Ruby smiled. “That’s it! Okay, now light the candle.”

I put the flame to the wick and it caught fire and I laughed, feeling lighter.

“Now concentrate on the flames on your fingers and make them smaller and smaller till they’re gone.”

I managed to tamp down on my emotions and concentrate and soon the flame was gone. I sighed. I’d done it without any problems. Maybe I could do this.

Ruby praised my efforts and snuffed the candle out with a click of her fingers. “I will teach you that another time. Now, go again.”

The second time was easier. I just had to keep going. I could do this.

Ruby left me to practice, although she didn’t go far, just in case. I kept trying and had a success rate of about sixty percent, but had not lit anything else on fire besides the candle, so that was a good thing.

Each time I failed, I grew a bit more frustrated.

“You need to centre yourself to focus before each try.”

I was so surprised to hear Laynee’s voice beside me. She was so quiet and most of the time, she didn’t interact with anyone. Her dark eyes stared intently into mine and I could see that she wasn’t trying to mock me.

She was right. I wasn’t fully committing each time. I felt stupid. How could I get it right if I didn’t put everything into it?

Then I realized why I kept losing focus. Sophie’s dead body kept creeping into my thoughts. I shoved it aside. I closed my eyes and focused on Dragonia and fuelled my magic inside me before sending it outward and I was able to light the candle easily.

She blew it out. “Again.”

I tried a few more times and was able to light the candle every time.

I turned to her. “Thank you.”

She gave me a small smile and returned to her seat. I watched her go and couldn’t help smiling. Finally some progress with my magic, but also, with Laynee. I wasn’t sure why I even wanted her to talk to me, but there you have it.

I kept practicing till it was time to go. It felt wrong to not tell anyone about Sophie, but Ruby was right. The family had to be told first.

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As we headed outside, Kellie approached me. “Can we talk?”

I tensed, but she was smiling. “Sure.”

She waited till we were outside and led me around a corner of the building. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you. I was just upset, you know?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t trying to cause trouble. I really didn’t know anything about Emily.”

“I know.”

“She saw us at dinner. She went ballistic.”

“I know. She told me.” She pushed her hair back over her shoulder. “She didn’t have to do that. Sometimes she can be…”

“A bitch?”

“Yeah.” She pulled the same piece of hair back to the front. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you have plans for Halloween.”

“Um, I don’t know. What do you guys do around here on Halloween?”

“A bunch of us are going to have a party out at the old abandoned church outside town. It’s spooky and we have a lot of fun. We do it every year. Wanna come?”

I’d never been invited to something like that before. I’d been to parties at someone’s house, but this was something different. “Yeah. Do I have to dress up or something?”

“Hell, yeah. It's Halloween. Start planning your costume.”

I felt warm inside at being invited, but had no idea what I would wear.

Kellie looked over my shoulder. “I have to talk to someone. Meet you at the car?”

“Sure.”

She wandered off towards a group of girls and when I started heading around the back of the building toward the car park, I heard voices. I groaned inwardly as I recognized Emily among them.

“What are you gonna do about it, freak?”

I picked up the pace. Who is she picking on now?

As they came into view, I could see that Emily and all of her cronies had surrounded Laynee in the darkened garden area. If they’d heard me approach, they didn’t show it.

Laynee looked like she wanted to punch Emily in the throat and wipe the smirk off her face. I wished she would. Emily deserved it.

“What’s the matter, freak? The witch’s black cat got your tongue?”

They all laughed and my blood boiled. Laynee was only like fourteen and built like a waif and they were all about my age and older.

I stepped forward. “Leave her alone!”

They all turned as one and Emily laughed. “If it isn’t the town slut, telling me what to do. What are you gonna do about it?”

I raised my fists into a defensive position. “I’ve dealt with bullies like you before.”

Years of being the “new girl” at many different schools had taught me how to defend myself. She was just the latest in a long line.

She threw out a hand and I was thrown against the wall with pressure building against my throat. “Yeah, but you were only dealing with Normals. You’re in over your head here, you stupid whore.”

My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to think of a way out of this. I barely had control of my magic. I couldn’t use it to defend myself, and I couldn’t just blast her like I did to Tracy. I could do some real damage if she didn’t put up a shield or something to deflect the blast.

They all laughed and Laynee drew back her hands like she was going to attack, but Malcolm walked around the corner.

“What’s going on here?”