Charmfall Read Online Free PDF

makes me want to turn it off faster.”
    I couldn’t argue with that, but it also was not the point. I wiggled my fingers at her. “Try something now. I want to know if it’s just me.”
    “But I feel fine,” she said.
    “So did I before the Reaper popped in and my firespell was completely ineffective.”
    She looked at me for a minute, probably trying to figure out whether I was really hurting or just getting upset about nothing. She must have decided to trust me, because she walked over to one of her bookshelves, which—like the rest of her room—was packed with stuff. She picked a small, glossy lacquered apple from one of her collections and put it on her bed, then stood back.
    “Do I need safety glasses for this?”
    “Are you going to poke your eye out just standing there?”
    “Probably not.”
    “Then, no. Watch and learn, newbie.” Scout blew out a breath and tucked her chin in to her chest, giving the apple a concentrated stare. Her lips moved with some silent spell, and I watched and waited for something to happen.
    But nothing did.
    Frowning, she shook out her hands and shook her head. “I’m probably just tense or tired or something,” she said, and then tried again, her expression fierce and focused.
    Again, nothing.
    “I don’t understand. I did everything right, the same way I always do it. How could it not work?”
    “Probably for the same reason mine doesn’t work.”
    “This is bad,” she said. “We need to call Daniel.” She dug into her messenger bag and pulled out a phone, then frantically typed out a text message.
    I nibbled on the edge of my thumb, the tension in the room high while Scout texted Daniel and we waited for a response.
    I hated waiting in situations like this. The anticipation killed me. Trying not to dwell on it, I pulled out my own phone and checked for messages.
    There was one waiting for me—from my parents. I didn’t hear from them as much as I wanted, and sometimes getting their messages hurt as much as not hearing from them. It was like a reminder they were only partly connected to me anymore. They were far away, and little bytes of data weren’t the same as getting a good hug—or just knowing they were there .
    Heck, I wasn’t even really sure where they were. They could have been working in a building next door for all I knew.
    The text was from my dad: “ HAVE FUN THIS WEEK AT THE DANCE! BUT NOT TOO MUCH FUN! WE LOVE YOU!”
    Like I said, sweet and sad at the same time. I tucked the phone away again and when Scout’s phone beeped, I jumped. She looked at the screen, read the message, then glanced at me.
    “What?” I asked.
    “The magical blackout—it’s not just us.”
    “The Enclave?”
    “Worse,” Scout said. “All the Adepts in the city.”
    “Awesome,” I sarcastically said, ’cause it totally wasn’t.
    *  *  *
    Daniel instructed us to meet him at the Enclave, which wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Enclave Three was located in the underground tunnels. So to get there, we had to sneak through the school from the dorms to the main building, through the basement to the door that led to the tunnels, and then through those tunnels to the Enclave.
    Was it weird that the tunnels were actually starting to feel like home? I mean, I’d walked through them, laughed in them, and firespelled my best friend in them. They weren’t exactly cozy, but they also weren’t as uncomfortable as they had been before. Not awesome, but not horrible.
    When we reached the giant wooden door that kept the Enclave safe from the things that roamed the tunnels, we knocked and walked inside.
    The mood was not good.
    Enclave Three was a vaulted stone room built into one of the tunnels. The walls were covered in mosaics, but the room was mostly empty except for a round table that Daniel had added so we actually had a place to sit and talk. Now we were the Adepts of the Round Table! Somehow, Scout never found that funny.
    The rest of the Adepts—Paul, Jamie, Jill,