Page 153 of Mistaken Magic

Andthe shadows obeyed.

"Rain!"Liamscreamed, trying to get to me in the insanity. "Holdthem,Rain.Justhold them, because we're coming!"

Whenhe said that, it made me imagine the jesters all stuck in place.Asif my wish were its command, the shadows obeyed.Themoment the rolling fog reached their feet, it stuck.Oneguy tripped, falling face-first into the stuff.Otherswere screaming, trying to get away from it.Thejesters kept fighting.

Greenraced towardAspenand she braced, but a rush of frost froze the spell mid-throw.Besideher,Wilderretaliated with an attack of his own.Thatwas when the crows came, withJackleading them all.

"Morrigan!" he screamed, diving right into the middle of so much thrown magic.

"Wildlings!" someone else cried out.Itsounded like a girl, butIcouldn't be sure.

Ialso couldn't stop.EveryoneIlooked at was targeted by the darkness.Itrolled toward them like a wave, sucking at their legs and freezing them where they stood.Itwas enough of a distraction that each trapped jester stopped to fight against it instead of the court they'd been aiming for.

Slowlybut surely, the odds were evening.TorianandHawkehad one side covered.AspenandWildertook the other, flanking the mob of jesters between them.Whilethe faelings flailed and struggled to call magic, the court used it so easily.I'dnever imagined anything like it, butIalso couldn't slow down to watch.Liamneeded me to somehow stop this.

Theteachers finally reached us, trying desperately to catch and block spells before anyone was injured, but it didn't work.Theycouldn't halt the court, not without working together.Isaw a pair grabHawke, gesturing to shield his magic, butToriansimply turned and shoved them off with some invisible force.

"Donot attack us again!" he roared.

"Fuckyou,Torian!"Harpercalled back.Thenshe turned and looked right at me.

"Morrigan!"Jackyelled again, and the entire flock of crows aimed for her.Harperdidn't care.Shestormed toward me, slinging both hands like she was throwing something.IheardKeircall out, but he wasn't quite beside me yet.Thefirst one hit my shoulder, feeling warm as it passed into me and that feeling of invincibility grew.

Icould do this.

Ididn't even need to gesture.WhateverIwanted, the black fog did, soIsent it at her.Isent it atallof them.Howdare they attack us?Howdare they ruin tonight?Whydid it always have to be them, thinking they were better than everyone else, and going so far out of their way to make everyone else miserable?Ihated them.Mostof all,Ihated her.

"Holdthem,Rain!"Liambegged. "Justhold, not anything else!"

"Shit,"Keirgasped as he reached me. "Fuck!"Andthen he broke off again, aiming forLiam.

BecauseIwas doing just fine.Harper, however, wasn't.Shethrew another spell, and again it did nothing.Thelook on her face was sheer panic.Again, then again, she hammered me with her magic.Inthe distance,IheardLiamyelling something.IheardBracken.IheardMs.Rhodesdemanding we all stop, but none of it mattered.

"Justdie!"Harperbellowed. "Ifucking hate you,Rain.Youruined my life.Youscrewed up everything, so just fucking die already!"

"Shutthe fuck up, you stupid piece of shit!"Iyelled back.

Andthe shadows obeyed.

Theyraced toward her, ensnaring her legs even more, and kept going up.Thetendrils of it looked as thick as water but vaporous.Thecolor of them was so dark, it stood out even at night.Glancingto check on my friends,Isaw the crows were evening the odds more thanI'dexpected.Theydove at thejesters, flapped at anyone silly enough to get in their way, and completely avoided the court.

"Stop,Rain!"Ms.Rhodesyelled, hurrying toward me. "Stopit all."

Butnot even she was brave enough to wade into the pool of darkness moving with me asImarched straight towardHarper.Thefog surged higher, pinning her arms to her sides, constricting her chest.Thebitch had stopped casting, but only because she was bound now, trapped, andIdidn't know what this stuff was.Itwas on my side, though, soIcertainly wasn't complaining.

"Rain?"Ms.Rhodescalled, worry in her voice. "Justhold them!"

Thensomeone grabbed my arm and yanked.Ispun to findKeirright in front of me. "It'syou," he said. "TheWildmagic is from you.Stopit,Rain, before it kills someone!"

"I'mnot magical!"Ireminded him.

Hejust thrust his hand at the darkness rolling over the ground. "Youkinda are, so stop it."

AllIcould do was shake my head. "How?"Ibegged.

"Focus," he said, looking right into my eyes. "Imaginewhat you want, see it as if it's a memory, and believe it will happen.That'scontrol,Rain.Justbelieve it willstopand it will.Justmake it hold them and nothing else.Removethe pool.We'rescared of it.Holdthe ones you have and let all the rest go."

Hishands gripped my biceps too tightly.Hiseyes were dark, but the light of the fires glinted in them.Theair smelled cold, like the heart of winter, and the calls of the crows were getting more distant.Pullingin a deep breath,Ilet my eyes close and imagined all of the jesters rooted in place by the shadows and the rest simply evaporating.

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