Witch's Brew - Spellspinners 1 (Spellspinners of Melas County) Read Online Free PDF

before last week anyway. When I’d tangled with a…I emptied my mind. Focus, Lily.
    “Girls, your energy this morning is much. I applaud that. But we must be careful how we channel it. If all your body wants is fight—conflict—then you aren’t using your energy as it’s intended.”
    Beside me, Orchid raised her hand. “Then why does my body feel like a fight?” she challenged, dancing on the balls of her bare feet. Orchid’s dreadlocked hair hung to her stomach, exposed by the tight half-shirt she was wearing. Her glimmering blue eyes made her look even cooler in the pre-dawn light.
    “Your bodies don’t want to fight, your bodies crave more magic and therefore your bodies want to engage ,” Camellia continued. “Think of the baby tigers on the Savannah. Picture them tumbling around with their brothers and sisters. They don’t want to hurt each other—they want to connect . To explore each other’s bodies—to get a taste of one another’s spirits. They are learning to hunt. It’s the same with humans. Look what they are doing now. Networking electronically nearly constantly. Humans crave connection, especially young humans so raw, so eager to take a bite of the experience of life. This need to connect is so great that they engage in unnecessary battles just in order to get a taste of what we, as Spellspinners, are so lucky to explore each day.”
    “As Spellspinners, don’t we have that same need?” I asked. “To connect, I mean.”
    “Of course, but our needs are met within our coven. We have each other; we have risen above the human experience. We are complete.”
    “If we are complete, why do we need to glean magic from the warlocks?” I asked. “The whole point is we aren’t complete without them. We need their magic to balance ours.”
    She stared at me, surprised, but she answered calmly, “We are complete beings without warlocks, indeed. But unfortunately, after the curse, our magic must be replenished with theirs.”
    “So we aren’t really playing like baby tigers in the Savannah, then, Mistress. Pardon me, but we are preparing to fight for our lives here.”
    Camellia blinked. “True. The stakes are high in this Gleaning. We have much to lose but also much to gain. I want you girls to be as prepared as possible.”
    Orchid nodded. “I’m ready,” she said.
    Camellia smiled. “Excellent. That’s what I want to hear. What the Goddesses want to hear.” She clapped her hands. “Partner up, girls. This morning we are going to practice energy balls,” she announced.
    “Awesome.” I rubbed my palms together.
    “Ensure that the receiving witch is standing in the ocean. And tread lightly in this exercise. Energy balls are essentially balls of fire. You’ll use them when your swords are displaced. The faster you can conjure one into existence, the safer you will be. Focus on controlling the energy. Here you have all the space you need. In the Stones, everything will be tighter, moving faster. Ready?”
    Orchid and I clasped hands. “I’ll receive,” I said.
    “Generous this morning, are we?” Orchid said, raising an eyebrow.
    “Hey, what are friends for?” My adrenaline boost and rebounded energy had put me in an excellent mood. Maybe I didn’t need those euca leaves after all; maybe the scent of them was enough.
    Camellia paced barefoot in the wet sand, watching us. I waded in knee-high water while Orchid created an energy ball, which looked like she was doing a pantomime of rocking a globe between her palms. When it sparked to life, she tossed it out to sea. I dove into the air and snatched it out of the sky. It sizzled into my palms and gut, as I fell backwards into the saltwater.
    “Nice!” Orchid shouted.
    “Thanks.” I grinned, bouncing easily back on my feet in the thrashing waves.
    “Stretch it out, make it bigger,” Orchid suggested.
    Squeezing my eyes shut, I spun a spell that lifted the beads of saltwater from my eyes and face like a string of pearls and