Shadow Magic

Chapter Eight

The morning of my trial we met Elder Valerie at the manor. My trial was to begin at sunrise so it was still dark when Devin had picked me up. She led us away from the manor until we arrived at a large greenhouse on the far back of the property. The other Elders and other prominent members of the Coven were seated on various outdoor chairs and picnic blankets.

I looked around at all the onlookers and my nerves shot up even further, no one told me I would have an audience. My eyes flew to movement from the crowd and I saw Connor walking towards me. I took a few steps away from Devin and met him on the grass.

"Hey," Connor said, stopping in front of me. He was wearing a dark blue sweater and a matching beanie, his eyes just as blue as ever.

"Hi," I squeaked out.

"Don't be nervous, you'll be great," he said. My hands were covered in gloves and I saw him reach out and take my right hand in his. It felt a bit like a theme, him always touching my hands.

"Thanks, umm what are you doing?" I asked when I felt him begin to remove my glove.

"You'll thank me for this," he said. I felt a surge of energy in my body when his warm hand gripped mine.

"What was that?" I asked, the feeling staying with me, but dulling.

"Just a small spell to give you some confidence, not that you need it," he said, then tugged my glove back on. He didn't say anything else, but as he walked away I heard Devin call my name. We were starting and I returned to him and Elder Valerie who was standing at the doors to the massive greenhouse.

"This greenhouse is currently being ransacked by a creature. We need you to go in and take care of it," Elder Valerie instructed.

"Does that mean kill?" I whispered to Devin.

"Sometimes," he responded. I pouted at his answer which didn't exactly help.

"You have until sundown, should be plenty of time," Elder Valerie finished. She then opened the greenhouse doors and I entered just as the sun was beginning to rise. The door was shut behind me and I looked around the space that was to be my trial. I looked back and saw Devin through the fogged glass, they looked nervous. Great.

I stepped in a little further and noticed that the plants were slowly being misted from a pipe along the top. I peeked down one row to see it lead towards another room. I didn't know where to even start. I took my gloves off and tucked them into my pocket, taking a breath and letting in the courage Connor had gifted me.

There were hundreds of different plants and I started walking deeper down a row to survey the space. It was chilly so I reached towards my magic to warm myself. The sun was reflecting off the glass creating more sunlight every second. I listened and could hear the sound of the misters and the whistling of the wind outside.

A creature in here? Obviously there had to be one somewhere, but as I moved through the row everything seemed peaceful. I reached an internal doorway that seemed to lead to a small hallway to another portion of this massive structure. The hallway doubled as a storage area and I stepped through equipment towards the next space. I looked around and noticed this room seemed to hold less familiar plants, probably magical types unknown to humans.

The misters stopped and my heart started pounding at the eerie silence. I jumped at the sound of something clinking and realized it was my foot hitting a watering can on the ground. I sighed and tried to collect myself. The Elders wouldn't have sent me in here if they didn't think I could do this.

My attention was drawn when I heard another noise coming from the other side of the room. I peaked around some purple flowers and through an area with unfamiliar vegetables. The noise was growing louder as I got closer, sounding like a sickening wet sliding against the glass. I stopped at the last turn and reached inside myself to prepare a quick spell.