The next morning, Collin arrived with a much more pleasant attitude. We hardly spoke as we made our way to the warehouse. My mind was distracted, mainly with thoughts of Blake and Abby. I hated admitting it to myself, but the reality of never seeing them again was beginning to haunt me. Once Jackie’s friend returned, I would find out if I was going to get the help I needed, but what if I didn’t get any help? What if he told me there was no way to contact the council? Or what if I got in touch with the council, but they wouldn’t help me? What was my plan then? My heart squeezed knowing I had no idea what I would do or where I would go after this.
“Okay, so I’m going to be completely honest now,” Collin said as we approached the warehouse. “Today we start the real training. I haven’t had a student with your power or willingness to learn in a long time. Usually, the person I’m teaching just wants to sleep, play on their stupid phones, or just go home so they can catch up on their latest T.V. show. When my students started to lose interest in learning, I guess I started to lose interest in teaching, but I can see that you have a passion for it, so I don’t want to be the one to hold you back.”
I glanced over, analyzing his features, trying to see if he was just messing with me. My conscience told me not to trust him—that this was just another joke—but he actually looked sincere.
“I’m serious,” he said firmly. “From now on, I’m dedicated to being the best teacher I can be.”
As much as I wanted to roll my eyes, I decided to believe the promise he made. “Fine, I believe you.”
We started where we’d left off yesterday—flying lessons. Before I knew it, and as much as I hated it, I found myself standing at the top of the warehouse, staring down towards the ground.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Collin standing just a few feet behind me.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to push you.” The left side of his mouth lifted, threatening a smile. “But I still think your biggest obstacle is yourself. You think about it way too much.” He took a couple steps forward. “Now, I’m not trying to insult your last teacher, but...”
His voice trailed off as my eyes narrowed on him. He put his hands up defensively. “Hey, I said I wasn’t trying to insult her. All I’m saying is that maybe she was a little easy on you when it came to pushing your limits. In my opinion, you need to be pushed... no pun intended.” He grinned guiltily.
“Abby just wanted me to learn at my own speed without forcing too much on me at once,” I said in her defense.
He swayed back and forth on his feet. “Okay, okay, but you are struggling with flying, right?”
As much as it pained me to do so, I nodded.
“So how about we change it up a bit. Let’s just try my way for a couple days and see if you improve. Deal?”
Reluctantly, I nodded in agreement. I guess it couldn’t hurt.
Collin pulled something out of his back pocket, walked over and handed it to me. “Put this on and we’ll start.”
“What? No way!” I said as I looked down at the blindfold he had just handed me. A blindfold and a flying lesson should never go together. Was he crazy or did he think I was crazy?
“Come on. You said that you would try it my way.”
“Yeah, that was before I knew you were nuts.” I laughed nervously.
“All of my students learn this way,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“Really? And how many of them are still alive to talk about it?”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Plenty. Almost all of them.” He winked and then motioned for me to put the blindfold around my eyes. “You said that you would try.”
No part of me was okay with this. Actually, every part of me was screaming for me to throw the blindfold at him and run, but where would I have gone? For now, Collin was my teacher—and as much as I didn’t want to, I needed to start trusting him if this was going to work. He really seemed to be trying to take his role more seriously and I had promised him that I would be a diligent student.
Once the blindfold was on, Collin guided me a few steps before stopping and turning my body around, facing me towards the edge of the building.
“Okay, what I want you to do first is stand here and imagine yourself falling. Don’t think about flying. Just think about what would happen if you couldn’t fly and you fell from this building towards the ground.”
Really? Was he trying to psyche me out or use reverse psychology on me or something?
“I know you think I’m crazy, but just humor me, please?” I could hear the smile in his voice.
I sighed, deciding that I would play along with his little game. “It would be the most horrible feeling if I fell and didn’t have the power to fly,” I said, my voice flat. I had to admit that I was acting like a pessimist. This just didn’t seem like it would work, but I tried to focus on what he had told me and to give it a try. “It would be a horrible, scary feeling. I guess it would feel like my life was flashing before my eyes. Kind of like that feeling I had yesterday when you pushed me.” I smiled.
“Ha. Ha. Okay, so what I want you to do now is funnel that fear into your ability to levitate off the ground. Feel the fear build up inside you and then let it go; allow it to feed your power. You’d be surprised how much power you waste on being afraid. I’ve learned that if you just use the fear, you will not only overcome it, but you will become stronger because of it.”
The more I thought about it, the more I realized what he was saying actually made a lot of sense. I still didn’t like it, but he definitely had a point.
“Okay, so the blindfold allows you to focus more on the fear, instead of focusing on the ground beneath you. Can you feel the extra power?” he asked.
Maybe he did know what he was doing after all. As I began to feel the fear building, I channeled it and could actually feel the extra power.
I nodded slowly, trying not to break my concentration.
“Now, all you have to do is step off the ledge, trust yourself and do the same thing you did yesterday, but use the extra power. Each time you do it, it will get easier and easier.” He promised.
My stomach lurched over. “You want me to jump with the blindfold on?”
“Yes.” His voice was full of confidence.
“No way.” I shook my head, taking a step back. “I can’t.”
“Come on. Nothing is going to happen to you. I won’t let it.” He urged me forward, back to the edge of the building. “Trust me, but most importantly, trust yourself.”
I took in a deep breath and reached my right foot forward, feeling the edge of the building disappear beneath me. It seemed like every nerve in my body was alert, the fear feeding power to each part of my body. I took in a long deep breath, trying to focus. This was it, now or never. I couldn’t back down now. Collin would never let me hear the end of it and I would feel like a big loser if I didn’t go through with it. My heart was beating hard against my chest, my palms were sweaty, and my knees began to feel unsteady beneath me. As much as I was worried about what was—or should I say wasn’t—in front of me, I took one last deep breath and a step forward. Before I knew it, my body plunged off the building and I felt myself falling, but only for a split second. Once I was able to wrap my mind around what was happening, I channeled the fear and realized that I was levitating... and getting higher and higher by the second.
“See you’re doing it.” Collin’s encouraging words were ringing in my ears from somewhere below me. “Now keep going. Trust yourself.” His words faded away as I felt myself flying higher and higher. The blindfold was still on, but I trusted my instincts to guide me. The feeling was invigorating. I had never experienced flying like this. Just as I began to feel at ease, I could sense a presence around me.
“Hey, wait up,” Collin’s voice was calling out to me.
The feeling was invigorating and I wanted to see for myself at how high I had actually gotten. “Can I take the blindfold off now? I think I’ve got it,” I said, sounding beyond excited. The fear
that I’d been feeling was now replaced with adrenaline like I’d never felt before.
“Uhh…” He sounded hesitant. “Only if you’re sure. You have to decide on whether or not you’re ready to take the next step.”
“Look at me. I’ve got it,” I said, excitement coming out of every pore in my body.
“Well, okay. Just take it off slowly and prepare yourself for what you are about to see.”
I ripped the cover off my eyes and began looking at my surroundings. Blue sky, clouds, empty air. I could feel the sun’s rays warm on my skin. Everything felt and looked amazing... until I looked down that is. Shock poured through me as I got a firsthand look at how high I’d actually gotten, allowing panic to set in and throwing my concentration off. I could feel myself falling, a little at first and then a lot. Before I knew it, I was plummeting straight back down to the ground at a high rate of speed. Only a few seconds passed before I stopped in mid-air, realizing Collin had caught me.
“Easy there. I told you to take it off slowly.” He chuckled.
For the next few hours, I practiced flying with the blindfold on, recognizing that I needed to take things a little slower and not get ahead of myself. It was hard to do since I felt like I had made such an accomplishment with my flying, and I wanted to see I what I had been missing over the last few weeks.
When we took a break for lunch, I found myself smiling from ear to ear. There were so many days when Abby had tried to teach me how to fly and I could never quite grasp it. Today, I honestly felt empowered by how much progress I’d made.
“That was incredible. I never knew flying could be so amazing,” I said, taking a bite from my sandwich.
“Yeah, it’s cool at first, but the feeling you’re experiencing will wear off, so enjoy it while you can,” Collin said, grinning at me.
I nodded and chewed my mouth full of food.
“After lunch, I’d like to show you something special. A spell I’ve been working on... I just perfected it last week,” Collin said, a mischievous grin forming on his lips.
“Really?” I swallowed my mouthful. “You experiment with spells? Has the council approved of it?”
He shrugged. “Yes and no. Yes, I experiment with spells, but no, the council hasn’t approved.”
“Isn’t that against the rules?” I asked, remembering Abby giving me a rundown of the rules from the council. They had been set in place in order to keep magic in balance. One important rule was not to perform magic that wasn’t in the main spell book or approved by the council. The council viewed the witches who opposed this rule as witches who practiced dark magic.
“Depends on who you ask. I personally don’t agree with a lot of the council’s rules. One, they’re old school and they don’t realize that magic has evolved. They don’t want those of us who practice clean magic to experiment with spells. We’re only allowed to follow the spells approved by the council.” His tone was mocking. “But that’s not fair. Dark magic is constantly experimenting and creating new spells. How are we supposed to protect ourselves against them if and when the time comes? Two, the council has totally lost their ability to control the magical world. From what I’ve studied, they used to have a handle on controlling dark magic and punishing those caught practicing it or disobeying the rules, but now, it’s totally out of control. I think they’re all too proud to admit it. If they would just hear us out—and by us, I mean those of us who practice clean magic—they could hear our frustration and our complaints; see that the magical world we live in is far different from what it once was.” He paused for a moment and glanced over at me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off like that; I just get so frustrated by it all.”
“I would love to see your spell.” I smiled. As I thought about it, I couldn’t agree more with what he had said. Abby told me that the council was supposed to be respected and obeyed, but why? Sure, they were old, wise and powerful, but maybe they didn’t understand what witches were up against these days. Maybe I was reacting this way because the council had torn me away from the Harpers with no warning whatsoever, but if what Collin had said was true, then he was right, witches who practiced clean magic should be allowed to create new spells in order to protect themselves against dark magic.
As I finished my sandwich, my mind was going a mile a minute, still pondering over what Collin had said and wondering what spell he could possibly have to show me.
Collin stood about ten feet in front of me, rolling his head around in circles, looking as if he were loosening up his muscles, trying to get focused. “Prepare to be impressed.” He grinned excitedly.
He closed his eyes, stretched out his arms and then slowly brought them back to the middle of his chest where he clasped them together as if he were saying a prayer. For a moment, the image of him flickered like he was blurry for a second, almost disappearing, and then he was in full, regular form again. All of a sudden, I felt a presence behind me and then a soft tap on my shoulder. I whipped around, thinking that someone must have followed us to the warehouse, but the person standing behind me was no stranger. Collin stood there smiling from ear to ear. I glanced back in front of me and saw that Collin was still standing with his hands clasped together, still as a statue. I gulped loudly, not sure of what I was seeing. Slowly, I turned back around and saw the other Collin still standing behind me, still wearing a cheesy grin.
“Pretty cool, huh?” he asked, not able to wash the smile off his face.
“How… did you do that?” I asked, totally bewildered.
“You mean, how do I make myself appear in two places at once?” He raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed with himself.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.” I continued to glance back and forth between the two images of him.
“Well, it’s something I like to call transfer of energy.” He bowed as if he had just given the performance of a lifetime.
I shook my head, totally puzzled by what I was seeing.
“Wanna learn?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me, tossing an apple up in the air.
“Absolutely.” My eyes grew large, excitement filled me and a small smile broke my lips.
It was hard for me to contain my excitement as Collin began to explain how he first started experimenting with this spell. First, he said he had to start out with something small and that it had to be living in order to extract the energy from it. Not an animal or anything, it could be as simple as a piece of fruit or a small plant. When he felt comfortable enough with the small things, he moved onto large physical items and eventually, when he was brave enough, he tried it on himself. At first, he could only duplicate the image of himself for a few seconds, but with lots of practice, he was finally able to do it as long as he wanted.
Collin tossed me the apple he was holding. “Set it on the ground a few feet in front of you,” he instructed.
I did as I was told and set the apple down on the ground, awaiting further instruction. There was so much anticipation building inside me; I felt like I would burst. Abby had only ever taught me spells from the main spell book and was such a responsible teacher. She would’ve never experimented with spells of her own. Learning a spell that Collin had created himself felt a little wrong, but maybe that’s why it excited me so much.
“Now, close your eyes, but still keep your focus on the apple. Can you see it in your mind?” he asked.
I focused as hard as I could, seeing the apple in my mind and sensing the energy from it. “Got it,” I whispered, hoping not to break my concentration.
“Okay, now clasp your hands together and bring them in front of you. This just helps you to center your energy.”
I copied what I saw Collin do earlier.
“Yes, just like that.” His voice was encouraging. “Now, you’re trying to pull energy out of the apple, but be careful, you don’t want to extract all of it, just enough to create another form. Once you’ve extracted the energy you need, concentrate and try to duplicate the apple in your mind.”
I squinted my eyes tight, loving the feeling of doing something new and a maybe even a little wrong. “Okay,” I said, “I can sense the energy.”
“Okay, now extract a little of the energy and create the second form of the apple in your mind. Once you have the second form, hold onto that image. It’s difficult to hold the energy between the two forms, but if you break the concentration even in the slightest, the second form will vanish.”
I focused and pulled the energy out of the apple in my mind and transferred the energy over to form another apple. Once I had the two images in my mind, I kept my focus on both of them, wanting so badly to get this spell right. “I can see them... There are now two apples in my mind.”
“There sure are... Open your eyes and take a look for yourself.” Collin’s voice was full of excitement.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Collin smiling down at the two apples in front of me.
“Wow.” I breathed.
“Yeah, I’d say. That was some quick learning. Either you’re something real special or you just take direction really well. It took me a few days to do what you just did.”
I shrugged and bit my lip, trying to hold in the excitement as much as possible, but this was by far the coolest spell I’d ever learned.
Collin and I spent the rest of the afternoon practicing the energy transfer spell on the apple. He promised me that once I practiced a little more, then I could move onto a larger object and eventually, even myself.
As the sun went down, Collin declared that was enough for one day, stating that he didn’t want me getting burned out. Even though my mind was tired, I didn’t want to stop the training. Today had been one of the most productive days in learning I had ever experienced.
With a little encouragement from Collin, we even flew home. It was hard to deny that today had been a great day in the learning world of witches, for me anyway. When we landed on Jackie’s front lawn, I expected Collin to follow me inside and have dinner with us, like he had the night before. However, as I began to walk through the door, I noticed that he wasn’t following me.
Crest (Book #2,Swift Series) Page 9
