Witchling (Curse of Kin) (32 page)

“Maybe he has used his magic in this lifetime,” Bones said, “possibly when he was very young.”

“Like you, Nera. When you were younger if you wanted something, it always came to you. But when you got older, you went to it. Probably because you could when you learned to walk. Now you have to relearn all that you knew when you were born,” Jasper said. “I wonder what it was that Sully knew. And I wonder what caused him to forget. He is coming over today isn’t he, girl dear?”

“Yes. They should be here shortly. Brie wanted to sleep in, so Sully will walk past her house and pick her up. They shouldn’t be too long.”

“Maybe I can try a little bit of regression discussion with him while you train with Bones.” Jasper’s face lit up at the thought. “He may remember if we try to pry it out of him in a seemingly normal discussion instead of an inquisition.”

“Good idea, Jasper,” Bones said with an evil smile on his face, turning to me. “Another whole day of training, Nera, will no doubt lull me into any easy sleep tonight.”

I glared at him, but he ignored me completely.

“It is time you learned more control of your element spells, Nera.” He stood and walked around the garden, a smile playing on his lips as he lectured with that superior tone to his voice. “You need to be able to call them up in an instant and disperse them the same. Having to think about them could give the others time to get under your defenses. I really thought you would have had them under control by now.” Bones turned and looked down his nose at me.

I refused to snap back at him even though my patience was wearing thin. I knew that my energies were put to better use proving him wrong about my moods, my commitment, and my abilities. Not that I cared what he thought, but it was better to have the upper hand.

“Morning, all,” Brie called, walking through the gate with Sully.

“We will leave you to it, Jasper. I’m going to take Nera to the cliff top today to play with the elements. See you later.” Bones stood and walked away before Brie could reach him. I followed him out of the garden with Hugo at my side.

C
HAPTER
E
LEVEN

Up on the edge of the cliffs, trouble was brewing.

“If you can’t do as I instruct, I may as well go back to the house,” Bones roared. His face was flushed, his hands clenched by his side as he yelled at me. “I have never in all my years met anyone that is so pigheaded and stubborn.”

“And I have never met anyone as bossy as you,” I yelled back. I squeezed my eyes tight trying to control my anger.”What makes you so sure you have to get the last word? I’ve done everything you told me to do. Can’t I even have a little bit of fun?”

“This is neither the time nor the place. You know that they could attack at any time and you want to play. Remember what is at stake here, Nera. You can play when this is all over. Now,” he said, “let’s try that again, my way.”

I fumed. I knew he was right, but that didn’t mean he had to have the upper hand all the time.
One day, I will get him for being so damned stuck up
.

“Nera, now,” Bones instructed as he watched me argue with myself. “Make sure you keep your mind on it this time or it will be you who crashes against the rocks below, not the waves.”

I faced the ocean and watched the storm roll over angry waves, I kept my lips tightly pressed together.

“I want you to try and take control of the clouds. I know you did this once before, but there is a real storm brewing out here, and there will be more to control than a few clouds with Mother Nature involved.” He stood with his legs apart, a blade of grass twisting between his long fingers as his gaze looked over the horizon.

I looked at him in disbelief. A few clouds. Is that all he thought I could control? That cheeky bugger. I’d show him.

“Calmly get them to move where you want them, change direction if you can. They are headed inland. Try to turn them back to sea,” Bones said, turning to me.

I watched him give me orders with a superior look on his face. His eyebrow seemed to have a life of its own whenever he gave me direction. It was raised now as he glared at me, waiting. “Now would be a good time to start.” His mouth was set in a tight line.

My body tensed, and I gritted my teeth to stop myself from screaming. My body was at boiling point. I raised my arms to the sky, clenched and unclenched my fingers, and the energy fought to be released.

I could feel the might of the storm as I channeled my energy to the head of the clouds, forcing them back upon themselves. I worked to change their direction, drawing up a small funnel of water from the ocean. It slowly built in intensity as it came higher until it reached the clouds. I could feel the resistance as the storm turned toward the ocean. But still I pushed until it was miles away from shore.

I took a quick look at Bones from under my lashes. He was looking out to sea with a small frown on his face.

Guess I’ve done something wrong again. He will never be satisfied with anything I do. I don’t know why I bother.

I looked back to sea and slowly brought the water spout toward the coast. 500 yards out, I brought it to a halt. I could felt Bones’s gaze on me, but I refused to look in his direction, keeping my mind blank.

I smiled to myself, and with a flick of my wrist, I sent the water spout crashing to the sea, calm once again. In its place a plume of white light appeared. While Bones watched, small yellow tongues of fire licked at its surface. In an instant, the fire appeared to rage out of control. As I laughed with delight, the flames came toward Bones. He stood rooted to the spot, refusing to give me the pleasure of showing any fear or stopping my magic.

I knew he could feel the heat of the flames as they circled him—the panic in his eyes gave him away—but he stood still as the fire wrapped around his body. The cold drops of rain hit him like a hammer, and I felt a small tingle down my spine when his eyes showed the shock he felt. Before he could take any action, the air stilled, and all was calm again.

Everything except Bones.

I waited for him to yell at me again, but he said nothing. He turned and stalked away toward the house, leaving me standing alone on the cliff’s edge. “Bones wait.” I ran after him. “I’m sorry, really. I thought it would be fun to stir you up. Wait.”

He ignored me as I tried to catch up with him and headed straight into the house when he arrived, ignoring the looks he got from Brie and Sully as he went. Jasper looked at me with disbelief when I came running into the garden.

“Oh, Jasper, I really didn’t mean anything.”

“What have you done, Nera?”

“Don’t look at me like that. He had it coming to him. He’s so pushy! Come on,” I said, getting more embarrassed and flustered as Jasper got madder at me.

“What did you do?” Jasper demanded, his voice cold and barely controlled.

“I was practicing the elements and wrapped him in fire before putting it out with rain.” My earlier bravado disappeared and my temper starting to simmer as he growled at me. “He thinks he can push me around, and I’m fed up with his attitude.”

“I just don’t understand you anymore. How could you do this to him? I am shocked with your lack of consideration toward Bones and your lack of control.”

“Well, who does he think he is, for God’s sake? What gives him the right to boss me about with his high-and-mighty attitude?” I stormed away from him, my arms flailing as I ranted at him. “It’s not like he’s the king of the whole world, is it?” I scoffed. “It isn’t his place to take over my life.”

I stormed back and forward in the garden while Jasper fumed at my lack of self-control, throwing me dark looks. Brie and Sully both sat frozen I knew I had to apologize to Bones, but it didn’t appeal to me at all. I was just getting my nerve together to go into him when he came back out to us in the garden wearing dry clothes.

“Forgive me, Jasper. That was an incredibly bad lack of restraint. It will not happen again,” Bones said.

“My dear friend,” Jasper said, going over and placing a hand on Bones’s shoulder. “You have no need to ask for forgiveness. I myself have lost patience with the girl many times; the hardest part is not showing her that I have. She can be very frustrating. I’m afraid that you more than anyone will bear her wrath while she learns what you must teach her. I am sorry for it.”

I approached Bones. His body stiffened, but he kept his face neutral. “I know you must hate me,” I began, “but can you just hear me out without interrupting?”

I took a deep breath and tried to get my words right in my mind. I lifted my hands and raked them through my hair so roughly that I felt strands loosen from my scalp. “I know I was wrong doing that to you. I could have really hurt you. I actually wanted to for some reason. I don’t know why, and I don’t understand that feeling. I wasn’t brought up that way. Anyway, I’m sorry, and I know I should be able to control my spells better than that. We don’t have the time for stupid games.”

I looked at him with a winning smile, but he held fast and kept his face cold.

“Well, can we forget this morning and move on. Be friends or something?” I stood nervously in front of him twisting my hands together.

“I don’t think you want to be friends, Nera.” He leaned into my face and pursed his lips. “You can’t handle the fact that someone might not be happy with you. You like to feel like you have the upper hand all of the time, like you do with the childish boys on your school bus. Well, in this instance you don’t. I do. Deal with it. And as for your lack of control, yes, you do have more and should be using it, not lashing out at me for a few minutes of petty power. That wasn’t just a game to you. It was a slap in my face. I could crush you like a bug anytime I wanted to. Remember that, and have a little more respect for your craft.” He stepped back and put his hands on his hips, blowing out a huge breath. He looked at my face and shook his head as if he didn’t know what to do with me.

I stood frozen to the spot, not liking the lashing I had just gotten from Bones but knowing it was the only way of moving forward. I glanced at Jasper. He turned away and let me work it out for myself. “You are right, I know that. I’m sorry, Bones. I let my heart rule my head. It won’t happen again.” I gazed down at my feet.

“Let’s make sure it doesn’t, girl dear,” Jasper said. “We don’t have the time for these arguments. We must bond together or we will get beaten again this time. I for one am tired of it. Now, I think I think it’s time we had some lunch, so why don’t you give me a hand, Nera and Brie? Bones can have a break with Sully,” he said, leading us girls into the kitchen.

***

Lunch was a quiet sandwich outside. Bones and I made an effort to be polite, but tension was still in the air. Jasper suggested I practice my skills on Brie for the afternoon while he and Bones tried to help Sully.

“Just go with your feelings, girl dear. You should be able to see things now without trying.” Jasper disappeared into the library with Bones and Sully.

By the time he came back outside, Dad had arrived with Roman. Dad and I were talking quietly while Roman was busy chasing Hugo around the garden. Brie and Sully had wandered off.

“Hi, Jack,” Jasper said, sinking into his favorite garden chair. “Is everything all right?”

“I think so, Jasper. I was just telling Nera that Hannah and I are going out tonight. I want to give my wife some romance for a change. Try to cheer her up. She’s feeling better about the babe tonight, so things are getting back to normal at home now.”

“I’m pleased to hear it. Roman will be fine here. We can explore tonight when it’s dark and scary downstairs. I think we could choose a sword for him while we are down there. That should get the boy excited.”

“That sounds like so much fun.” Brie had wandered over to join us. She sat down on the grass beside me and linked arms with me.”Can we take the flaming torches down to make it really scary?”

“Only if you promise not to burn the place down,” Jasper replied, laughing. “Now then, how about a cup of tea before you go home, Jack?”

“Why not. I’m not in any hurry.” Dad got up from the grass and followed Jasper into the kitchen. “Thanks for having them over so much. I don’t know how you do it,” I heard Dad say.

“It’s quite easy really,” Jasper said, filling up the kettle. “As Nera said, they keep me young, to say nothing of having them learning something while they are here.”

We quietly drank our tea in the afternoon sun, relaxing in the gardens. Dad took his leave, promising to return the next day.

Jasper and Bones made a sumptuous dinner we all ate together in the huge kitchen. I washed the dishes, while Sully and Brie squabbled about the trip to the dungeons. They both wanted to carry the flaming torch and the argument between them was fierce over it. In the end they agreed to take turns and that had Bones and Jasper acting mortally afraid. Bones got to be the torch bearer with Roman as his helpful aid.

We made our way downstairs, the air getting colder and the smell of years of disuse rising to meet us. Roman was excited about choosing a sword for himself. He envied me when I told him we were learning the art of the longsword. Hugo stayed close to me, his hackles slightly up as we made our way down the dark, dank stairs. Jasper followed after me, a battery-powered torch in his pocket as backup.