You have magic.
One sentence, three words, four syllables. Enough to change my life forever. And I'm not talking about the whole spells and sorcery thing.
Lexie Carrigan thought the weirdest thing about her was she preferred watching documentaries a...
After a quiet dinner of reheated take-out food, I excused myself to spend some alone time in my room and at least try to come to terms with my new reality. The only normal thing I could think of was to attempt my homework, but after an hour of shattered focus, I threw in the towel and went to lie face-down on my bed.
My eyes were begging for sleep but my nerves kept me wide awake, wondering what exactly would happen at midnight. Nicole popped her head in a few times to check on me, but I answered monosyllabically enough that she left me alone.
At eleven, I changed into pajamas and shut off the light. My mind ran through thousands of scenarios that might occur in—I glanced at my alarm clock—fifty-seven minutes.
I stared at the dark shape of the book Gavon had given me then turned to the ceiling. I needed to sleep, of course, but I also couldn't seem to stop the pounding of my heart.
Fifty-six minutes until midnight.
I groaned and slid off my bed, padding quietly across the carpeted floor and pulling the magic book off the desk. The pages glowed enough to see them in the darkness, but I read without comprehending, wishing what I read was making more sense.
PREFACE
As to the first step of forming the young Magical Mind for practicing the art of the spell, being acquainted with the Magical Tongue of Latin. It is acknowledged to be due and principal Qualification in casting and understanding Magic, and therefore it is necessary to be well-acquainted.
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"And I decided to take French," I muttered.
The preface seemed overly wordy and full of itself, talking about the necessity of magical persons to have a good Hand, to understand the rules of the clan or the guild (whatever that was) and the governance structure, to know the basics of math and science and reading and drawing and economics and how the English king still reigned over the colonies. I quickly grew bored with the basic stuff—after all, I was already fifteen (almost), and I was pretty sure I had a good grip on the basics.
I flipped through the pages, marveling at how brittle they felt and yet they remained as intact as a newly published book, until I found the first chapter.
THE BASICS OF SPELLWORK
Spells are distinguished by their outcome and the object with which the magic has been applied.
A SUMMONING SPELL, then, will present object to the summoner without use of the physical movement.
A CHARMING SPELL will animate an object as if it were alive.
An ATTACK SPELL will cause
A jolt of electricity flitted through my body, wrenching my mind away from the words on the page. I stared at the wall, this new feeling of energy rolling through my veins. My skin was almost humming with power, like I'd had three energy drinks in the span of five minutes.
