Free Unruly Magic by Camilla Chafer Page A

sight of the coverlet, I wondered who else was going to be my guest soon too.
    I made coffee for them all and took out the mugs with bowls of sugar and creamers and a big pack of cookies, leaving them all on a tray on the porch. Inside I was plotting an exciting afternoon of finishing my laundry – which now included stripping my bed – and brainstorming job options or whether to take a correspondence course. So far I had drawn a blank on who would employ someone with limited qualifications, a lot of experience and without leaving a big paper trail. I was careful with money but it wasn’t going to last forever and eventually I’d have to tap into my funds and that would probably draw attention to me just as if I had a red flashing beacon right over my head. But I couldn’t sit around and do nothing. It just wasn’t in my nature, not that I was entirely sure what my nature was any more.
    I pulled out my map and the crystal, half-heartedly hanging it in the centre and set it in motion with a flick of my hand. It wheeled once, twice, then with a sharp tug it lurched down. I gazed at it for a moment then put my thumb on the spot it had landed. Tulsa. Huh? I stared at the spot marking Oklahoma’s second biggest city for a long minute before I picked up the crystal again and flicked it into motion. This time it spun and spun before hanging limply by its ribbon in the centre of the map. No lurch, nothing. I tried again and again.
    After a frustrating hour where the crystal didn’t give me any indication that its first try had been anything but a fluke, I pulled on my running clothes and went outside. Gage and his friends had sanded a good portion of the flaking paint off and there was some discussion about treatments and paint and the weather that sailed right over my head. He broke off when he saw me and walked over, leaving the debate to continue without him.
    “I’m going for a run,” I announced in case he couldn’t guess. My head had started to clear but I hoped the exercise would give me a boost.
“You run often?”
“Now and again.”
“Stick to the road,” Gage said, his firmness surprising me.
“I will. Cross country isn’t my thing.”
    Gage just nodded at me and went back to whatever he was doing. I jogged off the porch and didn’t look back to see if he was checking out my butt. I could feel his eyes on me.
    I ran as far as I could, until my lungs heaved and I felt my legs going weak. I was in poor shape all right and it was all I could do to stand there in the road, swinging my arms in circles as I paused to catch my breath. I could feel my leg muscles tighten. I hadn’t stretched properly before setting off and I was risking doing myself an injury, but I needed to be out here in the open where I could stare into the far reaches of the mid-morning sky. I needed to force my body to work, to feel connected to my senses. I could feel magic ripple through me like it was waking up. I’d dulled it for so long, fought to hold it at bay but now it felt like pure joy to let it surge through me. When I held my hands up I found them bathed in a soft glow like they had their own back light but with a quick shake it was gone.
    Turning back I pulled a face. I’d run too far, almost to where the tree line ended and broke into fields. Hearing a twig break somewhere off to my left, I froze and looked about me then hearing nothing I started the slow walk back. After a few minutes I stopped and crouched by the side of the road, my fingers reaching for the small indents I could see, puzzling at the clear imprint of a large paw in the mud. I stayed in my crouch, looking past the shrubs. The print looked fresh, definitely made within the last day or two, but if there was a wild animal out here, it seemed to be long gone. I got up and walked on, moving into the centre of the road.
    By the time my house was in sight, I started up a slow jog, not wanting to embarrass myself by being a heaving, panting, sweaty mess. Hey,