"Air around me, grant me fire." Faye focused entirely on imagining the candle on fire. She was alone at the abandoned house and already sick of not being able to do magic by herself.
A footstep from behind distracted her. She let the candle fall to the ground and spun around.
"Faye," the woman across the room greeted.
"Who are you?" Faye asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
"A friend," she said with an English accent as she slowly and deliberately began placing one foot in front of the other.
"Stay away," Faye warned, grabbing a glass bottle from the table.
The raven-haired woman took one more step before stopping. "You poor thing," she said. "They've taken it from you, haven't they?"
"What do you mean?"
"The circle's been bound."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Faye denied.
"You don't have to lie to me, Faye." The woman looked down at the dropped candle and it began to float through the air, guided by her eyes to the table. Once there, a flame leapt from the wick, taller than the candle itself.
"You…You're a witch," Faye said in disbelief.
"As are you," she said. "I am Morgana."
"How are you controlling that? Without someone else from your circle?"
Morgana laughed. "I do not have a circle. Circles were created after…a certain event, as a precaution. Nasty, limiting things. They take away your power, leaving you unprotected on your own. But I was born long before witches had circles."
"I don't understand..."
"I can give you back your freedom," Morgana said. "I can give you back your magic."