Impossible Magic Read Online Free PDF Page A

is the plump, gray body of a dead rat.
    Bile rises automatically in my throat, but I push it back, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me squirm. “If this is some kind of practical joke, you’re not funny.”
    He glares at me again, and then his face softens. “It isn’t a joke. This is how you learn. You can’t be so sensitive about it.”
    “I’m not sensitive. I just don’t want to touch a dead rat.”
    “It’s not going to be dead for long.” He leans back and assesses me. “I’m not going to let it hurt you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
    I can’t help but roll my eyes, and when I look back, his jaw is tensed again and his eyes are hard. “I think I can handle it. I just think it’s gross.”
    I push my hair back over my shoulders to get the heat away from my face. Everyone is watching us quietly, and Melody has a shit-eating grin on her face.
    “Necromancy is a delicate art,” he begins. “You have to maintain a lot of control.” He lowers his voice under his breath and leans in. “Something you don’t seem to be good at yet.”
    “Didn’t look that hard when you were bringing back those plants,” I challenge. I know I’m in unfamiliar territory, but I can’t let him get the upper hand.
    He smiles coldly, without humor. “See for yourself.”
    A hush has fallen over the others as they watch us. His attitude is getting more and more annoying as he shifts his weight and crosses his arms, watching me.
    “Put your hands over the corpse,” he says, his voice emotionless.
    I move my trembling hands as he says, just a few cringe-worthy inches above the rodent. I grit my teeth as I make contact, touching the stiff little body, covered in surprisingly soft fur.
    I squeeze my eyes shut, pushing back a forceful wave of nausea. Suddenly, his voice is in my ear, low and sultry. “You have to draw life energy back into the body, and to do that, you have to let a little bit of yourself go.”
    “How do I do that?” I whisper, resisting the urge to open my eyes.
    “Feel it out. Reach out and search for the energy around him, then channel it back into the heart. Expect resistance. Death is stubborn and it doesn’t want to give back what it stole.”
    I search for what he’s talking about, but I feel scattered. For the first time since I came here, I can’t draw my powers out. It feels like a ripple of anxiety in my belly, but nothing stronger.
    “What are you waiting for?” he asks impatiently. I open my eyes and glance at him. His expression is unreadable as I glare at him with annoyance. “I thought you said it didn’t look difficult,” he taunts.
    I attempt to focus on the rat again, tightening the muscles in my hands as I hold them pressed together above the corpse. Beads of sweat pop out on my forehead. It’s no use. I draw my hands away with a mix of relief and disappointment.
    Luke takes over, stepping forward and locking both hands together above the tiny body. He lifts them away. The confused rat, very much alive, blinks a little and scents the air, then scurries off the table. I shrink back, feeling like jumping on a nearby chair, but I squeeze my fists together instead.
    “Let this be a lesson to you. You shouldn’t act so knowing about things you don’t have experience with,” he chastens me.
    I walk back over to the others and stand beside them, feeling both embarrassed and angry with Luke for embarrassing me. I hate to admit it, but he’s right—I’ve been acting cocky, and now it’s biting me in the ass.
     
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    I’m in bed that night, and it seems like it’s taking forever for me to fall asleep. The clock on my beside table ticks off the seconds. My Necromancy failure has bothered me all day. I turn over all the biting, brilliant comebacks I should have said to Luke but thought of too late.
    Part of me wonders what Braden is doing, if he misses me, if he cares. Paige said she would send for my things, but I