Phoenix Academy - Lucy Auburn Page 0,59

day?"

"No, now—while the lessons are fresh." Yohan motions towards me. "I know that you can do it, Ari. You have the temper and the power. Now I've shown you the control. Simply focus. You're a witch, after all, and you've been through worse."

It's true. I've lost my family and my life, come back reborn, and been all the way to Hell and through the other wise again. The last few hours included in the "Hell" portion of all this. I can make a flaming sword... probably.

Sweat trickling down my face, I push flames into my right hand and concentrate.

They burn, blue and dancing. Nothing happens.

I think about sword. Long, sharp, pointed. Kind of phallic in nature, like a lot of things. My mind wanders, so I force myself to call up my meditation techniques and empty my mind.

Then I picture it: a blade. Simple, elegant, curved. Weighted to fit my hand. Blue, bright, and burning.

It springs to life inside my grip.

A gasp leaves my mouth. "Is this really real?"

"Try using it." Yohan tosses a ball, and I instinctively swing the blade. It follows my movements as well as my intentions, sharp and flat, slicing right through the ball in midair. He grins at me. "See? I knew you could do it."

"Thank you." I let the blade go, exhausted and wrung out but no longer quite so frustrated at Yohan. "I'm sorry I was so short-tempered earlier. It's just been a long... well, year."

"Not to worry, Ms. Wolfe." He puts his hand on my shoulder, a rare moment of comfort from a normally distant teacher. "If you thought that was exciting, just wait until next year's class. It will be many times more challenging and much more educational."

My stomach drops.

I should've known.

"There's something I want to give you." Mage Auerbach is waiting outside my room when I come back from Yohan's lesson, pacing back and forth with a nervous air to him. "I want to talk to you about it, Ari... oh. You look like you've been exercising."

"I'm coated in sweat." I can feel it drip down the back of my neck; truly, I've never wanted a shower more. "Can this wait until after I take a break? Or maybe we can do it now if it's short? I need to let the guys now we should prepare to go off-campus. I got the dispensation."

"That's fantastic. And why I'm here, actually." Reaching into the long black duster he wears as a coat, he pulls out a slim blue book with silver lettering and hands it to me. "I had a whole speech prepared, but I find in the moment I'm too nervous to remember all of it. Something about forging new connections between the mage world and the world of witches. No longer hoarding knowledge. You get the gist."

"Thank you." Considering the book, I make a decision. "You can wait inside, I'll only be a minute."

"Of course."

When I'm done quickly showering the ick on me and have a fresh academy uniform on, I come out of the bathroom to discover Auerbach awkwardly standing in the middle of the living room, his duster still hanging from his shoulders.

Biting back a laugh, I motion towards the sofa. "You can take your coat off. Unless that was all you wanted to say?"

"No. There's more."

He takes a seat on the sofa, nervously patting his legs and jittering his foot. I watch him, starting to get curious. "This is a book of runes," I point out, holding up the slim blue book. "Are they all the ones you've told me about."

"No." Auerbach shakes his head, then abruptly freezes. "Well, yes—all the runes I've taught you are in there for your own record. But also other runes. Ones I haven't taught you. And I have another gift for you, and well... as I said, there was a speech. Suddenly it feels trite, though."

I have to bite my lip to keep from saying something in frustration. "Just speak off the cuff, then."

He smiles, and my frustration wanes. "Very well, then. The truth is, Ari, my time with you has made me realize how short-sighted I've been. Mages aren't raised to see the beauty or value in feral magic or the witches who use nature to bend it to their will. You've showed me the light—and have undoubtedly changed the world forever with your actions."

"The door."

"Yes." I wait for him to rebuke me for doing something so big without talking to him, but he simply reaches out and places