Atomic Mage by Garrett Carter (short books for teens txt) 📕

path that might lead down at a more pleasant angle than the damn near 90 he was stuck with.

Stepping to the edge again he located quite a few holes in the small cliff face he might be able to use as handholds.

"Well might as well give it a try" he said as he contemplated the damage a fall from that height might cause.

Remembering the pain he had just gone through yesterday he again rethought his jump and hope for the best plan.

"Slow is smooth and smooth is fast." Cade thought to himself as he gingerly made his way over the edge, finding handholds and footholds as he made his way down.

Close to halfway down the cliff and a quarter of the way to his much-needed bath, one of Cade's handholds crumbled under his fingers.

Letting out a manly and totally not girly shriek he jammed his hand back into the crumbling hole, frantically searching for a new lip to use as a handhold.

Through his panic, he felt a tingle in the back of his skull as the crumbly river bank wall began to melt into the shape of his fingers.

Cade looked on wide-eyed as the riverbank wall solidified into a perfect form-fitting replica of his handprint.

"Huh will you look at that" he said with an awestruck expression as he examined the new lifeline.

He removed his hand gingerly bracing against the cliff with his other while he looked at the reformed hole.

It had formed under his fingers and palm, he could even see the creases of his palm.

Shaking his head he put the new handhold to good use as he returned to his decent, a smile crossing his face as a plan came to his mind.

Touching down on the pebble-strewn bank Cade looked up at the top of the cliff, particularly at the new handhold he had created in his panic.

"Wonder if I can make that happen without fearing for life and limb" he said absent-mindedly swatting another fly away, all thoughts of the river bath he had been so eager for blown away by his impatience to test his new powers.

Running his hands along the cliff face gained no results. Cade attempted to try to push his right hand into the cliff with the same results.

Trying one last time he focused on not pushing his hand into the cliff but visualized the cliff face moving away from his intruding fingers.

The tingle in the back of his skull he felt from the close call during his descent returned as he saw the compacted river rock mold around his first three fingers.

His concentration broke suddenly as his excitement overcame him.

The tingle in the back of his head dissipated as he looked into the depression he had made.

Cade grinned to himself his body almost vibrating with excitement while internally he was doing backflips.

"I'm a mother fucking earth bender!!" He shouted in his thoughts more eager than ever to put his plan into action.

Laughing out loud he placed his whole right hand on the wall concentrated and pushed his hand again into the wall in front of him.

The tingle came back as his hand sank in up to his wrist. Removing his hand he looked around finding nothing but sand up to the wide river 50 feet away.

"Oh that bath is going to be soooo good." Cade said as he smiled to himself.

His smile slipped as he realized how long it would take to make a decent-sized depression in the cliff face with just his hands.

Setting his shoulders Cade let a wild idea run through his mind, focusing on a large part of the cliff face he visualized a hole and pushed forward with his mind.

A ten-foot-wide half-circle of cliff face began to flow inwards, simultaneously a loud buzzing began in the back of his skull.

Startled by the intensity of it Cade's concentration faltered stopping the wall flowing inward.

"Well can't have it all can we huh" he said with a determined look on his face.

Refocusing and braced for the loud buzzing he continued to form his little cave.

Close to 5 feet in he started noticing rocks and dust particles falling from the ceiling.

Looking at the floor and ceiling of his little home renovation project Cade tried to increase its structural integrity, concentrating on thickening the walls and ceiling.

Noticing a slight drop in his energy his concentration broke once more.

"What was that" he said in surprise at the wave of slight exhaustion that slipped over him.

Collecting himself Cade thought through the process.

"If I am carving a hole in this cliff then where is the rock going and why didn't I feel that tired when I was doing it?"

Experimenting with his abilities he placed a hand on the edge of the rock wall and focused on the curved surface of his soon to be home.

Cade felt a humming vibration so faint he almost missed it.

He used that specific vibration and expanding his focus to encompass as far as his senses would allow.

Suddenly he felt a discordant humming from all around him.

Baffled by what he was feeling he focused back on the wall his hand was on and the disorganized humming fell back to the original hum he had started with.

Cade's heartbeat was running a mile a minute as he listened to the hum of what he could only assume was the rock he had his hand on.

Slowly that humming increased in frequency and intensity as he listened.

Sudden pain shot through his hand, jerking it away with a