It’s #BookQW and two wizards are ‘better’ in sticky situations.
More of the excerpt from Chapter 9:
She closed her hand over the glass. “I do have to get home to study.”
He opened his mouth, closed it and smiled. “Brilliant, let’s go.” He crossed the street.
What choice did she have but to follow? It was the only route to the station where all pereporting was done.
Still, she slowed. Should she just take him? She had enough to do with school and chores, and this would save her the hassle of e-mails and arranging how to get him to the isle. That somehow was tricky with the enclave’s shielding. Gran had an extra room, or maybe Beri would help with a place to stay for this guy—which would probably be only overnight. Gran would know the best way to approach Lady Pina, so when Cor went to the grove for a visit—which she had agreed to—he could persuade Lady Pina to give him a trial. That would fulfill Fern’s favor to arrange everything.
By the time they reached the station, she’d convinced herself this was the right thing to do. Cor might look like a Goth, but he wasn’t too sullen and had done nothing to dissuade her. Before Fern knew it, they had approached the counter, been issued a stall and were walking through its door.
It worried her a little that she was moving forward on this without asking, but Cor looked confident as he held out his forearm. Perfectly ready for the trip…except for the longboard tucked under his other arm.
Unable to keep from smiling, she waved to it. “There aren’t any streets on the isle. Nothing is paved.”
“Oh.” Frowning, he gripped it in both hands. The board lit with honey-colored sparkles and disappeared. He looked lost for a moment, then his poised expression returned as he held up his arm again.
This guy didn’t quite have it as together as he wanted her to believe. But it was simplest to lay one hand on his bare wrist, take the peregrinator in the other and say, “To the Isle of Giuthas.”
Of course, she visualized the front porch of Hillux as the orange light swirled off Lady Pina’s peregrinator and expanded into a portal. Cor stepped forward to go through, but it was wrong. She pulled him back. This wasn’t Gran’s cottage. It wasn’t even the Meadows. The image of a windswept rocky area with short bushes looked familiar, though. Crap, Mount Lookout. They’d hiked on the Giuthas mountaintop before school started.
“Not there. Hillux!” She held tightly to Cor as the image blurred with a green haze. Hillux, Hillux! She thought of the smell of the wildflowers, the tangy breeze, the constant chirp and buzz of the birds and insects. The view cleared, its scene shifting… Fern held her breath until—there!—the grassy dome of Hillux appeared, the stone steps leading off the earthworks that surrounded Gran’s cottage. It wasn’t exactly on the porch as she’d wanted, but that was okay. Anyplace in the Meadows was better than hiking down the mountain, through the woods and across the ridges.
Her fingers tightened on Cor’s arm. “This is it. Come on.” They stepped through the circle of light and into the tall grass. Everything was just as she’d left it yesterday morning—the smell, the sounds, the feel.
Cor turned to take in the Meadows, the two forested mountains between which their valley lay and the Irish Sea on the far horizon before facing her again, frowning. “You’re holding out on me.”
“What?”
“The magic you just worked—you’re better at it than you’re letting on if you can control a peregrinator.”
“I didn’t want to end up over there.” She pointed to the highest of the mountains. “Landing on the top of Mount Lookout would have been a lot of trouble.” “Ach, not nearly as much trouble as you’re in now,” resounded a fast-speaking, high-pitched voice as ropes of multicolored magic appeared above their heads and whipped into a magical cage around them.
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Want to know more about Guardian of the Pines? Meet Cor here.
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