average human’s Reviews > Magical Intentions > Status Update

The air around my stirred, all the particles in the air sensing that I was doing something and it wanted to be a part of it. It pressed against me, demanding to be used. Tempting, so tempting. I had to fight back, push it away from me.
My jaw tightened as I raised mental blocks before the excess magic overwhelmed me. Heat filled my veins and I gritted my teeth against the pain as I constructed what I wanted to happen.
I wasn’t ready yet.
I imagined moving the person they captured. I pictured that person locked in their space, unable to get out, the ward only malleable enough to let air in and out.
Everything felt right and the magic reached for the devices, knowing their purpose and excited to fulfill it.
Now. I was ready now.
I lowered my hand and brushed against one of the devices. That’s all I needed to do. It felt like a thousand volts went through my body, but not painfully. My body stiffened, locking into place as all the magic I had gathered jumped from within and went into the device. It didn’t stay there though. The magic flowed outward, jumping to the other devices in a waterfall effect, filling up one before going to the next one. This continued until they were all filled.
My arms flopped to my sides, useless now. I felt empty, hollow, without the magic there to hold me up. I slouched backward, stumbling until I hit the wall a few feet behind me. My body sagged, and I used the hard surface as a crutch.
The exhaustion nearly sent me to the floor, passing out. I’d done that a couple of times. Using a lot of magic in a short amount of time was exhausting for everyone, including me. Just because I had a deep reserve of magic, didn’t mean I could use it all at once. My body could only siphon so much magic before overloading. If I weren’t careful, I could hurt myself or even those around me.
I looked at the devices and knew I’d done it right. Everything about them felt right.
I slowly pulled myself together before pushing off the wall and walking back to the bench. I picked up one of them. They weighed slightly heavier, but not noticeably. They were warm to the touch.
Now I just needed to get them set up.
I turned off the do not disturb light then pulled out a duffle bag, carefully putting the freshly made traps in, nearly filling the bag.
A knock sounded, and I went to the door to see Venni standing there with a bag in his hands.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“It’s late, and you need food,” he said.
I frowned then looked at the clock. I gaped in shock, not realizing so much time had passed. It was late afternoon and that had taken a lot longer than expected.
“I thought so,” Venni said, pushing past me and into the room.
The scent of fries tickled my nose.
“I got you a grilled chicken sandwich and fries,” Venni said, placing it on the corner my desk. “The other two will be here soon.”
“Not soon, but right now,” Davies said, grinning, carrying his own lunch bag. Alijah came in behind him with one as well.
“Picnic in the lab,” Davies sang. I pointed to a table for him to use. He grabbed a disinfectant cloth and wiped down the bench before putting his food down.
“We figured you most likely hadn’t eaten yet so we’d do a late-lunch meeting,” Venni explained.
“That’s fine,” I said, unable to hide the tiredness.
All three paused what they were doing to stare at me. I gave them a shaky smile.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to sound so grouchy. I finished making the traps, and we just need to set them now.”
“Awesome!” Davies cheered before taking a huge bite out of his burger and groaning.
“Don’t be shy,” Venni said, urging me to dig in. “When was the last time you ate?”
“Uh.”
Alijah’s eyes narrowed. “Did you eat today?”
“Um.” I looked away, inspiring complete confidence in my answer. I shook my head. “I ate dinner yesterday.”
Three different scowls threw me off. They did not like that answer. I sighed and went over, digging out my food. It was easier to just eat it instead of arguing with them.