Read Inner Demons for Free Online Page B

definitely a member of the Order of Shadows. I wondered if Lark knew who the other members were and why they kept the names a secret from the recruits. I'd been putting together a list of potential members in my head. Lark's mom. Mrs. King. Sheriff Hollingsworth. And so on.
    “Do you ever wonder why they don't just tell us who the members of the Order are? I mean, why does it need to be a secret?”
    Lark shifted uncomfortably. “Do you want to learn how to do this glamour or not?”
    “Of course.” Why was it so difficult to get answers to my questions? Everyone kept brushing me off like secrets were normal. I sighed.
    “Concentrate again,” she said. “Try to get back to that same place of energy where you were before. Focus on your breathing and draw the energy from every item in the room.”
    After a few moments of breathing and concentration, I felt the blue light flow into me again. I let the breath come in through my nose and out again, filling my chest and my soul.
    “Now, keep your eyes closed,” Lark said. “I'm going to take your hands in mine. Our energy will combine and amplify, so it might tingle a bit.”
    She slowly placed her hands, palm up, into my own. I felt the zap of energy, like a static shock. In that moment, I had a flashback of memory. My first day at Shadowford in Ms. Shadowford's office. I had touched the doorknob in her room and it had shocked me. Then, the first time I touched Mrs. King, the same thing had happened. This felt exactly the same, only more concentrated. More dense and full.
    “Wow,” she whispered.
    “What?”
    “You really are powerful, Harper. And you don't even know it yet.”
    I started to open my eyes, but she stopped me. “Wait, don't let it go.”
    We breathed together. In and out slowly.
    “Now think about the rug beneath us,” she said. “Feel it under your legs and in connection with your body. Imagine it as clearly as you can. Got it?”
    “Yeah,” I said. I had a clear image of the square teal rug in my head.
    “Now imagine the rug is a different color. Any color you want.”
    I imaged it was bright yellow, like the sun. That's how strong the warmth was inside of me. It felt like the rays of the sun were flowing into me and filling me up with sunshine. I pictured the color slowly radiating out from beneath me, turning the teal to yellow until it reached the very boundaries of the square spot.I shifted as I felt something slither across my back.
    The demon.
    Lark giggled and pulled her hands from mine. “You did it! On your first try.”
    I opened my eyes and looked down at the rug underneath me. It was exactly the shade of yellow I had pictured in my head. I laughed and reached down to touch it, making sure it was real. “Holy crap.”
    “Holy crap is right. I mean, you were using my power somewhat too, but that was incredible. I've never seen anyone do something so large on their first try with a glamour. Pretty color too.”
    I stood up and laughed. I felt giddy with joy and power and this amazing new connection to the world around me.
    “Will it stay like this forever? I mean, until someone changes it?”
    Lark shook her head. “It depends on the glamour and the level. These are all stationary objects. Changing their color is easy. The lamp, for example, take a little more power since I changed its shape. It won't last as long as the color would.”
    “What about a person? Like if I wanted to change my hair color? Or my eyes?”
    She thought about it for a second. “To be honest, I haven't tried much of that. It can be dangerous.”
    “How so?”
    Lark stood up and walked over to the mirror. “Well, magic is a sort of give and take. That's what Mrs. King was talking about with her healing and why it's not something witches at our level can handle. When she heals someone else, it takes something from her.”
    “What?”
    “I'm not sure. Power. Her essence. Something like that. We're talking about things way past my experience level, here.