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My hair swept back froathered itself into a bun on top of ht my eyes watered

"Sophia," Alice said in the tone used to placate a tantru toddler, "you only think you're crappy"

The word "crappy" sounded ridiculously classy in Alice's cut-glass accent, and I had to sn, because she took my hand Her skin was soft and ice-cold to the touch

"Sophia," she said in a softer voice, "you're incredibly powerful

You're just at a disadvantage because you've been raised by a huuidance, you could put those other girls--what do you and your half-breed friend call them? 'The Witches of Noxenored me "You could be far, far more powerful than any of them And I can show you how"

"But why?" I asked

She sain and patted hteen, whichvery grand just Mom as family, it felt nice

"Because you're my blood," she answered "Because you deserve to be better To become what you are meant to be"

I didn't knohat to say to that Was head of the Council what I wasone of those New Age bookshops, reading pal purple caftan That seemed very far away now and, honestly, kind of stupid

And then I thought of Elodie, Chaston, and Anna glowing and levitating in the library They had looked like goddesses, and even though I'd been scared, I'd envied them Was it really possible that I could becohed "Oh, you'll be irls"

Great, she could read my mind

"Come, we haven't much ti inside a ring of oak trees "This is where we'll meet," Alice said "This is where I'll train you to be the witch you should be"

"You do know that I have class, right? I can't stay up all night"

Alice reached down and slipped a necklace off her neck Her hands gloith a light brighter than the orb still floating above us Then the light abruptly went out and she handed the necklace to me It was almost too hot to touch Just a simple silver chain with a square pendant about the size of a postage stamp In the center was a teardrop-shaped black stone

"There Fa that, you'll never become too tired"

I looked at the necklace with appreciation "Will I learn that spell?"

And for the first time, Alice smiled a real shtly plain features beautiful

She leaned in and took bothme close until our faces were inches apart "All that and les, I foundI wasn't even cracking a sirl so tiny have a voice so loud? I sighed and rolled my shoulders I focused as hard as I could on the eht for a pencil to appear For the first hour, we'd just worked on blocking spells I'd done pretty well blocking Alice's attack spells, even though I hadn't been able to sense the so We'd started small, hence the pencil, and Alice clai

But I'd been concentrating so hard that I was afraid I'd now be seeing bright yellow Nurass a bunch, and after one particularly frustratingtoward Alice, but no pencils

"Should we start even smaller?" Alice asked "A paper clip, perhaps?

An ant?"

I cut my eyes at her and took another deep breath

Pencil, pencil, pencil, I thought Bright yellow pencil, soft pink eraser, SAT, please, please

And then I felt it That feeling like water rushing up froertips But this wasn't just water This was a river

Everything inside ofbehind ood sort of heat, the way a sunwarmed car seat feels on your back on a cool day My face ached, and I realized it was because I was shost of itself at first, before finally beco throughthe lines of "Neener neener!"

But then I saw that she wasn't looking atpast asped

Now there wasn't just one pencil in front ofover each other, and ic stop instantly, like a connection had been severed

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed softly

"My, my," was Alice's only comment

"I" I stared at the pile "I did that," I said finally, even as Iso stupid