The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond

Author:Caroline Tung Richmond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic
Published: 2014-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

At Bastian’s insistence, they headed back to the barn, even though Zara didn’t want to leave her uncle’s side just yet. But Bastian wouldn’t take no for an answer. Once they entered the musty old building, he shut the doors behind them, although shafts of sunlight filtered through the gaps of the wooden slats. The earthy smell of hay filled both of their noses, followed by the sharp scent of gasoline. A tired Chevy truck sat in one corner, left over from Zara’s grandfather and now used for scrap.

“What’s this all about?” Zara said. The two-story barn towered above both her and Bastian, and her question bounced from wall to wall.

“I thought you could try to summon your second power.”

Fear pricked along the back of her neck. “You saw what happened to my uncle.”

“I can sit in that old car. If the lightning gets close to me, I should be safe.”

“Should be safe? What if I set the whole barn on fire?”

“I can’t think of anywhere else we can go, not if we want to hide from the Nazis. We’ll be fine.” He flashed her a grin, the type of grin that lit up his entire face, making him look even more handsome than he did at the academy.

Zara’s gaze plunged to her shoes. She couldn’t think such a thing, not with her uncle lying sick in bed — because of her and her new power. And when did she start thinking Bastian was handsome? She had to stop those thoughts at once. Bastian may not be a Nazi, but he was still German. Besides, he would never, ever think the same thing about someone like her.

But then she thought about last night, how Bastian had helped her home. His arm had pulled her close to him, lingering there even when she could limp on her own. And hadn’t he told her that he admired her?

You’re being ridiculous, Zara thought. She needed to concentrate on controlling her new power and helping her uncle get better.

Bastian hopped into the ancient truck and tucked his backpack by his feet. “You can start whenever you’re ready.”

“What exactly am I supposed to do?” Zara said.

“How do you summon the wind? Try that with the lightning.”

Easier said than done, Zara thought. Both Bastian and Uncle Red kept telling her to control this new ability of hers, but they had no idea exactly how she was supposed to do that. But she had to try for her uncle’s sake.

She released a long breath and stared at her hands, at the spot on her palms where the lightning had formed the night before. Silently, she called for a bolt of electricity, like she always did with the wind.

Nothing.

Zara tried again, then again and another half-dozen times, but she only managed to make her hands boiling hot. After the eighth attempt, she was tempted to kick over an empty milk pail, frustrated at what she was doing wrong. The air had always been easy to manipulate, even when she first manifested.

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