The Indigo Spell Read Free Page A

looking
     back on the euphoric high the magic had given me. Humans weren’t supposed to wield
     magic—and they certainly weren’t supposed to enjoy it. Running my fingers over the
     cross’s surface, I found myself thinking of Adrian again. Had he ever worn it? Or
     had he just kept it around for luck? Had his fingers traced the cross’s shape like
     mine often did?
    Ms. Terwilliger began gathering her things. When she stood up, I followed suit. “What
     does it mean exactly, ma’am?” I asked. “That I saw Los Angeles?”
    I followed her back toward the car, and she didn’t answer right away. When she did,
     her voice was uncharacteristically grim. “It means that she’s much closer than I would
     like. It also means, whether you want to or not, you’re going to have to work on improving
     your magical skills very, very quickly.”
    I came to a halt. Suddenly, I felt angry. Enough was enough. I was exhausted and ached
     all over. She’d dragged me out here in the middle of the night and now had the presumption
     to make a statement like that when she knew how I felt about magic? Worse, her words
     frightened me. What did I have to do with this? This was her spell, her cause. Yet,
     she’d given the directive with such force, such certainty, that it almost seemed as
     though
I
was the reason we’d come out here to this wasteland.
    “Ma’am—” I began.
    Ms. Terwilliger spun around and leaned toward me so that there were only a few inches
     between us. I gulped, swallowing whatever outraged words I’d been about to utter.
     I’d never seen her look like this. She wasn’t scary, not exactly, but there was an
     intensity I’d never seen before, far different from the usual scattered teacher I
     knew. She also looked . . . frightened.
Life or death
.
    “Sydney,” she said, in a rare use of my first name. “Let me assure you that this is
     not some trick on my part. You will improve upon your skills, whether you like it
     or not. And it’s not because I’m cruel, not because I’m trying to fulfill some selfish
     desire. It’s not even because I hate seeing you waste your ability.”
    “Then why?” I asked in a small voice. “Why do I need to learn more?”
    The wind whispered around us, blowing some of the dried leaves and flowers from my
     hair. The shadows we cast took on an ominous feel, and the moonlight and starlight
     that had seemed so divine earlier now felt cold and harsh.
    “Because,” Ms. Terwilliger said. “It’s for your own protection.”

CHAPTER 2
    MS. TERWILLIGER REFUSED to say much more after that. She drove us back to Amberwood and hardly seemed to
     know I was there. She just kept muttering things to herself like, “Not enough time”
     and “Need more proof.” When she finally dropped me off, I tried pressing her for more
     information.
    “What was all that about protecting myself?” I asked. “Protection from what?”
    We were parked in the fire lane again, and she still wore that distracted look. “I’ll
     explain later, in our session tomorrow.”
    “I can’t,” I reminded her. “I’m leaving right after my regular classes. Remember?
     I have a flight to catch. I told you about it last week. And yesterday. And earlier
     today.”
    That brought her back to attention. “Did you? Well, then. I suppose we’ll make do
     with what we must. I’ll see what I can have for you in the morning.”
    I left her for my bed after that, not that I could get much sleep. And when I showed
     up to her history class the next morning, she was true to her word. Before the bell
     rang, she walked up to my desk and handed me an old book with a cracked red leather
     cover. The title was in Latin and translated to
Elements of Battle
, which sent a chill down my spine. Spells to create light and invisibility were one
     thing. There was a practicality to them that I could almost rationalize. But battle
     spells? Something told me I might have a little trouble with