Changeling (Sorcery and Society Book 1)(7)

My eyes went wide. What she was saying was impossible. Snipes did not have magic. We were missing the blood properties that made our Guardians so superior. And Snipes did not suddenly just become magical. So how could I make that heavy vase float like a misbehaving bubble?

Through the fatigue settling into my limbs, I could feel cold piercing dread. This went beyond burnt shirts or broken vases. I didn’t want to know what the Guild would do to me for this.

Mrs. Winter patted my numb hands and gave me a frosty smile that made my stomach turn. “Let’s have a chat, you and I.”





2





Parlor Tricks





Mum had been horrified, summoned by her mistress’s call for a cup of rosehip tea, only to find me sprawled on sacred parlor furniture. I struggled through the white noise buzzing in my head to get to my feet. Mrs. Winter patted my shoulder, gently pushing me back on the silky upholstery.

“Sarah, what in the world do you think you’re doing?”

Through blurred vision, I could make out the soft, rounded lines of my mother’s brown dress against the stark colors of the room.

Mrs. Winter took the rattling teacup from my mother’s hands and pressed the warm china against my palm. “Drink this, Sarah, you’ll feel better for it. Anna, please make sure that Mary isn’t listening in the hall and then close the door.”

I raised the cup to my lips and took a long draw from the raspberry-colored liquid. The tangy, slightly floral brew flowed over my tongue, warming my throat and belly. In an instant, the white noise in my head faded away. I sat up straighter. I took another drink and felt the warmth spreading to my fingers and toes.

“Madame,” Mum whispered, her voice fearful. “If Sarah is ill, I can take her to the kitchen. I’m sure she didn’t mean to dirty the sofa.”

“I believe Sarah is perfectly fine. In fact, I believe she is returning to her natural state.”

“I don’t understand,” Mum said, watching as I drained the last of the cup’s contents. I blew out a long breath, feeling in control of my body for the first time since I’d walked into the parlor.

Mrs. Winter gestured toward the sofa as if Mum was an honored guest. Somehow, this made the nervous lines around my mother’s mouth stand out even more. “Please have a seat.”

Mum lifted an eyebrow, glancing at the space next to me on the sofa. “I don’t think –”

“Please have a seat,” Mrs. Winter repeated, considerably less friendly now.

Mum dropped onto the cushion next to me without another word.

Mrs. Winter gracefully sank onto the opposite chair, arranging her crumpled skirts around her.

“Now, I’m going to ask you a series of questions. They will seem invasive and rude, but I will remind you that you are obligated to answer; even if that answer will make either of us uncomfortable.”

Mum nodded slowly, clearly seeing Mrs. Winter’s use of such formal Guardian language as a bad sign. “Yes, I understand.”

“Now, is Sarah your daughter?”

My mouth dropped open like a gaping fish. Mum was equally startled, making an indignant squeal before clamping her mouth shut. “Of course, she is, Madame. You remember the night she was born, right there beside the stove in your kitchen. Please just tell me what is happening! My family has served yours faithfully for years. Why would you ask me these questions now?”

Mrs. Winter eyed my mother shrewdly. “It would seem that Sarah has magical gifts that have stayed hidden up until now, very powerful gifts if her display earlier was any indication.”

Mum’s lips curled into a shaky smile, but her unease didn’t quite show in her eyes. I knew, somehow, as sure as I knew that Mary was listening at the door, that Mum had been expecting these questions. She’d been dreading them for years, if the look on her face was any indication. Mum turned toward me. “This isn’t funny, Sarah, whatever you did to make Mrs. Winter think you have magic, that’s not a child’s prank. You could get into a lot of trouble. You owe her an apology.”

“Mum, I didn’t–”

Mrs. Winter silenced me with a wave of her hand. “Trust me, Anna, when I say that it was no prank. Sarah levitated a heavy vase for the better part of two minutes. She more than levitated it. She made it dance and spin like a top. That’s something that a witch with two years’ training at the institute might not be able to accomplish. Now, how do you think she managed to do that?”

“I wouldn’t know, Madame. Are you sure that–”

“Please don’t insult my intelligence by asking if I’m sure of what I saw,” Mrs. Winter snapped. “I know magic when I see it. I know what it feels like to be in the same room with magic. Now, if Sarah is your child, a child of the Smith family, a family that has no magical blood whatsoever in its known history… how could she suddenly possess such power?”

Mum looked down at her fidgeting hands. “I wouldn’t know, Madame.”

“Anna, you know there are far less pleasant methods by which I could extract the truth from you. It is a mark of respect for your years of service to my family that I am choosing not to employ them.” Mrs. Winter’s tone was all politeness, but I knew a barely veiled threat when I heard one. She could be referring to any number of tactics, from a bitter hypnotic tincture that would prevent Mum from concealing the truth to spells that could pull the truth from her lips. The Guild enforcement teams were known to use these techniques and more on Snipes who caused trouble. Mrs. Winter wouldn’t have mentioned them if she wasn’t considering using them.