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“Separated from what?”
“I don’t know. My faith, maybe.”
“Oh.” She struggled to understand how something so oppressive could be missed. “Maybe you just need sleep.”
“Perhaps.”
After the nightly news, Ruth went to bed, and Adriel followed. Left alone with her books, Juniper made a cup of tea and took advantage of the quiet time to study. She’d finished the first book on occult practices sometime after midnight and moved on to the thick book full of herbalist spells next. The subject matter was so interesting that she couldn’t put it down, and soon, the sun was peeking through the curtains again.
“Did you sleep?”
Juniper’s head lifted at Adriel’s voice, a guilty sense of embarrassment rushing through her as she noted the sun had come up. “Maybe?”
“Juniper, your body needs rest.”
“I know, but I got really into this book. Check this out.” She spun the book and turned the page. “Remember how you said there was magick in the gorges?”
“Yes.”
“You’re totally right. This explains how magick is basically divided into three groups—fundamental craft, intermediate alchemy, and high sorcery, which deal in both dark and light magick. Each sector is divided by the elements and then split into branches. For instance, high-air sorcery can manipulate the air through auras, gas, molecules, and weather energy. High-earthsorcery uses the strength of gravity and the earth's magnetic pull to lock structures into place. Water, however, is a thief of minerals and carries power from all over the globe. It’s a huge energy source, and I’m not talking about the kind we get from the electric company.”
Adriel blinked at her. “My brain hasn’t awakened enough for this conversation.”
Manic excitement had Juniper urgently explaining why this realization was so important. “It’s like kinetic energy, the kind you guys probably used for milling on the farm, but this is actual magick. Think about ice, snow, vapor, brine, poison, blood, steam—they all contain water. It’s an incredible carrier agent! And if I manipulate with water, I could probably manipulate blood.”
Adriel frowned. “I’m not following.”
Keeping in mind that most Amish women receive minimal formal education, she broke it down to the simplest terms. “Human blood is made of something like eighty percent water. I imagine an immortal’s blood is similar.”
“Humanblood and immortal blood functions very differently.”
“But you guys live off the stuff. Are you going to tell me there’s no water in your blood? We humans are hydrated by vegetables that absorb water from the earth. Our food is responsible for a lot of the water in our system. And if we’re your food source…” She held out her hands. “Do you get where I’m going with this?”
“You need to stop categorizing yourself asmortal. We don’t fully know what’s in your blood. And I wouldn’t know what’s in mine.”
“I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about immortals who drink blood. Adriel, they’re full of water and water is a powerful agent of magick. There are spells for controlling water. If I learn them, I can apply them to more than lakes and puddles. I can use that sort of magick on asshole exes who are basically flesh sacks of water, organs, and blood.”
“You can’t underestimate his power, Juniper. You’re far from a mage?—”
“I can do this. I know I can. I just need to do more research and understand the science. Remember how you sensed the energy of the gorges? That’s because, over time, the water charges with passing energy like a conductor of magick. It gathers sediment in the minerals, and minerals are full of power. The mist coming from those waterfalls could date back to the Paleozoic era. Dinosaurs, Adriel! Do you know what kind of power I could pull from something so ancient?”
“I don’t.”
She lifted the heavy text she’d been reading and shook the book at her. “Neither do I, but according to this, it’s a fucking lot.”
“I think you need sleep.”
“I think I need more books. I’m almost finished with this one, and I only have two small ones left to read. We need better resources.” She stacked the texts in a haphazard pile with herscattered notes. “I’m taking Ruth to town today so we can get a cell phone?—”
“June, we agreed?—”
“Amish time is over, Adriel. We need to look toward the future, and the future has Wi-Fi.”
“Juniper, consider how you got here. You’re young. Your magic is still developing. Think of what happened when you tried to cast a spell on Jonas.”
“That was different. I had no idea what I was doing. My aunt harnessed my power.” Which was why she had no clue how to reverse the spell on Jonas. “Water is a major element. My power can’t compare. If I learn to harness the energy of the gorges, I can practice my craft in ways my aunts never imagined. It’s an unlimited power source.” She could still sense her skepticism. “I’ll show you.”
Juniper removed a drinking glass from the cabinet and filled it with water. Setting it on the table, she opened her palms over it and whispered,“Celeriter cum sole per hanc aquam Mater Terrae opus est.”
