“Someone was murdered in Sleepy Hollow,” Martha says, looking a tad too excited for the subject matter.“Again.”
“Headless horseman cut a man’s head off and left his body outside the bonfire,” adds Josephine.“They never found the head.”
“Oh?”I say.“I hadn’t heard about that.Thatisinteresting.”I meet Kat’s and Brom’s eyes for a moment and then clap my hands together.“All right, so we have a murderer on the loose.Anything else?Anyone pick up any magic or spells?”
No one says anything for a moment.
Then Martha says, “Who do you think the headless horseman is?”
“Yes, Professor Crane, is he real?”asks Mark.
“You know what, class, I’m not sure,” I say, pressing my palms together.“But if there’s been a murder, I am sure the police in Sleepy Hollow are dealing with it.”
“Yeah,” speaks up Matilda.“We’re safe here at the institute.The wards will keep the horseman out.”
A nervous laugh escapes my lips.I can’t help it.
“All right, time to get on with today’s lesson,” I say, turning around and writing the wordsENERGY AUGMENTATIONon the chalkboard.
I turn back around, and everyone squints at it.
“What does that say?”Paul asks, pointing at the board.
“It says ‘energy augmentation,’ ” I snap, looking over my shoulder at the board.Clearly that’s what it says.“And what is energy augmentation when it comes to magic?Good question.Energy augmentation differs from bestowal and absorption, because it’s about the ability to weaken or enhance someone else’s powers.Why, you ask, would we want to know how to do that, especially the latter?Well, let’s take the headless horseman for a moment.”
Now I seem to have their attention, though both Kat and Brom shift uneasily in their seats.
“What would happen to this school if the headless horseman were to break through the wards?”I go on, pacing back and forth.“Wouldn’t you want to know how to defend yourself?Or say it’s not the headless horseman, but another witch, or coven, or some leader of the dark arts, coming here to hurt you and your friends.Wouldn’t you want to know how to defend yourselves?”
“Yes,” Paul says, a determined look on his face.
“Yes,” Martha says.“Please teach us.”
The rest of the students nod eagerly.
I can’t help but smile at their enthusiasm.A classroom full of students who know how to fight back goes a long way when I know I have to protect them from whatever the future holds.
“I need a volunteer,” I say.
Paul is first to raise his hand, and I wave him over onto the platform in front of the class.Paul’s always been dependable for any demonstrations.
“Hold out your hand,” I say to him.“Palm up.”
He does as I ask.
I take my hand and place it above his, hovering just a few inches.I focus my concentration on the empty space between our hands, willing it to fill with energy and light.At first, heat begins to pool in my hand and then radiate downward toward Paul, then light begins to build, like a firefly is caught between our hands.
The class oohs and aahs and Paul lets out an impressed chuckle.
“Keep your hand still,” I tell him, slowly taking my hand away.“And concentrate on hanging on to that energy.Visualize it going into your skin, into your muscle, your veins, your bones, and hold it there inside you.”
I step back, and though my hand still gives off warmth and light, it’s fading, while the rest seems to sink into Paul’s skin.
“Now that isn’t augmentation, that’s just a very visual representation of bestowal,” I announce to the class.“But, for demonstration purposes, I have to give Paul magic that you’ll be able to witness when he augments it.”
I face Paul again.“Now, I’m going to try and use something called the voice on you.With the voice, I’m going to try and talk to you inside your head.You’ll notice my lips barely moving, but you, and only you, Paul, will hear me.When you hear my voice, I want you to use the power I gave you and try and pull the voice from my throat so that the whole class can hear it.That will be a good example of augmenting another’s power.”
“All right,” Paul says, looking nervous.
