Elizabeth nodded and slipped her arm under his elbow. “I need to do it as well. So much has happened. Everything is muddled.”
He did not answer. They walked for a few minutes. He was tense, because he could not help feeling they were wasting precious time when they needed to decide how to act.
His attention was drawn to the figure of a little boy who was running towards the edge of the cliff, pointing at the sky. He was dangerously close, and he was not looking where he was going.
A woman screamed. “Joshua! Stop!”
His heart racing, Darcy charged after the boy and grabbed him by the collar just before he reached the edge. The boy wriggled to free himself, but Darcy held onto him firmly. He could see past the edge to the beach below.
A few more steps and the boy would have fallen down onto the pebbles.
Darcy picked him up and carried him to his mother.
His mother’s face was white with terror. "Thank you, sir. Oh, thank you! I don’t know what’s come over him. He’s usually a good little boy. I think he’s upset by everything that’s been going on. Did you see those huge hailstones, sir?” She looked at Darcy. “I didn’t let him out. He suddenly ran out of the house. Said he can see balloons in the sky."
Darcy had been at the point of turning to leave, but her words had him spinning back towards the mother.
"What did you say?"
She laughed apologetically. "I know it sounds strange. As I said, all these strange happenings…”
Darcy no longer heard what she was saying. He went to the boy, who had wandered off and was still looking up at the sky. Crouching down, Darcy looked into the boy’s eyes.”
"Joshua. Is that your name?”
“Yes, sir.”
It was obvious the boy was fascinated at whatever was up there.
“What can you see in the sky?" he asked. "Describe it to me."
“Well, sir, the sky’s full of balloons. The balloons have big baskets with soldiers in them. Not red coats. These ones have dark uniforms with funny hats. And there are people wearing cloaks, sir.”
"Oh, heavens!" whispered Elizabeth. "He's like Mary. He can see through Concealment spells." She crouched down so her face was level with his. "How many balloons are there?"
He scrunched his little face and looked towards his mother. "Lots and lots of them. Maybe two?"
"He doesn't know how to count, sir," said his mother. "He says ‘two’ for everything."
"You're sure you can see them?" said Darcy.
"Of course. They're flying right on top of us. Are you blind, sir?"
"Hush, Joshua. You mustn’t be rude." The mother turned to Darcy. "I'm very sorry sir."
"You shouldn’t be sorry," he said. “You cannot imagine how helpful your son has been. We might be back to visit him again. What’s your name and where do you live?”
“In Hythe, sir. My name’s Mary Barker. Ask for my husband, sir. He’s a baker. George Barker. But why do you want to know? Is he in any trouble?”
Elizabeth hastened to reassure her. "Quite the contrary. I think your son may have a special Talent. She turned to Joshua. "Would you like to go to a magic academy, Timmy?"
He shrugged and pursed his lips. "Don't know. What's a magic aca— aca—."
"Academy. It's a special boarding school for Talented boys like you. I have a sister who has the same Talent as you."
Joshua suddenly became shy and hid behind his mother. “I don’t know.”
“Well, there’s no hurry, Joshua. You can make up your mind later, when you’re a bit older.”
