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her.
    Next, she looked down at a scraggly weed poking up from the ground near where the rock had settled.
    Blitha egras sumuss, she thought, chanting the plant growth spell inside her head as she pictured the weed growing taller and sprouting new leaves. The plant began to grow. In less than ten seconds, it had nearly tripled in height and bore twice as many slender leaves.
    Leesa was unimpressed with her success. This was one of the very first spells Dominic had taught her and one she had performed many times. Still, it was a good warm-up for what was to come next.
    She took a couple of deep breaths to help center herself and then stared down at the rock.
    “ Blitha morun sumuss ,” she chanted aloud while trying to visualize the stone becoming twice as large.
    Nothing happened—which was exactly what had occurred every other time she tried this spell. She forced down her disappointment. Negative thoughts only got in the way, Dominic had drilled into her.
    She didn’t need to look inside her book of magic to know she was using the proper incantation—she had read the section at least a dozen times. The middle word in the spell determined whether the magic would make a living thing like a plant or flower grow or cause an inanimate object like a rock to become larger. She had no trouble doing the former, but so far had been unable to make even a start at the latter. She was certain Dominic would have been able to tell her why, but Dominic was not here. She needed to figure this one out on her own. But where to start?
    A flutter of wings above her drew her attention. She looked up, smiling when she saw a large brown and white owl descending gracefully to the ground. As soon as it landed, a bright silver flash engulfed the bird. A moment later, Jenna stood where the owl had been.

 
     
    7. A SACK OF WHEAT
     
    JENNA SMILED AT LEESA. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
    Leesa moved forward and gave Jenna a hug.
    “Nothing successful,” she said, allowing a bit of frustration to leak out in her voice. “It’s good to see you, Jenna.”
    “I was flying nearby and sensed your magic, so I thought I’d drop by to see if I could be of any help.” Jenna turned to Rave and nodded. “Hi, Rave.”
    “Hello, Jenna. It’s nice to see you again.”
    It definitely was nice to see her, Leesa thought. She was always glad to have Jenna around when she practiced. With Dominic gone, the witch was the closest thing she had to a magical mentor. Even though wizard and witch magic were very different, some general tenets of magic held for both. Leesa hoped Jenna might have some ideas about why she was struggling with this growth spell thing.
    “Your timing is actually very good,” Leesa said to Jenna.
    Jenna glanced toward the boulder in the center of the stream.
    “I see by the fresh holes that you’ve been blasting away at that thing.” She looked down at the smaller rock in front of Leesa, which was still wet at the bottom, telling her it had recently been brought there from the brook. “What are you trying to do with this one?”
    Leesa sighed. “I’m trying to make it grow. And I’m not having any luck.”
    Jenna smiled. “Why not just get a bigger one from the stream? There are plenty of them there.”
    Leesa couldn’t help smiling back. “I think you’re missing the point, Jenna. I don’t need a bigger rock—I need to learn how to make this one bigger. I’m trying to learn how to make non-living things grow larger.” She nudged the leafy weed she had made bloom just a few moments before with her toe. “This was a scraggly little thing a little while ago. I’m good with plants, but nothing else.”
    Jenna thought for a few seconds. “You’re certain you are using the correct spell?”
    “Absolutely. My magic book is quite clear.”
    “Could you be mispronouncing the spell then?”
    Leesa shook her head. “I doubt it. Only one word is different from the plant spell—‘ morun .’ It’s a pretty