A Human's Guide To Surviving Magical Mishaps Novels & Stories

"Magic doesn't just evaporate. It has to go somewhere." "It went into the Siphon," Vida said bluntly. She wasn't being mean; she was just being Vida. "When you broke the circuit in the mine... the backlash was massive. It didn't just kill the connection; it fried the wires. You are a biological dead zone." She reached out and took my hand. Her skin was warm. "You're human, Tate. Just human. 100% organic, non-magical human." The word stayed in the air. Human.

As I’m running, I try to once again cast another spell, but the purple essence of my magic only spasms, sparks and fizzles like a lighter that’s run out of fuel. ________________________________ I’m desperate to flee the situation, but in my panic, I stumble over a tree branch and tumble to the ground with an audible thud. The hulks easily catch up to my position, towering over me with devilish smiles. My situation appears hopeless. Is this truly the end for me? ‘Sara, what do we do?’ ‘I don’t know! I don’t know!’ Her cries mirror my heartache, and again and again I try to awake my magic, thrusting my hand out at the rogues in hopes that some light will extend.

“Okay, so what are you getting at?” “Magic is quite dangerous, especially to the untrained. You can take too much from your source or put too much into your goal. For example, I can’t take energy from anything but myself. Imagine if I was healing someone and I took too much of myself to do so. I’d become drained, fatigued possibly beyond recovery. In turn, the patient could suffer a sort of burn out, like receiving an electrical shock when touching a live wire. It’s a delicate balance of control. Loss of focus, one wrong thought, too much emotion can cause a devastating outcome. All of this doesn’t even include aptitude.”

Even I’m surprised by my own insane courage, but I move toward the source of the crash. Stepping past a few shelves, I see a large, heavy book lying on the floor. My eyes are afraid—but my hands reach for it on their own. “A Magical Treatise on Curses and Other Influences on Subjects.” “I’ll be damned,” slips from my lips when I read the title. “I mean… thanks!” I glance around into the emptiness, but there’s no response—which is probably for the best, because otherwise I’d have definitely scared myself half to death.

"From Mrs. Holloway, or from the Lens itself. Remember how it responded when we worked with it together? It's designed to guide us through the process." His confidence steadies me. I lean against him, drawing strength from his solid presence. "I hope you're right." "Besides," he adds, his voice lightening, "considering we managed to escape a magical guardian, survive in the wilderness, infiltrate a secured lighthouse, and mystically cleanse a ritual chamber—all in the past few days—I'd say we're getting pretty good at this supernatural crisis management." That surprises a laugh out of me. "When you put it that way, we do sound rather impressive."

Not only will the result be bad, but the results might also be irreversible. You have to remember the good things and keep your balance in all circumstances. If you make mistakes, you may wind up having to give up the magic and the responsibility that comes with it. And if it comes to that, you could lose everything. She began to read the instructions written in a book about witchcraft spells, which were written in ancient text. ■■■■

The words were right, the movements were precise—so why the hell wasn’t it working? Kalazar’s haunting presence loomed in my mind, a reminder of our last brutal encounter. His power had nearly overwhelmed me, and only by sheer will and a reckless maneuver had I managed to survive. Yet, my victory was hollow. My magic was wild and unpredictable, and had spiraled out of control. I needed mastery over it, or it would consume me and everyone I cared about. That’s why I was here, deep in the woods, two hours into a futile attempt to open a portal. I had to conquer this.

I held up my hands, prepared to show off a move—something to protect against magic. I called forth a basic energy pulse and directed it towards the thing in front of me. However, something went awry as soon as I turned off the power. The magic moved too quickly and powerfully. The pulse cracked the ground beneath it, exploding into a wave of darkness instead of striking the target. The air was filled with gasps. I staggered back, breathing erratically. That was not intended to occur. Darius moved in my direction. "Amara…?" I hurriedly said, "I'm fine." "We should try again."

I ate a few bites of the sweet fruit, but the situation made me feel sick and I didn’t have much of an appetite. There were half a dozen ways I could escape this cage if I could use my magic. Haerius had taught me everything that was needed to know about escaping captivity. He always warned me that a day like this would come. I even knew a few ways I might be able to escape this cage without my magic. I didn’t dare try it though. It wouldn’t do me any good to run out into the middle of a shifter village. I’d be hopelessly outnumbered—and possibly killed.

Not only will the result be bad, but the results might also be irreversible. You have to remember the good things and keep your balance in all circumstances. If you make mistakes, you may wind up having to give up the magic and the responsibility that comes with it. And if it comes to that, you could lose everything. She began to read the instructions written in a book about witchcraft spells, which were written in ancient text. ■■■■