Chapter 8: Oops...Too Much Magic

Reed! I checked the dwindling crowd for him as other students passed by, giving me double-takes. Some smiled, others had a pinch to the edges of their eyes or mouths. They all judged me, but I never said I had complete control of my powers. And who in their right mind sets a wraith against first-year students?

Where the hell was he? My heart thumped hard against my chest as I searched the grounds, past the students moving in every direction - there - he was slumped over with an ice pack he held onto the back of his head.

I dashed over to him, wanting to check on him to ensure he was all right. He had tried to shield me from the wraith. I owed him. When he glanced my way, I slowed my pace, stopping a foot from him, suddenly self-conscious.

"Hey, isn't there a spell or something for that?" I asked, trying to hide the way he made me nervous.

He winced. "Nah. Sometimes magic isn't the answer to every problem."

"Right." I bit my lip, looking back over the field where a black stain marred the perfectly cut green grass and where the wraith had been. "Um...thanks for, you know, trying to save my life."

"Seems like you did just fine on your own." He leaned against the metal football goal with its orange paint chipping off, keeping the ice pack in place with one hand. "Thought you said you didn't know how to take down a wraith?"

"I didn't - don't." God, admitting the truth might get me expelled. But what if the next test I faced something much harder and people were hurt worse than this time. This time we'd been lucky. And I'd no idea how my magic had done that. "I mean...I don't know all the fancy magical words like you guys do."

"What was it that it said to you?" He frowned. "When it touched you?"

"Nothing." I shuddered, not wanting to remember the icy-cold feeling that had taken my breath. That had made me taste death like ashes on my tongue. How the wraith seemed to see into my soul and the choking blackness.

"It didn't attack you directly...not like the others. Why?"

"No idea." I shrugged a shoulder. "Why did the magic spells to bind and banish it not work?"

"Are you sure it didn't say anything?" He glowered. "It looked like it did while it was absorbing your magic or something."

I tensed, thinking I was seconds away from death when it had absorbed my power until somehow my magic backfired on itself. "What did that look like to you?"

He nodded like he had figured something out. "Threads of your magic were being unwoven and sucked into the wraith. It was glowing this obsidian black color. Dark as night and shining. And the vortex around it...no one could get through to help you. How did you destroy it when it had been taking your power? You shouldn't have had anything left to do that kind of damage."

"Kinda been winging stuff my entire life." I shifted from foot to foot, hoping he didn't ask for more information because I had no idea how I'd blown the wraith to ashes.

"Don't say that too loud." He glanced around us quickly, then returned his attention to me with a frown. "You want to have your powers removed?"

"Wha - why would they do that? I thought I was here to learn."

"If they think you could go rogue...that your power is too volatile and a danger... Then they'll remove the threat."

How could I have been so stupid? A lashing pain hit my middle at the thought, and I wrapped my arms around myself. I couldn't live like that...no magic...like a regular human. That would be the worst thing that they could do to me. Sweat broke out across my forehead, my insides quaking. And how could I be so dumb and tell Reed that? Now he held that knowledge and could hold it over me.

"Right." He stood and started walking toward the school, tossing the bag of ice into a trashcan as he passed it and I jogged to keep up with him.

"So what's the next challenge?" I asked. Secretly hoping it would be something simple like taming a griffin or lassoing a dragon.

A young girl ran up to us. "Headmistress Olsen wants to speak with you." Her red hair was braided into pigtails tied with ribbons that matched the plaid of her school uniform skirt.

"Tell her I'm on my way." Reed took the stairs two at a time.

"Not you," the girl said, "her."

I freaked. "What does she want?" My throat went dry. Had Olsen figured out that I had no idea what I was doing, and my magic was unpredictable? What if she took my power? I wouldn't be me anymore. Magic had always been a part of my life. It would like to be living without my soul. Void and dead inside.

"How should I know?" She smacked her gum. "I'm just the messenger."

With my heart thumping harder than ever before, I followed the girl to the Headmistress' office.

"Thank you, Lacey," Olsen said in a stern voice from her desk.

The door clicked closed behind Lacey and I sat in one of the visitor's chairs with sweat rolling down my back. Olsen's mahogany desk was loaded with files and magic books like she'd recently been searching for something.

I straightened in my chair, rubbing my hands on my thighs. What if she asked me questions about the wraith and I answered them wrong? Then she'd realize that I knew nothing of fancy spells and magical language. I'd reveal the truth that I didn't belong here. That my magic was a wildcard and maybe too dangerous for me to keep. I clenched my hands in my lap.

What did it matter how I got rid of the wraith? Olsen had said flying colors and damned if blowing a wraith to smithereens didn't qualify for that. She should want to move me to honors classes or something. But Reed's tense expression when I told him I winged my magic popped into my mind and my shoulders tightened.

"Miss Dane." She steepled her fingers, looking over them at me. "We have strict rules at this school. Magic must be controlled, contained." She clasped her hands on the desk on top of a folder. "The wraith got out of control because you allowed it to feed on your power."

"I-no. I did no such thing." Dread plunged in my gut. God, she was going to take away my magic. "I was trying to stop it. Banish it like we were instructed."

"And yet, you didn't utter one word of a spell to do so."

My face burned in a mixture of resentment and humiliation. "I was never taught the language of spells. But no one else was able to do anything - not even the teacher on the field."

"Enough." She slammed her hand down on the desk and I jumped. "You will learn the proper ways of handling and using magic. I cannot have you continue to test until you at least know some basic spellwork."

I slumped in my seat. Returning home would endanger my mom. Not to mention she'd be so disappointed in me that I couldn't even cut it the first day. But how could I stop the Headmistress evicting me from the school in disgrace? If I could stay here, learn what I could, then I could protect her, and everything would be the way it used to. I needed this education. I needed to be able to face things like a wraith and know that I could do what I did. I just had to figure out how I'd done it in the first place.

"Please, I'll try harder, don't expel me."

"No. I don't think that's the answer either." She huffed. "You will have three weeks to learn spellwork including basic magical words to bind and banish. Then we'll have your second round of testing."

I opened my mouth to say thank you, but she continued.

"If you show progress at that time, we will consider allowing you to stay. Keep in mind, though that our students study for years before they master the basics. I'm afraid you'll have your work cut out for you. And I've arranged for the best tutors to help. It will all come down to your focus and hard work, though."

Her message was clear. This was my last chance to even have another go at their insane testing otherwise not only was I out, but I would also be mundane. My future depended on me being able to cram years' worth of study into mere days. I swallowed the lump of anxiety pressing into my throat. I reached my hand out to shake hers. "Thank you. I promise you won't regret this."

She stared at my offering, but didn't take it, so I stepped back and lowered my arm. "See that you don't."