Spring Rain (The Witchling #4)(70)
He materialized on the cliff where Summer had jumped last summer and crouched, taking in the situation below. Over a dozen Dark witchlings, Noah, Dawn … he didn’t see Biji or Decker from this angle, and he rose, backing away to search the surrounding area.
This is it, he thought. This is where we either cage Bartholomew or lose the Light.
Chapter Twenty Three
Morgan watched the fog sweep him away, not certain what exactly she felt. Gratitude, humiliation, anger and …
Something warmer, deeper whenever she thought of Beck that replaced the negative emotions normally tormenting her. He was her peace and Light in a world she wanted to lock out. She didn’t understand how he was so calm in the face of someone like Gordon when her reaction was to crawl inside herself and shrivel up until it was over.
The rain pelted her, and she retreated into the tree through the small opening of the trunk. Inside was warm, dry and clean. It smelled of Beck, and she sat in front of kindling in need of nothing more than a spark.
Morgan lit the fire with her magick and sat back, torn between wanting to listen to Beck and remain where she was and feeling excluded when she knew she could help. She pulled the soul stone out of her pocket and placed it at the center of her hand. She summoned the magick and pushed it hotter and hotter, until the white fire appeared. Rather than float off towards the Light source, she did her best to keep it in place, to surround the soul stone so its coldness could no longer hurt anyone.
She struggled. Sam had said her magick was too powerful for her to control without help, but she thought otherwise, that she was simply too weak. She envisioned it working and tried to recreate the feeling herself of being grounded and warm whenever Beck touched her.
She burned hotter until she was sweating and molded the magick the best she could before releasing it with a sigh. The Whitefire floated out of the tree towards the school – except for a thin film that remained, clinging to the soul stone. She tested it. The stone remained cold but was no longer freezing.
“All that effort …” she sighed. If she couldn’t shield a rock, how was she going to shield a baby that was much more susceptible to being burnt than the stone? Troubled, Morgan set the rock into the fire. The flames avoided it and dimmed, their heat stolen by the stone. “My curse, my companion.” She picked up the stone, disappointed in herself. Beck’s magick touched everyone around him and made them better, happier people.
She envied him for more than this.
Stoking the fire until the flames were purple, she replaced the stone in the center. This time, the flames could handle its coldness. The binding was working, at least a little, since it didn’t snuff out the fire.
Eyes on the mesmerizing blaze, Morgan thought hard for another moment about how to help Beck. The buzz of her cell distracted her, and she pulled it out.
You didn’t show last night.
Morgan muttered a curse. She was supposed to meet Dawn and ended up turning her brother Light instead. She debated how to respond before texting the truth about where she’d been the night before.
You did that?
Morgan almost laughed, sensing either Dawn or Bartholomew was surprised. And then it hit her – Dawn already knew Noah was Light. Which meant …
She pulled up Noah’s new contact information and texted him to see where he was.
He’s with me, came the response from Dawn. Bartholomew taught me a few things. Like how to block Decker. How to block Beck. Noah and Biji are with me. How about a trade since no one else can help them? You for them? Find me at Miner’s Drop.
Morgan’s heart fell. She hadn’t yet recovered from Gordon’s sudden appearance, and she feared running into him again if she did as Dawn wanted.
But Biji … Noah …
She was on her feet before she consciously made up her mind. Morgan stepped into the cold rain and drew on her magick to warm her before summoning a flame in her palm. She fed it until it was white then tossed it up in the air to watch which direction it flew. She had no other way to gauge where she was. It headed to the east and sparked lightning when it moved through the shield Beck had created. If she followed the perimeter of the shield, she’d be able to find the road.
She hurried back into the tree to grab the stone out of the fire and paused, considering. As far as she knew, no other fire witchling could summon purple or white flames, which might also mean they couldn’t tolerate or control them. How would the fire stand up to other elements? If she dropped the stone into the middle of a white fire, would the white flames rebuke other magick?
Pocketing the stone, she left the tree and made her way through the forest towards the shield. She bumped into it, bounced back a foot and trailed her fingers along the invisible barrier. It wasn’t just the rain soaking her clothing or the black fog at her feet that left her feeling cold but the sad acknowledgement she’d never be able to set foot on the Light campus. No amount of fire would purge the soul stone and she would never risk Beck or his Light by trying to find a means to take the rock onto the campus again.
Wishing Sam was there to clear a path, Morgan moved as fast as she could through the trees, bramble and mud, using the shield as a guide. Her magick kept her warm, and her gaze was as much on the tiny fireworks caused by her touch on the shield as the gathering fog.
The Darkness was getting thicker, its tendrils butting up against the Light and eliciting sparks and lightning. It was a solid blanket on the ground now, past her ankle and growing with the rain.