Free Spell For Sophia by Ariella Moon

fingers crossed the ring of protection and came within two inches of the grimoire. My mind barely registered the scent of fried shrimp and backwater before I heard the warning chomp of powerful jaws clamping together. Magic zapped my fingertips. Pain like an electric shock jolted up my arm.
    I jerked back my hand and feinted to the right, missing the bolt of malevolent magic by a nanosecond. It shot across the room and struck an electrical outlet. The lights flickered. Black smoke poured out of the outlet. As the fire alarm shrieked, my dragon hissed to life behind me.
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Invisible claws clamped my shoulders and pulled me back. Warm dragon energy seeped beneath my skin and tingled down my arms. The muscles between by shoulder blades tugged. I rolled my shoulders, adjusting to the pull of massive, invisible wings restless to unfold.
    Heat rose to my face. My nostrils flared. The acrid stench of magic and an electrical fire gave way to the crisp, fresh scent of deep-water lakes and forbidding mountain summits.
    It's about time you showed up, dragon.
    "No, no, no, no, no," Evie wailed. "Not again!" She rushed to the table and pointed her finger at the grimoire. "Stop it right now!"
    The grimoire bunched in the center, then flattened like a surly dog told to lie down. I removed my scarf and wound the ends loosely around my hands, leaving about two feet in between for maneuvering.
    "What are you doing?" Evie asked.
    The dragon nudged my back. My wings vanished as quickly as they had appeared. "Making a magical potholder." I hope.
    "Hurry. We're about to have company."
    "Hold open the tote."
    Evie sucked air through her teeth as though I had just poured salt water on an open wound. But she lifted one side of the tote, creating an open maw, and edged it toward the grimoire.
    Help me out, here, dragon. I sensed the creature's neck slithering near my shoulder. With any luck it had positioned itself to snatch the spell book if I failed. Going on faith, I lunged.
    Zap!
    Crap. Even with the protective scarf, hex magic stung my hands. Maybe the dragon had corralled the spell book, or the fire alarm had distracted it. Somehow I grabbed the grimoire and tossed its bolt-shooting, hex-zapping sorry self into the tote.
    Evie, her cheeks flushed and jaw clenched, closed the zipper. "Hah!"
    The door flew open.
    "What is going on here?" The librarian, a middle-aged woman dressed in khaki pants and a navy button-down shirt open at the collar, stopped short when she saw me. "Ainslie? Ainslie Avalon-Bennett?"
    "Ms. Lambert. Thank goodness you're here!" I positioned myself in front of the table and maintained eye contact while I unwound my scarf. Evie sidled up beside me, then stumbled to the side when she bumped against the dragon's aura.
    "We heard a pop, then sparks flew out of the electrical outlet." I angled toward the scorched unit.
    Mrs. Lambert followed my gaze and paled. "Oh my. Was anyone hurt?"
    Evie shook her head. My eyes watered from the pain in my fingers. I kept my hand hidden beneath my scarf, afraid the librarian would think I somehow had vandalized the outlet.
    Ms. Lambert signaled a man standing in the doorway. "Burt, please cut the alarm and the electricity to this room. Have someone call the fire department and an electrician."
    Burt hustled off. Salem, Aidan, and a girl with long dirty-blond dreadlocks slipped into the room.
    "Are you sure you are alright?" Ms. Lambert stepped closer and half-shouted over the fire alarm. Her gaze dropped to my hands. "You singed your beautiful scarf. Oh, I am so sorry."
    I frowned down at the cashmere. It had been my favorite. "I used it to stamp out sparks on the carpet."
    "Quick thinking," Salem said, joining us. Aidan and the newcomer circled the table behind me. The alarmed silenced. Some of the tension ebbed out of my shoulders.
    "What happened?" Salem asked.
    "The electrical outlet shorted," Evie explained. "As if by magic."
    Burt must have found the fuse box because