Together, we reached a hesitant thread out to it. I concentrated on pushing the cord toward the telescope, threading it like a string through a needle. It was hard work, and the cord of power shook and vibrated as the power weighed on our limbs, drawing our strength.
“Cel,” Max said beside me, voice strained.
“Just a second longer. You can do this.”
The telescope still felt cold, but the closer the cord got to it, the more I sensed something. A flicker of life in there, still. It might accept the power, if we could just hold the thread for a second longer. Push just a little farther—
But the cord of power bobbed up and down violently now, and the ocean below me was sucking up into a whirlpool, as if going down a giant drain.
“I can’t,” Max groaned, and with one long last thrum, like a finger on a guitar string, the thread of Magic fell to the ground and dissipated.
I opened my eyes.
“We’ve got to hold it longer than that.”
Max was on the ground, sweat pouring down his forehead. “I don’t know if I can. How are you able to hold it?”
Suddenly, I felt a tick of anger replace the cold chill of the Magic. How were we going to save Dani if he refused to help? I could hold it just fine—it shouldn’t have been any more difficult for him.
But, of course, I already knew the answer. It was because, in his heart, Max still was afraid of Dani. He still believed that she was a cold-blooded murderer.
“That’s why we’re practicing. Please, we have to try again,” I begged. “We’re so close.”
“Okay.” He got up off the ground and wiped the sweat off his brow with the lip of his shirt. “If you think we can do it without killing ourselves.”
“I know we can. Just trust me.” I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.
He looked up at me, his eyes a liquid, brilliant blue. “Of course I do.”
My heart fluttered at the touch. Doing Magic like this brought on the craziest runner’s high. Suddenly, I was aware of how close we were, of the way his shirt stretched across his chest, his hair falling in his eyes. The way his stare warmed and steadied me. I became very conscious of my own body. Of how badly I wanted to reach for him, pull his lips to me, feel his body crushed against mine.
“Marcella …” His voice was strained, a husky growl. He ran his tongue over his lips. “We need to … focus.”
But his hands weren’t obeying because they were already running up my thighs. And we were already so close. Our chests practically touched. The only thing that separated us were our objects bumping up against our knees.
I closed my eyes and again plunged into the water.
This time, I was in a room in a dark house. Water spilled from a drainpipe in the corner. The place seemed familiar somehow—it was somewhere I’d been before, only different. The walls were dark, and though there was a window in the corner, no light came in. As I spun back around, I noticed the water was already up to my knees. It filled the room quickly, pressing me back against the wall.
“Okay,” I breathed. With my leather cord, I could make a plug for the pipe to stop the water.
Again, I could hear the gallop of horses, felt a warm spring rain on my shoulders. Sun streamed through the windows. Satisfied the water had stopped, I nodded. “One thread to the telescope.”
“Wait,” Max said suddenly, and I blinked lazily, still halfway in the Magic. “How are you doing that?”
“I’m just concentrating,” I answered.
“No I mean, how are you doing that? You’re not touching your leather cord. How are you conjuring leather?”
I looked down. He was right. I wasn’t touching any of my objects. “Oh, I—I don’t know.” Memories flooded through me, of another time I’d cast something without the use of my objects. Dr. Perez yanking me aside, the smoke from the fire still choking my throat.
“How did you do that?”
“What are you talking about?” I cried, too dazed to focus on anything except the rage, except all the feelings swirling around like a chasm that I couldn’t control. I looked at my reflection in a car window and barely recognized myself, my hair a vicious tangle around me. Dark ink blotted out my irises like a stain.
“The fire, Cella,” Perez said, his eyes wide, and … frightened. “How the hell are you conjuring fire?”
Now, in the field with Max, I shook my head, embarrassed. Quickly, I put a hand on the leather cord. “Let’s just keep going.” I looked out at the horizon. “We’re running out of time.”
