Nightingale Read Online Free PDF Page A

before.
    “We’ll land in an alleyway one block from State offices and walk in. It’s a secure location.” Annalise unsnaps my restraint and drops it into her pocket. “You can’t transport with it on,” she explains.
    “Okay.” I stretch my neck from side-to-side and pretend that being restraint-free doesn’t excite me.
    “I want you to clear your mind and envision this place.” A steel door appears on her wristlet. “It’s important you focus on that location and not something more general like Hyde Street.”
    “Why? What would happen?”
    She shakes her head in exasperation. “You’ll end up in the middle of Hyde Street where everyone can see you.”
    Sweat beads under the back of my neck. I can do this.
    “Are you ready?”
    “Yes.” With a jittery stomach, I take a tiny step forward, like I’ve seen others do. I keep the image of the door locked in my mind. I wait for the rush of air over my arms. Or maybe even a broken nose like I suffered at Summer Hill. Instead, I hear Annalise sigh.
    I fling my eyes open, only to find I’m still standing in the foyer.
    “Did you try?”
    “Yes,” I snap. “I focused. I cleared my mind. I stepped.” Anger builds inside me. Why can’t I do this? Everyone else makes it look so easy.
    Oliver shuffles closer to me and I fight the urge to step back. “May I?” he asks.
    Annalise throws up her arms. “Go ahead.”
    My young guard smiles at me. “Before you can do any sort of magic, you need to feel its presence.” He swishes his hand through the air and it ripples like a mirage. “All magic is simply the gathering of energy, and the ability to change it from one form to another.”
    I raise my eyebrows. “When you say it like that, it doesn’t sound any easier.”
    He chuckles. “Don’t look so concerned. Once you do it, it’ll be easier each time.”
    “Okay.” I have no reason not to believe Oliver. Unless you count the fact he set me on fire at my mother’s command. Of course, he did hesitate. So there’s that.
    “Close your eyes and feel the energy in this room.”
    I squish my eyes shut. A dull emptiness surrounds me but slowly, little pricks nip at my arms.
    “Do you feel that?” Oliver asks.
    “Yes.”
    “Good. Now allow it to grow. Pull it closer to you.”
    I have no idea how to do what he’s asking, but I try anyway. My heart whirls and my body quivers as magic begins seeping through my body.
    “Now, I want you to imagine the door again. And as you do, step forward.”
    “Okay.” I call up the image of the metal door. No sooner is my foot off the floor than I’m hurtling through space. Air rushes over my bare arms, tickling me. It’s not at all unpleasant like at Summer Hill. When I open my eyes, I’m standing in an alleyway with Dawson and Annalise. Oliver pops in moments later.
    I grin. Magic pulses through me. It’s a heady mix of power and excitement.
    “All it takes is practice,” Annalise says.
    My smile widens.
    I can do magic.

 
    5
     
     
    Oliver and Dawson create a small buffer of space between me and the States men and women hustling past us. They’re all dressed in formal day clothes and carry overstuffed satchels.
    My fingers trace the edges of the restraint. Before Annalise allowed me to leave the safe zone behind the gate, she slapped it back on my wrist and cut off the sensation of magic, which left a dull ache in my muscles.
    We draw long looks as we march through the halls and people whisper behind hands, too polite to point, but rude enough to openly stare.
    I sigh. Despite what Mother believes, I think four bodyguards is overkill. One, perhaps two, but four…
    “This way, Lark,” Annalise orders. I reluctantly follow her around a corner and down another seemingly endless hallway. Dawson, Oliver and Kyra, who met us at the entrance of the building, trail behind me.
    “We entered through the back entrance today,” Annalise says, turning another corner. “In the future, Malin would like you to come