Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 38

"Again," Indigo says.

"And then can we make hot cocoa?" I ask as I reach up to swat a few wayward strands of damp hair out of my face.

Indigo smiles from where she's sitting on the swing-set in our backyard, the fire pit between us billowing flames from where I had cast my latest spell. It's still early enough in the morning that our neighbors have yet to wake up to go to work, and even then, Indigo has placed a few illusion spells to keep us hidden from prying eyes. She looks up at the sky, which is covered in a thick layer of puffy, gray clouds that makes the dusky morning even darker than it usually would be.

"We'll see," she mutters.

"It's raining," I point out as reach up and run a finger over my ear, the cartilage cold as my skin stings slightly.

"Misting," she corrects me as she nods to the fire pit, "three more spells and then we'll pack up, your choice on which ones you'd like to do though."

I stifle a groan and pull out my wand to focus on the fire pit. Several spells come to mind, though the one that stands out most is one for a simple ice pick blast since I can easily imagine the chill of the spell as I've begun to shiver from the cold of the morning. My wand warms in my hand, the tip of the crystal cylinder glowing with white light before an icicle the length of my forearm shoots out of it and digs into the ground of the fire pit.

Frosty air billows from where the ice pick has shot through the air, much like a contrail for an airplane flying through the sky and Indigo nods from her place on the swing-set.

"Now what is an ice pick blast good for?" she inquires.

"Stunning a person but not harmful, it hits the skin and melts but doesn't stab a person like a knife would," I rattle off as I remember my lessons.

"Good, it locks up their muscles and can leave them paralyzed to an extent until it wears off," she explains before she nods, "pick a different spell."

I think through my sadly short list of spells I know before I settle on another one, this one for a shock of electricity. Tendrils of lightning begin to fizzle and pop as they lash out from the tip of my wand. The bolts are small and writhe much like streamers caught in a violent breeze as I focus on controlling and directing them.

"More power," Indigo commands me as she sits up from her place on the swing.

I eye her nervously as I let more magic pour into the spell, the electricity snapping more fervently as the hairs on my arms begin to prickle and stand up. The tendrils double in size as they crackle and pop, the light flickering along the wooden fence that surrounds our backyard.

"More," Indigo urges.

I bite down hard on my lip as I focus on the blackening soil in the center of the fire pit, the scent of burning grass pungent in the air as the bolts grow to a dangerous size and my palm begins to sweat as my wand heats up in my hand. There is a sudden, thunderous crack as the bolts meld into one that splits the air, a crash of thunder filling the air between us as the light flashes and disappears.

I blink several times as the faded blotches of light left behind from the lightning flickers across my vision before I refocus on Indigo. She nods before she gets up and picks up a stick that is sitting on the grass not too far away.

"You remember the spell for freezing time?" she asks as she runs a finger across the stick.

"Sort of," I murmur as I watch her turn the stick over in her hands.

"Good," she says before she tosses the stick in my direction, "catch!"

I understand then what she wants from me as I cast a quick spell to freeze time on the stick as it arches across the yard towards me. The stick doesn't get very far as it stops moving midair above the fire pit. Indigo nods from where she stands on the other side of the yard as she inspects my handy work.

Her familiar, Melchizedek the rabbit suddenly flashes into existence beside her, the large, white rabbit sniffing the air as it stands on its hind legs. Indigo takes her wand out of her pouch before she turns to me.

I don't see her move her wand, instead, she lifts a flattened palm in my direction as a bolt of ice shoots out from a small cloud of smoke that forms in her hand. I don't have time to dodge out of the way of the bolt of ice that is suddenly racing across the yard towards me. I drop the spell on the stick and turn it onto the bolt of ice as it stops moving and I direct it so it buries itself into the fire pit.

"Wha-?" I'm cut off from asking her what she's doing as a blast of fire is hurled in my direction.

I side-step and conjure a shield, the flames angrily roaring across the clear dome that cups around me as I hold the shield in place. Indigo almost looks bored as she easily casts another spell, a bolt of lightning that lashes like a whip, a crack of thunder following in its wake as it bounces off the shield and makes it shatter.

"Fight!" she yells at me as I struggle to conjure another shield.

She doesn't pause as she flicks the whip of lightning in my direction, a shield shuddering into place almost too late as I brace myself and dig my heels into the ground. I hold my shield in place as she begins to circle me, Melchizedek prowling by her side in a way that is almost feline, its black eyes glinting as it eyes me malevolently.

How can something so cute look so devious?

I don't get the chance to ponder for long because she strikes again, a vicious lash of a black, oily substance arcing through the air as I deflect it.

"Fight me!" she shouts as she lashes out again.

I wince as I worry about hurting her, but another, heavy thud against my shield from her whip fuels me as I conjure a bolt of lightning and arc it in her direction. I can see her grin as she shields herself in time, the bolt harmlessly zipping off into the grass as a few leaves are kicked up.

I rain several more bolts of lightning down on her, but she easily deflects them with simple flicks of her wand. I haven't even realized that I've conjured Bastet until I almost step on her back paw as she stalks along beside me, her tail twitching with irritation.

I pause to catch my breath and that's when Indigo strikes.

A dozen bolts of ice streak across the yard at me at once, the hairs on my arms standing up as I stare them down. I try to shield myself, but the shield doesn't come as I brace for the impact and shut my eyes.

I open them a few seconds later when the pain doesn't register and I find myself eye to eye with an ice pick. Past it I can see Indigo lowering her hands as the picks dissolve, her face set in a solemn expression.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Kara, you have to fight like your life is depending on it," she looks up as the misting rain begins to come down more heavily, "because I might not always be there to protect you."