Dangerous Magic

4. Family Reunion

That which doesn't kill you... can really mess up your plans.

Magic was known to overwhelm nulls. It was part of what made us so dangerous. We could, at any moment, soak up so much magic that it would explode outwards with unknown consequences.

Ticking magic bombs. That's what nulls are.

My mom taught me a trick to keep my null-ness in check. "Imagine that you are a bottle, and when you are full of magic, imagine that there's a stopper on the bottle. This keeps the magic from overflowing and makes sure that you can't consume more of it."

She had once been a powerful Psionic, specializing in healing. She and Dad used to tour the country, going to magischolas to give lectures. That stopped when I was born.

Her background and training meant I had an advantage over most nulls: I had a teacher.

So when Ms. Williams asked me to stay after class, I knew I had two options.

I could release the energy I trapped within me until I was empty and hope it would be enough to fool her into thinking that the earthquake was a fluke.

Or I could run.

I guess I could also confess. Maybe she would take pity on me and help me find what I needed to locate my dad. So make that three options.

No, four options: I could kill her.

Scratch that. I didn't want to kill anybody--that's why I needed to learn everything I could.

Okay, only three options then.

Most students had already forgotten the interruption to their Com-n-De class. Ms. Williams asked me to hang back while she supervised other students. The air in the room had lost its supercharged energy, but nobody seemed to notice now that they were back to sparring.

I found a spot by the arena entrance and leaned against the wall. If I let go of all the power I'd soaked up, I would have nothing to use to protect myself. If I ran, all of this would have been for nothing.

Then again, if I convinced Ms. Williams to help me, I'd have an ally against Jackson.

Where was he, by the way?

With my back against the wall, I watched Emily. In here, she didn't seem so small. Her attacks were unblockable; poor Archie never stood a chance.

"Learning anything, Ro?"

There he was. Popping up when I least expected him. My name in his mouth no longer sounded as friendly as it used to. It sounded like an insult.

"I'm having a great time, thanks for asking." I did not turn toward his voice, telling him with my body language that I was completely relaxed even though I was anything but.

"It's too bad we didn't have these classes as kids, you know?" Jackson walked into the arena just enough to stand beside me, his arms crossed. Now that we were older, he was the taller one. I missed towering over him on the playground. "We need to learn to protect ourselves."

I couldn't agree more. But I wasn't about to tell him that.

I turned so I could look him in the eye. "Don't you think it's more important that we protect each other?" I asked with a smile.

Never let them see you sweat.

Jackson grinned down at me. There were too many teeth in that smile to be a kind expression. "Mages protect mages. Humans protect humans. But who will protect the nulls?" he asked, keeping his tone innocent despite the threat in his words.