Caitlyn Aguirre should have been a magician. Her family certainly expected her to be a magician. But by the time she reached her twelfth birthday, Caitlyn hadn't even managed to cast a single spell! In desperation, her parents send her - and her magical sisters - to Jude’s Sorcerous Academy, her last best chance to discover her powers.
But as she struggles to survive her classes without a single spell to her name, Caitlyn starts to uncover an ancient mystery that may prove the key to her true powers...
...If she lives long enough to find it.
Excerpt:
The Zero Blessing
By Christopher Nuttall
Prologue
I SUPPOSE I SHOULD START AT the beginning. It is, after all, a very good place to start.
My sisters and I are triplets, fraternal triplets. We don’t really look that much alike, although we all have dad’s black skin and dark eyes, as well as our mum’s silky smooth hair. Alana is so pretty you’d think she’d been glamoured; Belladonna would be pretty if she took more exercise and bothered to put some work into her appearance; I, always in the middle, look more like a tomboy than anything else. You probably wouldn’t think we were related if you passed us on the street, let alone that we were born on the same day. But we were.
Our parents – Joaquin and Sofia Aguirre – are two of the most powerful magicians in Shallot City, if not the kingdom. Dad’s a skilled enchanter with a whole string of apprentices working under him; mum’s the best potions’ brewer in the world. Having three children – and triplets, too – is a big thing for them. The magic grows stronger, we are told, when children are born and raised together. My sisters and I should have safeguarded the family’s inheritance for the next generation. Instead…
We were seven years old when it happened.
We’d had a birthday party, of course. Lots of presents, lots of sweet foods and a big cake dedicated to the three of us. Our friends came round and we had a great time, but our excitement was dulled by the knowledge of what would come afterwards. Dad had been talking about teaching us magic for some time – we’d already learnt some of the background knowledge taught to every magical child in the kingdom – and today we were going to start. I was excited. We all were. We’d seen Dad work wonders, ever since we were old enough to understand. We couldn’t wait to work wonders ourselves.
And so, when the party was over and the guests had gone, we walked into Dad’s study and sat down at the table. The tools were already waiting for us.
Anyone can do magic. It’s a rare person indeed who cannot master a basic firestarter, a water-cleaner or the other housekeeping spells listed in 1001 Spells for Practical Work. Fishwives use them to clean the air; broadsheet writers use them to send messages right across the kingdom. But magic, like music, requires talent. Anyone can learn to tap out a tune on the piano, but playing properly is hard. So it is with magic. The sooner you start learning, the better you’ll be.
I was so excited that I could barely contain myself as I picked up the tool. It didn’t look like very much – it was really nothing more than a silver pen – but it was the key to a whole new world. If I could learn how to use it, I could cast spells. And then I could use magic. Our parents had forbidden us from using magic in the past, when we were too young to know the dangers, but they would have to change their minds once we actually had some proper training and knew what we were doing. I couldn’t wait.
Alana went first, as always. She waved the tool in the air, as Dad ordered, and produced a stream of silver light. She giggled, then twisted the tool, changing the color from silver to red and then gold. Her dark face crinkled into a genuine smile. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so utterly delighted than the moment she used magic for the first time. And I couldn’t wait to try it myself.
“It tickles,” Alana said.
“That’s your gift responding to the magic in the tool,” Dad said.
Belladonna went next, waving the tool casually in the air. Her eyes crinkled as nothing happened, just for a moment. Dad spoke to her gently, then told her to try again. This time, the light appeared, flickering in and out of existence as the magic weakened. Bella grimaced, then waved the tool a third time. The light grew stronger, floating in the air. Alana picked up her tool and wrote a word in the air, giggling. Dad shot her a quelling look before she could write something that would upset our mother.
“Your turn, Caitlyn,” Dad said.
I picked up the tool, feeling nothing but cool metal. A cold shiver ran down my spine. Alana had said the tool tickled, hadn’t she? Maybe she’d meant after she cast the spell. I held the tool in the air, silently promising myself that I was going to devote the rest of my life to magic studies, then waved it around.
Nothing happened.
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Let the magic flow,” he ordered. In hindsight, it was clear that he’d realized that something was wrong. “Your instincts should guide you.”
“It’s easy,” Alana put in. “You can feel the magic.”
I couldn’t. I couldn’t feel anything. The tool still felt cold.
I took a deep breath, then tried again. Perhaps I’d been too excited to work the spell. We’d been taught basic breathing exercises, so I ran through them before lifting the tool and waving it in the air again. There should have been a line of light, hanging in the air. But there was nothing. I couldn’t even feel the magic.
“Hah,” Alana said. “She can’t do it.”
“Be silent,” Dad said.
Alana’s mouth closed with a snap. Our father is very even-tempered, most of the time, but when he gets mad…watch out. Normally, I would have enjoyed Alana’s discomfort; now, panic was bubbling at the back of my mind. What if I couldn’t work magic? Bella – lazy, pudgy Bella – was drawing line after line in the air, giggling to herself as she sketched out faces. She couldn’t be doing better than me…