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But it was held fast inside the tree. I couldn’t tug it out of the iron-tight grip of that knot. It must have been locked to anyone without permission, and I didn’t exactly have a library card.
I knew what I had to do. I just wasn’t sure I could do it, especially after having successfully used a sympathetic magic spell. I didn’t really have a lot of magic in me to begin with, and I wasn’t sure how much I had left.
I was going to pay for this one. But I didn’t have a choice. I had come this far. I wasn’t going to quit now.
I closed my eyes and tried to speak with the tree.
Please, release the book,I begged.I will only use it for Good.
But the knot held fast.
I had released the vines the other night when I was with Luke. I knew I had, because in the morning they had hung limp and allowed us to pass. But I had no idea how I had done it.
My heart pounded and I wondered how many minutes I had left to figure this out. How many seconds…
What had I done that night with Luke?
I cast my memory back and thought about my time with him. Even that first night, he had made me feel relaxed, at peace and at home, when he curled up next to me in his furry wolf form.
I tried to think about that now, about everything that made me feel happy and relaxed:
Luke’s furry body against mine…
Cori laughing at Anya’s dumb jokes at lunch…
My brother baking cookies and letting me eat half the dough…
The friendly way Sally joked with her customers back at the diner and then winked at me…
Relax with me,I told the tree.See how lovely it is to let go.
I opened my eyes, and the book fell into my waiting hand.
I let my victory wash over me for a moment. I was learning to use my magic. I was learning to let it be a part of me.
But then a low rumble began to emit from the tree, cutting my celebration short. At first, it seemed like it could have been coming from far away, but I could feel the trembling of the branch I clung to.
The sound grew louder, and a moment later, a bee the size of my fist appeared in the air before me.
Before I could react, there were a dozen more, and then a whole cloud of them. Of course the tree had defenses. How could I have been so stupid?
I was going to be killed for stealing this book. I was going to fall again, or be stung to death.
The tree had defenses, but so did I, sort of. I thought back to the morning’s Magical Combat class, trying to remember the words to the spell, to remember Eve’s instruction. My magic was nearly used up, but she said it was a light touch, not like an attack.
I lifted my hand and whispered the words to create a smoke screen.
A second later, a small puff of smoke issued from my hand.
Encouraged, I continued. I could feel the magic pulling out of me, stretching like taffy. I let the last of my energy flow into it keeping my mind focused on that light touch.
Suddenly, I was surrounded by a cloud of smoke. I couldn’t see the bees, or even the book in my other hand. The buzzing slowed from aggressive to lazy.
I slid backwards on the branch, wrapping my limbs around the trunk and scrambling down without waiting to find footholds.
At one point I almost slipped, the rough bark scraping my left palm and ripping my dress. But I kept going, remembering to clutch the magic volume in my right hand, no matter what. Even if I fell, I would not let it go.
At last, my feet hit the ground and I began to run.
