Chapter 7

Show and Tell that day began with Chelle and Theo performing a scene from a play. Normally they were the same height, but her glamour did a good job of making her seem small and weak next to him. Ashton told the group about what he’d learned about the World War Two frostbite spell mentioned at the last meeting.

Summer, instead of talking about her studies, asked a question. “Jennifer? Is it true that you lost the ability to walk from participating in that big teleportation ritual a few years ago?”

Jennifer nodded. “Many of us paid a price - willingly - to pull off a once-in-a-century spell. It’s actually pretty amazing that the consequences weren’t worse.”

Summer spoke again: “Is it true that the whole reason for that spell was because a little girl got herself into trouble, and so her mother had to rush home to fix things for her?”

“Summer...,” Jennifer cautioned.

“Isn’t it fair to say,” Summer pressed on, “that it’s that little girl’s fault that you’re a cripple?”

The look Jennifer gave Summer was enough to make even her cower.

“What Summer is alluding to,” Jennifer said, looking each of her students in the eye one by one, “is the Portugal magic summit, five years ago. Mages from all over the world met to teach and learn from one another. It was unprecedented to have so many highly skilled mages together in one place. We used the opportunity to try some group magic that would otherwise have been out of our reach. One day, Clover Monroe received a text that her family was being attacked by a demon, back in the United States. We abandoned the spell we had been planning and instead attempted the impossible: sending Clover instantly home to deal with the threat.”