Megan O’Russell
Copyright 2015 Megan O’Russell
All Rights Reserved
Dedication
To the wonderful people at Silence in the Library Publishing
for believing in Larkin’s world enough to give
The Tethering series a home.
To my wonderful husband for putting up with my madness. And to the Awethors for inviting me to their party.
Little Bird
“A MAGI never quits!” Stone bellowed. “A MAGI who quits is dead. The people around them are dead. Are you going to let your MAGI team die, Gardner? Are you going to fail your team?”
Larkin looked down at the mud that had crept up to her waist. Tendrils of the filth were crawling higher on her black uniform, pulling her further down with every breath.
“So what is it Gardner?” Stone shouted at Larkin. “Are you going to fail your Clan?”
Larkin’s mind was racing. She raised her arms over her head, trying to keep her hands free as the mud clawed its way up to her neck.
“Do you want me to call Elder Gray? Tell her she sent the worst MAGI candidate I’ve ever seen?”
Larkin looked up to the towering tree overhead. “Colubra me bratus!”
The tree branch nearest her began to quiver, lengthening and bending before dropping snake-like into Larkin’s hands.
“Evedeo!” As though an invisible giant had gripped onto the other end of the branch and pulled with all his might, Larkin was jerked out of the mud. Pain seared though her shoulders as she fought to hang on to her slithering rope, which was turning back into a normal branch on the tree. In less than a second, Larkin was hanging from a branch twelve feet above the ground, Stone glaring at her from below.
“Tardego.” Larkin let go of the branch and fell slowly to the ground, landing gently on her feet right in front of Stone.
She looked up at him. MAGI Jeremy Stone, the agent in charge of their training group, was tall, bald, dark skinned, and terrifying. Every ounce of him looked like a MAGI agent.
Larkin was small, blond, and at twenty still looked like she was sixteen. She had spent the last month trying to tell herself that was why Stone hated her so much. He thought she was too small to be an agent, too young. But as she looked up into his glaring eyes, she knew she had been wrong. He didn’t just hate the way she looked. He hated everything about her.
“What was that?” Stone growled.
“You told me to get out of the mud,” Larkin said, fighting to keep her voice strong and even. “I got out of the mud.”
“I told you to fight your way out,” Stone growled.
“I did,” Larkin said, keeping her chin held high. “There’s more to fighting than loud bangs and things flying everywhere.”
“Just like a Gray,” Leo Coldwater spoke from behind her where the other candidates were waiting. “It doesn’t matter what anyone tells you to do, just whip out some fancy magic. Rules are for other Clans, isn’t that right Gardner?”
“Is that why the head of your Clan sent his own son to the Grays to be trained? So he can learn our fancy magic? Maybe Wayland doesn’t think it’s such a horrible thing to fight like a Gray,” Larkin spat, taking a step toward Coldwater, feeling the magic crackle in her fingertips.
“Do you really want to fight me?” Leo asked, pulling himself up to his full and significant height.
“Not tonight,” Stone said, stepping between them. “It’s been a long day, and I don’t want to stay up late filling out the paper work for a dead candidate.”
“Don’t worry,” Coldwater sneered, “I’ll get my chance.”