Chapter 241
“Come on, Ari,” Jackson whispers next to me, even though I barely hear him, so hard am I concentrating on the paper, on the magic within me. “You can do this” But suddenly I feel his hand on my back, warm and encouraging.
I take a deep breath, trying to lean into his faith, but I have to admit my surprise when that hand drifts all the way down on my back, even lower until he grips the edge of my shirt tucked into my pants and tugs it free,
I flinch a little, turning my head to stare at him as he slips his hand covertly beneath the fabric of my shirt until his fingers brush my skin, his palm coming to rest flat against the base of my spine.
And suddenly it’s there – that deep well of power – that ocean of it, at my fingertips. I gasp a little at the suddenness, glancing around the room, wondering if anyone noticed the way that Jackson is touching me now but everyone’s eyes are still on the paper –
Except for Alvez’s, which are on me which have perhaps never left me –
And suddenly I want this done, don’t want Alvez having any more access to my secrets. Angry, I turn my eyes back to the ball of paper on the desk and hurl my magic at it all in one gust.
It explodes instantly into a tiny ball of flame.
Rafe, Jesse, and Tony shout in surprise, leaning quickly away from the little fireball and then bursting into yells of appreciation, telling me how awesome that was as they lean eagerly towards me. Jackson joins in, laughing a little and pulling his hand away to clap his palms together, grinning at me.
I laugh too, looking around at all of them, but when I turn back to Alvez, I find that his eyes haven’t left me at all.
“Impressive, Cadet,” Alvez says, clearly pleased with my progress. “Though I’d like to see more from you.”
“More?” Tony asks, laughing a little and leaning forward, glancing between me and Alvez eagerly. “Honestly, what do you want him to do next – light the desk on fire!? He’s done welcome to study hall, Clark! It’s good to have you here!”
–
Tony leans further forward towards me, holding a hand out for a high–five, and I lean forward too to smack his hand – but even when I lean so far out of my chair that I almost fall to the floor my hand just whiffs through the air, missing his by a mile.
Tony laughs good–heartedly at my tiny reach, his grey eyes crinkling up into a happy smile. I just shrug and he nods to me, letting me know that the sentiment remains the same, even if I’m too small and far away for a high–five.
“I’m not sure that study hall is my plan for the two of you,” Alvez says, casually brushing the ashes of the paper off the desk and interrupting the joyous mood of the room. “I think you can do more?
“More?” Rafe asks, “You mean like, bigger fires?”
“I’m not precisely concerned about bigger,” Alvez says, looking around the room. “Perhaps more complex. With less…aid.” He smirks here, glancing at Jacksons big hands folded on his desk, clearly letting me know that the touch did not go missed.
I gulp a little, wondering if this was a mistake, if Alvez now knows more than I ever intended him to know about my relationship with Jackson.
“What are you talking about?” Jesse says, slumping in his chair and throwing out a frustrated hand. “That was amazing – and Ari didn’t have any aid.”
“He had the paper,” Alvez says, turning to look at Jesse. “Tell me, Sinclair, when your mother creates a storm in the sky does she have to pull it from the next valley over? Or can she conjure it – summon water into the air, create the electrical charges on the ground that call down the lightening?”
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Chapter 241
Thave aheshirely be clue Jesse says, laughing a little and shaking his head. “I never asked.”
Well did Alves says, smirking a little at his upper hand. “She Ean create it.”
15ur mom can make storms?” Tony asks, a little wide–eyed, leading over to look at Jesse.
She can control all the weather, Jesse says casually, sending Tony a wink. “She’s a badass. Plus, I always get snow on my birthday. Because I’m her favorite.”
I grin, suddenly remembering all the birthdays we spent having snowball fights in Jesse’s back yard even though he was born in the autumn far too early for that sort of thing
“Cool” Tony says, genuinely impressed.
“Iwe could concentrate,” Alvez says, looking around at all of us with a sigh. “What I mean to say is that Clark should not have to rely on a crutch” He concentrates specifically on me now. “You should be able to create a ball of flame in the air by iselt – absent of any fuel to heat. With elemental magic like yours, you should be able to supply the heat, the fuel, the Oxygen, and the spark- all yourself. Can you do that?”
I scowl a little – because honestly, I was very pleased with myself for being able to start my little pyromaniac fires just like this. This next step sounds much more challenging. “No, sir,” I say, slumping down a little in my seat. “I can’t do that yet.”
“Well then we still have work to do,” Alvez says, giving me a sly grin. He turns his attention to Tony next. “Your magic seems to be more bodily, but how much have you experimented with it? You can breathe underwater, but does your lack of a need for oxygen extend to other airless environments? Can you survive without air?”
And where would you suggest I go to experiment with that?” Tony asks, dry. “The moon?”
I laugh but Alvez just gives Tony a dark look that freezes my blood and makes my laugher quickly drain away. “Oh,” he says. “I’m sure we can think of something.
The room is awkward and silent for a moment as Tony and Alvez stare at each other, clearly in a deadlock.
Rafe, ever the diplomat, clears his throat. “All right,” he says, breaking the stalemate and turning everyones gaze to him. “What about the rest of us?” he says, gesturing towards himself and Jesse and Jackson. “What do we do while the magical prodigies experiment with their abilities?”
“We continue to work on drawing yours out,” Alvez says, his eyes singularly on Jesse and Rafe now – a fact which neither Jackson nor I miss
Jesse scowls a little, I think a bit disappointed in the answer – because it certainly didn’t get him anywhere last term.
“In the meantime, I will take Davis’s advice and schedule individual meetings with our..magical prodigies, as you call them,” Alvez continues, turning his gaze back to me. “I think a little bit of private tutoring will be very productive indeed.”
I glare back at Alvez now, getting sick of his constant desire to use these lascivious looks to intimidate me. And even more sick of how well they’re working.
“Maybe Tony and I should work together instead,” I snap, glaring back at him. Then I turn my gaze to Tony. “What do you say, Davis? Be each other’s private tutors and leave our professor free to explore his research, which I’m sure takes up a great deal of his time?”
“Sounds good to me!” Tony says, giving me a sharp nod that lets me know that he, too, has no real interest in time alone with Alvez
“Cool!” I say, giving him a grin. “But if you want to do that, you should probably know that I’m a girl.”
Everyone around me goes immediately tense at my blunt confession – Alvez maybe excepted, though I’m not looking at him right now.
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Chapter 241
Nope, instead my whole concentration is on Tony, who goes satisfying pale as he sits stark straight at his desk.
“Wait,” he says, “wait, what?”
I grin, pleased that my efforts at secrecy seem to have succeeded in this class, at least.
