Free Work Experience (Schooled in Magic Book 4) by Christopher Nuttall

her, making her very aware of its presence.
    “Sit down,” Lady Barb ordered. She produced a knife from her robes and examined it, carefully. Emily stared at it in horror until she realized that the blade was silver, rather than stone. “We are going to explore the simplest form of ritual.”
    Emily nodded, her throat suddenly dry. The books she’d read in the library had talked about how magicians could use rituals to cast formidable spells, but they hadn’t gone into details, beyond a handful of warnings about how immensely dangerous such spells could be. Given some of the stories, Emily could well believe it. One story talked about a group of magicians who had destroyed an entire city.
    “Sit down,” Lady Barb repeated. Emily obeyed, hastily. “And give me your hands.”
    Emily hesitated, then held out her hands. Lady Barb took them and held her, gently.
    “Now,” Lady Barb said. “I want you to close your eyes and focus on your magic. It should be easy here.”
    It was, Emily already knew. She closed her eyes...and the sensation of her magic, pulsing in tune with her heartbeat, grew stronger and stronger. The magic seemed to swell within her, then fade away, then swell again in an endless tide. Lady Barb rubbed her palms gently as the sensation overwhelmed her. The touch was all that was keeping her from being completely absorbed in her own mind.
    “Visualize the magic moving through your bloodstream,” Lady Barb instructed quietly. “Imagine it moving from place to place, carrying power through your body.”
    Emily nodded, keeping her eyes closed. The more she focused her mind, the more she was aware of magic moving through her bloodstream...and concentrating in her mind, her heart and her womb. It reminded her of the moment Shadye had forced her to stab Sergeant Harkin with a necromantic knife, right in the heart. Shadye had intended to force her to drain the Sergeant’s magic, unaware that Harkin had no magic. Now...
    “Be aware of your skin, holding in the magic,” Lady Barb said. Her words made it real, somehow. “Concentrate your mind on visualizing the skin.”
    There was a long pause. “I’m going to cut your palm,” she added. “When I do, try to direct some of your magic up and out of your body. Don’t channel it through your mind, channel it through the cut. Do you understand me?”
    Emily nodded, nervously. There was a faint stabbing sensation from her palm, then nothing. But she could see her magic reacting to the cut, flickering around as if it wasn’t quite sure what to do. Emily hesitated, then attempted to guide some of her magic out of her body. But it refused to do more than spin around the cut. And then the cut closed up completely.
    “You healed yourself,” Lady Barb observed. She sounded more amused than annoyed. “I’m going to cut you again.”
    There was another stabbing sensation. This time, Emily managed to guide a little magic up and out of her body. It seemed to fade away into the chamber, directed by the runes. Emily felt a sudden dizzy sensation, then the cut healed again. Lady Barb’s grip tightened, just slightly, then relaxed.
    “Using your mind’s eye,” Lady Barb ordered, “look upwards. Sense the magic.”
    Emily forced herself to concentrate, despite the sudden weakness in her limbs. Above her, magic was slowly seeping into the runes. It was her magic, she realized, now as familiar as her own face. And it was fading away...
    “Open your eyes,” Lady Barb said.
    Emily opened her eyes and looked around. The entire chamber was glowing with light, banishing the shadows. Her magic, she realized, was powering the runes, which had directed the magic into harmless light. Lady Barb let go of her hands, then stood. But when Emily tried to stand, her legs betrayed her. She couldn’t stand upright at all.
    “It always leaves a magician weak, the first time,” Lady Barb said. “How are you feeling?”
    “Spent,” Emily said. She tried to analyze her own