“Great job,” Frank said. “It took me three days to master that, and you’ve done it in minutes. Very impressive.”
“Well, we have something to fight for,” Samantha said.
“Good,” Frank said. “You’ll need that fire in your belly to beat Hilda. You can control your flight with your hands. So, now put them over your head and push down like you are pushing back to the ground.”
I did, even though I didn’t want to do so. I raised my hands into the air and pushed until I touched the ground again.
“You can only do one spell at a time,” Frank said. “At least, at the level you’re at right now. One day, if you’re really powerful, you might be able to cast two or even three spells at the same time. For now, stick to one.”
“What’s next?” Samantha asked.
“Now, I show you how to shoot fire.”
“Oh, I know this one,” I replied. “Lithiori.”
A burst of fire came out of my fingers and shot through the air. Frank ducked to avoid it, and it bounced every which way, until it finally flew through Katie, where it fizzled out inside her aura.
“That was weird,” Katie said, strangely calm.
“Did it hurt?” I asked.
“No,” Katie said. “It kind of tickled. I think I liked it.”
“Want me to do it again?” I asked.
“Please,” Katie said.
“Maybe later,” Frank said. “When we’re not inside my very flammable store.”
“Sorry,” I said.
“Besides, that’s not the fireball I’m thinking of. Watch.”
Frank held his arms together in front of him and rotated them around like he was rubbing an imaginary beach ball.
“Fiorini,” he whispered. A small ember of fire grew between his hands, and as he moved his hands the fire grew, and grew, and grew. “This is your best weapon against the witches. The longer you let it grow, the bigger it will get, and you can use it to blow them away. Be careful though, the bigger it gets, the more unstable, and the more mana it takes. You need to concentrate to control it, and let it go before it consumes you, or it will burn you alive.”
I nodded. I placed my hands together in front of me and started to rotate them as if they were rubbing a tennis ball. “Fiorini.” The fire started instantly, and as I massaged my fake globe, the fire grew and grew.
“Great work,” Frank said. “Now, Katie, open the door.”
“Um, I can’t. I’m a ghost.”
Frank shook his head. “I enchanted it to be felt by your aura. Try it.”
Katie touched the door and it opened for her. For a moment it was like she was human again, and a great smile came across her face.
“Outside,” Frank said.
I ran outside with my fireball and Samantha followed with hers. The wind howled and the sky crackled. It was dark as Vantablack. All the light came from Frank’s store and the fireballs in our hands.
“To fire,” Frank said, “just imagine the target and push out your arms.” Frank pointed to a green dumpster next to his store. “There.”
I looked over at Samantha and nodded. I pushed forward my hands and the fireball flew out of my hands and smashed into the dumpster. A couple seconds later, Samantha’s fireball exploded behind mine, igniting the dumpster in a roaring fire.
“Very good,” Frank said. “Now, that is all we have time to learn. Come inside and copy the enchantment. You will need it to bind the rift together while you repair it. I only hope we are not too late.”
Chapter 50
Frank said his goodbyes quickly and we hopped into the car. I didn’t know what we were going to do exactly, or how we were going to stop Hilda, but I figured that if we got closer to the rift, a plan would present itself, or we would die trying.
“That can’t be good,” Samantha said. The rift had grown considerably since we’d last seen it and was widening with each passing second.
“None of this is good,” Katie said as she peered out the window.
From behind us, I heard the squawking of the murder crows. I looked in my rearview mirror and watched one of the birds flap toward us through the air.
“Um, guys.” My voice almost cracked, I was so afraid. “I think you should look behind us.”
Even in the seconds that it took to say those words, the enormous bird cut the distance between us in half. Samantha opened her window and hung her head outside of it.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Just trust me.” She pushed herself out of the window until her whole torso was outside of the car. “Fiorini.”
“Stop!” Katie said. “Frank told us that it was unstable and dangerous!”
“Yeah,” Samantha replied, “and what do you think that murder crow is? Completely stable?”
From the side of my eye I watched the fireball grow and grow. “Let it go!”
“Just a little longer.”
A pickup truck was turned over on its side in the middle of the road. I swerved to miss it, and I heard an explosion underneath us. Samantha screamed.
“Stay straight! You almost killed us!”
“She’s right,” Katie replied. “I’m already dead, but that blast was so strong it would have killed me a second time!”
“Just keep the car straight,” Samantha yelled as she went about constructing another fireball.
A lightning bolt crashed in front of us and I swerved the car with one hand while I grabbed onto Samantha’s jacket with the other.
“Get inside the car!” I shouted.
Samantha hung outside the car, flailing her arms and trying to push herself back inside. If I let her go of her, she would fall out onto the road for sure, and if I slammed on my brakes to drag her inside, the murder crows chasing us would take us down. I looked quickly in the rearview mirror and saw a second crow lining up for another dive bomb at us.
I had no choice. I took my foot off the gas and pulled Samantha inside with both my hands. She huffed and puffed with all
