But I could deal with this. What kind of witch was I if I couldn’t handle a little heat? I just needed to think this through.

Except thinking became almost impossible when the current of fire spinning around me swirled in on itself, tightening and changing its shape. Now it had a sharp peak at its front directing its course.

A part of me was still clinging to the hope everything was fine, but I knew that wasn’t the case.

The blazing stream of air circled round and round me, looking like it would never stop, but then it flipped up from the ground and zipped through the air like a rocket. For a moment I worried it would escape the confines of the garage, but, after making one final pass around the room, the sizzling ribbon dropped into a nosedive, headed directly for my feet.

Oh dear.

I let out a squeak as the wind funneled into my toes, racing up my legs into the rest of my body. I tried to breathe, but couldn’t manage anything more than the tiniest gasp of air.

This was wrong. Very wrong.

The whole purpose of a spell was to harmoniously bond a witch with her magic for a joint cause. Nothing about this felt harmonious.

I knew something had to give as my arms and head flung back in a futile attempt to make more room for the power swirling inside me, but I didn’t know what that something was until my feet left the floor.

Uh-oh.

Dog and Faustus stared at me with impossibly wide eyes as I rose into the air, higher and higher, until I stopped a few feet off the ground, boots dangling.

The blistering hot wind churned and roiled inside me. Then, just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, the magic exploded out, hurtling a blast of searing air in all directions. A second later, I dropped to the floor.

Faustus’s ears flattened against his head, and Dog skittered about on the window ledge as the wind rushed past, extinguishing the candles.

I jumped up and ran over to the worktable, blinking in the darkness. “You guys okay?”

Dog let out a muted caw while Faustus shot me a horrifically dirty look before settling into what I knew would be a very thorough bath.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

Dog tilted his head, looking concerned.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” I said, fumbling to shut off the gas. My fingers were a little shaky. “Granted, it didn’t go exactly as expected, but I think my magic was just trying to make a point. The spell should be back on track now.”

Dog cawed.

“No, I mean it. It’s all good.” I turned quickly and stumbled over an old paint can, triggering the bird to flap his wings in alarm.

“Really. You don’t have to worry.” I picked my way over to the front of the garage, pushed open the refinished carriage house doors, and then grabbed the handlebars of the bicycle leaning against the wall. “Everything is under control.”