Page 31 of Wallflower Witch
“You can rest if you need to,” Matt says, reaching over and giving my hand a squeeze.
“Yeah, there’s no shame in wanting to take a day. You did just pass out for the second time in the last twenty-four hours,” Josh adds. “These ghosts have been waiting centuries. Another day or two won’t hurt them.”
“That’s assuming I can get my magic to work right on the first day of training,” I say, rolling my eyes. “And I doubt that will happen.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Josh encourages. “How long do young witches normally train?” He turns to face Patrick.
Patrick drops his face toward the ground and rubs the back of his neck. “Two to five years for most. The fastest I’ve heard of someone gaining control of their magic was about nine months, but everyone believes her parents gave her some foundational knowledge before her powers manifested.” He looks up, his cheeks tinged red.
“Years?!” I squeak. “I don’t think we have years to get this figured out.” I shake my head. “No, nope, I don’t know. I wanted to help them, but this makes me think it’s impossible.”
“We won’t know until we try,” Patrick says. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
“You aren’t alone,” Matt reminds me. “And we will support you. Why don’t you try to see what you can learn, and if it’s too hard, we will let Patrick see what his coven can do.”
“Back up plans are good,” I murmur to myself. “Okay,” I say louder. “I’ll try. We will give it a week, and if I can’t break the curse, we will see if the coven can do something.”
We finish the meal quietly, all lost in our own thoughts about what the future holds for us.
* * *
I’m back in the middle of the grass between the house and crypt, but this time instead of just Patrick standing across from me, Josh and Matt are here as well.
We spent time collecting sticks and other yard debris of various sizes. Patrick says the coven has training bars that go up in size to challenge the witch’s power that are able to withstand the various forces, but beggars can’t be choosers.
“Tell me again how I’m supposed to what… talk to the sticks and rocks? Heal the sticks and rocks?” I ask, eyeing the pile skeptically.
Patrick laughs. “You don’t.”
“Then why did we spend time finding all this?” asks Josh.
“There is more to earth powers than just healing and more to spirit than just speaking with ghosts.” Patrick shrugs like that should be obvious.
“Like…” Matt prompts. “You are the only one who has done this training before.”
“Sorry, it’s easy to forget you three didn’t grow up knowing all this,” Patrick apologizes. “We will be focusing on earth powers first. I doubt either of you want to give up your will and control of your body—” He cuts off as both of them splutter. “Yeah, that gets into the spirit power, but earth can be used to reshape the earth, cause earthquakes, move where rivers flow, build a mountain. If someone is powerful enough, there’s not much they can’t do.”
We all stare at him, our mouths hanging open.
“Do you mean to say that Morrigan is going to be able to make new mountains or destroy some that already exist with her mind?” asks Matt. “I don’t know whether to think that is awesome or terrifying.”
“Not her mind. Her magic,” Patrick answers. “But yes to creating and destroying mountains. Not soon, but one day. I think her magic is strong enough that she could.”
“Yeah, that’s never going to happen,” I say. “I don’t want to be responsible for something like that!”
“It would take years of training to reach that level,” Patrick reassures me. “Today, we simply want to see this pile move. A little wiggle would be great.”
He has Josh and Matt sort them into piles by size, then points at the smallest of the piles.
“Start with these,” he instructs. “Find your magic and draw it up. Tell it you want the ground under that pile to move.”
I nod, taking a deep breath and centering myself. I find the little warm spot hiding deep inside and poke at it. Nothing happens. I try talking to it mentally, asking if it will come out. No luck. I dig my mind into the little ball and pull hard, doing my best to force the magic up. It stays firmly tucked away deep inside.
I let out a sigh and open my eyes. “It’s not working,” I say. “I’ve tried everything I can think of to get my magic to rise to the surface, but it won’t budge.”
Quoth grabs one stack in his talons, strewing them around the ground as if to show me what I’m supposed to be doing.
“Just keep trying,” Josh suggests. “Didn’t you say it took a little while last time to get it to respond?”