Destined Magic Read Online Free PDF

relief. London. They must have ported from her pub in Newport.
    Dashing across the street and down the stairs to the station, she prayed that she had some money on her. Putting her hand in her pocket, she felt paper. She pulled out several bills. The one on top was a five-pound note. At least, Garrett had left her with something.
    After quickly buying a ticke t, she hurried down to the platform. The train came rushing in and she raced inside. She stood in the doorway, looking back toward the stairs as the train headed down the tracks.
    As the train entered a tunnel, Gabriella saw Calder running down the stairs. She sank down into the nearest seat, her knees suddenly wobbly. He was too late. She had done it. She had escaped the Guardians. Now, she needed to see a man about removing a bracelet.
     
    §
     
    Garrett and Damek walked slowly down the murky hallway. The light diminished with each step they took. When they got to the first door, Garrett opened it while Damek stood ready. The door swung open into darkness. Garrett recited a spell to illuminate the tip of his wand. The room was empty. Damek sighed. “This is kind of creepy. I keep expecting something to jump out at us.”
    “You have an overactive imagination, Damek.” Garrett moved to the next door with the same results. They both looked into an empty room.
    “Well, rather safe than sorry, if you don’t mind m y saying so.” Damek stood ready at the next door.
    Garrett opened it and shone his wand into an empty room. Nothing. “This doesn’t make sense. They had to do their rituals somewhere down here.”
    “I gu ess that means door number four,” Damek said.
    They both looked at each other , then walked to the final door. Garrett turned the handle, and the door swung open. The stench of rotting flesh flowed out of the room. Garrett covered his nose with his hand. Damek coughed and choked.
    “This must be the place,” Damek said , clearing his throat.
    Garrett nodded, not wanting to breath e in the wretched smell. Garrett shone his wand inside the dark room. They heard the scrambling of little feet coming from the back, indicating the place was infested with rats. A spray-painted red circle lay on the dirt floor. Several wooden cabinets stood along the back wall. The door on one of them stood open, showing black candles and books lining the shelves.
    Garrett walked around the painted circle to look inside the cabinets. Damek stood by the door, while occasionally coughing and moving his head into the hallway to try to breathe. The books on the shelves appeared to be tomes on magic, but none stood out as unusual. Garrett moved closer to read the titles.
    A sliver of sound came to his ears, a rustling of fabric. Garrett started to turn when something heavy hit his head. He swung around, his head ringing , and saw Damek struggling with two men. The rats were earth witches who had taken the shape of rodents.
    Another man lifted a stool over Garrett’s head, and Garrett raised his arm to protect himself. The stool came crashing down, landing hard. Bones broke. The pain was excruciating. Garrett’s eyesight dimmed.
    “Come on,” a voice hissed .
    Garrett heard footsteps running down the hall. He tried to remain standing, but the room slowly spun around in a circle before everything went black.
     
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    Gabriella walked into the blacksmith shop, her chest heaving and her feet burning. The tube station closest to the shop was Morden, and she had had to walk the rest of the way to Epsom, where the shop was located.
    Whispers in the witches’ community had suggested the Blacksmith would help those who were threatened by the Witches Council. The Blacksmith’s mother had her powers removed when he was a teenager. Unable to stand the loss, she had taken her own life.
    Not eve ryone agreed with how the Witches Council handled the governance of its people. A small grassroots group had sprung up in protest. The Blacksmith was known to be one of its leaders.