Comet Rising by MarcyKate Connolly

Author:MarcyKate Connolly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2018-12-11T15:34:01+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

It’s discouraging that we’ve arrived at nearly every house too late, though our successful rescue of Noah is a bright spot. Both Lucas and Cary are ready to storm Zinnia without more help, but I can’t help feeling uneasy.

It’s too much like walking into a lion’s den.

Especially with Dar out there doing who knows what. For all I know, she’s already been to Zinnia, and my face may be marked as wanted. Though if she was the owl who distracted that boy for us, perhaps not. I don’t know what to make of that yet.

As we walk through the woods the next day, I work with Noah on his talent. He was still up practicing when I took over the watch from Lucas last night. I remember seeing something about talent takers in the history book Alsa gave us, and I look it up. Talent takers are dangerous. They can reverse spells, and with practice and concentration they can remove a talent entirely. While this came in handy in the past for obnoxious talents, like bug bringers or stench summoners, the prospect is terrifying for others.

“I’ll never figure this out,” he says, kicking a stray branch. “Maybe my talent just can’t be controlled.”

“Of course it can. Any talent can be controlled. But it will take more than a couple hours of practice to do it. Just keep trying.” I sigh. “This time why don’t you try visualizing pulling your magic inward, toward your body? That might help.”

“Is that what you do?” he asks.

“Well, no. I do the opposite when I use my magic. I think of my talent as a force that can reach out and pull the shadows toward me. So, if you do the opposite to keep your talent from working when you don’t want it to, that might help.”

Noah gives me a thoughtful, though exasperated look. “All right. I’ll try anything at this point.”

He closes his eyes to concentrate, but quickly opens them again as he stubs his toe. “Ow!”

“Well, maybe don’t close your eyes,” I say.

Noah cracks a smile. “I guess that would be a little safer. Should I test on you?”

“Not yet. Practice pulling it in for a while, then when we stop for lunch, we can test it out.”

While Noah may be frustrated by his lack of progress, he gives it a good try and takes it seriously. All the while, shadows cast by the trees dance over his furrowed brow.

Lucas, though willing to make small talk, has been keeping his distance from Noah. The light is too tempting for him. Even now, Lucas hums and bits of light spark behind his ears and crown his head. When we meet other talented folks, like Doyle, Lucas loves to show off and see how we can use our talents together. But he’s different with Noah.

When we stop to rest, Noah sits next to me, rubbing his arms. “Have you noticed the moon is still out?”

“What?” Cary frowns and peers between the foliage.

The moon, which was unusually bright last night, still hangs over our heads.

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