Shift

Bonus: Deleted Scene!

Hi guys! So before you dive into this deleted scene, I wanted to give it a little bit of context. When I wrote my first draft of Shift, it was much longer--I believe around 140,000 words. The version that you've been reading on Wattpad has about 100,000 words, so I did a lot of trimming to get it where it is today. To be honest, the plot is pretty much exactly the same--however, I did delete this one scene, which is what I wanted to share with you today.

This scene originally occurred between chapters 15 and 16: right after Walter saves them from being kidnapped by Vincent and Marie, and before they go back to Le Lieu to convince the Congregation to shift magic back.

It was a fun action scene, but in the end, I didn't feel like it was needed and it added in some magic that I felt broke the lore a little bit... but I wanted to share it with you guys, because I love watching deleted movie scenes, and thought that maybe you'd like to read a deleted scene from way back before 2013.

I hope you all enjoy it!

~Bdicocco

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The Original Chapter SEVENTEEN

The weather had cooled down a bit outside. The air was still warm, but a few clouds had drifted in and were covering the bright sun, offering everyone a bit of relief as they waited for Walter to kick everyone out of the shop and lock up early.

Kayden rested her chin on her knees as she sat on the curb outside of Voyle Publishing. Blaze was by her side, flipping through A Progressive Book of Magic. She wasn't sure how she felt about having him right there. On one hand it felt nice. While Lexi had been comforting Walter, Kayden's side had started aching again. She had wanted to cross to the other side of the room, but she hadn't. Swept up in his fervor, she guessed that Blaze hadn't felt any pain. She refused to be the weakling in their relationship. She had waited it out until they had exited the shop together and sat side-by-side on the step.

But at the same time, having Blaze sit next to her reminded her of Vincent and of the short time they had spent side-by-side in Walter's office. She had been putty in Vincent's conjured hands, enchanted by his face and his voice and the hum of magic that had radiated off of him. Kayden hated herself for falling so easily to his charms. She had always considered herself to be her own person. A little stubborn and a little bitter, but independent nonetheless. Falling for an illusion was nothing less than embarrassing.

And for some reason, Blaze reminded her of Vincent. His face wasn't that of a famous piece of Italian art, but it was nice all the same. She watched as his brown eyes incessantly scanned the book in his hands and the way his dark hair fell past his ears. And besides all that, he was a wizard with the power to cast spells. She had never felt inferior in his presence before, except for when he had first come into her room in the middle of the night, but now, after meeting Vincent, she was acutely aware of the difference. He was a wizard; she was a non-er. And it was unsettling.

"What are you looking for?" Lexi asked, plopping herself down on Blaze's left, drawing Kayden out of her thoughts. Helio was pacing the sidewalk, kicking pebbles so that they scattered across the street and made light pattering sounds as they struck the asphalt.

"Nothing really," Blaze said, his eyes not leaving the book. "I'm just trying to work out the differences between the spells in this book and the old spells. Apparently the door locking spell only has two minor changes."

"Ahh," Lexi nodded, leaning on her hand. Her eyes flicked to her cousin. "What about you, Kay? You look pensive."

"I'm not thinking about anything," Kayden said bluntly.