All That Burns by Graudin Ryan

Author:Graudin, Ryan [Graudin, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Remember, remember the fifth of November

The Gunpowder Treason and plot

I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot

Someone grabs my arm. I try to yank away, try to fight, but it’s not some random bystander from the crowd.

It’s Anabelle.

“The fires are everywhere,” she says.

We stand in silence and shadows. Watching the bonfire’s fury stab through the smoke. Up, up. Close to the claw of the trees.

“I haven’t been completely open with you, Belle.” I stare hard at the barrel’s glowing coals. “Kieran’s right. I’m scared, but not because you’ll have magic and I won’t. It’s bigger than that.”

Anabelle pulls me farther from the streetlamps and flames. Where we can watch without being watched. “So what happened? Why are you afraid of mortals’ magic?”

“Emotions are a powerful source. The magic which springs from them is just as strong. Most Fae are indifferent. Emotions don’t come naturally to us—them,” I correct myself. “It wasn’t until I met your brother that I really understood the power of emotions. They’re strong, but they’re also shaky. Unpredictable. When you base magic on something like that . . .”

“It can go wrong,” the princess finishes my sentence for me.

“It’s like fire.” I nod at the oil drum. “You think you have it under control, but one flare, one slip, and suddenly you’re the one who’s trapped.

“In my early days, magic wasn’t a foreign thing to mortals. They’d lived among Fae for many years. The more ambitious ones watched and learned. But they could only perform magic with the help of channeling instruments. Potions, staffs, amulets, sacrifices. The spells they performed were small things: healings, divination, luck work. Too small for anyone to notice the consequences of emotion.

“But a few mortals delved deeper into the art. Arthur and Merlin were among these. They discovered a way to bind magic inside a mortal’s veins, so they could cast spells without a channeling device. It’s one of the reasons Arthur’s kingdom became so great.”

“Of course,” Anabelle says. “Everyone knows Camelot.”

I go on. “The mortals held the king in awe because he worked magic like a Fae. The Fae held him in awe because his magic was so different from ours. Different yet just as strong. When Arthur asked us to become his allies—to protect him and his people from immortal threats in exchange for access to the blood magic’s energy—we agreed. The Frithemaeg fought many battles at his side. Camelot grew and the Pendragon’s name became known in many lands.

“But we started to notice how his magic wavered. The strength of Arthur’s magic fed off the strength of his heart. Spells he cast when he was happy were vastly different from the same spells he cast in anger or fear. For the most part he learned how to control it. He kept his emotions in check, didn’t work magic when he was too upset. But some emotions are too strong, too overwhelming to avoid. They consume you.”

I take another breath. Smoke chokes the air, snakes down in my lungs.

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