Ella bit her lip—thoughtful, not anxious. “I’m not sure.”
Beatrix smiled despite herself. “What, something about magic youdon’tknow?”
“There’s only so much you can learn about wizardry from simply growing up in Bethesda,” Ella said, wrinkling her nose at her. “Although it’s amazing what you do pick up. For instance, have you heard that wizards’ sons pass the magic exam inastonishingnumbers?”
“Magical ability is often hereditary, isn’t it?”
“That’s what they say.” Ella leaned in. “But I happen to know that just about every wizard’s son from my neighborhood who took the test between the year I turned ten and the year I got the hell out of there had magical assists from their loving fathers.”
Beatrix stared at her. “They’re cheating?”
“Like anything.”
“But how could you tell?”
“Because no one will arrest a wizard’s son for practicing magic before thirteen, and they all do it. So I saw how lousy they were. They couldn’t have levitated the test weight a full foot, let alone the required four. Also, my—” She stopped,shook her head at the memory, and continued: “My next-door neighbor’s father was sitting one person removed from me in the stands the year his son took the exam, and I saw him cast the levitation spell under his breath. To ensure the result he wanted.”
“Ugh.”
“Exactly,” Ella said.
“Do these typics masquerading as wizards flunk out of the academy?”
“Not the ones I’m aware of. But heaven forfend we should sendwomen.”
Beatrix thought of the ninety-year-old report Peter had uncovered, the highly classified one that proved women, though not girls, could cast spells. “How many of the wizards know, do you think, that women are capable of casting? Omnimancer Blackwell had no idea until earlier this year.”
“Someof them know.” Ella grimaced. “I’d be willing to bet hard cash that one or more of them live in my old neighborhood.”
The anxiety lump in her gut expanded. “I hope the wizards assigned to League-watching duty aren’t in that group.”
“Mm.” Ella stared into space for a moment. “Sorry, you wanted to talk about Vows. But you probably know more about them than anyone. Has our omnimancer successfully called on yours to stop you from doing something you were able to do until he forced the point?”
Beatrix shook her head, but before she could explain, Ella said, “See? Nothing to worry about, then.”
“No—I mean he’s never called on my Vows.”
She didn’t count the first one. Any declarative sentence that fell from his lips had bent her to his will, intentionally or not. But he’d destroyed that contract. Her replacement Vow to him, the one that defied all their joint attempts to undo it, placed far fewer restrictions on her.
“I dared him to, you know,” Beatrix murmured. “When we were arguing over the idea of telling women about magic, I dared him and he wouldn’t. I think he couldn’t bear to force me if there was a chance I might not go through with it.”
“Hm,” Ella said, patently unimpressed. “Have you ever called on his Vow to you?”
Beatrix nodded. “Three times. Two obviously didn’t work—though I didn’t expect them to—and the other’s unclear. I demanded he tell me something, and he did, but he might have done it of his own volition.”
“Wait.” Ella frowned, tapping her chin.“Meg. Don’t forget Meg.”
Beatrix would have preferred not to think of Meg, their ex-treasurer who betrayed them for the price of her college tuition. But Ella was right—Meg was the relevant example. Her information-sharing with the magiocracy stopped once she Vowed not to harm Lydia, but nothing made Meg confess to what she’d done until Beatrix called on that Vow.
“He’s going to be able to make me stop, isn’t he,” she said.
Ella patted her shoulder. “It’s not precisely the same. He might not have that power. Anyway, remember—we already have three out of the four.”
But without Dot, all or nearly all the recruits would live in Maryland, right under the noses of the wizards who could sniff them out. And eventually, they’d run out of people the recruits trusted who hadn’t already been recruited by someone else.
She gave a moment’s thought to staying up all night and calling in sick, but no—that would ensure she’d be in this house where Peter could get to her if it raised his suspicions, which it almost certainly would. More to the point, she couldn’t afford to lose a day’s pay. Lydia’s final tuition bill was due soon.
“I’m going to need your help tomorrow,” Beatrix said, catching Ella’s eye.
