Autumn Storm (The Witchling #2)(24)

When she breathed out, a cloud formed. Fascinated, she poked it. It didn’t go the direction she pushed. Instead, it headed in the opposite direction, towards the forest.

Autumn followed curiously. The small cloud led her to the road again, towards the creek. The whispers stopped suddenly, reminding her they’d been there all along. Autumn’s eyes went to the memorial and the forbidden trail.

The cloud ventured into the forest, down the forbidden deer path.

Snow began to fall. Autumn looked up, a smile crossing her face as she took in the fat, lazy flakes tumbling from the sky. They melted on her exposed skin and clung to her clothes. Within minutes, her blue sweater was coated by white.

The cloud was back. It crossed her vision. She swatted at it, and it went again into the forest.

“You’re going to get me in trouble,” she told the air.

It pushed her forward. Sam was right. The air was more demanding than the gentle earth magick. With a frown, Autumn steadied herself with her cane and approached the trail. The same snow dusting the trees and road didn’t touch the trail or the trees lining it.

Like it was dead.

She took a step onto the trail, and the world fell silent and still. Outside the dead corridor, it was snowing. Inside, the air conditioner was set too low, and the air didn’t move.

The cloud continued down the silent path. Fear trickled through her, without her understanding why. She trailed the cloud as fast as she could go. Snow fell outside the strange corridor through the forest. The trail ended at a clearing, but the corridor continued, cutting a path through snow.

Her eyes took in the field. She didn’t remember any of this place. It was like Decker-a hole in her mind. If she came to the school before, had she simply never gone this route or met Decker? Or were they blocked, like the trail was from snow?

Across the clearing, the cloud entered another path through the forest, also immune to snow. Her leg began to ache from the cold. Sonya’s pain patch was fading. Autumn slowed without stopping. Her instincts – and the elements – wanted her to go this way. She wasn’t sure what she expected to find. So far, there was nothing unusual, outside of the path where no snow fell.

Crossing the clearing, she entered the forest once more and saw it open to the white-gray sky a short distance away. The dead corridor ended with the woods. Her fluffy guide dissipated where the trail ended. Snow covered the area before her, and she breathed in the cold air, marveling at the view.

The world seemed to fall away at the cliff ahead of her. In the distance, she saw sugar-coated trees on the other side of the massive canyon. She moved forward carefully, afraid to slip in the snow. As soon as she left the corridor, she heard the earth grumbling and the air murmuring. The breeze and snowflakes returned.

She neared the edge of the canyon. Its floor was covered in white. The whole world was white, pure, beautiful.

Her breath hung in front of her. Snow fell silently around her. Air magick’s lonesome wail pushed at her, nudging her away from the cliff. Autumn breathed in deeply, trying to pull it into her again.

It let her. She closed her eyes, unnerved by the cool magick in her body. She shivered. Where the earth had been tentative and gentle, the air raced through her. It made her feel almost giddy, exhilarated.

“What’re you doing here?”

The soft, low voice made her heart flip. Autumn opened her eyes and turned.

Decker was like a streak of night against the snowy surroundings. Dressed in black, his dark eyes were piercing, his muscular frame tense. Whereas the girl in her room had been traced by shadows, Decker’s body was blurred by them. Autumn had the instant impression of power-and danger.

“Exploring,” she managed.

“Down a forbidden path?” He crossed his arms and stepped towards her.

“I’m just curious.” Autumn resisted the urge to move away, aware of the canyon at her back.

He stopped in her personal space again, as he had at the football game. She held his gaze despite her unease. He was close enough for her to feel his body heat and the cool shadows that turned to fire as they entered her body.

“Primarily air magick,” he assessed. “Secondary earth.”

“Yeah,” she replied.

“Interesting combination.”

Decker circled her, his warmth and proximity stirring her body in ways she didn’t like. His magick was too intimate, skimming her blood the same way her elements did. They didn’t have to learn her body as hers did. They explored her as if they already knew her and were reacquainting themselves. They welcomed her.

The strange sense threw her into confusion. She hated being unable to control his invasion of magick but still found herself captivated by his dark allure. His touch had sizzled at the game, and she was almost able to imagine what it would feel like for his hands to move over her body.

“What are you?” she asked to distract her thoughts.

“Fire.” He paused in front of her. “You can’t tell?”

The husky timbre of his voice and the intensity of his gaze made her face hot. Fleeting amusement crossed his features. She sensed he knew the effect he had on people. Where his twin seemed uncomfortable with his magick, Decker was a part of it, a hunter with no second thoughts about toying with his prey.

“I’m also water and spirit,” he added.

She absorbed the words, recalling what she’d read in the orientation program. “Passion and intuition without balance.”