39. The Magic Sucking Machine of Evil* (*patent pending)

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Machines don't belong in a fairy tale realm. It's like bringing a robot to a medieval dance party – they just don't know the steps, and the knights keep mistaking them for enchanted toasters

 It's like bringing a robot to a medieval dance party – they just don't know the steps, and the knights keep mistaking them for enchanted toasters

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I retreated further and further from Tyra, spinning downward through the void, like dropping into the bottom of a cyclone.

Was this teleporting?

I was pretty sure I was.

And I was doing it all by myself!

It was way simpler than Frekvic had made it sound.

Think of the possibilities! I could teleport anywhere. Who needed a driver's license or a rickety broom when you could magically transport yourself wherever you wanted to go?

Although, I was about to give up my magic, which meant no teleporting.

Think of Olivia. Your sister. You will improve her life. I reminded myself.

But the other part of me, the super evil part, hissed inside my brain. "The magic belongs to us."

"Shut up, evil self! I'm not listening to you!" I would've plugged my ears, except I couldn't feel my fingers or ears or pretty much any part of me, and, also, what good would it do to plug my ears when the voice was inside my head?

"Listen to us. You're about to make a mistake."

"Blah, blah, blah," I thought, drowning out my evil self.

The sensation of falling abruptly ended, and once again, I could feel my body.

This wasn't as fun as you might expect because I was not where I was supposed to be—in Blade's cell. Instead, I was in a dark space so narrow I could barely breathe. Something gauzy, like fine hairs, brushed against my mouth. I spat it away. Ew! What was that?

All around me was something rough and cool. Stones?

Oh, no! I was in the space between two walls. You know the spot. Where rats and spiders hang out. Spiders! It was a spiderweb on my mouth. Gross!

Maybe teleporting wasn't so easy.

Now what?

Get us out of here! My evil self demanded.

This time I agreed.

I gathered my magic, pushing it into my fingertips, and zapped the wall. It exploded outward in a shower of pebbles and dust, and I fell hard on my hands and knees. Ouch! My palms and kneecaps felt like they were on fire. Tears sprung to my eyes. Landing on gravel really hurts! I stayed there for a second, trying to recover my breath. Then I stood slowly, testing my knees to see if they still worked okay, flicking away the pebbles and dust from my arms. Directly in front of me were about a dozen rats, all shaking dust from their fur.

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