confused, and annoyed that both of them seem to have forgotten that I exist. I clear my throat, and ask, “What are you guys talking about?”
Rachel shakes her head at Nick, who says, “Don’t worry about it. Rachel, you’re more than welcome to join us, if you like.” Nick glances at me, and hastily adds, “That is, if Heather is alright with it.”
I look at Nick like he’s insane. From what I can tell, he’s helping my best friend keep secrets from me. And now, he expects me to invite her over so that she can learn some of mine? One look at his face, and I know that’s exactly what he wants me to do. But why? I guess, if nothing else, it will prove to Rachel that I’m too busy to hang out for a good reason. And maybe, if I play the guilt card, I can get her to spill whatever she’s keeping from me.
“Sure… she can come.”
***
Half an hour later, I am face-down on the gravel of Nick’s rooftop, my left arm covered in burns. I learned not to scream early on; it might attract unwanted attention. Instead, I bite down on my lip and screw my eyes shut, while I wait for Krystal to heal my arm. Within moments, the burning sensation melts away, and is replaced with the uncomfortable, itchy feeling of skin rapidly growing over a wound. When I have the courage to open my eyes, and inspect my arm, the newly grown skin is pink and raw, but otherwise unmarred. If I had remembered to surround myself with trigger shields this morning, I wouldn’t have been injured by the fireball in the first place, which I’m pretty sure was the point Krystal intended to make. I promise myself that I’ll add casting those spells to my morning routine.
Once I’m back on my feet, and let everyone know I’m alright, Krystal asks me, “Do you feel ready to start learning some of the fun stuff?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “It seems like the ‘fun stuff’ is going to shave twenty years off of my expected lifespan.”
“Don’t worry about that… as long as you know what you’re doing, you’ll be fine.” Krystal quickly explains to me how the fireball spell works, then tells me to aim it at the rooftop garden, which she promises to protect from the damage. The new spell seems more complicated than anything I’ve learned so far, but I’m willing to give it a shot. I close my eyes, and focus on step one: taking any flammable gases in the air around me, and shaping them into a ball. I can’t tell if it really worked or not, but I move on to step two: igniting the ball with a spark of my own energy.
Instantly, I feel a searing heat flare up not too far from my body; I open my eyes to see a huge ball of flames floating in front of me. I panic, and pretty much fail at step three: aim it at the rooftop garden, and fire. The fireball soars left of the garden, straight at where Nick and Rachel are standing. Krystal curses under her breath, and casts a protective spell over them at the last second. The fireball hits the shield, and disperses into an almost flower-like pattern of flames a few feet in length. Within seconds, all traces of both spells have vanished.
Suddenly, all eyes are on me; I don’t think anyone expected me to come so close to killing them. Krystal seems happy with the results, though. “That was amazing!,” she says. “Nobody has ever performed that spell correctly without weeks of effort.”
I’m still not used to feeling like I’ve done something right, so my cheeks flush a little. “Yeah, but apparently I need to work on my aim.”
“Definitely,” Krystal agrees. “I can’t teach you much if you won’t be able to hit anything.”
Krystal lets me practice the spell a few more times, shooting it upward to avoid injuring anyone, then decides it’s time to call it a day. We all head downstairs as a group, with Nick and Krystal in front. Before stepping through their door, Rachel pulls me aside, and whispers, “Holy shit.”
“Is that really all you have to say to me?,” I ask.
“No,
Rachel shakes her head at Nick, who says, “Don’t worry about it. Rachel, you’re more than welcome to join us, if you like.” Nick glances at me, and hastily adds, “That is, if Heather is alright with it.”
I look at Nick like he’s insane. From what I can tell, he’s helping my best friend keep secrets from me. And now, he expects me to invite her over so that she can learn some of mine? One look at his face, and I know that’s exactly what he wants me to do. But why? I guess, if nothing else, it will prove to Rachel that I’m too busy to hang out for a good reason. And maybe, if I play the guilt card, I can get her to spill whatever she’s keeping from me.
“Sure… she can come.”
***
Half an hour later, I am face-down on the gravel of Nick’s rooftop, my left arm covered in burns. I learned not to scream early on; it might attract unwanted attention. Instead, I bite down on my lip and screw my eyes shut, while I wait for Krystal to heal my arm. Within moments, the burning sensation melts away, and is replaced with the uncomfortable, itchy feeling of skin rapidly growing over a wound. When I have the courage to open my eyes, and inspect my arm, the newly grown skin is pink and raw, but otherwise unmarred. If I had remembered to surround myself with trigger shields this morning, I wouldn’t have been injured by the fireball in the first place, which I’m pretty sure was the point Krystal intended to make. I promise myself that I’ll add casting those spells to my morning routine.
Once I’m back on my feet, and let everyone know I’m alright, Krystal asks me, “Do you feel ready to start learning some of the fun stuff?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “It seems like the ‘fun stuff’ is going to shave twenty years off of my expected lifespan.”
“Don’t worry about that… as long as you know what you’re doing, you’ll be fine.” Krystal quickly explains to me how the fireball spell works, then tells me to aim it at the rooftop garden, which she promises to protect from the damage. The new spell seems more complicated than anything I’ve learned so far, but I’m willing to give it a shot. I close my eyes, and focus on step one: taking any flammable gases in the air around me, and shaping them into a ball. I can’t tell if it really worked or not, but I move on to step two: igniting the ball with a spark of my own energy.
Instantly, I feel a searing heat flare up not too far from my body; I open my eyes to see a huge ball of flames floating in front of me. I panic, and pretty much fail at step three: aim it at the rooftop garden, and fire. The fireball soars left of the garden, straight at where Nick and Rachel are standing. Krystal curses under her breath, and casts a protective spell over them at the last second. The fireball hits the shield, and disperses into an almost flower-like pattern of flames a few feet in length. Within seconds, all traces of both spells have vanished.
Suddenly, all eyes are on me; I don’t think anyone expected me to come so close to killing them. Krystal seems happy with the results, though. “That was amazing!,” she says. “Nobody has ever performed that spell correctly without weeks of effort.”
I’m still not used to feeling like I’ve done something right, so my cheeks flush a little. “Yeah, but apparently I need to work on my aim.”
“Definitely,” Krystal agrees. “I can’t teach you much if you won’t be able to hit anything.”
Krystal lets me practice the spell a few more times, shooting it upward to avoid injuring anyone, then decides it’s time to call it a day. We all head downstairs as a group, with Nick and Krystal in front. Before stepping through their door, Rachel pulls me aside, and whispers, “Holy shit.”
“Is that really all you have to say to me?,” I ask.
“No,
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