden from prying eyes. 

She looks up at the sky, which is covered in a thick layer of puffy, gray clouds that makes the dusky morning even darker than it usually would be.

"We'll see," she mutters.

"It's raining," I point out as reach up and run a finger over my ear, the cartilage cold as my skin stings slightly.

"Misting," she corrects me as she nods to the fire pit, "three more spells and then we'll pack up, your choice on which ones you'd like to do, though."

I stifle a groan and pull out my wand to focus on the fire pit. Several spells come to mind. Though the one that stands out most is one for a simple ice pick blast. I can easily imagine the chill of the spell as I've begun to shiver from the cold of the morning. My wand warms in my hand, the tip of the crystal cylinder glowing with white light. I take several breaths, to steady myself before I let loose of my power. 

An icicle the length of my forearm shoots out of my wand and digs into the ground in front of the fire pit.

Frosty air billows from where the ice pick has shot through the air, much like a contrail for an airplane and Indigo nods from her place on the swing-set.

"Now what is an ice pick blast good for?" she inquires as she quirks an eyebrow at me.

"Stunning a person but not adversely harmful, it hits the skin and melts on impact but doesn't stab a person like a knife would," I rattle off as I remember my crammed lesson before we came out here. 

"Good, it locks up their muscles and can leave them paralyzed to an extent until it wears off," she explains before she nods, "pick a different spell."

I think through my sadly short list of spells I know before I settle on another one, this one for a shock of electricity. Without much thought, I let the grip on my power loosen. Tendrils of lightning begin to fizzle and pop from the tip of my wand as they lash out. The bolts are small and writhe much like streamers caught in a violent breeze as I focus on controlling and directing them.

"More power," Indigo commands me as she sits up from her place on the swing.

I eye her nervously as I let more magic pour into the spell. The electricity snaps more fervently as the hairs on my arms begin to prickle and stand up. It feels much like a balloon is being held near my arms, the hairs beginning to crackle. The tendrils double in size as they pop and hiss unpredictably, the light flickering along the wooden fence that surrounds our backyard.

"More," Indigo urges.

I bite down hard on my lip as I focus on the blackening soil in the center of the fire pit. The scent of burning grass is pungent in the air as the bolts grow to a dangerous size. My palm begins to sweat as my wand heats up in my hand. For a moment, I wonder about the integrity of my wand and whether or not it will survive.