Spell Book & Scandal

Chapter Ten

Before I can worry too much, silence descends on the crowd of casters and scribes. "First up," calls the girl who was in charge last time, glancing around with a critical expression, "Smallwood and Sanderson."

Miah grins and strides past me. His knuckles brush against my shoulders for a minute, and he winks at me as he walks by. "Ready to be impressed?"

I nod, but my heart is in my throat when I see his opponent. The guy looks more like an adult caster than a teenager, complete with five o'clock shadow, black leather boots, and a studded collar around his neck. I glance at Jess. "Isn't he a little old to be here?"

She shrugs, but there's a line of worry between her eyes. "There aren't any rules about age, but most of the people here are still in high school. Sanderson passed his Threes a couple of years ago, though, so Jeremiah's definitely at a disadvantage." She cuts her gaze to me and tries to smile. "But he wants to show off for you, so I bet he'll fight as dirty as he has to in order to win."

I bite my lip. That's not exactly a comforting thought, but before I can say anything else, Miah's lips are moving and a blast of purple flame engulfs the tall caster. Everyone gasps, but the guy walks through the fire like it's not even there, his eyes flashing. The next thing I know, Miah is sailing through the air as if he'd been launched out of a cannon. He stops himself and hovers in midair, his lips moving frantically. A piece of duct tape appears on the other guy's mouth, but he just laughs and rips it off with his hand without even flinching. "That the best you can do?" He taunts, striding toward Jeremiah with his right arm extended.

I clutch Jess's arm, and she pats my hand awkwardly. "Don't worry. Miah's bought spells online before, and they usually work." She cuts her eyes toward me for a long moment. "But I wish he'd find a scribe he could trust," she adds meaningfully. Before I can answer, Miah drops to the ground, landing in a defensive crouch. Sweat beads on his forehead, but he flings another spell at his opponent so fast that I don't even have time to wonder what he's going to do next. This time, the pavement ripples under our feet, knocking Sanderson down. Miah scrambles up, taking advantage of the momentary confusion to cast another spell, and all of a sudden, the older caster's hands are tied behind his back.

Sanderson just laughs. "Is that what they're teaching these days?" In an instant, his hands are free again, even though I didn't see him speak any kind of counter spell, and when he brings his arms back around in front of his body, he's holding a wand. The tip of it glows faintly, and we all take a few steps back, even Miah.

Dad says wands are only used by casters who want to do serious damage. Spoken spells are enough for anyone to get by in the world, but for us, wands are like guns. They aren't illegal, exactly, and Dad carries one as a member of the Caster Force, but I've never seen him use it, and I've never seen anyone else use one, either. I've heard about casters who use them, though, and every time it seems like someone ends up dead.

Miah turns pale. His lips begin to move, and even though the wand wavers in Sanderson's hand, he doesn't lose his grip. Grinning, he advances on Jeremiah, who scrambles back until he's pressed against the glass of the hippo enclosure.

I grab Jess's arm. "Shouldn't we do something?"

She looks at Sanderson, and then her eyes swivel to the girl who seems like she's in charge. "I don't know," she says uncertainly. "But he can't hurt him; it's against the rules."

Before I can argue, Sanderson's hand flicks down smoothly, and a bolt of light leaves his wand, heading right for Miah's chest. For a moment, everything freezes, and then Miah dives out of the way just as the bolt of energy smashes into the glass behind him. It shatters, exploding in a spray of violent fireworks, and everyone stares dumbly at the chaos. Miah is lying face down on the ground, covered with glass, and he hasn't moved. My body reacts on instinct, and I rush to him, even though no one has declared the spell battle over. A part of my brain realizes I might be putting myself in serious danger if Sanderson uses his wand again, but I push my fear away and grab Miah's shoulders.