The Crystal Chronicles

Chapter 9: Turning up the Heat

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"Alyssa Brooks?"

I snapped my head up from the comfortable crook of my arm and looked up at my spell-casting teacher, Mrs. Abott. "What?" I asked, fatigued. "I mean ... yes?"

She held in a sigh, rolling her eyes at my lethargic demeanour. I'm not a total delinquent. I wanted to dutifully reassure her, as she gave me an icy stare, but at the moment, I just didn't have the energy. I was failing her class, and struggling to stay awake during today's lesson. Mrs. Abott's lips moved, as she started to say something, and her eyebrows rose, but my mind was already wandering. I struggled to focus.

"Are you even listening, Brooks? I asked what is the classification of this spell?" I frantically pieced together remnants of the lesson and squinted at the writing scrawled across the white board in black ink.

"Type D. It's too long and complicated to be anything else," I mumbled the pathetic answer, hoping that I was at least partly right. Mrs. Abott nodded slowly, looking even more irritated than normal by my presence in her classroom.

"Correct." An idea seemed to occur to her. "Brooks, since you are paying attention, I guess you wouldn't mind trying to demonstrate a spell for the class?"

"Can I please pass?" I asked as politely as I could. She glared. I was almost tempted to tell her what I knew—what no one in this room probably knew. Magnorium is corrupt. The Society is here.

"I don't remember giving you that option, Miss Brooks."

I didn't say what was on the tip of my tongue. She was opting to embarrass me, so there was no point. I got up, made my way to the front of the room, and stood beside the large wooden table that often held spell books, magical implements and outdated overhead projectors.

The kids around me barely held in their laughter. I bet they were remembering the previous day, when I had lost it and stood on that table, screaming at them.

'Stupid new girl.'

'She's all talk.'

I could hear them saying these things and more. Well I'll show them, I thought, suddenly feeling sure of myself. I'll show all of them, even if I have to stand here all damn day.

"As you know, Type D spells require a lot of energy and concentration. Most pupils simply lack the skill and the power to conduct this spell, so ... Miss Brooks, you certainly will not be able to do this. But one can learn just as much from failure."

This seemed like an odd teaching approach, since she had reiterated over and over that belief and confidence were the most important tools for spell casting, but clearly she was trying to teach me a different sort of lesson.

"The spell I want you to attempt is called 'Magnus Lumen' ... meaning 'big light'. If you do it correctly, you will start a fire on your own body. Gradually, this spell spreads across your body until you become completely engulfed in flames. Powerful pupils can do this without the use of a spell. They do it using only willpower, but we're taking baby steps here."

"I'll try my best," I said, scanning the wording of the spell. I needed to prove what I was worth, to them and to myself. So ... how did I do this again?