Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter 15

"Subsisto!" I yelled, raising my hand palm-out in front of my chest.

The fire was at least twenty yards away, but the heat was already fierce, like an irritating sunburn itching itself into my exposed skin. My clothes clung to me, hot and confining. My stomach heaved, and I couldn't breathe through the choking smoke filling my lungs.

"Subsisto!" My Latin translations were atrocious, but I had no idea what else to do. I didn't even know how it had happened. I mean, it hadn't worked before. I'd seen with my own eyes that the candle hadn't been lit before I'd walked away.

"Stop!" English didn't work. "Subsisto! Subsisto incendia! Declaro ignis! Undo... Flamma subsist!"

It was still spreading.

My chair had already been consumed.

The acrid stench of burnt plastic, wood, and natural debris filled my head in dizzying waves as I watched the coiling black smoke climb high into the air like a beacon with nowhere to escape. Almost running in retreat as my survival instincts kicked in, I stepped away from the heat, squeezing my eyes shut to block the destruction. My fists clenched until crescent-shaped cuts drew blood under my fingernails, my knuckles white.

What would my mother do?

If only there was a large bin of water to drench it.

Water, water... water!

The images in my head were switched, and I thought of the stream just beyond the clearing, blocked now by the wall of fire. I thought of its clear blue purity, its flowing perfection. The tranquillity that settled over me the moment its sweet, refreshing smell was inhaled. It was calm. It was cool. It was wet, stronger than any fire that I could create.

Hiss...

I opened my eyes one at a time and blinked. The fire was gone, just as fast as it had come. Steam rising from the charred ground and lingering heat were the only remnants to prove what had happened was real. The fire was gone, though the damage was done.

My clearing was destroyed.

The amazement and pure happiness I felt transmuted into dread even more terrifying than the fire itself. I turned and fled. My breath caught in my throat as my legs pounded the ground. My heartbeat echoed like a gong in my head, reverberating throughout my entire body. I couldn't let myself think of what could have happened, and I could never tell my mother. If I hadn't been able to stop the fire... I didn't want to imagine what could've happened.

Magic wasn't a gift but a curse, and I didn't want a damn thing to do with it.

Racing up the lower level of our deck, I slammed against the back door inside the enclosed veranda and tried to catch my breath before entering. If my mother saw me like this, I would never be able to hide the truth.

"Nora? Honey, where'd you get off to?" My mother greeted me as she opened the door. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, hey, Mom. Uh, nothing is wrong," I lied, breathless, and pasted a fake smile to my face. I hated lying to my mother, but it was my mistake and now, it was over.

"Nora?"

"It's nothing, okay?" I realized at that moment that my spot would never be the same. I would never be able to visit it again without remembering how much magic scared me, its possibilities lethal. I'd developed an instantaneous fear of the woods and could never go back. Not ever.

"Okay? You're sure?" She reached out and rubbed my shoulder in comfort. "You know you can tell me, right? You can tell me anything."

"Sure, but as I said, I'm fine. Um, after supper, uh... I think you need to bind me again."

"Already?"

"Yes. I'm unbound."

I took a deep breath and inhaled the air infused with the lavender scents emanating from her and whatever supper she'd prepared. She never wore perfume—she didn't need it. The remedies she mixed and oils she used always left their aroma on her. Lavender was the most common, and my personal favorite.

"You know, one day I won't be able to do it anymore. You're coming unbound more often and it's not easy. Won't you think about learning to use—"

"No," I said, cutting her off before she could verbalize her suggestion. Trying to take a calming breath, I smiled again to hide my anxiety, and my hands tightened into knots. "I don't want to use magic, Mom. Not yet. I'm, uh, not ready to go there."

I would never be ready to go there.

"Fine." Her shoulders slumped. Go and wash your hands before you eat."

Noticing a smudge of charcoal on the palm of my hand, I rubbed it against the un-tucked tail of my shirt, hoping not to draw her attention. "Okay," I agreed and jumped up to race out of the room, head hanging with shame and failure. I never wanted to feel like this again. How could something that was supposed to be so good be so terrible?

"Nora?"

Pretending not to hear her, I was too ashamed and rattled to face the disappointment in her eyes.

"Noreena?"

The memory began to fade, and the present demanded to be let back in.