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Authors: Rachel Higginson

Tags: #Fantasy, #Young Adult, #Romance

Hopeless Magic (23 page)

BOOK: Hopeless Magic
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I stepped one unsure bare foot inside of the cave and then the other. A gust of colored wind blew past me in a violent way, blowing my hair and 344/711

shaking me to the core. The cave was actually reacting to me, and that, in itself, was an unbelievable phenomenon.

I took another step forward, willing myself to be confident. Another colored gust of wind whipped past me, only this time wrapping me up inside of it. I was picked up for only a second, but it was enough to want to turn around and leave. The wind that appeared in an iridescent rainbow of glossy colors was more than strong, it was hot.

I swallowed my fear and took two steps forward.

This time the painted wind blew past me as if angry, wrapping me up in a whirlwind of fire and burning my skin before setting me down five more feet inside of the cave.

This was not what I had expected. I didn't know what to do. The wind whistled through the cav-ernous ceiling as if getting angrier and angrier at my presence. Another gust of wind and this time when I was set forcefully down in a heap on the dirt floor, there were blisters on my forearms and I could smell burning hair.

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Avalon is this normal?
I demanded, wanting desperately to run back through the mouth of the cave and give up.

No. It's not.
He said with dread weighing on him heavily. I could sense he was on the phone with Amory and I could feel his near-hysteric panic.

He was not as close by as he had originally planned; I felt him jump down from somewhere high and begin to move towards me.

The wind was there again, a tornado of angry violence, picking me up in its swirling rainbow current and thrashing me about before throwing me down to the ground. My sari was stained with dirt and the skirt was ripping every time I landed hard against the floor.

Avalon.
I cried, terrified that Lucan wouldn't have to bother killing me because this cave had a serious issue and would claim me first; but there was nothing. For the first time since I had discovered our connection, Avalon was not on the other side.

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I was now fifty feet inside the cave and whatever magical powers the stone walls held, one of them was to cut off the telepathic connection I had with my brother. I looked back at the peaceful jungle out of reach and remembered the elderly steward.

The wind whistled loudly again, angry and vengeful; I knew this was what she meant. I had to be strong. I was strong. I was the most powerful Immortal to ever enter this damned cave and I would be the most powerful Immortal to walk away.

I stood up confidently, mustering all of my strength, staring defiantly forward and daring the wind to fight. And fight it did. The gust of air came at me again, picking me high up into the air and tossing me about. The whirlwind held on to me tightly, burning everywhere it touched, scorching my hair and melting my clothes.

I lashed out in panicked electricity, sending magic from every direction. The colorful wind clashed with the lightning bolts of energy in a 347/711

resounding sound and brilliant light show. Individual colors seemed to fight my magical force in a torrent of heat and wind.

I struggled to hold on to sanity as my skin burned and my equilibrium was tested, flying wildly about in mid air. The tornado took me deeper into the cave, flashing in every color from royal blue, to iridescent purple, to neon green, and canary yellow. The light was blinding and the flashing colors happened in such rapid succession that I had to hold my eyes closed for fear I would lose my vision.

The whistling wind and roar of the circling cyclone grew to an unbearable pitch and I felt like I would go crazy if it didn't stop soon. I sent out more magic, fighting against the destructive current threatening to destroy me.

The heat grew impossibly hotter and I felt as if I was being burned alive. I screamed for help but knew even if Avalon was out there he wouldn't be able to hear me over the roaring winds tossing my body in midair like a rag doll.

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What was most disheartening was that I knew even Avalon wouldn't be able to stop this force of nature from tearing me apart and incinerating every last piece of me into nothing.

I focused again on my waning magic, forcing my mind away from the pain and agony, away from the violent thrashing and away from the deafening scream of the wind. I let the electricity surge through me completely, calling on the very depth of my magic, letting it loose on the tornado without apology.

The colors flashed brighter and faster, working their way through the color wheel in rapid succession. Again, I forced my magic out of me, sending the energy outside the eye of the storm and to the very recesses of the source of the wind.

The flashing colors began to take a more distinctive hue and the royal blue I had come to associate with my shade of magic became more prominent.

I let out more magic, wondering when I would 349/711

run out completely and the glossy blue stayed longer.

The more blue appeared in the color cycle the more the heat lessened and the sound diminished.

The winds continued to speed up, however, and I knew I wouldn't be able to hang on much longer before I lost all control completely.

With the release of more magic and a longer stay of blue, the winds did what I considered playing dirty, they took my weakened, helpless body and threw me into a crumbling pillar, finishing the job time had started. Rocks and rubble fell all around and on top of me as I was thrown through the center of the pillar and forced out the other side. I laid there with a broken body wishing the wind would finish me; this was too much.

There was silence for a moment before the cyclone reached through the wreckage, pulling me and the broken stone into its spiraling circle of hell again. This time the rocks trapped in the tornado continued to batter my broken body and I 350/711

did not have the magic to fight the hateful wind and heal my body at the same time.

I released more magic believing I could win, believing I would be the victor. I had nothing else to hold on to. I centered myself, pulling the electricity with all of the force I had left and letting go, unleashing every last ounce of energy. The air was stained in my royal blue, the wind no longer a rainbow but a solid force of my signature color. All at once, in one final effort to slay me, the cyclone threw me violently into the stone wall and I slid down to the cool cave floor, the blue light glistening off of every single thing in the cave, washing over me, reaching to my soul and infecting me with the color.

I lifted my head, afraid of what I had done and the color itself robbed me of breath. I had hit my head hard against the rock wall of the cave and as I laid there unable to breath, blood pooling around me, I slipped into unconsciousness believing I had breathed my last breath.

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----

Eden. Eden!

I woke slowly, my head throbbing and a mouth that felt like sandpaper. A gentle, soft breeze lifted my hair around me in a careful way as if it was the one trying to wake me.

Oh god. Eden! Please, I can't get in. Please tell
me you're still alive.
I recognized Avalon's voice in that it sounded like him but I had never heard him so afraid.

I opened my eyes, and reality started to make its way back. I was laying on the cave floor, broken, in pain, and filthy, but I was alive. I was somehow alive.

The once-dangerous, spiteful wind was gentle and soft now, moving around me in a careful way as if apologizing. I sat up slowly, very slowly, working on finding my equilibrium and touching my fingers to my bloodied head. They came away sticky and stained crimson and I sent my 352/711

magic quickly to heal the painful gash that went from my temple to back of the head.

Eden!
Avalon screamed inside my head and I sent the magic quickly there too, to save my pounding head from splitting open again.

I'm here. I'm fine. Avalon, I'm ok.
I breathed a sigh of relief, exhaling slowly and letting tears fall down my dirt stained cheeks.

Oh, thank God. Oh, thank God.
Avalon repeated and I had never been more thankful to have him back inside my head.

The cool breeze played with the bottom of my torn and bloodied sari, lifting it off the ground and back down again. The colored air was now permanently blue and held a connection with me that I felt deep inside my soul.

I tested my intuition, willing the wind to go where I wanted it to; it obeyed, floating around the destroyed pillar before picking up some rubble and tossing it to the side like I had commanded. I stood in awe for a few seconds before trying it again with bigger rocks. I controlled this 353/711

wind. Whatever had happened before I lost consciousness or after, I now was connected to this act of nature on a magical level.

Are you getting this?
I asked, disbelieving to Avalon, who grunted in response.
Is this normal?

I questioned, wondering if this was what the Eternal Walk was like for everybody.

Avalon was on his cell phone in seconds before answering my question, going back and forth with Amory in a series of questions and answers, retelling the details of what had happened as soon as I had entered the cave and eventually what color my magic had turned the breeze.

Amory wants to see if you can change the color
of the wind.
Avalon relayed to me and I tested the boundaries of my control.

At first I just thought about a different color but when nothing happened I released my magic into the wind and that worked. The blue turned from royal to navy to black and then to a vibrant yellow just to test what I was capable of.

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Avalon, having full access to what I was doing now, was back on the phone with Amory giving him every detail and answering what little questions the now speechless Amory had.

He wants you to change the color to violet, like
Angelica's and turn up the velocity of the wind a
little bit and finish your walk. Amory says now
that you can control the color you can prove to
Lucan that you're nobody special. Do not let him
see the blue, keep it purple and only a little violent. He says it shouldn't be able to pick you up off
of the floor, but it should be difficult to walk and
you should be sweating. It should be a little bit
hot, too.
Avalon instructed word for word what I had already heard Amory say to Avalon the first time. But I listened anyway, making sure I didn't miss anything.

I did as I was told, increasing the speed and strength of the wind, turning the blue to lavender and making myself sweat with the help of magic.

I had really had enough of the licking flames; I 355/711

didn't need to recreate that sensation when magic would still produce the desired effect.

The rest of the walk through the cave felt relatively short after the mayhem from the first part and when natural light finally filled another cave mouth I practically ran to it, forgetting that Lucan was watching somewhere.

Once back in the humid jungle and the breeze floating in a waning pool at my feet I fell to the ground and began to cry. I wasn't really emotional about almost dying. That had felt like sweet release at the time, but I
was
traumatized. I had never been physically assaulted on purpose from nature and I hoped to never be again.

"Eden, are you alright?" Kiran was there, kneeling next to me and pulling me to him. I let him hold me, the tears continuing to fall with no end in sight. "What happened in there?" he asked, brushing my matted and bloodied hair out of my face. "Where did all of this blood come from?"

He pulled his hand up to his face before turning his attention fully on me. I didn't know what to 356/711

say or what to tell him. I couldn't be honest with him here with his father close by, but I had no strength to lie, to make something up. I just wanted to go home.

"It's ok," he held me closely to him after realizing I was not going to explain the chain of events inside the cave. "It's going to be ok. Let's get you back to the palace and clean you up. Alright?"

I nodded my head and let him help me stand up.

The gentle breeze was still at my feet, wrapping the orange air around my legs and breathing on me in a sweet, refreshing way.

Kiran looked down, noticing the strange phenomenon and gave me an alarmed expression. I sent the command with magic that the wind should return to the cave, but before obeying, the breeze left my feet in a gentle whirlwind encom-passing me entirely, The feeling was far from unpleasant and I stood their wrapped in colorful air, breathing in the wind that I was apparently on good terms with now.

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After a few moments the wind was back inside the cave with a gush of power and a whooshing sound. I stared after it, not entirely sure I understood anything that had just happened or if I really wanted to. All I could think about now was that ivory bathtub and menthol water. The rest would come later, the ability to understand. Until then I just needed a bath.

23.

I stepped out of the tub feeling infinitely better. I had soaked long enough that my fingers and toes were wrinkled but I didn't care. The thick water had been the perfect remedy to my frazzled nerves and beaten body.

Magic had healed the burns and bruises covering my body and the gash in my head. My hair had definitely been singed but not beyond repair. I fixed the frayed ends with magic and hoped I could cover the rest of the damage with what was left of the healthy hair. Standing in front of the vanity mirror in my white cotton towel I looked back to normal, like I hadn't just walked out of the seventh circle of hell.

My inside was a different matter. I had communicated with Avalon on the way back to the palace assuring him I was alright. He, of course, knew better, but it was enough that I was healthy and that Kiran was there.

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As much as he hated Kiran, having him around was a hopeful sign Lucan wouldn't be trying to abduct me yet. And Avalon was thankful for that.

BOOK: Hopeless Magic
10.32Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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