Read Of Witches and Wind for Free Online

ax—the double-headed blade as big as a steering wheel—the same way Chase held his sword.
    He took a step toward us, and I grabbed him, feeling a boy’s T-shirt rather than the hairy old dude’s shoulder it looked like I held.
    â€œNot funny, Chase.” I shoved hard.
    Chase went sprawling and dropped the illusion, laughing.
    It had been a few months since he’d tried this last. The first time he’d done it, right after my first sword lesson, he’d been friends with Adelaide, and they’d scared a squeak out of me with this same trick. I’d gotten better at not flipping out, but I didn’t understand why he kept trying it.
    â€œI couldn’t resist,” Chase said, grinning.
    Maybe he was still upset that I’d killed the chimera instead of him. He always needed to be the best—that was the desire that drove him . It was pretty annoying, actually.
    â€œWow.” Lena appeared beside us. “That was a glamour, wasn’t it?”
    Chase picked himself up off the floor. “Nah, just an illusion.”
    â€œBut when Gretel does an illusion spell, you can see it coming out of her,” Lena said. “How did you hide it so well?”
    â€œSecrets of the trade.” But for once, Chase sounded a lot more uncomfortable than smug.
    â€œCan you teach me?” Lena asked, grinding up some more dragon scales.
    Chase was an expert at changing the subject. He tapped the vial. “What is this thing, anyway?”
    â€œIt was once the East Wind’s prison,” Melodie said.
    All of Lena’s excitement rushed back. “It contained his essence, the same way the Glass Mountain contains the Snow Queen’s essence. We’re going to recreate that after we sort out the—are you okay?” she asked me anxiously.
    When she’d mentioned the Snow Queen, something had twisted in my stomach. The freak out must’ve blazed across my face.
    I shook it off. I was being stupid, worrying like this. There wasn’t exactly an instruction manual to tell seventh graders how to defeat the worst villain the world had ever seen.
    All I could do was train even harder to improve my griffin-slaying skills.
    Outside the workshop a bell clanged—first of the evening. That meant it was six p.m. where my mom was—time for everyone in Eastern Standard Time to go home.
    Lena, who lived in Milwaukee, an hour behind New York, and Chase, who lived there at EAS, didn’t need to go anywhere yet.
    I hopped off the stool. “Chase, swear you’ll give me a lesson tomorrow.”
    â€œYou think we’ll have time before the feast?” He clearly disagreed.
    â€œI’m coming early, remember? Half day at school,” I said happily, weaving back through the elves’ Tables of Plenty. Tomorrow was also the first day of spring break. Chase, Lena, and I were going to hang out at EAS all week—plenty of time for training. “Mom’s going to drop me off at the airport, and Ellie is going to set up a Door Trek gateway there.” Mom and Amy thought that I would be flying down to North Carolina to visit Lena. I chose not to think about that.
    â€œWhat time are you coming again?” Chase asked.
    â€œAround one.” I wondered why Lena looked so distracted. It was impossible to tell what invention was on her mind.
    â€œRory, did you think of an excuse for your black eye yet?” she asked.
    I had completely forgotten. I couldn’t even remember where I’d left Rapunzel’s ice pack. Dread curled up in my stomach. “Help me think of something!”
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    Unfortunately, Mom was in the front hallway closet when I returned to the house we were renting. I couldn’t warn her before she saw me.
    â€œRory, what happened?” She threw her coat over the stair rail and rushed toward me.
    â€œSome kid threw a ball at her.” Amy only sounded that disapproving when she was