A Necklace of Water Read Online Free PDF Page B

atoms. Like a storm pulling a rosebush off a trellis, the spell slowly ripped away the crystal’s energy. It was devastating. Then I was almost thrown backward as a sharp, clear burst of energy jolted into me, spearing my chest and filling me with light and fire.
    My eyes popped open to stare into the glittering blue eyes of an ancient witch. His face was alight, younger, his cheeks flushed and not so sunken. An insane riptide of joy submerged me as I felt the huge, spiraling power within me, far more powerful than anything I’d felt before, either at a circle or with the cats. I felt like I was glowing in the dark, that I could walk down the street and bring trees back to life, heal children, wave my hand and solve any problem.
    Daedalus smiled at the look on my face. I realized his hands were holding mine firmly, which was why I hadn’t been knocked out of the circle when the crystal’s energy entered me.
    “Do you see, Clio?” His lips didn’t move, but I heard the words clearly. “Do you see how something’s power can become yours for the taking? Do you see what life can feel like?”
    I nodded, speechless, my head buzzing with wonder, my knees shaking. If I opened my mouth to speak, white light would pour out, lighting this black room like sunlight at noon.
    I was ecstatic, intensely happy, filled with light and love and power beyond all comprehension. It was the most incredible feeling I could possibly imagine—I’d had no idea such a thing was possible, and inone second I knew that I wanted it, needed it, had to have it all the time.
What now
, I thought eagerly—
do we do another spell to keep it with us? How long will this last? Can I add to this?
    With no warning, I felt it start to drain away.
    Alarmed, I looked into Daedalus’s eyes and saw my knowledge confirmed there. He knew it was already fading.
    “No, no,” I whispered. “Don’t let it go!”
    He shook his head, and we continued to breathe slowly in and out in unison. The power leached out of me, like bones being bleached in the sun. I wanted to cry as I felt it leave me, felt my joy and passion and power and strength fade, leaving me diminished, heartbroken, a pale reflection of the glorious creature I had been only minutes earlier.
    I felt utterly shattered, as if my bones were turning to lace. My right hand clenched the crystal like a frozen claw, and with difficulty I unpeeled my fingers.
    Where the chunk of smoky quartz had been, there was now only a pile of ashy white powder. As soon as I took my hand away, it began to sift through Daedalus’s shaking hand.
    Abruptly my legs gave way and I fell to the floor.

Effortless, Like Melita
    I t was amazing, Axelle thought. Her black eyes focused unwaveringly on the black candle, hovering an inch over her black marble countertop. Her thought was a nebulous ribbon fluttering at the edge of her brain while most of her consciousness spun magick.
    Axelle had never been able to levitate a candle, even after Melita had increased their powers, after Axelle had been studying magick, off and on, for almost two hundred years.
    Now look at her.
    It felt effortless, a smooth extension of herself, as if her will extended beyond the boundaries of her person to affect the world around her without even touching it.
    This was all new since the failed rite. During the rite she had asked for more power. She had gotten it. And this newfound power was intoxicating. She knew that all of magick was balance—that if she had gained power, someone had lost it. But truly, why should she care?
    “Mrew?” Minou jumped up on the counter next to the hovering candle. Her pupils flared when she sensed the magickal field, and when she saw the candle, she batted at it.
    Axelle blinked, the candle fell, and the spell was broken. Minou’s tail puffed instantly, and she jumped off the counter to hide under the couch. The whole thing had taken two seconds.
    Nearby, Manon managed half a smile, which was the most Axelle had seen