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I re to what I thought was hshield--it was peace It was knowing thatI could do to stop it--it was letting go

"It’s worth a try, at least," Julian prods

With a groan, I face the wall again Julian lined it with so to aim at Out of the corner of o Let yourself go, the voice infor the electricity it craves to touch The ripple of energy, alive beneath s in every muscle and nerve That’s usually where it stops, just on the edge of feeling, but not this ti to hold on, to push o And I fall into what I can’t explain, into a sensation that is everything and nothing, light and dark, hot and cold, alive and dead Soon the power is the only thing in hosts and memories Even Julian and the books cease to exist Mywith force Nohen I push at the sensation, it doesn’t disappear and ers To asps aloud

My eyes open to see purple-white sparks juers, like electricity betires

For once, Julian has nothing to say And neither do I

I don’t want todisappear But it doesn’t fade It re in my hand like a kitten with a ball of yarn It seeeline This power can destroy if I let it

"Try tohtning will obey my wishes It’s part of me, a piece of ht ball and the sparks react to hter and faster They eat away at the sleeve of h the fabric in seconds Like a child throwing a ball, I whiph the air in a circle of bright sparks, colliding with the bookshelves

The resulting boom makes me screaround, heart racing in my chest, the solid stone bookshelf collapses on itself in a cloud of thick dust Sparks flash over the rubble for abut ruins behind

"Sorry about the shelf," I say from beneath a pile of fallen books My sleeve still s co with power--that felt good

Julian’s shadowdeep in his chest as he exah the dust

"We’re going to need a bigger classrooer rooms to practice in each day, until we finally find a spot in the underground levels a week later Here the walls are er than the decorative stone and wood of the upper floors My aim is dismal to say the least, and Julian is very careful to steer clear of , but it beco

Julian takes notes the whole ti from my heartbeat to the heat of a recently electrified cup Each new note brings another puzzled but happy sh he doesn’t tell ," heoff another metal contraption I can’t nay, but how I don’t know

I brushthem "power down," as Julian calls it My sleeves re It’s fireproof fabric, like what Cal and Maven wear, though I suppose ?"