Hollywood Demon by Jenny Schwartz

Author:Jenny Schwartz [Schwartz, Jenny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BluA
Publisher: Jenny Schwartz
Published: 2016-08-26T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

The books of magic were stacked on Mark’s desk where Clancy had left them that morning. So much had happened since then. To her, the demon seemed the least of it. She had quieted the geo-forces she’d stirred up, and Jeremy had let the chief geomage think that power was his! She was all messed up and unsure of herself. Did it matter that Jeremy had lied if she was going to keep to her renunciation of her geomagic? But was she really going to give up entering the chamber? Just the thought of never again entering its peace, to stand in the heart of those powerful geo-energies, made her mourn. If she hadn’t entered the chamber, hadn’t had the reminder of what it gave her, renouncing her magic would have been easier.

Would have been wrong?

Mark picked up three large books at once, climbed two steps on the library ladder, and shoved the books onto the shelf she’d emptied earlier. He moved with furiously controlled energy.

Clancy passed him two more books, then another two. Anything she said about Gilda looking into the situation with Faust would only underline the insult he’d received. The Collegium might be taking the demon more seriously, but they weren’t according Mark any more respect. He and his limited magic were sidelined.

He re-shelved the last book and jumped down from the ladder. “My counterspell would work.”

Evidently he’d been having this argument with Gilda in his head.

“I believe you,” Clancy said. “The Collegium can be stuck in its own importance. Neville, for instance—”

Mark’s scowl deepened. “I saw you enter the chamber beneath the cottage. You, not Jeremy. He seemed scared of it.”

Scared? She opened her mouth to question Mark’s observation, but the words never made it out. She was suddenly, overwhelmingly aware of how close he stood. Near enough that he’d reached out and clasped her shoulder in support. His hold was strong and gentle despite his anger.

“We’re both fools,” he said. “I keep chasing the Collegium’s help and respect. They’ll never count me as one of their own. Not with my minimal magic. No matter how much I study and learn, I have to do so alone.”

“I’m here,” she said quietly.

He clasped her other shoulder, drawing her in as his hold slid into a hug. “I don’t understand. Why would you want to surrender your magic? If that’s the price Jeremy has put on you staying in California, you should tell Doris. She wouldn’t let him get away with it.”

Clancy put her hands against his chest and pushed. That gained her a few inches, but didn’t break his hold. “It’s my fight, not something to go running to Grandma about.” Her words echoed. My fight. She stopped resisting Mark and leaned into his warmth. “I can’t fight my brother.”

He shifted his hold, hugging her comfortingly. “Sometimes we’re losing a fight that no one told us we were fighting.”

The confusing sentence made sense to her. Unpleasant sense. “Grandma said the same thing, not so gently. She said I’ve given Jeremy my power.

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